DAY – 30 (InstaTest-30): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2022: Topic – GOVERNMENT SCHEMES, ORGANISATIONS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Subject-wise Tests 10 & 29, Text Book Based Test 29, January 2022 CA – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: A

Committee on Public Undertakings

This committee was created in 1964 on the recommendation of the Krishna Menon Committee. Originally, it had 15 members (10from the Lok Sabha and 5 from the Rajya Sabha). However, in1974, its membership was raised to 22 (15 from the Lok Sabhaand 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The members of this committee are elected by the Parliament every year from amongst its own members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. Thus, all parties get due representation in it. The term of office of the members is one year.

A minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee. The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst its members who are drawn from the Lok Sabha only. Thus, the members of the committee who are from the Rajya Sabha cannot be appointed as the chairman.

Solution: B

Financial Bills (I)

A financial bill (I) is a bill that contains not only any or all the matters mentioned in Article 110, but also other matters of general legislation.

Financial Bills (II)

A financial bill (II) contains provisions involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, but does not include any of the matters mentioned in Article 110. It is treated as an ordinary bill and in all respects, it is governed by the same legislative procedure which is applicable to an ordinary bill. The only special feature of this bill is that it cannot be passed by either House of Parliament unless the President has recommended to that House the consideration of the bill.

Solution: A

Various grants are made by the Parliament under extraordinary or special circumstances:

Supplementary Grant

It is granted when the amount authorized by the Parliament through the appropriation act for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for that year.

Additional Grant

It is granted when a need has arisen during the current financial year for additional expenditure upon some new service not contemplated in the budget for that year.

Excess Grant

It is granted when money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service in the budget for that year. It is voted by the Lok Sabha after the financial year. Before the demands for excess grants are submitted to the Lok Sabha for voting, they must be approved by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.

Vote of Credit

It is granted for meeting an unexpected demand upon the resources of India, when on account of the magnitude or the indefinite character of the service, the demand cannot be stated with the details ordinarily given in a budget. Hence, it is like a blank cheque given to the Executive by the Lok Sabha.

Exceptional Grant

It is granted for a special purpose and forms no part of the current service of any financial year.

Token Grant

It is granted when funds to meet the proposed expenditure on a new service can be made available by re-appropriation. A demand for the grant of a token sum (of Re 1) is submitted to the vote of the Lok Sabha and if assented, funds are made available.

Solution: D

The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976added a new Part XIV-A to the Constitution. This part is entitled as ‘Tribunals’ and consists of only two Articles–Article 323A dealing with administrative tribunals and Article 323 B dealing with tribunals for other matters.

Article 323 A empowers the Parliament to provide for the establishment of administrative tribunals for the adjudication of disputes relating to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services of the Centre, the states, local bodies, public corporations and other public authorities. In other words, Article 323 A enables the Parliament to take out the adjudication of disputes relating to service matters from the civil courts and high courts and place it before the administrative ribunals.

Solution: A

Article 368 provides for two types of amendments, that is, by a special
majority of Parliament and also through the ratification of half of the states by a simple majority. But, some other articles provide for the amendment of certain provisions of the Constitution by a simple majority of Parliament, that is, a majority of the members of each House present and voting (similar to the ordinary legislative process). Notably, these amendments are not deemed to be amendments of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.

Therefore, the Constitution can be amended in three ways:
(a) Amendment by simple majority of the Parliament,
(b) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament, and
(c) Amendment by special majority of the Parliament and the ratification of
half of the state legislatures.

By Special Majority of Parliament and Consent of States

1. Election of the President and its manner.
2. Extent of the executive power of the Union and the states.
3. Supreme Court and high courts.
4. Distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
5. Goods and Services Tax Council.
6. Any of the lists in the Seventh Schedule.
7. Representation of states in Parliament.
8. Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure (Article 368 itself).

Solution: B

Grounds of Declaration

Article 360 empowers the president to proclaim a Financial Emergency if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen due to which the financial stability or credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened.

The 38th Amendment Act of 1975 made the satisfaction of the president in declaring a Financial Emergency final and conclusive and not questionable in any court on any ground. But this provision was subsequently deleted by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978 implying that the satisfaction of the president is not beyond judicial review.

Parliamentary Approval and Duration

A proclamation declaring financial emergency must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament within two months from the date of its issue. However, if the proclamation of Financial Emergency is issued at a time when the Lok Sabha has been dissolved or the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place during the period of two months without approving the proclamation, then the proclamation survives until 30 days from the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after its reconstitution, provided the Rajya Sabha has in the meantime approved it.

Once approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the Financial Emergency continues indefinitely till it is revoked. This implies two things:

1. there is no maximum period prescribed for its operation; and
2. repeated parliamentary approval is not required for its continuation.

A resolution approving the proclamation of financial emergency can be passed by either House of Parliament only by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members of that house present and voting.

While the proclamation of financial emergency (under Article 360) is in operation, the Centre can give directions to the states:

(i) to observe the specified canons of financial propriety;

(ii) to reduce the salaries and allowances of all class of persons serving in the state (including the high court judges); and

(iii) to reserve all money bills and other financial bills for the consideration of the President.

No Financial Emergency has been declared so far, though there was a
financial crisis in 1991.

Solution: A

The President is elected by an Electoral College, which consists of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all the States and also of NCT of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry. [Article 54 of the Constitution of India]

The President shall hold office for a term of 5 years from the date on which he enters upon his office. He shall, however, continue to hold office notwithstanding the expiry of his term, until his successor enters upon his office. [Article 56 of the Constitution of India]

Under the provisions of sub-section (3) of Section 4 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, the notification calling the election to the office of the President can be issued by the Election Commission on any day within the period of sixty days before the expiry of the term of office of the outgoing President. The election schedule shall be so fixed, that the President-elect is able to enter upon his office on the day following the expiry of the term of the outgoing President.

As per Article 55(3) of the Constitution of India, the election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.

Are the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law applicable in Presidential elections?

No. Members of the Electoral College can vote according to their wish and are not bound by any party whips. The voting is by secret ballot. Therefore, Party whip does not apply in this election.

All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the President are
inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court whose decision is final. The election of a person as President cannot be challenged on the ground that theelectoral college was incomplete (ie, existence of any vacancy among the members of electoral college). If the election of a person as President is
declared void by the Supreme Court, acts done by him before the date of such declaration of the Supreme Court are not invalidated and continue to remain in force.

Solution: B

A bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it receives the
assent of the President. When such a bill is presented to the President for his
assent, he has three alternatives (under Article 111 of the Constitution):

1. He may give his assent to the bill, or
   2. He may withhold his assent to the bill, or
   3. He may return the bill (if it is not a Money bill) for reconsideration of the
   Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or
   without amendments and again presented to the President, the President
   must give his assent to the bill.

Thus, the President has the veto power over the bills passed by the
Parliament, that is, he can withhold his assent to the bills. The object of
conferring this power on the President is two-fold—(a) to prevent hasty and
ill-considered legislation by the Parliament; and (b) to prevent a legislation
which may be unconstitutional.

The veto power enjoyed by the executive in modern states can be classified into the following four types:

1. Absolute veto, that is, withholding of assent to the bill passed by the legislature.
2. Qualified veto, which can be overridden by the legislature with a higher majority.
3. Suspensive veto, which can be overridden by the legislature with an ordinary majority.
4. Pocket veto, that is, taking no action on the bill passed by the legislature.

Of the above four, the President of India is vested with three– absolute veto, suspensive veto and pocket veto. There is no qualified veto in the case of Indian President; it is possessed by the American President.

Solution: A

Every high court (whether exclusive or common) consists of a chief justice
and such other judges as the president may from time to time deem necessary
to appoint. Thus, the Constitution does not specify the strength of a high
court and leaves it to the discretion of the president. Accordingly, the
President determines the strength of a high court from time to time depending
upon its workload.

The judges of a high court are appointed by the President. The chief justice is appointed by the President after consultation with the chief justice of India and the governor of the state concerned. For appointment of other judges, the chief justice of the concerned high court is also consulted. In case of a common high court for two or more states, the governors of all the states concerned are consulted by the president

Qualifications of Judges

A person to be appointed as a judge of a high court, should have the following qualifications:

1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. (a) He should have held a judicial office in the territory of India for ten years; or

(b) He should have been an advocate of a high court (or high courts in succession) for ten years.

From the above, it is clear that the Constitution has not prescribed a minimum age for appointment as a judge of a high court. Moreover, unlike in the case of the Supreme Court, the Constitution makes no provision for appointment of a distinguished jurist as a judge of a high court.

Solution: C

The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister. Article 164 only says that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the governor. However, this does not imply that the governor is free to appoint any one as the Chief Minister.

The governor may have to exercise his individual judgment in the selection and appointement of the Chief Minister when the Chief Minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.

However, on the death of a Chief Minister, the ruling party usually elects a new leader and the governor has no choice but to appoint him as Chief Minister.

The Constitution does not require that a person must prove his majority in the legislative assembly before he is appointed as the Chief Minister. The governor may first appoint him as the Chief Minister and then ask him to prove his majority in the legislative assembly within a reasonable period. This is what has been done in a number of cases.

Solution: D

Solution:

An umbrella scheme has been initiated to further ensure remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce, namely Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA).

Following are the key components of the Scheme:

• Price Support Scheme (PSS): In Price Support Scheme PSS, physical procurement of pulses, oilseeds and Copra will be done by Central Nodal Agencies with proactive role of State governments.
• Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS): Under PDPS, direct payment of the difference between the MSP and the selling/modal price will be made to pre-registered farmers selling his produce in the notified market yard through a transparent auction process.
• Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPPS): In addition to PDPS, it has been decided that for oilseeds, states have the option to roll out Private Procurement Stockist Scheme (PPSS) on pilot basis in selected district/APMC(s) of district involving the participation of private stockist.

Solution: A

Solution:

Solution: C

Solution:

• Stem cells are special human cells that are able to develop into many different cell types.

Two unique properties enable them to do this:

• They can divide over and over again to produce new cells.
• As they divide, they can change into the other types of cells that make up the body

Solution: A

Solution: India is in talks with the European Union, on signing FTA.

Solution: C

Solution:  Committee on doubling farmer’s income is headed by Ashok Dalwai .

Solution: a)

Justification:  Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations. Specialized agencies may or may not have been originally created by the United Nations, but they are incorporated into the United Nations System by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. At present the UN has in total 15 specialized agencies that carry out various functions on behalf of the UN.

The specialized agencies are listed below:

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO);
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
• International Labour Organization (ILO).
• International Maritime Organization (IMO).
• International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
• Universal Postal Union (UPU).
• World Bank Group (WBG).
• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
• The International Finance Corporation (IFC),
• The International Development Association (IDA),
• World Health Organization (WHO).
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
• World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Q Source: Insights compilations

Solution: B

Solution:

Solution: d)

Justification:  APEC’s 21 member economies are Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Viet Nam.

• APEC Members account for approximately 40% of the world’s population, approximately 54% of the world’s gross domestic product and about 44% of world trade
• APEC works to help all residents of the Asia-Pacific participate in the growing economy.
• APEC projects provide digital skills training for rural communities and help indigenous women export their products abroad.
• Recognizing the impacts of climate change, APEC members also implement initiatives to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainable management of forest and marine resources.
• The forum adapts to allow members to deal with important new challenges to the region’s economic well-being. This includes ensuring disaster resilience, planning for pandemics, and addressing terrorism.

Q Source: Insights compilations

Solution: c)

Justification:  The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) (established in 1966) is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly of the United Nations with the general mandate to further the progressive harmonization and unification of the law of international trade.

UNCITRAL has since prepared a wide range of conventions, model laws and other instruments dealing with the substantive law that governs trade transactions or other aspects of business law which have an impact on international trade. UNCITRAL meets once a year, typically in summer, alternatively in New York and in Vienna.

Learning: “Harmonization” and “unification” of the law of international trade refers to the process through which the law facilitating international commerce is created and adopted. International commerce may be hindered by factors such as the lack of a predictable governing law or out-of-date laws unsuited to commercial practice. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law identifies such problems and then carefully crafts solutions which are acceptable to States having different legal systems and levels of economic and social development.

• “Harmonization” may conceptually be thought of as the process through which domestic laws may be modified to enhance predictability in cross-border commercial transactions.
• “Unification” may be seen as the adoption by States of a common legal standard governing particular aspects of international business transactions.
• A model law or a legislative guide is an example of a text which is drafted to harmonize domestic law, while a convention is an international instrument which is adopted by States for the unification of the law at an international level.
• Texts resulting from the work of UNCITRAL include conventions, model laws, legal guides, legislative guides, rules, and practice notes. In practice, the two concepts are closely related.

Q Source: https://uncitral.un.org/en/about/faq/mandate_composition/history

Solution: a)

Justification: A state legislature can impose taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments, sale or purchase of goods (other than newspapers) etc.

However, a tax imposed on the sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament to be of special importance in inter-state trade and commerce is subject to the restrictions and conditions specified by the Parliament.

Presidential assent is not generally required for introduction of taxes by a state.

Q Source: Chapter 14: Indian Polity: M Laxmikanth

Solution: a)

Learning: The Arab League is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia.

The Arab League occupies an area spanning around 14 million km² and counts 22 members, and 4 observer states. The 22 members today include 3 of the largest African countries (Sudan, Algeria and Libya) and the largest country in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia).

Syria was suspended following the 2011 uprising, but its seat was later given to Syrian opposition.

It was founded in 1945. It aimed to be a regional organisation of Arab states with a focus to developing the economy, resolving disputes and coordinating political aims.

Q Source: International and Regional organizations

ANswer B

NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035

Higher Education Commission of India(HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education.

ANswer D

India’s logistics cost is estimated to account somewhere between 13-14 percent of the GDP while it is 7-8 per cent for developed economies.

Road freight accounts for 54% and railways 33%,

Answer c

Hard currencies are widely accepted around the world as a form of payment for goods and services and may be preferred over the domestic currency.

The U.S. dollar stands out in particular as it enjoys status as the world’s foreign reserve currency. For this reason, many international transactions are done in U.S. dollars

Answer B

The Missile Technology Control Regime is a multilateral export control regime. It is an informal political understanding among 35 member states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology

With the accession of India, the current membership of MTCR is 35.

Answer A

Correct Answer : C Answer Justification : The passage clarifies us that payment industry is very much required for our country and it has been optimistic about it and not pessimistic like statement A. The passage indeed mentions the issues associated with digital payments but does not recommend against excess use of it. The passage implies by bringing security arrangements these advancements can become beneficial and so the focus of author is need for companionship between innovation and security. B is essentially wrong because the need for trust is not between government and payment industry but of both with people.

C is the answer.