2 S

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SERIES – 2 : SOLUTIONS (Days 5-8)
1. Solution: a
(Though tribals were involved, it was not a tribal grievances related rebellion)
INSIGHTS IAS REVISION TESTS FOR UPSC CIVIL SERVICES PRELIMINARY EXAM – 2018
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 Pre-dating what has been popularly regarded as the fist war of independence in 1857, the
Paika Bidroha (Paika Rebellion) of 1817 in Odisha briefly shook the foundations of British
rule in the eastern part of India. Paikas were essentially the peasant militias of the Gajapati
rulers of Odisha who rendered military service to the king during times of war while taking
up cultivation during times of peace. They unfurled the banner of rebellion against the British
under the leadership of Baxi Jagandhu Bidyadhara as early as 1817 to throw off the British
yoke.
 Rulers of Khurda were traditionally the custodians of Jagannath Temple and ruled as the
deputy of lord Jagannath on earth. They symbolised the political and cultural freedom of the
people of Odisha. The British, having established their sway over Bengal Province and Madras
Province to the north and south of Odisha, occupied it in 1803.The Gajapati King of Odisha
Mukunda Deva-ll was a minor then and initial resistance by Jai Rajguru, the custodian of
Mukunda Deva-II, was put down brutally and Jai Rajguru was torn apart alive. A few years
later, it was the Paikas under Baxi Jagabandhu, the hereditary chief of the militia army of the
Gajapati King, who rose in rebellion, taking support of tribals and other sections of society.
The rebellion started in March 1817 and spread quickly. Though Paikas played a larger role in
the rebellion against the British, it was by no means a rebellion by a small group of people
belonging to a particular class. The tribals of Ghumusar (part of present day Ganjam and
Kandhmal Districts) and other sections of the population actively took part in it. In fact, the
Paika Bidroha got the opportune moment to spread when 4OOtribals of Ghumsar entered
Khurda protesting against the British rule. The Paikas attacked British symbols of power,
setting ablaze police stations, administrative offices and the treasury during their march
towards Khurda, from where the British fled. The Paikas were supported by the rajas of
Kanika, Kujang, Nayagarh and Ghumusar and zamindars, village heads and ordinary peasants.
The rebellion quickly spread to Purl, Pipli Cuttack and other parts of the province. The British
were initially taken aback and then tried to regain lost ground but faced stiff resistance from
the rebelling Paikas. Many a battle ensued with some victories to the rebels, but the British
finally managed to defeat them within three months.
 Widespread suppression followed with many killed and imprisoned. Many more were
tortured. Some rebels fought a guerilla war till 1819 but were captured and killed. Baxi
Jagabandhu was finally arrested in 1825 and died in captivity in 1829. Though the Paika
Bidroha enjoys a cult status in Odisha with children growing up with stories of the brave fight
against the British, it has unfortunately received less attention at the national level than it
should have got.While the reasons can be many for such scant attention to such a significant
event of the history in India, it is heartening that the Government of India has decided to give
the event its due recognition by commemorating its 200 anniversary in a befitting manner.
2. Solution: d
https://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/07/01/insights-daily-current-affairs-01-july-2017/
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=166951
www.insightsias.com 1 www.insightsonindia.com
 In a bid to create a globally competitive biopharmaceutical industry that addresses the

country’s major concerns around barriers to affordable healthcare, innovate in India (i3)
program has been launched.
What you need to know about innovate in India (i3)?
 It is a 250 million USD program of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Ministry of
Science & Technology in collaboration with World Bank. It will be implemented by
Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Enterprise, set
up by DBT.
 It is a first- of-its-kind mission that brings together industry and academia to promote
entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the biopharmaceutical sector.
3. Solution: a
 EternalBlue, sometimes stylized as ETERNALBLUE, is an exploit developed by the U.S.
National Security Agency (NSA) according to testimony by former NSA employees.
 It was leaked by the Shadow Brokers hacker group on April 14, 2017, and was used as part of
the worldwide WannaCry ransomware attack on May 12, 2017.
 The exploit was also used to help carry out the 2017 NotPetya cyberattack on June 27, 2017
and reported to be used as part of the Retefe banking trojan since at least September 5, 2017.
4. Solution: b
Please note that questions asks which is NOT the one. So, option-C is wrong.
 As per provisions of Andaman and Nicobar Island (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation,
1956 (PAT), the Andamanese, Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shom Pens have
been identified as “aboriginal tribes”.
 Chakma Tribe was in news too (in 2017)
 The Union government is considering granting citizenship to over a lakh Chakma and Hajong
refugees, who have been living in India for over 50 years. This has brought the spotlight back
on the refugees.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/who-are-chakmas/article19682129.ece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scheduled_Tribes_in_India#Mizoram
5. Solution: c
What is Rukmini?
 Weighing nearly 2,650 kg, Rukmini was the first military communication satellite developed
by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the Indian Defence forces, with the
Indian Navy being the primary user.
 Built on September 29, 2013, Rukmini is also the last of ISRO’s seven fourth-generation
satellites which has at least a 2,000 nautical mile footprint over the IOR.
 Rukmini was launched early on August 30, 2013 atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou in
French Guiana. This gave India a major push in maritime security.
How was it launched?
 Rukmini was successfully placed into a geosynchronous orbit, around 36,000 km above Earth,
nearly five days prior to its launch after at least three orbit-raising manoeuvres from ISRO’s
Master Control Facility in Karnataka’s Hassan. Rukmini’s 2.5-tonne antennae, which included
the ultra high frequency Helix antenna, were deployed before it was stabilised on its three-
axis in the orbit.
 The Rs 185-crore Rukmini was launched during a 50-minute launch window which started at
2 am, and it was telecast live by Doordarshan.
What are its capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region?
 Launched at the cost of approximately Rs 480 crore, Rukmini is used exclusively by the Indian
Navy to secure real-time communications between its numerous warships, aircraft,
submarines and land-based communication systems.
 The GSAT-7 is believed is markedly improve India’s maritime security in a wide section on the
western and eastern flanks of the Indian Ocean region, among many others.
 A case in point was Operational Exercise (Tropex) in the Bay of Bengal in 2014, when Rukmini
was successfully able to network around 60 ships and at least 75 aircraft effortlessly.
 The Indian Navy wants to use Rukmini to primarily cover activities up till the Malacca Straits
in the east and the Hormuz Strait to the west. The GSAT-7 also has an approximate 2,000
nautical mile footprint over the IOR.
As per ISRO, Rukmini or GSAT-7 is an advanced communication satellite that will provide a wide
range of service spectrum from low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication. Scientists
say its payload is designed to provide communication capabilities to users over a wide oceanic
region, which include the Indian land-mass.
What was the cost of Rukmini?
 The foreign launch cost of the GSAT-7 was around Rs. 480 crore, with the satellite costing at
least Rs 185 crore.
6. Solution: B
Learning:
 Boom: A peak in economic activity where growth is high.
 Recession: A fall in economic activity generally a recession is characterized as a fall in
output or negative growth rates.
 Depression: A sustained fall in output.
 Recovery: When an economy gradually begins to recover i.e turn to positive growth
rates.
Background: The world witnessed the great depression in 1930 & Global Financial crisis in 2008.
Keynesian economics calls for stimulus packages to boost demand. He largely argued for role of
government in stimulating demand.
Business cycle — natural rise and fall of economic growth that occurs over time.
Why it’s needed?
 For analyzing the economy & to make better financial decisions.
4 Stages:
1. Expansion or recovery — between the trough and the peak.
 economy is growing implying increase in GDP ( measures economic output)
 Unemployment reaches its natural rate
 Inflation is low near 2%
 The stock market is in a bull market
 A well-managed economy can remain in the expansion phase for years. That’s called a
Goldilocks economy.
 The expansion phase nears its end when the economy overheats leading to creation of
asset bubbles.
2. Peak or boom — A peak in economic activity
3. Contraction — Economic growth weakens
 When it turns negative, economists call it a recession.
 Mass layoffs leading to rise in unemployment rate
 Stocks enter a bear marketas investors sell.
4. Trough or depression — when the economy hits bottom.
7. Solution: d
KEY CONCEPTS:
 Aggregate Demand: Aggregate demand
(AD) or domestic final demand (DFD) is the
total demand for final goods and services
in an economy at a given time.
 Aggregate Supply: The total supply of
goods and services available to a particular
market from producers.
 The concept was first introduced by
Keynes. If aggregate demand exceeds the
aggregate value of output at the full
employment level, there will exist an
inflationary gap in the economy.
 It is thus the result of excess demand.
 Therefore If AD>AS at full employment
 C= consumption I=investment G=government expenditure X=exports M=imports
 Let y, be the aggregate at full employment where A=>AD=AS.
 At A output will not rise further.
 Now suppose that there is shift in AD->AD’, i.e AD>AS. Then there will be increase in prices.
 As A->B can be termed as an “inflationary Gap”. Similarly, we can also have a “deflationary
Gap” as a “recessionary Gap”.
Justification :
 At the full employment level everyone will be having the source of income and thus the
purchasing power. Hence the demand for the goods and services increases.
 Whereas the capacity of the economy to produce the goods and services will be at the same
level.
 This leads to inflation i.e, the increase in the price of goods and services because of demand.
8. Solution c
 The monetary value of an asset decreases over time due to use, wear and tear or
obsolescence. This decrease is measured as depreciation.
 Depreciation assumes that there is given life term for any capital good and also is an
allowance for its gradual replacement over time. Sudden or unexpected events are not
counted under depreciation. This calls for designing insurance policies such as fire insurance,
flood protection etc.
 Natural Calamities are unexpected & their intensity cannot be always known to
accommodate them into making allowance as calculation of GDP.
 Recently, environmental degradation is being calculated in the form of green GDP or GDP
adjusted for degradation of the natural environment using shadow prices for destruction of
trees & carbon trading.
9. Solution: c
 Adam Smith gave these lines as an advocate of a free market economy guided by the theory
of “Invisible Hand”.
 A butcher does not supply meat based on good hearted intentions, but because he profits
from selling meat. If the meat he sells is poor, he will not have repeat customers and thus, no
profits. Therefore, it is in butcher’s interest to sell good meat at a price that customers are
willing to pay, so that both parties benefit in every transaction.
This is straight from NCERT.
10. Solution: d
Injections (+): Export (X), Investment (I), Government spending (G)

Leakages (-) : Taxes(T), Imports(M), Savings(S)
Factors of Production Factor Payment
Land Rent
Labor Wages
Capital Interest
Entrepreneurship Profits/dividends
 Therefore dividends are a mechanism to transfer share of profits to households & are neither
leakage nor injection in the circular flow of income.
What is the circular flow?
 It shows flows of goods and services and factors of production between firms and households
 The circular flow shows how national income or Gross Domestic Product is calculated
 Businesses produce goods and services and in the process of doing so, incomes are generated
for factors of production (land, labour, capital and enterprise) – for example wages and
salaries going to people in work.
Leakages (withdrawals) from the circular flow
 Here some part of household income will be:
 Put aside for future spending, i.e. savings (S) in banks accounts and other types of deposit
 Paid to the government in taxation (T) e.g. income tax and national insurance
 Spent on foreign-made goods and services, i.e. imports (M) which flow into the economy
 It reduces the circular flow of income leading to a multiplied contraction of production
(output)
Injections into the circular flow
 additions to investment, government spending or exports so boosting the circular flow of
income leading to a multiplied expansion of output.
 Capital spending by firms, i.e. investment expenditure (I) e.g. on new technology
 The government, i.e. government expenditure (G) e.g. on the NHS or defence
 Overseas consumers buying Indian goods and service, i.e. Indian export expenditure (X)
An economy is in equilibrium when the rate of injections = the rate of withdrawals from the
circular flow.
11. Solution: c
Source: Page 25, Class XII Macroeconomics
Box: National Disposable Income and Private Income.
There are 3 methods to estimate GDP:
1. Income method.
2. Expenditure Method.
3. Production Method/ Value added method.
Expenditure Method:
[Household/ Private final consumption expenditure] + [Government final consumption
expenditure] + [investment=GDPMP]
 Expenditure method is used in construction because of vast inputs (organized or
unorganized) etc.
All three methods are used by CSO (central statistical organization) to estimate GDP in India.
Net Disposable Income Is the Income which is at the disposal of the nation as a whole for
spending or disposal
National disposable income = National income + Net indirect taxes + Net current
transfers from rest of the world simply put
Three methods of calculating GDP:

1. Production (output) approach — counting the production by sector of activity
2. Income approach — It involves compiling data from employment and earnings surveys to
estimate salaries and wages by industrial activity. However, there are sectors of activity for
which it is not easy to measure compensation. Therefore, many countries such as Canada,
the United States, Japan or Australia use the income approach through trend extrapolation
to estimate GDP.
3. Expenditure approach — considering how much do households, government, non-profit
institutions, and financial institutions consume within a country and adding net exports of
that country. It not only facilitates the compilation of GDP, but it can also offer insights on
the economic policies of a country
GDP = C + I + G + (X- M)
C = Private consumption expenditure
I = Investment Expenditure
G= Government Consumption Expenditure
X = Value of Exports
M = Value of Imports
12. Solution: B
(Reference: Page 26, Class XII Macroeconomics)
 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator — measure of general price inflation
 The ratio of Nominal GDP to real GDP is called GDP deflator
𝐺𝐷𝑃
𝐺𝐷𝑃 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑔𝑑𝑝
 where GDP = Nominal GDP; gdp = Real gdp.
 (Nominal= real + Inflation)
 If real gdp is 100 and nominal gdp is 150 then gdp deflator would be 150/100 or 1.5
𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐺𝐷𝑃
𝐺𝐷𝑃 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 = × 100
𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝐺𝐷𝑃
 Nominal GDP (GDP measured at current prices) — market value of goods and services
produced in an economy, unadjusted for inflation
 Real GDP (GDP measured at constant prices) — nominal GDP, adjusted for inflation to reflect
changes in real output
 As a result, nominal GDP will often appear higher than real GDP.
 Like GDP deflator we have GNP deflator as well
Importance of GDP Deflator :
GDP deflator is a much broader and comprehensive measure of inflation than CPI or WPI
because
o It reflects the prices of all domestically produced goods and services in the economy
whereas, other measures like CPI and WPI are based on a limited basket of goods and
services, thereby not representing the entire economy (the basket of goods is changed
to accommodate changes in consumption patterns, but after a considerable period of
time).
o basket of WPI (at present) has no representation of services sector. The GDP deflator also
includes the prices of investment goods, government services and exports, and excludes
the price of imports. Changes in consumption patterns or the introduction of new goods
and services or structural transformation are automatically reflected in the deflator
which is not the case with other inflation measures.
o However WPI and CPI are available on monthly basis whereas deflator comes with a lag
(yearly or quarterly, after quarterly GDP data is released). Hence, monthly change in
inflation cannot be tracked using GDP deflator, limiting its usefulness.
o
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) comes out with GDP
deflator in National Accounts Statistics as price indices. The base of the GDP deflator is
revised when base of GDP series is changed.
13. Solution: a
 Bond yield: Bond yield is the amount of return an investor realizes on a bond.
 Bond prices and interest rates have an inverse relationship so when one goes up, the other
goes down.
 Bond yield will rise when the value of the bond declines so when bond yields (or interest
rates) rise, it actually means that the value of bonds in general is declining. This is why rising
bond yields are generally considered to be undesirable for existing bond investors.
 The price of a bond changes in response to changes in interest rates in the economy. This is
due to the fact that for a fixed-rate bond, the issuer has promised to pay a coupon based on
the face value of the bond – so for a Rs.1,000 bond , 10% annual coupon rate, the issuer will
pay the bondholder Rs.100 each year.
 Say that prevailing interest rates are also 10% at the time that this bond is issued, as
determined by the rate on a short-term government bond. An investor would be indifferent
investing in the corporate bond or the government bond since both would return Rs.100.
Imagine a little while later, however, that the economy has taken a turn for the worse and
interest rates drop to 5%. Now, the investor can only receive Rs.50 from the government
bond, but would still receive Rs.100 from the corporate bond. This makes the corporate bond
much more attractive, and so investors in the market will bid up the price of the bond until it
trades at a premium that equalizes the prevailing interest rate environment – in this case the
bond will trade at a price of Rs.2,000 so that the Rs.100 coupon represents 5%. Likewise, if
interest rates soared to 15%, then an investor could make Rs.150 from the government bond
and would not pay Rs.1,000 to earn just Rs.100. This bond would be sold until it reached a
price that equalized the yields, in this case to a price of Rs.66.67.
 This is why the famous statement that a bond’s price varies inversely with interest rates
works
14. Solution: C
 Option A: is about burn rate where companies spend too much beyond their working needs.
 Option B: iss about need for capital adequacy.
 Option C: is about liquidity trap. For eg: Europe & Japan are not able to recover despite
negative interest rates & thus need special government programmes.
 Liquidity trap refers to a situation in which an increase in the money supply does not result
in a fall in the interest rate but merely in an addition to idle balances: the interest elasticity
of demand for money becomes infinite.
 Under normal conditions an increase in money supply, resulting in excess cash balances,
would cause an increase in bond prices, as individuals sought to acquire assets in exchange
for money, and a corresponding fall in interest rates.
 In situation, described by Keynes as liquidity trap, individuals believe that bond prices are too
high and will therefore fall, and correspondingly that interest rates are too low and must rise.
They, therefore, believe that to buy bonds would be to incur a capital loss and as a result they
hold only money. This means that an increase in the money supply merely increases idle
balances and leaves the interest rate unaffected.
15. Solution: d
Please refer internet.
16. Solution: c
 GVA is linked as a measurement to gross domestic product (gdp), as both are measures of
output. The relationship is defined as:
GVA + taxes on products – subsidies on products = GDP
 As the total aggregates of taxes on products and subsidies on products are only available at
whole economy level, Gross value added is used for measuring gross regional domestic
product and other measures of the output of entities smaller than a whole economy.
Restated,
GVA = GDP + subsidies – (direct, sales) taxes
 Over-simplistically, GVA is the grand total of all revenues, from final sales and (net) subsidies,
which are incomes into businesses. Those incomes are then used to cover expenses (wages
& salaries, dividends), savings (profits, depreciation), and (indirect) taxes.
 In the recent years, the wedge between the real and nominal GDP growth has narrowed
significantly. While real GDP growth averaged 6.4 per cent between 2012-13 and 2014-15,
the nominal growth was 12.5 per cent in this period. In comparison, during the three-year
period from 2015-16 to 2017-18, the real and nominal GDP average growth is estimated to
be 7.2 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively, pointing to higher differences in the former
period than latter. This is not surprising given that the fact that inflation in the earlier period
(particularly in 2012-13 and 2013-14) was significantly higher than the latter.
 The growth in nominal GDP in 2016-17 is estimated to be 11 per cent and it is expected at 9.5
per cent in 2017-18 on account of both lower real growth as well as lower value of deflator
in 2017-18. The growth of nominal GVA in these two years is estimated to the 9.7 per cent
and 9.0 per cent respectively. The differences in the nominal growth between GVA and GDP
have also increased in the last few years. This is indicative of an increase in the share of net
indirect taxes in GDP.
17. Solution : c
 As the income level increases the purchasing power of people also increases. As the rise in
expenditure on food is low, people can spend the surplus on services, industrial goods. As
India didn’t have the industrial base this would have caused the import of the industrial goods
and hence higher CAD. Hence second five year plan emphasised on heavy industry.
 As income goes up, demand for industrial goods and service sector rises. If we would not have
gone for industry we would have imported demand for industrial goods causing problems of
current account deficit. This was also followed up with an import substitution policy.
 The heavy dependence on imported inputs could not be sustained economically by
developing countries. This was compounded, in the 1970s and 1980s, by the oil crisis and the
debt crisis. The economic and financial crisis in developing countries led to the proliferation
of loan packages from the international financial institutions. Structural adjustment policies
were then introduced as a condition for loans borrowed by countries. Since the 1980s, close
to 100 countries have been forced to take on structural adjustment packages. The policies
included on the one hand forced liberalization, and on the other, the conversion of domestic
agricultural production for exports.
18. Solution: a
Twin balance sheet originated due to stuck projects, rising npa and exit problems in India. TBS is
two two-fold problem for Indian economy which deals with:
1. Overleveraged companies – Debt accumulation on companies is very high and thus they are
unable to pay interest payments on loans. Note: 40% of corporate debt is owed by companies
who are not earning enough to pay back their interest payments. In technical terms, this
means that they have an interest coverage ratio less than 1.
2. Bad-loan-encumbered-banks – Non Performing Assets (NPA) of the banks is 9% for the total
banking system of India. It is as high as 12.1% for Public Sector Banks. As companies fail to
pay back principal or interest, banks are also in trouble.
 What has also happened is that government expenditure by November has been much
higher, as a proportion of the budgeted spending. Very likely, this is because of the earlier
date of the Union budget, which allowed the ministries to start spending immediately as the
fiscal year started, unlike in previous years.
 Also the deficit was largely due to a shortfall in government revenue on account of GST,
demonetization and other structural reforms. Hence it is not because of capital spending.
19. Solution: a
 The currency effect in India was comparatively worse when compared to other countries.
This resulted in less export growth from Ida in comparison to Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia.
 Stability in currency was a minor factor in attracting FDI. The major factors was attractiveness
of Indian Market and growing maturity of the economy in terms of demand for foreign luxury
and mid-segment products.
 Other currencies in comparison have depreciated helping them power ahead in their
contribution to export shares of various commodities.
20. Solution: c
Logistics is the general management of how resources are acquired, stored and transported to
their final destination
Logistics Performance Index (LPI)
 released by World Bank every two years based on a world-wide survey of stakeholders
 Six components
1. quality of trade and transport infrastructure
2. competence and quality of logistics services
3. efficiency of customs and border management clearance
4. ease of arranging competitively priced shipments
5. ability to track and trace consignments
6. frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected
delivery times.
 helps countries to identify challenges and opportunities in trade logistics and also to
improve their performance.
 2016 report — ‘Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy’
 India rank — 35th among 160 countries (54 — 2014); increased its LPI score to 3.4
 Top 5 countries in 2016 LPI: Germany (score: 4.23 points), Luxembourg (4.22), Sweden
(4.20), Netherlands (4.19) and Singapore (4.14).
21. Solution: c
 Crop Diversification Programme (CDP), a sub scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY),
is being implemented in the Original Green Revolution States of Punjab, Haryana and
Western Uttar Pradesh from 2013-14 to diversify area from water guzzling crop like paddy to
alternate crops like maize, pulses, oilseeds, cotton & agro-forestry plantation. It has been
continued in 2014-15.
 Under CDP, assistance is provided to the States for conducting cluster demonstrations on
alternate crops, promotion of water saving technologies, distribution of farm machinery,
setting up of value addition facilities, awareness through trainings etc.
 Index of Crop Diversification
o has been computed for major States and All India to examine whether there has been
major changes in the cropping patterns across States.
o ranges — 0 to 1 (higher the value, greater the diversification)
o there is a declining inter-temporal behaviour in crop diversification for the States
like Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Among
these States, the decline in the index has been sharp for Odisha.
o Two of the States Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand have shown
o increasing values in crop diversification.
o The crop diversification scenario for India as a whole appears to be almost stable
throughout the periods
 Karnataka has topped the crop diversification index across the country. The southern state
has scored 0.938 on the crop diversification index for the year 2014-15, as per the survey.
 Crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to agricultural
production on a particular farm taking into account the different returns from value-added
crops with complementary marketing opportunities.
 Karnataka is followed by Maharashtra, which is a distant second, with the score of 0.903.
Gujarat is at the third slot with 0.900 score.
22. Solution: c
 As part of labour law reforms, the Government has undertaken the exercise of rationalisation
of the 38 Labour Acts by framing 4 labour codes viz Code on Wages, Code on Industrial
Relations, Code on Social Security and Code on occupational safety, health and working
conditions
23. Solution: a
Like any insurance product, the purpose of index-based insurance (IBI) is to compensate clients
in the event of a loss. IBI is used to protect against shared rather than individual risk such as the
risks associated with weather fluctuations, disease out breaks or price loss.
The highlights of this scheme are as under:
i) uniform premium of
2% —- Kharif crops
1.5% — Rabi crops
5% — annual commercial and horticultural crops
The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be paid by
the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account
of natural calamities.
ii) no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by
the Government.
iii) Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being
paid to farmers. This capping was done to limit Government outgo on the premium subsidy.
This capping has now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured
without any reduction.
iv) The use of technology will be encouraged to a great extent. Smart phones will be used to
capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers.
Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.
Comparison with previous schemes:
PM Crop
NAIS MNAIS
Sl.No Feature Insurance
[1999] [2010]
Scheme
Lower than even
NAIS (Govt to
1 Premium rate Low High
contribute 5 times
that of farmer)
2 One Season – One Premium Yes No Yes
3 Insurance Amount cover Full Capped Full
4 On Account Payment No Yes Yes
Hail storm, Land Hail storm, Land
5 Localised Risk coverage No
slide slide, Inundation
All India – for
Coastal areas – for
6 Post Harvest Losses coverage No cyclonic +
cyclonic rain
unseasonal rain
7 Prevented Sowing coverage No Yes Yes
Use of Technology (for quicker
8 No Intended Mandatory
settlement of claims)
Yes (target to
9 Awareness No No double coverage
to 50%)
24. Solution: c
ODA: Official Development Assistance (ODA) and ODA Loans.
 ODA is broadly divided into bilateral aid, in which assistance is given directly to developing
countries, and multilateral aid, which is provided through international organizations.
 Large infrastructure projects being executed by State government entities will find it easier
to tap international funds from bilateral financing agencies, with the Cabinet enabling them
to directly access funding from such agencies on the basis of a central government guarantee
while keeping such loans off States’ books. In general, states can only borrow from domestic
sources.
 Article 292 of the Indian Constitution states that the Government of India can borrow
amounts specified by the Parliament from time to time. Article 293 of the Indian Constitution
mandates that the State Governments in India can borrow only from internal sources. Thus
the Government of India incurs both external and internal debt, while State Governments
incur only internal debt.
25. Solution: c
 Antibiotic resistance is making gonorrhea harder and sometimes even impossible to treat,
according to a new warning from the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, a new
drug may be urgently needed to treat the disease.
Background:
 Nearly 80 million people are infected with the disease every year. Among these, doctors are
finding more and more cases of infection untreatable by all known antibiotics.
What you need to know about Gonorrhea?
 Gonorrhea, also called “the clap“, is a disease caused by bacteria. Untreated, it can cause
painful pelvic inflammation in women, and infertility in both genders. In extreme cases, the
bacteria can spread in the blood to cause life-threatening infections in other parts of the
body.
 Symptoms of infection include painful urination and abnormal discharge, but many will
experience no symptoms at all.
26. Solution: c
 As can be seen from the above chart that there has been decline in the share of cropping.
Thus we need to focus on other sectors along with gender specific incentives to promote
agriculture. Also this has borne positive effects on sources of income for farmers.
 The government has tried to come up with expansion of Kisan Credit Card scheme to
livestock and fisheries. Also dairy fund and fisheries fund were established to promote these
sectors further. The government also encouraged women oriented interventions such as
SHG bank linkage programmes.
The need of gender specific interventions
 With growing rural to urban migration by men, there is ‘feminisation’ of agriculture sector.
 The Survey points out the predominant presence of women at all levels — production, pre-
harvest, post-harvest processing, packaging, marketing — of the agricultural value chain.
Hence there is need of ‘inclusive transformative agricultural policy’, aimed at gender-specific
interventions.
Impacted the sources of incomes of the farm households

The decrease in share of crop sector in the total gross value added of the agriculture and
allied sector has impacted the sources of incomes of the farm households.
 As can be seen from Figure 2 in 2002-03 the share of livestock in total farm incomes was just
4 per cent which increased to 13 per cent by 2012-13.
27. Solution: c
 Women have less equitable share of land and thus form greater part of labour rather than
cultivators. There is huge disparity in gender ownership of land. As can be seen by thee table
above, most of the women cultivators are operating on small or marginal land holdings.
Census 2011
 out of total female main workers, 55% were agricultural labourers & 24% cultivators.
 8% of the operational holdings were owned by women, which reflected the gender disparity
in ownership of landholdings in agriculture.
28. Solution: a
Option b should be 15 October and reservation of women has no significant bearing on life of
women farmers and entitlements to women in relation to land, credit etc. and 9th January is the
Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas. Hence it can easily be eliminated.
Because of increasing feminization of agriculture the government has adopted following
measures to ensure mainstreaming of women in agriculture sector:
• Earmarking at least 30% of the budget allocation for women beneficiaries in all ongoing
schemes/programmes and development activities.
• Initiating women centric activities to ensure benefits of various beneficiary-oriented
programs/schemes reach them.
• Focusing on women self-help group (SHG) to connect them to micro-credit through capacity
building activities and to provide information and ensuring their representation in different
decision-making bodies.
• Recognizing the critical role of women in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare has declared 15th October of every year as Women Farmer’s Day.
For more: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/govt-earmarks-30-
of-funds-in-agri-schemes-for-women/article9836999.ece
International Day of Rural Women: 15 October
http://www.un.org/en/events/ruralwomenday/
Option C: 73rd constitutional amendment has provided for reservation of 1/3 seats in panchayat
for women
29. Solution: c
 The Economic Survey says that the sale of tractors to a great extent reflects the level of
mechanization.
 Indian tractor industries have emerged as the largest in the world and account for about
one-third of total global tractor production, the Survey adds. While the trend is encouraging,
the Economic Survey notes that more needs to be done. It is estimated that percentage of
agricultural workers of total work force would drop to 25.7 per cent by 2050 from 58.2 per
cent in 2001. “Thus, there is a need to enhance the level of farm mechanization in the
country. Due to intensive involvement of labour in different farm operations, the cost of
production of many crops is quite high,” Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said.
 Farm mechanization and crop productivity has a direct correlation as farm mechanization
saves time and labour, reduces drudgery, cut down production cost in the long run, reduces
post-harvest losses and boosts crop output and farm income.
 Use of improved implements has potential to increase productivity up to 30 per cent and
reduce the cost of cultivation up to 20 per cent. At present, Indian farmers are adapting farm
mechanization at a faster rate in comparison to recent past.
 Although, the sale of tractors in India cannot be taken as the only measure of farm
mechanization but to a great extent it reflects the level of mechanization. Indian tractor
industries have emerged as the largest in the world and account for about one-third of total
global tractor production.
Growth in tractor industry
According to ICRA rating agency the domestic growth in FY 2016-17 was fuelled
 favourable farm sentiments as the southwest monsoon performance remained healthier
compared to the previous two fiscals
 While the monsoon performance augured well for kharif production, it also replenished
reservoir levels that supported rabi sowing despite weak winter monsoons
 increasing rural wages
 scarcity of farm labour
30. Solution: d
Above options are related to Climate Smart Agriculture:
 (CSA) may be defined as an approach for transforming and reorienting agricultural

development under the new realities of climate change (Lipper et al. 2014).
 The most commonly used definition is provided by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of
the United Nations (FAO), which defines CSA as “agriculture that sustainably increases
productivity, enhances resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes GHGs (mitigation) where
possible, and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals”.
 In this definition, the principal goal of CSA is identified as food security and development
(FAO) while productivity, adaptation, and mitigation are identified as the three interlinked
pillars necessary for achieving this goal.
Climate Sustainable Agriculture

Please check here: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/food-blog/sustainable-
agriculture-10-things-climate-change
31. Solution: b
 National Agriculture Market or e-NAM is a pan-India, unified national electronic agriculture
market for agricultural commodities. It was launched by Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India, to facilitate farmers, traders, buyers, exporters and processors with a common
platform for trading commodities.
 The scheme for setting up and operating the institutional mechanism for facilitating the
financing of trade receivables of MSMEs from corporate buyers through multiple financiers
will be known as Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)
 Negotiable warehouse receipts allow transfer of ownership of that commodity stored in a
warehouse without having to deliver the physical commodity. These receipts are issued in
negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral for loans.
 The Union Government has launched e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi (e-RaKAM) portal to
provide a platform for farmers to sell agricultural produce.
32. Solution: a
 Short term under this scheme is defined as loans for less than one year. The scheme covers
post-harvest loans and also provides for restructured loans in case of natural calamities.
The interest subvention scheme for farmers aims at providing short term credit to farmers
at subsidised interest rate. The policy came into force with effect from Kharif 2006-07. The
scheme is being implemented for the year 2017-18.
 The interest subvention will be given to Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Private Sector Banks,
Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) on use of own funds and to NABARD for
refinance to RRBs and Cooperative Banks.
 The Interest Subvention Scheme will continue for one year and it will be implemented by
NABARD and RBI.
 The scheme has been running since 2006-07. Under this, the farmers can avail concessional
crop loans of upto Rs.3 lakh at 7% rate of interest. It also provides for an additional
subvention of 3%. Prompt Repayment within a period of one year from the date of advance.
As a measure to check distress sale, post-harvest loans for storage in accredited warehouses
against Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) are available for upto 6 months for KCC
holding small & marginal farmers. During the year 2016-17, the volume of short term crop
loan lent stood at Rs.6,22,685 crore, surpassing the target of Rs. 6,15,000 crore.
For more: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=165625
33. Solution: c
 Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) refers to selling of foodgrains by Government /
Government agencies at predetermined prices in the open market from time to time to
enhance the supply of grains especially during the lean season and thereby to moderate the
general open market prices especially in the deficit regions.
 In addition to maintaining buffer stocks and making a provision for meeting the requirement
of the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS), Food
Corporation of India (FCI) on the instructions from the Government, sells wheat and rice in
the open market from time to time to enhance the supply of wheat and rice especially during
the lean season and to moderate the open market prices especially in the deficit regions. For
transparency in operations, the Corporation has switched over to e- auction for sale under
Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic).
 The FCI conducts a weekly auction to conduct this scheme in the open market using the
platform of commodity exchange NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange
Limited). The State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations are also allowed to
participate in the e-auction, if they require wheat and rice outside TPDS & OWS.
The present form of OMSS comprises 3 schemes as under:
(i) Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction.
(ii) Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction by dedicated
movement.
(iii) Sale of Raw Rice Grade ‘A’ to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction.
34. Solution: a
 Food subsidy is calculated based on economic cost and issue price. (Economic cost of FCI-
Issue price). Food prices play an important role in the well-being of the poor and poverty
reduction in developing countries.
 Therefore, there are government interventions in foodgrains markets in one form or another
for several decades, starting during the Second World War.
 Government interventions can be either through direct participation as a provider or as a
buyer (procurer) of foodgrains, or indirect participation in markets through taxes, subsidies,
regulations, etc.
 The main objectives of these interventions are to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers
in order to increase foodgrains production, improve access to food for economically
vulnerable people, and stabilise foodgrains prices and availability in the country.
 This paper is an attempt to address some of the issues related to food subsidy in India. It
deals with the components, magnitude and trends in food subsidy
35. Solution: c
 Municipal bonds (or “munis” for short) are debt obligations issued by states, cities, counties
and other governmental entities to fund day-to-day obligations and to finance capital
projects such as building schools, highways and other projects for the public good.
 For example, if a municipal corporation wants to establish a new metro rail link, then it can
issue municipal bonds to fund the project. Institutional investors and the public are the
buyers of municipal bonds. Revenue earned by the metro rail network will be used to repay
the interest and principal to the investors of these bonds.
The four pillars of sustainability are: cultural vibrancy, economic prosperity, environmental
responsibility and social justice.
 Informed by local community conversations, themes are starting to take root within each
pillar and between pillars, and these are guiding the Sustainability Roundtable. Although
themes and goals may be organized by pillars, it is the linkages and integration of these that
will drive sustainability, highlighting opportunities for innovation, collaboration and trust
building while reducing duplication of efforts.
 It strives to build collaborative networks and citizen’s work together on common goals, our
hope is that we have a balanced merging of these four pillars, helping us to become a more
sustainable community, enhancing the well-being of all citizens and of the natural world.
Sustainable endeavors to support both the Town and County with their Integrated
Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) while evolving complimentary goals that have been
identified within the community.
36. Solution :a
ISA
1. is a treaty based international inter-governmental alliance of 121 solar resource rich
countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
2. Aim is to address the special energy needs of solar rich countries and will provide a platform
to collaborate on addressing the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach
3. There are no targets or legal obligations imposed on member-countries.
4. UN member countries which are located beyond the Tropics can join the ISA as “Partner
Countries
5. Paris Declaration (30th November, 2015)
 prospective member countries share the collective ambition to undertake innovative and
concerted efforts for reducing the cost of finance and cost of technology for immediate
deployment of competitive solar generation.
 formulate financial instruments to effectively mobilize more than US$1000 billion dollars
in investments that will be required by 2030 for the massive deployment of affordable
solar energy and pave the way for future solar generation, storage and good technologies
for each prospective member country’s individual needs.
6. The alliance has partnered with World Bank to launch Global Solar Atlas at an ISA event at
the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Global Solar Atlas is a free online tool that
displays annual average solar power potential at any location in the world and thus identify
potential sites for solar power generation.
37. Solution: a
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National SC/ST hub and the Zero Defect, Zero Effect
(ZED) scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
Zero Defect, Zero Effect (ZED) model
1. It signifies two things:
 Production mechanisms wherein products have no defects
 Production process which has zero adverse environmental and ecological effects.
2. Aim — achieve high quality manufacturing that’s also green.
3. Scope — spans across all sectors of manufacturing and service industry with a special focus
on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
The Global Climate Risk Index 2018 has put India amongst the six most vulnerable countries in
the world. The Fifteenth Finance Commission Terms of Reference outlined climate change as an
important aspect for consideration. “the continuing imperative of the national development
programme including New India – 2022”. Taken together with its need for resources for essential
spending in areas such as defence, security, infrastructure and climate change.
Global Climate Risk Index 2018
 released by the Germanwatch, an independent Berlin-based development and
environmental organization.

The Germanwatch comes out with the CRI by analysing number of deaths per 1,00,000
inhabitants, extent of financial losses and loss per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
countries. Economic and population data from International Monetary Fund (IMF) was taken
into account while arriving at the ranking.
 The CRI indicates a level of exposure and vulnerability to extreme events.
 The countries affected most in 2016 were Haiti, Zimbabwe as well as Fiji
 India – 6th (4th – 2017)
38. Solution: c
 Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change in the price of goods and services
either as they leave the place of production, called output PPI or as they enter the production
process, called input PPI. PPI estimates the change in average prices that a producer receives.
PPI Vs Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
 WPI captures the price changes at the point of bulk transactions and may include some taxes
levied and distribution costs up to the stage of wholesale transactions. PPI measures the
average change in prices received by the producer and excludes indirect taxes.
 PPI removes the multiple counting bias inherent in WPI.
 WPI does not cover services and whereas PPI includes services.
PPI Vs Consumer Price Index (CPI)
 PPI estimates the change in average prices that a producer receives while CPI measures the
change in average prices that a consumer pays. The prices received by the producers differ
from the prices paid by the consumers on account of various factor such as taxes, trade and
transport margin, distribution cost etc.
39. Solution: c
ALL INDIA Housing Price Indices (HPIs) are a broad measure of movement of residential property
prices observed within a geographic boundary.
 It is quarterly report released by Reserve Bank of India
 When started in 2007 it was only for Mumbai then it’s expanded to cover 9 more cities. So
now there are 10 cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow,
Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kanpur.
 It is based on transaction data received from housing registration authorities in 10 cities.
‘NHB RESIDEX’
 1st official housing price index for the country was launched in July, 2007 by the National
Housing Bank (NHB)
 base year — FY 2012-13 – changed to ensure capturing the latest information and accurately
reflect the current economic situation in the country
 NHB RESIDEX covers 50 cities (18 State/UT capitals and 37 Smart Cities)
 Initially, NHB RESIDEX was computed using market data, which 2010 onwards, was shifted
to valuation data received from banks and housing finance companies (HFCs). Thereafter,
data was sourced from Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security
Interest of India (CERSAI) from 2013 to 2015
 NHB RESIDEX aspires to bring in greater transparency into India’s real estate markets by
providing more structure, science, and discipline to property valuation
 NHB RESIDEX includes housing price indices (HPI), land price indices (LPI) and building
materials price indices (BMPI), and also housing rental index (HRI)
Housing Price Indices (HPI) – represents the price changes in residential housing properties.
Housing Rental Index (HRI) – track the movement in housing rental prices over a period of time
using market data.
Land Price Indices (LPI) – Land Price Indices will be built using market data and registration data.
Land being the raw material for housing and industrial development, it is important to track its
prices for maintaining economic efficiencies.
Building Materials Price Indices (BMPI) – Building Materials Price Indices will comprise of prices
trends of traditional (like cement, steel, sand, brick, wood etc.) and energy saving (glass, fibre
etc.) building materials.
40. Solution: a
Market Intervention Scheme or market intervention scheme is for perishable commodities
whereas price stabilization scheme is also for horticulture produce.
Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) is a price support mechanism implemented on the request
of State Governments for procurement of perishable and horticultural commodities in the event
of a fall in market prices. The Scheme is implemented when there is at least 10% increase in
production or 10% decrease in the ruling rates over the previous normal year.
 Market Intervention Scheme works in a similar fashion to Minimum Support Price based
procurement mechanism for food grains, but is an adhoc mechanism.
 Its objective is to protect the growers of these horticultural/agricultural commodities from
making distress sale in the event of bumper crop during the peak arrival period when prices
fall to very low level. Thus it provides remunerative prices to the farmers in case of glut in
production and fall in prices.
 Proposal of MIS is approved on the specific request of State/Union Territory (UT)
Government, if the State/UT Government is ready to bear 50% loss (25% in case of North-
Eastern States), if any, incurred on its implementation. Further, the extent of total amount
of loss shared is restricted to 25% of the total procurement value which includes cost of the
commodity procured plus permitted overhead expenses.
 The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation is implementing the scheme. Under MIS,
funds are not allocated to the States. Instead, central share of losses as per the guidelines of
MIS is released to the State Governments/UTs, for which MIS has been approved, based on
specific proposals received from them.
 Under the Scheme, in accordance with MIS guidelines, a pre-determined quantity at a fixed
Market Intervention Price (MIP) is procured by NAFED as the Central agency and the agencies
designated by the state government for a fixed period or till the prices are stabilized above
the MIP whichever is earlier. The area of operation is restricted to the concerned state only.
Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) refers to any fund constituted for the purpose of containing
extreme volatility in prices of selected commodities. The amount in the fund is generally utilised
for activities aimed at bringing down/up the high/low prices say for instance, procurement of
such products and distribution of the same as and when required, so that prices remain in a
range.
 Many countries use such dedicated funds for stabilisation of major petroleum product prices,
particularly if they are importers. Some countries use such funds for stabilising not just
commodity prices but a variety of key macroeconomic variables such as the exchange rate
(which is nothing but the price of the domestic currency expressed in terms of an external
currency), benchmark stock indices etc. The operational details of such funds vary from
country to country.
 India first created a price stabilisation fund for some export oriented plantation crops in
2003, and this ceased to exist in 2013. Another fund was created in 2015 for perishable
agricultural and horticultural commodities, but initially limited to support potato and onion
prices only.
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=160050
41. Solution: d
 As wages have increased the companies will try to cut down hiring and also there will be
more people who will be looking for work as a consequence.
 Thus, wage negotiations have positive as well as negative effects. It is good for the trade
unions but bad for the non-members.
42. Solution: c
 Paradox of thrift was popularized by the renowned economist John Maynard Keynes.
o It states that individuals try to save more during an economic recession, which essentially
leads to a fall in aggregate demand and hence in economic growth. Such a situation is
harmful for everybody as investments give lower returns than normal.
o Description: Keynes further said that such a mass increase in savings eventually hurts the
economy as a whole.
o Keynesians also argue that consumption, or spending, drives economic growth. Thus,
even though it makes sense for individuals and households to cut back consumption
during tough times, this is the wrong prescription for the larger economy. A pullback in
aggregate consumer spending might force businesses to produce even less, deepening
the recession. This disconnect between individual and group rationality is the basis of the
savings paradox.
 Law of diminishing returns: It explains that when more and more units of a variable input
are employed on a given quantity of fixed inputs, the total output may initially increase at
increasing rate and then at a constant rate, but it will eventually increase at diminishing rates.
o In other words, the total output initially increases with an increase in variable input at
given quantity of fixed inputs, but it starts decreasing after a point of time.
 Market imperfections theory is based on facts that everyone does not have the same
homogenous expectations , there are no unlimited buyers and sellers , nor does everyone
have the same information. It assumes there is no perfect competition.
 Perfect competiton on the other hand states that the buyers and sellers have the same
information, all firms sell an identicle product, the price of the product is determined by the
market.
 Market failure is a situation in which the allocation of goods and services is not efficient,
often leading to a net social welfare loss.
o It is a scenarios where individuals’ pursuit of pure self-interest leads to results that are
not efficient i.e., each individual makes the correct decision for him/herself, but those
prove to be the wrong decisions for the group.
o In traditional microeconomics, this is shown as a steady state disequilibrium in which the
quantity supplied does not equal the quantity demanded.
43. Solution: a
 The supply of dollars would exceed demand for dollars which will cause the currency to move
up against other major currencies. This is due to the fact that foreign investors would supply
dollars. This can be in the form of FDI or FII.
 Increase in import demand will cause demand for dollars to rise having an opposite effect.
 A bop deficit would also cause exchange to depreciate
 A speculation that exchange rate is going to fall will lead to panic selling by FII as they would
loose value. Egs: FII investment of 100 RS.– Investment at rs/$ 50 is worth $2 but with
depreciation to rs/$60 this would be worth less than $2.
44. Solution: d
Accessible India Campaign (AIC)
 flagship campaign of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
 aim — make a barrier free and conducive environment for Divyangjans all over the
country
 It was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on International Day of
Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December, 2015.
 It is based on the principles of the Social Model of Disability, that disability is caused by
the way society is organised, and not the person’s limitations and impairments. The
physical, social, structural and attitudinal barriers prevent People with Disabilities from
participating equally in the socio-cultural and economic activities. A barrier-free
environment facilitates equal participation in all the activities and promotes an
independent and dignified way of life.
 The campaign has the vision to build an inclusive society in which equal opportunities are
provided for the growth and development of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) so that they
can lead productive, safe and dignified lives.
 For creating universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, the campaign has been
divided into three verticals: Built Environment; Transport and Information &
Communication Technology (ICT) ecosystem.
45. Solution: d
 National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is an ambitious initiative to trigger a broadband
revolution in rural areas. NOFN was envisaged as an information super-highway through the
creation of a robust middle-mile infrastructure for reaching broadband connectivity to Gram
Panchayats.
 The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) aims to connect all the 2,50,000 Gram
panchayats in the country and provide 100 Mbps connectivity to all gram panchayats (GPs).
To achieve this, the existing fibres of PSUs (BSNL, Railtel and Power Grid) were utilised and
incremental fibre was laid to connect to Gram Panchayats wherever necessary. Dark fibre
network thus created was lit by appropriate technology thus creating sufficient bandwidth
at the Gram Panchayats.
 Non-discriminatory access to the NOFN was provided to all the service providers like Telecom
Service Providers (TSPs), ISPs, Cable TV operators and Content providers to launch various
services in rural areas. The NOFN project was funded by the Universal Service Obligation
Fund (USOF).
 Based on NOFN experiences, newer, updated and upgraded version – BharatNet was
conceived as a nation-wide broadband network.
 BharatNet is a project of national importance to establish, by 2017, a highly scalable network
infrastructure accessible on a non-discriminatory basis, to provide on demand, affordable
broadband connectivity of 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps for all households and on demand capacity
to all institutions, to realise the vision of Digital India, in partnership with States and the
private sector.
 The entire project is being funded by Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF), which was
set up for improving telecom services in rural and remote areas of the country. The objective
is to facilitate the delivery of e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking, Internet and
other services to the rural India.
 The project is a Centre-State collaborative project, with the States contributing free Rights
of Way for establishing the Optical Fibre Network.
46. Solution: d
 Microbeads are manufactured solid plastic particles of less than one millimeter in their
largest dimension. They are most frequently made of polyethylene but can be of other
petrochemical plastics such as polypropylene and polystyrene. They are used in exfoliating
personal care products, toothpastes and in biomedical and health-science research
 Based on information presented in scientific literature considering personal care products,
microbeads have been found in scrubs/peelings, shower/bath products, facial cleaners,
creams, deodorants, makeup foundations, nail polishes, eye colours, shaving creams, bubble
baths, hair colourings, insect repellants, toothpaste, eye shadows, blush powders,
hairsprays, liquid makeups, mascaras, baby products, lotions, and sunscreens. Microbeads
may also be found in other consumer uses/products including cleaning products and printer
toner (Norwegian Environment Agency, 2014). Some products contain substantial quantities
of microbeads.
 For example, Napper and Thompson (2015, in press) quantified microbeads incorporated in
personal care products as exfoliants and showed that abundance varied considerably among
products (137,000 – 2,800,000 per 150ml bottle). Some products that are used on a daily
basis could result in release to household waste water of 94,500 microbead particles per
application (Napper & Thompson, 2015 in press).
http://www.ec.gc.ca/ese-ees/adda4c5f-f397-48d5-ad17-
63f989ebd0e5/microbeads_science%20summary_en.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/09/plastic-microbeads-ban-enters-
force-in-uk
47. Solution: d
Helps in Mains too, so have provided whole detail below:
Manual scavenging refers to the practice of manually cleaning, carrying, disposing or handling in
any manner, human excreta from dry latrines and sewers. It often involves using the most basic
of tools such as buckets, brooms and baskets. The practice of manual scavenging is linked to
India’s caste system where so-called lower castes were expected to perform this job. Manual
scavengers are amongst the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in India.
 In 1993, India banned the employment of people as manual scavengers. In 2013, landmark
new legislation in the form of the Manual Scavengers Act was passed which seeks to
reinforce this ban by prohibiting manual scavenging in all forms and ensures the
rehabilitation of manual scavengers to be identified through a mandatory survey.
 Despite progress, manual scavenging persists in India. According to the India Census 2011,
there are more than 2.6 million dry latrines in the country. There are 13,14,652 toilets where
human excreta is flushed in open drains, 7,94,390 dry latrines where the human excreta is
cleaned manually. Seventy three percent of these are in rural areas and 27 percent are in
urban areas.
 According to the House Listing and Housing Census 2011, states such as Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal
account for more than 72 percent of the insanitary latrines in India.
 The Government of India has adopted a two-pronged strategy of eliminating insanitary
latrines through demolition and conversion into sanitary latrines, and developing a
comprehensive rehabilitation package for manual scavengers through a survey.

However, while manual scavenging for many may have ended as a form of employment, the
stigma and discrimination associated with it lingers on, making it difficult for former or
liberated manual scavengers to secure alternate livelihoods and raising the fear that people
could once again return to manual scavenging in the absence of other opportunities to
support their families. Correctly identifying manual scavengers remains a key challenge. A
comprehensive rehabilitation package has recently been put together that includes
livelihoods and skill development, access to education for children of former manual
scavengers and alternate livelihoods.
Legislation in search of dignity
 In 1993, the Government of India enacted the Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act which prohibited the employment of manual
scavengers for manually cleaning dry latrines and also the construction of dry toilets, that is,
toilets that do not operate with a flush. It provided for imprisonment of upto a year and a
fine.
 In 2013, this was followed by the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and
their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which is wider in scope and importantly, acknowledged the
urgency of rehabilitating manual scavengers.
Key features of the Act :
 Prohibits the construction or maintenance of insanitary toilets
 Prohibits the engagement or employment of anyone as a manual scavenger
 Violations could result in a years’ imprisonment or a fine of INR 50,000 or both
 Prohibits a person from being engaged or employed for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a
septic tank
 Offences under the Act are cognizable and non-bailable
 Calls for a survey of manual scavengers in urban and rural areas within a time bound
framework
There remain several challenges in implementing the legislation to ensure that manual
scavengers can work and live with dignity. These include :
 Time frame within which land is to be allotted as part of the rehabilitation package for former
manual scavengers as provided for in the 2013 Act
 Correct and timely identification of insanitary latrines and manual scavengers
 Implementation of provision regarding prohibiting ‘hazardous cleaning’ of sewers and septic
tanks
 While the Act is encouraging in that it focuses on the responsibility of officials to ensure its
implementation, it does not outline administrative measures beyond conduct rules that can
be imposed if officials do not implement the Act
Towards comprehensive rehabilitation
 Manual scavengers are at a double disadvantage. They are members of lower castes and as
such, face enormous discrimination in society, and second, are disadvantaged because they
are manual scavengers who clean human excreta.
 The challenge of rehabilitation is urgent, and requires a comprehensive approach that moves
beyond expanding income generation or providing loans, to focus on various aspects crucial
to secure the future of the next generation of liberated manual scavengers.
A comprehensive rehabilitation package could:
 Ensure discrimination-free, secure and alternate livelihoods by providing skill development
and livelihoods training to women, linking them to government employment schemes and
entitlements as well as ensuring their land rights. Vocational training linked to employment
for young people, and support to liberated manual scavengers in building alternate
livelihoods could go a long way in ensuring steady, stable livelihoods for the future.
 Create a favourable environment through community awareness and sensitization of local
administration.
 Build the capacity of the community to promote rehabilitation efforts and self-reliance and
also build leadership in the community with a particular focus on Dalit women
http://swachhindia.ndtv.com/39-deaths-in-100-days-how-manual-scavenging-continues-to-
exist-in-india-despite-it-being-illegal-10184/
48. Solution: a
 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United
Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters
the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly
growth. Its headquarters are located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec,
Canada.
 ICAO is distinct from other international air transport organizations, like the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), a trade association representing airlines; the Civil Air
Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), an organization for Air navigation service
providers (ANSPs); and the Airports Council International, a trade association of airport
authorities.
49. Solution: b
Technology and Innovation Support Centers
 The WIPO Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) program provides innovators in
developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and
related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect,
and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights.
Services offered by TISCs may include:
 Access to online patent and non-patent (scientific and technical) resources and IP-related
publications;
 Assistance in searching and retrieving technology information;
 Training in database search;
 On-demand searches (novelty, state-of-the-art and infringement);
 Monitoring technology and competitors;
 Basic information on industrial property laws, management and strategy, and technology
commercialization and marketing.
India has set up two centres:

 The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry,
Government of India, has signed an Institutional agreement with Anna University to establish
India’s second Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at the Centre for Intellectual
Property Rights (CIPR), Anna University, Chennai, under the World Intellectual Property
Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program.
 WIPO’s Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) program provides innovators in
developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and
related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect,
and manage their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).
 CIPR has an experience of filing more than 185 Patents, 29 Trademarks, 39 Copyrights, 25
Industrial Design and has also assisted in filing 12 International Patent Applications. Anna
University has been accredited with 6th rank among Universities, 8th rank among
Engineering Colleges and 13th rank in the overall category in India, by the National
Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking of the Ministry of Human Resource
Development. CIPR has also organized IPR awareness programs as well as six certificate
courses on IPR related subjects.
 The objective of the TISC is to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation, thereby promoting
entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development by establishing
a network of TISCs in India. Over 500 TISCs operate worldwide and establishing a TISC in India
will give the host institutions access to the global network. TISC will give an impetus to
knowledge sharing, sharing of best practices among the TISCs, capacity building, generation
and commercialization of Intellectual Properties.
http://www.wipo.int/tisc/en/
50. Solution: c
 National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is a fund created by the Government of
India for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country.
 This is different from the National Investment Fund.
 NIIF was proposed to be set up as a Trust, to raise debt to invest in the equity of infrastructure
finance companies such as Indian Rail Finance Corporation (IRFC) and National Housing Bank
(NHB). The idea is that these infrastructure finance companies can then leverage this extra
equity, manifold. In that sense, NIIF is a banker of the banker of the banker.
 NIIF is envisaged as a fund of funds with the ability to make direct investments as required.
As a fund of fund it may invest in other SEBI registered funds.
 Its creation was announced in the Union Budget 2015-16. The operational framework was
approved on 20 August 2015.NIIF got registered with SEBI as Category II Alternative
Investment Fund (AIF) on December 28, 2015. A website was created on 8 June 2016.Mr.
Sujoy Bose, Director and Global Co-Head, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, International
Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington DC, was appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of NIIF Ltd on 27 June 2016. Its first investment was made in January 2018.
 Financial Times (London) had adjudged NIIF as the Most Innovative structure in Asia Pacific
under Finance category.
Objective
 The objective of NIIF would be to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure
development in commercially viable projects, both greenfield and brownfield, including
stalled projects.
 It could also consider other nationally important projects, for example, in manufacturing, if
commercially viable.
Functions of NIIF
1. Fund raising through suitable instruments including off-shore credit enhanced bonds, and
attracting anchor investors to participate as partners in NIIF;
2. Servicing of the investors of NIIF.
3. Considering and approving candidate companies/institutions/ projects (including state
entities) for investments and periodic monitoring of investments.
4. Investing in the corpus created by Asset Management Companies (AMCs) for investing in
private equity.
5. Preparing a shelf of infrastructure projects and providing advisory services.
51. Solution: c
Statement A:
Expansionary policy is focused on expanding, or increasing, the money supply in an economy. In
expansionary fiscal policy government expands the money supply in the economy via budgetary
tools to either increase spending or cut taxes. Hence it’s used to create demand during
depression.
How this helps in combating the depression?
 Depression is a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity. It is characterized by the
unemployment, low trade and commerce, low economic output etc
 Expansionary fiscal (monetary) policy expands the amount of money in an economy. It puts
more money into consumers’ hands to give them more purchasing power. It reduces
unemployment by contracting public works or hiring new government workers. All these
measures increase demand. That spurs consumer spending.
 Tax cuts put more money into businesses’ hands. They use it for new investment and
employees. In that way, tax cuts create jobs.
Contractionary policy is focused on decreasing the money supply in an economy. Contractionary
fiscal policy is defined as a decrease in government expenditures and/or an increase in taxes that
causes the government’s budget deficit to decrease or its budget surplus to increase. As it
decreases the money supply it is used to dampen demand during the inflationary phase.
 If an economy is growing too fast or for example, if unemployment is too low, an inflationary
gap will form. In order to eliminate this inflationary gap a government may reduce
government spending and increase taxes. A decrease in spending by the government will
directly decrease aggregate demand curve by reducing government demand for goods and
services. Increases in tax levels will also slow growth, as consumers will have less money to
consume and invest, thereby indirectly reducing the aggregate demand curve.
Classical and Keynesian views of fiscal policy: The belief that expansionary and contractionary
fiscal policies can be used to influence macroeconomic performance is most closely associated
with Keynes and his followers. The classical view of expansionary or contractionary fiscal policies
is that such policies are unnecessary because there are market mechanisms—for example, the
flexible adjustment of prices and wages—which serve to keep the economy at or near the natural
level of real GDP at all times. Accordingly, classical economists believe that the government
should run a balanced budget each and every year.
52. Solution: b
 Hyperinflation occurs when a country experiences very high and usually accelerating rates
of inflation, rapidly eroding the real value of the local currency, and causing the population
to minimize their holdings of local money. Under such conditions, the general price level
within an economy increases rapidly as the official currency quickly loses real value.
 The value of economic items remains relatively stable in terms of foreign currencies.
Statement a : Higher tax rates decreases the money supply and hence will reduce the inflation.
Hence it is wrong.
Statement c : Trade deficits will leave less resources with the government for the spending.
Hence it works against the inflation. Hence it is wrong.
Statement d: bad harvest will result in loss of crops and hence income of the farmers. Though
there will be supply mismatch there won’t be the steep loss of nominal rate of the currency.
Hence it is wrong.
Statement b: the money expansion through financing budget deficits will leave more money in
hands of people and business causing inflationary effect. Hence it is correct.
53. Solution: a
 Here exports demand rises which causes supply of dollars to be more causing the currency
to appreciate.
 If money supply rises it may cause inflation which in turn might increase imports (thus
depreciating exchange rate as imports would be more than exports in this case).
 The same is the case of citizen’s travel abroad. Demand for dollars will be more than supply
causing depreciation of exchange rates.
 If interest rate decreases foreign funds would withdraw funds and invest them where they
can get higher returns.
 Thus, only in option A, we can expect the currency of the nation to appreciate.
54. Solution: a
 The Phillips curve shows the relationship between unemployment and inflation in an
economy. Since its ‘discovery’ by British economist AW Phillips, it has become an essential
tool to analyse macro-economic policy.
 The theory states that with economic growth comes inflation, which in turn should lead to
more jobs and less unemployment.
55. Solution: d
Statement a : Decrease in income tax would leave more money in hands of people augmenting
their purchasing power. Hence it will increase money supply. Hence it is wrong.
Statement b : decrease in discount rate or the Bank rate would decrease the cost of borrowing
for the banks. And hence lending rates can be reduced propelling the borrowing by the
consumers. Hence it will increase money supply. Hence it is wrong.
Statement c : purchase of securities or OMO – open market operations purchase by RBI would
increase the money supply. Hence it is wrong
Statement d:
 An increase in reserve requirements such as CRR and SLR would necessarily decrease the
amount of money available in the economy.
 CRR- cash reserve ratio — It is the amount of money which banks must keep with RBI at all
times.
 SLR- Statutory liquidity Ratio — It is the amount of money which banks must maintain with
themselves at all times to manage day to day activities and indirectly manage government
borrowings.
 If the CRR and SLR increases the money available with bank to lend decreases and hence the
money supply in the nation also decreases.
Hence it is correct.
56. Solution: b
Stagflation:
 A condition of slow economic growth and relatively
high unemployment – economic stagnation –
accompanied by rising prices, or inflation, or inflation
and a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 Stagflation is an economic problem defined in equal
parts by its rarity and by the lack of consensus among
academics on how exactly it comes to pass.
57. Solution: a
 Women workers are the most

disadvantaged in the labour
market as they constitute a very
high proportion among the low
skilled informal worker category,
and are engaged in low-
productivity and low paying
work. Hence the low wages.
58. Solution: c
 The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced the Universal Account
Number (UAN) for members. The number allows portability of PF accounts from one
employer to another without depending on any employer for withdrawal of EPF balance.
Hence it reduces the complexity of changing and updating the PF account number rendering
the process simple.
 The number allows a member to view all his or her EPF accounts with current and former
employers. With the number, a member can initiate the process of closing old accounts and
transferring balances. The number, which has to be allotted by an employer, needs to be
activated.
(Hence statement 1 is correct.)
National Career Service (NCS) Portal
 This portal connects exchanges, not portals or job websites. The NCS portal was launched in
July 2017 to replace the National Employment Service comprising a network of 978
employment exchanges
Third statement is wrong because it’s open for seeking jobs in all sectors – private and public
based on registration of employers. Among the industries using the portal for hiring, the
information and communication accounted for about 45 per cent of the vacancies posted
For critical evaluation of success of this portal, read here (in case a Mains question is asked) –
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/few-takers-for-govts-national-career-service-
portal/article10038047.ece
59. Solution: a
The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) act, 2016
 Maternity benefit Act 1961 protects the employment of women during the time of her
maternity and entitles her of a ‘maternity benefit’ – i.e. full paid absence from work – to take
care for her child. The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons
 Women are eligible for 26 weeks (earlier it was 12) of maternity leave. (Hence statement 1
is correct). However, a woman with two or more children will be entitled to 12 weeks of
maternity leave.
 Maternity leave up to 12 weeks for a woman who adopts a child below the age of three
months, and for commissioning mothers. The period of maternity leave will be calculated
from the date the child is handed over to the adoptive or commissioning mother. (Hence,
statement 2 is incorrect)
 Every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide for crèche facilities within a
prescribed distance.). The woman will be allowed four visits to the crèche in a day.
 An employer may permit a woman to work from home, if the nature of work assigned
permits her to do so. This may be mutually agreed upon by the employer and the woman.

Establishment has to inform a woman of all benefits that would be available under the Bill,
at the time of her appointment. Such information must be given in writing and electronically.
60. Solution: a
Mahila Shakti Kendra (Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme (PMMSK)
 The scheme is part of Umbrella Scheme “Mission for Protection and Empowerment for
Women” of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development
 PMMSK scheme is envisioned as one stop convergent support services for empowering rural
women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health and
nutrition
 Under the scheme Mahila Shakti kendras will be set-up at village level. (Hence statement 1
is correct).
 It aims to improve declining child sex ratio (CSR), ensure survival and protection of the girl
child, ensuring her education and empowering her to fulfil her potential.
 It will provide an interface for rural women to approach government for getting their
entitlements and for empowering them through training and capacity building.
Nai Roshni
 Ministry of minority affairs
 It is a leadership Development Programme for Minority Women launched in 2012-13.
(Hence statement 2 is incorrect).
 The objective is to empower and instill confidence among minority women, including their
neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing
knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other
institutions at all levels.
 The scheme is implemented through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Nai Manzil Scheme
 Ministry of minority affairs
 Target group – Minority youth (including madrasa student) in 17 to 35 age group
 The central scheme is designed to address educational and livelihood needs of minority
communities lagging behind in terms of educational attainments.
 It aims to provide educational intervention by giving the bridge courses to the trainees and
getting them Certificates for Class XII and X from distance medium educational system.
 It seeks to provide trade basis skill training in four courses at the same time of formal
education, in field of (i) Manufacturing (ii) Engineering (iii) Services (iv) Soft skills.
 Minimum 30% seats are earmarked for minority girls
 The scheme covers the entire country not only the LWE affected areas (Hence statement 3
is incorrect).
 This scheme will provide new avenues for minorities for continuing higher education and
also open up employment opportunities in the organised sector.
61. Solution: c
 The concept of disability adjusted life years lost (DALYs) was introduced in the 1993 World
Development Report as a way to estimate and compare the burden of morbidity and
premature mortality caused by widely varying conditions and states within and among
countries
 The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as
the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.
(Hence statement 1 is correct)
 One DALY can be thought of as one lost year of “healthy” life. (Hence statement 2 is correct).

The sum of these DALYs across the population, or the burden of disease, can be thought of
as a measurement of the gap between current health status and an ideal health situation
where the entire population lives to an advanced age, free of disease and disability.
 DALYs for a disease or health condition are calculated as the sum of the Years of Life Lost
(YLL) due to premature mortality in the population and the Years Lost due to Disability (YLD)
for people living with the health condition or its consequences:
62. Solution: a
Statement 2 Justification:
 A WHO global ministerial conference held in Moscow, Russian Federation, in
November2017 concluded with the adoption of the Moscow Declaration to End TB.
 It intends to increase multi-sectoral action and enhance accountability in the global TB
response towards ending tuberculosis (TB) by 2030.
 The declaration outlines the importance of international action to address key areas to
respond to TB: sustainable financing, pursuing science, research and development and the
establishment of a multi-sectoral accountability framework.
Statement 2 is wrong as it’s related to only ending TB.
What is antimicrobial resistance?
 Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and
some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials)
from working against it.
 As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to
others. The microorganisms that has become resistant to most antimicrobials are referred
to as “superbugs”.
(Hence statement 1 is correct).
 Antimicrobial resistance is the broader term for resistance in different types of
microorganisms and encompasses resistance to antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic and
antifungal drugs.
 Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally but is facilitated by the inappropriate use of
medicines, for example using antibiotics for viral infections such as cold or flu, or sharing
antibiotics.
 Low-quality medicines, wrong prescriptions and poor infection prevention and control also
encourage the development and spread of drug resistance. Lack of government commitment
to address these issues, poor surveillance and a diminishing arsenal of tools to diagnose,
treat and prevent also hinder the control of antimicrobial drug resistance.
What is the difference between antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance?

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of antibiotics used
to treat bacterial infections (such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bloodstream
infections) making them ineffective.
 Antimicrobial resistance is a broader term, encompassing resistance to drugs that treat
infections caused by other microbes as well, such as parasites (e.g. malaria or helminths),
viruses (e.g. HIV) and fungi (e.g. Candida).
63. Solution: a
 The Index of Eight Core Industries measures the performance of eight core industries i.e.
Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Petroleum Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and
Electricity.
 In line with the base year change in IIP, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion,
revised the base year of Index of Eight Core Industries from 2004-05 to 2011-12.
 The industries included in the eight core industries comprise about 40 per cent weight in the
IIP.
64. Solution: b
National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy
 Enacted in 2016 with slogan Creative India, Innovative India
 Taking forward the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016, a ‘Scheme for IPR
Awareness – Creative India; Innovative India’ has been launched by Cell for IPR Promotion
and Management (CIPAM) under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion.
 The Scheme aims at raising IPR awareness amongst students, youth, authors, artists, budding
inventors and professionals to inspire them to create, innovate and protect their creations
and inventions across India including Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 cities as well as rural areas in the
next 3 years.
 The Scheme for IPR Awareness aims to conduct over 4000 IPR awareness
workshops/seminars in academic institutions (schools and colleges) and the industry,
including MSMEs and Startups, as also IP training and sensitization programmes for
enforcement agencies and the judiciary.
 Workshops will cover all vital IP topics including international filing procedures, promotion
of Geographical Indications and highlighting the ill effects of piracy and counterfeiting.
 The Scheme for IPR Awareness would be implemented through partner organizations to
promote innovation and entrepreneurship, for which complete details can be viewed at
http://dipp.nic.in/whats-new/scheme-ipr-awareness.
Atal Innovation mission:
 Atal Tinkering Labs are dedicated works spaces where students (Class 6th to Class 12th) learn
innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India.
 The labs are powered to acquaint students with state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D
printers, robotics & electronics development tools, IoT & sensors etc.
 The lab activities are designed to spur the spark of creativity, and go beyond regular
curriculum and text book learning. The labs will let students explore skills of future such as
design and computational thinking, adaptive learning and artificial intelligence.
65. Solution: a
Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
 PMEGP is a central sector scheme administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MoMSME).
Nodal agency —
 national level — Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
 state level — State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs),
District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks
 Only new projects are considered for sanction under PMEGP
Who can apply — Any individual, above 18 years of age. At least VIII standard pass for projects
costing above Rs.10 lakh in the manufacturing sector and above Rs. 5 lakh in the business / service
sector. Self Help Groups, Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act,1860;
Production Co-operative Societies, and Charitable Trusts are also eligible
Objectives
1. To generate employment opportunities in rural as well as urban areas of the country through
setting up of new self-employment ventures/projects/micro enterprises.
2. To bring together widely dispersed traditional artisans/ rural and urban unemployed youth
and give them self-employment opportunities to the extent possible, at their place.
3. To provide continuous and sustainable employment to a large segment of traditional and
prospective artisans and rural and urban unemployed youth in the country, so as to help
arrest migration of rural youth to urban areas.
4. To increase the wage earning capacity of artisans and contribute to increase in the growth
rate of rural and urban employment.
66. Solution: a
Khelo India programme
 Ministry of youth affairs and sports
 launched in 2016 for building inclusive and comprehensive sports ecosystem in country
 aims at inculcating sports into the day to day lives of youngsters early on in their lives
 Subsumed three different schemes : Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA),National Sports
Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) and Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS).
 Recently Khelo India School Games, which are a part of the Khelo India programme were
being held at New Delhi
Objectives
 Promote Sports for All as well as Sports for Excellence and create an active population with
healthy lifestyle.

Mainstream sport as tool for individual development, community development, economic
development and national development.
 Impact entire sports ecosystem, including infrastructure, community sports, talent
identification, coaching for excellence, competition structure and sports economy.
 Engage youth living in disturbed and deprived areas, in sporting activities, to wean them
away from unproductive and disruptive activities and mainstream them in nation-building
process.
For more information http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170948

67. Solution: a
Intensified Diarrhea Control Fortnight (IDCF)
 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
 Aim – to intensify efforts to reduce child deaths due to diarrhea (Hence statement 1 is
true)
 Through this initiative, the Ministry will mobilize health personnel, State Governments
and other stakeholders to prioritize investment in control of diarrhea
 It aims to create mass awareness campaigns on hygiene and diarrhea treatment— a
combination of ORS solution and Zinc tablets – will be conducted at state, district and
village levels
 ASHA worker would undertake distribution of ORS packets to households with under-five
children in her village (Hence statement 2 is wrong)
 ORS-Zinc Corners will be set-up at health care facilities and non-health facilities such as
Schools and Anganwadi centres
 Frontline workers will hold demonstration of ORS preparation, along with counselling on
feeding during diarrhea and hygiene and sanitation
 A range of preventive and promotive interventions are already being implemented such
as Vitamin A supplementation, promoting early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive
breastfeeding up to 6 months and appropriate complementary feeding apart from
capacity building and service provision of staff for management of childhood diarrhea in
all government health facilities. Besides this, introduction of Rotavirus vaccine under UIP
will also help in reducing diarrhea mortality due to rotavirus disease.
Diarrhea
 cause — infection of the intestines due to either a virus, bacteria, or parasite – a
condition also known as gastroenteritis
 Though there has been decline in IMR, MMR an estimated 1.1 million children die each
year in India, including approximately 1.1 lakh deaths due to diarrhea
 Almost all the deaths due to diarrhea can be averted by preventing and treating
dehydration by use of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution), administration of Zinc tablets
along with adequate nutritional intake by the child. Diarrhea can be prevented with safe
drinking water, sanitation, breastfeeding/appropriate nutrition and hand-washing.
68. Solution: d
Internet Saathi
 India has the world’s second largest internet population with over 400 million users, but only
30% are women. In rural India, only 1 out of 10 internet users is a woman.
 To bridge this gap the internet saathi programme was started in 2015 as part of Google’s
‘Helping Women Get Online’ campaign, in order to create awareness about the benefits of
Internet among women in rural India. (hence the answer is D)
 It is a digital literacy programme among rural women that focus on training women & larger
communities to learn and explore various uses and benefits of the Internet.
 Tata Trusts — train women master trainers called “saathis” identified from Self Help Groups
(SHGs) and Women’s federations.
 Google — provide the tablet and mobile devices along with training material. It will also train
the master trainers.
69. Solution: c
Zero hunger programme
Launched on World Food Day (Oct 16), 2017
3 states —
a) Uttar Pradesh ( Gorakhpur)
b) Odisha(Koraput)
c) Maharashtra (Thane )
 These three would act as a model of an integrated approach to deal with hunger and
malnutrition by adopting suitable agricultural\horticultural practices (Hence statement 1 is
correct).
 initiated by — Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in support of Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR), the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and the Biotechnology
Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). (Hence statement 3 is wrong)
Components of the program
 organisations of farming system for nutrition
 setting up genetic gardens for biofortified plants. This garden also contains germplasm of
naturally biofortified crops through plant breeding & has plants and crops that help
supplement micro-nutrient deficiencies, including iron, zinc, vitamin A and iodine among
others.
 initiation of ‘Zero Hunger’ training
 measuring impact of intervention by identifying the nutritional maladies in each district and
applying appropriate agricultural/horticultural and animal husbandry remedies
 This is a dedicated farm-based programme in sync with Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) to end hunger by 2030. (Hence statement 2 is correct).
What’s zero hunger challenge?
 It is a global call-to-action which aims to build support around the vision of achieving Zero
Hunger.
 It was launched by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and calls on everyone –
governments, the private sector, NGOs, the public – to do their part to turn the vision into a
reality.
There are five key elements in the ZHC vision:
1. Zero stunted children less than 2 years
2. 100% access to adequate food all year round
3. All food systems are sustainable
4. 100% increase in smallholder productivity and income
5. Zero loss or waste of food
Need of such a programme for India
 Despite India being world’s second largest food producer it has second highest under-
nourished population in the world.
FAO — ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2017” report states
 14.5% of our population is undernourished
 190.7million people go hungry everyday
 21.0% of children under 5 are underweight
 38.4% of children under 5 years of age are stunted
 1 in 4 children malnourished
 3,000 children in India die every day from poor diet related illness
 24% of under-five deaths in India
 30% of neo-natal deaths in India
Global Hunger Index (GHI) — India ranked 100th among 119 countries
 India was placed in high end of “serious” category
 20% of child wasting
 33% of child stunting
70. Solution: b
Statement 2 is incorrect because party whip can not be applied. Instead party heads appeal for
a conscience vote.
Statement 3 is wrong because it should be ‘ELECTED’ members, not ALL members of Parliament.
 The President is indirectly elected by means of an electoral college consisting of the elected
members of the Parliament of India and the Legislative assemblies of the States and the
Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
 The number and value of votes are based on the population in 1971 rather than the current
population, as a result of the 42nd Amendment, and extended by the 84th Amendment, with
the intention to encourage family planning programs in the states by ensuring that states are
not penalized for lowering their population growth.
 The Vice President is elected by a different electoral college, consisting of members {elected
as well as nominated} of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/presidential-election-how-are-the-votes-
calculated/article19108121.ece
71. Solution: a
 India is the first non-member of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) to have signed such a
deal with Japan. The deal will help India access Japan’s nuclear market.
 The deal includes the option that Japan can give a year’s notice before terminating it in case
India breaks the nuclear testing moratorium that it had extended to the Nuclear Suppliers
Group in 2008. (hence statement 2 is wrong)
72. Solution: d
 It is the initiative of Development Finance International (DFI) Group in cooperation with
Oxfam – both are non-profit organisations.
 The Government Spending Watch programme is the only global database tracking
government spending on the SDGs in 82 countries and has become the “go to” location for
transparent comparable and up-to-date (2016) data and analysis on government spending
for a wide range of UN and multilateral organisations, CSOs and bilateral donors. It will
shortly be expanded to cover 155 countries and updated for 2017 data. This programme has
been run in a formal partnership with Oxfam.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/government-spending-watch-new-initiative-you-
really-need-know-about
(This question is based on July 22 current affairs on index and the inequality report where DFI is
mentioned)
73. Solution: d
Statement-1: It is wrong as RBI governor has casting vote
Statement-2: It is wrong as MPC has to meet minimum 4 times a year
Third statement is correct. Out of 6 members, 3 are nominated by the government
For more:
74. Solution: d
 It is for improving newborn health.
 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released Operational Guidelines for Planning and
Implementation of Family Participatory Care (FPC) for improving newborn health. The new
guidelines have been released by the government for improving health of babies in special
units across the country.
Key facts:
 The guidelines will serve as a guiding document for those intending to introduce FPC in their
facility as an integral part of facility based newborn care.
 The operational guidelines of FPC are for all stakeholders involved in the process of planning
and delivering newborn care.

Under the guidelines—Operational Guidelines for Planning and Implementation of Family
Participatory Care (FPC)—parent-attendants will be trained in newborn care through a
structured programme including an audio-visual module and a training guide. The staff at a
newborn care unit would provide continuous supervision and support.
 The guidelines address various aspects of attitudes, infrastructural modifications and
practice that will help in establishing FPC at Special Newborn Care Units (SNCU) such as
sensitization of State and District Managers on FPC, prioritization of SNCUs for initiating FPC
etc.
75. Solution: d
For uses, read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannitol#Uses
 Recently it is found to have applications in cleaning oil spills too.
 Scientists developed the hydrophobic sorbent by using a cheap raw material (mannitol) and
cellulose pulp as a matrix. (A hydrophobic material automatically becomes oil-loving and
takes up oil when it comes in contact with it). Mannitol was converted into a hydrophobic
gelator through a one-step process and a solution was made using this compound. Cellulose
balls the size of marbles were then dipped in the solution and dried.
76. Solution: d
Lakdawala Committee (1993): to review methodology for poverty estimation. Suggestions are:
 Consumption expenditure should be calculated based on calorie consumption
 State specific poverty lines should be constructed and these should be updated using the
Consumer Price Index of Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) in urban areas and Consumer Price
Index of Agricultural Labor (CPI-AL) in rural areas
 Discontinuation of ‘scaling’ of poverty estimates based on National Accounts Statistics. This
assumes that the basket of goods and services used to calculate CPI-IW and CPI-AL reflect
the consumption patterns of the poor.
Tendulkar Committee (2009): Constituted by the Planning Commission (in 2005), to address the
following three shortcomings of the previous methods: (i) consumption patterns were linked to
the 1973-74 poverty line baskets (PLBs) of goods and services, whereas there were significant
changes in the consumption patterns of the poor since that time, which were not reflected in the
poverty estimates; (ii) there were issues with the adjustment of prices for inflation, both spatially
(across regions) and temporally (across time); and (iii) earlier poverty lines assumed that health
and education would be provided by the State and formulated poverty lines accordingly.
 It recommended four major changes: (i) a shift away from calorie consumption based
poverty estimation; (ii) a uniform poverty line basket (PLB) across rural and urban India; (iii)
a change in the price adjustment procedure to correct spatial and temporal issues with price
adjustment; and (iv) incorporation of private expenditure on health and education while
estimating poverty. The Committee recommended using Mixed Reference Period (MRP)
based estimates, as opposed to Uniform Reference Period (URP) based estimates that were
used in earlier methods for estimating poverty.
Rangarajan Committee: In 2012, the Planning Commission constituted a new expert panel on
poverty estimation, chaired by C Rangarajan with the following key objectives: (i) to provide an
alternate method to estimate poverty levels and examine whether poverty lines should be fixed
solely in terms of a consumption basket or if other criteria are also relevant; (ii) to examine
divergence between the consumption estimates based on the NSSO methodology and those
emerging from the National Accounts aggregates; (iii) to review international poverty estimation
methods and indicate whether based on these, a particular method for empirical poverty
estimation can be developed in India, and (iv) to recommend how these estimates of poverty can
be linked to eligibility and entitlements under the various schemes of the Government of India.
The Committee is expected to submit its report by 2014.
Hashim Committee : The Planning Commission constituted an Expert Group under the
Chairmanship of Professor S.R.Hashim to recommend the detailed methodology for
identification of families living Below Poverty Line in urban areas. The Hashim Committee
submitted its final report on 24th December, 2012 to the Planning Commission. In its report, the
Hashim Committee recommended three stage identification process to identify the families living
Below Poverty Line in urban areas which include automatic exclusion, automatic inclusion and
scoring index of the remaining urban families in this order. The methodology recommended
mainly emphasizes on capturing residential, social and occupational vulnerabilities.
Dr. N.C. Saxena Committee was set up by the Ministry of Rural Development to advise it on the
suitable methodology for BPL Census and not for estimation of poverty. However, in the Report
submitted by the Expert Group on 21st August 2009 it is mentioned that the percentage of people
entitled to BPL status should be revised upwards to at least 50%. The committee has suggested
proportionate increase in the state level poverty estimates also.
 The recommendations of the Expert Group and other alternative methodologies are being
tested through a pilot socio-economic survey and a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
exercise in order to finalize the methodology for the final BPL Census.
77. Solution: c
 The dual-sector model is a model in developmental economics. It is commonly known as the
Lewis model after its inventor W. Arthur Lewis. It explains the growth of a developing
economy in terms of a labour transition between two sectors, the capitalist sector and the
subsistence sector. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
 As per lewis, Developing countries will have the advantage of cheap labour when the
economy starts to shift from agriculture centric to Industry dominated economy. But, after
reaching a certain threshold of development, the labour would demand high wages owing
to increased standard of living and hence the country would lose the advantage of cheap
labour. This situation, as per Lewis, is known as Lewis trap which China is experiencing. Hence
statement 2 is correct
78. Solution: b
 The Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the
relative access to education of males and females. This index is released by UNESCO.
 The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is an index for measurement of gender disparity that was
introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report 20th anniversary edition by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the UNDP, this index is a composite
measure to quantify the loss of achievement within a country due to gender inequality. It
uses three dimensions to measure opportunity cost: reproductive health, empowerment,
and labor market participation.
 The new index was introduced as an experimental measure to remedy the shortcomings of
the previous indicators, the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender
Empowerment Measure (GEM), both of which were introduced in the 1995 Human
Development Report.
 The Global Gender Gap Report was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum.
The 2016 report covers 144 major and emerging economies. The Global Gender Gap Index is
an index designed to measure gender equality
79. Solution: a
What are MSS bonds?
 These are special bonds floated on behalf of the government by the RBI (Hence statement 1
is correct) for the specific purpose of mopping up the excess liquidity in the system when
regular government bonds prove inadequate.
 The money obtained under MSS should be kept with the RBI. It should not be transferred to
the government. This is because, if it is transferred, government will spend the money in the
economy thereby adding to liquidity. (Hence statement 2 is true)
 MSS bonds are mostly shorter-tenure bonds, of less than six months maturity. But the tenure
differs depending on the requirement.
 However, MSS bonds earn a return and qualify for statutory liquidity ratio, or SLR, that banks
need to maintain in the form of short-tenured treasury bills and government bonds.
 For more info: https://www.indianeconomy.net/splclassroom/what-is-market-stabilization-
scheme-mss-how-it-is-used-to-manage-demonetisation/
80. Solution: b
Exemption from levy of GST
 Services provided by and to Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and its
subsidiaries directly or indirectly related to any of the events under FIFA U-17 World Cup
2017 to be hosted in India.
 Supply of services associated with transit cargo to Nepal and Bhutan (landlocked countries).
 Supply of service by a Government Entity to Central Government, State Government, Union
territory, local authority or any person specified by Central Government, State Government,
Union territory or local authority against consideration received from Central Government,
State Government, Union territory or local authority, in the form of grants.
 Service provided by Fair Price Shops to Central Government, State Government or Union
territory by way of sale of food grains, kerosene, sugar, edible oil, etc. under Public
Distribution System against consideration in the form of commission or margin.
 Service by way of access to a road or a bridge on payment of annuity.
 Services by way of admission to a protected monument so declared under the Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 (24 of 1958) or any of the State
Acts, for the time being in force.
 Services by way of right to admission to the events organised under FIFA U-17 World Cup
2017
81. Solution: a
According to the World Bank report the recovery in remittance flows is driven by relatively
stronger growth in the European Union, Russian Federation, and the United States.
Statement 1 : As shown in the graph India is the highest receiver of the remittances followed by
the China. Hence statement 1 is correct.
Statement 2 : India — $65 billion
China — $61 billion
Hence statement 2 is incorrect
82. Solution: c
CVD or countervailing duty is in lieu of export subsidies. Hence the option c is wrong.
What is dumping?
 If a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own
home market, it is said to be “dumping” the product.
 The WTO provided for the antidumping duty under special safeguard mechanism. (Hence d
is correct)
 China’s exports, in particular, are so widespread that they are having pernicious effects on
global trade in many downstream steel products. This helps explain why it is necessary to
have tariffs on imports from all countries, and not just unfair traders like China. Hence b is
correct
83. Solution: a
Domestic content requirement
 It mandates that cells and modules for solar PV projects based on crystalline silicon to be
manufactured in India.
 US Trade Representative has filed a complaint at World Trade Organization challenging
India’s domestic content requirements in Phase II of this Mission, citing discrimination
against US exports and that industry in US which has invested hugely will be at loss.
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (National Solar Mission)
1. One of the eight key National Mission’s which comprise India’s National Action Plan on
Climate Change (NAPCC).
Objective
 To establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for
its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible.
 To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability, particularly solar
thermal for indigenous production and market leadership
2. The Mission will adopt a 3 – phase approach
o Phase 1 (up to 2012 – 13)
o Phase 2 (2013 – 17)
o Phase 3 (2017 – 22)

3. Immediate aim — focus on setting up an enabling environment for solar technology
penetration in the country both at a centralized and decentralized level
4. Targets — 1,00,000 MW by 2022. (40 GW Rooftop and 60 GW through Large and Medium
Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects)
84. Solution: c
What is ‘Price Discrimination?’
o Price discrimination is a pricing strategy that charges customers different prices for the same
product or service.
o In pure price discrimination, the seller charges each customer the maximum price that he is
willing to pay. In more common forms of price discrimination, the seller places customers in
groups based on certain attributes and charges each group a different price.
85. Solution: a
(UPSC Prelims 2016)
 Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan — National Campaign for Dignity and Eradication of Manual
Scavenging. The practice continues in the country in spite of efforts of several people,
implementation of government schemes such as the National Scheme for Liberation and
Rehabilitation of Scavengers since 1992 and Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of
Manual Scavengers since 2007, and regardless of it being banned in 1993 through
Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (prohibition) Act
 Manual Scavenging is closely associated with exploitation of dalits as majority of them work
in this despite it being banned.
86. Solution: d
Currency convertibility — freedom to convert the domestic currency into other internationally
accepted currencies and vice versa.
Current account convertibility — freedom to convert domestic currency into foreign currency
and vice versa to execute trade in goods and invisibles.
Capital account convertibility — freedom of currency conversion related to capital inflows and
outflows. It also involves the freedom to invest in financial assets of other countries Compared
to current account convertibility.
Why capital account convertibility?
 Countries prefer capital account convertibility to promote the inflow of foreign capital.
 In India we already have current account convertibility. However, in case of capital account
it is regulated and not fully free.
Committee on Capital Account Convertibility (CAC) or Tarapore Committee
 Constituted by the Reserve Bank of India
 Purpose — for suggesting a roadmap on full convertibility of Rupee on Capital Account
 Committee recommended the implementation of Capital Account Convertibility for a 3 year
period viz. 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. But had laid down some pre conditions as
follows:
1. Gross fiscal deficit to GDP ratio has to come down from a budgeted 4.5 per cent in 1997-
98 to 3.5% in 1999-2000.
2. A consolidated sinking fund has to be set up to meet government’s debt repayment
needs; to be financed by increased in RBI’s profit transfer to the govt. and disinvestment
proceeds.
Above two points are related to Fiscal stability. Hence statement 2 is correct.
3. Inflation rate should remain between an average 3-5 per cent for the 3-year period 1997-
2000. This is related to price stability. Hence statement 1 is correct
4. Gross NPAs of the public sector banking system needs to be brought down from the
present 13.7% to 5% by 2000. At the same time, average effective CRR needs to be
brought down from the current 9.3% to 3%
5. RBI should have a Monitoring Exchange Rate Band of plus minus 5% around a neutral
Real Effective Exchange Rate RBI should be transparent about the changes in REER
6. External sector policies should be designed to increase current receipts to GDP ratio and
bring down the debt servicing ratio from 25% to 20%
7. Four indicators should be used for evaluating adequacy of foreign exchange reserves to
safeguard against any contingency. Plus, a minimum net foreign asset to currency ratio
of 40 per cent should be prescribed by law in the RBI Act.
There was second Tarapore committee which was constituted by the RBI to set out framework
for full capital account covertability.
87. Solution: b
Deficit financing (deficit spending) — A government policy of financing large public expenditures
by borrowing money rather than by raising taxes.
Statement 1 and 3: Deficit Financing and Inflation: It is said that deficit financing is inherently
inflationary as due to deficit financing money supply increases as central bank pushes in more
money
 Increase in the money supply à more money available in hands of people & business à More
demand
Hence both statements are correct.
Statement 2 and 4: Deficit financing can be done by external aids grants, borrowings and printing
money. Borrowings will result into increase in public debt and deterioration of the current
account. Hence both statements are incorrect.
88. Solution: a
 Government receipts which neither create liabilities nor reduce assets are called revenue
receipts.
 Revenue receipts are arranged into two categories namely Tax revenue and Non-tax revenue
A receipt is a revenue receipt if it satisfies the following two essential conditions (I) The
receipt must not create a liability for the government For example taxes levied by the
government are revenue receipts as they do not create any liability However, any amount
borrowed by the government is not a revenue receipt as it causes an increase in the liability
in terms of repayment of borrowings (ii) The receipt must not cause decrease in the assets
For example, a receipt from sale of shares of public enterprise is not a revenue receipt as it
leads to a reduction in assets of the government The following figure mentions the different
types of receipts
89. Solution: d
Financial market — it brings buyers and sellers together to trade in financial assets such as stocks,
bonds, commodities, derivatives and currencies. The purpose is to set prices for global trade,
raise capital, and transfer liquidity and risk.
 Two of the most commonly used markets are money markets and capital markets.
Money Market – short term market

 The money market is where financial instruments with high liquidity and very short
maturities are traded. It is used by participants as a means for borrowing and lending in the
short term, with maturities that usually range from overnight to just under a year
A capital market
 It is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are
bought and sold (usually for a period greater than a year).
 Capital markets help channelize surplus funds from savers to institutions which then invest
them into productive use.
 It can be classified as the primary market (where securities are sold for the first time) and
the secondary market (sale and purchase of previously issued or second hand securities)
90. Solution: D
Restructuring of CSS
Union Government with objective of rationalisation of centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) has
rrestructured of the CSS as follows:
 Number of centrally sponsored schemes has reduced from 66 to 28
 At least 10% of outlay of CSS be kept as flexi fund which may be used for funding innovations
or taking up the activities/projects which even though not strictly as per the guidelines of the
scheme, serve the broad objective of a scheme.
 Introduction of State specific guidelines
 Classification of the CSS as Core of the Core, Core Schemes and Optional Schemes.
1) Core-of-core Schemes:
 Fully funded by the Centre.
 Schemes included are: MGRNEA, National Social Assistance Plan and the National
Programme for Persons with Disabilities.
2) Core Schemes:
 For 8 North Eastern States and 3 Himalayan States: Centre: State: 90:10
 For other States: Centre: State: 60:40
 For Union Territories (without Legislature): Centre 100% and for UTs with legislature
existing funding pattern would continue.
3) Optional Schemes: schemes are for social protection and social inclusion
 For 8 North Eastern States and 3 Himalayan States: Centre: State: 80:20
 For other States: Centre: State: 50:50
 For Union Territories:
 Without Legislature – Centre 100%
 Union Territories with Legislature: Centre: UT:80:20
Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS)
 CSS are schemes that are implemented by state governments but are largely funded by the
Central Government with a defined State Government share.
 They are basically special purpose grants (or loans) extended by Central Government to
states to encourage them to plan and implement programs that help attain national goals
and objectives.
 CSS are basically extended by the Central Government to States under Article 282 of the
Constitution. It mainly cover items listed in states list.
91. Solution: a
Mission XI Million
Initiative of
 Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
 All India Football Federation (AIFF)
 Federation International de Football Association (FIFA)
 Massive school engagement program to popularize football across the country (Hence
statement 1 is true)
 Target — to reach 11 Million boys and girls across the country
 It equips parents and schools with the equipment and the knowledge about how to make
regular play a reality for their wards
Statement 2 : The mission has no component of encouraging the passion for fitness. Hence
statement 2 is incorrect.
92. Solution: a
Mission Parivar Vikas
1. Ministry of Health and family welfare
2. strategic focus — improve access to contraceptives, to bridge demand supply gap through
 delivering assured services
 ensuring commodity security
 accelerating access to high quality family planning services.
3. Covereage — 146 districts with the highest total fertility rates (TFR)
 These districts are in the seven high focus, high TFR states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Assam, which constitute 44%
of the country’s population.
4. Objective — bring down the Total Fertility Rate to 2.1 by 2025.
 Ensure that 74% of the demand for modern contraceptives is satisfied by 2020
 Increasing awareness& demand through a holistic communications campaign (rolled out
across all states of India.)
5. Delivering assured services:
 Roll out of Injectable Contraceptive DMPA (Antara) at one go till Sub centre level
 Augmentation of PPIUCD Services to all delivery points
 Augmentation of Sterilization services through HFD compensation scheme
 Condom Boxes at strategic locations (like Heath Facilities, Gram Panchayat Bhavan etc)
 Social Marketing of condoms and pills: Social Marketers under the government’s scheme
6. Promotional Schemes:
 “NAYI PAHEL” – A family planning kit would be given to the newly-wed couple by the
ASHA.
 Saas Bahu Sammelan — facilitate improved communication between mothers-in-law
and daughters-in-law through interactive games and exercises so as to bring about
changes in their attitudes and beliefs about reproductive and sexual health.
 SAARTHI – Awareness on Wheels — to sensitize and disseminate FP messages in the far
flung areas.
 Local Radio Spots with messages from local actors
93. Solution: D
National Company Law Tribunal:

 National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body that will govern the
companies in India. It was established under the Companies Act, 2013 and is a successor
body of the Company Law Board.
 NCLT will have the same powers as assigned to the erstwhile Company Law Board (which are
mostly related to dealing with oppression and mismanagement), Board for Industrial and
Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)(revival of sick companies) and powers related to winding up
of companies (which was available only with the High Courts).
 The setting up of NCLT as a specialized institution for corporate justice is based on the
recommendations of the Justice Eradi Committee on Law Relating to Insolvency and Winding
up of Companies.
94. Solution: b
First statement is wrong – it is at district level.
 In a landmark judgment, aimed at putting an end to misuse of section 498A of the IPC that is
dowry-related offences, the Supreme Court has proposed a slew of measures. They aim to
put an end to the automatic arrest of the husband and his family members.
Proposed measures:
 Special committees: Every complaint under Section 498A should henceforth will have to be
referred to Family Welfare Committees – to be constituted at every district. No arrest shall
be effected till report of such committee is received.
 Enquiry: The committee would interact with the parties personally or by means of telephonic
or electronic communication and give a report within a month to the authority which
referred the complaint to it. There will be no routine impounding of passports or issuance of
Red Corner Notice for NRI accused. Personal appearance of all family members and
particularly outstation members may not be required. However, these directions will not
apply to the offences involving tangible physical injuries.
 Report: The report would be on “the factual aspects and its opinion” in the matter. Till report
of the committee is received, no arrest should normally be effected. The report may be then
considered by the investigating officer or the magistrate on its own merit.
 Investigating officers: Complaints under Section 498A and other connected offences may be
investigated only by a designated investigating officer of the area. Such designations should
be made within one month. Such designated officers may be given training for not less than
a week or as may be considered appropriate. The training has to be completed within four
months.
 Bail: If a bail application is filed with at least one clear day’s notice to the Public
Prosecutor/complainant, it should be decided as far as possible on the same day.
95. Solution: b
Ten islands from Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep have been identified by the
government for improving maritime economy, preserving the eco-system and addressing
security concerns. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the newly- constituted Islands
Development Agency (IDA).
About IDA:
The IDA was set up on June 1 this year following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s review meeting
for the development of islands.
 The meetings of the agency are chaired by the Union Home Minister.
 Members of the IDA include cabinet secretary, home secretary, secretary (environment,
forests and climate change), secretary (tourism) and secretary (tribal welfare).
96. Solution: c
 It’s related to above question. These islands are few of the Ten islands chosen by IDA to
develop holistically.
 Smith, Ross, Aves, Long and Little Andaman in Andaman and Nicobar, and Minicoy,
Bangaram, Suheli, Cherium and Tinnakara in Lakshadweep are those selected in the first IDA
meeting chaired by Union Home Minister.
97. Solution: d
About JIGYASA:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has joined hands with Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan (KVS) to implement this programme. The focus is on connecting school students and
scientists so as to extend student’s classroom learning with that of a very well planned research
laboratory based learning.
 The “JIGYASA” would inculcate the culture of inquisitiveness on one hand and scientific
temper on the other, amongst the school students and their teachers.
 The Programme is expected to connect 1151 Kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 National
Laboratories of CSIR targeting 100,000 students and nearly 1000 teachers annually.
 The program will also enable the students and teachers to practically live the theoretical
concepts taught in science by visiting CSIR laboratories and by participating in mini-science
projects.
98. Solution: B
 The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is a dedicated facility within the United Nations
Fund for South-South Cooperation established in 2017. It is supported and led by the
Government of the Republic of India, managed by the United Nations Office for South-South
Cooperation, and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system.
 The India-UN Development Partnership Fund supports Southern-owned and led, demand-
driven, and transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world,
with a focus on least developed countries and small island developing states. United Nations
agencies implement the Funds projects in close collaboration with partnering governments.
99. Solution: a
 In order to broaden and deepen the engagement among parties and to enhance parties’
participation in economic development of the region, the leaders of 16 participating
countries established the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
 The RCEP was built upon the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs with the spirit to strengthen economic
linkages and to enhance trade and investment related activities as well as to contribute to
minimising development gap among the parties.
Second statement is wrong as India is opposed to it. (refer current affairs link above)
100. Solution: c
“Assam’s Bihugeet songs celebrate the many colours of the Brahmaputra and its life-sustaining
character, with stirring renditions by Bhupen Hazarika in praise of the grit of its people in their
most challenging moment — when the river turns furious during the monsoon and floods the
plains.”
CCRT: Bihu songs (bihu geet) are the most distinctive type of folk songs of Assam, both for their
literary content and for their musical mode. Bihu songs are blessings for a happy new year and
the dance is associated with an ancient fertility cult. It is Bihu time when an opportunity is there
for marriageable young men and women to exchange their feelings and even to choose their
partners.
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Insights IAS | InsightsonIndia

SERIES – 2 : SOLUTIONS (Days 5-8)

 In a bid to create a globally competitive biopharmaceutical industry that addresses the

Injections (+): Export (X), Investment (I), Government spending (G)

Three methods of calculating GDP:

 (CSA) may be defined as an approach for transforming and reorienting agricultural

Climate Sustainable Agriculture

India has set up two centres:

 Women workers are the most

For more information http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170948

o Phase 3 (2017 – 22)

Money Market – short term market

National Company Law Tribunal:

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