UPSC Prelims Test Series 2019 - Test 17

India has signed Civil Nuclear Agreements with more than 14 countries which include USA, UK, France, Kazakhstan, Japan, Argentina, Vietnam, South Korea, Namibia etc.

According to Article 28 of the Paris agreement, after joining the agreement, a country can’t leave for three years, after which there is a one-year waiting period for the leave to be fully in effect. That means that the agreement itself legally entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016. So that’s the day when the clock starts ticking for any possible U.S. withdrawal, under the terms of the agreement.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of the Organization.
These countries were later joined by Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, and Angola. The latest to join OPEC are Equatorial Guinea which joined in 2017 and Congo in 2018.
Ecuador suspended its membership in December 1992, but rejoined OPEC in October 2007.
Indonesia suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it again in January 2016, but decided to suspend its membership once more at the 171st Meeting of the OPEC Conference on 30 November 2016. Gabon terminated its membership in January 1995. However, it rejoined the Organization in July 2016. Qatar terminated its membership on 1 January 2019. This means that, currently, the Organization has a total of 14 Member Countries

The term ‘republic’ in our Preamble indicates that India has an elected head called the president. He is elected indirectly for a fixed period of five years.
A republic also means two more things: one, vesting of political sovereignty in the people and not in a single individual like a king; second, the absence of any privileged class and hence all public offices being opened to every citizen without any discrimination.

● SFAC is an exclusive Society focused on increasing incomes of small and marginal farmers through aggregation and development of agribusiness.
● SFAC has pioneered the formation and growth of Farmer Producer Organizations/Farmer Producer Companies.
● SFAC offers Schemes like Equity Grant and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme to FPCs to improve availability of working capital and development of business activities.
● SFAC is also implementing the National Agriculture Market Electronic Trading (e-Nam) platform.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana
It is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc. and also new schemes like Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities.

During the Gupta period, the caste system became rigid. The Brahmins occupied the top ladder of the society. They were given enormous gifts by the rulers as well as other wealthy people. The practice of untouchability had slowly begun during this period. Fahien mentions that Chandalas were segregated from the society. Their miserable condition was elaborated by the Chinese traveler. The position of women had also become miserable during the Gupta period. They were prohibited from studying the religious texts like the Puranas. The subjection of women to men was thoroughly regularized. But it was insisted that they should be protected and generously treated by men. The practice of Swayamvara was given up and the Manusmriti suggested the early marriage for girls

With respect to the Indian Constitution
1) Part V (i) Union Government
2) Part II (ii) Citizenship
3) Part-IX A (iii)Municipalities
4) Part-IX B (iv) Cooperatives

Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern part of the Deccan Plateau. Along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghat, long stretch of area is occupied by red loamy soil. Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain. The soil develops a reddish colour due to a wide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form. The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse-grained soils found in dry upland areas are poor in fertility. They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.

Sovereign Patent Fund (SPF) to promote the development and acquisition of IPs (Intellectual Property) in ESDM sector, according to the national electronics policy.

DNA is present in Chloroplast, mitochondria and Nucleus.

Statement I:
The Indian Independence Act of 1947 made the following three changes in the position of the Assembly:
1. The Assembly was made a fully sovereign body, which could frame any Constitution it pleased. The act empowered the Assembly to abrogate or alter any law made by the British Parliament in relation to India.
2. The Assembly also became a legislative body. In other words, two separate functions were assigned to the Assembly that is, making of a constitution for free India and enacting of ordinary laws for the country. These two tasks were to be performed on separate days. Thus, the Assembly became the first Parliament of free India (Dominion Legislature). Whenever the Assembly met as the Constituent body it was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and when it met as the legislative body, it was chaired by G V Mavlankar. These two functions continued till November 26, 1949, when the task of making the Constitution was over.
3. The Muslim League members (hailing from the areas included in the Pakistan) withdrew from the Constituent Assembly for India. Consequently, the total strength of the Assembly came down to 299 as against 389 originally fixed in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan. The strength of the Indian provinces (formerly British Provinces) was reduced from 296 to 229 and those of the princely states from 93 to 70
Statement II:
On January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly held its final session. It, however, did not end, and continued as the provisional parliament of India From January 26, 1950 till the formation of new Parliament after the first general elections in 1951–52.

They are envisaged by the Constitution as the bulworks of the democratic system of Government in India.
These are:
(a) Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections to the Parliament, the state legislatures, the office of President of India and the office of Vice-president of India.
(b) Comptroller and Auditor-General of India to audit the accounts of the Central and state governments. He acts as the guardian of public purse and comments on the legality and propriety of government expenditure.
(c) Union Public Service Commission to conduct examinations for recruitment to all-India services and higher Central services and to advise the President on disciplinary matters.
(d) State Public Service Commission in every state to conduct examinations for recruitment to state services and to advice the governor on disciplinary matters

● Chemically, the black soils are rich in lime, iron, magnesia and alumina. They also contain potash. But they lack in phosphorus, nitrogen and organic matter.
● Laterite soil – With rain, lime and silica are leached away, and soils rich in iron oxide and aluminium compound are left behind. These soils are poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate and calcium, while iron oxide and potash are in excess.

Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA) The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018.
Components of PM-AASHA: The new Umbrella Scheme includes the mechanism of ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers and is comprised of
1. Price Support Scheme (PSS),
2. Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS)
3. Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPPS)
The other existing schemes of Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) for procurement of paddy, wheat and nutri-cereals/coarse grains and of Ministry of Textile for cotton and jute will be continued for providing MSP to farmers for these crops

The high courts are also empowered to issue writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
The Supreme Court can issue writs only for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights and not for other purposes. The high court, on the other hand, can issue writs not only for the enforcement of the fundamental rights but also for other purposes.

Dignity of individual is highlighted through some of the provisions of the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy, which ensure the dignity of individuals. Further, the Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) also protect the dignity of women by stating that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women, and also makes it the duty of every citizen of India to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Laws in Ninth Schedule are placed to evade judicial review, which therefore indirectly limits the fundamental rights through legislative action of the state.

The states which require the Inner Line Permit are Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. Indian citizens also need a Nagaland-issued ILP if entering Manipur by road via Dimapur or Kohima. An ILP was previously required for certain parts of the Leh district in Jammu and Kashmir. This requirement was abolished by a circular issued by district magistrate which took effect from 1 May 2014, although foreign nationals are required to get Protected Area Permit for this region.

The satyagraha had its roots in the decision of the colonial government of the Madras Presidency to combine the villages of Chirala and Perala in Guntur district into a municipality, not against the policies of the viceroy of India.The objective of the movement was realized only in 1937 with Bezawada Gopal Reddy dissolving the Municipality.

Several investigations in the mid 1960’s reported finding enrichment of manganese and iron in the sediments of wide areas of the ocean floor also, especially along the mid-Indian rise. India has obtained the technology of exploiting these mineral nodules form the ocean beds. The United Nations has granted permission to India to exploit the polymetallic nodules over an area of 1,50,000 sq km in the Indian Ocean. India is the first country to obtain such a right.
Seafloor phosphorite contain phosphate mineral which is used for the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers and certain phosphate based chemicals. In the Indian Ocean phosphorites deposits occur along the coast of Arabian Peninsula, east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal, near Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the south of Sri Lanka.

The major difference between the existing BS-IV and forthcoming BS-VI norms is the presence of sulphur in the fuel. While the BS-IV fuels contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, the BS-VI grade fuel only has 10 ppm sulphur content. Also, the harmful NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars can be brought down by nearly 70%. In the petrol cars, they can be reduced by 25%. However, when we talk air pollution, particulate matter like PM 2.5 and PM 10 are the most harmful components and the BS VI will bring the cancer causing particulate matter in diesel cars by a phenomenal 80%.

About six hundred small streams originate form the Western ghats (the Sahyadris) and flow westwards to fall into the Arabian Sea. The western slopes of the western ghats receive heavy rainfall from the southwest monsoons and are able to feed such a large number of streams. Although only about the 3% of the ariel extent of the basins of India is drained by these rivers, they contain about 18% of the countries water resources. The important rivers falling in this category are Mandovi, Zuari and Rachol in Goa; Kalinadi, Gangavalli-Bedti , Sharavati, Tadri and Netravati in Karnataka and Beypore, Pannam, Bharathapuzha, Periyar and Pamba in Kerala. Most of the streams flow swiftly down the steep flow and some of them make waterfalls. The famous Jog falls or Garsoppa falls made by the Sharavati river is the highest in India.

Care Economy includes the production and consumption of goods and services necessary for the physical, social, mental and emotional well-being of care-dependent groups, such as children, the elderly, the ill and people with disabilities, as well as healthy, prime working-age adults.
Care work consists of-
● direct, personal and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner; and
● indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning.
Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward by unpaid careers. Paid care work is performed for pay or profit by care workers such as nurses, teachers, doctors and personal care workers

Most of the Fundamental Rights are directly enforceable (self-executory) while a few of them can be enforced on the basis of a law made for giving effect to them. Such a law can be made only by the Parliament and not by state legislatures so that uniformity throughout the country is maintained (Article 35).

Tropical semi evergreen forests: Bordering the areas of tropical wet evergreen forests are comparatively drier areas of the tropical semi evergreen forests. Here the annual rainfall is 200-250 cm. These forests are found on the Western coast, Assam, lower slopes of the eastern Himalayas, Orissa and Andamans.
The semi-evergreen forests are less dense but more gregarious (especially in Assam) than the wet evergreen forests. At places these forests represent a transition from wet evergreen to deciduous forests. Further these forests are characterized by many species, frequently buttressed trunks, rougher and thicker bark, heavy climbers, \less bamboos and abundant epiphytes. The important species of these forests are aini, semul, getal, mundani, hopea, benteak, kadam, irul, laurel, rosewood, mesua, haldu, kanju, byasal, kusum, thorny bamboo etc on the Western ghats, and bonsum, white cedar, Indian chestnut, lista, hollock, champa, mango etc in the Himalayan region.

Under Price Deficiency Payment, farmers are proposed to be compensated for the difference between the government-announced MSPs for select crops and their actual market prices. For crops such as rice and wheat where it is effective now, MSP announcements will continue. For other targeted crops, price deficiency payments will be made. However, it has to be noted that there may be a cap on the extent to which the Centre will bridge the gap between MSP and market price.

● Operation Digital Board (ODB) aims at converting a classroom into a digital classroom and provide e-resources at any time and at any place to students.
● The digital board will be introduced all over the country in government and government aided schools from class 9th onwards as well as in higher education institutions.
● The Operation Digital Board (ODB) will be implemented in the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Hyderabad State also known as Hyderabad Deccan was an Indian princely state located in the south-central region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into Telangana state, Hyderabad-Karnataka region of Karnataka and Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Paritala village in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh was a Nizam enclave in Andhra Pradesh.

The term ‘law’ in Article 13 has been given a wide connotation so as to include the following:
(a) Permanent laws enacted by the Parliament or the state legislatures;
(b) Temporary laws like ordinances issued by the president or the state governors;
(c) Statutory instruments in the nature of delegated legislation (executive legislation) like order, bye-law, rule, regulation or notification; and
(d) Non-legislative sources of law, that is, custom or usage having the force of law.
Article 13 declares that a constitutional amendment is not a law and hence cannot be challenged. However, the Supreme Court held in the Kesavananda Bharati case2 (1973) that a Constitutional amendment can be challenged on the ground that it violates a fundamental right that forms a part of the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution and hence, can be declared as void.

“Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System” is a initiative taken by the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) in simplifying the Warehouse Registration Rules, digitizing the entire process of registration, monitoring and surveillance as well as creation and management of Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) in electronic form through two repositories.
The e-NWRs have no chances of any tempering, mutilation, fudging, loss or damage and with no possibility of any multiple financing. Hence, these NWRs will not only facilitate an easy pledge financing by banks and other financial institutions but also smooth trading on various trading centres like commodity exchanges, electronic National Agriculture Markets (e-NAM) and other electronic platforms. These e-NWRs will save expenditure in logistics as the stocks could be traded through multiple buyers without physical movement and can be even split for partial transfer or withdrawal.

Under the SP model, one company would be selected for each area based on its competence, which would then tie up with the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) selected through the procurement process, to build the platform in India with significant technology transfer. The model is intended to enhance competition, increase efficiencies, facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology, create a tiered industrial ecosystem, ensure development of a wider skill base, trigger innovation and enable participation in global value chains as well as promote exports

After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Chief Khalsa Diwan and other official priests of the Golden Temple at Amritsar had honoured General Dyer with a Saropa (robe of honour). The clergy officially declared him to be a Sikh, and initiated him into the brotherhood of the Khalsa by investing him with the five K's. He was also let off from keeping Keshas (long hairs) and smoking.This outraged Indians, especially Sikhs. The outrage soon developed into popular agitation during late 1920, when jathas of Sikh reformers and volunteers came out on streets and demanded that the control of the Gurdwara must be taken away from these mahants and other government-appointed managers. The agitation resulted in the formation of a committee known as Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), which was given the control and management of the Golden Temple, the Akal Takht, and other Gurudwaras.

CSR is applicable only to companies with net worth of 500 crores or turnover of 1000 crore or net profit of 5 crores have to utilize 2 % of the average net profit of the preceding 3 years. Funds spent on maintaining a monument under adopt a Heritage scheme is counted under CSR.

The MSP for MFP scheme was started by the Centre in 2013 to ensure fair and remunerative prices to MFP gatherers. From November 2016, the scheme is applicable in all States.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme which will announce Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the selected MFPs with the technical support from TRIFED.
● TRIFED will act as the Central Nodal Agency for implementation and monitoring of the scheme through State level implementing agencies.
● State designated agencies will undertake procurement of notified MFPs directly from MFP gatherers (individual or collectives) at haats notified procurement centers at grass root level at prefixed Minimum Support Price and ensure full & timely on the spot payment to MFP gatherers.

It is the converging boundary of the plates where folded mountains like Himalayas build up. When two convergent plates composed of continental crust collide against each other, the denser plate is subducted under the lighter plate. The resultant lateral compression squeezes the folds and sediments deposited on the continental plate margins or sediments of the geosynclines lying between the two.
The HImalayas are the product of such a process on the conveyance zone of the Asiatic plate in the north and the Indian plate in the south. Some 70 million years ago, the Indian plate started moving towards the Asian plate and the Tethys sea began to contract due to the movement of Indian and Asian plates towards each other. Since the Indian plate was made of denser material than the Asian plate, the former began to subduct under the latter causing lateral compression of the marine sediment in the bed of the Tethys. Geologists believe that the sediment got folded in three successive phases giving rise to 3 important ranges of the Himalayas.

The Constitution deals with the citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II. However, it contains neither any permanent nor any elaborate provisions in this regard. It only identifies the persons who became citizens of India at its commencement (i.e., on January 26, 1950). It does not deal with the problem of acquisition or loss of citizenship subsequent to its commencement. It empowers the Parliament to enact a law to provide for such matters and any other matter relating to citizenship. Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The Citizenship Act (1955) provides for acquisition and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.

NMSA derives its mandate from Sustainable Agriculture Mission which is one of the eight
Missions outlined under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
It aims at promoting sustainable agriculture through a series of adaptation measures focusing on ten key dimensions encompassing Indian agriculture namely:
1. Improved crop seeds
2. Livestock and fish cultures
3. Water Use Efficiency
4. Pest Management
5. Improved Farm Practices
6. Nutrient Management
7. Agricultural insurance
8. Credit support
9. Markets
10. Access to Information and Livelihood diversification’. Besides, NMSA aims at promoting location specific improved agronomic practices through soil health management, enhanced water use efficiency, judicious use of chemicals (not elimination of chemical fertilizers), crop diversification, progressive adoption of crop-livestock farming systems and integrated approaches like crop-sericulture, agro-forestry, fish farming, etc.

The Green Rating has been provided by the India Green Building Council. Bureau of Energy Efficiency had launched Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2007 to establish minimum energy performance standards for buildings.

The scheme wants to derive maximum irrigation benefits out of the available water resources. It thus promotes water saving technologies too.
It is the amalgamation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, Integrated Watershed Management Programme and On Farm Water Management. It is jointly implemented by Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Rural Development.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs). The Bamako Convention (in full: Bamako Convention on the ban on the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa) is a treaty of African nations prohibiting the import of any hazardous (including radioactive) waste. The Convention was negotiated by twelve nations of the Organisation of African Unity at Bamako, Mali in January, 1991, and came into force in 1998.

The Gupta period witnessed a brilliant activity in the sphere of mathematics, astronomy, astrology and medicine. Aryabhatta was a great mathematician and astronomer. He wrote the book Aryabhatiya in 499 A.D. It deals with mathematics and astronomy. It explains scientifically the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses. Aryabhatta was the first to declare that the earth was spherical in shape and that it rotates on its own axis.

The Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) was one of the first indigenous Indian shipping companies set up during the Indian independence movement. It was started in 1906 by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai to compete against the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC). It sailed ships between Tuticorin and Colombo until it was liquidated in 1911, hence it can’t be said that it was a successful business enterprise.

During the rainy season particularly in July and August there are certain periods when monsoons become weak. The clouding decreases and rainfall practically ceases over the country outside the Himalayan belt and South east peninsula. This is known as break in the monsoon. The latest studies have revealed that the breaks are likely to occur more frequently during the second week of August. The normal duration of the break is about a week but on some occasions this could be longer. The longest breaks have been known to persist for 2 or 3 weeks. But such occasions are rare. The breaks are believed to be brought about by the collapse of the TIbetan high. This results in the northward shifting of the monsoon trough. The axis of the trough lies at the foothills of the Himalayas during the break period. Even when most parts of the country have to be content without rainfall during the break period, heavy rainfall occurs over the Sub-Himalayan regions and the southern slopes of the Himalayas. This leads to high flooding of the rivers having their catchment areas in the Himalayas. On an average 1 or 2 breaks do occur during the rainy season. Statistical studies of the monsoon show that in 85 out of 100 years there is a break in the monsoons.

● Submergent Coasts are those that have been flooded by ocean waters because of a relative rise in the elevation of sea level at that location. The rise in sea level can be either the result of an increase in the volume of water in the ocean basins or the result of the land surface sinking, both of which create an apparent rise in the elevation of sea level. Features of a submergent coastline are drowned river valleys or rias and drowned glaciated valleys or fjords.
● Estuaries are often the drowned mouths of rivers. The Western Coastal Plains of the Indian subcontinent are examples of submergent coastline. Emergent coasts are a result of local tectonic uplift of the land surface or a fall in the elevation of sea level because of a reduction in the water volume of ocean basins. Quite often, emergent coasts have rocky coastlines with cliffs and nearly flat platforms that extend inland where older coastal plains have been tectonically raised and are now elevated above the modern land and water interface.
● The emergent coastline may have several specific landforms: Raised beach, Wave cut platform and Sea caves.

Ensuring optimum use of National Waterways, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Ministry of Shipping launched a new portal LADIS – Least Available Depth Information System.LADIS will ensure that real-time data on least available depths is disseminated for ship/barge and cargo owners so that they can undertake transportation on National Waterways in a more planned way. An assured depth of waterway is required for seamless movement of vessels. If real time information is made available regarding LADs in stretches of various NWs, it will help transporters by guiding them on the suitability of time of movement.

The Chalukyas were great patrons of art. They developed the vesara style in the building of structural temples. However, the vesara style reached its culmination only under the Rashtrakutas and the Hoysalas. The structural temples of the Chalukyas exist at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal. Cave temple architecture was also famous under the Chalukyas. Their cave temples are found in Ajanta, Ellora and Nasik. The best specimens of Chalukya paintings can be seen in the Badami cave temple and in the Ajanta caves. The reception given to a Persian embassy by Pulakesin II is depicted in a painting at Ajanta.

● Agro Forestry involves the raising of trees and agricultural crops either on the same land or in close association in such a way that all land including the waste patches is put to good use.
● Community Forestry involves the raising of trees on public or community lands aimed at providing benefit to the community as a whole
● Commercial farm forestry involves growing of trees in the fields in place of food and other agricultural crops
● Non Commercial farm forestry involves tree planting by farmers on their own land for their own use and not for sale