UPSC Quiz – 2020: IAS Daily Current Affairs Quiz Day 124

Solution (d)

Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the kartavya.ugc.ac.in portal on the occasion of ‘Constitution Day’ today, as a part of year long Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan being observed throughout the country. The portal will be used primarily for holding monthly essay competitions for students as well as other activities like quizzes, debates, poster making etc pertaining to Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan.

Solution (a)

The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) is a yearly report published by the World Economic Forum. Since 2004, the Global Competitiveness Report ranks countries based on the Global Competitiveness Index.

Solution (b)

The Single Convention repeatedly affirms the importance of medical use of controlled substances. The Preamble notes that “the medical use of narcotic drugs continues to be indispensable for the relief of pain and suffering and that adequate provision must be made to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs for such purposes”.

Since the Single Convention is not self-executing, Parties must pass laws to carry out its provisions, and the UNODC works with countries’ legislatures to ensure compliance.

Read More – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs

There are three United Nations treaties that together form the international law framework of the global drug control regime: the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971, and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.

Read about the Conventions mentioned above.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/cabinet-approves-india-saudi-arabia-mous-in-smuggling-drug-trafficking-119112700608_1.html

Solution (c)

The court laid down a number of guidelines to curb the Centre’s capacity to dismiss a state government, and upheld the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution.

The ruling laid down the law that the only way to determine support enjoyed by a particular state government would be by means of a floor test.

Also, the court ruled that the validity of a proclamation of President’s Rule is subject to judicial review.

Third, the court said that the only time the President shall have unconditional powers to dissolve a state government is when there is a complete breakdown of constitutional machinery.

The judgment also underlined the secular nature of the Constitution in the wake of the Babri demolition, and said that a party cannot resort to religion for the sake of gaining power and, if found to be indulging in religious politics, could be acted against using Article 356.

Since the Constitution came into force, President’s Rule under Article 356 has been imposed on states on over 100 occasions. These instances, however, declined considerably after the S R Bommai ruling.

Apart from an assertive judiciary, the emergence of coalition governments with representation from regional parties in the 1990s also checked the trend.

Solution (b)

The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution (Slovak: nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 29 December 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia included students and older dissidents. The result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent dismantling of the command economy and conversion to a parliamentary republic.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/velvet-revolution-czechoslovakia-1989-soviet-union-6140145/