UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 5th February 2024

·       There is a strong connection between the government’s tax revenue earnings and economic growth.

·       As the economy achieves faster growth, the tax revenue of the government also goes up. Tax buoyancy explains this relationship.

·       It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.

It depends upon:

·       the size of the tax base;

·       the friendliness of the tax administration;

·       the rationality and simplicity of tax rates;

·       Tax buoyancy will be highest for direct taxes. Generally, direct taxes are more sensitive to the GDP growth rate.

·       It is an economic theory pioneered by economist Arthur Laffer.

·       Created in 1974, it visually shows the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments.

·       It suggests that tax rates above a certain threshold reduce tax revenue since they incentivize people not to work.

·       It suggests there is an optimum tax rate which maximises total tax revenue.

·       The first pre-independence law commission was established in 1834 by the British Government in India.

·       It was established by the Charter Act of 1833 and was chaired by Lord Macaulay.

·       The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 under the chairmanship of the former Attorney General for India M. C. Setalvad.

·       This Commission was created for a period of three years and this practice has persisted ever since then, resulting in the reconstitution of Law Commissions every three years via executive orders.

·       The executive orders that constitute the Law Commissions also specify their scope and purpose, and thus these fluctuate periodically.

·       Since then, twenty one more Law Commissions have been constituted, each with a three-year term and with certain terms of reference.

·       The Law Commission has taken up various subjects on references made by the Department of Legal Affairs, Supreme Court and High Courts.

·       The Twenty Second Law Commission has been notified with effect from 21st February, 2020 for a term of 3 years.

·       It functions to the Ministry of Law and Justice as an advisory body.

·       Magnaporthe oryzae can infect many grasses, including barley, lolium, rice, and wheat, but specific isolates of this pathogen generally infect limited species; that is, wheat isolates infect preferably wheat plants but can use several more cereal and grass species as alternate hosts.

·       It spreads through infected seeds, crop residues, and spores that can travel long distances in the air.

·       It thrives in warm and humid conditions, making regions with such climates particularly susceptible

·       The seriousness of the disease is indicated by the fact that crops are burnt to avoid this disease.

Effects:

·       It causes progressive bleaching of the heads, lower yields, and poor seed quality.

·       Stems and leaves are discoloured, with dark brown, eye-shaped lesions on leaves.

·       Sometimes dark grey spores can be seen.

·       It can shrivel and deform the grain in less than a week from the first symptoms.

·       It is the principal legal source when a country makes a claim to have its possessions returned.

·       Launch – It came into force in 1972.

·       State Parties – 144, India ratified in 1977.

·       Objectives – To urge States Parties to take measures to prohibit, prevent the illicit trafficking and return the cultural property.

·       To provide a common framework for the States Parties on the measures and to safeguard the identity of peoples and promote peaceful societies.

·       Principles – Prevention, restitution and international cooperation.

·       Ownership approval – The requesting State Party shall furnish, at its expense, the documentation and other evidence necessary to establish its claim for recovery and return.

·       Significance of returning artefacts – It can provide significant soft-power benefits for European countries in their extension of influence in regions such as Southeast Asia.

·       Such tidally disrupted stellar debris starts raining down on the black hole and radiation emerges from the innermost region of accreting debris, which is an indicator of the presence of a TDE.

·       How does a TDE typically unfold?

·       Close Approach: A star in a galaxy approaches a black hole on a very close trajectory due to gravitational interactions within the galaxy.

·       Tidal Forces: As the star gets closer to the black hole, the gravitational forces acting on it become increasingly uneven due to the difference in gravitational pull on the near side and far side of the star. These tidal forces can be strong enough to disrupt the star.

·       Stellar Disruption: When the tidal forces exceed the self-gravitational forces holding the star together, it undergoes a process called “tidal disruption.” The star is stretched and eventually torn apart into a stream of gas and debris.

·       Accretion Disk Formation: The debris from the disrupted star forms an accretion disk around the black hole. This disk is composed of hot gas and dust, and it spirals inwards towards the black hole.

·       Energy Release: As the material in the accretion disk spirals inwards, it releases a tremendous amount of energy in the form of X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.

·       Flares and Observations: TDEs are often observed as bright flares of radiation from the centre of a galaxy. These flares can last for several months to years, gradually fading as the disrupted star’s material is consumed by the black hole.