[DAY 14] 60 DAY RAPID REVISION (RaRe) SERIES for UPSC Prelims 2024 – POLITY, CURRENT AFFAIRS & CSAT TEST SERIES!

Solution (c)

Oaths of the President of India:

• The Oath of the President of India is mentioned in the constitution itself.
• Faithfully execute the office, preserve and protect the constitution, and dedicated to the service and well-being of the people of India.
• The tenure is of 5 years but he can stay in office until the new President arrives.
• The oath of office to the President is administered by the Chief Justice of India and in his absence, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court available.
• Any other person acting as President or discharging the functions of the President also undertakes the similar oath or affirmation.

Qualifications of the President of India:

The qualification of the President (nominee) to be eligible for election as a president are as follows-

1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He should have completed 35 years of age.
3. He should be qualified for election as a member of Lok Sabha.
4. He should not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any State government or any Local authority.

Solution (d)

Note:

• Article 71 of the Constitution deals with the matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-President.
• It says that-

1. All doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with the election of a President or Vice-President shall be inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court whose decision shall be final.
2. If the Supreme Court declares the election of the President or Vice-President void, acts done by him in the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of the office of President or Vice-President, on or before the date of the decision of the Supreme Court shall not be invalidated by reason of that declaration.
3. The Parliament may by law regulate any matter relating to or connected with the election of a President or Vice-President.

Solution (b)

Note:

1. Pardon: It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.
2. Commutation: It denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form. For example, a death sentence may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment, which in turn may be commuted to a simple imprisonment.
3. Remission: It implies reducing the period of sentence without changing its character. For example, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years may be remitted to rigorous imprisonment for one year.
4. Respite: It denotes awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.
5. Reprieve: It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period.

Solution (c)

Note:

PROCEDURE FOR IMPEACHMENT OF THE PRESIDENT:

• When a President is to be impeached for violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament.
• No such charge shall be preferred unless –

1. the proposal to prefer such charge is contained in a resolution which has been moved after at least fourteen days’ notice in writing signed by not less than one-fourth of the total number of members of the House has been given of their intention to move the resolution, and
2. such resolution has been passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House.

• When a charge has been so preferred by either House of Parliament, the other House shall investigate the charge or cause the charge to be investigated and the President shall have the right to appear and to be represented at such investigation.
• If as a result of the investigation a resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House by which the charge was investigated or caused to be investigated, declaring that the charge preferred against the President has been sustained, such resolution shall have the effect of removing the President from his office as from the date on which the resolution is so passed.

Solution (d)

The Vice-President cannot be formally impeached, unlike the President. The Constitution states that the Vice-President can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an absolute majority and agreed to by a simple majority of the Lok Sabha. But no such resolution may be moved unless at least 14 days advance notice has been given. Notably, the Constitution does not list grounds for removal. No Vice-President or ex officio Vice-President has ever faced removal proceedings.

The resolution cannot be moved in Loksabha.

Solution (c)

Solution (a)

Solution (c)

Solution (b)

Under Article 100(3) of the Indian Constitution until Parliament by law otherwise provides, the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament shall be one tenth of the total number of members of the House

Note:

Quorum:

• Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business.
• It is one tenth of the total number of members in each House including the presiding officer. It means that there must be at least 55 members present in the Lok Sabha and 25 members present in the Rajya Sabha, if any business is to be conducted.
• If there is no quorum during a meeting of the House, it is the duty of the presiding officer either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.

Solution (b)

Note:

Whip:

• The concept of the whip was inherited from colonial British rule.
• It is is a written order that political party issue to its members for being present for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way. The term is derived from the old British practice of “whipping in” lawmakers to follow the party line.
• The office of ‘whip’ is mentioned neither in the Constitution of India nor in the Rules of the House nor in a Parliamentary Statute.
• It is based on the conventions of the parliamentary government.
• S/He regulates and monitors their behaviour in the Parliament.
• The members are supposed to follow the directives given by the whip. Otherwise, disciplinary action can be taken.
• Under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) a political party has a constitutional right to issue a whip to its legislators.
• If an MP violates his party’s whip, he faces expulsion from the House under the Anti Defection Act.
• There are some cases such as Presidential election where whips cannot direct a Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) on whom to vote.

Types of Whips

• The One-line whip to inform the members about a vote. It allows a member to abstain in case they decide not to follow the party line.
• The Two-line whip is issued to direct the members to be present in the House at the time of voting. No special instructions are given on the pattern of voting.
• The Three-line whip is issued to members directing them to vote as per the party line. It is the strictest of all the whip.

Solution (d)

Article 93 of the Indian Constitution provides the office of speaker and Deputy speaker who is elected from the Lok Sabha itself from amongst its members.

Note:

OFFICE OF DEPUTY SPEAKER:

• The institution of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in India in 1921 under the Montague-Chelmsford reforms. At that time Speaker and Deputy Speaker were called President and Vice-President.
• The procedure of the election of the Deputy Speaker is same as that of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is elected from among the members of the Legislative Assembly.
• In the absence of the Speaker or when the Office of the Speaker is vacant, the duties of the Speaker are performed by the Deputy Speaker. When the Deputy Speaker presides over a sitting of the Legislative Assembly, he has the same powers as the Speaker.
• The Deputy Speaker holds office till the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, unless he ceases to be a member of the Parliament.

Solution (a)

Note:

ARTICLE 74: Council of Ministers to aid and advice President

There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice: Provided that the President may require the council of Ministers to reconsider such advice, either generally or otherwise, and the President shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration.

Solution (d)

Note:Question Hour:

• The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this. During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers.
• The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice.
• A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow.
• An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
• A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less than ten days. It is answered orally.
• In addition to the ministers, the questions can also be asked to the private members. Thus, a question may be addressed to a private member if the subject matter of the question relates to some Bill, resolution or other matter connected with the business of the House for which that member is responsible.
• The procedure in regard to such question is the same as that followed in the case of questions addressed to a minister. The list of starred, unstarred, short notice questions and questions to private members are printed in green, white, light pink and yellow colour, respectively, to distinguish them from one another Zero Hour
• Unlike the question hour, the zero hour is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.
• The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (i.e., regular business of the House) is taken up.
• In other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hour.
• It is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962.

Solution (c)

Note:DURATION OF PARLIAMENTARY HOUSES:

Lok Sabha

• Lok Sabha is not a permanent house and hence can be dissolved. General duration of the Lok Sabha is 5 years and completion of the time period, its members automatically vacate the house.
• Premature dissolution of house (less than 5-year duration) is also possible when president dissolves Lok Sabha. This dissolution power of president to dissolve Lok Sabha is not a discretionary power of his own because he acts according to the advice given by prime minister and his council of ministers.
• In some cases, duration of the Lok Sabha can be extended (more than 5 years duration) due to the prevalence of national emergency making it difficult to conduct elections. The extension of duration requires a parliamentary law to that effect and prevalence of national emergency as a prerequisite, which will increase the duration of Lok Sabha by one year. If the national emergency discontinues within the extended one year, Lok Sabha continues only for 6 months from the date of revocation of national emergency.

Rajya Sabha:

• Rajya Sabha is a permanent and non-dissolvable house, with a tenure of 6 years where in one third of its members retire once in two years.
• The tenure of Rajya Sabha members is not given in the constitution but is derived from Representation of People’s Act 1951.
• In 1952 the first house of Rajya Sabha, one third of members had 2 years tenure, second third of members had 4 years tenure while the third set had six years tenure. Constitution empowered president to decide the unlucky set of less tenure enjoying members and he chose by lottery to conclude the less tenured candidates.

Solution (b)

President does both dissolution and prorogation while both dissolution and prorogation only terminates session of parliament. Prorogation does not affect the bills or any pending business before the house.

Note:

PROCEDURE FOR PARLIAMENTARY SESSIONS:

• A session of parliament is the period between first sitting and previous prorogation or the period between two recesses. Sessions is the period where parliament transacts its regular business. It happens usually three times a year, budget session, monsoon session and winter session.
• Summoning is the calling of formation of session called upon by the president. Article 85 states that president, from time to time, can summon each house of parliament to meet anywhere and the maximum gap between two sessions of parliament cannot be more than six months.
• Adjournment suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which maybe hours, days or week.
• Adjournment sine die means terminating a sitting of parliament for an indefinite period or adjourning the house of parliament without naming a day for reassembly. The power of adjournment and adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the house.

Solution (d)

• The American system gives more stability but less responsibility. The British system, on the other hand, gives more responsibility but less stability.
• The Draft Constitution in recommending the parliamentary system of Executive has preferred more responsibility to more stability.

Note:

Why Parliamentary System?

1. Familiarity with the System

The Constitution-makers were somewhat familiar with the parliamentary system as it had been in operation in India during the British rule.

2. Preference to More Responsibility

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar pointed out in the Constituent Assembly that ‘a democratic executive must satisfy two conditions: stability and responsibility. Unfortunately, it has not been possible so far to devise a system which can ensure both in equal degree.

3. Need to Avoid Legislative–Executive Conflicts

The framers of the Constitution wanted to avoid the conflicts between the legislature and the executive which are bound to occur in the presidential system prevalent in USA. They thought that an infant democracy could not afford to take the risk of a perpetual cleavage, feud or conflict or threatened conflict between these two organs of the government. They wanted a form of government that would be conductive to the manifold development of the country.

4. Nature of Indian Society

India is one of the most heterogeneous States and most complex plural societies in the world. Hence, the Constitution-makers adopted the parliamentary system as it offers greater scope for giving representation to various section, interests and regions in the government. This promotes a national spirit among the people and builds a united India.

• Whether the parliamentary system should be continued or should be replaced by the presidential system has been a point of discussion and debate in our country since the 1970s.
• This matter was considered in detail by the Swaran Singh Committee appointed by the Congress government in 1975.
• The committee opined that the parliamentary system has been doing well and hence, there is no need to replace it by the presidential system.

Solution (c)

Note:

Vice-President:

• Vice-President of India is the second highest office under the Article 63 – 71, Part V of the Constitution of India.
• He is accorded a rank next to the President in the official warrant of precedence.
• The Vice-President, like the President, is elected indirectly rather than directly by the electoral college.
• The model for the office of the vice-president of India is borrowed from the American Vice-President.

Power And Functions:

• Vice-President acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha and his powers and functions are similar to those of the speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• In the event of the president’s inability to work due to any reasons or a vacancy in the office of the president due to any reason he can act as the president.
• The office was created to maintain continuity in the Indian state; however, this is only for 6 months till the next president is elected.
• The Vice President while discharging duty as President, should not preside over Rajya Sabha.
• The Vice-President does not execute the responsibilities of Rajya Sabha Chairman while serving as President or discharging the obligations of President.
• During this time, such responsibilities are carried out by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Solution (c)

Solution (c)

DisqualificationsUnder the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified for being elected as a member of Parliament:

1. If he holds any office of profit under the Union or state government (except that of a minister or any other office exempted by Parliament).
2. If he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a court.
3. If he is an undischarged insolvent.
4. If he is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance to a foreign state; and
5. If he is so disqualified under any law made by Parliament.

The Parliament has laid down the following additional disqualifications in the Representation of People Act (1951):

1. He must not have been found guilty of certain election offences or corrupt practices in the elections.
2. He must not have been convicted for any offence resulting in imprisonment for two or more years. But, the detention of a person under a preventive detention law is not a disqualification.
3. He must not have failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time.
4. He must not have any interest in government contracts, works or services.
5. He must not be a director or managing agent nor hold an office of profit in a corporation in which the government has at least 25 per cent share.
6. He must not have been dismissed from government service for corruption or disloyalty to the State.

Solution (c)

Note:

• If a sitting member of one House is also elected to the other House, his seat in the first House becomes vacant.
• Similarly, a person cannot be a member of both the Parliament and the state legislature at the same time. If a person is so elected, his seat in Parliament becomes vacant if he does not resign his seat in the state legislature within 14 days.

Solution (a)

• Poshan 2.0 is a centrally sponsored schemebeing implemented through the State government/ UT administrations based on a cost-sharing ratio between the Central and the State Governments.
• It addresses malnutrition among children up to 6 years of age, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating women. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It aims to create an integrated nutrition support program that enhances the content, delivery, outreach, and overall outcomes of nutritional services.
• The 6th Rashtriya Poshan Maah is celebrated by theMinistry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD)  to comprehensively address malnutrition using a life-cycle approach. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
• The main objective is to raise awareness about critical life stages, including pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, topromote better nutrition across India.
• The theme of the 6th Rashtriya Poshan Maah of 2023 is ‘Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat’. It places importance on nutrition, education, and empowerment in building a healthier and stronger country. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Solution (a)

• Fiscal Deficit is thedifference between the government’s total expenditure and its total revenue excluding borrowings. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is an indicator of the extent to which the government must borrow to finance its operations and is expressed as a percentage of the country’s GDP.
• A high fiscal deficit represents a debt burden while a low fiscal deficit represents a healthy economy. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
• It enables the government to increase spending onpublic services that can stimulate economic growth.
• It can finance long-term investments, such as infrastructure projects, through fiscal deficit.
• It can lead to job creation, which can help reduce unemployment and increase the standard of living. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Solution (b)

• Gabon is the4th largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is surrounded by the Atlantic Oceanin the west. It was a former French colony.
• Its capital is Libreville and shares land borders withCameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo.
• It is a member of theOrganization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The Loango National Park is one of the country’s best wildlife-watching spots. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Solution (c)

• Pulikkali is one of the folk art forms of Kerala. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The artists wear tiger masks, paint their bodies like tigers, and dance to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments such as thakil, udukku, and chenda.
• The main theme of this folk art is tiger hunting. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It is performed on the fourth day of the Onam festival. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• It is believed to have originated two centuries ago as a street dance form and became part of Onam celebrations later.
• It is said to have been introduced by the erstwhile ruler of Cochin, Maharaja Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran.

Solution (d)

The key features of the National Education Policy 2020:

• Its primary objective is to prioritize learning in a student’s mother tongue. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It aims to create the National Research Foundationto facilitate research within academic institutions. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It establishes the National Curriculum Framework for School Education to set specific learning standards. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• It establishes a National Credit Framework to encompass various academic practices within a credit bank. Hence statement 4 is correct.

Solution (c)

• The Gujarat Declaration was adopted at the first World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Global Summit. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The first World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Global Summit was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• It placed importance on global commitments towards indigenous knowledge, biodiversity, and traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Solution (b)

• The Education to Entrepreneurship Initiative is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, and Meta. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It aims to provide digital marketing skills training to five lakh entrepreneurs over the next three years. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Under this initiative, training will be conducted in seven regional languages by using platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• It will equip India’s talent pool with futuristic technologies, fostering a new generation of problem solvers and entrepreneurs.

Solution (c)

• The Kākāpō is a species of parrot found only in New Zealand. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN List. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It is the world’s only flightless parrot. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• It is the world’s heaviest parrot. Hence statement 4 is correct.
• It is nocturnal and herbivorous.
• It is also possibly one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years.
• They only breed every few years, triggered by the availability of certain forest foods such as the fruits of the native rimu tree.
• It is also the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system.

Note: Lek breeding system is a mating system in which the male provides no parental care to its offspring.

Solution (a)

• The G20 works in three major tracks. The official tracks are the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. The unofficial track includes engagement groups or civil society groups.
• The Finance Track is headed by the finance ministers and central bank governors and mainly focuses on issues of the global economy.
• It mainly focuses on fiscal and monetary policy issues such as the global economy, infrastructure, financial regulation, financial inclusion, international financial architecture, and international taxation. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The Sherpa Track is headed by representatives of heads of state and mainly focuses on socio-economic issues.
• It mainly focuses on socio-economic issues such as agriculture, anti-corruption, climate, digital economy, education, employment, energy, environment, health, tourism, trade and investment.
• The unofficial track comprises engagement or civil groups. These groups often draft recommendations to the G20 Leaders that contribute to the policy-making process.
• The engagement groups are as follows: Business20, Civil20, Labour20, Parliament20, Science20, SAI20, Startup20, Think20, Urban20, Women20 and Youth20. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.

Solution (d)

• The Johannesburg Declaration and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement are related to BRICS.
• The Johannesburg Declaration predominantly emphasizes intra-BRICS cooperation and collaboration with other developing nations. The member nations have agreed to promote the use oflocal currencies in trade and financial transactions between BRICS countries and other trade partners.
• The Contingent Reserve Arrangement aids countries facing short-term balance-of-payments challenges.

Hence option d is correct.

Solution (d)

Option (a) is incorrect because the passage is talking about avoiding all the pity issues. It is not so specific to controversies.

Option (b) is incorrect because though the passage is from the life of Lincoln, it is conveying a specific message. That message is the essential discussion and not the life of Lincoln.

Option (c) is incorrect because though some aspects of self-control is discussed here, the ways of achieving it is not discussed here. The passage discusses how Lincoln reprimanded an officer and told him not to spare time for personal contention. He also advices him to yield larger things.

Thus, Option (d) is the correct answer.

Solution (a)

Men =Time*Work

Let the work be 100 units and time be 1 unit 100×1 = 100 units

Now work is 150 units (after 50% increase), but time remains the same.

Let m be the total number of workers (with same efficiency) required now.

So, m×1=150 So m=150

So extra workers required = 50

But since the new workers are 5/2 times (i.e. 150% more) efficient than the existing workers. So actual number of new workers required = 50/(5/2) = 20

Hence, the required percentage = 20/100 × 100 = 20%

Solution (a)

The passage discusses why we should not let others know that we are trying to convince them. Thus, we should do that subtly. Option (a) is therefore the correct answer. Option (b) is incorrect because the passage is not about morality. Option (c) is incorrect because the origin of this ability is not discussed here. Option (d) is incorrect because the passage is not specific to wise person.

Solution (a)

W = MDH (formula)

Where, W = work; M = man (number of persons); D = days (number of days); H = hours (hours per day)

So, 60×9×27=30×162×X

(X= hours a day needed by each of the 30 men)

⇒ X = 60×9×27/30×162

= 3 hours.

Solution (b)

New speed = 4/5 of its usual speed

So, New time taken = 5/4 of the usual time

[time = distance/speed, if distance is constant then time ∝ 1/speed ]

So, (5/4 of the usual time) – (usual time) = 20 min

➱ (5/4 -1) of the usual time = 20 min

➱ ¼ of the usual time = 20 min

➱ usual time = (4×20) min

= 80 min.