[DAY 37] 60 DAY RAPID REVISION (RaRe) SERIES for UPSC Prelims 2022 – POLITY, CURRENT AFFAIRS & CSAT; Test Series, Videos & Notes!

Solution (b) 

Basic Info:

Declaration of 5th Schedule:
The Fifth Schedule under Article 244(1) of the Constitution contains provisions regarding administration of Scheduled Areas other than in Northeast India.

As per the Constitutional provision under Article 244 (1) of the Constitution of India, the ‘Scheduled Areas’ are defined as ‘such areas as the President may by order declare
to be Scheduled Areas’ – as per paragraph 6(1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution
of India.

 The specification of “Scheduled Areas” in relation to a State is by a notified order of the President, after consultation with the Governor of that State.

The criteria followed for declaring an area as Scheduled Area are

• Preponderance of tribal population
• Compactness and reasonable size of the area
• Under-developed nature of the area
• Marked disparity in economic standard of the people.

These criteria are not spelt out in the Constitution of India but have become well established.

Solution (d)

Basic Info:

About Sixth Schedule of the Constitution:

It provides for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to safeguard the rights of the tribal population in these states.

This special provision is provided under Article 244(2) and Article 275(1) of the Constitution.

It seeks to safeguard the rights of the tribal population through the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC). 

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

DCs are bodies representing a district to which the Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.

Features:

• Provisions have been made for the creation of the District Councils and regional councils for the exercise of certain legislative and judicial powers. However, their jurisdiction is subject to the jurisdiction of the concerned High Court.
• They have powers to form courts to hear cases where both parties are members of Scheduled Tribes and the maximum sentence is less than 5 years in prison.
• They also have powers to levy taxes, fees and tolls on buildings, land, animals, vehicles, boats, entry of goods into the area, roads, ferries, bridges, employment and income and general taxes for the maintenance of schools and roads.

The Acts of Parliament or the State Legislature do not apply to autonomous districts and autonomous regions or apply with specified modifications and exceptions.

The Governor is vested with powers regarding the councils. He/she, by public notification, may:

• Include or exclude any new area.
• Create a new autonomous district.
• Define the boundaries of any autonomous district.
• Increase or decrease the area of an existing autonomous district.
• Alter the name of any autonomous district

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

There are 10 states having 5^th scheduled areas:

• Andhra Pradesh
• Chhattisgarh
• Gujarat
• Himachal Pradesh
• Jharkhand
• Madhya Pradesh
• Maharashtra
• Odisha
• Rajasthan
• Telangana

Solution (a)

Basic Info:

According to the provisions, under Article 244(1) of Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, the Tribes Advisory Councils (TAC) shall be established in each State having Scheduled Areas.

If the President directs, they also can be established in any State having Scheduled Tribes but not Scheduled Areas therein.

Tribes Advisory Council shall consist of not more than 20 members.

• Three-fourths shall be representatives of Scheduled Tribes in State Legislative Assembly provided that if number of representatives of STs in State Assembly is less than number of seats in TAC to be filled by such representatives, remaining seats shall be filled by other members of those tribes.

Tribes Advisory Councils (TAC) have been constituted in all the ten states having Scheduled Areas.

Further, the States of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand not having any notified Scheduled Area also have Tribes Advisory Council constituted therein. Accordingly, there is no State (mandated to establish TAC), which have not constituted TAC.

It shall be the duty of the Tribes Advisory Council to advise on such matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes in the State as may be referred to them by the Governor.

Solution (d)

Basic Info:

Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 provides for setting up of tribunals for adjudication of inter-state river water disputes.

Some of the Major Inter-State River Disputes:

• Ravi and Beas: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
• Narmada: Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan
• Krishna: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana
• Cauvery: Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
• Periyar: Tamil Nadu, Kerala
• Mahadayi: Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka
• Mahanadi: Chhattisgarh, Odisha
• Godavari: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha
• Vamsadhara: Andhra Pradesh & Odisha

Solution (a)

Basic Info:

Zonal Councils

The Zonal Councils are the statutory (and not constitutional) bodies. They are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, States Reorganisation Act of 1956.

The act divided the country into five zones (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern) and provided a zonal council for each zone.

Each zonal council consists of the following members:

• Minister of Central government.
• Chief Ministers of all the States in the zone.
• Two other ministers from each state in the zone.
• Administrator of each union territory in the zone.

The Home Minister of Central government is the common Chairman of the five zonal councils

In addition to the above mentioned Zonal Councils, a North-Eastern Council was created by a separate Act of Parliament, the North-Eastern Council Act of 1971.

• Its members include Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim.
• The Council comprises of Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members to be nominated by the
• The Union Home Minsiter is ex-officio Chairman.

These are advisory bodies that make recommendations with regard to any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning between the Centre and States border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-State transport or matters connected with the reorganisation of States.

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

NITI Aayog releases the State Health Index that provides incremental performance in health outcomes and status. The index is developed by: NITI Aayog, World Bank, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The State Health Index is annual tool to assess the performance of states and UTs. It is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains of ‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governance and Information’, and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’. Each domain has been assigned weights based on its importance with higher score for outcome indicators.

To ensure comparison among similar entities, the ranking is categorized as ‘Larger States’, ‘Smaller States’ and ‘Union Territories’.

Among the ‘Larger States’, in terms of annual incremental performance, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Telangana are the top three ranking states.

Among ‘Smaller States’, Mizoram and Meghalaya registered the maximum annual incremental progress.

Among UTs, Delhi, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, showed the best incremental performance.

On overall ranking based on the composite index score in 2019–20, the top-ranking states were Kerala and Tamil Nadu among the ‘Larger States’, Mizoram and Tripura among the ‘Smaller States’, and DH&DD and Chandigarh among the UTs.

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

In Cooperative federalism the Centre and states share a horizontal relationship, where they “cooperate” in the larger public interest.

It is an important tool to enable states participation in the formulation and implementation of national policies.

Union and the states are constitutionally obliged to cooperate with each other on the matters specified in Schedule VII of the constitution.

Instruments to ensure co-operation between centre and states in India:

Seventh schedule: It clearly demarcates central, state and concurrent list based on the principle of subsidiary. Residuary power has been kept with centre.

Integrated Judiciary, All India Services: An integrated judicial system has been established to enforce both state as well as central laws. All India services provide another uniting factor in cooperative federalism.

Other mechanisms: National Development Council, NITI (National Initiative for Transforming India) Aayog, Finance commission under article 280 of the constitution various committees like Rajamannar Committee, Sarkaria commission, etc.

Rajamannar Committee is related to center-state relation and Seventh schedule is an Instruments to ensure cooperation between centre and states.

Solution (d)

Basic Info:

Art 263 contemplates the establishment of an inter-state council to effect coordination between the states and between centre and states

The President can establish such a council at any time it appears to him that public interest would be served by its establishment. He is also authorized to define the nature of duties to be performed by such a council and its organization and procedure

Composition of the council:

• PM as chairman
• CM of all the states
• CM of UTS having legislative assemblies
• Administrators of UTs not having legislative assemblies
• Governors of states under President’s rule
• Six Central cabinet ministers, including the home minister, to be nominated by the PM
• Five ministers of the cabinet rank are permanent invitees of the council

The council meeting are supposed to be held thrice a year and its decisions on all questions are decided by consensus

A standing committee of the council was setup in 1996 for continuous consultation and processing of matters for the consideration of the council. The chairman of this standing committee is Union Home Minister.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

The Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for rural areas with the following objectives:

• To provide electrification to all villages
• Feeder separation to ensure sufficient power to farmers and regular supply to other consumers
• Improvement of Sub-transmission and distribution network to improve the quality and reliability of the supply
• Metering to reduce the losses

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

MyGov has been established as Government of India’s Citizen Engagement Platform which collaborates with multiple Government bodies/ Ministries to engage with citizens for policy formulation and seeks the opinion of people on issues/ topics of public interest and welfare.

This platform is designed, developed and hosted by National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India.

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

AMRUT mission was launched in June 2015 to ensure that every household has access to a tap with the assured supply of water and a sewerage connection.

AMRUT 2.0 aims to provide 100% coverage of water supply to all households in around 4,700 ULBs (Urban Local Bodies).

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is the nodal ministry for the scheme.

It also seeks to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat through encouraging Startups and Entrepreneurs.

Objectives:

• It will build upon the progress of AMRUT to address water needs, rejuvenate water bodies, better manage aquifers, reuse treated wastewater, thereby promoting a circular economy of water.
• It will provide 100% coverage of sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities.
• Recycling and reuse of treated wastewater is expected to cater to 20% of total water needs of the cities and 40% of industrial demand. Under the Mission, fresh water bodies will be protected from getting polluted to make natural resources sustainable.
• Pey Jal Survekshan will be conducted in cities to ascertain equitable distribution of water, reuse of wastewater and mapping of water bodies.

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

HRIDAY scheme called National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on 21st January 2015

This scheme aimed to preserve and revitalise heritage cities of India to reflect their unique character.

It also encourages the development of an aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative and secured environment in heritage cities.

Below are the cities that are listed under the HRIDAY Scheme:

• Ajmer
• Amravati
• Badami
• Gaya
• Mathura
• Puri
• Varanasi
• Velankanni
• Warangal
• Dwarka
• Kanchipuram
• Amritsar

Agra is not included.

HRIDAY is a central sector scheme, where 100% funding will be provided by Government of India. 

Solution (b)

Basic Info:

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana:

The scheme was launched by the Prime Minister of India on 11th October, 2014 on the birth anniversary of Jai Prakash Narayan.

Under the Yojana, Members of Parliament (MPs) are responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024. The first Adarsh Gram (Model Village) was to be developed by 2016, and two more by 2019.

From 2019 to 2024, five more Adarsh Grams must be developed by each MP, one each year. This implies that a total of 6,433 Adarsh Grams, of the 2,65,000 gram panchayats, will be created by 2024.

The MP will identify one Gram Panchayat to be taken up immediately, and two others to be taken up a little later.

Lok Sabha MP has to choose a Gram Panchayat from within his/her constituency and Rajya Sabha MP a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of a district of his/her choice in the State from which he/she is elected.

Nominated MPs may choose a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of any district in the country. In the case of urban constituencies, (where there are no Gram Panchayats), the MP will identify a Gram Panchayat from a nearby rural constituency.

Solution (a)

Basic Info:

Distribution of Tax Revenues:

Taxes Levied by the Centre but Collected and Appropriated by the States (Article 268): This category includes the following taxes and duties:

(i) Stamp duties on bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, policies of insurance, transfer of shares and others.

(ii) Excise duties on medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol and narcotics.

The proceeds of these duties levied within any state do not form a part of the Consolidated Fund of India, but are assigned to that state.

Solution (c)

Basic Info:

The Government of India established the National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD) in 1962. It is a Central Autonomous Organization attached to NITI Aayog, Ministry of Planning.

The primary objectives of this Institution include research and data collection in relation to all major aspects of development, and education and training in all aspects of Human Capital Planning, Human Resource Development and Monitoring and Evaluation.

The Institute moved to its own campus at Narela in 2002. Narela is a developing urban and
institutional hub declared as a special economic zone for knowledge in the National Capital
Region

Solution (d)

Basic Info:

Article 280 provides for a Finance Commission as a quasi-judicial body. It is constituted by
the President every fifth year or even earlier. It is required to make recommendations to the
President on the following matters:

• The distribution of the net proceeds of taxes to be shared between the Centre and the states, and the allocation between the states, the respective shares of such proceeds.
• The principles which should govern the grants-in-aid to the states by the Centre (i.e., out of the Consolidated Fund of India).
• The measures needed to augment the consolidated fund of a state to supplement the resources of the panchayats and the municipalities in the state on the basis of the recommendations made by the State Finance Commission.
• Any other matter referred to it by the President in the interests of sound finance.

In November 2017, the President of India appointed the 15th Finance Commission, under the chairmanship of NK Singh. It will make suggestions for a five-year period, from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Recommendation for the Share of states in central taxes: The share of states in the central taxes for the 2021-26 period is recommended to be 41%, same as that for 2020-21.

This is less than the 42% share recommended by the 14th Finance Commission for 2015-20 period.  The adjustment of 1% is to provide for the newly formed union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh from the resources of the centre.

Solution (d)

Basic Info:

The successful functioning of the Indian federal system depends not only on the harmonious
relations and close cooperation between the Centre and the states but also between the
states inter se.

Hence, the Constitution makes the following provisions with regard to interstate comity:

1. Adjudication of inter-state water disputes.
   2. Coordination through inter-state councils.
   3. Mutual recognition of public acts, records and judicial proceedings.
   4. Freedom of inter-state trade, commerce and intercourse.

Solution (a)

Basic Info:

Subjects that do not fall in either the Union, State or the Concurrent List are known as the residuary subjects.

Article 248 vests the residuary powers in the parliament. It says that parliament has exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or the State List.

The idea of Residuary Powers has been taken from the Canadian Constitution

Solution (d)

Statement Analysis:

 Context – Hoysala architecture was nominated for world heritage tag

Solution (a)

Statement Analysis:

 Context – This scheme was announced in the Union Budget.

Solution (c)

Shivay, Siddhi, Pravega are super computers under PARAM series. PARAM also stands for Parallel machine.

Context – The supercomputers were recently commissioned.

Solution (d)

Abandoned coal mines are used for the following purposes:

1. Dumping /Filling of fly ash in to the worked out area for suitable reclamation.
2. Development of eco and mine tourism parks
3. Afforestation
4. Pisciculture
5. Source to supply of drinking water and other domestic use.
6. Generation of sand from overburden of opencast mines at few places

Context – This information was given by Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Rajya Sabha

Solution (a)

Statement Analysis:

Context – CVI was released

Solution (c)

The average weight of 30 students = 40 kg

After including the teacher, the average weight of 30 students + teacher = 40.5

30 * 40 + t = 31 * 40.5

1200 + t = 1250.5

t = 1250.5 – 1200 = 50.5 kg

Solution (b)

The numbers would form an arithmetic progression with common difference 1 and the average of 5 numbers is the middle number( 3^rd number)

The numbers are 16,17,18,19 and 20. The highest number is 20.

Solution (b)

The total numbers of years of the family of four 4 years ago = 4 * 17 = 68

The total numbers of years of the family of 5 presently = (17 + 4) * 4 + x = 85

= 21 * 4 + x = 85 years

= x = 85 – 84 = 1 year.

Solution (d)

The average marks = 70

Marks reduced of 80 students = 30

Formula used: Average = Sum of observation/Total number of observation

Calculation;

Let the total number of students appeared to be n

And let the sum of marks of total student be S

average marks = S/n = 70 ⇒ S = 70n      —-(i)

Now, after deducting 30 marks as the score is reduced from 90 to 60 of 80 students

the new sum of marks = S – 2400

new average = (S – 2400)/n = 50

Now, from equation. (1), we know that S = 70n

⇒ 70n – 2400 = 50n

⇒ 20n = 2400

⇒ n = 120

∴ Total number of students who appeared for an exam = 120.

Solution (b)

Note the line before the statement that Topophilia is difficult to design for and impossible to quantify: ‘As Tuan noted, purely aesthetic responses often are suddenly revealed, but their intensity rarely is long-lasting’. So, the reason why Topophilia is difficult to design for is that people’s responses to their environment are subjective, sudden and short-lived.

Hence, option b is correct.