UPSC Quiz – 2020: IAS Daily Current Affairs Quiz Day 179

Solution (b)

Within the use-based classification, data is provided for six categories. These are :-

• Primary Goods (consisting of mining, electricity, fuels and fertilisers) — this has a weight of 34%
• Capital Goods (e.g. Machinery items) — this has a weight of 8%
• Intermediate Goods (e.g. yarns, chemicals, semi-finished steel items, etc) — this has a weight of 17%
• Infrastructure Goods (e.g. paints, cement, cables, bricks and tiles, rail materials, etc) — this has a weight of 12%
• Consumer Durables (e.g. garments, telephones, passenger vehicles, etc) — this has a weight of 13%
• Consumer Non-durables (e.g. food items, medicines, toiletries, etc) — this has a weight of 15%

Solution (c)

An MP who is not a minister is a private member and while both private members and ministers take part in the lawmaking process, Bills introduced by private members are referred to as private member’s Bills and those introduced by ministers are called government Bills.

Government Bills are backed by the government and also reflect its legislative agenda. The admissibility of a private Bill is decided by the Chairman in the case of the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker in the case of the Lok Sabha.

Before the Bill can be listed for introduction, the Member must give at least a month’s notice, for the House Secretariat to examine it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation. While a government Bill can be introduced and discussed on any day, a private member’s bill can only be introduced and discussed on Fridays.

Solution (c)

The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, sometime abbreviated BEPS multilateral instrument, is a multilateral convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises (MNEs) through prevention of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). The BEPS multilateral instrument was negotiated within the framework of the OECD G20 BEPS project and enables countries and jurisdictions to swiftly modify their bilateral tax treaties to implement some of the measures agreed.

India has ratified the treaty and the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) “came into force for India on October 1, 2019, and its provisions will have effect on India’s DTAAs from FY 2020-21 onwards

Solution (c)

The Parliament of India formed an Act which regulates the import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in India. The primary objective of the Act is to ensure that the drugs and cosmetics sold in India are safe, effective and conform to prescribed quality standards. The Drugs Act was formulated in 1940 in pursuance of recommendations of Chopra Committee constituted in 1930 by Government of India.  

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has brought medical devices within the regulatory ambit, treating them as a category of ‘drugs’ for the purpose of regulating them under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (DCA).

The MoHFW has specified that all such devices including instruments, apparatus, appliances, implants or other articles, whether used alone or in combination, including a software or an accessory, intended by its manufacturer to be used specifically on human beings or animals, will be considered for this purpose.

Solution (d)

Soil-transmitted helminth infections are among the most common infections worldwide and affect the poorest and most deprived communities. They are transmitted by eggs present in human faeces which in turn contaminate soil in areas where sanitation is poor. The main species that infect people are the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale).

Soil-transmitted helminths are transmitted by eggs that are passed in the faeces of infected people. Adult worms live in the intestine where they produce thousands of eggs each day. In areas that lack adequate sanitation, these eggs contaminate the soil. This can happen in several ways:

• eggs that are attached to vegetables are ingested when the vegetables are not carefully cooked, washed or peeled;
• eggs are ingested from contaminated water sources;
• eggs are ingested by children who play in the contaminated soil and then put their hands in their mouths without washing them.

THINK!

• National Deworming Day