Solution (d)

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 was awarded to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.

Solution (c)

Bluetongue disease is a noncontagious, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedaries, and antelope. It is caused by Bluetongue virus (BTV). The virus is transmitted by the midges Culicoides imicola, Culicoides variipennis, and other culicoids.

In sheep, BTV causes an acute disease with high morbidity and mortality. BTV also infects goats, cattle and other domestic animals as well as wild ruminants (for example, blesbuck, white-tailed deer, elk, and pronghorn antelope).

Solution (a)

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India under Chapter V, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the external auditor of government-owned companies. The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures. The CAG is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, which has over 58,000 employees across the country. The CAG is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 – 151.

The CAG is appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal. He holds office for a period of six years or upto the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier

The powers of the CAG, regarding audit, are provided for in the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971. According to this act, the CAG can audit:

• All receipts and expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India and of the states and union territories.
• All transactions relating to the Contingency Funds and Public Accounts.
• All trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any department.
• All stores and stock of all government offices or departments.
• Accounts of all government companies set up under the Indian Companies Act, 1956.
• Accounts of all central government corporations whose Acts provide for audit by the CAG.
• Accounts of all authorities and bodies substantially funded from the Consolidated Fund.

Solution (c)

An endeavour titled ‘Project Vishwajeet’ by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to put IITs among the list of global educational institutions could see a revival.

When this initiative was conceptualised in 2016, it aimed to push seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to the top rung in global academic rankings. The seven IITs which will be a part of this project are IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee and IIT Kanpur.

Solution (c)

The Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina), also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals. In the early 1990s, isolated populations still survived in less disturbed areas of South Malabar but were seriously threatened by habitat destruction and hunting outside protected areas.