UPSC CSE Prelims Paper 1 (GS) Mock Test - 12 - UPSC MCQ

• Asita Project (Asita is another name of Yamuna)
• It's a Yamuna River Front Development Project, aims to restore, revive and rejuvenate the river‘s floodplains and make them accessible to the people of Delhi.
• Reviving Ecosystem by creating a wetlands, to store the flood waters and to improve the groundwater recharge which will eventually result in flourishing of biodiversity in the floodplains.
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is monitoring the development of project.

• Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) refers to the net increase in physical assets (investment minus disposals) within the measurement period. It does not account for the consumption (depreciation) of fixed capital, and also does not include land purchases. To be more precise Gross fixed capital formation measures the net increase in fixed capital. It is a component of expenditure approach to calculating GDP. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• GDP as defined by the expenditure method consider the end use of incomes generated on expenditure and investments. It is distinct from GDP estimated by economic activity, where the economy is divided into segments like agriculture, industry and services and GDP is estimated by measuring the value added at each stage of the production process.
• GDP as measured through the expenditure method is the sum of Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE), Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), Change in stocks or inventories, Valuables and the Net Exports (NX). Hence statement 2 is correct.
• GFCF measures the addition of fixed assets through expenditure on construction, purchase of machinery and equipment and software

• A unique form of architecture developed in the hills of Kumaon, Garhwal, Himachal and Kashmir. Kashmir‘s proximity to prominent Gandhara sites (such as Taxila, Peshawar and the northwest frontier) lent the region a strong Gandhara influence by the fifth century CE. This began to mix with the Gupta and post-Gupta traditions that were brought to it from Sarnath, Mathura and even centres in Gujarat and Bengal. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The Karkota period of Kashmir is the most significant in terms of architecture. One of the most important temples is Pandrethan, built during the eighth and ninth centuries. In keeping with the tradition of a water tank attached to the shrine, this temple is built on a plinth built in the middle of a tank. Although there are evidences of both Hindu and Buddhist followings in Kashmir, this temple is a Hindu one, possibly dedicated to Shiva. Few more temples in Kashmir, the Martand Sun Temple, the Awantipora temples, the Sankara-Gauresvara temple, temple of Sugandhesa at Patan, the Pandrethan temples, the Shiva Bhutesa and Siva Jeyshthesa temples at Vangath, the Parihasakesva, Muktakesva, Mahavarha and Goverdhanadhara temples in Parihasapura, and the famous Mameswara Siva temple at Mamalaka are some specimens of great archaeological value. Hence, statement 2 and 3 are correct

• Statement 1 is correct: Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage. Located in specific sites around the world, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.
• Unfortunately, these agricultural systems are threatened by many factors including climate change and increased competition for natural resources. They are also dealing with migration due to low economic viability, which has resulted in traditional farming practices being abandoned and endemic species and breeds being lost.
• These ancestral agricultural systems constitute the foundation for contemporary and future agricultural innovations and technologies. Their cultural, ecological and agricultural diversity is still evident in many parts of the world, maintained as unique systems of agriculture.
• Statement 2 is not correct: These sites as designated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN.
• Statement 31 is correct: India has 3 sites designated as GIAHS: Saffron Heritage of Kashmir, Koraput Traditional Agriculture (Odisha) and Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System (Kerala).

• The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development‘s (ICIMOD) ―Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment‖ reveals that more than one-third of the glaciers in the region could retreat by 2100, even if the global temperature rise is capped at 1.5ºC.
• Since 1970s, nearly 15% of the glaciers in the HKH has disappeared. Eastern Himalaya glaciers have tended to shrink faster than glaciers in the central or western Himalaya.
• In contrast to the Himalayan glaciers, on average, glacier areas in the Karakoram have not changed significantly. Given the context of glacier retreat throughout the rest of the extended HKH region, this behaviour has been designated the Karakoram anomaly‘.

• National Central Cooling Company PJSC (DFM: Tabreed), a leading UAE -based international cooling provider, has entered into a 30 year concession to offer District Cooling solutions to the greenfield city of Amaravati. The contracted cooling capacity for 20,000 refrigeration tons (RTs) entails build, own, operate and transfer India‘s first district cooling system in Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
• District cooling systems produce chilled water at a central plant and then pipe that energy out to buildings for air conditioning. As a result, these buildings do not  require their own chillers or air  conditioners. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Compared to other cooling systems, district cooling uses only 50 per cent of the primary energy consumption for cooling urban buildings, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions. It also helps in improving the air quality and reducing general noise levels when compared to other traditional air conditioning systems. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (2013) seeks to establish the institution of the Lokpal at the Centre and the Lokayukta at the level of the State and thus seeks to provide a uniform vigilance and anti-corruption road map for the nation both at the Centre and at the States. The jurisdiction of Lokpal includes the Prime Minister, Ministers, Members of Parliament and Groups A, B, C and D officers and officials of the Central Government. Hence option d is correct.
• Provisions related to Removal and suspension of Chairperson and Members of Lokpal:
• The Lokpal shall not inquire into any complaint made against the Chairperson or any Member. Hence option a is correct.
• The Chairperson or any Member shall be removed from his office by order of the President on grounds of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court, on a reference being made to it by the President on a petition signed by at least one hundred Members of Parliament has, on an inquiry held in accordance with the procedure prescribed in that behalf, reported that the Chairperson or such Member, as the case may be, ought to be removed on such ground. If the Chairperson or any Member is, or becomes, in any way concerned or interested in any contract or agreement made by or on behalf of the Government of India or the Government of a State or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising there from otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company, he/she shall be deemed to be guilty of misbehaviour. Hence option b is correct and option c is not correct.
• Not withstanding the above provisions, the President may, by order, remove from the office, the Chairperson or any Member if the Chairperson or such Member, as the case may be,
  (i) is adjudged an insolvent; or
  (ii) engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or
  (iii) is, in the opinion of the President, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body.

• The practice of inscribing imperial proclamations on stone is a marked feature of Ashoka‘s reign.
• Ashoka‘s inscriptions are divided into various categories.The two main categories are of the major rock edicts and the pillar edicts. The rock and pillar edicts are sets of inscriptions that occur, with minor variations, in different places.
• There are also several minor rock edicts, minor pillar edicts, and cave inscriptions. The minor rock edicts are considered among the earliest inscriptions, the major rock edicts later than them, and the pillar edicts still later.
• What makes Ashoka‘s edicts unique is that unlike royal inscriptions of later times, which follow a conventional pattern and phraseology, Ashoka‘s inscriptions reveal the voice and ideas of the king.
• The set of 14 major rock edicts (or portions thereof) occur at:
  (i) Kandahar (in Kandahar district, south Afghanistan) (only portions of rock edicts 12 and13)
  (ii) Shahbazgarhi (Peshawar district, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan) o Mansehra (Hazara district, NWFP, Pakistan) (iii) Kalsi (Dehradun district, Uttarakhand)
  (iv) Girnar (Junagadh district, Gujarat)
  (v) Bombay–Sopara (originally at Sopara in Thane district, Maharashtra; now in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai; only fragments of rock edicts 8 and 9)
  (vi) Dhauli (Puri district, Orissa; separate rock edicts 1 and 2 replace major rock edicts 11–13)
  (vii) Jaugada (Ganjam district, Orissa; separate rock edicts 1 and 2 replace major rock edicts11–13)
  (viii) Erragudi (Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh)
  (xi) Sannati (Gulbarga district, Karnataka; portions of rock edicts 12 and 14 and separate rock edicts 1 and 2 were found on a granite slab in a medieval goddess temple.
• The set of six (and in one case seven) pillar edicts, or portions thereof, occur at:
  (i) Kandahar (Kandahar district, south Afghanistan) (only portions of pillar edict 7)
  (ii) Delhi. The Delhi–Topra pillar originally stood in Topra (Ambala district, Haryana). This pillar has seven edicts.
  (iii) Delhi. The Delhi–Meerut pillar originally stood in Meerut (Meerut district, UP).
  (iv) Allahabad. The Allahabad–Kosam pillar was probably originally located in Kosam, i.e., Kaushambi (Allahabad district, UP).
  (v) Lauriya–Araraj (Champaran district, Bihar)
  (vi) Lauriya–Nandangarh (Champaran district, Bihar)
  (vii) Rampurva (Champaran district, Bihar)

Current account is a part of the overall balance of payment and reflects a country‘s international trade. It primarily measures net trade in goods and services along with all other earnings or payments that are required to be completed in a defined time period. Latest data shows India has a $48 billion current account deficit. India‘s exports, which are much lower than imports, is the main cause of current account deficit. Another major component of India‘s deficit is foreign investment income, where profits are repatriated to a company‘s origin country. India is in surplus in trade in services and a net gainer of remittances. These two surplus components, however, are not large enough to offset the trade deficit.
The detailed analysis of service component of current account deficit shows that the largest component of India‘s services surplus comes from IT industries. Similarly, India is a net exporter of travel meaning foreigners visiting India spend more money than Indians visiting foreign countries. India has to send abroad a significant amount of money for use of intellectual property. India is a net importer of recreational services that include services in film, music industry and so on.

The Constitutional Proposals of the Sapru Committee, commonly referred to as the Sapru Committee Report, was first published in 1945. It was prepared by a committee appointed by the Non-Party Conference in November 1944.

• Tej Bahadur Sapru, a well-renowned lawyer, convened the first meeting of the Non-Party Conference in 1941. This group consisted of individuals who represented a variety of interests except those of the Indian National Congress, Muslim League and the Communist Party.
• The Committee was briefed ‗...to examine the whole communal and minorities question from a constitutional and political point of view, put itself in touch with the different parties and their leaders, including the minorities interested in the question, and present a solution...‘
• The Sapru Committee consisted of thirty members who had distinguished themselves in public affairs and did not operate under the mandate of any political party.
• The Report contained detailed expositions on various aspects of India‘s constitutional future.
• The Report rejected the Muslim League‘s demand for Pakistan: it was not convinced that a separate state would be advantageous to any community and felt that the division of India would ‗endanger the peace and progress of the whole country‘.
• It called for the setting up of a constitution-making body that would frame a new constitution for India; representation of Muslim and Hindus in this body would be equal.
• It rejected separate electorates for Muslims for the Union Legislature and instead proposed joint electorates with reservation of seats.
• It introduced a ‘’Minorities Commission’’ that would assess the welfare of minorities and had powers to recommend measures to the government.
• The Report had a section on fundamental rights (similar to constitutional antecedent documents that preceded it like the Nehru Report, 1928) and contained provisions that included: freedom of speech, freedom of press, religious freedom and equality. It called for the future constitution body to precisely formulate these rights.
• In the explanatory sections of the study, the Committee engaged with the issue of dividing rights into justiciable and non-justiciable though it did not propose anything in its recommendation; it alerted future drafters of the question to pay attention to this question. This was arguably the first time a constitutional document brought up the question of justiciable and non-justiciable rights.

• There are two kinds of banking licences that are granted by the Reserve Bank of India – Universal Bank Licence and Differentiated Bank Licence. Differentiated Banks (niche banks) are banks that serve the needs of a certain demographic segment of the population. Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks are examples of differentiated banks in India.
• Differentiated licensing refers to the system of different licenses in contrast to the existing universal bank (SBI, ICICI etc). The universal banks including the PSBs and private sector banks can provide all banking services and products. On the other hand, under differentiated banking license, the Small Finance Banks and Payments Banks can provided only selected products (and in prescribed geographies). Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The scheduled commercial banks are those banks which are included in the second schedule of RBI Act 1934 and which carry out the normal business of banking such as accepting deposits, giving out loans and other banking services. They include Universal banks such as Public Sector Banks, Private Banks, Foreign Banks and Regional Rural Banks. Whie Regional Rural Banks are a sort of differentiated bank (as they have their own niche and operate in specific locations) others have been granted Universal Banking licences. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• The Reserve Bank of India‘s attempt to inject rupee liquidity through foreign exchange swap auction has received good response. The RBI has different tools through which it injects liquidity into financial markets. The "swap auction‘ which was conducted recently is one such tool. Hence statement 2 is correct. This is being done to increase the supply of rupees in the market. Technically, this activity is termed as a USD/INR buy/sell swap auction.
• Through this auction, the RBI will buy US dollars from banks. Hence statement 1 is not correct. In turn the RBI will pay rupees to the participating banks at the current spot rate. At an average spot rate of 70 per dollar, the RBI will able to infuse about ₹ 35,000 crore into the system through this auction  process.
• Simultaneously, the banks will agree to buy-back the same amount of dollars from the RBI after three years — the tenor of this auction. The participating banks have to bid in the auction by quoting a forward premium in terms of paisa that they will pay to buy back the dollars. For example, if the spot exchange rate is 70 to a dollar, say Bank A quotes a premium of 150 paisa and bids for $25 million. So, the bank  will get ₹ 175 crore ($25 million multiplied by the exchange rate of 70). After three years, the bank has to pay back approximately ₹ 179 crore ($25 million multiplied by the exchange rate of 71.5) to the RBI to buy back $25 million.
• The dollar amount mobilised through the auction would reflect in the RBI‘s foreign exchange reserves for the tenor of the swap as also in the RBI‘s forward liabilities.

• The Pallavas reached their zenith during the reign of Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630), a contemporary of Harsha and Pulakeshin II. The struggle for Vengi between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas became the immediate pretext for a long, drawn-out war, which began with the defeat of the Pallavas.
  (i) Mahendravarman‘s successor, Narasimhavarman I (reigned c. 630 –668), also called Mahamall or Mamalla, avenged the Pallava defeat by capturing Vatapi. He assumed the title of Vatapikonda.
• The Chola ruler Parantaka succeeded his father Aditya I on the throne in 907 and ruled for forty- eight years. Soon after his accession, as early as 910, he invaded the Pandyan country and assumed the title Maduraikonda (‗ Capturer of Madura ‘).
  (i) The Pandyan ruler at the time, Maravarman Rajasimha II (900-20) appealed for help to Kassapa V, ruler of Ceylon, who sent an army to his aid. In due course, however, Parantaka defeated the combined armies at the battle of Vellur.
  (ii) Rajasimha had to flee to Ceylon and the Chola conquest of the Pandya country was completed soon after.
  (iii) Some years later, in the reign of Udaya IV of Ceylon (940 -53), Parantaka made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the insignia of the Pandyan king. His failure was remembered and made up for several years later by his powerful descendant Rajendra I.

• The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was announced in 2003 with objectives of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country.
• PMSSY has two components:
  • Setting up of AIIMS like Institutions
  • Upgradation of Government Medical College Institutions
• A new AIIMS, in Haryana, was recently announced in the Interim Budget Speech 2019 -20, under Phase- VIII of the program.

• Statement 1 is correct: Methanogens are the only known microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct in hypoxic conditions. (Hypoxia is a condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level.)
  (i) Process of methane production is known as Methanogenesis
  (ii) They are common in wetlands, where they are responsible for marsh gas, and in the digestive tracts of animals such as ruminants and humans, where they are responsible for the methane content of belching in ruminants and flatulence in humans.
  (iii) Among livestock, methane production is greatest in ruminants, as methanogens are able to produce methane freely through the normal process of feed digestion.
• Statement 2 is correct:
  (i) Methanogens are strict anaerobes that do not use oxygen to respire; in fact, oxygen inhibits the growth of methanogens.

• In the Gupta period, the crafts greatly improved in terms of quality as well as variety.
• Rust-proof iron and copper alloys were found and worked into intricate articles for civilian as well as military purposes.
  (i) The quality of the articles was so good that they were widely exported, even as far as Africa.
  (ii) In the design of these articles, there was, to an extent, Greco-Roman and Central Asian influence. However, on the whole, they had a local character.
• In weaving, techniques were perfected for the making of cotton and silk materials.
  (i) Manufacture of dyes and their widespread use in colouring textiles came into practice.
  (ii) Indian textile materials, especially from Varanasi and Bengal became famous for their light weight and fine texture.
  (iii) The textiles became popular in the West and became an important commodity for export and trade.
• Opening up of previously inaccessible and uninhabited regions, organisation of better transport, communication and trade routes helped the growth of trade.
  (i) Internal trade was augmented by rapid development of foreign trade.
  (ii) Improvement in navigation by the Indians, especially using the knowledge of monsoons, and a new design of seaworthy ships played an important role in this.
  (iii) The Indians traded with Arabs, the Mediterranean countries, especially Rome, Africa, south-east Asian countries such as Java, Sumatra and Sri Lanka.

• An important feature of the Chola administration was the local administration at districts, towns and villages level.
• The Uttaramerur inscriptions in the modern Kanchipuram district speak much about the Chola administration. Village autonomy was the most unique feature of the Chola administrative system.
• The lowest unit of the Chola administration was the village. The entire responsibility of the village administration was in the hands of the village assembly.
• The village assemblies looked after the maintenance of peace, tanks, roads, public ponds, revenue collection, judiciary, education and temples. The village assemblies were in charge of the payment of taxes due from the villages to the treasury. They regulated public markets and helped people in times of famine and flood. Assemblies provided provisions for education. They maintained law and order in every village.
• There were thirty wards in each village. A representative for each ward was elected through Kudavolai system. Each ward prepared a list of persons qualified for election to the various committees. There were qualifications for a candidate standing for election to different committees.
  (i) The candidate for instance, needed minimum educational qualification, had to be between 35 and 70 years of age, own landed property, have a house built in his own land, and be a taxpayer, etc.
• The Uttramerur inscriptions depict details about the method of electing members to the various committees.
  (i) In the Kudavolai system, the names of suitable candidates from a ward were written on palm leaf tickets and put into a mud pot and placed before the general body. After shaking them well, a small boy was asked to choose a ticket and give it to the arbitrator and he read out the name which was again read out by priest. In this fashion thirty members for wards were elected.

• Statement 2 is correct: HOPE - Healthcare Organizations‘ Platform for Entry-Level-Certification is a portal for Entry-Level Certification Process with a focus to promote quality at nascent stages by enrolling a wide range of hospitals across the country including Healthcare Organizations (HCOs) and Small Healthcare Organizations (SHCOs). It will make Entry-Level Certification Process simpler, digital, faster and userfriendly.
• It is an online platform for smooth and secure registration which provides a self -explanatory questionnaire to be filled by the HCO/SHCOs. HOPE also enables them to comply with quality protocols, improve patient safety and the overall healthcare facility of the organization.
• NABH is the implementing agency which is a constituent body of QCI (Quality Council of India(QCI)).
• Statement 1 is correct: The aim is to create a momentum for HCOs and SHCOs that want to avail benefits associated with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Ayushman Bharat by getting themselves NABH certified along with the primary aim of creating a quality healthcare ecosystem in India. It will promote the idea of cashless payment to patients under insurance coverage. T
• About NABH: NABH, a constituent body of QCI, has been working to ensure reliability, efficiency and global accreditation in Indian healthcare sector.It uses contemporary methodologies and tools, standards of patient safety and infection control.
• About QCI- Established in 1997 Quality Council of India (QCI) is an autonomous organization under the DPIIT, MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY.It is the Quality Apex and National Accreditation Body for accreditation and quality promotion in the country.The Council was established to provide a credible, reliable mechanism for third party assessment of products, services and processes which is accepted and recognized globally.

• Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a Scheme on voluntary transition of Urban Cooperative Bank into Small Finance Bank based on the recommendations of High-Powered Committee on Urban Cooperative Banks under Rama Subramaniam Gandhi.
• UCBs with a minimum net worth of Rs.500 million (Rs  50  crore) and  maintaining  Capital  to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio of 9% and above are eligible to apply for voluntary transition to SFB. Hence statement 3 is not correct. The promoters shall incorporate a public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013 having the word ‗bank‘ in its name after receiving the in-principle approval from RBI.
• As per Banking Regulation Act, 1949 a primary co-operative bank (Urban Co-operative Bank or UCB) means a co-operative society, other than a primary agricultural credit society, whose,
  (i) Principal business is the transaction of banking business;
  (ii) Paid-up share capital and reserves are not less than one lakh of rupees; and
  (iii) Bye-laws of which do not permit admission of any other co-operative society as a member: Provided that this sub-clause shall not apply to theadmission of a cooperative bank as a member by reason of such co-operative bank subscribing  to  the  share capital of such  co-operative society  out of  funds provided by the State Government for the purpose.
• The UCBs are registered as cooperative societies under the provisions of, either the State Cooperative Societies Act of the concerned State or the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. The Reserve Bank regulates and supervises the banking functions of UCBs under the provisions of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (As Applicable to Cooperative Societies). Hence both statement 1 and 2 are correct.

• A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.
• There are three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans:
  (i) Protozoa
  (ii) Helminths
  (iii) Ectoparasites
• Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites called Plasmodia o Human malaria is caused by four different species of Plasmodium: P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. vivax
• In humans, the parasites grow and multiply first in the liver cells and then in the red cells of theblood.
• In the blood, successive broods of parasites grow inside the red cells and destroy them, releasing daughter parasites (―merozoites‖) that continue the cycle by invading other red cells.
• The blood stage parasites are those that cause the symptoms of malaria

From 8 industries reserved for the public sector in 1991, there are only following 2 industries reserved for public sector at present:
1. Atomic energy – Production, separation or enrichment of special fissionable materials and substances and operation of the facilities.
2. Railway transport.

Foreign Institutional investors (FIIs) are entities established or incorporated outside India and make proposals for investments in India. These investment proposals by the FIIs are made on behalf of sub accounts, which may include foreign corporates, individuals, funds etcetera. In order to act as a banker to the FIIs, the RBI (not SEBI) has designated banks that are authorised to deal with them.
FIIs can invest in the stocks and debentures of the Indian companies. In order to invest in the primary and secondary capital markets in India, they have to venture through the portfolio investment scheme (PIS).
In fact, recently SEBI allowed FIIs to invest in unlisted exchanges as well, which means both BSE and NSE can now allot shares to FIIs also.
The nodal point for FII registrations is SEBI and hence all FIIs must register themselves with SEBI and should also comply with the exchange control regulations of the central bank. Apart from being allowed to invest in securities in primary and secondary markets, FIIs can also invest in mutual funds, dated government securities, derivatives traded on a recognised stock exchange and commercial papers.

Writ jurisdiction of High Court V/s Supreme court:

• Concurrent: When the fundamental right of a citizen is violated , the aggrieved party has the option of moving either the High court or Supreme Court directly.
• Supreme Court can issue writs only for the enforcement of fundamental rights and not for enforcement of ordinary legal right but High court can issue writs to enforce both Fundamental rights and Ordinary legal rights. But Parliament can confer on the Supreme Court to issue writs for other purposes apart from fundamental rights also
• Writ jurisdiction of Highcourt can be issued to any person , authority and government outside of its territorial jurisdiction also.
• Note:
• In Chandra kumar case(1971 ) Supreme Court ruled that writ jurisdiction of both high court and Supreme Court constitute a part of the basic strucutre of the Constitution.

• Joint Parliamentary Committees(JPCs) isad hoc parliamentary committee.
• It can be set up for the purpose of discussing a particular bill, or the purpose of investigating financial irregularities.
• The parliament rarely rejects the suggestions made by the committees.
• Members of these committees are selected from both houses and the Lok sabha members are double compared to Rajya sabha.
• Joint committees are set up by a motion passed in one house of Parliament and agreed to by the other. The details regarding membership and subjects are also decided by Parliament.
• For example, the motion to constitute a JPC on the stock market scam (2001) and pesticide residues in soft drinks (2003) was moved by the government in the Lok Sabha. The motion on the stock market scam constituted a JPC of 30 members of which 20 were from the Lok Sabha and 10 were from the Rajya Sabha. The terms of reference for the JPC on the stock market scam asked the committee to look into financial irregularities, to fix responsibility on persons and institutions for the scam, to identify regulatory loopholes and also to make suitable recommendations.

The following industries require compulsory license: -
1. Alcoholics drinks
2. Cigarettes and tobacco products
3. Electronic aerospace and defense equipment
4. Explosives
5. Hazardous chemicals such as hydrocyanic acid, phosgene, isocynates and diisocynates of hydro carbon and derivatives

Balance of Payments:
The balance of payments, (or BOP) measures the payments that flow between any individual country and all other countries. It is used to summarize all international economic transactions for that country during a specific time period, usually a year.
The BOP is determined by the country's exports and imports of goods, services, and financial capital, as well as financial transfers. It reflects all payments and liabilities to foreigners (debits) and all payments and obligations received from foreigners (credits). The components of balance of payments are:
1. Current Account
2. Capital Account
3. Financial Account
4. Net Errors and Omissions
5. Official reserves

For some articles of the Constitution, special majority is not sufficient. When an amendment aims to modify an article related to distribution of powers between the States and the central government, or articles related to representation, it is necessary that the States must be consulted and that they give their consent. We have studied the federal nature of the Constitution. Federalism means that powers of the States must not be at the mercy of the central government. The Constitution has ensured this by providing that legislatures of half the States have to pass the amendment bill before the amendment comes into effect i.e, consent of only half the States is required and simple majority of the State legislature is sufficient

As part of the project, the government will have to divert 5,258 hectares of forests. This includes 4,141 hectares of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
The project has a significant environment and wildlife impact as it passes right through the reserve where tigers had vanished in 2009 The Ken-Betwa project aims at providing water to the drought-prone Bundelkhand area. The purpose is to irrigate 6.35 lakh hectares of land, provide drinking water and generate hydroelectricity.
The Ken-Betwa project aims to transfer 591 million cubic metre of surplus water in the Ken basin through a 231.45 km canal to the Betwa river.

Khasi, Garo and
Jaintias – Meghalaya
Gond - Chattisgarh

All the 3 statements are correct.