UPSC CSE Complete Practice Test - 10 - UPSC MCQ

• In 1866, Dadabhai Naoroji organized the East India Association in London to discuss the Indian question and to influence the British public officials to promote Indian welfare. Later, he organized the branches of the Association in prominent Indian cities.
• The most important of the preCongress nationalist organizations was the Indian Association of Calcutta. The younger nationalists of Bengal had been gradually getting discontented with the conservative and pro-landlord policies of the British India Association. They wanted sustained political agitation on the issues of wider public interest. They found a leader in Surendra Nath Banerjea, who was a brilliant writer and orator. Led by Surendra Nath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose, the younger nationalists of Bengal founded the Indian Association in 1876. The Indian Association set before itself the aims of creating strong public opinion in the country on political questions and the unification of the Indian people under a common political programme.
• The younger elements were also active in other parts of India. Justice Ranade and others organized the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha in 1870. M. Viraraghavachari, G. Subramaniya Iyer, Ananda Charlu and others formed the Madras Mahajan Sabha in 1884. Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T. Telang, Badruddin Tyabji and others formed the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885.

Functions of Constitution:

• The constitution is a vital document that provides the foundation for governance, protects individual rights, ensures the rule of law, and establishes the framework for a functioning and stable society. Its meaning, importance, and functions are essential for upholding democratic values, promoting justice, and safeguarding the rights of citizens within a nation.
• Constitutional Governance: The constitution establishes the framework for governance, defin ing the powers and functions of the government and its institutions. It outlines the procedures for lawmaking, decision-making, and implementation of policies.
• Legal Interpretation: The constitution serves as a legal reference point for the interpretation of laws and judicial decisions. Courts often rely on constitutional provisions to determine the legality and constitutionality of laws, ensuring their alignment with constitutional principles.
• Amendment and Flexibility: A constitution allows for amendments to adapt to changing circumstances and societal needs. This function ensures that the constitution remains relevant and responsive to the evolving dynamics of the nation.
• Protection of Minority Rights: The constitution acts as a shield for minority rights, preventing majoritarian rule and discrimination. It establishes a framework for inclusivity, equality, and protection of diverse communities and their interests.

Part IV: Directive Principles of State Policy 

• Part IV of the Indian Constitution contains the directive principles of state policy. These principles are guidelines for the government to formulate policies and laws in order to establish a just society, promote social welfare, and improve the standard of living for the citizens.
• Unlike fundamental rights, the directive principles are not enforceable in the courts, but they serve as a moral and political compass for governance. The directive principles cover a wide range of areas, including:
• Social Justice: They aim to promote social, economic, and political justice and eliminate inequalities based on caste, religion, sex, or any other factors. Economic Rights: They include principles related to securing fair and just wages, providing opportunities for livelihood, preventing concentration of wealth, and ensuring equal pay for equal work.
• Welfare Measures: They focus on securing public health, protecting the environment, promoting the welfare of children, and providing social security to vulnerable sections of society.
• Educational and Cultural Rights: They emphasize the promotion of education, preservation of cultural heritage, and the development of scientific temper.
• International Relations: They advocate for principles of international peace and security, respect for international law, and cooperation among nations.

Representation of the People Act, 1951

• The provisions for the actual conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifi cations and disqualifications for the membership of these Houses, the corrupt practices and other election offences, and the decision of election disputes were all left to be made in a subsequent measure. In order to provide for these provisions, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was enacted. Broadly speaking, this Act contains provisions relating to the following electoral matters:
  • Qualifications and disqualifications for membership of Parliament and State Legislatures
  • Notification of general elections
  • Administrative machinery for the conduct of elections
  • Registration of political parties
  • Conduct of elections
  • Free supply of certain material to candidates of recognized political parties
  • Disputes regarding elections
  • Corrupt practices and electoral offences
  • Powers of Election Commission in connection with inquiries as to disqualifi cations of members.
  • Bye-elections and time limit for filling vacancies
  • Miscellaneous provisions relating to elections
  • Barring the jurisdiction of civil courts

• Option (d) is correct: The quantity of a commodity that is supplied in the market depends not only on the price obtainable for the commodity but also on potentially many other factors, such as the prices of substitute products, the production technology, and the availability and cost of labour and other factors of production.

Supplementary Notes:

Supply and Demand

• In basic economic analysis, analysing supply involves looking at the relationship between various prices and the quantity potentially offered by producers at each price, again holding constant all other factors that could infl uence the price.
• Those price-quantity combinations may be plotted on a curve, known as a supply curve, with price represented on the vertical axis and quantity represented on the horizontal axis.
• A supply curve is usually upward-sloping, refl ecting the willingness of producers to sell more of the commodity they produce in a market with higher prices.
• Any change in non-price factors would cause a shift in the supply curve, whereas changes in the price of the commodity can be traced along a fi xed supply curve.

74th Amendment Act

• Whereas the 74th Amendment Act made provisions for urban local bodies (ULBs) by mandating a three-tier arrangement of ULBs, with Nagar Panchayats in peri-urban areas, Municipal Councils in small towns, and the Municipal Corporations (MCs) in bigger cities/metropolis.
  Much like the 73rd Amendment, the 74th Amendment enables direct elections every fi ve years at the municipality level, with a mandatory quota for SCs and STs apart from reserving one-third of seats for women.
• The Twelfth Schedule - a list of 18 subjects that can be devolved to ULBs in due course—was established. The Act also provides for the creation of a Finance Commission to determine the sharing of taxes, duties, and funds from the State Consolidated Fund.
• Lastly, the government passed the landmark Panchayat Extension to Tribal Areas (PESA) Act in 1996 to extend self-governance to Scheduled and Tribal Areas of the country.
• Signifi cantly, the Act reserves 50 percent of local body seats for STs, while reserving the offic e of chairperson solely for the ST community. In short, these three legislations have formed the key pillars of local self-governance in India, forming the foundations upon which today’s third-tier institutions rest.

• Statement 1 is Incorrect: NEER and REER were calculated for the first time posts the 1991 reforms.
• Statement 2 is correct: The crisis, and a series of domestic scams, helped bring home the lesson that excessive interest controls and credit rationing were deleterious to and stability. The RBI itself noted monetary pohcy based on demand function of money, as the latter became unstable, could be expected to lack precision.
• After the adverse impact of the 1990s’ peak in interest rates, the Reserve Bank moved toward an interest rate based operating procedure, basing its actions on a number of indicators of monetary conditions, including forward-looking expectation surveys. It formally adopted a “multiple-indicator approach’’ in April 1998, following informal changes in practice from the mid-1990.

Changes occurred post the 1991 reforms:

• First, the adjustment of exchange rate was frequent and an attempt was made to ensure that the exchange rate of the rupee in real terms chd not appreciate. Thus the nominal value of the rupee depreciated significantly in view of the higher level of inflation in India.
• Second, in order to assess the value of the rupee, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the first time computed the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) and the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER).
• Move to multiple indicators approach: Prior to 1982, the emphasis was on the quantum of credit and its allocation. In the 1980s, attention shifted to larger aggregates such as money supply. The quantum of credit and its allocation became part of an overall picture.
• It was realized that inflation control required regulation of money supply and the regulation of money supply , in turn, required an understanding with the government on the quantum of government borrowing and its monetization. The Chakravarty Committee, which reported in 1985, outhned an approach to money-supply growth. The targeted growth rate in money supply was related to the expected increase in real income and the acceptable level of inflation. Obviously, such an approach rested on a stable-demand function for money and, therefore, on a reasonably constant income elasticity of demand for money.
• This approach, which was accepted, could broadly be described as ‘flexible monetary targeting’. There was no formal inflation targeting, but pol icy statements gave both inflation control and facihtated growth as key objectives. The multiple inchcators were the variables affecting future growth and inflation. A specific value of 5% was given as the desirable rate of inflation, with the aim of bringing it even lower in the long term.
• Present inflation targeting approach: The multiple-in chca tor approach was criticized as list based. For Incha, inflation forecast targeting is a natural progression that converts the multiple inchcators from an omnibus list to action based on the determinants of inflation, even while retaining vital flexibilities coming from considering a range of information.

There were also non-monarchical states in Ancient India which can be called republics or ganasanghas. Buddhist texts reveal that during the time of the Buddha there were many such republican states.
Some of the important ones were:

(i) Mallas of Kusinara
(ii) Mallas of Pava
(iii) Sakyas of Kapilavastu
(iv) Koliyas of Ramagrama
(v) Moriyas of Pipphalivana
(vi) Bulis of Nakappa
(vii) Kalamas of Kesaputta
(viii) Bhaggas of Sumsumaragiri 
(ix) Lichchhavis of Vaishali
The Vajjis were the most important republican state during the period of Buddha.

• Coal emits nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas and about 60% more than oil, on a kilogram comparison having a greater role in global warming.
• Combusting coal also leaves behind partially burnt carbon particles that feed pollution and trigger respiratory disorders.
• Environmental issues associated with Coal Mining that is air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution etc.
• Opencast mining and underground mining of coal affect the vegetation pattern.
• Several occupational hazards are associated with coal mining: Pneumoconiosis (by inhaling coal dust), allergies and asthma, noise hazard etc.

• The Amaravati School of Art refers to a significant artistic tradition that flourished in Amaravati, an ancient town in presentday Andhra Pradesh. It developed from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The Amaravati School of Art is renowned for its exquisite sculptures and relief works, primarily focused on the Buddhist themes.
• The sculptural form at the Amaravati site is characterised by intense emotions. Figures are slender, have a lot of movement, bodies are shown with three bents (i.e., Tribhanga), and the sculptural composition is more complex than at Sanchi. The idea of creating three-dimensional space in the relief sculpture is devised by using pronounced volume, angular bodies and complex overlapping. However, absolute attention has been paid to the clarity of form despite its size and role in the narrative.
• Narratives are profusely depicted, which include events from the life of the Buddha and the Jataka stories. The Amaravati style of art experienced a selfcontained development and flourishing within India for around six centuries, devoid of external influences.
• The Satavahanas were the earliest patrons of this artistic tradition, which developed and thrived in the lower valleys of the Krishna and the Godavari rivers in Andhra Pradesh. This School of Art encompassed both religious and secular images.

• Blood cells are the cells which are produced during hematopoiesis and found mainly in the blood. Blood is composed of the blood cells which accounts for 45% of the blood tissue by volume, with the remaining 55% of the volume composed of plasma, the liquid portion of the blood.
• There are three types of blood cells. They are:
  • Red blood cells (Erythrocytes). Hence, option 4 is not correct.
  • White blood cells (Leukocytes)
  • Platelets (Thrombocytes)
• What are White Blood Cells?
  • White blood cells account for only about 1% of our blood, but their impact is big.
    • White blood cells are also called leukocytes. They protect us against illness and disease.
    • White blood cells are made in the bone marrow.
    • They are stored in our blood and lymph tissues.
    • Because some white blood cells have a short life of 1 to 3 days, your bone marrow is always making them.
• What are the types of WBC?
  • Monocytes: They have a longer lifespan than many white blood cells and help to break down bacteria.
  • Lymphocytes: They create antibodies to fight against bacteria, viruses, and other potentially harmful invaders. Hence, option 2 is correct.
  • Neutrophils: They kill and digest bacteria and fungi. They are the most numerous type of white blood cell and your first line of defense when infection strikes. Hence, option 1 is correct.
  • Basophils: These small cells seem to sound an alarm when infectious agents invade your blood. They secrete chemicals such as histamine, a marker of allergic disease, that help control the body's immune response. Hence, option 3 is correct.
  • Eosinophils: They attack and kill parasites and cancer cells, and help with allergic responses.

• Only statements 2 and 3 are correct.
• Context: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) announced the completion of India’s ‘10,000 genome’ project, aiming to create a reference database of whole-genome sequences representative of the country’s diverse population.
• The Genome India Project (GIP) is a national project that aims to sequence 10,000 genomes by the end of 2023. The project is funded by the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology and is led by the Centre for Brain Research (CBR). The GIP’s first phase aims to identify genetic variations by sequencing the genomes of 10,000 people across India. The project’s goal is to develop personalized medicine based on patients’ genomes.
• S1: Genome India Project funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and spearheaded by Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Brain Research(CBR).
• S2: The project aims to identify genetic variations through whole genome sequencing of 10,000 representative individuals across India in the first phase of the study.
• S3: Human genome is the entire set of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) residing in the nucleus of every cell of the human body. It carries the complete genetic information responsible for the development and functioning of an organism.

There are three stages in the evolution of the present atmosphere. The loss of the primordial atmosphere marks the first stage. The earth's hot interior in the second stage contributed to the atmosphere's evolution. Finally, the composition of the atmosphere was modified by the living world through the process of photosynthesis.

• The early atmosphere, with hydrogen and helium, is supposed to have been stripped off as a result of the solar winds. This happened not only in the case of the Earth but also in all the terrestrial planets, which are supposed to have lost their primordial atmosphere through the impact of solar winds.
• During the cooling of the earth, gases and water vapour were released from the interior solid earth. The early atmosphere largely contained water vapour, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and very little free oxygen. The process through which the gases were outpoured from the interior is called degassing. Continuous volcanic eruptions contributed water vapour and gases to the atmosphere.
• As the earth cooled, the water vapour released started getting condensed. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolved in rainwater, and the temperature further decreased, causing more condensation and more rain. The rainwater falling onto the surface got collected in the depressions to give rise to oceans. The earth’s oceans were formed within 500 million years from the formation of the earth.
• Sometime around 3,800 million years ago, life began to evolve. However, around 2,500-3,000 million years before the present, the process of photosynthesis evolved. Life was confined to the oceans for a long time. Oceans began to have the contribution of oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.
• Eventually, oceans were saturated with oxygen, and 2,000 million years ago, oxygen began to flood the atmosphere.

About Indian elephant (Elephas maximus)

• Characteristics:- Highly intelligent animals characterised by strong family bonds, sophisticated forms of communication and complex behaviour, including tool use and the ability to feel grief and compassion.
• It is the National Heritage Animal of India. The frieze of the circular abacus of Lion Capital is adorned with sculptures an elephant, agalloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening Dharma Chakras. Hence statement 1 is correct.

Conservation measures:

• Project Elephant, a centrally sponsored scheme and was launched in 1992 by the Narsimha Rao government for the protection of elephants, their habitats, and corridors.
• Elephant census is conducted once in 5 years and there are around 33 Elephant Reserves in India. Hence statement 2 is correct and statement 3 is not correct.
• Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE), an international effort for conservation of elephants in Asia and Africa.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: It is caused by a lack of spending or excessive taxation.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The increase in taxes reduces aggregate demand and consumer spending from taxpayers as a larger share of their income now goes to taxes, which leads to defl ationary policies, or fi scal drag, on the economy.
• Statement 3 is correct: Fiscal drag is a natural economic stabilizer, however, since it tends to keep demand stable and the economy from overheating.

Fiscal Drag

• Government has proposed to bring a new policy regime to the Fiscal Consolidation to control the fiscal deficit; wherein the term fiscal drag came into the picture. Basically, fiscal drag shows the relationship between fiscal deficit and tax rates.
• Fiscal drag is essentially a drag or damper on the economy caused by a lack of spending or excessive taxation.
• Fiscal drag happens when the government’s net fiscal position (spending minus taxation) fails to cover the net savings desires of the private economy, also called the private economy spending gap (earnings minus spending and private investment).
• The resulting lack of aggregate demand leads to deflationary pressure, or drag, on the economy, essentially due to a lack of state spending or excess taxation.
• The term fiscal drag stands for the effect that taxpayers move into income brackets subject to higher marginal tax rates only because of their market income being adjusted to inflation, i.e. with real income remaining constant.
• Fiscal drag thus implies a rising average tax rate over time for constant real income; it is a major problem inherent to progressive tax schedules and the more so the steeper the profile of rising marginal tax rates.
• This is also called bracket creep; bracket creep is a situation, where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets. The result is an increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power. This can create a fiscal drag on the economy as taxpayers spend more money on taxes though they have not reaped any benefits of a tangibly higher salary rate.

Governor and Legislative Process

• When a bill is reserved by the governor for the consideration of the President, the President has three alternatives (Under Article 201 of the Constitution):
• He may give his assent to the bill, or
• He may withhold his assent to the bill, or
• He may direct the governor to return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for the reconsideration of the state legislature.
• If the bill is passed again by the state legislature with or without amendments and presented again to the President for his assent, the President is not bound to give his assent to the bill. This means that the state legislature cannot override the veto power of the President.
• The Constitution has not prescribed any time limit within which the President has to take decision with regard to a bill reserved by the governor for his consideration.

Some important recommendations by Commissions w.r.t Governor are given below:

• The Sarkaria Commission recommended that Governor shall be an eminent person in some walk of life, someone outside the respective State so that he would not have any personal interest to protect.
• The first  Administrative Reforms Commission (1966) in its report on “CentreState Relationships” had recommended strongly that once the Governor completes his term of fiv e years, he shall not be made eligible for further appointment as Governor.
• Punchhi Commission: While Sarkaria Commission recommended that Governor’s tenure of five years shall only be sparingly cut short, Punchhi Commission went one step ahead and recommended that Governor shall have fi xed tenure so that they wouldn’t hold offi ce under the intangible pleasure of the Central government. It proposed an amendment to Article 156 so that there would be a procedure to remove the Governor from office. It also went further in recommending that Governors shall not be overburdened with the task of running universities by virtue of them being made Chancellors under the State University Acts. 

Desert food chain:

• A desert food chain is a graphical representation showing wheats whom and thus the flow of energy in the desert biome. Like other food chains, there are twmain types of organisms in a desert food chain: producers and consumers.
• Producers are organisms that make their food. Usually, plants and microorganisms are producers. In contrast, consumers feed on producers for their livelihood. Based on their position in the food chain, consumers are divided intprimary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers or apex predators.

A desert food chain is unique due tits harsh environment. The Desert ecosystem food chain proceeds as follows,

• Desert Willow: This is a plant and serves as the primary producer in the food chain. It captures sunlight and converts it intenergy through photosynthesis. The other primary producers in Deserts are date palms, cacti, acacia, sagebrush, and desert milkweed.
• Desert Hare: The Desert Hare is an herbivore that feeds on plants, including the Desert Willow. Herbivores are primary consumers in the food chain as they consume primary producers. The other primary consumers are Kangarorats, desert tortoises, ground squirrels, Arabian camels, and some insects feed only on plants tsurvive.
• Snake: Snakes can be both secondary and tertiary consumers, depending on what they prey on. They may eat smaller herbivores like Desert Hares or smaller carnivores like birds. The other secondary consumers are izards, coyotes, rattlesnakes, mongooses, tarantulas, and scorpions.
• Falcon: Falcons are higher-level carnivores that feed on other animals, including birds and rodents. They are tertiary consumers in the food chain. The other tertiary consumers are hyenas, sand cats, foxes, hawks, and eagles.
• Coyote: Coyotes are at the top of the food chain, or at the highest “trophic” level. Coyotes prey on mesopredators, like raccoons, opossums, striped skunks, Falcons, and red foxes, which occupy the next lowest trophic level Carnivores are secondary consumers because they feed on herbivores.

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

• Narrative reliefs at Bharhut show how the artisans used the pictorial language very effectively to communicate stories. In one such narrative, showing Queen Mayadevi’s (mother of Siddhartha Gautam) dream, a descending elephant is shown. The queen is shown reclining on the bed whereas an elephant is shown on the top heading towards the womb of Queen Mayadevi.
• On the other hand, the depiction of a Jataka story is very simple—narrated by clubbing the events according to the geographical location of the story, like the depiction of the Ruru Jataka, where the Boddhisattva deer is rescuing a man on his back.
• The Bharhut Stupa is believed to have been initially constructed by the Maurya king Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.
• However, numerous artistic elements, including the gateway and the railings, were likely added during the Shunga period, featuring reliefs dating back to the 2nd century BCE or later. In contrast to the imperial art of the Mauryas, the railings of the Bharhut Stupa display inscriptions indicating that the reliefs and the figures were donated by the lay-people, monks and nuns. This aspect makes it one of the earliest examples of popular art during the Maurya period.

Demand Curve

• A demand curve is almost always downwardsloping, refl ecting the willingness of consumers to purchase more of the commodity at lower price levels.
• Any change in non-price factors would cause a shift in the demand curve, whereas changes in the price of the commodity can be traced along a fi xed demand curve.
• The quantity of a commodity demanded depends on the price of that commodity and potentially on many other factors, such as the prices of other commodities, the incomes and preferences of consumers, and seasonal effects. 
• In basic economic analysis, all factors except the price of the commodity are often held constant; the analysis then involves examining the relationship between various price levels and the maximum quantity that would potentially be purchased by consumers at each of those prices. 
• The price-quantity combinations may be plotted on a curve, known as a demand curve, with price represented on the vertical axis and quantity represented on the horizontal axis.

statement 3 is incorrect: The State Funding of Elections was introduced to support the political parties to reduce their reliance on private funding.
Supplementary Notes: Electoral Reforms in India

• The Law Commission (i.e. the 15th Law Commission) was also constituted in November, 1977 for an exhaustive study of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 with a view to finding out and identifying the measures necessary in the direction of electoral reforms.
• The Law Commission has submitted its 170th report regarding reform of the Election System. In addition, Government has also initiated redemptive measures from time to time.

State Funding of Elections:

• One of the proposed reforms is to introduce state funding of elections. This would mean that the government would provide fi nancial support to political parties to reduce their reliance on private funding.
• The aim is to curb corruption and the influence of money in politics, ensuring a more level playing fi eld for all parties and candidates.

Transparency in Political Donations:

• Enhancing transparency in political donations is another crucial reform. Implementing measures to disclose the source of funds received by political parties could help prevent the flo w of illicit or undisclosed money into the electoral process, ensuring accountability and reducing the potential for corruption.

Electoral Bonds:

• The introduction of electoral bonds was a significant step towards reforming political funding.
• These bonds were designed to enable individuals and organizations to make donations to political parties while maintaining anonymity.
• However, there were debates about whether this system increased transparency or actually exacerbated the issue of undisclosed donations.

Use of Technology in Elections:

• To improve the efficiency and transparency of the electoral process, there have been discussions about leveraging technology.
• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were a substantial step in this direction. However, concerns have been raised regarding the security and tamper-proof nature of EVMs, and some experts advocated for a paper trail (Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail - VVPAT) to be associated with EVMs.

Option (d) is correct

Anything that attempts to alter the balance of the ecosystem potentially threatens the health and existence of that ecosystem. Some of these threats are:

• Habitat Destruction: Economic activities such as logging, mining, farming and construction often involve clearing out places with natural vegetative cover. Very often, tampering with one factor of the ecosystem can have a ripple effect on it and affect many more or all other factors of that ecosystem. For example, clearing a piece of forest for timber can expose the upper layers of the soil to the sun’s heat, causing erosion and drying. It can cause a lot of animals and insects that depended on the shade and moisture from the tree to die or migrate to other places.
• Pollution: Water, land and air pollution all together play a crucial role in the health of ecosystems. Pollution may be natural or human-caused, but regardless they potentially release destructive agents or chemicals (pollutants) into the environments of living things.
• Eutrophication: This is the enrichment of water bodies with plant biomass as a result of the continuous infl ow of nutrients particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. Eutrophication of water fuels excessive plant and algae growth and also hurts water life, often resulting in the loss of fl ora and fauna diversity. “The known consequences of cultural eutrophication include blooms of bluegreen algae, tainted drinking water supplies, degradation of recreational opportunities, and hypoxia.
• Invasive species: Any foreign species (biological) that fi nds its way into an ecosystem, either by natural or human introduction can have an effect on the ecosystem. If this alien has the ability to prey on vulnerable and native members of that ecosystem, they will be wiped out, sooner or later.
• Overharvesting: Fish species, game and special plants all do fall victim from time to time as a result of over-harvesting or humans over-dependence on them. Overharvesting leads to the reduction in populations, community structures and distributions, with an overall reduction in recruitment.
• UV Radiation: UV rays come in three main wavelengths: UVA, UVB and UVC. UVB and UVC are more destructive and can cause DNA and cell damage to plants and animals. Ozone depletion is one way that exposes living things to UVB and UVC and the harm caused can wipe lots of species, and affect ecosystems members including humans.

The Aitchison Committee on Public Services (1886), set up by Dufferin, recommended:

• Dropping of the terms covenanted‘ and uncovenanted‘.
• Classification of the Civil Service into the Imperial Indian Civil Service (examination in England), the Provincial Civil Service (examination in India) and the Subordinate Civil Service (examination in India).
• Raising the age limit to 23 years.

Are decisions of the Court binding?
Yes, decisions of the Tribunal are binding. The Tribunal’s orders are enforceable as the powers vested are the same as in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Are decisions of the Tribunal final?
The Tribunal has powers to review its own decisions. If this fails, the decision can be challenged before the Supreme Court within ninety days.

• Option (a) is incorrect: It is commonly believed that nations are constituted by a group who share certain features such as descent, or language, or religion or ethnicity.  However, But there is in fact no common set of characteristics which is present in all nations.
• Option (b) is incorrect: Many nations may be or may not have a common language, Canada is an example here. Canada includes English speaking as well as French speaking peoples. India also has a large number of languages which are spoken in different regions and by different communities. Nor do many nations have a common religion to unite them. The same could be said of other characteristics such as race or descent
• Option (c) is incorrect: A nation is not any casual collection of people. At the same time it is also different from other groups or communities found in human society.

Notes

Nation

• It is different from the family which is based on face-to-face relationships with each member having direct personal knowledge of the identity and character of others. It is also different from tribes and clans and other kinship groups in which ties of marriage and descent link members to each other so that even if we do not personally know all the members we can, if need be, trace the links that bind them to us.
• But as a member of a nation we may never come face to face with most of our fellow nationals nor need we share ties of descent with them. Yet nations exist, are lived in and valued by their members.  
• First, a nation is constituted by belief.
• Nations are not like mountains, rivers or buildings which we can see and feel. They are not things which exist independent of the beliefs that people have about them.
• To speak of a people as a nation is not to make a comment about their physical characteristics or behaviour. Rather, it is to refer to the collective identity and vision for the future of a group which aspires to have an independent political existence.
• To this extent, nations can be compared with a team. When we speak of a team, we mean a set of people who work or play together and, more importantly, conceive of themselves as a collective group. 
• If they did not think of themselves in this way they would cease to be a team and be simply different individuals playing a game or undertaking a task.
• A nation exists when its members believe that they belong together.

• The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) following a four year consultation and negotiation process. This historic Framework, which supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the Convention’s previous Strategic Plans, sets out an ambitious pathway treach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. Among the Framework’s key elements are 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The countries will monitor and report every five years or less on a large set of indicators related tprogress. The Global Environment Facility has been requested testablish a Special Trust Fund tsupport the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (“GBF Fund”).
• In the GBF, the world made a number of significant commitments thalt and reverse biodiversity loss.
  • It targets tprotect 30 per cent of the terrestrial and marine environment. It targets tput 30 percent of land and marine area under active restoration by 2030 and mobilize US$ 30 billion by 2030. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • It agreed treduce – at least by half – nutrients introduced intthe environment.
  • It agreed treduce the risk from pesticides and hazardous chemicals by at least half.
  • It agreed treduce the rate of introduced invasive species by 50 per cent by 2030 and teradicate and control those already introduced. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • And It agreed teliminate, phase out or reform harmful subsidies, reducing them by US$ 500 billion per year by 2030 – starting with the most harmful.

• Statement 1 is correct: Ecotone is a zone of junction between two or more diverse ecosystems. For e.g. the mangrove forests represent an ecotone between marine and terrestrial ecosystem.
• Ecotone also appear where one body of water meets another (e.g., estuaries and lagoons) or at the boundary between the water and the land (e.g., marshes, river bank etc.).
• It has the conditions intermediate to the adjacent ecosystems. Hence it is a zone of transition.
• Statement 2 is correct: It is linear as it shows progressive increase in species composition of one in coming community and a simultaneous decrease in species of the other outgoing adjoining community.
• Statement 3 is correct: It may be very narrow or quite wide.
• A well-developed ecotone contains some organisms which are entirely different from that of the adjoining communities.

• Statement 1 is correct: TPDS is administered under the Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2001 notified under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (EGA).
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Two types of procurement, Centrahsed Procurement, and decentralized procurement.

Public Distribution System

• India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) is the largest distribution network. TPDS aims to provide subsidised food and fuel to the poor through a network of ration shops. Food grains such as rice and wheat that are provided under TPDS are procured from farmers, allocated to states and dehvered to the ration shop where the beneficiary buys his entitlement.
• The centre and states share the responsibilities of identifying the poor, procuring grains and delivering food grains to beneficiaries.

Laws and Regulations governing TPDS

• Essential Commodities Act and PDS (Control) Order: TPDS is administered under the Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2001 notified under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (EGA). The ECA regulates the production, supply, and distribution of essential commodities incluchng edible oils, food crops such as wheat, rice, and sugar, among others. It regulates prices, cultivation and distribution of essential commodities. The PDS (Control) Order, 2001 specifies the framework for the implementation of TPDS. It highhghts key aspects of the scheme incluchng the method of identification of beneficiaries, the issue of food grains, and the mechanism for chstribution of food grains from the centre to states.
• PUCL vs. Union of India, 2001: In 2001, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCE) filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court contenchng that the “right to food’’ is essential to the right to life as provided in Article 21 of the Constitution. During the ongoing litigation, the Court has issued several interim orders, incluchng the implementation of eight central schemes as legal entitlements. These include PDS, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY). the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). In 2008, the Court ordered that Below Poverty Line (BPL) families be entitled to 35 kg of food grains per month at subsichsecl prices.

National Food Security Act, 2013: The

• National Food Security Act gives statutory backing to the TPDS. This legislation marks a shift in the right to food as a legal right rather than a general entitlement. The Act classifies the imputation into three categories: excluded (i.e., no entitlement), priority (entitlement), and Antyoclaya Anna Yojana (AAY: higher entitlement).

Procurement of foodgrains

• The center is responsible for procuring the food grains from farmers at a Minimum Support Price (MSP). The MSP is the price at which the FCI purchases the crop directly from farmers: generally, the MSP is higher than the market price. This is intended to provide price support to farmers and incentivize the production.
• MSP: Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• Procurement: Two types of procurement, Centralised Procurement, and decentralized procurement.
• Centralized procurement is carried out by the PCI (Food Corporation of India) where PCI buys crops directly from farmers. 
• Decentralized procurement is a central scheme under which 10 states/Union Territories procure food grains for the central pool at MSP on behalf of PCI.
• Why decentralized procurement? The purpose is to encourage local procurement of food grains and minimize expenditure incurred when transporting grains from surplus to deficit states over long distances.

• Only statements 1 and 3 are correct.
• Context: Former Supreme Court judge A.M. Khanwilkar has been appointed as the chairperson of the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, filling a vacancy that existed for nearly two years.
• S1: The idea of a Lokpal — the central anti-corruption ombudsman — first came up in 1963 during a discussion on Budget allocation of the Union Law Ministry. Bills seeking an ombudsman were introduced in Parliament eight times between 1968 and 2001 but were not passed, noted a 2020 report by anti-corruption organisation Transparency International India.
• S2: Over the years, different states set up their own Lokayuktas — the state equivalent of the Lokpal. Maharashtra was first in this respect with its Lokayukta body established in 1971 under the Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upayukta Act
• S3: The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, subsequently came into force on January 16, 2014. The Act provides for establishing a Lokpal headed by a Chairperson, who is or has been a Chief Justice of India, or is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court, or an eminent person who fulfils eligibility criteria as specified. Of its other members, not exceeding eight, 50 per cent are to be judicial members, provided that not less than 50 per cent belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes, or minority communities, or are women. The Lokpal and Lokayukta deal with complaints against public servants, including the Lokpal chairperson and members.

The Government of Ripon desired the Provincial Governments to apply in case of the local bodies the same principle of financial decentralization which Lord Mayo‘s Government had begun towards them. For his contributions, Lord Ripon is called the Father of Local Self-Government in India.‘ The main points of the Resolution were as follows:

• Development of local bodies advocated to improve the administration and as an instrument of political and popular education.
• Policy of administering local affairs through urban and rural local bodies, charged with definite duties and entrusted with suitable sources of revenues.
• Non-officials to be in majority in these bodies, who could be elected if the officials thought that it was possible to introduce elections.
• Non-officials to act as the Chairpersons to these bodies.
• Official interference to be reduced to the minimum and to be exercised to revise and check the acts of the local bodies, but not to dictate policies.
• Official executive sanction required in certain cases, such as raising of loans, alienation of municipal property, imposition of new taxes, undertaking works costing more than a prescribed sum, framing rules and bye-laws, etc.

73rd Amendment Act

• After decades of struggles and half starts, fin ally, the Congress-led coalition government in 1992 passed the 73rd and 74th Constitution (Amendments) to lay the legal and constitutional foundation for genuine self-governance in India.
• The 73rd Amendment Act echoed the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee. The 73rd Amendment unveiled three-tier rural institutions: Gram Panchayats at the village level, Panchayat Samitis, and Zilla Parishad at the district level.
• Further, the act mandated direct and regular elections every fi ve years and a mandatory quota for the SCs and STs.
• Importantly, the Act mandated one-third of the seats at all levels of panchayats are reserved for women.
• Apart from recommending the devolution of 29 functions to panchayats, the 73rd Amendment mandated the formation of state fin ance commissions and provision for grants-in-aid from state governments to PRIs.