Answer (b)
The State of Nagaland was formally inaugurated on December 1st, 1963, as the 16th State of the Indian Union.
Uttarakhand was formed on the 9th November 2000 as the 27th State of India, when it was carved out of northern Uttar Pradesh.
Sikkim is situated at the North East of the union and has a geographical area of 7096 kms only having a population of 5 lakhs and 40 thousand. Sikkim became the 22nd State of India Vide Constitution (36th Amendment) Act 1975
On 30 May 1987 Goa was conferred statehood and Daman and Diu was made a separate union territory. Goa is situated on the western coast of the Indian Peninsula.
Answer (b)
The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment of the Gram Nyayalayas at the grassroots level for the purposes of providing access to justice to the citizens at their doorsteps and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen due to social, economic or other disabilities.
The salient features of the Gram Nyayalayas Act are as follows:
o The Gram Nyayalaya shall be a court of Judicial Magistrate of the first class and its presiding officer (Nyayadhikari) shall be appointed by the State Government in consultation with the High Court.
o The Gram Nyayalaya shall be established for every Panchayat at the intermediate level or a group of contiguous Panchayats at an intermediate level in a district or where there is no Panchayat at an intermediate level in any State, for a group of contiguous Panchayats.
o The Gram Nyayalaya shall be a mobile court and shall exercise the powers of both Criminal and Civil Courts. Judgement and order passed by the Gram Nyayalaya are deemed to be a decree and to avoid delay in its execution, the Gram Nyayalaya can follow the summary procedure for its execution. Appeal in criminal cases shall lie to the Court of Session, which shall be heard and disposed of within a period of six months from the date of filing of such appeal.
o Appeal in civil cases shall lie to the District Court, which shall be heard and disposed of within a period of six months from the date of filing of the appeal. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
o The Gram Nyayalaya shall not be bound by the rules of evidence provided in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to any rule made by the High Court. Hence statement 2 is correct.
Answer (d)
Statement 1 is correct: The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR) of Sikkim, the highest biosphere reserve in the country that includes the third highest mountain peak in the world, Kanchenjunga (8,586 m), has been included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserve (WHBR).
Statement 2 is correct: The Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), which comprises the core area of the KBR, was inscribed as India’s first “Mixed World Heritage Site” on July17, 2016.Eighty-six per cent of the core lies in the Alpine zone and the remaining portions are located in the Himalayan wet temperate and sub-tropical moist deciduous forest.
Statement 3 is correct: The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve is one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots that has good species diversity with high levels of endemism, with many mountains, peaks, lakes, caves, rocks, stupas (shrines) and hot springs. The biosphere reserve has also listed 362 species of ferns. “Over 118 species of the large number of medicinal plants are found in Dzongu Valley in north Sikkim”.
Answer (c)
Statement 1 is correct: The Himalayan yak (Bos grunniens) is a totemic animal of the high Himalayas: ubiquitous, pervading nearly every sphere of life in this region. But the species is increasingly affected by warmer temperatures.
Statement 2 is not correct: The domestic yak (Bos grunniens) is long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Northern Myanmar, Yunnan, Sichuan and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak.
Statement 3 is correct: As wars and conflicts have led to the closing of borders, the yaks outside borders are thought to be suffering from inbreeding due to the lack of availability of new yak germplasm from the original yak area.
Answer (a)
Primary deficit is referred to as the difference that exists between the fiscal deficit of the current year and the interest payment that was needed to be paid in the previous fiscal year.
It indicates the borrowing requirements of the government for the purposes, excluding the interest payment.
Answer (c)
GST has replaced various types of taxes/cesses, levied by the Central and State/UT Governments.
Some of the major taxes that were levied by Centre were Central Excise Duty, Service Tax, Central Sales Tax, cesses like KKC and SBC.
The major State taxes were VAT/Sales Tax, Entry Tax, Luxury Tax, Octroi, Entertainment Tax, Taxes on Advertisements, Taxes on Lottery /Betting/ Gambling, State Cesses on goods etc. All these have been subsumed in GST.
GST is an indirect tax. But wealth tax is a direct tax. So, it can’t be subsumed under GST.
Answer (c)
East Australian Current is warm current so cannot lead to formation of desert.
Canary- Sahara Desert
Peruvian- Atacama Desert
Benguela- Namib Desert
Answer (a)
The Kármán line (or von Karman line) is an attempt to define a boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space set conceptually at the altitude at which the atmosphere becomes too thin to support aeronautical flight.
Answer (c)
Statement 1 is correct: The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries.
It specifies the privileges of a diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their function without fear of coercion or harassment by the host country. This forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity.
Statement 2 is correct: As of June 2020, it has been ratified by 193 states including India.
Answer (b)
Behramji Merwanji Malabari (1853–1912) was an Indian poet, publicist, author, and social reformer.
Statement 1 is not correct. Malabari stayed away from the activities of Congress and was not a founder member of the Indian National Congress.
Statement 2 is correct. He was best known for his ardent advocacy for the protection of the rights of women and for his activities against child marriage.