Civil Service Exam: 'ആർട്ടിക്കിൾ-14' പ്രകാരം നൽകിയിരിക്കുന്ന 'നിയമങ്ങളുടെ തുല്യ സംരക്ഷണം' എന്താണ് ?

Answer (b)

Article 14- the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.

•    Equality before the law
o    Absence of any special privileges in favor of any person
o    Equal subjugation of all persons to the ordinary law of the land administered by ordinary law courts
o    No person is above the law
•    Equal Protection of Laws 
o    The equality of treatment under equal circumstances, both in the privileges conferred and liabilities imposed by the laws.
o    The similar application of the same laws to all persons who are similarly situated, and the like should be treated alike without any discrimination.

Answer (b)

Under Article 102 of the constitution- Disqualification for membership,
A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament
•    If he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder;
•    If he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;
•    If he is an undischarged insolvent;
•    If he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;
•    If he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament Explanation For the purposes of this clause a person shall not be deemed to hold an office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State by reason only that he is a Minister either for the Union or for such State.
•    A person shall be disqualified for being a member of either House of Parliament if he is so disqualified under the Tenth Schedule.

The Parliament has laid down the following additional disqualifications in the Representation of People Act (1951):
o    He must not have been found guilty of certain election offenses or corrupt practices in the elections.
o    He must not have been convicted for any offense resulting in imprisonment for two or more years. But, the detention of a person under a preventive detention law is not a disqualification.
o    He must not have failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time.
o    He must not have any interest in government contracts, works or services.

Answer (c)

•    Recently, UNESCO has announced the Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat as India’s 40th world heritage site. It is the first site of Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) in India to be included on the coveted list.
•    India has 40 world heritage sites overall, which includes 32 cultural, 7 natural and one mixed property. Ramappa Temple (Telangana) was India's 39th World Heritage Site.
•    About Dholavira:
o    It is one of the most remarkable and well-preserved urban settlements in South Asia.
o    It was discovered in 1968 by archaeologist Jagat Pati Joshi.
o    After Mohenjodaro, Ganweriwala, and Harappa in Pakistan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana of India, Dholavira is the fifth largest metropolis of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC).
o    The site contains ruins of an ancient IVC/Harappan city. It comprises two parts: a walled city and a cemetery to the west of the city.
    The walled city consists of a fortified Castle with attached fortified Bailey and Ceremonial Ground, and a fortified Middle Town and Lower Town.
    A series of reservoirs are found to the east and south of the Citadel.
•    Location: 
o    The ancient city of Dholavira is an archaeological site at Kachchh District, in the state of Gujarat, which dates from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE.
o    Dholavira’s location is on the Tropic of Cancer.
o    It is located on Khadir bet island in the Kachchh Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the Great Rann of Kachchh.

Answer (c)

•    The Quit India Movement also known as the August Revolution, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All-India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in India. After the failure of the Cripps Mission to secure Indian support for the British war effort, Gandhi made a call to Do or Die in his Quit India speech delivered in Bombay on 8 August 1942 at the Gowalia Tank Maidan.
•    Gandhi’s special instructions were spelled out at the Gowalia Tank meeting but not actually issued. They were directed at various sections of society such as:
o    Government servants - Do not resign but declare your allegiance to Congress. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
o    Soldiers - Do not leave the Army but do not fire on compatriots etc.
•    The Government reacted by arresting all the top leaders of the Congress in the early hours of August 9, 1942. The Congress Working Committee, the All-India Congress Committee, and the Provincial Congress Committees were declared unlawful associations. Hence statement 3 is correct.
•    Historians have identified three phases of the Quit India movement: 
o    Initially, it started as an urban revolt, marked by strikes, boycotts, and picketing, which were quickly suppressed.
o    In the middle of August, the focus shifted to the countryside, which witnessed a major peasant rebellion, marked by the destruction of communication systems and the formation of “national governments” in isolated pockets. This brought in severe government repression forcing the agitation to move underground.
o    The third phase was characterized by violent activities, which primarily involved sabotaging war efforts by dislocating communication systems and propaganda activities by using various means, including a clandestine radio station run by hitherto unknown Usha Mehta. Hence statement 1 is correct.
•    The Communist Party of India did not join the movement. In the wake of Russia being attacked by Nazi Germany, the communists began to support the British war against Germany. And also, Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League boycotted the movement. Hence statement 4 is correct.
 

Answer (a)

•    Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was formed in Bombay in October 1934 under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev, and Minoo Masani. They were disenchanted with the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and also not in agreement with the prevalent political line of the CPI. Hence the alternative CSP was formed. From the beginning, all the Congress socialists were agreed to work inside the National Congress.
•    All the radical developments on the peasant front in the 1930s culminated in the formation of the All-India Kisan Congress in Lucknow in April 1936which later changed its name to the All-India Kisan Sabha. Swami Sahajanand, the militant founder of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (1929), was elected the President, and N.G. Ranga, the pioneer of the Kisan movement in Andhra and a renowned scholar of the agrarian problem, was the General Secretary. 
•    At the Tripuri Session of the Congress in 1939, a resolution was passed censoring Subhash Chandra Bose for raising allegations against the Gandhians. Gandhi asked him to constitute his ownWorking Committee and refused all cooperation. Bose tried to patch up a compromise but failed, and ultimately in April 1939 he resigned and was quickly replaced by Rajendra Prasad. Bose then formed his own Forward Block in 1939, as a left party within the Congress; but it did not gain much strength outside his own province of Bengal.
•    The Lahore Resolution for Pakistan was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League in March 1940 for the creation of a separate Muslim State. It called for grouping of geographically contiguous areas where Muslims are in majority (North-West, East) into independent states in which constituent units shall be autonomous.

Answer (a)

•    Raising capital for business: stock exchanges provide capital for the expansion of companies by facilitating the selling of shares to the investors. Apart from the option of borrowing from the banks, there are four common forms of capital raising used by firms and entrepreneurs.
•    Creation of investment opportunities for small investors: opposed to other businesses which require large capital, investing in shares of companies through stock exchanges is open to both small and large investors. Small investors get the opportunity for owning the shares of the same companies as large investors through the stock exchanges.
•    Capital raising for the government for developmental projects: government needs to borrow money for financing its Infrastructure Projects such as roads, water treatment, housing, etc., by selling its securities known as bonds. These bonds can be raised through the stock market where the public investors buy them and loan money to the government. This in short term obviates the need for direct taxation of citizens for financing developmental projects.
•    Inflation controlling is not a role performed by stock exchanges. 

Answer (a)

•    Cut in CRR and SLR affects the supply side of the banks, thus leading to a decrease in the base rate. Hence, they are directly related to the base rate.
•    Cut in repo rate affects the demand side and thus leads to a decrease in the base rate.
•    Thus, it is also directly proportional to the base rate.
•    Open market operations are carried out by RBI for selling and re-selling of government bonds to monitor liquidity.
•    Cut in repo rate will lead to monetary transmission only if the bank decreases the base rate.
 

Answer (b)

•    Zoji La
o    High mountain pass located in the Kargil district of UT of J&K
o    Links Leh with Srinagar
•    Lipulekh
o    International pass between India, China, and Nepal
o    High altitude mountain pass located in Western Himalayas
•    Nathu La
o    Connects Sikkim with Tibet
o    Important trade route between India and China
•    Jelep La
o    Connects Sikkim with Tibet
o    Passes via Chumbi valley

Answer (a)

Statement 1 is correct. Hydrogen as a fuel has long been touted as an almost magical solution to the air pollution crisis. The only by-product or emission that results from the usage of hydrogen fuel is water, thus making the fuel 100 percent clean. No emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter is there.

Statement 2 is not correct. Hydrogen using fuel cells is far more expensive to produce and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are also more expensive than even battery-electric ones. The estimated cost of a vehicle running on Hydrogen Fuel Cells is $ 50,000 (₹ 36,66,872).

Statement 3 is not correct. A hydrogen-based fuel is highly inflammable, the production, transport, and storage of the fuel is a possible challenge. Hydrogen can be stored physically as either a gas or a liquid. Storage of hydrogen as a gas typically requires high-pressure tanks. Storage of hydrogen as a liquid requires cryogenic temperatures because the boiling point of hydrogen at one-atmosphere pressure is −252.8°C. 

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is not correct. Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is considered a very complex disease as it can be caused by various agents including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and many other agents. However, viruses are the main causative agents. AES is a severe case of encephalitis transmitted by mosquitoes and is characterized by high fever and inflammation of the brain. 

Statement 2 is correct. The disease most commonly affects children and young adults and can lead to considerable morbidity and mortality. The relationship between consumption of litchi and AES was postulated by National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi (along with Centre for Disease Control US) in acute encephalitis in children, in Muzaffarpur. Unripe litchis contain the toxins hypoglycin A (naturally occurring amino acid) and methylene cyclopropyl-glycine (MCPG), which cause vomiting if ingested in large quantities.