IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Mar 12, 2016

ANSWER: Pay lower taxes or avoid taxes altogether

Explanation:

• Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) refers to tax planning strategies that exploit these gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid.
• BEPS is of major significance for developing countries due to their heavy reliance on corporate income tax, particularly from multinational enterprises (MNEs).
• In simple terms it means to shift profits across borders to take advantage of tax rates that are lower than in the country where the profit is made.
• Three popular mechanisms for doing this are hybrid mismatches, special purpose entities (SPE), and transfer pricing.

ANSWER: Space

Explanation:

• The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development.
• India is a member of COPUOS.
• International cooperation in space exploration and the use of space technology applications to meet global development goals are discussed in the Committee every year.
• The work of COPUOS has been assisted by the two subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:

• Motion of Thanks can be amended.
• In what is a major embarrassment to the government in the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition got an amendment passed to the President’s address, the second time in a row for the government and the fifth time in independent India’s parliamentary history.
• The five times are – 1980, 1989, 2001, 2015 and 2016.
• Every time it has been in the Rajya Sabha.
• The Opposition’s amendment was against a minimum education qualification fixed for aspirants in local and Panchayat elections, that was part of President’ address.
• Next Step – The motion of thanks on president’s address will be sent back to the President with the mention of the amendment passed.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• A pilot project namely ‘Minority Cyber Gram’ was launched in February, 2014 for imparting Digital Literacy in a minority dominated village Chanduli in Alwar district, Rajasthan in association with an organization namely Digital Empowerment Foundation.
• After the success of the pilot project, Ministry has mainstreamed the Cyber Gram Programme within the scheme of Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP).
• ‘Cyber Gram’ has been launched as an initiative under Multi-sectoral Development Programme(MsDP) to provide hands on training in computers to the students of minority communities and enable them to acquire basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills; become digitally literate; actively participate in knowledge based activities; access financial, social and government services and use internet for communications.
• The initiative covers students of Class VI to Class X belonging to notified minority communities residing in minority concentration areas.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The first session after each general election and the first session of every fiscal year is addressed by the president. In this address, the president outlines the policies and programmes of the government in the preceding year and ensuing year.
• This address of the president, which corresponds to the ‘speech from the Throne in Britain’, is discussed in both the Houses of Parliament on a motion called the ‘Motion of Thanks’.
• At the end of the discussion, the motion is put to vote. This motion must be passed in the House. Otherwise, it amounts to the defeat of the government.
• This inaugural speech of the president is an occasion available to the members of Parliament to raise discussions and debates to examine and criticize the government and administration for its lapses and failures.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• In 1997, the Central Civil Services Leave Rules brought in paternity leave for men in government service.
• Those with fewer than two surviving children are allowed 15 days of fully-paid leave which may be combined with other leave.
• The provision was extended to adoptive fathers in 2009.
• For the private sector, though, policymakers failed to see the link between division of labour at home and equality at the workplace. This, despite separate reviews of the law by the Labour and WCD Ministries making a compelling case for introducing the concept in India.
• Thus the prevalence of paternity leave is very less in private sector as compared to the government jobs.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
Few features of the bill are –

• The bill covers any project that is more than 500 sq m or has more than eight apartments (states can lower this requirement further).
• All projects will have to be registered with regulatory authorities, and developers will have to disclose project information including details of the promoter, project, layout plan, land status, status of approvals and agreements along with details of real estate agents, contractors, architects and structural engineers.
• There will be no discrimination of any kind on basis of religion, region, caste, creed or sex and gender and we will include that in the rules. The government may bring in a "non-discriminatory" clause to allow anyone (including a transgender) to buy property in a complex.
• Builders will have to deposit a minimum of 70% collections from buyers in an escrow account to cover cost of construction and land.
• Builders can no longer go scot-free by putting up flashy designs or photographs of a project to attract buyers and failing to deliver projects that match the pictorial claims.
• The bill states the builder has to return the payment with interest to buyers who are affected by such "incorrect, fast statements contained in the notice, advertisement or prospectus or the model apartment, plot or building as the case may be".
• The authority can even order "compensation" to consumers in case of misleading advertisements.