IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - May 03, 2016

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Steps have been taken to open up more FDI in key areas like insurance, construction, defence, railways and medical devices. Procedures are being simplified and digital technology is being used to eliminate multiple approvals. A predictable, stable and competitive tax regime is being built.
• As per the extant FDI policy, any non-resident entity can invest in India, subject to the FDI Policy except in those sectors/ activities which are prohibited.
• However, a citizen of Bangladesh or an entity incorporated in Bangladesh can invest only under the Government route.
• Further, a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan can invest, only under the Government route, in sectors/ activities other than defence, space and atomic energy and sectors/ activities prohibited for foreign investment.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
In the following cases, a member of Parliament vacates his seat-

• Double Membership
• Disqualifications of all types including defection
• Resignation
• Absence
• Other cases A member has to vacate his seat in the Parliament:

(a) if his election is declared void by the court;
(b) if he is expelled by the House;
(c) if he is elected to the office of President or Vice-President; and
(d) if he is appointed to the office of governor of a state.

ANSWER: Start-ups

Explanation:

• The Government has established a mechanism to be known as SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) under NITI Aayog.
• SETU will be a Techno-Financial, Incubation and Facilitation Programme to support all aspects of start-up businesses, and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas.
• Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, proposes to link the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping canal. Sethu Samudram is the sea that separates India from Sri Lanka.

ANSWER: Connecting higher educational institutions to communities

Explanation:

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched a programme called Unnat Bharat Abhiyan with an aim to connect institutions of higher education, including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) etc. with local communities to address the development challenges through appropriate technologies.
• The objectives of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan are broadly two-fold:

i) Building institutional capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant to the needs of rural India.
ii) Provide rural India with professional resource support from institutes of higher education, especially those which have acquired academic excellence in the field of Science, Engineering & Technology and Management.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• As per extant rules governing the withdrawal of Employer’s contribution from the Employees Provident Fund Scheme, a member can withdraw both the employer’s share of contribution and his own share under the following circumstances: -

(i) On retirement from service after attaining the age of 55 years.
(ii) On retirement on account of permanent and total incapacity for work due to bodily or mental infirmity.
(iii) On migration from India for permanent settlement abroad.
(iv) On termination of service in the case of mass or individual retrenchment.
(v) On termination of service under a voluntary scheme of retirement.
(vi) On ceasing to be an employee in any establishment.

ANSWER: Maily Se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalization Plan, 2017

Explanation:

• NGT has given directions to take up cleaning of Yamuna under Maily Se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalization Plan, 2017.
• Earlier plan did not take wholesomeness of the Yamuna river system for cleaning Yamuna, due to insufficient engineering efforts, and also the desired result of earlier action plan were not achieved as desired due to lack of availability of fresh water in the river, especially during the lean period and a large gap between generation and treatment of sewage.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• In the Bommai case, the Supreme Court held valid the power of the court to restore the government to office in case it finds the proclamation of president’s rule to be unconstitutional.
• If the Proclamation is invalid, it does not stand validated merely because it is approved of by the Parliament. The grounds for challenging the validity of the Proclamation may be different from those challenging the validity of legislation. However, that does not make any difference to the vulnerability of the Proclamation on the limited grounds available. And therefore the validity of the Proclamation issued under Article 356(1) can be challenged even after it has been approved by both Houses of Parliament under Article 356(3).

ANSWER: Floor of the house

Explanation:

• Bommai case in 1994, made it clear that the only place to ascertain the majority of a government was the floor of the House.
• All the other avenues are either secondary or means of redressal.

ANSWER: Chalukyas

Explanation:

• Pulakeshin, who ruled from the Chalukyan capital of Badami, challenged Harsha’s conquests. The former had established himself as ‘lord paramount’ of the south, as Harsha had of the north. Unwilling to tolerate the existence of a powerful rival in the south, Harsha had marched from Kanauj with a huge force.
• It was believed that the battle occurred sometime between 612 A.D. and 634 AD. But now due to translation of a new copper plate, it can be ascertained definitively to have taken place in the winter of 618-619 A.D.
• The plate is useful in fixing the details of the coronation of Pulakeshin II in 610-611 A.D.