Current based PRELIMS QUESTION 10 FEB 2020 – The Core IAS

Current based PRELIMS QUESTION 10 FEB 2020

 

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIOUS UPDATES on MCQs

1.Consider the following statements regarding Government Securities Market in India.

1.Government Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states and sovereign governments to raise money to finance a variety of projects and activities.

2.A Government Security (G-Sec) is a tradeable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments.

3.Treasury bills (T-Bills) which are money market instruments are short term debt instruments issued by the Central Government.

4.Cash Management Bills (CMBs) is short-term instrument to meet the temporary mismatches in the cash flow of the Government of India.

5. The CMBs have the generic character of T-bills but are issued for maturities less than 91 days, while T-bills are presently issued in three tenors, namely, 91 day, 182 day and 364 day.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

(b) 1, 3 and 4 only

(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer-a

Explanation

What is a Bond?

A bond is a debt instrument in which an investor loans money to an entity (typically corporate or government) which borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a variable or fixed interest rate. Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states and sovereign governments to raise money to finance a variety of projects and activities. Owners of bonds are debt holders, or creditors, of the issuer.

What is a Government Security (G-Sec)?

A Government Security (G-Sec) is a tradeable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments. It acknowledges the Government’s debt obligation. Such securities are short term (usually called treasury bills, with original maturities of less than one year) or long term (usually called Government bonds or dated securities with original maturity of one year or more). In India, the Central Government issues both, treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issue only bonds or dated securities, which are called the State Development Loans (SDLs). G-Secs carry practically no risk of default and, hence, are called risk-free gilt-edged instruments.

Treasury Bills (T-bills)

1.3 Treasury bills or T-bills, which are money market instruments, are short term debt instruments issued by the Government of India and are presently issued in three tenors, namely, 91 day, 182 day and 364 day. Treasury bills are zero coupon securities and pay no interest. Instead, they are issued at a discount and redeemed at the face value at maturity.

Cash Management Bills (CMBs)

In 2010, Government of India, in consultation with RBI introduced a new short-term instrument, known as Cash Management Bills (CMBs), to meet the temporary mismatches in the cash flow of the Government of India. The CMBs have the generic character of T-bills but are issued for maturities less than 91 days.

Dated G-Secs

Dated G-Secs are securities which carry a fixed or floating coupon (interest rate) which is paid on the face value, on half-yearly basis. Generally, the tenor of dated securities ranges from 5 years to 40 years.

 

2.Which of the following statement is correct in reference to Jim Corbett National Park?

1.India’s first tiger conservation program under Project Tiger inaugurated in 1973 in Jim Corbett.

2.Sal, Khair and Sissoo are the most visible trees found in Corbett.

3.Ramganga and River Kosi pass through Jim Corbett National Park.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 2 and 3 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer-b

Explanation

India’s first tiger conservation program under Project Tiger inaugurated in 1973 in Jim Corbett. Sal, Khair and Sissoo are the most visible trees found in Corbett.

The spectacular avifaunal diversity that present in Jim Corbett National Park owes its survival to the two rivers that flow through Jim Corbett Park- River Ramganga (West) and River Kosi. Ramganga River along with its tribuataries, Palain, Mandal and Sonanadi serve as key hydrological resource for Jim Corbett Park. Ramganga River is a tributary of mighty Ganges, originates in Doodhatoli ranges of Himalayas and flows out south-west to pass through the Jim Corbett National Park. Ramganga River is much popular amongst anglers for the ‘Mighty Mahseer’ – the fighting fish. The endangered fish eating ghariyal can also be seen in Jim Corbett stretches of Ramganga River.

However, River Kosi flows in close proximity to Jim Corbett Park and not properly through it, yet it provides for the birds and animals around Jim Corbett Park a cruical source of water, especially so during the dry season.

 

3.Which of the following Valley and state of location is correctly matched?

         Valley                 State/UT of location

  1. Barak Valley Assam
  2. Nubra Valley Jammu and Kashmir
  3. Dzukou Valley Nagaland
  4. Sangla Valley Himachal Pradesh

Choose the correct option.

(a) 1, 2 and 4 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer-c

Explanation-

  1. Barak Valley Assam
  2. Nubra Valley Ladakh
  3. Dzukou Valley Nagaland
  4. Sangla Valley Himachal Pradesh

 

4.Consider the following statements with respect to

1.The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament.

2.The wider objective of KVIC is creating self-reliance amongst the poor and building up of a strong rural community spirit.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer-c

Explanation

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament (No. 61 of 1956, as amended by act no. 12 of 1987 and Act No.10 of 2006. In April 1957, it took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board.

Objectives

  • ® The social objective of providing employment
  • ® The economic objective of producing saleable articles.
  • ® The wider objective of creating self-reliance amongst the poor and building up of a strong rural community spirit.

Functions

 The KVIC is charged with the planning, promotion, organisation and implementation of programs for the development of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas in coordination with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever necessary. The KVIC may also undertake directly or through other agencies studies concerning the problems of Khadi and/or village industries besides research or establishing pilot projects for the development of Khadi and village industries.

 

5.Consider the following statements regarding Gandhi’s view of Violence / Nonviolence.

1.The philosophy of nonviolence is not a weapon of the weak; it is a weapon, which can be tried by all.

2.Nonviolence was not Gandhi’s invention. He is however called the father of nonviolence by Rabindranath Tagore.

3.For Gandhi, perpetrators of violence are products of social disintegration, not as a natural tendency of humans.

4.In the face of violence and injustice, Gandhi considers violent resistance preferable to cowardly submission.  

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 4 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer-c

Explanation-

With Gandhi, the notion of nonviolence attained a special status. He not only theorized on it, he adopted nonviolence as a philosophy and an ideal way of life. He made us understand that the philosophy of nonviolence is not a weapon of the weak; it is a weapon, which can be tried by all.

Nonviolence was not Gandhi’s invention. He is however called the father of nonviolence because according to Mark Shepard, “He raised nonviolent action to a level never before achieved.”

Krishna Kripalani again asserts “Gandhi was the first in Human history to extend the principle of nonviolence from the individual to social and political plane.”2While scholars were talking about an idea without a name or a movement, Gandhi is the person who came up with the name and brought together different related ideas under one concept: Satyagraha

  • ® Gandhi saw violence pejoratively and also identified two forms of violence; Passive and Physical, as we saw earlier. The practice of passive violence is a daily affair, consciously and unconsciously. It is again the fuel that ignites the fire of physical violence.
  • ® Gandhi objects to violence because it perpetuates hatred. When it appears to do ‘good’, the good is only temporary and cannot do any good in the long run.
  • ® For Gandhi, perpetrators of violence (whom he referred to as criminals), are products of social disintegration. Gandhi feels that violence is not a natural tendency of humans.
  • ® For Gandhi, nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than any weapon of mass destruction. It is superior to brute force.
  • ® Truth and nonviolence are as old as the hills.For nonviolence to be strong and effective; it must begin with the mind, without which it will be nonviolence of the weak and cowardly.
  • ® In the face of violence and injustice, Gandhi considers violent resistance preferable to cowardly submission. There is hope that a violent man may someday be nonviolent, but there is no room for a coward to develop fearlessness. 

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *