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1. Consider the following statements regarding Attorney General of India.
1. AG is not debarred from private legal practice.
2. AG must be qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.
3. AG has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament and their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which he may be named a member.
4. The Attorney General of India does not have any executive authority.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
2. 13. Consider the following statements with respect to Photovoltaic Cell Technology (PCT).
1. Photovoltaic cells consist of two or more layers of semiconductors with one layer containing positive charge and the other negative charge lined adjacent to each other.
2. The current produced in PCT is DC in nature and the conversion of DC current to AC current involves the use of additional equipments such as inverters.
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
3. Consider the following statements with respect to Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS).
1. The IADWS system includes radar, launchers, targeting, and guidance systems, AMRAAM and Stinger missiles, and related equipment and support.
2. The U.S. Department of State has recently approved the potential sale of IADWS to India.
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
4. Consider the following statements regarding recently notified Medical Devices (Amendment) Rules, 2020.
1. Medical devices used on humans notified as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
2. It requires online registration of medical devices with the Central Licensing Authority through an identified online portal.
3. It will only applicable to medical devices, manufactured in India.
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
5. Consider the following statements with respect to India- U.S.A trade relations.
1. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) takes India off developing country list.
2. This removal make easier for USA to impose countervailing duties on goods from India and certain other countries.
3. The US removed India from the list on account of it being a G-20 member and having a share of 0.5% or more of world trade.
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
1.Answer-d
Explanation
Attorney General of India
Article 76 of the constitution mentions that he/she is the highest law officer of India. As a chief legal advisor to the government of India, he advises the union government on all legal matters.
He also is the primary lawyer representing Union Government in the Supreme Court of India. The Attorney General, like an Advocate General of a State, is not supposed to be a political appointee, in spirit, but this is not the case in practice.
The appointment of Attorney General of India-
President of India appoints a person who is qualified for the post of SC Judge. There are the following qualifications:
He should be an Indian Citizen
He must have either completed 5 years in High Court of any Indian state as a judge or 10 years in High Court as an advocate
He may be an eminent jurist too, in the eye of the President
The term of Attorney General’s office-
There is no fixed term for the Attorney General of India. The Constitution mentions no specified tenure of Attorney General. Similarly, the Constitution also does not mention the procedure and ground of his removal.
Facts about his office:
He can be removed by the President at any time
He can quit by submitting his resignation only to the President
Since he is appointed by the President on the advice of the council of ministers conventionally he is removed when the council is dissolved or replaced
The role of Attorney General of India-
Being the Chief Law Officer of the country, the Attorney General of India has to perform the following duties:
Whichever legal matters are referred to him by the President, he advises the Union government upon the same.
President keeps on referring him legal matters that suits his interest and Attorney General has to advise on those too
Apart from what President refers, he also performs the duties mentioned in the Constitution
The three duties that are assigned to him by the President are:
• In any legal case where the government of India is related to, the Attorney General has to appear in the Supreme Court on its behalf
• He has to represent the Union Government in any reference made by the president to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution
• He also appears in the High Court if any case is related to the Government of India
The limitations on the Attorney General
To avoid conflict of duty, there are a few limitations that are posted on the Attorney General which he should keep in mind while performing his duties:
He should not advise or hold a brief against the Government of India
He should not advise or hold a brief in cases in which he is called upon to advise or appear for the Government of India
He should not defend accused persons in criminal prosecutions without the permission of the Government of India
He should not accept appointment as a director in any company or corporation without the permission of the Government of India
Other Facts
He can be part of any court in the Indian Territory
He got the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament and their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which he may be named a member
He has no right to vote when he participates in the proceedings of the Indian Parliament
Similar to Member of Parliament, he also enjoys all powers related to immunities and privileges
He is not considered as a government servant
He can practise privately too as he is not debarred from private legal practice
2.Answer-c
Explanation
Photovoltaic Cell Technology:
Photovoltaic cells consist of two or more layers of semiconductors with one layer containing positive charge and the other negative charge lined adjacent to each other.
Sunlight, consisting of small packets of energy termed as photons, strikes the cell, where it is either reflected, transmitted or absorbed.
When the photons are absorbed by the negative layer of the photovoltaic cell, the energy of the photon gets transferred to an electron in an atom of the cell.
With the increase in energy, the electron escapes the outer shell of the atom. The freed electron naturally migrates to the positive layer creating a potential difference between the positive and the negative layer. When the two layers are connected to an external circuit, the electron flows through the circuit creating a current.
Advantages of Photovoltaic Cells:
Environmental Sustainability: Photovoltaic cells generate clean and green energy as no harmful gases such as Cox, NOx etc are emitted. Also, they produce no noise pollution which makes them ideal for application in residential areas.
Economically Viable: Operation and maintenance cost of cells are very low. The cost of solar panel incurred is only the initial cost i.e., purchase and installation.
Accessible: Solar panels are easy to set up and can be made accessible in remote locations or sparsely inhabited areas at a lesser cost as compared to conventional transmission lines. They are easy to install without any interference to the residential lifestyle.
Renewable: Energy is free and abundant in nature.
Cost: Solar panels have no mechanically moving parts except in some highly advanced sunlight tracking mechanical bases. Consequently, the solar panel price for maintenance and repair is negligible.
Disadvantages of Photovoltaic Cells:
The efficiency of solar panels is low compared to other renewable sources of energy.
Energy from the sun is intermittent and unpredictable and can only be harnessed in the presence of sunlight. Also, the power generated gets reduced during cloudy weather.
Long range transmission of solar energy is inefficient and difficult to carry. The current produced is DC in nature and the conversion of DC current to AC current involves the use of additional equipments such as inverters.
Photovoltaic panels are fragile and can be damaged relatively easily. Additional insurance costs are required to ensure a safeguard to the investments.
3.Answer-c
Explanation
The U.S. Department of State has approved the potential sale of IADWS to India. The IADWS, also known as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS), provides integrated air missile defence and is currently deployed around Washington, DC. The IADWS system includes radar, launchers, targeting, and guidance systems, advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) and Stinger missiles, and related equipment and support. The potential sale, which is being processed via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, is now before the U.S. Congress for consideration, with a 30-day window for Congress to raise any objections to the sale.
4.Answer-b
Explanation-
The Union Health Ministry notified medical devices used on humans as drugs under Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act with effect from April 1, and released the Medical Devices Amendment Rules, 2020, for mandatory registration of such devices. The notification will make companies accountable for quality. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified changes in the Medical Devices Rules, 2017.
It is to regulate medical devices on the same lines as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
It is called the Medical Devices (Amendment) Rules, 2020; these are applicable to devices intended for “internal or external use” in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease or disorder in human beings or animals.
The move comes in the wake of years of controversy about faulty hip implants of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
It requires online registration of these devices with the Central Licensing Authority through an identified online portal established by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSO) for this purpose.
The manufacturer has to upload,
1. Name & address of the company or firm or any other entity manufacturing the medical device
2. Name and address of manufacturing site of medical device
3. Certificate of compliance with respect to ISO 13485 standard accredited by National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies or International Accreditation Forum in respect of such medical device.
Every medical device, either manufactured in India or imported, will have to have quality assurance before they can be sold anywhere in the country.
5.Answer-d
Explanation-
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) removed India from its list of developing countries that are exempt from investigations into whether they harm American industry with unfairly subsidised exports. The USTR also eliminated Brazil, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Africa and Argentina from getting special preferences under the methodology for countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, stating that the previous guidance that dated back to 1998 “is now obsolete”. The US removed India from the list on account of it being a G-20 member and having a share of 0.5% or more of world trade. The move has cast a shadow on India being able to restore preferential benefits under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) as part of its trade talks with the US, as only developing countries are eligible for it. For purposes of US CVD law, the USTR therefore considers countries with a share of 0.5% or more of world trade to be developed countries. India’s share in global exports was 1.67% in 2018. In global imports, it was 2.57%.