1. Consider the following statements about the BAL GANGADHAR TILAK.
1. He owned and edited two weekly newspapers the Kesari in Marathi, and the Mahratta in English for awakening the political consciousness of the people.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru described him as the Father of the Indian Revolution.
3. He discarded the orthodox interpretation that the Bhagavad-Gita taught the ideal of renunciation, in his view it taught selfless service to humanity.
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-d
Explanation
BAL GANGADHAR TILAK
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, byname Lokamanya, (born July 23, 1856, Ratnagiri [now in Maharashtra state], India—died August 1, 1920, Bombay, scholar, mathematician, philosopher, and ardent nationalist who helped lay the foundation for India’s independence by building his own defiance of British rule into a national movement. He founded (1914) and served as president of the Indian Home Rule League. In 1916 he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle.
Tilak was born into a cultured middle-class Brahman family. Although his birth place was Bombay (Mumbai), he was raised in a village along the Arabian Sea coast in what is now Maharashtra state until the age of 10, when his father, an educator and noted grammarian, took a job in Pune.
The young Tilak was educated at Deccan College in Poona, where in 1876; he earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Sanskrit.
Tilak then studied law, receiving his degree in 1879 from the University of Bombay (now Mumbai). At that point, however, he decided to teach mathematics in a private school in Poona. The school became the basis for his political career.
He developed the institution into a university college after founding the Deccan Education Society (1884), which aimed at educating the
Masses, especially in the English language; he and his associates considered English to be a powerful force for the dissemination of liberal and democratic ideals.
The life members of the society were expected to follow an ideal of selfless service, but when Tilak learned that some members were keeping outside earnings for themselves, he resigned.
He then turned to the task of awakening the political consciousness of the people through two weekly newspapers that he owned and edited: Kesari (“The Lion”), published in Marathi, and The Mahratta, published in English. Through those newspapers Tilak became widely known for his bitter criticisms of British rule and of those moderate nationalists who advocated social reforms along Western lines and political reforms along constitutional lines.
He thought that social reform would only divert energy away from the political struggle for independence.
Tilak sought to widen the popularity of the nationalist movement (which at that time was largely confined to the upper classes) by introducing Hindu religious symbolism and by invoking popular traditions of the Maratha struggle against Muslim rule.
He thus organized two important festivals, Ganesh in 1893 and Shivaji in 1895. But, though that symbolism made the nationalist movement more popular, it also made it more communal and thus alarmed the Muslims.
Rise to National Prominence
Tilak’s activities aroused the Indian populace, but they soon also brought him into conflict with the British government, which prosecuted him for sedition and sent him to jail in 1897.
The trial and sentence earned him the title Lokamanya (“Beloved Leader of the People”). He was released after 18 months.
When Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, partitioned Bengal in 1905, Tilak strongly supported the Bengali demand for the annulment of the partition and advocated a boycott of British goods, which soon became a movement that swept the nation. The following year he set forth a program of passive resistance, known as the Tenets of the New Party, that he hoped would destroy the hypnotic influence of British rule and prepare the people for sacrifice in order to gain independence. Those forms of political action initiated by Tilak—the boycotting of goods and passive resistance—were later adopted by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi in his program of nonviolent noncooperation with the British (Satyagraha).
Tilak’s approach was strong fare for the moderate Indian National Congress (Congress Party), which believed in making “loyal” representations to the government for small reforms.
Tilak aimed at Swarajya (independence), not piecemeal reforms, and attempted to persuade the Congress Party to adopt his militant program. On that issue, he clashed with the moderates during the party’s session (meeting) at Surat (now in Gujarat state) in 1907, and the party split.
Taking advantage of the division in the nationalist forces, the government again prosecuted Tilak on a charge of sedition and inciting terrorism and deported him to Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), to serve a six-year prison sentence.
In the Mandalay jail, Tilak settled down to write his magnum opus, the Śrīmad Bhagavadgitā Rahasya (“Secret of the Bhagavadgita”)—also known as Bhagavad Gita or Gita Rahasya—an original exposition of the most-sacred book of the Hindus.
Tilak discarded the orthodox interpretation that the Bhagavad-Gita (a component of the Mahabharata epic poem) taught the ideal of renunciation; in his view it taught selfless service to humanity.
Earlier, in 1893, he had published The Orion; or, Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas, and, a decade later, The Arctic Home in the Vedas. Both works were intended to promote Hindu culture as the successor to the Vedic religion and his belief that its roots were in the so-called Aryans from the north.
On his release in 1914, on the eve of World War I, Tilak once more plunged into politics.
He launched the Home Rule League with the rousing slogan Swarajya is my birthright and I will have it.
In 1916 he rejoined the Congress Party and signed the historic Lucknow Pact, a Hindu-Muslim accord, with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the future founder of Pakistan.
Tilak visited England in 1918 as president of the Indian Home Rule League.
He realized that the Labour Party was a growing force in British politics, and he established firm relationships with its leaders.
His foresight was justified: it was a Labour government that granted independence to India in 1947.
Tilak was one of the first to maintain that Indians should cease to cooperate with foreign rule, but he always denied that he had ever encouraged the use of violence.
By the time Tilak returned home in late 1919 to attend the meeting of the Congress Party at Amritsar, he had mellowed sufficiently to oppose Gandhi’s policy of boycotting the elections to the legislative councils established as part of the reforms that followed from the Montagu-Chelmsford Report to Parliament in 1918.
Instead, Tilak advised the delegates to follow his policy of “responsive cooperation” in carrying out the reforms, which introduced a certain degree of Indian participation in regional government.
He died, however, before he could give the new reforms a decisive direction.
In tributes, Gandhi called him “the Maker of Modern India,” and Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first prime minister, described him as “the Father of the Indian Revolution.”
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bal-Gangadhar-Tilak
2. Consider the following statements regarding the Pench Tiger Reserve.
1. It comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary and a buffer.
2. It is a first inter-state project tiger area of the country.
3. The Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighborhood is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling’s most famous work, The Jungle Book.
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-d
Explanation
Pench Tiger Reserve
Pench Tiger Reserve, Seoni (Madhya Pradesh) is one of the major Protected Areas of Satpura-Maikal ranges of the Central Highlands, which is among the most important tiger habitats of the world.
In the year 1977 an area of 449.392 sq. km. was declared Pench Sanctuary. Out of this, an area of 292.857 sq. km. was declared Pench National Park in the year 1983 and 118.473 sq.km. remained as Pench Sanctuary. In 1992 Govt. of India declared 757.85 sq. km. including the National Park and sanctuary, as the 19th Tiger Reserve of the country. The Pench National Park and Pench Sanctuary were renamed as Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park & Pench Mowgli Sanctuary in year 2002.
Pench Tiger Reserve is among the sites notified as important bird areas of India.
This is one of the highest herbivores densities in India.
Contiguous forest covers with Kanha Tiger Reserve and Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra).
Pench Tiger Reserve comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary and a buffer.
The river Pench, which splits the National Park into two, forms the lifeline of the Park.
To the south of the tiger reserve lies the Pench Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra, the first inter-state project tiger area of the country.
The Tiger Reserve nestles in the Southern Slopes of the Satpura ranges of Central India.
The river Pench, which splits the National Park into two, forms the lifeline of the Park.
To the south of the tiger reserve lies the Pench Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra, the first inter-state project tiger area of the country.
The Pench Tiger Reserve and its neighborhood is the original setting of Rudyard Kipling’s most famous work, The Jungle Book.
Many of The Jungle Book’s locations are actual locations in Seoni District, like the Waingunga River with its gorge where Sherkhan was killed, Kanhiwara villlage and the ‘Seeonee hills’.
The forests in Pench tiger reserve are classified into three types:
1. South Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous (slightly moist)
2. Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Teak Forests and
3. Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest
Mixed Dry deciduous forests occupy over one third of the area.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pench-tiger-death-raises-covid-19-fears/article31275062.ece
https://www.penchtiger.co.in/
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Consolidated Fund of India.
1. This fund was constituted under Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of India.
2. It includes revenues, which are received by the government through taxes and expenses incurred in the form of borrowings and loans.
3. The disbursements charged on the Consolidated Fund or Charged Expenditures are votable charges.
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
Consolidated Fund of India
Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to amend the Salaries, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954. It will cut the salaries of Members of Parliament (MPs) by 30%, effective from 1st April 2020. Apart from this, it has been decided to suspend the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds for two financial years (2020-21 to 2021-22). The saved amount will go to the Consolidated Fund of India to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Consolidated Fund of India includes revenues, which are received by the government through taxes and expenses incurred in the form of borrowings and loans.
It represents one of the three parts of the Annual Financial Statement with the other two: the Contingency Fund and Public Account.
All government expenditures are met by consolidated funds except a few made by contingency fund or public fund.
The Consolidated Fund of India was created under Article 266 of the Constitution.
It is also considered as the most important part of the financial statement.
Similar to the Centre, every state has its own Consolidated Fund as well.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India audits the fund and reports to the relevant legislatures on the management.
What goes into Consolidated Fund of India?
All the government revenue generated from taxes, asset sale, earnings from state-run companies, etc go into the Consolidated Fund of India.
The fund gets money from:
Revenue earned in direct taxes such as income tax, corporate tax, etc
Revenue earned in indirect taxes such as GST
Dividends and profits from PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings)
Money earned through government’s general services
Disinvestment receipts
Debt repayments
Loan recoveries
Keep in mind that no money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India, without the government securing the approval of the Parliament.
Parts of Consolidated Fund Of India
The Consolidated Fund of India is divided into five parts namely:
1. Revenue account (receipts)
2. Revenue account (disbursements)
3. Capital account (receipts)
4. Capital account (disbursements)
5. Disbursements charged on the Consolidated Fund.
Charged Expenditures on Consolidated Fund of India
The disbursements charged on the Consolidated Fund or Charged Expenditures are non-votable charges.
No voting takes place for the withdrawal of these expenditures from the Consolidated Fund of India. These charges have to be paid whether the Budget is passed or not.
The expenses under this category include salaries and allowances of:
1. The President
2. The Speaker
3. The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha
4. Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the RajyaSabha
5. Salaries and allowances of Supreme Court judges
6. Pensions of Supreme Court and High Court judges
Consolidated Fund vs. Contingency Fund
The Contingency Fund stores money for some of the urgent or unplanned expenditures of the government. The President gives advance nod for a particular sum of money to be stored in the Contingency Fund for emergency uses.
Note that the CAG, or the Comptroller and Auditor General, is responsible for audit of receipts and expenditure from the Fund and also of the states.
https://www.financialexpress.com/what-is/consolidated-fund-of-india-meaning/1762621/
4. Consider the following statements with reference to the Smart City Mission.
1. The Mission covers 100 cities for the duration of five years starting from the financial year 2015-16 to 2019-20.
2. It is a Central Sector Scheme.
3. It is an innovative initiative to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.
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) All of above
Answer-c
Explanation-
Smart City Mission
It is an innovative initiative under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.
It’s main objective to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of Smart Solutions.
Focus: On sustainable and inclusive development and to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.
Strategy: Pan-city initiative in which at least one Smart Solution is applied city-wide.
Develop areas step-by-step with the help of these three models:
Retrofitting
Redevelopment
Greenfield
Coverage and Duration: The Mission covers 100 cities for the duration of five years starting from the financial year (FY) 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Financing: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
http://smartcities.gov.in/content/
5. Consider the following statements regarding the Champions of Earth Award.
1. This is awarded by the UN Environment Programme in the field of environmental.
2. Sri Narendra Modi is recognized for this in the Policy Leadership category for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance.
3. It is celebrated in three categories i.e. Policy leadership, Inspiration and action, and Science and innovation.
Which of the following statements 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-
Champions of Earth award
Emmanuel Macron, President of France and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, are recognized in the Policy Leadership category for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and promoting new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action, including Macron’s work on the Global Pact for the Environment and Modi’s unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.
The UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award is the world’s flagship environmental honor. Since 2005, we have recognized heroes who inspire, encourage others to join them, and defend a cleaner future.
Champions of the Earth are celebrated in four categories:
• Policy leadership – individuals or organizations in the public sector leading global or national action for the environment. They shape dialogue, lead commitments and act for the good of the planet.
• Inspiration and action – individuals or organizations taking bold steps to inspire positive change to protect our world. They lead by example, challenge behavior and inspire millions.
• Entrepreneurial vision – individuals or organizations challenging the status quo to build a cleaner future. They build systems, create new technology and spearhead a groundbreaking vision.
• Science and innovation – individuals or organizations that push the boundaries of technology for profound environmental benefit. They invent possibilities for a more sustainable world.
Since 2005, Champions of the Earth has recognized 93 laureates, ranging from world leaders to technology inventors.
https://www.unenvironment.org/championsofearth/about-award