Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is N. K. Singh.

• N. K. Singh is the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission.

Additional Information

• 15th Finance Commission
  • The Finance Commission (FC) is a constitutional body, that determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and among the states as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements.
  • Under Article 280 of the Constitution, the President of India is required to constitute a Finance Commission at an interval of five years or earlier.
  • The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India, under the chairmanship of NK Singh.
  • Its recommendations will cover a period of five years from the year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
  • Grants Devolution Criteria
    • Population:
      • The population of a State represents the needs of the State to undertake expenditure for providing services to its residents.
      • It is also a simple and transparent indicator that has a significant equalising impact.
    • Area:
      • The larger the area, the greater is the expenditure requirement for providing comparable services.
    • Forest and Ecology:
      • By taking into account the share of the dense forest of each state in the aggregate dense forest of all the states, the share on these criteria is determined.
    • Income Distance:
      • Income distance is the distance of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of a particular state from the state with the highest GSDP.
      • To maintain interstate equity, the states with lower per capita income would be given a higher share.
    • Demographic Performance:
      • It rewards efforts made by states in controlling their population.
      • This criterion has been computed by using the reciprocal of the total fertility ratio of each state, scaled by 1971 population data.
    • Tax Effort:
      • This criterion has been used to reward states with higher tax collection efficiency.

The correct answer is Dr. Sampurnanand. 

Key Points

The correct answer is (A) - (2), (B) - (3), (C) - (1), (D) - (4)

Key Points

The correct answer is November 2020.

• Lok Sabha has given its nod to Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021.
• The bill contains provisions to deal with domestic and international arbitration.
• It defines the law for conducting conciliation proceedings.
• It replaces an Ordinance with the same provisions promulgated on 4th November 2020.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

•  Fundamental Duties:
  • ​They were added to the constitution on the recommendation of the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee.
  • They were added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976.
  • This amendment added a new part, namely, Part IVA to the Constitution. This new part consists of only one Article, that is, Article 51A which for the first time specified a code of ten fundamental duties of the citizens. Some of them are:
    • to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures; Hence 1 is correct.
    • to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;  Hence 2 is correct.
    • to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture;  Hence 3 is correct.
• To protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest which are declared to be of national importance; This is a directive principle of State Policy under Article 49. Hence 4 is not correct.