Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Dr. Sampurnanand. 

Key Points

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. 

The correct answer is The Prime Minister.

Key Points

•  The Inter-State Council is a constitutional body set up on the basis of provisions in Article 263 of the Constitution of India.

Important Points

• Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Inter-state Council.
• Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories having Legislative Assemblies, Administrators of Union Territories not having Legislative Assemblies, Governors of States under President’s rule and six Ministers of Cabinet rank in the Union Council of Ministers, nominated by the Chairman of the Council, are members of the Council.
• Five Ministers of Cabinet rank nominated by the Chairman of the Council are permanent invitees to the Council.
• The Inter-State Council is assisted by the Secretariat, which is headed by a Secretary to the Government of India.

Additional Information

• Inter-State Council is a recommendatory body and it investigates and discusses such subjects, in which some or all of the States of the Union and one or more of the States have a common interest, for better coordination of policy and action with respect to that subject.
• It also deliberates upon such other matters of general interests to the States as may be referred by the Chairman to the Council.

The correct answer is 122.

• The Ministry of Environment will implement National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) across 122 cities in the country to reduce air pollution.
• NCAP targets to achieve 20 to 30 % reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024 across the country.
• The number of good quality air days has increased to 218 in 2020 against 106 in 2016, and the number of poor quality air days decreased to 56 in 2020.

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.