Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is 9%.

Key Points

• 12th Five Year Plan (2012 - 2017)
  • 12th Five Year Plan 2012-17 as per the draft document released by the Planning Commission aims at a growth rate of 9%.
  • 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India (2012–17) was India's last Five Year Plan.
  • With the deteriorating global situation, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that achieving an average growth rate of 8 percent in the next five years is not possible.
  • The final growth target has been set at 8% by the endorsement of the plan at the National Development Council (NDC) meeting held in New Delhi.
  • The government intends to reduce poverty by 10 percent during the 12th Five-Year Plan.

Additional Information

• NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)
  • Planning Commission was replaced by a new institution – NITI AAYYOG on January 1, 2015, with emphasis on the ‘Bottom –Up’ approach to envisage the vision of Maximum Governance, Minimum Government, echoing the spirit of ‘Cooperative Federalism.
  • Chairperson: Prime Minister
  • Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister
  • Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
  • Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by Prime Minister or his nominee.
  • Adhoc Membership: 2 members in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on a rotational basis.
  • Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from Union council of ministers to be nominated by Prime minister.
  • Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
  • Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by Prime-minister.

The correct answer is Residential hostel.

• Under the Rajasthan Ambedkar DBT Voucher Yojana, Students will be provided facility of residential hostels.

Key Points

• Ambedkar DBT Voucher Scheme
  • Under this scheme, the state government will provide vouchers for residential facilities to the students studying in various reserved categories of colleges of Rajasthan to stay away from their homes in urban areas. 
  • Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the proposal to implement Ambedkar DBT Voucher Scheme for SC, ST, OBC, MBC, and EWS students.
  • Under the scheme, the beneficiary students will be given Rs. 7 thousand per month for the residential facility at the divisional headquarters and Rs. 5 thousand per month for other district headquarters.
  • Under this scheme, 5000 students will be provided vouchers on a merit basis for 10 months.
  • Only those students will be able to take advantage of Rajasthan Ambedkar DBT Voucher Yojana, who live in urban areas away from their homes to get an education.

The correct answer is Andhra Pradesh.

Key Points

• Andhra Pradesh
  • Andhra Pradesh had the largest area (2010) under tobacco cultivation.
  • With rich black soil and irrigation facilities, the state is bestowed with high-grade production of tobacco. 
  • It is next to Cuban tobacco which is considered rich in quality in the world.  
  • The tobacco research institute is situated at Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh state
  • Recently, Andhra Pradesh is the highest producer of tobacco in India and as per the government records, the tobacco production in this state is estimated to be at 110 million kilograms.

Additional Information

• Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh state is famous for its wheat and sugar cane production.
  • It is the largest state in terms of population and as well area in India.
• Karnataka: The Karnataka state is the leading producer of coffee with rich climatic conditions.
  • It has many mineral resources like bauxite iron ore etc.
• Gujarat: The Gujarat state is famous for its cotton production, petrochemical complex, natural ports, fishing zones, etc.

The correct answer is 2 only.

Key Points

• Indian Agriculture:
  • ​The share of agriculture in the gross domestic product (GDP) has reached almost 20 per cent for the first time in the last 17 years, making it the sole bright spot in GDP performance during 2020-21, according to the Economic Survey 2020-2021.​ Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  • The resilience of the farming community in the face of adversities made agriculture the only sector to have clocked a positive growth of 3.4 per cent at constant prices in 2020-21 when other sectors slid.
  • The share of agriculture in GDP increased to 19.9 per cent in 2020-21 from 17.8 per cent in 2019-20. The last time the contribution of the agriculture sector in GDP was at 20 per cent was in 2003-04.
• Dependence on monsoon:
  • Reliance on seasonal rainfall hampers productivity. Additionally, change in climatic conditions and erratic weather patterns such as cyclones and droughts can impact the yields of agricultural crops.
  • The growth of India’s agriculture sector has been dependent on monsoons, and as a result, it has been volatile. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • The government is now encouraging micro-irrigation to improve water usage/efficiency.
• Government initiatives:
  • Improve soil fertility on a sustainable basis through the soil health card scheme.
  • Provide improved access to irrigation and enhanced water efficiency through Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).
  • Support organic farming through Paramparagat Krishi VikasYojana (PKVY).
  • Creation of a unified national agriculture market to boost the income of farmers.
  • To mitigate risk in the agriculture sector, “Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojana (PMFBY) has been launched for implementation from Kharif 2016.

The correct answer is Minimum reserve system.

Key Points

India Currency System:

• In terms of section 22 of the reserve bank of india act, the RBI has been given the statutory function of notes issue on a monopoly basis.
• The note issue in india was originally based upon the " Proportional Reserve System ".
• When it becomes difficult to maintain the re-serve proportionately.
• It was replaced by " Minimum Reserve Systems ".

• According to the RBI amendment act of 1957, the bank should now maintain a minimum reserve of Rs.200 crore worth of gold coins.
• The gold bullion and foreign securities of which the value of gold coin and bullion should be not less than Rs.115 crore.