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BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-27) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : निम्न में से कौन-से राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग को ग्राण्ड ट्रंक रोड के नाम से जानते है ?

(a) राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग-2
(b) राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग-1
(c) राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग-4
(d) राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग-3

Q.2 : बिहार राज्य में राष्ट्रीय राजमार्गों की कुल संख्या कितनी है ?

(a) 6
(b) 7
(c) 8
(d) 4

Q.3 : बिहार के किस हवाई अड्डे का प्रयोग नेपाल जाने के लिए होता है ?

(a) मुजफ्फरपुर
(b) रक्सौल
(c) पटना
(d) गया

Q.4 : बिहार के किस शहर में ग्लाइडिंग क्लब है ?

(a) गया
(b) मुजफ्फरपुर
(c) बरौनी
(d) पटना

Q.5 : बिहार में दरभंगा आकाशवाणी केन्द्र से किस भाषा में प्रसारण अधिक होता है ?

(a) हिन्दी
(b) भोजपुरी
(c) मैथिली
(d) संस्कृत

बिहार लोक सेवा आयोग प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा के लिए अध्ययन सामग्री

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Another grim reminder: On IMF's GDP projections (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: GDP growth
Mains level: IMF’s slowdown concerns on economic growth

Context

•  The International Monetary Fund, recently, followed the World Bank in reducing its forecast (to 6%) for India’s economic growth in the current financial year, to 6.1%.
•  The South Asian Economic Policy Network Survey predicts growth to be 5.7% this fiscal.

Issues

•  The World Bank describes this to be a cyclical slowdown, exacerbated by global influences. It highlights the problem to be that banks have the depressing burden of bad loans.
•  The World Bank has also warned that nonbanking financial companies’ significant share in total credit and their linkages with banks pose risks.
•  Also, sharper than expected slowdown in major economies such as the U.S. and Eurozone could have severe spillover impacts, the bank noted that India was vulnerable to being affected immediately and over a longer duration by real GDP shocks in these advanced economies.
•  In the case of a Chinese GDP growth slowdown, the onset of the impact on India would likely be delayed but substantially more pronounced

Way forward

•  IMF has urged structural reforms in labour and land laws to boost job and infrastructure creation.
•  Also increasing domestic consumption should be one of the measures to improve the condition of the slowdown.
•  It may, therefore, make a lot of sense to heed Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee’s prescription and put more money in the hands of consumers, especially those in the rural areas, to reinvigorate demand.

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For a wider food menu (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Social Justice
Prelims level: World Food Day
Mains level: Analysing hunger and malnutrition situation in India

Context

•  World Food Day is observed annually on October 16 to address the problem of global hunger. The theme this year is ‘Our Actions are our Future; Healthy Diets for a #ZeroHunger World.’
•  Announcing in his Mann Ki Baat address that September is to be observed as ‘Rashtriya Poshan Maah’, the Indian Prime Minister urged people to support the government’s nutrition campaign to ensure a healthier future for women and children. In this regard, it is necessary to understand about Poshan Abhiyan.

The Poshan Abhiyan

•  India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, is an amalgamation of scientific principles, political fortitude and technical ingenuity.
•  The key nutrition interventions and strategies, which form the core of it, contribute to the targets of the World Health Assembly for nutrition and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the goal of “zero hunger.”
•  But still, issues remain which are discussed as follows

Key issues:

•  The government claims that efforts as part of the Poshan Abhiyan have reduced malnutrition by 2% points. However, according to the 2017 Global Burden of Disease Study by the University of Washington, malnutrition is among the leading causes of death and disability in India, followed by dietary risks including poor diet choices.
•  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 194.4 million people in India, about 14.5% of the total population, are undernourished.
•  The Global Hunger Index 2018 ranks India 103 out of 119 countries on the basis of three leading indicators: the prevalence of wasting and stunting in children under five years of age, child mortality rate under five years of age, and the proportion of undernourished in the population.
•  The disappearance of many nutritious native foods such as millets.
•  FAO’s work has demonstrated that food monotony which is being done in India has negative consequences for ecosystems, food diversity and health and also increases the risk of micronutrient deficiency.

Way forward

•  Achieving zero hunger requires not only addressing hunger, but also the associated aspect of malnutrition.
•  People should be able to choose from a variety of food sources to be able to gain a balanced amount of nutrients and micronutrients.
•  The government’s efforts to synergise biodiversity conservation, agricultural production and local development for healthy diets and a healthy planet is a step in the right direction, also as per FAO.
•  Thus we must make food and agriculture more nutrition-sensitive and climate-resilient

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A cost-effective way to power generation (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Renewable energy resource objectives and key advantages

Context

•  India has been aggressively expanding its power generation capacity. Today’s installed capacity of 358 GW is about four times of what it was in 1997-98, which shows a doubling of capacity in each of the past two decades - or about 75 MW per day.
•  By India’s historical standards, these are astonishing numbers indeed. In recent years, the major growth drivers have been renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, and investment from the private sector.
•  The private sector accounts for almost half the installed generation capacity. For the last three years, growth in generation from renewables has been close to 25%.

Objectives

•  India aims to have a renewables capacity of 175 GW by 2022 and 500 GW by 2030. Solar and wind power plants would account for much of the targeted capacity from renewables. How can this be achieved?
•  Project size and cost: Today, thermal generation capacity accounts for about two-thirds the installed generation capacity in the country.
•  This shows that though there is increasing awareness about the environmental impact of fossil fuels, the reliance on thermal plants is unlikely to end any time soon.

Key advantages

•  The two major advantages that thermal power plants enjoy relative to solar and wind power plants. Thermal plant capacities are large and therefore targeted capacity additions can be achieved by constructing fewer such plants.
•  On average, it would take 18 solar or wind projects to generate the same quantity of power as one thermal plant.
•  For the same reason, switching from fossil fuel to renewables will remain challenging as the administrative overheads that would have to be incurred in setting up the multiple projects could significantly add to the cost.
•  Not surprisingly, infrastructure projects have an inverse relationship between size and unit cost, indicating economies of scale. As the capacity of power plants increases, the average cost of power per MW reduces.
•  The average cost per MW for a thermal plant is about 25% lower than that of a solar plant. In order to surmount the cost advantages that large thermal plants enjoy today, we must focus on developing larger solar and wind power plants that can also exploit similar economies of scale.

Project ownership:

•  The next point is that of ownership. Over the last two decades, 63% of the total planned generation capacity has come from the private sector.
•  Private investment has been even more pronounced in renewables, accounting for almost 90% of investment in wind and solar projects.

So has private investment helped?

•  Private sector plants have an average cost per MW that is 12-34% lower for all categories except solar. Lower capacity cost has a direct impact on electricity tariffs.
•  Electricity tariffs broadly consist of two components: fixed capacity costs and operation and maintenance costs, which include fuel expenses. In general, capacity costs account for more than 90% of the levelised cost of electricity, irrespective of the fuel type.
•  If we are able to create additional capacity at lower cost, then it will play a big role in keeping electricity tariffs low. Private investment in the power sector has not only helped in augmenting capacity but has also helped in lowering cost.

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Get back to talks: On transport workers strike in Telangana (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Governance
Prelims level: Telangana State Road Transport Corporation
Mains level: Improving transport system and key issues

Context

•  Even as the transport workers strike in Telangana reached its eleventh day on Tuesday - it began after talks broke down with the government - there has been little by way of official communication to negotiate a solution.
•  Two workers lost their lives to suicide, which was attempted by a few others as well, following the peremptory “dismissal” of 48,800 striking workers of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) more than a week ago.

Background

•  The striking workers were “dismissed” for failing to turn up to work before a government deadline.
•  Their main demand has been the merging of the loss-making TSRTC as a government department, which the government has been loath to concede.
•  The enterprise of public transport in most urban centres in India has been a difficult proposition economically today.
•  This has been even more so in Telangana where bus transport has been beset by problems such as ageing fleets and high operational costs largely due to high fuel rates and subsidised fares.
•  This has hurt operations and has also resulted in worker angst about a lack of adequate salaries.
•  The government led by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti has been unwilling to take on the burden of operating the corporation under its aegis because of its losses, estimated to be ₹928 crore in FY2019 alone.

Need for concern

•  Yet, to grease the wheels of a growing economy, a sustainable urban transport, in which road transport is a key component, is a must. This is possible only by modernisation such as the deployment of new buses, and identification of proper routes and services using information technology among other reforms.
•  Without adequate State support, these reforms would not be possible and will force the operations of the TSRTC to remain within a vicious cycle of operating losses, cutbacks and poor services.
•  Instead of impressing upon the need for this modernisation to the workers and negotiating a solution, the TRS government has resorted to “dismissing” nearly the entire unit of TSRTC workers in what is clearly a legally suspect move that has been challenged in the Telangana High Court.
•  Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao went on to not only justify the layoff as “self-dismissals”, but also took a hard-line position saying that these workers will not regain their jobs.

Way forward

•  These gestures have only intensified the struggle even as public transport in Hyderabad and other urban areas has been thrown into disarray. Telangana should have handled the transport workers’ strike more sensitively.
•  In public interest, the government should bring the striking unions back to the negotiating table. More importantly, the dismissals should be revoked to make the talks meaningful.

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(Download) CS (MAIN) EXAM:2019 Manipuri Literature

Exam Name: CS (MAIN) EXAM:2019 Manipuri Literature
Marks: 250
Time Allowed : Three Hours

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A sound review (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: SC/ST POA law
Mains level: Rights of the vulnerable sections

Context

•  A three judge bench of the Supreme Court has decided to review the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled tribes (Prevention of atrocities) act following the last year judgement which was seen as a dilution of the law.
•  The March 2018 decision laid down three new rules as safeguards against the Act’s possible misuse:
•  The bar on anticipatory bail under Section 18 need not prevent courts from granting advance bail.
•  A person can be arrested only if the “appointing authority” (in the case of a public servant) or the SP (in the case of others) approves such arrest.
•  There should be a preliminary enquiry into all complaints.

Why were the provisions diluted?

•  Justice Goel had observed that “interpretation of Atrocities Act should promote constitutional values of fraternity and integration of the society. This may require ‘check on false implication of innocent citizens on caste lines’.”

The spirit of the SC/ST POA law:

•  Article 15 of the constitution - (1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
•  (5) Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30]
  The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018
•  Section 18A has been inserted to nullify conduct of a preliminary enquiry before registration of an FIR, or to seek approval of any authority prior to arrest of an accused, and to restore the provisions of Section 18 of the Act.
•  Section 18A, inserted in the Act, states that:- (1) For the purpose of the PoA Act,- (a) Preliminary enquiry shall not be required for registration of a First Information Report against any person; or (b) The investigating officer shall not require approval for arrest, if necessary, of any person, against whom an accusation of having committed an offence under the PoA Act has been made and no procedure other than provided under the PoA Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, shall apply.
   The provision of section 438 of the Code shall not apply to a case under the Act, notwithstanding any judgment or order or direction of any Court.

Background:

•  The directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court in their judgment dated 20.03.2018 in Criminal Appeal No. 416 of 2018 Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan Vs the State of Maharashtra and Another) amount to amending the PoA Act and have diluted the provisions of the PoA Act.

Directions of the Supreme Court:

•  To conduct a preliminary inquiry within seven days by the Dy. S.P. concerned to find out whether the allegations make out a case under the PoA Act and that arrest in appropriate cases may be made only after approval by the S.S.P., would delay registration of First Information Report (FIR) and will impede strict enforcement of the provision of the POA Act.
•  Delay in registration of FIR would result in delay in payment of admissible relief amount to the victims of atrocities admissible only on registration of FIR.

Criticism of the judgment:

•  It would adversely affect the very objective of the Act to prevent commission of atrocities against members of SC and ST and be severely detrimental especially in heinous offences like sexual exploitation of SC/ST women including rape, gang rape, acid attacks and murder etc.
•  Special laws for the protection of SC and ST communities flow from social realities, the discrimination they still face and the circumstances that restrict them from mustering the courage to lodge a complaint in the first place.
•  The additional “safeguards” against the alleged abuse of law by Dalit is another form of discrimination.
•  It rejects the idea of treating Dalit as people prone to lodging false complaints.
•  The directions for getting an authority’s sanction for arrest or holding a preliminary enquiry for this class of cases alone are extra-statutory.

Conclusion

•  Therefore debate hovers around discrimination and equality from two contrasting angles of protection against discrimination and protective discrimination as a tool for inequality.
•  It is also perceived as a case of judicial overreach.

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Jan Dhan Yojana is gathering steam (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: Jan Dhan Yojana
Mains level: Signifiance of the Jan Dhan Yojana

Context

•  The NDA’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) seems to be delivering well on its financial inclusion objectives without placing undue burden on bank bottomlines.
•  The aggregate deposits in the PMJDY accounts are currently nudging ₹1 lakh crore, having grown ten-fold from the ₹10,500 crore in the first phase of the scheme in January 2015.
•  After witnessing a sharp spike and then a moderation in the three months immediately following the note ban in 2016, deposit flows into JDY has settled down to a brisk 25 per cent growth rate in the last two financial years.
•  Though they still make up less than 1 per cent of banks’ deposit base, their sustained growth in a year when deposit flows were hard to come by, has helped shore up banks’ CASA (Current Account Savings Accounts) balances.

Success of PMJDY

•  The PMJDY has delivered financial inclusion on three counts.
•  One, it has contributed to financialisation of savings by giving lower income households access to a safe investment product.
•  Two, with 13.5 crore beneficiaries enrolling for the low-cost accident insurance cover and 5.5 crore for the life cover, the account is giving disadvantaged folks a look-in to other financial products.
•  Three, with 27.7 crore account holders now armed with Rupay debit cards, their transition to electronic payments has gotten a leg-up too. But now that JDY deposit flows are shoring up banks’ CASA, the Centre must nudge them to offer much-needed loan products to these account holders.
•  Allowing them to build up a credit and transaction history in the banking system is critical to wean them away from the grip of usurious money lenders who extract a heavy price on their finances when emergencies strike.
•  Using a dashboard approach to track the value and number of overdrafts sanctioned on the PMJDY portal would be a good way to achieve this.
•  The Centre and the RBI also need to make sure that these first-time adopters are treated well at bank branches, know the grievance redressal mechanisms and are aware of, and protected from, the consequences of fraud or misuse of their accounts.

Conclusion

•  The sharp spike in the JDY account balances during the note ban months was a red flag on this score.
•  Rather than persisting with account opening or deposit targets for banks on JDY, regulators must now ratchet up their education efforts to make sure that JDY holders are aware of their rights and don’t fall prey to benami holders or money-launderers seeking to exploit their banking access.

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India’s engagements in the Indian Ocean (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: India’s foreign policy

Context

•  India is setting a high tempo of naval operations in Asia. In recent weeks, a series of bilateral exercises with regional navies in the Indian Ocean have demonstrated the Indian Navy’s resolve to preserve operational leverage in India’s near seas.
•  In April, in their biggest and most complex exercise, Indian and Australian warships held drills in the Bay of Bengal.
•  This was followed by a much-publicised anti-submarine exercise with the U.S. Navy near Diego Garcia.
•  Last week, the Indian Navy held a joint exercise ‘Varuna’ with the French Navy off the coast of Goa and Karwar.
•  Even as two Indian warships participated in a ‘group sail’ with warships from Japan, the Philippines and the United States on return from a fleet review in Qingdao.

Challenges for India

•  The trigger for India’s newfound zeal at sea is the rapid expansion of China’s naval footprint in the Indian Ocean. Beyond commercial investments in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, China has established a military outpost in Djibouti, a key link in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
•  Reports suggest the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is planning an expansion of its logistics base for non-peacekeeping missions, raising the possibility of an operational overlap with the Indian Navy’s areas of interest.
•  As some see it, Djibouti portends a future where China would control key nodes skirting important shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, allowing the PLA’s Navy (PLAN) to dominate the security dynamic.
•  Meanwhile, South Asian navies have been making their presence felt in the seas of the subcontinent. In a quest for regional prominence, Sri Lanka has positioned itself as a facilitator of joint regional endeavours, expanding engagement with Pacific powers which includes the Royal Australian Navy and the U.S. Navy.
•  With China’s assistance, Pakistan too is becoming an increasingly potent actor in the northern Indian Ocean, a key region of Indian interest.
•  Beijing has also been instrumental in strengthening the navies of Bangladesh and Myanmar, both increasingly active participants in regional security initiatives.
•  In these circumstances, India has had little option but to intensify its own naval engagements in South Asia.

Partnerships are key

•  As the most capable regional maritime force, the Indian Navy has played a prominent role in the fight against non-traditional challenges in the Indian Ocean.
•  While its contribution to the counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (including in cyclone-hit Mozambique) has been substantial, a paucity of assets and capacity has forced the Navy to seek partners willing to invest resources in joint security endeavours.
•  Partnerships are vital to the Indian Navy’s other key undertaking: deterring Chinese undersea deployments in South Asia.
•  For New Delhi, China’s expanding submarine forays in the Indian Ocean indicate Beijing’s strategic ambitions in India’s neighbourhood.
•  Experts reckon PLAN has been studying the operating environment in the Indian Ocean in a larger endeavour to develop capabilities for sustained operations in the littorals.
•  As a result, the Indian Navy’s recent bilateral exercises have focussed on under-sea surveillance and anti-submarine warfare.

The movement of China

•  To be sure, sightings of Chinese submarine sightings have decreased, which has led some to conclude that Beijing is moving to scale down its maritime operations in the Indian Ocean.
•  After a ‘reset’ of sorts in ties following the Wuhan summit last year, some observers believe India and China are on a collaborative path.
•  New Delhi’s silence on China’s continuing aggression in the South China Sea, and Indian warships being sent for the Chinese fleet review in Qingdao (in April) do suggest a conciliatory stance.
•  Yet, reduced visibility of Chinese submarines does not necessarily prove absence.
•  The truth, as some point out, is that PLAN is on a quest to master undersea ‘quieting’ technologies and its new submarines are stealthier than ever.
•  The reason they are not being frequently sighted is because Chinese submarines are quieter and craftier than earlier.
•  China has been downplaying its strategic interests in South Asia.
•  It is concerned that too much talk about its growing naval power could prove detrimental to the cause of promoting the BRI.
•  Alarm at the recent BRI summit over Chinese ‘debt traps’ has led Beijing to revise some infrastructure projects. India’s refusal to participate in the BRI may have also prompted China to rethink its economic and military strategies in the Indian Ocean.

African focus

•  Even so, Beijing hasn’t indicated any change of plan in West Asia and the east coast of Africa, where most of China’s energy and resource shipments originate.
•  Chinese investments in port infrastructure in Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Mozambique have grown at a steady pace, even as PLAN has sought to expand its presence in the western Indian Ocean.
•  In response, India has moved to deepen its own regional engagement, seeking naval logistical access to French bases in Reunion and Djibouti, where the second phase of ‘Varuna’ will be held later this month.
•  Yet, India’s Indian Ocean focus makes for an essentially defensive posture.
•  Improvements in bilateral and trilateral naval engagements, it hasn’t succeeded in leveraging partnerships for strategic gains.
•  With India’s political leadership reluctant to militarise the Quadrilateral grouping or to expand naval operations in the Western Pacific, the power-equation with China remains skewed in favour of the latter.

Conclusion

•  For all its rhetoric surrounding the ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’, New Delhi is yet to take a stand on a ‘rules-based order’ in littoral-Asia.
•  A wariness for sustained operations in China’s Pacific backyard has rendered the Indian Navy’s regional strategy a mere ‘risk management’ tactic, with limited approach to shape events in littoral-Asia.

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What is “Quantum Supremacy”? (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Science and Technology
Prelims level: Quantum Supremacy
Mains level: Details about the Quantum Supremacy and its application process

Context

•  U.K.-based Financial Times said Google had claimed to have achieved ‘quantum supremacy’. In a line, it means that researchers at Google had solved a really difficult problem in seconds with the help of quantum computers which a supercomputer could not.

What are quantum computers?

•  Quantum computers compute in ‘qubits’ (or quantum bits). They exploit the properties of quantum mechanics, the science that governs how matter behaves on the atomic scale. In this scheme of things, processors can be a 1 and a 0 simultaneously, a state called quantum superposition.

What is qubit and superimposition?

•  A quantum bit (qubit) is the smallest unit of quantum information, which is the quantum analog of the regular computer bit, used in the field of quantum computing.
•  A quantum bit can exist in superposition, which means that it can exist in multiple states at once.
•  Compared to a regular bit, which can exist in one of two states, 1 or 0, the quantum bit can exist as a 1, 0 or 1 and 0 at the same time.
•  This allows for very fast computing and the ability to do multitudes of calculations at once, theoretically.

Advantages:

•  While this accelerates the speed of computation, a machine with less than a 100 qubits can solve problems with a lot of data that are even theoretically beyond the capabilities of the most powerful supercomputers.
•  Because of quantum superposition, a quantum computer — if it works to plan —can mimic several classical computers working in parallel.
•  The ideas governing quantum computers have been around since the 1990s but actual machines have been around since 2011, most notably built by Canadian company D-Wave Systems.
•  Quantum computers do not look like desktops or laptops instead they resemble the air-conditioned server rooms of many offices.

Application

•  Processing huge amounts of data quickly is a real-world problem and one that can be tackled faster by quantum computers. For example, if we have a database of a million social media profiles and had to look for a particular individual, a classical computer would have to scan each one of those profiles which would amount to a million steps. In 1996, Lov K. Grover from Bell Labs discovered that a quantum computer would be able to do the same task with one thousand steps instead of a million. That translates into reduced processors and reduced energy.
•  Several encryption systems used in banking and security applications are premised on computers being unable to handle mathematical problems that are computationally demanding beyond a limit. Quantum computers, in theory, can surpass those limits.

Quantum Supremacy

•  Quantum supremacy refers to quantum computers being able to solve a problem that a classical computer cannot.
•  Google’s quantum computer, named Sycamore, claimed ‘supremacy’ because it reportedly did the task in 200 seconds that would have apparently taken a supercomputer 10,000 years to complete.

What will it mean for online banking?

•  A question critics raise is how the use of quantum computing and its ability to break encryption codes will impact online banking.
•  Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist who has written on Google’s feat, opines that current encryption standards would require a quantum computer to have “several thousand logical qubits” working in tandem perfectly. It requires 30 millions of qubits of the kind that powers Sycamore to make ‘logical qubits’.
•  If technological breakthroughs were to pose a real threat to banking or financial operations, it is likely that banks will harness quantum computers themselves.

Way ahead

•  There are no quantum computers in India yet.
•  In 2018, the Department of Science & Technology unveiled a programme called Quantum-Enabled Science and Technology (QuEST) and committed to investing ₹80 crore over the next three years to accelerate research.
•  The plan is to have a quantum computer built in India within the next decade. Phase-1 of the problem involves hiring research experts and establishing teams with the know-how to physically build such systems.

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BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-26) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : बिहार के किस महाजनपद मगध की राजधानी कहॉं पर थी ?

(a) वैशाली
(b) राजग्रह
(c) नालन्दा
(d) पाटलिपुत्र

Q.2 : मगध राज्य की राजधानी राजग्रह का निर्माण किसने किया था ?

(a) बिम्बिसार ने
(b) शिशुनाग ने
(c) महगोविन्द ने
(d) अजातशत्रु ने

Q.3 : बिहार में रेल शुरु कब हुई थी ?

(a) 1854-55 में
(b) 1860-62 में
(c) 1874-75 में
(d) 1871-72 में

Q.4 : बिहार राज्य की पहली रेलवे का क्या नाम था ?

(a) दक्षिण-पूर्व रेलवे
(b) बिहार स्टेट रेलवे
(c) पूर्वी रेलवे
(d) ईस्ट इण्डिया रेलवे

Q.5 : बिहार के किस नगर में पहला दूरदर्शन केन्द्र स्थापित किया था ?

(a) सहरसा
(b) पटना
(c) मुजफ्फरपुर
(d) गया

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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 October 2019

::NATIONAL::

VP claims Jammu & Kashmir reorganisation to promote inclusive growth and curb cross border terrorism

• The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today asserted that the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories will promote inclusive development and reduce the negative impact of cross-border terrorism.

• Hitting out at the negative propaganda being carried out on Jammu and Kashmir, he urged the Indian diaspora to effectively counter the disinformation by presenting the correct picture. “It is high time to take up a campaign to stop this disinformation”, the Vice President added.

• Shri Naidu said the recent decision to reorganize Jammu and Kashmir was intended to extend all the laws and benefits of developmental programmes to this region and ensure inclusive and all-round development of the State.

• While pointing out that both the houses of the Parliament approved the move with an overwhelming majority, he said that some sections of the media and vested interests have been grossly distorting the truth.

• Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India, the Vice President said that the people of the state have been electing leaders in free and fair elections since1952.

• However, many of the programs were not reaching the citizens of the state because of special provisions of Article 370. “Government has taken a bold decision by following the democratic process of obtaining Parliamentary approval”, he added.

Nation pays homage to APJ Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary

• The nation pays homage to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary today. Dr Kalam is also known as the Missile Man of India. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister NarendraModi have paid tribute to Dr Kalam.

• In his message, Vice President said, Dr Kalam was a great scholar, teacher and earned love and respect from everywhere. He said, Dr Kalam made innumerable contributions to Indian defence.

• Vice President added that Dr Kalam's commitment, patriotism and vision to make India a strong nation will continue to inspire people.

• Prime Minister said, India salutes Dr Kalam on his birth anniversary. He said, Dr Kalam dreamed of a strong and capable India of the 21st century and made his special contribution towards it. Mr Modi said, he continues to inspire the countrymen.

::ECONOMY::

Finance ministry asks big firms owning MSME’s to clear dues

• Finance minister NirmalaSitharaman has said banks have sufficient liquidity, and efforts are being made to ensure that large firms clear their dues to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

• The corporate affairs ministry will approach the large companies that owe MSMEs close to Rs 40,000 crore. The government will also look at bankers for suggestions on allowing non-banking finance companies (NBFC) with good pooled assets but poor institutional rating to become eligible under the Centre’s one-time partial credit guarantee scheme.

• Sitharaman said she is keeping a close watch on the developments at Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank and spoke to the Reserve Bank of India governor on Monday.

• PMC Bank was put under “directions” by the RBI last mmonth because of its weak financial health. “The government has been on its toes in terms of bringing the assets of these promoters (indulged in fraud) of the bank process will not suffer for want of enough assets which can eventually help paying back customers.

• Sitharaman said banks have suggested those NBFCs having investment-grade ratings but with AA-rated assets be included in the partial credit guarantee scheme to provide them liquidity.

Kaveri seeds looking forward to adopt GMS technology for hybrid cotton seeds

• India's largest listed hybrid seeds firm, Kaveri Seeds (KSL) is looking to adopt genetic male sterility (GMS) technology for hybrid cotton seed production, aimed at reducing the pressure on profit margins with the state governments attempting to regulate hybrid cotton seed prices.

• The traditional labour-intensive cotton seed production process currently involves removal of pollens to prevent self- pollination and adopting GMS technology helps identify female lines at the seedling state itself, said executive director C Mithun Chand. "GMS technology helps bring down labour costs by 10-12% and improve profit margins by 200-300 basis points."

• He said nearly a fourth of their hybrid cotton seeds production next year would be through GMS technology and entire hybrid cotton seeds production will shift to GMS technology over next 2-3 years.

• He was interacting with the journalists on the sidelines of inaugurating a modern biotechnology research and development (R&D) laboratory involving around Rs 20 crore on Monday.

• The second-largest Indian hybrid cotton seeds producer with nearly a fifth of market share now hopes to expedite launch of innovative hybrid seed varieties with the help of modern genomic tools like marker-assisted selection at its modern R&D lab.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.S to impose sanctions on Turkish officials

• Protesting Turkey's military offensive into northeast Syria, US President Donald Trump has announced that he will authorize sanctions against Turkish officials, raise steel tariffs and end negotiations on a 100 billion dollar trade deal.

• Turkey launched a cross-border assault on Kurdish fighters on Wednesday after the US decided to withdraw troops from Syria.

• In a statement, Trump said, this executive order will enable the US to impose powerful additional sanctions on those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees or threatening the peace, security or stability in Syria.

• He said, Turkey's military offensive is endangering civilians and threatening peace, security and stability in the region. Trump said, he is fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey's economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path.

• He said, the order will authorize a broad range of measures, including financial sanctions, the blocking of property, and barring entry into the US. He asserted that his administration will aggressively use economic sanctions to target those who enable, facilitate, and finance heinous acts in Syria.

India Netherlands expand bilateral ties

• President Ram NathKovind has said that economic partnership is a key pillar of India-Netherlands bilateral ties. Speaking at a banquet hosted at the RashtrapatiBhawan in the honour of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, yesterday, President said, the Netherlands is India’s 4th largest trading partner in the European Union and it is also among the leading investors in India.

• Mr Kovind said, Indian companies have made significant investment in Netherlands. He said that Dutch companies have a global name in the fields of agriculture, water management, port development, waste management and urban planning.

• President invited Dutch companies to partner India in its growth story. He also appreciated Netherlands’ support for Indias membership to the different Export Control Regimes and for its claim to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

• The President said that India and the Netherlands share common concerns with regard to contemporary challenges, particularly climate action, cyber security and terrorism.

• He said that terrorism is among the gravest threats affecting the world today and both the countries must come together to develop a strong global response to defeat and destroy this evil.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Typhoon Hagibis strikes Japanese coast

• Torrential rain and tornado-like winds lashed large parts of Japan, as the country was hit by Typhoon Hagibis. The typhoon is being touted as the strongest storm the country faced in past 60 years since Kanogawa Typhoon (1958).

• More than 7 million people were urged to leave their homes amid severe flood and landslide warnings. Train services were halted, and over a thousand flights grounded. Amid the warnings Formula 1 had cancelled its Japanese Grand Prix as well as two Rugby World Cup games scheduled were also cancelled.

• After typhoon Hagibis made landfall on Japan’s main island of Honshu, it ripped through Japan including Tokyo’s metropolitan area, caused multiple rivers to overflow, triggered landslides and power blackouts in nearly, 3,76,000 houses, more than 100 people were injured across country.

• The typhoon has now weakened to an extra-tropical cyclone off Japan’s northeastern coast, and most train services as well as most of the flights of Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. resumed operations after large-scale suspensions.

::SPORTS::

India wins ODI series against South Africa

• In Women's cricket, India won the 3rd and final ODI against South Africa by six runs at Vadodara today. Electing to bat first, India scored 146 runs in 45.5 overs. In reply, South Africa were all out for 140 in 48 overs.

• For India, HarmanpreetKaur scored a brilliant 38 runs and ShikhaPandey 35. EktaBisht scalped 3 South African wickets while D.B. Sharma and R.S. Gayakwad claimed two wickets each.

• The India women had already clinched the ODI series with two consecutive wins.

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Govt should have gone whole hog (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: FAME 2
Mains level: Infrastructure

Context

• The Modi government, a couple of years ago, announced that only electric vehicles (EVs) will be sold in India post 2030.
• This ‘aspirational target’ surprised many within the country and outside. India, till then, had only taken baby steps when it came to electric mobility.
• Though a National Mission on Electric Mobility was approved way back in 2011, a plan to execute it (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020) was unveiled only in 2013.
• It took another two years before FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India), a policy which will actually incentivise and catalyse the electrification, saw the light of the day in March 2015.

Introducing FAME

• FAME, with an allocation of ₹895 crore, achieved little. The incentives to generate demand for EVs, build infrastructure and technology platforms triggered, at best, a minimal interest among the manufacturers and users.
• The government kept extending the scheme every six months till March 2019 (its original implementation period ended March 2017) but only a few thousand electric vehicles were added to the roads.
• To give a perspective, China is adding 800,000 EVs a year.
• A need for a revised policy was immensely felt.

Upgrading to FAME 2

• FAME-2 is a big improvement over the earlier policy on many grounds.
• To start with the government committed a much larger outlay — as much as ₹10,000 crore towards demand incentives and creation of charging infrastructure.
• The policy will be operational for three years avoiding needless uncertainty and obviating the need for last minute extensions.
• The demand incentive is linked to the battery capacity (kWh or kilowatt-hour) as cost of batteries is the differential factor between an electric vehicle and an internal combustion engine.
• Also, it capped the extent of subsidy to 20 per cent of the cost of the vehicles (40 per cent for buses).
• Localisation has been built into the policy this time.
• Imported electric two-wheelers had begun to enter the country as the earlier policy did not emphasise on localisation which is important to build the eco-system and create jobs.
• FAME-2 is outcome based as it has, unlike the earlier version, set a target for the number of vehicles that will be subsidised.
• It is a million two-wheelers, half a million three-wheelers, 35,000 cars and 7,090 buses.
• Finally, considering the dynamic state of this sector it has made the implementation flexible.
• The Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee will review the work every three months and tweak the policy, if need be, to achieve the stated objectives.

Shortfall from the government

• The government should have gone the whole hog considering what is at stake.
• A successful transition to electric vehicles will significantly improve India’s energy security, improve its balance of payment position creating a growth-friendly environment for the economy and make Indian cities, which top the pollution charts, more liveable.
• Above all, electrification will make India self-sufficient in mobility. Today, the country has no choice but to import advanced engine and other technologies the tightening emission norms demand. Electrification of power trains offer Indian manufacturers an opportunity to leapfrog and even become global players.
• To start with, FAME-2 should not have kept private vehicles (except two-wheelers) out.
• The government has preferred to use available resources in the best manner way and electrifying public transport is the most optimal way.

Lies ahead

• After all, private electric vehicles, despite the subsidy, may still remain unviable unless they operate for 200 km per day or 40,000 km per year. This is understandable.
• But without private vehicles the scaling up of EV volumes, critical for development of the eco-system and future sustainability, will be delayed.
• This would force the government to continue the subsidies for a longer period.
• Also, it is not clear if the 20 per cent subsidy cap will create a mad rush towards EVs for two-wheelers, three-wheelers and cars.
• China started with 40 per cent and has since lowered it to 25 per cent. Considering that a rapid scaling up is critical for the transition to succeed, being more charitable would not have hurt.

Hybrids relevant

• While it is true that this government considers hybrids unviable and as an intermediate technology, they could well play an important role in the Indian context.
• Unlike other smaller nations, India has over 200 million vehicles on the road and this is expected to more than double by 2030.
• Shifting all vehicles to electric will take time and hybrids could help in the transition.
• Unfortunately FAME-2 does not give due importance to hybrids.
• The policy also ignores another potential India-specific innovation battery swap.
• Many experts have suggested this as a more economical option that can supplement charging stations. Some allocation to test this out would have been welcome at this stage.
• Lack of clear supply-side incentives is another shortcoming.
• While the emphasis on localisation will push battery manufacturers to assemble in India, there is an urgent need to think bigger.
• Lithium cells have to be manufactured locally and, more importantly, India needs access to lithium itself.

Conclusion

• This rare earth metal is not available in India and it is time for the government to start signing strategic deals to access it.
• Otherwise, as the population of EVs grows, India’s dependency will shift from West Asia (oil) to China (lithium).
• Obviously, including these elements in the policy would have called for an allocation larger than ₹10,000 crore.
• Considering the size of the Indian economy and the potential benefits, increasing the allocation should not be difficult.
• The government should realise that this opportunity (to become self-sufficient in mobility, ensure energy security and reduce pollution) is rare and must, therefore, invest in it wholeheartedly.
• If leading political parties can think up of populist schemes requiring a few lakh crores of allocation, doubling or tripling the outlay of FAME-2 is unlikely to significantly upset the budget math. Unlike populist policies, positive outcome appears more certain here.

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Framing laws for outer space (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: International Space Station Inter Governmental Agreement
Mains level: Laws for the International Space Station Inter Governmental Agreement

Context

• Recently it was reported that the “world’s first space crime” may have been committed by a NASA astronaut, Anne McClain. She is suspected of signing into the personal bank account of her estranged spouse from a computer aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
• In this context, it is necessary to understand the ambit of space laws, issues in this relation and way forward.

What can be done against space crimes?

• The law which is applicable to the case is the International Space Station Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA).
• Article 22 of the Agreement concerns itself with criminal jurisdiction and states that countries which are mentioned in the agreement may exercise criminal jurisdiction over personnel in flights who are their respective nationals. Hence, the laws of the U.S. will be applicable in this situation concerning the first space crime.
• There are legal documents that govern space, such as the Outer Space Treaty, the Moon Agreement, the Registration Convention, the Rescue Agreement, and the Liability Convention, none of them comprehends a detailed framework to cater to criminal disputes that might arise on commercial space vessels, which will have personnel and space tourists from different jurisdictions.
  Issues
• NASA has recently announced the opening of the ISS for commercial uses like filming etc. which can naturally give rise to crimes committed in outer space.
• India is presently not a party of IGA but will have to become considering its ambitious projects like the Gaganyaan etc. If so, India will have to include provisions relating to offences in space in the Indian Penal Code, as that could be material in situations involving outer space, Indian citizens, and space equipment.

Way forward

• Thus it is opined that India’s legislature should proactively legislate on this front and remain apace in space exploration missions.
• Only by keeping apace with the explosive growth in space technology can India hope to remain at the forefront of scientific development in this exciting field.

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