Union Budget is the most comprehensive report of the Government’s finances in which revenues from all sources and outlays for all activities are consolidated. Read the BUDGET SUMMARY 2020-21 FOR UPSC EXAM and try to answer the MCQs below to have a solid platform in the subject for your prelims preparation.
- The Budget 2020 proposes financing on negotiable warehousing receipts (e-NWR) to be integrated with e-NAM. Which of the statements regarding ‘Negotiable Warehouse Receipts’ is/are correct? 1. These are documents issued by warehouses to depositors against the commodities deposited.
2. These cannot be traded, sold or swapped to secure farmer’s interests.
3. These receipts are issued only by those warehouses which are registered with the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Solution: B
Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched in 2017 Negotiable Warehousing Receipts (NWRs) in an electronic format (e-NWR) that farmers can use to avail of bank credit easily and without fear of losing or misusing it. NWRs were launched first in 2011 and are regulated by the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA). The Budget 2020 proposes financing on negotiable warehousing receipts (e-NWR) to be integrated with e-NAM. Warehouse Receipts are documents issued by warehouses to depositors against the commodities deposited in the warehouses, for which the warehouse is the bailee. Hence statement 1 is correct.
It is not mandatory for all warehouses set up with Centre/State subsidy to register under WDRA unless the warehouses want to issue negotiable warehouses receipts. So, those wanting to keep themselves out of the purview of the regulation refrain from issuing NWRs, issuing only physical warehouse receipts. The warehouses are accredited by the approved accreditation agencies prior to their registration with the WDRA to ensure that basic requirements of scientific and safe storage of agricultural and other commodities are fully met by these warehouses. Hence statement 3 is correct.
Warehouse Receipts may be either non-negotiable or negotiable. NWRs can be traded, sold, swapped and used as collateral to support borrowing. It is defined in the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 (WDR Act). Hence statement 2 is not correct. - Consider the following statements about the IND-SAT Examination:
1. It will be held for Asian and African students for scholarships to ‘Study in India’.
2. The first edition of it will be conducted by the National Testing Agency(NTA)
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
Learning Zone: In the Union Budget for the financial year (FY) 2020-21, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced the introduction of ‘Ind-SAT’ examination to attract students from foreign countries and make India a global destination for higher education.
Ind-SAT will be an exam for Asian and African countries to help make India a higher education destination. It will be useful for awarding scholarships to the meritorious students from the neighbouring countries.
The first edition of the Ind-SAT will be conducted in May 2020 by the National Testing Agency(NTA) across 13 countries. These countries include India, Nepal, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Zambia, India and Mauritius. - Consider the following statements about the “Ease of Living Index”:
1. It is developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
2. The citizen participation survey is an important part of the assessment.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs unveiled the “Ease of Living Index (EoLI)” 2019 and the municipal performance index to help assess the progress made in cities and empower them to use evidence to plan, implement and monitor their development.
Both these indices are designed to assess the quality of life of citizens in 100 smart cities and 14 million-plus cities. The index is an initiative to assess the liveability of cities as compared to global and national benchmarks. The EoLI 2019 will assess three pillars: quality of life, economic ability and sustainability, which are further divided into 14 categories across 50 indicators.
The citizen participation survey is an important part of the assessment as it will help in capturing the assessment of citizens with respect to the quality of life in their cities. Apart from this, quality of life has 35% weightage, the economic ability has 15% and sustainability has 20%. - Consider the following pairs of the initiatives declared in the Union Budget 2020-21 and the respective organisation implementing them:
Initiative Implementing Organisation
1. Kisan Rail Indian Railways
2. Krishi Udaan Ministry of Civil Aviation
Which of the above pairs is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
“Kisan Rail” is proposed to be set up by Indian Railways through PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables (milk, meat, fish, etc.). Under these initiatives, Express and Freight trains to have refrigerated coaches.
“Krishi Udaan” will be launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under which both international and national routes will be covered. North-East and tribal districts are expected to realize Improved value of agri-products by the implementation of this scheme. - Consider the following statements about the “Jaivik Kheti Portal”:
1. It is a unique initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Department of Agriculture (DAC) along with the Ministry of Science Technology and Climate Change.
2. Jaivik kheti portal is an E-commerce as well as a knowledge platform.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
Jaivik kheti portal is a unique initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Department of Agriculture (DAC) along with MSTC to promote organic farming globally. It is a one-stop solution for facilitating organic farmers to sell their organic produce and promoting organic farming and its benefits.
Jaivik kheti portal is an E-commerce as well as a knowledge platform. Knowledge repository section of the portal includes case studies, videos, and best farming practices, success stories and other material related to organic farming to facilitate and promote organic farming. The e-commerce section of the portal provides the whole bouquet of organic products ranging from grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables. - Consider the following statements about the Zero Budget Natural Farming:
1. It is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices.
2. It emphasizes reducing the input cost of agriculture.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices. It was originally promoted by Maharashtrian agriculturist and Padma Shri recipient Subhash Palekar, who developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution’s methods driven by chemical fertilizers and pesticides and intensive irrigation.
Without the need to spend money on these inputs — or take loans to buy them — the cost of production could be reduced and farming made into a “zero budget” exercise, breaking the debt cycle for many small farmers. - With reference to the PM KUSUM Scheme, consider the following statements:
1. It is implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
2. It will help to de-dieselise the agriculture.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
The Government has approved Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme to increase farmers’ income, provide a reliable source for irrigation and de-dieselise the farm sector.
It is implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It has a total of three components:
i. Component A- Setting up of 10,000 MW of Decentralized Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Power Plants on barren land.
ii. Component B- Installation of 17.50 Lakh stand-alone solar agriculture pumps
iii. Component C- Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid Connected Agriculture Pumps - With reference to the recently proposed “Village Storage Scheme”, consider the following statements:
1. It will involve Women Self Help Groups (SHGs).
2. It will provide farmers with a good holding capacity and reduce their logistics cost.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
In her Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will launch a ‘Village Storage Scheme’. This, she said, will be run by women’s self-help groups.
The scheme aims to provide holding capacity for farmers and through this, women in villages and the rural part of the country will be able to retain their status as “Dhaanya Lakshmi” (one of the eight forms of Hindu deity Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth). It will also help to reduce their logistics cost and increase their income. - Consider the following statements about the ” Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)”:
1. It is a non-statutory body.
2. It works under the aegis of under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (B)
The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) was constituted on 26.10.2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 vide Government of India Gazette Notification dated 26th October 2010. It is formed to exercise the powers conferred on it and to perform the functions assigned to it under the Act, Rules and Regulations for the development and regulation of warehouses, negotiability of warehouse receipts and promote orderly growth of the warehousing business in the country.
It is a Statutory Authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India. The Authority has its Headquarters in New Delhi. - Who among the following is/are the main beneficiaries under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Yojana(DAY)?
1. Urban poor
2. Rural poor
3. Refugees under the poverty line
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. 1 and 3 only
Ans. (A)
Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) to uplift the urban poor folks by enhancingsustainable livelihood opportunities through skill development. Keeping in view the objective of Make in India, Skill Development is essential for socio-economic betterment. Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana was launched under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA). Government of India has provisioned Rs.500 crore for the scheme.
National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) is renamed as Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana- (DAY-NULM) and in Hindi as – Rashtriya Shahri Aajeevika Mission. Under the scheme urban areas extends the coverage to all the 4041 statutory cities and towns, thereby covering almost the entire urban population. Currently, all the urban poverty alleviating programmes covered only 790 towns and cities. - Consider the following pairs of the diseases and the respective animals affected by them:
Disease | Animal
1. Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) | Goat
2. Brucellosis | Cattle
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), also known as goat plague’, is a viral disease of goats and sheep characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, diarrhoea, pneumonia, and sometimes death.
It is caused by a morbillivirus in the family of paramyxoviruses, that is related to rinderpest, measles and canine distemper. Cattle and several wild ruminants have been infected most often experimentally, but goats and sheep are the usual targets. Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacterial genus Brucella. The bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans by ingestion through infected food products, direct contact with an infected animal, or inhalation of aerosols.
The disease is an old one that has been known by various names, including Mediterranean fever, Malta fever, gastric remittent fever, and undulant fever. Cattle are the primary targets and humans are accidental hosts, but brucellosis continues to be a major public health concern worldwide and is the most common zoonotic infection. - Consider the following statements about the “TB Harega Desh Jitega“ campaign:
1. Under this campaign, India has committed to ending Tuberculosis by 2025.
2. Under this campaign, all patients, at private or public hospitals, receive free-of-cost and high-quality TB care.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
‘TB Harega Desh Jeetega’ is a nationwide campaign to spread disease awareness about TB and encourage people with TB symptoms to seek medical attention and remain adherent to treatment.
It has been launched with an aim to eliminate tuberculosis from India by 2025. The government will ensure that all patients, at private or public hospitals, receive free of-cost and high-quality TB care. There are three pillars of this campaign – clinical approach, public health component and active community participation.
