March 13 2024 Prelims Practice Questions (PPQs)

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• RRBs are banks formed in collaboration by the Central Government, State Governments, and Sponsoring Commercial Banks to give loans to rural areas.
• The Narasimham Committee on Rural Credit (1975) recommended the establishment of RRBs.
• Rathama Grameen Bank was the first RRB bank and was established on 2nd October 1975.

Statement 2 is correct

• Regional Rural Banks are regulated by the RBI and supervised by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• It comprise of owned funds, deposits, borrowings from NABARD, Sponsor Banks and other sources, including SIDBI and the National Housing Bank.

Statement 3 is correct

• The RBI has set a Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target of 75% of total outstanding advances for RRBs as against 40% for Scheduled Commercial Banks.
• The shareholding pattern of RRBs among the three sponsoring entities is 50:35:15 among the central government, sponsoring bank, and state government, respectively.
• The area of operation of RRBs is limited to the area as notified by the Government of India, covering one or more districts in the State.

Answer: (c) All; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking, and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• The BIS is the successor of the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), which was created in 1947 to ensure quality control and competitive efficiency in the rapid industrialization expected in the early decades of India’s independence.
• The agency is headquartered in New Delhi and maintains regional and branch offices throughout the country.

Statement 2 is correct

• BIS is functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways:
  • providing safe, reliable quality goods,
  • minimizing health hazards to consumers,
  • promoting exports and imports substitute,
  • control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification, and testing.

Statement 3 is correct

• It operates product certification schemes through which it grants licenses to manufacturers covering practically every industrial discipline, from agriculture and textiles to electronics.
• Certification by the BIS is mandatory for certain classes of products, such as milk powder, X-ray equipment, and gas cylinders, that directly affect public health and safety.
• In other cases, voluntary, or optional certification or self-certification by the manufacturer may be permitted.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• MAT is a tax mechanism intended to guarantee that businesses, particularly those who make significant profits, pay the government a minimum amount of tax.
• It was implemented in India in 1987 as a component of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and is applicable to all businesses operating in India or from other countries.
• The Finance Act, 1987 introduced MAT in the form of a tax on book profits in Section 115J of Income Tax Act.
• This tax was implemented to make sure that no person with a significant amount of income would be able to avoid paying taxes due to any exemptions.

Statement 2 is correct

• Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT): Tax computed at 15% (previously 18.5%) on book profit plus cess and surcharge.
• MAT is calculated on the “book profits” of a company, which is different from the taxable profits computed under the regular provisions of the Income Tax Act.
• When the amount of MAT for a company is greater than its normal tax liability, the difference between MAT and normal tax liability is called MAT Credit.

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

• Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports to inaugurate Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) programme.
• It aims to create a pyramidal structure starting from the grassroots level and culminating in the development of elite athletes for achieving excellence at international platforms.
• KIRTI aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments across the country throughout the year to identify talent through notified Talent Assessment Centres.
• It is a nation-wide programme under the Khelo India mission (To revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level).
• Targeted age-group – 9 to 18 years.

Answer: (a) Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (SCs) is a constitutional body established by Article 338 of the Constitution.
• It is established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes and Anglo Indian communities to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, special provisions were made in the Constitution.
• The separate National Commission for SCs came into existence in 2004.

Statement 2 is correct

• Powers of the commission
  • Calling for witnesses and examining them under oath.
  • Demanding documents related to an investigation.
  • Accepting sworn statements and obtaining government records.
  • Issuing summons for evidence.
  • Using additional powers granted by the President.

Statement 3 is correct

• It consists of a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and three other members.
• They are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
• Their conditions of service and tenure of office are also determined by the President.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• It is a 25-tonne twin-engine aircraft, which will be bigger than other fighters in the Indian Air Force.
• It will be manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• It has a diverter-less supersonic inlet for controlling air flow into the engines and a serpentine air intake duct to shield the engines from radar emission are likely to be part of the AMCA.
• Stealth features such as an internal weapons bay and a bigger internal fuel tank are part of it.

Statemnt 2 is correct

• Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) will be India’s indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft.
• It will be stealth fighter jet.
• The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be the nodal agency for executing the programme and designing the aircraft.

Statemnt 3 is incorrect

• At present, only USA, Russia and China have built fifth-generation fighters.

Answer: (b Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Meropenem (antibacterial agent) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that works by inhibiting the synthesis of cell walls in bacteria.
• Disodium EDTA binds with calcium and some heavy metals in the body and is used to treat calcium overload and irregular heartbeats caused by certain medications like digoxin or digitoxin.
• This combination is administered via intravenous injection over a specific period, depending on the dosage prescribed by a healthcare professional.

Statement 2 is correct

• The combination of Meropenem and Disodium EDTA as an injection is used to treat various bacterial infections.
• The bacterial infections include pneumonia, urinary tract infections, intra-abdominal infections, gynaecological infections, skin infections, meningitis and sepsis.
• It have been classified as a ‘New Drug,’ and has not secured the necessary regulatory approval.
• Common side effects may include headache, stomach pain, increased platelet count, diarrhoea, and allergic reactions like skin rash or swelling.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has mandated an immediate stop to sales of broad-spectrum antibiotic combination of meropenem and disodium EDTA injections.

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Semiconductor fabs produce microchips using a process called photolithography, which involves patterning a silicon wafer with intricate circuit designs.
• Photolithography, also known as optical lithography, is a patterning process in which parts are patterned on a thin film or a substrate, also called a wafer, which is photosensitive.
• A circuit pattern is photographed on this substrate, and its background is then chemically etched away.

Statement 2 is correct

• Semiconductor fabs, also known as fabs or foundries, are specialized facilities where semiconductor devices are manufactured on silicon wafers.
• The semiconductor manufacturing process involves several steps, including wafer preparation, patterning, deposition, etching, and packaging, each carried out within specialized areas of the fab.
• Semiconductor fabs are often categorized based on the size of silicon wafers they process, with common sizes including 200mm, 300mm, and 450mm wafers.
• Larger fabs tend to produce larger wafers, which can yield more chips per wafer and reduce manufacturing costs.
• Many types of ICs are manufactured in a semiconductor fab facility, including NAND flash devices, dynamic RAM memory chips, microprocessors, graphics controllers, hard drive controllers, RAID (redundant array of independent disks) controllers and application-specific ICs.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Semiconductor fabs are not limited to developed countries.
• While many are located in developed regions due to technological expertise and investment availability, fabs can also be found in emerging economies like Taiwan, South Korea, China and now in India.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Oceansat-3 is also known as Earth Observing Satellite 6 (EOS-06) is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series.
• This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas.
• Applications
  • It include Marine Resource Management, Phytoplankton biodiversity, Algal bloom detection and monitoring, Vegetation classifications and their growth assessment and so on.
  • EOS-06 is adept at capturing the global condition of vegetation on land by measuring the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).

Statement 2 is incorrect

• ISRO’s Oceansat-3 recently revealed the seasonal greening and browning of continents, alongside the dynamic movements of chlorophyll blooms in the oceans.
• It is placed in the Polar sun-synchronous orbit.
• Payloads
  • Ocean Color Monitor (OCM-3)
  • Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM)
  • Ku-Band Scatterometer (SCAT-3)
  • ARGOS

Answer: (a) 1 Only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

• China has officially revealed new territorial claims in the northern Gulf of Tonkin, a shared area with Vietnam.
• The crescent-shaped Gulf, located in the South China Sea, borders Vietnam’s northwestern coast, China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island.
• Known as “Beibu Gulf” in Chinese and “Bac Bo Gulf” in Vietnamese, it connects with the South China Sea and Hainan Strait.
• Notably, the Gulf of Tonkin gained historical significance due to the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Incident during the Vietnam War.

  

Answer: (c) Vietnam War; Difficulty Level: Medium

Correct

Explanation

• Health ministers from 11 African nations, including Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Tanzania, signed the Yaounde Declaration, aiming to end malaria deaths.
• The declaration, endorsed at the Yaoundé conference hosted by the World Health Organization and Cameroon, involves commitments to intensified actions against malaria in regions with 70% of the global burden.
• Pledges include increased domestic funding, technological advancements, stronger leadership, and multi-sectoral collaboration to reduce malaria mortality, reflecting an unwavering commitment to mutual accountability.

Answer: (c) Malaria Eradication; Difficulty Level: Medium