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 CONTENT
JUNE 2021 (3rd WEEK)

G7 Nations agree on Uniform Minimum Corporate Tax ___________ 02-04

Performance Grading Index (PGI) ______________________________ 05-08

Centre Announces hike in MSP for Paddy, Pulses, Oilseeds _______ 09-11

Dihing Patkai is Assam’s 7th National Park _____________________ 12-14

Legalisation of Bitcoin in El Salvador __________________________ 15-17

Objective Questions __________________________________________ 18-18

Subjective Questions _________________________________________ 19-19

1. G7 Nations agree on Uniform Minimum Corporate Tax

Context
 The Finance Ministers of G7, the group of the world’s richest nations, recently reached a
landmark deal to close cross-border tax loopholes used by some of the world’s biggest companies
in the global digital age.
 The tax rules propose a minimum 15% corporate tax rate which would be levied upon the world's
100 biggest and most profitable multinational companies with minimum profit margins of 10%,
including tech giants like Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

Issue/Need for the agreement

1. Race to the bottom:

 Countries across the world have had a three-decades-long “race to the bottom”, in which they
have competed to attract corporate giants with ultra-low tax rates and exemptions.
 This has cost their public coffers hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue. According to the
U.K based Tax Justice Network (TJN):
o Overall, the countries are losing 427 billion dollars every year to tax havens.
o India suffers an annual loss of 10.3 billion dollars from global tax abuse.

Note:

Tax haven
 A tax haven is an offshore country that offers foreign businesses and individuals little or no
tax liability. E.g. Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands
etc.
 Characteristics of tax haven countries:
o no or low-income taxes,
o minimal reporting of information,
o lack of transparency obligations,
o lack of local presence requirements,
o marketing of tax haven vehicles.
 Tax havens benefit from the capital they receive into their economy. This inflow of capital
may be subject to fees or to a lower tax rate that can raise revenue for the tax haven country.

G7
 The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Russia joined the group in
1998, creating the G8. But it was excluded in 2014 for its takeover of Crimea.

BEPS ( Base Erosion and Profit Shifting)

 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) refers to the strategies used by multinational
companies (MNCs) to avoid paying tax, by exploiting the loopholes in the global tax rules.
 Tax is levied on the MNC by the Government as a percentage of the profit or income of the
multinational company. Using the tax loopholes (eg. use of transfer pricing, royalties etc),
the MNC shifts its profit to another country which could be a tax haven, thus paying little to
no tax in the operating country.
 As a result, the country which helps the multinational company generate its revenues does
not get any tax, thus there is tax erosion due to the shifting of profits by the company.
 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) is highly prevalent in the Intellectual Property (IP)
intensive Technology domain (companies like Google, Apple etc) and the companies in the
Life Sciences domain like Pfizer, Merck etc.
 Transfer Pricing
 Transfer price is the price at which related parties transact with each other, such as during
the trade of supplies or labour between departments.
 Many individual entities of a larger multi-entity firm are treated as separately run entities
globally. When these related parties are required to transact with each other, a transfer price
is used to determine costs.
 A large part of international trade and commerce is actually done within the companies as
opposed to between unrelated companies. So, when transfer pricing occurs, companies can
manipulate profits of goods/services, in order to book higher profits in another country that
may have a lower tax rate. For example:
o Assume a company named ABC with its entities - A, B etc. Assume that entity A is in a
high tax country, while entity B is in a low tax country or a tax haven.
o It would benefit the organization (ABC) as a whole for more of its profits to appear in
entity B's division, where the company will pay lower taxes. In that case, Company ABC
may attempt to have entity A offer a transfer price lower than market value to entity B
when selling them the wheels needed to build the cars.
o Thus, entity B would then have a lower cost of goods sold and higher earnings, and
entity A would have reduced sales revenue and lower total earnings.
 To prevent such manipulation from happening, tax administrations insist on the arm’s
length principle.
o Arm’s length principle: An arm's length transaction refers to a business deal in which
both parties (buyers and sellers) act independently without one party influencing the
other.
o These types of sales assert that both parties act in their own self-interest and are not
subject to pressure from the other party.
o This principle, thus, requires that transactions are done at market rates, which prevents
the shifting of profits.

2. Base Erosion and Profit Shifting:

 Increasingly, income from intangible sources such as drug patents, software and royalties on
intellectual property has migrated to tax havens, allowing companies to avoid paying higher
taxes in their traditional home countries.

Thus, the Governments have long struggled with the issue of taxing large companies that operate
in various countries, but declare their profits in jurisdictions with low tax rates like Ireland,
Hungary, Czech Republic etc while actually selling their products and services elsewhere.
Importance of the agreement
 Paves the way for a global agreement:
o If a broad consensus is reached on minimum global corporation tax, it will be extremely hard
for any low-tax country to try and block an accord.
 Extra tax collections:
o The minimum tax is expected to make up the bulk of the $50 billion to $80 billion in extra tax
that the OECD estimates firms will end up paying globally.

Challenges to the initiative

 Any agreement on minimum tax could have major repercussions for low-tax countries and tax
havens.
o Ireland (which has a 12.5% corporate tax rate) has boomed with the influx of billions of
dollars in investment from multinationals. Dublin, which has resisted European Union’s
attempts to harmonise its tax rules, is unlikely to accept a higher minimum rate without a
fight.

What next?
 G7 finance ministers will seek to reach a final agreement on the tax proposal when G20 finance
ministers meet in Venice, Italy, in July 2021.

Conclusion
 This agreement by the G7 to back a minimum global corporation tax rate of at least 15%, and put
in place measures to ensure that taxes are paid in the countries where businesses operate, could
form the basis of a worldwide deal and prevent global tax abuse.
2. Performance Grading Index (PGI)

Context
 Recently, the Ministry of Education has released the latest edition (2019-20) of the Performance
Grading Index or PGI.

About PGI

What is it?
 Performance Grading Index or PGI measures the performance of states in school education.
 The first PGI in 2019 was released by the Education Ministry for the reference year 2017-18.

Parameters of assessment
 Under PGI, the states are scored across 70 parameters on a total of 1,000 points, which are
grouped under 5 broad categories:
o Learning Outcomes and Quality (weight 180)
 It mainly deals with the scores of students in Mathematics and Language in standard 3, 5
and 8 of Govt. and aided schools.
o Access (weight 80)
This domain relates to
 Net Enrolment Ratio at the elementary and secondary level,
 Retention rate at the primary, elementary and secondary level
 Transition rate from primary to upper-primary level and from upper-primary to
secondary level.
 It also includes mainstreaming of the out of school children.
o Governance processes (weight 360)
 It deals with the management and administration of school education.
 The fact that this domain has maximum weightage underscores its importance in
determining the performance of the school education system in India.
o Infrastructure (weight 150)
 It is mainly related to infrastructure in schools to enable adequate facilities for teaching
and learning.
 Facilities include the availability of clean drinking water, functional toilets, Science and
Computer laboratories at the secondary and senior secondary level, provision of
vocational education, libraries etc.
o Equity (weight 230)
 It has indicators relating to the comparative performance of learning outcomes of various
categories of students - General category vis-à-vis Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes,
Rural and Urban areas, Boys and Girls.
 It also includes Children with Special Needs (CWSN).
The objective of the assessment
 According to the government, the objective of the PGI is to help the states prioritise areas for
intervention for the betterment of school education.

Data collection for assessment

 The data for scoring is drawn from several sources - Unified District Information System for
Education Plus, Mid-Day Meal and National Achievement Survey.

Form of assessment
 In PGI, the states are graded and not ranked to discourage the casting of a stigma of
underperformance on the poor performers.
 The PGI grading system has 10 levels.
o Level I: it indicates top-notch performance and a score between 951 and 1,000 points.
o Level II, also known as Grade 1++: indicates a score between 901 and 950.
o Level III or Grade 1+: indicates a score between 851 and 900.
o The lowest possible grade is Grade VII which means a score between 0 and 550 points.

Performance of the states

 No states in Level I: No state or Union Territory could achieve the highest grade, that is Level I in
PGI 2019-20. (Even in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 editions of the index, no state had reached Level I).
 Top performers:
o The best performing states are Chandigarh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar and
Kerala.
o These states/UTs have scored more than 90% and obtained Grade 1++ or Level II - the first
time that any state/s has reached Level II.
 Lowest grade:
o The only state/UT that has been placed in the lowest grade, that is Grade VII is Ladakh
because it is the first time that Ladakh was assessed after it was carved out of Jammu and
Kashmir in 2019.

Figure: PGI Report card, 2019-20

Source: indianexpress.com

Top gainers:
 Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Punjab, and Arunachal Pradesh have shown the biggest
improvement in PGI this year. All three have improved their score by 20%.

Regression:
 Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have regressed in performance.
General trend
 Improvement in 33 states/UTs: 33 States and UTs have improved their score in 2019-20 as
compared to 2018-19, indicating a general upward shift.
 31 states/Uts below Level III: 31 states and UTs are still placed in Level III (Grade 1) or lower,
showing that they still have a lot of scope for improvement.
 Geographical performance: The PGI scores show that the southern and western States are on
firm ground, while those in central India and parts of the east and Northeast are less resourced.

Figure: Number of states according to the performance in PGI 2019-20

Source: pgi.seshagun.gov.in

Figure: Performance of states in PGI 2019-20

Source: pgi.seshagun.gov.in
Priority areas for further intervention
 Governance processes:
o According to the report, states and UTs mainly need to improve their performance in terms of
governance processes that carries several parameters, including teacher availability, teachers
training, regular inspection, and availability of finances.
o The PGI accords the highest importance to this domain as compliance with the indicators
here will lead to critical structural reforms in areas ranging from ensuring transparent
recruitment of teachers and principals to monitoring the attendance of teachers.
 Infrastructure and facilities
o In the infrastructure domain, 20 States/UTs have scored less than 80% of the maximum
possible score and the two States, Bihar and Meghalaya have recorded the lowest scores at 81
and 87 respectively in this domain.
o This is disturbing, as a proper school building with adequate facilities is a must to improve
the overall quality of school education.

Conclusion
 Though the PGI initiative by the Union government is laudable, it can work only if all the
stakeholders (Union and state governments, opposition and others) see value in open and strong
school education, and work to strengthen equity, access and infrastructure by budgeting fees and
funds for universalisation.
 Further progress on all parameters will depend on bridging the gaps and addressing the equity
issues that have come to the fore during the pandemic, particularly on digital tools.
3. Centre Announces hike in MSP for Paddy, Pulses, Oilseeds

Context
 Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has decided
to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for cereals, pulses and oilseeds for the coming Kharif
season (2021-22).

What is MSP?
 The MSP is the price at which the government purchases crops from farmers.
 It is announced by the government at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the
basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
 It is based on a calculation of at least 1.5 times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
 The Centre currently fixes MSPs for 23 farm commodities:
o 7 cereals: paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley,
o 5 pulses: chana, arhar/tur, urad, moong and masoor,
o 7 oilseeds: rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and niger
seed
o 4 commercial crops: cotton, sugarcane, copra and raw jute.

Policy focus this year

 Crop diversification:
There were slightly higher increases in the MSP for pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals this year in
a bid to encourage crop diversification. The advantages are:
o Better technologies: This policy will encourage farmers to shift to the larger area under these
crops and adopt the best technologies and farm practices.
o Demand-supply balance: It will also correct the demand-supply imbalance.
o Reduces stress on groundwater table: The added focus on nutri-rich nutri-cereals will
incentivize its production in the areas where rice-wheat cannot be grown without long term
adverse implications for groundwater table.
 Ensuring fair remuneration to farmers: The increase in MSP for Kharif Crops for marketing
season 2021-22 is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSPs at a
level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production (CoP), aimed at
reasonably fair remuneration for the farmers.

Changes in MSP for important crops in Kharif season 2021-22

 Cereals
o MSP of paddy (common) has been increased from Rs 1,868 per quintal to Rs 1,940 per quintal
for 2021-22 — a hike of Rs 72 or 3.85% per quintal.
o Maize had a minimal hike of just ₹20 to ₹1,870 a quintal.
o The MSP for bajra (a coarse cereal) has been set at 85% above the cost of production at ₹2,250
a quintal.
 Pulses:
o Both tur and urad dal saw the MSP rise by ₹300, a 5% increase to ₹6,300 a quintal. (with a
return of 62% and 65% respectively)
 Oilseeds:
o The highest absolute increase was for sesamum, whose MSP rose 6.6% to ₹7,307.
o The MSPs of sunflower seed has been increased to ₹6015 a quintal.
o The MSP for groundnut and nigerseed have been fixed at ₹5550 and ₹6930 a quintal
respectively.
 The MSPs for the remaining crops were mostly set around the stipulated 50% above the cost of
production.
Table: MSP for major crops of Kharif season in 2021-22.

Sl. no. Crop MSP Return over Cost (in %)

1 Paddy 1940 50

2 Jowar (Hybrid) 2738 50

3 Maize 1870 50

4 Ragi 3377 50

5 Bajra 2250 85

6 Tur 6300 62

7 Urad 6300 65

8 Moong 7275 50

9 Groundnut 5550 50

10 Niger Seed 6930 50

11 Soybean 3950 50

12 Sesamum 7307 50

13 Sunflower 6015 50

14 Cotton (Medium Staple) 5726 50

Figure: MSP hike for Kharif crops, 2021-22

Source: indianexpress.com
 Note:

Other measures for increasing remuneration of farmers

PM-AASHA
 In addition to the MSP, an Umbrella Scheme "Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan
Abhiyan' (PM-AASHA) announced by the government in 2018 will aid in providing a
remunerative return to farmers for their produce.
 The Umbrella Scheme consists of three sub-schemes:
o Price Support Scheme (PSS),
o Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS)
o Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPSS) on a pilot basis.

Note:

Special Kharif strategy for pulses and oilseeds

Pulses
 Aimed at attaining self-sufficiency in the production of pulses, a special Kharif strategy has been
prepared for implementation in the ensuing Kharif 2021 season.
 A detailed plan has been formulated for both area expansion and productivity enhancement for
Tur, Moong, and Urad.
 All the available high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds will be distributed free of cost to
increase area through intercropping and sole crop under this strategy.

Oilseeds
 Similarly, for Oilseeds, the Government of India has approved an ambitious plan for the free
distribution of high-yielding varieties of seeds to the farmers for the Kharif season 2021 in the
form of mini-kits.
 An additional 6.37 lakh hectare area will be brought under oilseeds under the special Kharif
program and it is likely to produce 120.26 lakh quintals of oilseeds and edible oil.

Criticism of the recent MSP policy

 Access to each and every farmer: There is no mechanism that guarantees that every farmer can
get at least the MSP as the floor price in the market.
 Inadequate hike:
o Some MSP increases, especially for maize, have not even kept pace with inflation.
o The hike in MSP, in general, is nothing compared to the increase in the prices of diesel,
fertilizers, and insecticide in the past one year.
 Timing: Farm unions also state that announcing the MSP for cotton, when sowing of cotton is
over in Punjab and Haryana, is of no relevance as farmers cannot benefit by opting for it now.
 No assured market for maize: MSP for maize has been hiked by a mere Rs 20 per quintal.
Farmers have no incentive to opt for maize, which has no assured market and also has low MSP.
 MSP calculation: The farmers have also stressed that the one and a half times income formula
should be applied to the actual cost of production, including rent and interest foregone by
farmers on land and machinery.
4. Dihing Patkai is Assam’s 7th National Park

Context
 Recently, the state government of Assam notified Dihing Patkai as a National Park, 4 days after
creating the Raimona National Park in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district.

National Parks in Assam

 With the addition of Dihing Patkai and Raimona National Park, Assam now has the third most
National Parks after the 12 in Madhya Pradesh and 9 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
 The five other National Parks in Assam are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-
Saikhowa.
 Kaziranga and Manas are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They are also tiger reserves along with
Nameri and Orang.
 Thus, Assam now has 7 National Parks, 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 4 tiger reserves

About Dihing Patkai National Park

 Location:
o The 234.26-sq. km Dihing Patkai straddles eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
o Short stretches of the Dirak and Buri Dihing rivers are included in the park.
 Flora and Fauna:
o It consists of tropical wet evergreen rainforests and is a major elephant habitat.
o 310 species of butterflies have been recorded there.
o The national park has 47 species each of reptiles and mammals, including the tiger and
clouded leopard.
 Dihing Patkai was in focus last year for illegal coal mining in the vicinity.

Figure: District map of Assam

Source: www.mapsofindia.com
 Figure: Location of Dihing Patkai National Park
Source: google.com

About Raimona National Park

 Location:
o Raimona adjoins the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal to its west, Phipsoo Wildlife
Sanctuary in Bhutan to its north and Manas National Park to the east.
o It has the Sankosh river on the west and the Saralbhanga River on the east.
o It is located in the Kokrajhar district of Assam.

Figure: Location of Raimona National Park

Source: google.com

 Flora and Fauna: With 11 different forest types and subtypes, Raimona is home to the golden
langur, elephant, tiger, clouded leopard and Indian gaur besides sustaining several species of
orchids, more than 150 species of butterflies, 170 species of birds and 380 species of plants.
Note:

National Parks
 National parks are protected natural habitats, declared by the government of a country
according to the regulations from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
to preserve the wildlife through the conservation of ecosystems (National parks fall under the
IUCN category II - Large natural sites that are dedicated to protecting ecological and biological
systems and species).
 The establishment of National parks in India is provided for by the Wildlife (Protection) Act,
1972.
 These protected areas are established by the Central government (under section 38 of
WPA,1972) and State governments (under section 35 of WPA,1972) for the conservation of
wild animals and for the purpose of propagating or developing nature.
 According to the WPA 1972 (section 35), an area, whether within a sanctuary or not, can be
notified by the State government to be constituted as a National Park, by reason of its
ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, or zoological association or importance, needed
for the purpose of protecting & propagating or developing wildlife therein or its environment.
 Also, no human activity is permitted inside the national park except for the ones permitted by
the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state as per the conditions given in the Wildlife Protection
Act 1972.
 The first national park in India was established as Hailey National Park in the year 1936 and
later renamed Corbett National Park (in Uttarakhand).
5. Legalisation of Bitcoin in El Salvador

Context
 Recently, El Salvador, a small coastal country in Central America, became the first country in the
world to make bitcoin (a digital currency) legal.
 The move came at a time when cryptocurrencies are seeing regulatory pushback in major
countries of the world.

Figure: El Salvador in Central America

Source: google.com

What does it mean?

 The designation of legal tender allows bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market
value, to be used to buy goods and pay taxes and bank loans.
 Businesses would also be required to accept bitcoin for payments.

Note: Bitcoin
 Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency. It means there are no physical bitcoins, but only balances
kept on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to.
 They are not issued or backed by any banks or governments. Individual bitcoins are also not
valuable as a commodity (unlike gold).
 Despite it not being legal tender in most countries of the world, bitcoin is very popular and has
triggered the launch of many other cryptocurrencies, collectively referred to as altcoins.
 The bitcoin-dollar exchange rate is set by the market.

Why did it make this move?

 No local currency to protect:
o El Salvador officially accepted the dollar as its currency in 2001 and runs on the monetary
policy of the US Federal Reserve.
o Thus, it has no monetary policy of its own and hence, no local currency to protect.
 Expansionary Federal Reserve policy:
o The move was also in part motivated by loose and expansionary Federal Reserve policy
(Monetary policy in the United States). While banks in the US received liquidity with the
stimulus, El Salvador did not. Instead, it lost its purchasing power.
o The official bill proposal regarding bitcoins in El Salvador explicitly stated that the central
banks (referring to the Federal Reserve) are increasingly taking actions that may cause harm
to the economic stability of El Salvador and thus, in order to mitigate the negative impact of
central banks, it becomes necessary to authorize the circulation of a digital currency (like
bitcoin) with a supply that cannot be controlled by any central bank and is only altered in
accordance with objective and calculable criteria. (The supply of bitcoin, being capped at 21
million units, makes it immune to policy changes that affect the US Dollars and other
currencies.)
 Luring technology entrepreneurs:
o The overall use of bitcoin will give an image and investment boost to the country towards
innovation and will be good for luring technology, talent and new ideas into the country.
o This will help create more jobs and promote financial inclusion (as 70% of Salvadorans don’t
have access to traditional financial services).
o This will revive the stalling economy of El Salvador and bring back growth into the country
post-Covid.
 Remittances:
o Remittances make up close to 20% of El Salvador’s GDP with inflows of around $6 billion
annually. Also, many citizens lack a bank account and digital banking has low penetration in
the country.
o In this scenario, there are multiple intermediaries in the remittance chain who take margins of
as high as 20%. By using bitcoin, the amount that is received by the country will increase by
billions of dollars every year as there is no middle-man involved.
 To cushion potential economic sanctions:
o El Salvador has been particularly vulnerable to U.S. economic sanctions since it ditched its
own currency,
o Adopting cryptocurrency could help El Salvador cushion potential economic sanctions if
bilateral relations with the U.S. deteriorate.
 To cover the fiscal deficit:
o With a budget gap that widened to almost 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, the
government can convert bitcoin inflows when the price is high to cover the deficit.
o The President of El Salvador has said that the government will guarantee convertibility to
dollars at the time of the transaction, which will be done through a $150 million dollars trust
created at BANDSEAL, the country’s development bank.

However, bitcoin won’t replace the U.S. dollar and both would co-exist.

Concerns about the move

 Foreign Investors are unsettled: Foreign investors, concerned about the future of an IMF deal
they see as key for the Central American country, have demanded increasingly higher premiums
to hold Salvadoran debt. (El Salvador is in discussions with the IMF seeking a near $1 billion
programme).
 Risk of sharp swings: Analysts say the country risks putting its economy at the mercy of the
digital currency’s sharp swings - Much of bitcoin’s adoption till now has been due to speculative
investment, with traders betting on the price rising or falling. As bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies do not have fundamentals to trade off, prices can move quickly based on pure
sentiments.
 May compound illegal transactions:
o Regulators in most of the developed nations have approached cryptocurrencies with
scepticism. They, by nature, provide users anonymity, making them attractive to move
around proceeds of illicit activities.
o Such risks are higher in an impoverished nation like El Salvador, in which criminal gangs
control vast territories. Moreover, the plans for bitcoin under an increasingly autocratic
regime of El Salvador will likely only compound the concerns about money laundering,
corruption and the independence of regulatory agencies.
 Accessibility of Salvadorans: Only a few Salvadorans would have the technical capacity to access
bitcoins, thus, leaving a vast majority without financial access.

Lessons for India

 An example worth studying: Although there might not be many lessons from a monetary policy
perspective, efficiency, anti-money-laundering and other aspects could be closely monitored.
 Remittances: The impact bitcoin will have on remittance inflows would be worth monitoring for
India, as it is home to the largest remittance market in the world.
 Attracting innovators:
o The move by El Salvador shows how far countries are willing to go to attract innovators and
entrepreneurs working in this emerging sector.
o If India is to retain the developers working on key innovations in this space, it must start
paying attention to incentivise them.
6. Objective Questions

1. Which of the following countries is not a 3. Which of the following crops has the
member of the G7? Minimum Support Price providing the
(a) Italy highest return over the cost of production
(b) Japan in the 2021-22 Kharif season?
(c) Canada (a) Bajra
(d) Russia (b) Sesamum
(c) Paddy
Answer: (d) (d) Tur dal

Explanation: Answer: (a)

The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter- Explanation:

governmental political forum consisting of
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
United Kingdom and the U.S. Russia is
not a member of the G7.
2. As per the Performance Grading Index
2019-20, which among the following states
has the highest score?
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Delhi
Gujarat
Answer: (a)
Explanation:
As per the Performance Grading Index
2019-20, Punjab scores the highest. But,
among the given options, the highest
scorer is Tamil Nadu (at 3rd position
overall).
Bajra has the Minimum Support Price
providing the highest return over the cost
of production at 85% in the 2021-22 Kharif
season. Sesamum and Paddy have 50%
return while it is 62% for Tur dal in the
2021-22 Kharif season.
4. National Parks in India are declared under
which of the following legislation?
(a) Indian Forest Act, 1927
(b) Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
(c) Forest Rights Act, 2006
(d) Environment Protection Act, 1986
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
National Parks in India are declared under
the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 by the
State government or Central government.
5. El Salvador shares a border with which of
the following countries?
(a) Belize
(b) Nicaragua
(c) Honduras
(d) Costa Rica

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

Figure: PGI Report card, 2019-20 El Salvador shares a border with

Source: indianexpress.com Honduras and Guatemala.
7. Subjective Questions

1. What is Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)? How does the Minimum Corporate Tax
contemplated by the G7 seek to minimise/prevent the BEPS?
(250 Words, 15 Marks)

2. What is the Performance Grading Index? Analyse the current state of school education across the
various states and Union Territories in India.
(250 Words, 15 Marks)

3. Critically analyse the role of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural produce in India.
(150 Words, 10 Marks)

4. What are “National Parks”? How are they established in India?

(150 Words, 10 Marks)

5. Critically analyse the move by El Salvador to legalise bitcoin. How can India benefit from the
move?
(250 Words, 15 Marks)
 Congratulations to our toppers

04 Ranks in
Top 10 09 Ranks in
Top 20 13 Ranks in
Top 50 22 Ranks in
Top 100

RANK 03 RANK 06 RANK 08 RANK 10

Pratibha Verma Vishakha Yadav Abhishek Saraf Sanjita Mohapatra

Incredible results year after year!

Selected candidates from BYJU'S

2019
165 out of
2018 829 vacancies
183 out of
2017 812 vacancies
2016 236 out of
1058 vacancies
2015 215 out of
1209 vacancies
162 out of
2014 1164 vacancies

2013 82 out of
1364 vacancies
62 out of
1228 vacancies

To book a FREE COUNSELLING SESSION with our IAS Mentors call: 9241333666
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byjus.com

Awards

VCCIRCLE
AWA R D S

Education Company Business Standard Google Play’s ‘Best Self Improvement’

Of The Year 2016, 2018 Start-up of the year 2017 App in India – 2016

Google Design Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India

Award 2018 and Fast 500 Asia Award Year
NASSCOM Design4India Design
Award 2018 for the ‘Best Design’
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, Express IT Awards for IT newsmaker
Mobile Category – 2018
2017 of the year 2017