SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY

TEST 9 – ECONOMICS - II - ANSWER KEY

1. Ans (b)
Explanation: A weak rupee will make Indian produce more competitive in global markets and that will
be fruitful for India’s exports.

2. Ans (c)
Explanation:

Even though State fiscal deficit has been increasing over years it is still outperforming centre.

3. Ans (c)
Explanation:
Hedge fund investors typically include high net worth individuals (HNIs) and families, endowments
and pension funds, insurance companies, and banks. These funds work either as private investment
partnerships or offshore investment corporations. They are not required to be registered with the
securities markets regulator and are not subject to the reporting requirements, including periodic
disclosure of NAVs. So FII's cannot invest in hedge funds.

4. Ans (d)

5. Ans (c)
Explanation: Determinants Of MSP
 While recommending price policy of various commodities under its mandate, the Commission
keeps in mind the various Terms of Reference (ToR) given to CACP in 2009. Accordingly, it
analyzes
1. demand and supply;
2. cost of production;
3. price trends in the market, both domestic and international;
4. inter-crop price parity;
5. terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture; and
6. likely implications of MSP on consumers of that product.
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 It may be noted that cost of production is an important factor that goes as an input in
determination of MSP, but it is certainly not the only factor that determines MSP.

6. Ans (c)
Explanation: Self explanatory

7. Ans (c)
Explanation: Implementation of Right to service in state of Tamilnadu will not have an impact on the
Ease of doing business because ease of doing business in India is assessed based on data collected
from Mumbai and Delhi.

8. Ans (a)
Explanation:

Forex is not steadily increasing as we can infer from the above graph.

9. Ans (c)

10. Ans (c)

Explanation: The mandatory use of Public Finance Management System (PFMS) will help monitor the
flow of funds to beneficiaries of different government welfare schemes. With the capability of
providing real time information, the web-based software app PFMS has tremendous potential to
improve programme/financial management, reduce the float in the financial systems by enabling "just
in time" releases and also the government borrowings with direct impact on interest cost.

11. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 The balance of payments (BoP) record the transactions in goods, services, and assets between
residents of a country with the rest of the world for a specified time period typically a year.
 It represents a summation of country’s current demand and supply of the claims on foreign
currencies and of foreign claims on its currency.
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 There are two main accounts in the BoP – the current account and the capital account.
 Current Account: The current account records exports and imports in goods, trade in services and
transfer payments.
 Capital Account: The capital account records all international purchases and sales of assets such
as money, stocks, bonds, etc. It includes foreign investments and loans.
 Currently, masala bonds are reckoned both under combined corporate debt limit (CCDL) for FPI
(Foreign Portfolio Investments) and external commercial borrowings

12. Ans (a)

13. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 To this effect Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been formulated with the
vision of extending the coverage of irrigation ‘Har Khet ko pani’ and improving water use
efficiency ‘More crop per drop' in a focused manner with end to end solution on source creation,
distribution, management, field application and extension activities.
 PMKSY has been formulated amalgamating ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit
Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation
(MoWR, RD & GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of
Land Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of
Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).

14. Ans (c)

Explanation: Usage of LED bulbs will reduce electricity consumption thus reducing the demand of
electricity.

15. Ans (a)

16. Ans (b)

17. Ans (a)

Explanation:
In India, growth is attributed to service sector, whereby both employment and wages have seen a
rise. But as figures say, the biggest employing sector in India is the Agriculture sector, employing 45%
of the population but contributing 15% to the GDP, whereas Service sector is the biggest contributor
to the GDP but employs less than 30%. IT and Financial services are drivers of service sector growth in
last 2 decades however both of these sectors are not employment intensive. Thus contributing to
jobless growth in India.

18. Ans (d)

19. Ans (b)

Explanation:
 The role and functions of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion primarily include:
 Formulation and implementation of industrial policy and strategies for industrial development in
conformity with the development needs and national objectives;
 Monitoring the industrial growth, in general, and performance of industries specifically assigned
to it, in particular, including advice on all industrial and technical matters;
 Formulation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy and promotion, approval and facilitation of
FDI;
 Encouragement to foreign technology collaborations at enterprise level and formulating policy
parameters for the same;
 Formulation of policies relating to Intellectual Property Rights in the fields of Patents, Trademarks,
Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications of Goods and administration of regulations, rules
made there under;
 Administration of Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951
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 Promoting industrial development of industrially backward areas and the North Eastern Region
including International Co-operation for industrial partnerships and
 Promotion of productivity, quality and technical cooperation.

20. Ans (b)

Explanation:
 India has announced HELP, which offers single license to explore conventional and unconventional
oil and gas resources.
 The new policy also gives the investors the much needed freedom in pricing and marketing for
crude oil and natural gas.
 There will be a uniform licensing system which will cover all hydrocarbons, under a single license
and policy framework.
 Contracts will be based on ‘biddable revenue sharing’. Bidders will be required to quote revenue
share in their bids and this will be a key parameter for selecting the winning bid.
 An ‘Open Acreage Licensing Policy’ will be implemented whereby a bidder may apply to the
Government seeking exploration of any block not already covered by exploration. This will enable
a faster coverage of the available geographical area.
 A concessional royalty regime will be implemented for deep water (5%) and ultra-deep water (2%)
areas. In shallow water areas, the royalty rates shall be reduced from 10% to 7.5%.
 The contractor will have freedom for pricing and marketing of gas produced in the domestic
market on arms length basis.
 To safeguard the Government revenue, the Government’s share of profit will be calculated based
on the higher of prevailing international crude price or actual price.

21. Ans (c)

Explanation:
India is one of the largest importers of urea and unable to produce it at intended magnitude due to
following reasons:
 Low availability of natural gas (as it is a major constituent as much as 80%).
 Flexible international gas prices which is detrimental for import based production.
 Public policy failure: Govt. couldn't encourage in house production of urea.

22. Ans (c)

23. Ans (d)

24. Ans (c)

Explanation: Work under MNREGA is extended to everyone not just BPL households

25. Ans (d)

Explanation: "Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana” is an elaborated component of Soil Health
Management (SHM) of major project National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). Under PKVY
Organic farming is promoted through adoption of organic village by cluster approach and PGS
certification.

26. Ans (d)

Explanation: Development of irrigation was not the focus while carrying out land reforms in India.

27. Ans (a)

28. Ans (b)

Explanation:
This scheme is extended to women from BPL households only.
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29. Ans (b)
Explanation:
 Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) is a decentralised agency of the Government
of India. It was established in 1965 as the Agricultural Prices Commission, and was given its
present name in 1985. It is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,
Government of India.
 The commission was established to maintain the recommend Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) to
motivate cultivators and farmers to adopt the latest technology in order to optimise the use of
resources and increase productivity.

30. Ans (c)

Explanation:
Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) under DMIC between Delhi and Mumbai, covering an overall length
of 1483 km and passing through the six States - U.P, NCR of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
Maharashtra, with end terminals at Dadri in the National Capital Region of Delhi and Jawaharlal
Nehru Port near Mumbai.

31. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 India’s urbanisation has been quite low, compared with its peers. It increased sluggishly from
17.29 per cent in 1951 to 27.76 per cent in 2001 and 31.16 per cent in 2011. However, the rate of
growth of urban population has been quite high. And this tends to create significant pressure on
infrastructure. The number of cities and towns has also gone up considerably over the years,
particularly over the past decade: from 5,161 in 2001 to 7,935 in 2011.
 Urban population expands due to three factors: natural growth, rural-to-urban migration, and
reclassification of rural areas as urban. With a significant fall in the mortality rate, the natural
growth of urban population has been high, raising the long run supply of labour substantially.

32. Ans (a)

33. Ans (d)

Explanation:
The tertiary industry is the segment of the economy that provides services to its consumers; this
includes a wide range of businesses such as financial institutions, schools and restaurants. It is also
known as the tertiary sector or service industry/sector.

34. Ans (b)

Explanation:
 The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) - introduction of a new ‘Niryat Bandhu' scheme for
international business mentoring for young turks in international business enterprises.
 It aims for mentoring first generation entrepreneurs.

35. Ans (a)

Explanation: Financial repression on the liability (deposit) side is due to high inflation. Often higher
inflation discourages savings or deposits as the real rate of interest is low or negative (During high
inflation, rate of interest by banks seems to be little as value of money falls greater and people may
turn to physical assets like gold).

36. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 In India where more than 45% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities and where
substantial portion of area in not under irrigation and dependent on monsoon, the MSP measure
ensures minimum safeguards to the farmers.
Impact on farmers:
Minimum prices ensured for the crops thereby hedging them from market fluctuations.
 Guarantee of a buyer while cultivation of crops and safeguarding their future.
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 Though high MSP for certain produces such as wheat and rice drives farmers to take the "safe
side" and thus shifts to cereal production rather than fruits, vegetables etc.
 As a result, production pattern distorted demand-supply equilibrium disturbed and leads to food
inflation.
 Excessive use of resources to produce rice n other cereals with a MSP cap on it.
 Lack of innovation and technological advancements in agricultural practices.
Impact on consumers:
 Due to distorted production patterns, food inflation occurs, sometimes leading to very high prices
of fruits and vegetables.
 Therefore, disturbing the consumption pattern of poor and vulnerable households and nutrient
consumption decreases.
 High supply of cereal stock in govt godowns but not effective delivery of the same, involvement of
middlemen at every stage, poor PDS implementation, leakages and corruption and the weaker
sections suffers.

37. Ans (a)

Explanation:

38. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 Being the fourth largest importer of oil, the fallen prices give us Macro stability in terms of :
 Reduced Current Account Deficit with lower import costs
 Lower costs of production and hence higher production (thus higher GDP)
 Reduced price levels/inflation, thus benefiting the average consumer
 Also since India receive much of its remittances from Middle East countries; its poor growth will
lead to falling remittances to India.
 Cheap oil will lead to high energy consumption therefore leading to increase in carbon footprint.

39. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 Twin deficits refer to a situation where an economy is running both a fiscal deficit and also a
deficit on the current account of the balance of payments.
 Direct impact through demand. The most direct way in which fiscal policy can affect the external
account is through changes in the government’s consumption or investment demand for tradable
goods. The government often accounts for a large part of domestic demand, so that, depending
on the import propensity, shifts in the government import demand function translate into
movements in the trade balance.
 Impact through the real exchange rate. Fiscal policy can also affect the current account by altering
the relative price of non tradables (the real exchange rate): higher government spending on non
tradables (such as the services or real estate sectors) can induce a real appreciation, which in turn
can tilt private consumption toward, and production away from, tradables.
 Impact on interest rates and country risk premia. Fiscal tightening can reduce interest rates,
including on external debt, thereby improving the current account balance. At the same time,
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lower risk premia can also increase capital inflows, which can boost demand and real appreciation
pressures and eventually worsen the current account (expansionary fiscal contractions).
 Even though they Fiscal deficit will impact current account deficit in certain ways it still doesn’t
reinforce each other i.e., they are not proportional to each other.

40. Ans (c)

41. Ans (a)

42. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 Under the DBT in fertilizer sector, the subsidy will be released to the fertilizer companies instead
of the beneficiaries, after the sale is made by the retailers to the beneficiaries.
 It is being implemented by the Ministry of Chemicals and fertilizers.

43. Ans (b)

44. Ans (c)

Explanation:
 The Government has announced eight Investment Regions along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial
Corridor (DMIC) project as National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs). The details are
as under:
 Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region, Gujarat
 Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Part city near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
 Manesar-Bawal Investment Region, Haryana
 Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment Region, Rajasthan
 Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Regioin, Madhya Pradesh
 Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad investment Region, Uttar Pradesh
 Dighi Port Industrial Area, Maharashtra, and
 Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar Region in Rajasthan.
 Fourteen NIMZs outside the DMIC region have also been given in-principle approval (i) Nagpur in
Maharashtra, (ii) Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh, (iii) Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, (iv) Medak in
Telangana, (v) Hyderabad Pharma NIM in Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar Districts of Telangana,
(vi) Tumkur in Karnataka, (vii) Kolar in Karnataka, (viii) Bidar in Karnataka, (ix) Gulbarga in
Karnataka, (x) Kalinganagar, Jajpur District in Odisha, (xi) Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu,
(xii) Ponneri, Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, (xiii) Auraiya District in Uttar Pradesh, and (xiv)
Jhansi District in Uttar Pradesh.
 Out of these NIMZs, the NIMZs at (i) Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh and (ii) Medak in Telangana
have been granted final approval. The National Manufacturing Policy is based on the principle of
industrial growth in partnership with the States. It is the prerogative of the States to adopt the
instrumentalities provided by the policy.
 India has agreed to extend the benefits of special economic zones (SEZ) and National Investment
and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) to the proposed industrial parks which would be developed in
collaboration with China.
 SEZs and NIMZs enjoy tax related benefits. The SEZs enjoy 100% income tax exemption on export
income for the first five years, 50% for the next five years thereafter and 50%of the ploughed back
export profit for next five years. Besides, NIMZ, under the National Manufacturing Policy, has
provisions of tax incentives to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

45. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 IDRs are similar to shares—the receipts represent and entitle you to a particular number of shares
of the issuing company (in the case of Standard Chartered, 10 receipts represent one share of the
bank).
 Normally, in the case of sale of shares of an Indian company on a stock exchange, if the shares
have been held for at least 12 months, long-term capital gains that accrue to you are totally
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exempt. If such shares have been held by you for a lesser period, your gains are taxed at a
concessional rate of 15%. This exemption is available only to equity shares of a company on the
sale of which securities transaction tax (STT) has been paid. The benefit would not extend to any
capital gains that you may make on the sale of IDRs of a foreign company since transactions in
such IDRs are not subject to STT, nor are IDRs the same as equity shares (though they may entitle
you to the same benefits as equity shares).
 If you have held IDRs for at least 12 months, since IDRs are listed securities (though not equity
shares), you would get the benefit of the concessional rate of long-term capital gains tax at the
lower of 20% of the gains computed with indexation of cost, or 10% of the gains computed
without indexation of cost. For instance, if you acquired IDRs for Rs110, sold them after a year on
the stock market for Rs160, and the indexed cost is Rs125, your capital gains tax would be the
lower of 20% of Rs35 (Rs160 minus Rs125), which comes to Rs7, or 10% of Rs50 (Rs160 minus
Rs110), which is Rs5. Your tax liability would, therefore, be Rs5. In other words, your maximum
tax liability would be 10% of your gains. Of course, your short-term capital gains on sale of IDRs
would be taxed at your tax slab rates, the highest being 30%.

46. Ans (c)

Explanation: Footloose industry’s location is not influenced by four factors of production(land, labour,
capital and enterprise)

47. Ans (c)

Explanation:
Explanation: Non-Tariff Barriers to trade can arise from:
 Import bans
 General or product-specific quotas
 Complex/discriminatory Rules of Origin
 Quality conditions imposed by the importing country on the exporting countries
 Unjustified Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary conditions
 Unreasonable/unjustified packaging, labelling, product standards
 Complex regulatory environment
 Determination of eligibility of an exporting country by the importing country
 Determination of eligibility of an exporting establishment (firm, company) by the importing
country.
 Additional trade documents like Certificate of Origin, Certificate of Authenticity etc
 Occupational safety and health regulation
 Employment law
 Import licenses
 State subsidies, procurement, trading, state ownership
 Export subsidies
 Fixation of a minimum import price
 Product classification
 Quota shares
 Multiplicity and Controls of Foreign exchange market
 Inadequate infrastructure
 "Buy national" policy
 Over-valued currency
 Restrictive licenses
 Seasonal import regimes
 Corrupt and/or lengthy customs procedures

48. Ans (d)

Explanation:
With progressive delicensing of industries, only 5 industries have been retained under compulsory
licensing under the Industries (D&R) Act, 1951 viz. (i) Distillation and brewing of alcoholic drinks; (ii)
Cigars and cigarettes of tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; (iii) Electronic aerospace and
Defence equipment: all types; (iv) Industrial explosives including detonating fuses, Safety Fuses, gun
powder, nitrocellulose and matches; (v) Hazardous chemicals: viz. (a) Hydrocyanic acid and its
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Derivatives; (b) Phosgene and its derivatives; (c) Isocyanates and di-isocyanates of hydrocarbon, not
elsewhere specified (example: Methyl Isocyanate)

49. Ans (a)

Explanation:
If china were to grant Market economy status imposition of Anti-dumping duties becomes difficult
not impossible.

50. Ans (c)

51. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 India and the EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are working on the
nuts and bolts of the pact, officially dubbed as the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement
(TEPA).
 The government is negotiating the following trade agreements with other country/block of
countries with specific Chapters on Investment:-
(i) India - EU Broad based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)
(ii) India – Sri Lanka Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreements (ETCA)
(iii) India - Thailand Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
(iv) India - Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA)
(v) India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA)
(vi) India - New Zealand Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
(vii) India - Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
(viii) BIMSTEC Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
(ix) India – Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
(x) Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement
 http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=160131

52. Ans (b)

Explanation:
In WTO terminology, subsidies in general are identified by “boxes” which are given the colours of
traffic lights: green (permitted), amber (slow down — i.e. need to be reduced), red (forbidden). In
agriculture, things are, as usual, more complicated. The Agriculture Agreement has no red box,
although domestic support exceeding the reduction commitment levels in the amber box is
prohibited; and there is a blue box for subsidies that are tied to programmes that limit production.
There are also exemptions for developing countries (sometimes called an “S&D box” or "development
box", including provisions in Article 6.2 of the Agreement).
Amber Box
 It contains aid to be avoided and reduced.
 Defined in Article 6 of the Agriculture Agreement, as all domestic supports except those in the
blue and green boxes.
 All domestic support measures considered to distort production and trade (with some exceptions)
 Include measures to support prices, subsidies directly related to production quantities, export
subsidies, cheap loans etc

53. Ans (d)

54. Ans (c)

Explanation: All the countries have equal voting rights.

55. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 An Economy for 99% - OxFam International
 World intellectual property report - WIPO
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56. Ans (b)
Explanation:
 The MP would be free to identify a suitable Gram Panchayat for being developed as Adarsh Gram,
other than his/her own village or that of his/her spouse.
 The MP will identify one Gram Panchayat to be taken up immediately, and two others to be taken
up a little later. Lok Sabha MP has to choose a Gram Panchayat from within his/her constituency
and Rajya Sabha MP a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of a district of his/her choice in the
State from which he/she is elected. Nominated MPs may choose a Gram Panchayat from the rural
area of any district in the country. In the case of urban constituencies, (where there are no Gram
Panchayats), the MP will identify a Gram Panchayat from a nearby rural constituency.

57. Ans (d)

Explanation:

58. Ans (b)

Explanation: Service sector is the one which contributes majorly to GDP.

59. Ans (a)

60. Ans (c)

Explanation: NABARD involves only agricultural refinancing for banks it doesn't involve in direct
imbursement of funds.

61. Ans (d)

Explanation:
What is the vision statement of SPMRM?
The vision statement of SPMRM is "Development of a cluster of villages that preserve and nurture the
essence of rural community life with focus on equity and inclusiveness without compromising with the
facilities perceived to be essentially urban in nature, thus creating a cluster of "Rurban villages".
What is the aim of SPMRM?
The aim of SPMRM is to create 300 rural growth clusters across the country. In the first phase, 100
clusters will be taken up, thereafter more clusters will be identified based on the progress of the
scheme.
What are the Mission Outcomes?
 Bridge the rural urban divide- economic, technological and those related to facilities and services.
 Spreading development in the region.
 Attracting investment in the rural areas.
 Stimulating local economic development with emphasis on reduction of poverty and
unemployment in rural areas.

62. Ans (c)

Explanation:
India remains the most competitive country in South Asia, appearing at No. 40 in the global
competitiveness ranking of 137 countries by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
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63. Ans (a)
Explanation:
 The council serves to highlight key economic issues facing the country to the government of India
from a neutral viewpoint. It advises the Prime Minister on a whole host of economic issues like
inflation, microfinance, industrial output, etc.
 The PMEAC has been constituted several times since the independence of India.
 In the latest occurrence, Prime minister revived the body on September 25, 2017. Currently
PMEAC chairman post is held by Bibek Debroy.
 The previous Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman Chakravarthi
Rangarajan resigned on 19 May 2014.
The following are currently the members of the PMEAC:
 Niti Aayog member Bibek Debroy - the chairman of the Council,
 Niti Aayog’s principal advisor and former Finance Secretary Ratan Watal as member-secretary.
 Economist Surjit Bhalla,
 National Institute of Public Finance and Policy director Rathin Roy
 Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research professor Ashima Goyal

64. Ans (a)

Explanation: PSF is under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

65. Ans (a)

66. Ans (b)

Explanation: Free trade agreements are a extension to MFN principle not exemption.

67. Ans (a)

68. Ans (d)

Explanation:
The real effective exchange rate (REER) is the weighted average of a country's currency relative to an
index or basket of other major currencies, adjusted for the effects of inflation. The weights are
determined by comparing the relative trade balance of a country's currency against each country
within the index.

69. Ans (a)

Explanation:
FII inflows are aimed at making money on the invested capital i.e. Capital gains. The capital gains are
linked to the interest rates and stock market environment. If the interest rates / potential gains in one
country go down in comparison to other target country, the FII inflow may halt or outflow may begun.
That is why FII money is called hot money sometimes. In summary, the most suitable conditions for FII
are as follows:
 Attractive Interest Rates
 Adequate money supply and stable rate of inflation
 Stable exchange rates
 Low deficit in Balance of payments.
So FII's are more volatile compared to FDI.

70. Ans (a)

Explanation:

71. Ans (c)

Explanation:
 The Union Government is planning to safeguard fast-eroding Majuli Island—world’s largest
riverine island using research carried out on floating Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat
(B4) labs along Brahmaputra River.
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 The purpose of project is to study changes caused by dams, climate change, human interventions
and eventual effects on river eco-system. It will constantly monitor impact of various
environmental and anthropological factors that affect river and conduct research to mitigate
effects.

72. Ans (d)

Explanation:
The CSR Focus Areas are aligned to the Schedule VII (list of permissible CSR activities) of the
Companies Act, 2013.
These include:
 Creating meaningful socio-economic impact in the lives of vulnerable and underprivileged
sections of the society that include amongst others, differently-abled, street children, destitute
women, children of sexually exploited women, economically weaker sections and victims of
natural and other disasters including war and acts of terrorism.
 Enhancing sustainable livelihood through interventions in the areas of natural resource
management, agriculture, horticulture and livestock development, rural development, traditional
arts and handicrafts, micro-enterprise, vocational training and skill development.
 Promoting measures to eradicate hunger, poverty and malnutrition, and promoting preventive
health care and sanitation.
 Promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills
especially among children, women, elderly and the differently-abled, and livelihood enhancement
projects. This would also include initiatives to promote financial literacy, consumer education and
awareness, and capacity and skill building in various sectors of the economy in alignment with the
various Government initiatives.
 Promoting environmental sustainability, ecological balance and conservation of natural resources
and maintaining quality of soil, air and water through various initiatives such as resource
conservation, renewable energy and energy efficiency amongst others.
 Contributing to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the
Government for socio-economic development.

73. Ans (c)

Explanation:
 PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) -- an electronic platform for no
child labour developed by the Labour Ministry.
 PENCIL portal has five components -- Child Tracking System, Complaint Corner, State Government,
National Child Labour Project and Convergence

74. Ans (c)

Explanation:
 Recently the IUCN has announced that it is down-listing the snow leopard on the Red List of
Threatened Species from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’ – the next lower category of risk. A
‘Vulnerable’ listing on the Red List is still a major cause for concern though, with vulnerable
species considered “to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.”
 Potential snow leopard habitat in the Indian Himalayas is estimated at less than 90,000 km2
(35,000 sq mi) in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and
Arunachal Pradesh, of which about 34,000 km2 (13,000 sq mi) is considered good habitat, and
14.4% is protected.
 Hemis National Park (or Hemis High Altitude National Park) is a high altitude national park in the
eastern Ladakh region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. World famous for being the
best place to see the snow leopard in the wild, it is believed to have the highest density of snow
leopards of any protected area in the world. It is the only national park in India north of the
Himalayas, the largest notified protected area in India (and thus the largest national park of India),
and is the second largest contiguous protected area after the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve and
surrounding protected areas.
 The snow leopard is distributed from the west of Lake Baikal through southern Siberia, in the
Kunlun Mountains, in the Russian Altai mountains, Sayan and Tannu-Ola Mountains, in the Tian
 SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY
Shan, across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to the Hindu Kush in eastern
Afghanistan, Karakoram in northern Pakistan, in the Pamir Mountains, and in the high altitudes of
the Himalayas in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and the Tibetan Plateau. In Mongolia, it is found in the
Mongolian and Gobi Altai Mountains and the Khangai Mountains. In Tibet, it is found up to the
Altyn-Tagh in the north.

75. Ans (d)

Explanation:
India is sending humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh to help with the influx of Rohingya refugees.
The relief material was delivered in multiple consignments, the first tranche of was brought to
Chittagong by an Indian Air Force plane on 14th September 2017.

76. Ans (b)

77. Ans (c)

Explanation:
 The Indian pharmaceuticals market is the third largest in terms of volume and thirteenth largest in
terms of value, and it accounts for 20 per cent in the volume terms and 1.4 per cent in value terms
of the Global Pharmaceutical Industry as per a report by Equity Master. India is the largest
provider of generic drugs globally with the Indian generics accounting for 20 per cent of global
exports in terms of volume. Of late, consolidation has become an important characteristic of the
Indian pharmaceutical market as the industry is highly fragmented.
 India enjoys an important position in the global pharmaceuticals sector. The country also has a
large pool of scientists and engineers who have the potential to steer the industry ahead to an
even higher level. Presently over 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs used globally to combat
AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) are supplied by Indian pharmaceutical firms.

78. Ans (d)

Explanation:
Saakshar Bharat Programme goes beyond ‘3’ R’s (i.e. Reading, Writing & Arithmetic) ; for it also seeks
to create awareness of social disparities and a person’s deprivation on the means for its amelioration
and general well being. This programme was formulated in 2009 with the objective of achieving 80%
literacy level at national level, by focusing on adult women literacy seeking – to reduce the gap
between male and female literacy to not more than 10 percentage points .it has four broader
objectives, namely imparting functional literacy and numeracy to non-literates; acquiring equivalency
to formal educational system; imparting relevant skill development programme; and promote a
leaning society by providing opportunities for continuing education. The principal target of the
programme is to impart functional literacy to 70 million non-literate adults in the age group of 15
years and beyond. This Includes coverage of 14 million Scheduled Castes (SCs), 8 million Scheduled
Tribes (STs), 12 million minorities & 36 million others. The overall coverage of women is aimed at 60
million. 410 districts belonging to 27 States/UTs of the country were identified to be covered under
Saakshar Bharat.

79. Ans (d)

Explanation:
Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) under National Manufacturing Policy being
implemented by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP). TADF is a new scheme to
facilitate acquisition of Clean, Green & Energy Efficient Technologies, in form of Technology /
Customised Products / Specialised Services / Patents / Industrial Design available in the market
available in India or globally, by Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

80. Ans (a)

Explanation:
Rent paid by Indian resident for property outside of India is Import of service not export of service.
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81. Ans (b)
Explanation:
WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) classifies domestic support or subsidies given by the
government to farmers into different categories. An important type of subsidies or supports is
Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS). The AMS represents trade distorting domestic support
and is referred as the “amber box”.

82. Ans (c)

Explanation:
Haryana is all set to have India’s first AYUSH University in Kurukshetra and is gearing up for the major
development process

83. Ans (b)

Explanation:
 One of the uninhabited islands that is a part of Lakshadweep has vanished due to coastal erosion
and another four such territories in the sea are shrinking fast
 Parali I island, part of Bangaram atoll, which had an area of 0.032 sq.km in 1968 has been
completely eroded, resulting in its inundation.
 There was a studies on assessment of the biodiversity confining to five uninhabited islands —
Bangaram, Thinnakara, Parali I, II and III, of which Parali I has been inundated—of Bangaram atoll
in Lakshadweep, an archipelago of 36 islands in the Lakshadweep sea.

84. Ans (d)

Explanation:
A cross country comparison based on “International Debt Statistics 2017” of the World Bank which
presents the debt data for 2015, shows that India continues to be among the less vulnerable countries
with its external debt indicators comparing well with other indebted developing countries. The ratio
of India’s external debt stock to gross national income (GNI) at 23.4 per cent was the fifth lowest and
in terms of the cover provided by foreign exchange reserves to external debt, India’s position was
sixth highest at 69.7 per cent in 2015.

85. Ans (b)

Explanation:
The indigenous developed Trawl System is employed for breaching of land mines and creating a
vehicle safe lane, through a minefield for the advancing columns of mechanized forces in combat
zone. The equipment consists of Trawl roller, track width mine plough and electro- magnetic device
(EMD), which caters to the need of all types of mines usually encountered by the battle tank in such a
scenario. The Trawl System developed by DRDO is capable of breaching a variety of land mines
including passive and active influence mines.

86. Ans (a)

Explanation:
The National Trust under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in collaboration with key partners
organised the conference “Inclusive India Initiative: Towards an Inclusive India” for intellectual and
developmental disabilities (IDDs). The ‘Inclusive India Initiative’ of National Trust is specifically
catering to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities; with an objective to include these
people in the mainstream and in all important aspects of social life, namely education, employment
and community ‘Inclusive India’ in about changing the attitudes.

87. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) was started to give a major push for creation of high
quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.
 The HEFA would be jointly promoted by the identified Promoter and the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) with an authorised capital of Rs.2,000 crore. The Government
equity would be Rs.1,000 crore.
 SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY
 The HEFA would be formed as a SPV within a PSU Bank/ Government-owned-NBFC (Promoter). It
would leverage the equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding projects for infrastructure
and development of world class Labs in IITs/IIMs/NITs and such other institutions.
 The HEFA would also mobilise CSR funds from PSUs/Corporates, which would in turn be released
for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on grant basis.

88. Ans (c)

89. Ans (a)

90. Ans (d)

Explanation:
 D-SIB means that the bank is too big to fail. According to the RBI, some banks become systemically
important due to their size, cross-jurisdictional activities, complexity and lack of substitute and
interconnection. Banks whose assets exceed 2% of GDP are considered part of this group. The RBI
stated that should such a bank fail, there would be significant disruption to the essential services
they provide to the banking system and the overall economy.
 The too-big-to-fail tag also indicates that in case of distress, the government is expected to
support these banks. Due to this perception, these banks enjoy certain advantages in funding. It
also means that these banks have a different set of policy measures regarding systemic risks and
moral hazard issues.

91. Ans (c)

92. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Central Government of India decides on India's
defence expenditure, matters of National Security, and makes significant appointments.
 CCS is chaired by the Prime Minister of India and comprises the Minister of Defence, the Minister
of Finance, the Minister of Home Affairs, and the Minister of External Affairs

93. Ans (b)

Explanation:
 In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly voted to designate September 16 as "World Ozone
Day", to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol on that date in 1987. It was agreed
on 16 September 1987, and entered into force on 1 January 1989, followed by a first meeting in
Helsinki, May 1989. Since then, it has undergone eight revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi),
1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), 1998 (Australia), 1999
(Beijing) and 2016 (Kigali, adopted, but not in force).
 The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is a Multilateral Environmental
Agreement. It acts as a framework for the international efforts to protect the ozone layer.
However, it does not include legally binding reduction goals for the use of CFCs, the main chemical
agents causing ozone depletion. These are laid out in the accompanying Montreal Protocol.
 The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human
health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury
compounds.

94. Ans (b)

Explanation:
 In a significant move forward from the Goa BRICS declaration, Beijing has signed off on New
Delhi’s initiative to name two Pakistan-based terrorist groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-
Mohammad, in the Xiamen declaration, expressing “concern” on the security situation in the
region and violence caused by these outfits.
 This is the first time that a BRICS declaration has named these terrorist groups
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95. Ans (a)
Explanation:
One Stop Centres (OSC) are intended to support women affected by violence, in private and public
spaces, within the family, community and at the workplace. Women facing physical, sexual,
emotional, psychological and economic abuse, irrespective of age, class, caste, education status,
marital status, race and culture will be facilitated with support and redressal. Aggrieved women facing
any kind of violence due to attempted sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence,
trafficking, honour related crimes, acid attacks or witch-hunting who have reached out or been
referred to the OSC will be provided with specialized services.
The objectives of the Scheme are:
 To provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and
public spaces under one roof.
 To facilitate immediate, emergency and non - emergency access to a range of services including
medical, legal, psychological and counselling support under one roof to fight against any forms of
violence against women.

96. Ans (c)

Explanation:
 Strengthening investment and exports enabled Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, Indonesia to
grow by 5.0% in the first half of 2017 which is slightly higher than global average
 Indonesia still struggles with poverty and unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, a
complex regulatory environment, and unequal resource distribution among its regions.
 Currently 1 INR is equal to 211 indonesian rupiah which makes it extremely cheap destination to
travel.

97. Ans (c)

Explanation:
With the end of free trade regimes economic efficiency of Indian firms will decrease as they are less
exposed to Global competition.

98. Ans (a)

Explanation:
 During a diplomatic crisis liquid assets are extremely volatile, Dollar indexed bond is one such
instrument.
 Since Gold is a stable tradable commodity it is a very safe investment.
 Even though Diamond is a commodity they are not tradable.
 Platinum is not widely accepted commodity

99. Ans (d)

100. Ans (b)