10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: September 1, 2020

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act is to provide for compensation to the States for the loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.

Statement 2 is correct. As per the act the projected nominal growth rate of revenue subsumed for a State during the transition period shall be fourteen percent per annum.

The projected revenue for any year in a State is calculated by applying the projected growth rate over the base year revenue of that State.

For the purpose of calculating the compensation amount payable in any financial year during the transition period, the financial year ending 31st March, 2016, is taken as the base year.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Information Technology Act 2000 regulates cyber activities in India and provides for offences in cyber domain does not provide for explicit prohibition on Gambling or Betting.

Statement 2 is correct. The Public Gambling Act 1867, as it stands makes a distinction between games of chance and games of skill. The act does not apply to any game of mere skill wherever played.

# Fantasy cricket is a game of skill as ruled by the Punjab & Haryana High Court (2017) and the Bombay High Court (2019) further upheld by the Supreme Court.

The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act transferred five subjects from the state list to the concurrent list:

-Administration of Justice; constitution and organization of all courts, except the Supreme Court and the High Courts

-Weights and measures except establishment of standards

–Education, including technical education, medical education and universities,

–Forests

-Protection of wild animals and birds

It added to Union List: Deployment of any armed force of the Union or any other force subject to the control of the Union or any contingent or unit thereof in any State in aid of the civil power; powers, jurisdiction, privileges and liabilities of the members of such forces while on such deployment.

Option 1 is correct. Rezang La is a mountain pass on the south-eastern approach to Chushul Valley in the union territory of Ladakh. A major battle was fought between Indian and Chinese forces in 1962 at Rezang La.

Option 2 is incorrect. Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas in East Sikkim district. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

Option 3 is correct. Khardung La is a mountain pass in the Leh district of the union territory of Ladakh. The pass on the Ladakh Range is north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys.

Statement 1 is correct. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other Programme Implementation.

The Statistics Wing called the National Statistical Office (NSO) consists of the Central Statistical Office (CSO), the Computer center and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

NSO, among other its functions, prepares national accounts as well as publishes annual estimates of national product, government and private consumption expenditure, capital formation, savings, estimates of capital stock and consumption of fixed capital, as also the state level gross capital formation of supra-regional sectors and prepares comparable estimates of State Domestic Product (SDP) at current prices.

Statement 2 is correct. India’s economy contracted by a historic 23.9% in the June quarter, marking the sharpest drop in the country’s growth numbers in more than 40 years. Data released by the National Statistical Office recently shows that manufacturing, construction and trade sectors experienced massive contraction at 39.3%, 50.3%, 47%, respectively.

The last contraction of the economy occurred in 1979-80, when GDP shrank 5.2%.

The East Asia Summit is a unique Leaders-led forum of 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region formed to further the objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity.

Established in 2005, EAS allows the principal players in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss issues of common interest and concern, in an open and transparent manner, at the highest level.

The membership of EAS consists of ten ASEAN Member States (i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA. EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN.

Both statements are correct.

The PM KUSUM scheme aims to add solar and other renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022.

The Scheme consists of three components:

Component A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants of individual plant size up to 2 MW.

-Renewable power plants of capacity 500 KW to 2 MW will be setup by individual farmers/ cooperatives/panchayats /farmer producer organisations (FPO) on their barren or cultivable lands. The power generated will be purchased by the DISCOMs at Feed in tariffs determined by respective SERC.

Component B: Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps of individual pump.

-Individual farmers will be supported to install standalone solar Agriculture pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP.

Component C: Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.

-Individual farmers will be supported to solarise pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP.

For both Component-B and Component-C, central financial assistance (CFA) of 30% of the benchmark cost or the tender cost, whichever is lower, will be provided. The State Government will give a subsidy of 30%; and the remaining 40% will be provided by the farmer.

Option 1 is correct. The Brihadisvara temples are situated at Thanjavur, the ancient capital of the Chola kings. King Rajaraja Chola constructed the Brihadisvara Temple in 10th century A.D., designed by the famous architect Sama Varma.

The Brihadisvara temple is crowned by a pyramidal 65-m vimana, a sanctum tower. Its walls are covered with rich sculptural decoration.

The second Brihadisvara temple complex built by Rajendra I was completed in 1035. Its 53-m vimana has recessed corners and a graceful upward curving movement, contrasting with the straight and severe tower at Thanjavur. It has six pairs of massive, monolithic dvarapalas statues guarding the entrances and bronzes of remarkable beauty inside.

The other two temples, Gangaikondacholisvaram and Airatesvara were also built in the age of Cholas

Option 2 is incorrect. The Shore Temples at Mahabalipuram, a coastal village 50 km south of Madras, was built in the 7th century, during the reign of Rajasimha, and they depict the final flowering of Pallava art. The temple with its beautiful polygonal dome enshrines Lord Vishnu and Shiva.

Option 3 is incorrect. The Mallikarjuna and the Virupaksha temples at Pattadakal, were built by two queens of Vikaramaditya II, to commemorate the victory of the Chalukyas over the Pallavas. Virupaksha temple, built by Queen Lokamahadevi, was originally called Lokeshwara.

This temple is built in the southern Dravida style and is the largest in the enclosure. It has a massive gateway and several inscriptions.

# A rare inscription dating back to the Renati Chola era has been unearthed in a remote village of Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

The Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula for allocation of Central Plan Assistance to states was adopted by the National Development Council (NDC) meeting held in 1990.

On the demand of State Governments for a revision, a Committee under Shri Pranab Mukherjee, then Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission was constituted to evolve a suitable formula. The suggestions made by the Committee were considered by NDC in December 1991, where following a consensus, the Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula was adopted.

It was made the basis for allocation post 8th FYP (1992-97). After setting apart funds required for (a) Externally Aided Projects and (b) Special Area Programme, 30% of the balance of Central Assistance for State Plans is provided to the Special Category States. The remaining amount is distributed among the non-Special Category States, as per Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula.

Revenue neutral rate (RNR) is a structure of different rates established under the new GST regime in order to match the previous revenue generation.

The RNR is aimed to keep the revenue as constant as possible in the new regime as was under previous taxation. The government had entrusted the then (2015) chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian to head a panel with the task of proposing a revenue neutral rate (RNR), or a rate at which there will be no revenue loss to states under the GST regime.