Daily Quiz #4 UPSC Prelims Marathon – November 5 , 2019

Explanation: The IMFC advises and reports to the IMF Board of Governors on the supervision and management of the international monetary and financial system, including on responses to unfolding events that may disrupt the system. It also considers proposals by the Executive Board to amend the Articles of Agreement and advises on any other matters that may be referred to it by the Board of Governors. Although the IMFC has no formal decision-making powers, in practice, it has become a key instrument for providing strategic direction to the work and policies of the Fund. The IMFC usually meets twice a year, at the Bank-Fund Annual and Spring Meetings. For each meeting, the Managing Director prepares a draft agenda that is discussed by the Executive Board, approved by the IMFC Chair, and formally adopted by the IMFC at the meeting. At the end of the meetings, the Committee issues a communiqué summarizing its views. These communiqués provide guidance for the IMF’s work program during the half year leading up to the next spring or Annual Meetings.

Explanation: The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The report is produced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network in partnership with the Ernesto Illy Foundation. The World Happiness Report was written by a group of independent experts acting in their personal capacities. Any views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization, agency or program of the United Nations.

Explanation: The Twenty Point Programme (TPP) is the second Central Plan which was launched in July 1975. The programme was conceived for coordinated and intensive monitoring of a number of schemes implemented by the Central and the state governments. The basic objective was of improving the quality of life of the people, especially of those living below the poverty line. Under this, a thrust was given to schemes relating to poverty alleviation, employment generation in rural areas, housing, education, family welfare and health, protection of environment and many other schemes having a bearing on the quality of life in rural areas.

Explanation: The IEO will be an independent office attached to the Planning Commission under a Governing Board chaired by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. The IEO is to be funded by the Planning Commission and will have, as its head, a full-time Director General (Ajay Chhibber) in the rank and status of Member of the Planning Commission / Union Minister of State. The DG has tenure of 3 years extendable to 5 years. Its staff will be selected by the DG without any interference and will have its independent budget. An Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has been created by the GoI in February 2014, at an arm’s distance from the government with the objective of strengthening public accountability of some of the important social sector programmes, which account huge resource mobilisation such as the flagship
programmes. Conceived on the lines of Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the IMF, the body has been created on the basis of international experiences, in cooperation with the World Bank and the British DFID (Department for International Development)—it is modeled on the lines of Mexico’s National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy.

Explanation: NITI Aayog, is designed to live up to the principle of ‘Team India’ with its following officially demarcated functions:
1. Cooperative and Competitive Federalism: It will be the ‘primary platform’ for operationalising cooperative federalism, enabling states to have active participation in the formulation of national policy, as well as achieving time-bound implementation of quantitative and qualitative targets through the combined authority of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers.
2. Shared National Agenda: It will ‘evolve’ a shared vision of national development priorities and strategies, with the active involvement of the states. This will provide the framework ‘national agenda’ for the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers to implement.
3. State’s Best Friend at the Centre: It will support states in addressing their own challenges, as well as building on strengths and comparative advantages. This will be through various means, such as coordinating with ministries, championing their ideas at the Centre, providing ‘consultancy’ support and ‘building capacity’.