Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Polity & International Relations) – May 13, 2020

Features of the Regulating act of 1773:

• It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings.
• It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governor-general of Bengal (Centralization), unlike earlier, when the three presidencies were independent of one another.
• It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one chief justice and three other judges.
• It prohibited the servants of the Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the ‘natives’.
• It strengthened the control of the British Government over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India.

The Constituent Assembly.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the princely states.

The Indian Constitution also contains a large number of unitary or non-federal features, viz., a strong Centre, single Constitution, single citizenship, flexibility of Constitution, integrated judiciary, appointment of state governor by the Centre, all-India services, emergency provisions, and so on.

The features borrowed from Australian Constitution are:

• Concurrent List
• Freedom of trade
• Commerce and intercourse
• Joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament
• The language used in the Preamble

The Preamble is called the introduction letter of the Indian Constitution. The preamble was amended by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976, in which three new words Socialist, Secular, and Integrity were added.

Article 3 authorizes the Parliament to:

• form a new state by separation of territory from any state or by uniting two or more states or parts of states or by uniting any territory to a part of any state,
• increase the area of any state,
• diminish the area of any state,
• alter the boundaries of any state, and
• alter the name of any state.

An informal “coffee club”, comprising 40-odd member states, has been instrumental in holding back reforms to the United Nations Security Council over the past six years. Most members of the club are middle-sized states who oppose bigger regional powers grabbing permanent seats in the UN Security Council. The prime movers of the club include Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Argentina and Pakistan. While Italy and Spain are opposed to Germany’s bid for Security Council’s permanent membership, Pakistan is opposed to India’s bid. Similarly, Argentina is against Brazil’s bid and Australia opposes Japan’s. Canada and South Korea are opposed to developing countries, often dependent on their aid, wielding more power than them at the UN.

The Constitution of India provides for the following three kinds of funds for the Central government:

• Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266)
• Public Account of India (Article 266)
• Contingency Fund of India (Article 267)

Department of Political and Peace-building Affairs (DPPA).

Statement 1 is correct: The Department of Political and Peace-building Affairs (DPPA) plays a central role in United Nations efforts to prevent deadly conflict and build sustainable peace around the world. DPPA monitors and assesses global political developments with an eye to detecting potential crises and devising effective responses. The Department provides support to the Secretary-General and his envoys in their peace initiatives, as well as to UN political missions around the world.

Statement 2 is correct: The Department was established on 1 January 2019 following the reform of the United Nations peace and security infrastructure, which brought together the former Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and the United Nations Peace-building Support Office.

UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF): The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries.

Statement 1 is correct: UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; and by showing how localized investments—through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance—can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development.

Statement 2 is correct: By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation.