Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Polity & International Relations) – September 30, 2020

The Union executive consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the council of ministers, and the attorney general of India.

The President is elected not directly by the people but by members of the Electoral College consisting of:

• The elected members of both the Houses of Parliament;
• The elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states; and
• The elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.

Thus, the nominated members of both of Houses of Parliament, the nominated members of the state legislative assemblies, the members (both elected and nominated) of the state legislative councils (in case of the bicameral legislature) and the nominated members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry do not participate in the election of the President.

Source: Laxmikanth

The Finance Commission consists of a chairman and four other members to be appointed by the president.

• They hold office for such period as specified by the president in his order. They are eligible for reappointment.
• The Constitution authorizes the Parliament to determine the qualifications of members of the commission and the manner in which they should be selected.
• Accordingly, the Parliament has specified the qualifications of the chairman and members of the commission.

Source: Laxmikanth

The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister.

• Article 164 only says that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the governor. However, this does not imply that the governor is free to appoint anyone as the Chief Minister.
• In accordance with the conventions of the parliamentary system of government, the governor has to appoint the leader of the majority party in the state legislative assembly as the Chief Minister.
• But, when no party has a clear majority in the assembly, then the governor may exercise his discretion in the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister.
• In such a situation, the governor usually appoints the leader of the largest party or coalition in the assembly as the Chief Minister and asks him to seek a vote of confidence in the House within a month.

Source: Laxmikanth

The legislative assembly consists of representatives directly elected by the people based on universal adult franchise.

• However, in the case of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Goa, the minimum number is fixed at 30, and in the case of Mizoram and Nagaland, it is 40 and 46 respectively.
• Further, some members of the legislative assemblies in Sikkim and Nagaland are also elected indirectly.
• The governor can nominate one member from the Anglo-Indian community if the community is not adequately represented in the assembly.
• Originally, this provision was to operate for ten years (ie, up to 1960).
• But this duration has been extended continuously since then by 10 years each time.
• Now, under the 95th Amendment Act of 2009, this is to last until 2020.

Source: Laxmikanth

• Its maximum strength is fixed at 500 and minimum strength at 60.
• It means that its strength varies from 60 to 500 depending on the population size of the state.

The original Constitution did not contain provisions with respect to tribunals.

• The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added a new Part XIV-A to the Constitution.
• This part is entitled as Tribunals and consists of only two Articles—Article 323 A dealing with administrative tribunals and Article 323 B dealing with tribunals for other matters.

Source: Laxmikanth

Explanation: Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision with respect to an authoritative text of the Constitution in the Hindi language.

• Later, a provision in this regard was made by the 58^th Constitutional Amendment Act.
• This amendment inserted a new Article 394-A in the last part of the Constitution i.e., Part XXII.

This article contains the following provisions:

1. The President shall cause to be published under his authority:

• The translation of the Constitution in the Hindi language.
• The modifications which are necessary to bring it in conformity with the language, style, and terminology adopted in the authoritative texts of the Central Acts in Hindi can be made in it.
• All the amendments of the Constitution made before such publication should be incorporated in it.

The translation in Hindi of every amendment of the constitution is made in English.

2. The translation of the Constitution and its every amendment published shall be construed to have the same meaning as the original text in English. If any difficulty arises in this matter, the President shall cause the Hindi text to be revised suitably.
3. The translation of the Constitution and its every amendment published shall be deemed to be, for all purposes, its authoritative text in Hindi.

Source: Indiakanoon

Mekong- Ganga Cooperation is an initiative by six countries – India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam (Mekong passes through these five countries along with China).

• It seeks for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications. It was launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Laos.
• Both the Ganga and the Mekong are Civilization Rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river basins.

Source: Mekong – Ganga Cooperation Website

Explanation: India and Nepal have successfully concluded the ‘testing transfer’ of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil Pipeline.

• The 69-km long petroleum pipeline from Motihari in Bihar to Amelkhgunj in Nepal has been constructed by India.
• This is the first transnational petroleum pipeline from India, the first South Asian oil pipeline corridor, and the first oil pipeline in Nepal.
• It will ensure a smooth, cost-effective, and environment-friendly supply of petroleum products to Nepal.
• The Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline project was first proposed in 1996.
• The two governments had inked an agreement to execute the project in August 2015.

Source: The Hindu

Statement 1 is not correct: The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the development, production, and stockpiling of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, was opened for signature on 10 April 1972

• After being discussed and negotiated in the United Nations’ disarmament forum starting in 1969, the BWC opened for signature on April 10, 1972, and entered into force on March 26, 1975.
• It currently has 183 states-parties, including Palestine, and four signatories (Egypt, Haiti, Somalia, Syria, and Tanzania).
• Ten states have neither signed nor ratified the BWC (Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Israel, Kiribati, Micronesia, Namibia, South Sudan and Tuvalu).

Statement 2 is correct: India has ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and pledges to abide by its obligations.

• There is no clear evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that directly points toward an offensive BW program.
• India has defensive biological warfare (BW) capabilities and has conducted research on countering various diseases.
• India also has an extensive and advanced dual-use pharmaceutical industry.

Source: Biological Weapons Convention

The importance of India in South Korea’s foreign policy has risen in recent years.

• South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s “New Southern Policy” (NSP) attached primacy to strengthening the country’s economic and strategic relations with India, as well as the countries of Southeast Asia.
• It is the first time that South Korea has clearly designed a foreign policy initiative for India and officially documented it.

Source: The Hindu