Doubt Clearance Thread: UPSC 2021

One tip for medieval questions-

1. With respect to questions centred around politico-administrative machinery like Iqta system, Amar Nayaka system where a subsidiary unit gets some semblance of power, the status of these units is linked to the power of the King. It will beinversely proportional to the power of the king.

Eg: Iqta system was introduced by Iltutmish. He was a powerful Sultan. The kingdom was prosperous as well. So, Iqtadars were transferred at the whims and fancies of the Sultan.

Likewise, Vijayanagar kings were powerful. So, to assert their powers, they transferred Amar Nayakas at their own discretion.

Let's see a different scenario. During the reign of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, the kingdom was in tatters after the poor governance of his predecessor, Mohd. Bin Tughlaq. So, to appease the subsidiary units and to avoid a possible coup d'etat, he made the Iqta system hereditary. Shows how weak the king is when he is willing to share his power with other groups!

Likewise, Britishers introduced Permanent Settlement to ensure that they continue to assert their power. The Sunset revenue clause meant the land was transferrable and not a hereditary commodity anymore!

This kind of logic will help you answer other questions related to society, polity and economy of medieval dynasties.

Coming to the question now-

1 is correct. 2 is correct because they were indeed given independent territories to govern that explains why rebellious amar nayakas started troubling the successor of Krishna Deva Raya. (Kings became weak, so nayakas asserted power). They acted like feudal lords- got the land tax-free (manyams) and collected the revenue. 

3 is also correct as discussed.

Borrowing goes to your capital account (receipts), but it does create debt obligations. The interest paid on this capital you borrowed becomes the part of revenue account (expenditure). More borrowings mean higher debt obligations which increases your revenue expenditure, and hence, the CAD! 

If changes to be notified are such that amendments would amount to change of the identity of the parent act itself, it is best practice to introduce a new law. It's one of the best practices in policymaking. Both these acts sought to introduce radical changes. Eg: CoPrA, 2019 introduced even the definition of consumer, the entity for which the act exists!

Secondly, sometimes the reason is political too. The ruling party intends to cast a legacy of good governance through new acts.
There are no rules as such.

No. Do reverse engineering!

If a law could be struck down for being violative of Preamble that would make Preamble justiciable in nature. What it means is Preamble would be put on the same pedestal as fundamental rights!

That is certainly not the case. Preamble is not justiciable/enforceable.

RPA Act, 1951 does not talk about the right to vote of an MP who is disqualified. Here, the explicit mention is missing. So, whatever is applicable for a lay citizen, is applicable for the MPs as well.

That being said, it categorically states thatprisoners are not allowed to vote. Prisoners, according to the act, include both the undertrials and the convicted persons. 

In another provision,the act allows those who are under preventive detention to vote.

In another provision, you'll find the mention thatthose who have been convicted for an offence that attracts imprisonment of 2 years or less, are eligible to contest elections.Reading this provision with aforementioned one, means that such a person will be eligible to contest, but cannot vote in the election! A dichotomous position! Yes, it exists and must be sorted out.

Summarily put, if someone is in prison (except preventive detention cases), he's not allowed to vote!

 However, it must be noted that the provision is not related to the disqualification of MP per se, but in general, applicable for all citizens. So, definitely applicable on the MPs.

This question should have been framed properly!

It is true.

The RPA Act, 1951 does mention this provision.See Chapter IV of the RPA, 1951

The Xth schedule categorically excluded the jurisdiction of any court pertaining to a matter concerning disqualification of an MP. However, the relevant paragraph (7) in the schedule was rendered lifeless after verdict inKihoto Hollohan casein 1992. The SC arrogated to itself the power to intervene in such matters. Hence, the last statement is correct. SC indeed is the final arbiter in unresolved matters dealing with disqualification. 

Judicial precedent is the source of this law and not the constitution.

C is the monetary policy measure, not fiscal policy. 

CSIR and LIC are state-entities. 

NCERT is a special case. Read CM Khanna case. It is not considered as State because the govt doesn't give substantial finance to the body. 

Judiciary in administrative capacity is State under Article 12. In administrative capacity, it's like any other public authority, hence it comes under the definition of state. 

Schemes related to environment are not covered by Mrunal. Rest all covered. No need to refer any other material.

No. wMAs are always collateral-free loans.The very fact that this route is taken under exigencies means they must not put borrower under any obligation to avail the loans!

So, the Central government can avail loans without collateral under wMA. The limits on such loans are mutually decided by the RBI and the govt. This limit may be breached too. In that condition, the loan available is considered under overdraft and thus, a higher interest rate is charged.

The States have one extra mechanism available that gets triggered before the wMA. wMA is always collateral-free loans. But, the states can also take loans from the RBI by pledging securities. This mechanism available only to them is called Special drawing facility. There is a limit to that as well. If the states want more money over the limit, they can now get collateral-free (wMAs) loans.

You can go briefly through the recommendations ofSumit Bose committeeon wMAs for states. Will take 10 minutes!

Interest rate is all about risk-assessment. If risk is less, borrowing rates will be depressed than normal. Lower rates below the repo rate is because-

1. It is applicable only for SDF (not wMA) which is collateral-based loan facility. So, even if defaults happen, less worries.

2. The state governments investment in GSecs is assessed before loans are lent. Those who have invested more, have higher SDF limit.

3. The very fact that wMA is at repo rate, it being a collateral-free loan. You can't have collateral-based loan at parity with a collateral-free loan. Risks are different. So, 1% less rate for SDF.

Can someone help me with the SFG Batch 2 schedule? I am unable to access the excel sheet. It throws an error- 

Sorry, unable to open the file at this time.

Please check the address and try again.

Article 309 read with Article 76implies the government can make rules with regards service conditions of Attorney General. So, the government has issued Law Officer (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987.

These rules state the term as 3 years. These are not fixed. He may be terminated from service anytime. The Attorney General is always at the pleasure of President.Take this as the gospel of truth!

Are you able to access it? This too is not working for me!

404. That’s an error.

The requested URL was not found on this server. That’s all we know.

Thanks a lot. This solves my problem completely. Appreciate it!

There are a few errors in the Laxmikant book that I feel must be shared with you all.

1. Private members can introduce the money bills. There is no bar.Please refer Rule 65 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in LS

Laxmikant says- Private members cannot introduce money bills.

2. The office of Chief whip is neither mentioned in the constitution nor in the Rules of Procedure, but it is mentioned in a parliamentary statute. See THE LEADERS AND CHIEF WHIPS OF RECOGNISED PARTIES AND GROUPS IN PARLIAMENT (FACILITIES) ACT, 1998

Laxmikant says- It is not mentioned even in a Parliamentary statute and is based on the conventions of the parliamentary government. This is wrong!

Please keep in mind these corrections. The UPSC doesn't pick questions from Laxmikant unlike these coaching institutes :)

The general practice is that SEC decides such a case.

However, this is in no way an absolute standard. Different states have different panchayat acts, the procedure may be different in some states.  It is upto the state legislatures to legislate on matters related to Panchayats + disqualification of Panchayat member doesn't fall under the compulsory provisions mandated for panchayats under 73rd CAA.

Such questions won't/CANNOT be asked in the exam as there is no standard procedure.

Not yet.

Please go through this thread. Some noble souls are doing excellent job.

https://forumias.com/post/detail/Prelims-2020-Preparing-Repeatedly-Asked-Questions-1599284307

There's a dedicated space on COVID-19 in the updated material of VISIONIAS PT365. I think that is all we need to know. It covers all aspects. That is all I'm referring to for COVID.

Not at all. No need to do these technological developments. They are still evolving. UPSC doesn't ask ambiguous techniques.

For COVID, these must be done-

1. Antigen, Antibodies

2. Immunity- acquired and innate

3. RT-PCR test, rapid antigen test, pool test, ELISA

4. Herd immunity

5. Epidemic, Pandemic

6. SARS, MERS, N-Cov viruses

7. DNA, RNA, Protein, Transcription, Translation, Blood fractionation process, Plasma therapy

8. Ro, R and terms associated like infectivity rate, incubation period

9. Vaccine nationalism, types of vaccines- recombinant, conjugate, RNA vaccines etc. 

10. Global coalitions for vaccine could be skimmed through once. 

If anything beyond this is asked, you don't have to worry because 99% junta wouldn't be knowing it too. Such a question will be put in the 'bouncer' category of this year! 

PDS is shared responsibility of Centre and States.National Food Security Actdefines food grains as rice, wheat or any such combination +whatever the Central government by an order specify.

This statutory sanction was used recently by the government to allow the distribution of pulses in the lockdown underPM Garib Kalyan Yojana.Earlier, the central govt agencies distributed rice, wheat, sugarcane and kerosene only. But, in some states, the state government has been distributing pulses for a very long time. 

These kind of trivia are not at all important from the exam point of view.

It's correct.
It is true that service conditions are to be determined by the Central government now. Hence, the Central government has kept the salary of CIC equivalent to that of CEC and for ICs equivalent to that of ECs.

The question is just play of words. It has used the word, "similar". Yes, they are similar.

CIC members are not eligible for reappointment.

ITCZ is the convergence zone =>It signifies where the low pressure region will be. The Sea Surface Temperature (SST) will be more in the belt. This will make the region conducive for cyclones. The trade winds will blow towards the ITCZ picking up the moisture from the sea + SST is also high =>convection will be significant.

The coriolis effect in the tropical region will allow these winds blowing towards the ITCZ to rotate anti-clockwise. If the depression is sufficient, cyclone forms.

Yes, GOI 1919 clearly defined the jurisdiction of central and provincial governments. RememberDyarchy. Many portfolios were transferred to provincial governments under "transferred subjects". But, the concern was that governor in these provincial governments was still powerful + crucial portfolios like finance was not given. This plagued the dyarchy.

Provincial autonomy is a somewhat different concept. Provinical autonomy meant the powers of the legislature was increased + some spheres were made autonomous, so to say, the British interference was limited in them. Hence, the use of keyword, "autonomy".

Under the dyarchy, there was no such restriction. Governor General and Governor could undo everything!

EXTREMELY STUPID QUESTION!

ECB regulations are changed every few months. UPSC won't ask those regulations  because these are tweaked frequently. All we need to know is what are ECBs. That's it!
I'm not aware of the current regulations.

Keep things simple and make your living easy :)

Also, with more aerosols, the reflective characteristic of the clouds is enhanced =>they reflect more Sunlight. (Asked in Pre'19)

More rainfall with more droplets + Less Sunlight reaches the Earth =>Global cooling type situation.

Context could be different. If aerosols absorb most of the Sunlight, they will prevent cloud formation. 
But, in general, the generally accepted version as per my knowledge is that aerosol provide the surface for the vapour and act as their condensation nuclei.

Could you please share the context in which it was mentioned?

Found an article on this- https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/aerosols-affect-cloud-cover-says-study-8280

Not necessarily. It depends on a lot of factors. Think of it this way. In the night, the absence of sunlight would mean a more pronounced effect of condensation and hence, clouds formation. In daytime, despite their abundance, aerosols might perform the activity of absorption more. Even the vapour droplets need a conducive temperature for condensation. Sunlight would deter both!

If we look at theagro-climatic zonesin India, the MP region is categorised underCentral Plateau and Hill regionby the Jal Shakti Ministry. The nomenclature itself is a dead giveaway!

Highlands are difficult for agriculture without irrigation infrastructure than lowlands(plains). The Western MP (the Malwa region) receives rainfall, but the Eastern MP (the Bundelkhand and Satpura region) is drought prone. MP is no match in front of Punjab, Haryana and Western UP.

More like cause-effect linkage.

The concern is the GHG that stays in the atmosphere for a longer period and their cumulative addition further keeps amplifying the effect of warming. 

Water vapour, although the most abundant GHG, is the part of hydrological cycle and stays in the atmosphere for a few days, months or so, unlike carbon-based compounds that stay for 100+ years. 

2. Yes, only pure hydrogen fuel would be zero-emission fuel in real sense. Biofuels, Compressed Bio gas etc. are all GHG emitting fuels, but their effect is net zero emissions. That is to say whatever carbon stock is captured from the atmosphere is released back when we burn them as biofuel. Hence, they are being preferred. 

It's correct. The answer will be none of the above. 

Article 17 can be amended by the Parliament. There's no bar. In case of emergency, only 20,21 cannot be suspended in any case. The enforcement of Article 17 is suspended in such a scenario. So, it's not absolute.

It's also applicable against individuals. Further, it is not self-executory because the Article clearly states that a law to that effect must be made defining it as an offence for the said purpose. 

It could be questioned on the grounds of Article 21. Article 17 is construed as Corollary to the Article 21. So, even without the existence of Article 17, you may get relief under Article 21. One more addition to the ever expanding list of constituents to define a dignified living. 

That being said, even if you argue that Article 17 cannot be taken away for 'some' reasons. Technically, Parliament can modify or even abolish Protection of Civil Rights Act that brings the Article 17 to life. Such an action itself will make Article 17 redundant. Since, it is not self-executory. 

Obviously, such an arbitrary action can be challenged in the courts and the courts might restore it. That doesn't mean it is unlawful for the Parliament to do so. 

Sorry I misread. 

Article 17 is not absolute. So, C should be correct. 

Obviously not if question is picked up from the popular book. They say it is absolute. 

It's very gray actually because not much discussion has been done on this Article. 

However, the SC in many judgements has iterated that fundamental rights are not absolute. So, it applies to Article 17 as well. 

If I'm not wrong (correct me), in the Sabarimala case it was pointed out that theenforcementof Article 17 has beenmade operative by PoCR Act. The context was that whether exclusion based on menstruation constitute a form of untouchability. 

If we declare a certain action as an offence, without defining as to how it is to be implemented for punitive purposes, can a mere endorsement enough to have it enforced? 

Um, I personally don't think so. (Please correct me) 

On the contrary, if a mere symbolism is done in the manner of a weak legislation like 100/- fines for practicing untouchability, it would  tantamount to diluting the essence of Article 17. Wouldn't it? 

I think a legislation, wherever necessary, is equally important to bring such kind of fundamental rights to life. 

ECBs are mostly raised on floating interest rates that are volatile. The principal amount is a part of Capital account, However, the interests are to be paid yearly and hence, are a part of Current Account. So, ECBs can widen CAD courtesy the interest payments!

Few rules I adhere to-

1. Reverse engineering: I assume all are correct and read each of the statements with the question. I get 4 complete sets of dataset. Then, I explore the possible linkage. This exercise helps me get rid of at least one option in 90% of the cases. 

Eg: Official poverty lines are higher because GSDP in the states vary. Assumed true. But, how? Can't see any linkage. Ummmmm!!!! Ridiculous. Must be wrong. But, the three other options did convince me of a possible relation.

2. I connect the question asked with the related topic I studied. This is on Poverty. So, I would also think whether there was any possible correlation explored, amongst the options and the question asked, in the material/notes/chapters I read for poverty. May not be useful at times because of the blurred distinction in the way topics are asked (When there's overlap across the subjects). But, sometimes it is ridiculously beneficial in eliminating options that are close.

3. Intuition?

A particular dataset (made as above) giving a more nuanced, convincing knowledge, sounding rational + uses a unit level keyword/concept (prices) to give a substantive scheme of things =Akkad Bakkadit and move on! Only if, in dire need to answer the question.

In short, it comes to one's own understanding and comprehensive skills to interpret the meaning to get closer to the answer. I too am looking for some mindblowing suggestions to tackle these!

Not as a thumb rule.

1. Parliament has exclusive powers to legislate where it is mentioned explicitly. Eg 33,34,35

2. In all other cases, the legislative jurisdiction follows the principles of Seventh Schedule. Article 12 explicitly mentions that "the State" includes State legislatures as well. State legislatures have made many laws on rights that case a positive obligation on the State.(read as in Article 12)

We must also bear in mind that rights that cast negative injunction on the State (within Article 12) are sole prerogative of the Parliament to legislate for the sake of uniformity of enforcement across the territory (within  Article 1) of India. The book might be trying to convey this message.
However, it must be made abundantly clear that unless a state law violates FRs, it cannot be declared void just because it is a legislation concerning FRs! =>Such a state legislation will see light of the day.

We must also appreciate the minds of the makers of the Constitution. Take a look at Article 16. Article 16(3) mentions the word "Parliament" and blah blah. The very next, Article 16(4) uses the word "State" and blah blah.

These words have been carefully weighed up and written. We cannot discount the wisdom inherent in them in a casual manner. 

1. Please put the question for better contextualisation. From what I understood, FDIs and FIIs don't affect your CAD directly, but they do help in reducing the import bills if they are targeted in sectors that see high imports. Say, an FDI comes in for oil extraction from Mumbai High and we hit a jackpot in oil reserves that were hidden earlier.

2. For quite sometime, we are funding our CAD with Capital Account Surplus. FDIs help in that regard. But, instead of taking the ECB route that needs debt servicing from the Current Account, in effect, reinforcing the deficit till perpetuity- we prefer the FDI route. With FDI, there is no such obligation. True.

3. NIIP is a different indicator. It reveals about our creditworthiness. USA is the most indebted country in the world, yet the investors devour the country for investment purposes. A negative NIIP might also indicate a generally decent ecosystem for foreign investors.

Examrobot. 

Refer to Amit Sengupta videos on YouTube. He has covered geography NCERTs really well. 

Thanks for helping me get the blue tick, community. Hope I get the green one soon :)

*Commenting on my favourite thread*

It would not be prudent to read all the monthly magazines at this time. I would have done these things-

1. Any PT compilation (Vision or Rau's)

2. CA MCQs for T-12 months from any test series. T-24 months, if you think you'd be able to handle it with your static preparation. Use any test series for CA or SFG weekend tests that cater to current affairs portion entirely.

Down To Earth's annual issue- State of India’s Environment 2021would be a very good read for CSE 21. You may read it selectively.

https://csestore.cse.org.in/books/state-of-india-s-environment/state-of-india-s-environment-2021.html

They have revealed the index and the introduction to the issue in the link attached.

TheOfficial Languages Act, 1963provides for English and Hindi as the official languages for the transaction of business in Parliament. This is supported by certain provisions in theRules of Procedure of the LS and the RS. Any petition for the conduct of any business shall be either in Hindi or in English. However, the rules also allow a petition in any other Indian language provided it is accompanied by a translation either in Hindi or in English.

Moreover,Article 120allows an MP who is unable to express himself/herself in either Hindi or English to, with the permission of the Speaker/Chairperson, address the House in their mother tongue.

Let's come back to question now-Can any of the languages mentioned in the 8th schedule be used for the transaction of business of Parliament?

Yes, but not without Hindi or English being used in some form.

Legal practice is not only about hearings in court. It is also about many other things like advising on a case, on a piece of evidence related to a case, and so on. These activities happen outside the courtroom.

A brief is just a legal document that contains names of petitioners, facts of the case, their arguments stating why they should get relief, previous judicial pronouncements/ case laws supporting their claim, and so on.

The law officers (AG, SGs, ASGs) are allowed to accept private briefs. Accepting a private brief is allowed as long as they do not use it to appear against the government. They may accept a brief to advise a private party, appear for a party against a private party. When the AG accepts a brief it essentially means that he has all the details of the case, nothing more.

As you rise up the ladder, your time becomes immensely important in any organization/hierarchy. Even senior advocates and many advocates practicing in the SC and HCs do not do that.  So, they have a team of young interns for drafting and related paperwork. One cannot expect AG to do such kind of work. He'd be wasting his otherwise productive time.

As far as briefs are concerned, they are prepared specifically by brief writers who have the expertise in the work.

He may also appear for them if the other litigant is not the government.

Only for two sets of people-

1. Scheduled Tribes

2. Other traditional forest dwellers =>People who have been residing in the forest area (which is now a national park or biosphere reserve) for at least 3 generations (75 years). The cutoff date to ascertain this group is Dec 2005.

This essentially implies that only those groups of people who have been living in the forest areas prior to this date and subject to them satisfying the criteria of stay for at least 3 generations get such rights. (Apart from STs)

I'd discuss the judgement first.

Section 433-A of the Cr.P.C.restricts the right of the state to suspend the sentence of imprisonment for life imposed on conviction of a person for an offencefor which death is one of the punishments provided by law.So, it pertains to cases where a convict has been sentenced for life (not death)! As pointed out, the article is confusing. 

So, Section 433A says that such person shall not be released from prison unless he has served at least 14 years of imprisonment. On the other hand, the power conferred on the Governor (Article 161) is without any restriction of the actual period of imprisonment undergone by the prisoner. Thus, if a convict has undergone more than 14 years of actual imprisonment, the State Government is competent to pass an order of premature release. However, if the prisoner has not undergone 14 years or more of actual imprisonment, the Governor has a power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person notwithstanding the restrictions imposed under Section 433A.

If someone is on death row, then there's no point keeping him incarcerated for 14 years! In fact, if I remember clearly, the Courts have reverted death sentence to lower grade punishment wherein State has delayed the execution of death sentence.

With respect to the pardoning power of Governor in cases of death sentence-

The pardoning power of President overrides the pardoning power of Governor in certain cases. This idea is expressed through Article 72(3)-

Nothing in sub-clause (c) of clause (1) shall affect the power to suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death exercisable by the Governor* of a State under any law for the time being in force.

This essentially means that, in so far as the exercise of pardoning power is with respect to- 

1. Suspension of a death sentence

2. Remission of a death sentence

3. Commutation of a death sentence....

the Governor's pardoning power is not sub-ordinate to that of President's. However, with respect to pardon of a death sentence, the President is the only authority. We understand this from a combined reading of Article 72(1)(c) and Article 72(3). If the objective of the Constitution were to make the power of the President and that of the Governor in all cases where the sentence is sentence of death co-extensive, Article 72(3) would not have saved only the power of the Governor to suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death!

So, the Pardoning power of President and Governor with respect to death sentence is not co-extensive! The President can grant pardon for a death sentence, but the Governor cannot!

Liquid oxygen or pure oxygen has high affinity for organic compounds.Our body has plenty of them. It would directly interfere with our body metabolism. That's why, pressure at which oxygen is supplied to those needing it is also monitored minutely to avoid any adverse events during medical intervention.

We need a bit of everything in right sizes to survive!

For contesting elections, the parties would need election symbols. These are alloted by the ECI to registered parties only. For the purpose of elections, parties also need to submit scanned copies of annual audited accounts, contribution reports, statements of election expenditure etc. Unless they are not registered with the ECI, it would be difficult to regulate such entities. Hence, registration is mandatory.

For the purpose of elections, all parties must be registered in accordance with Section 29a of the RPA. Parties which are registered and do not qualify as state/national party areregistered unrecognised parties. If they meet a certain criteria of percentage of votes secured, seats won etc., they are known as recognised parties.

Hope it's clear!

Haven't seen it. Found Lukmaan IAS material good.

That is there, but usually such decisions are not driven by the substantive essence underlying democracy but electoral calculations. That's why its problematic.

India has 'too much of democracy'! 

Which district in Bihar?