UPSC Weekly Quiz— December 11 to 17, 2022

Question 1

With reference to the Indian economy, consider the following statements :

1. Retail inflation is measured by using the Wholesale Price Index (WPI); that is why it is often called WPI-based inflation.

2. Core inflation is the change in prices of goods and services related to food and energy sectors.

3. By law, the RBI is required to maintain inflation at a 4 per cent level with a leeway of two percentage points on either side of 4 per cent in any particular month.

Which of the above statements are incorrect ?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1 only

Question 2

Recently seen in news, ‘Geminids’ are:

(a) Cryptocurrency trading platforms which created an association with financial institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

(b) JAXA’s space mission to clarify the origin and evolution of the solar system.

(c) Twitter’s new policy revolving around revealing of someone’s intimate information.

(d) Meteor showers.

Question 3

With reference to review petition, consider the following statements:

1. Only parties to a case can seek a review of the judgment on it.

2. The Constitution gives, under Article 137, the Supreme Court the power to review any of its judgments or orders.

3. When a review takes place, the law allows the court to take fresh stock of the case.

Which of the above statements are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Question 4

With reference to nuclear fusion and fission reactions, consider the following statements:

1. A large amount of energy is released in both these processes, but substantially more in fusion than fission.

2. Fusion is a carbon-free source of energy, and has negligible radiation risks.

3. Fusion reactions happen only at very high temperatures, 10 times the temperature that exists at the core of the Sun.

Which of the following statements are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Question 5

Which of the following statements is not true with respect to New Pension Scheme (NPS)?

(a) The shift to NPS was undertaken due to concerns over the coverage, sustainability, and scalability of the old pension framework.

(b) PFRDA is the regulator for NPS.

(c) Only government employees are eligible under NPS.

(d) The NPS proposed by the Project OASIS report became the basis for pension reforms.

Question 6

Operation Jackpot is related to

(a) Boston Tea Party

(b) Boko Haram insurgency

(c) World War II

(d) Bangladesh Liberation War

Question 7

‘Fraternity is only another name for democracy’ was said by:

(a) Sardar Patel

(b) BR Ambedkar

(c) Martin Luther King Jr.

(d) Rajendra Prasad

Question 8

‘Lockerbie attack’ relates to:

(a) the biggest terrorist attack to be carried out on UK soil.

(b) the AIIMS cyberattack.

(c) Russia-Ukraine War.

(d) Russian spy mission on US soil.

ANSWERS

1 (a)

1 and 2 are incorrect

Retail inflation is measured by using the Consumer Price Index (CPI); that is why it is often called CPI-based inflation. Essentially it maps the price level that a retail consumer faces as against wholesale inflation, which is measured using the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

Core inflation is the change in prices of goods and services, except for those from the food and energy sectors.

FYI

Retail inflation for November has fallen below 6 per cent, the upper limit of the RBI’s extended comfort zone. According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday (December 12), retail inflation for November stood at 5.88 per cent. The inflation rate has moderated sharply over the past two months from 7.41 per cent in September to 6.77 per cent in October to under 6 per cent now.

By law, the RBI, India’s central bank, is required to maintain inflation at a 4 per cent level. However, the law provides a leeway of two percentage points on either side of 4 per cent in any particular month. This means retail inflation can be between 2 per cent and 6 per cent.

However, retail inflation has been above 6 per cent through 2022. This has resulted in RBI having to explain to the government and Parliament why it failed to contain retail inflation.

High core inflation — it has stayed at and around the 6 per cent mark almost right through the year — suggests that high prices have seeped through the broader economy. In other words, everything from clothes to houses is costlier now — not just food and fuel prices, which tend to fluctuate rapidly. In November, too, core inflation rose further.

The trouble with high core inflation is that it takes a long time to moderate. As a result, it is quite likely that RBI will continue to maintain its hawkish stance for some more time.

2 (d)

NASA describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”. If their peak coincides with the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing. This year however, the moon is bright, and so only 30-40 meteors per hour will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere. “But the Geminids are so bright that this should still be a good show,” NASA says.

FYI

This year, the Geminids peaked around December 13-14, when, with a clear sky and away from bright city lights, you can watch scores of meteors streak across the sky.

What causes meteor showers?

Meteors are usually fragments of comets. As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.

According to NASA, “Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids. When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.”

What makes the Geminids unique?

NASA describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”. If their peak coincides with the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing. This year however, the moon is bright, and so only 30-40 meteors per hour will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere. “But the Geminids are so bright that this should still be a good show,” NASA says.

The Geminids are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon. The 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983. It is named after the Greek mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios. It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun. As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off. When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.

And why are they called Geminids?

That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate. According to NASA, “The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. The constellation is not the source of the meteors. Also, you should not look only to the constellation of Gemini to view the Geminids – they are visible throughout the night sky.”

3 (b)

A judgment of the Supreme Court becomes the law of the land, according to the Constitution. It is final because it provides certainty for deciding future cases. However, the Constitution gives, under Article 137, the Supreme Court the power to review any of its judgments or orders.

This departure from the Supreme Court’s final authority is entertained under specific, narrow grounds. So, when a review takes place, the law is that it is allowed not to take fresh stock of the case but to correct grave errors that have resulted in the miscarriage of justice.

It is not necessary that only parties to a case can seek a review of the judgment on it. As per the Civil Procedure Code and the Supreme Court Rules, any person aggrieved by a ruling can seek a review. However, the court does not entertain every review petition filed.

FYI

On Saturday, the Supreme Court rejected a review petition filed by Bilkis Bano, reported Bar and Bench. The petition challenged the apex court’s May order that permitted the Gujarat government to decide on the remission of the 11 convicts who gangraped her and murdered seven members of her family during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat.
Bilkis’s plea against the top court’s May 13 judgment claimed that the remission policy of the State of Maharashtra instead of Gujarat should apply in her case, since the trial in the case had happened in Maharashtra.

On what grounds can a petitioner seek a review of an SC verdict?

In a 2013 ruling, the Supreme Court itself laid down three grounds for seeking a review of a verdict it has delivered — the discovery of new and important matter or evidence which, after the exercise of due diligence, was not within the knowledge of the petitioner or could not be produced by him; mistake or error apparent on the face of the record; or any other sufficient reason. In subsequent rulings, the court specified that “any sufficient reason” means a reason that is analogous to the other two grounds.

In another 2013 ruling (Union of India v. Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores Ltd), the court laid down nine principles on when a review is maintainable. “A review is by no means an appeal in disguise whereby an erroneous decision is reheard and corrected but lies only for patent error,” the court said. It added that the mere possibility of two views on the subject cannot be a ground for review.

What if a review petition fails?

As the court of last resort, the Supreme Court’s verdict cannot result in a miscarriage of justice. In Roopa Hurra v Ashok Hurra (2002), the court itself evolved the concept of a curative petition, which can be heard after a review is dismissed to prevent abuse of its process. A curative petition is also entertained on very narrow grounds like a review petition, and is generally not granted an oral hearing.

4 (d)

A large amount of energy is released in both these processes, but substantially more in fusion than fission. For example, the fusion of two nuclei of a heavier isotope of hydrogen, called tritium, produces at least four times as much energy as the fission of a uranium atom which is the normal process of generating electricity in a nuclear reactor. Besides greater energy yield, fusion is also a carbon-free source of energy, and has negligible radiation risks.
But fusion reactions happen only at very high temperatures, 10 times the temperature that exists at the core of the Sun, and creating such an extreme environment in a laboratory requires huge amounts of energy.

FYI

Scientists in the United States have, for the first time, achieved a net gain in energy from a nuclear fusion reaction, seen as a big step forward in the decades-old endeavour to master a technology that is considered the most dependable source of energy in future.

Fusion is a different, but more powerful, way of harnessing the immense energy trapped in the nucleus of an atom. This is the process that makes the Sun and all other stars shine and radiate energy. Attempts to master the fusion process have been going on at least since the 1950s, but it is incredibly difficult and is still at an experimental stage.
The nuclear energy currently in use across the world comes from the fission process, in which the nucleus of a heavier element is split into those of lighter elements in a controlled manner. In fusion, nuclei of two lighter elements are made to fuse together to form the nucleus of a heavier atom.

5 (c)

Resident as well as non-resident Indians in the age group of 18-60 years (as on the date of submission of NPS application) can invest.

Over the last eight years, the NPS has built a robust subscriber base, and its assets under management have increased. As on October 31, 2022, the Central government had 23,32,774 subscribers, and states had 58,99,162 subscribers. The corporate sector had 15,92,134 subscribers, and the unorganized sector 25,45,771. There were 41,77,978 subscribers under the NPS Swavalamban scheme. The total assets under management of all these subscribers stood at Rs 7,94,870 crore as on October 31, 2022.

FYI

The issue of the old pension scheme (OPS) versus the new pension scheme (NPS) has dominated news since a long time now. Some state governments recently announced their plan to implement the old pension scheme (OPS) by replacing the National Pension Scheme (NPS).

Under the OPS, retired employees received 50 per cent of their last drawn salary as monthly pensions. NPS is a contributory pension scheme under which employees contribute 10 per cent of their salary (Basic + Dearness Allowance). The Government contributes 14 per cent towards the employees’ NPS accounts.

In a nutshell, the detractors of the OPS argue that it is fiscally unsustainable — that is, governments in India do not have the money to fund it — while the detractors of NPS call NPS politically unsustainable — that is, it fails to address the felt needs of the people.

6 (d)

The Operation Jackpot was a codename for three operations undertaken by Bengali Mukti Bahini in former East Pakistan against the Federation of Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

FYI

Vijay Diwas or Victory Day is commemorated on December 16, marking the end of the 1971 Indo-Pak War and the liberation of Bangladesh. India declared victory on this day 51 years ago after Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender.

7 (b)

FYI

Last week, people across the country observed Mahaparinirvan Diwas, or the death anniversary of the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr Bhimrao Ramji ‘Babasaheb’ Ambedkar, who passed away on December 6, 1956. His death came less than two months after he had converted to Buddhism — ‘Parinirvan’ can be translated as ‘nirvan’ after death, or freedom from the cycles of life and death.

Throughout his writings and speeches, Dr Ambedkar elaborated on ideas of anti-casteism, democracy, the dignity of the oppressed, social mobility, etc. His landmark text, Annihilation of Caste, takes a critical look at the existence of the caste system in India, and why it must go for the country to fully transition into a democracy.

8 (a)

FYI

Authorities in Scotland said Sunday (December 12) that a Libyan man named Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, suspected of making the bomb that destroyed a passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 is in US custody. The majority of those killed in the explosion were Americans.

The Lockerbie bombing was the biggest terrorist attack to be carried out on UK soil. Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said in a statement: “Scottish prosecutors and police, working with the UK government and US colleagues, will continue to pursue this investigation, with the sole aim of bringing those who acted along with al-Megrahi to justice.”

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