DAILY PRELIMS IN DETAIL (02/06/2020) & (03/06/2020)

*DAILY PRELIMS IN DETAIL*

(02/06/2020) & (03/06/2020)

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Qn.1) With reference to WISTEMM program recently seen in the news, consider the following statements

1. It is an initiative by the Department of Science and Technology.

2. It provides opportunities to Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in the U.S.A.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (c) Both 1 and 2

👉NOTES: 

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM)”program is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology(DST).

Aim: To provide opportunities to Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in the U.S.A, to enhance their research capacities and capabilities.

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Qn.2) With reference to Input Tax Credit, Consider the following statements

1. It is the tax that a business pays on a purchase and that it can use to reduce its tax liability when it makes a sale.

2. Under GST rule it is available for any business.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (a) 1 only

👉NOTES: 

It is the tax that a business pays on a purchase and that it can use to reduce its tax liability when it makes a sale.

In simple terms, input credit means at the time of paying tax on output, you can reduce the tax you have already paid on inputs and pay the balance amount.

Restrictions imposed on the input tax credit, used by business establishments to reduce their tax liability, on inward supplies under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act have been challenged in the Rajasthan High Court with the plea that the amendment made to a rule to introduce the provision had imposed “unreasonable and arbitrary” conditions.

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Qn.3) With reference to National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), consider the following statements

1. The Mission aims at the establishment of 15 Technology Innovation Hubs across the country.

2. It will be implemented by the Department of Science &Technology .

3. The mission aims to provide free broadband connectivity in the coastal regions.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (a) 1 and 2 only

👉NOTES: 

The NM-ICPS is a comprehensive Mission which would address technology development, application development, human resource development & skill enhancement, entrepreneurship and start-up development in Cyber Physical System (CPS) and associated technologies.

The Mission aims at the establishment of 15 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIH), 6 Application Innovation Hubs (AIH) and 4 Technology Translation Research Parks (TTRP).

These Hubs & TTRPs will connect to Academics, Industry, Central Ministries and State Government in developing solutions at reputed academic, R&D and other organizations across the country in a hub and spoke model.

It will be implemented by the Department of Science &Technology under Ministry of Science and Technology for a period of five years

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has sanctioned Rs 7.25 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi to establish a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).

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Qn.4) With reference to OPEC+, consider the following statements

1. It is an alliance of Opec and non-Opec producers.

2. India is a member of this.

3. It aims to undertake production restrictions to help revive flailing market.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (c) 1 and 3 only

👉NOTES: 

Opec+ refers to the alliance of crude producers, who have been undertaking corrections in supply in the oil markets since 2017.

OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.

What are their goals?

The Opec and non-Opec producers first formed the alliance at a historic meeting in Algiers in 2016.

The aim was to undertake production restrictions to help resuscitate a flailing market.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, plans to raise its crude oil production significantly above 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, after the collapse of the OPEC+ supply cut agreement with Russia.

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Qn.5) With reference to PM Ujjwala Yojana, consider the following statements

1.  It is a scheme to provide LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households.

2. Under the initiative, half of the Indian states became kerosene free.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (a) 1 only

👉NOTES: 

It is a scheme aims to provide LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households.

Key features: A deposit-free LPG connection is given to eligible with the financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.

Target: The scheme gained traction with its ambit being expanded to include 80 million poor families from the earlier target of 50 million families with an additional allocation of Rs4,800 crore.

The government in September, 2019 met the target of eight crore LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

But, only three States have become kerosene free. These include- Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

Union Territories that have become kerosene-free are the Union Territories of Delhi, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Andaman & Nicobar Island and Puducherry.

Recently a Parliamentary committee’s observations on the performance of the PM Ujjwala Yojana has been released.

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