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The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• At just 4% in rural and 6.5% in urban areas, Bihar had the lowest female labour force participation rate (LFPR).
• The discriminatory complexity of women's job, which magnify the issue of undercounting them in the labour force, are one of the causes of Bihar's low level of female work participation rate.
• According to the distribution of workers by job status, 40% of the female workers in Bihar were either working on their own dime (32.3%) or as assistants in household businesses (7.7%).
• The majority of job opportunities are still being offered by the primary sector. 66.8% of female workers were employed in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries.

The correct answer is Kishanganj.

Key PointsKishanganj

• Located in the northeast of Bihar Kishanganj became a separate district in 1990.
• Ginger, turmeric, and garlic are the main cash crops, Kishanganj is well-known for its diversified range of industries.
• These include
• Plywood
• Tea Processing Plants
• Jute
• Poultry Farming
• Cottage
• Silk Animal husbandry is another main economic activity of this district.
• With adequate support from Government institutions, this region has grown into a bustling commercial hub.

Confusion PointsNote:  This Question is canceled as per the provisional answer key published by the BPSC. The question doesn't specify such a district amongst the given (following) 3 districts only or all districts in Bihar or in India. So it should be deleted.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• The sex ratio in Bihar has significantly improved, according to the National Family Survey-5, which was published by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on November 24, 2021. From 1062 in the 2015–16 survey (NFHS–4), it has risen to 1090.
• In Bihar, the sex ratio (the proportion of girls to males per thousand) has risen to 1090 from 1062 in the previous survey.
• Bihar's rural parts have a sex ratio of 1111 while its urban areas only have a sex ratio of 982.
• Bihar's infant mortality rate has decreased from 48.1 (per thousand) in the previous survey to 46.8 (per thousand).
• In Bihar, there has been a significant improvement in the area of family planning. Only 24.1% of Bihar women between the ages of 15 and 49 were reported to have used family planning in NFHS-4; this number rose to 55.8% in NFHS-5.

The correct answer is option 1.

Key Points

• On the first day of the budget session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tarkishore Prasad delivered a speech on the floor of the House outlining the 16^th Economic Survey of the state for 2021–2022.
• Despite the effects of the "lockdown" implemented to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, Bihar's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) increased by 2.5 percent in 2020–21, which is better than the national average.
• Bihar experienced the highest rates of growth in the primary sector (2.3%), secondary sector (4.8%), and tertiary sector (8.5%) over the past five years (2016–17 to 2020–21).
• Over the past five years, from 2016–17 to 2020–21, growth in the state's agriculture and related sectors has been 2.1%.

Gross State Domestic Product

• The gross state domestic product (GSDP) is the sum of the market values of all final products and services produced inside a state in a certain time period, often a year.
• The GSDP is a crucial metric for assessing socioeconomic progress and the expansion of various economic sectors. Therefore, the GSDP estimations are crucial for academics, administrators, planners, and policy makers.

The correct answer is 

Key PointsBihar’s Economy

• Bihar’s GSDP (at constant prices) grew by 2.5% in 2020-21, which is less than the growth rate of 7.4% in 2019-20. In 2020-21, the agriculture sector as well as the services sector registered a marginal contraction.
• Bihar’s growth rate in 2020-21 was higher than the growth in national GDP (which registered a negative growth of 6.6% in 2020-21). Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
• In 2020-21, at current prices, agriculture, manufacturing, and services sectors contributed to 24%, 15%, and 61% of the economy.
• The per capita GSDP of Bihar in 2020-21 (at current prices) was Rs 50,555; 2.6% higher than the corresponding figure in 2019-20.
• In comparison, per capita GDP at the national level was Rs 1,46,087 in 2020-21 (at current prices).
• Further, Bihar’s per capita GSDP in 2020-21 was the lowest among all states in the country.

The correct answer is 1,2 and 3

Key PointsSEZ Act,2005

• An SEZ is a territory within a country that is typically duty-free (Fiscal Concession) and has different business and commercial laws chiefly to encourage investment and create employment.
• SEZs are created also to better administer these areas, thereby increasing the ease of doing business.

SEZs in India:

• Asia’s first EPZ (Export Processing Zones) was established in 1965 at Kandla, Gujarat.
• While these EPZs had a similar structure to SEZs, the government began to establish SEZs in 2000 under the Foreign Trade Policy to redress the infrastructural and bureaucratic challenges that were seen to have limited the success of EPZs.
• The Special Economic Zones Act was passed in 2005. The Act came into force along with the SEZ Rules in 2006.
• However, SEZs were operational in India from 2000 to 2006 (under the Foreign Trade Policy).
• India’s SEZs were structured closely with China's successful model.
• Presently, 379 SEZs are notified, out of which 265 are operational. About 64% of the SEZs are located in five states – Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• The Board of Approval is the apex body and is headed by the Secretary, Department of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce and Industry).
• The Baba Kalyani led committee was constituted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to study the existing SEZ policy of India and had submitted its recommendations in November 2018.
• It was set up with a broad objective to evaluate the SEZ policy towards making it WTO (World Trade Organisation) -compatible and to bring in global best practices to maximise capacity utilisation and to maximise potential output of the SEZs.

Objectives of the SEZ Act:

• To create additional economic activity.
• To boost the export of goods and services.
• To generate employment.
• To boost domestic and foreign investments.
• To develop infrastructure facilities.

The correct answer is More than one of the above.

Key Points

Public Distribution System (PDS):

• The Public distribution system (PDS) is an Indian food Security System established under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
• PDS evolved as a system of management of scarcity through the distribution of food grains at affordable prices.
• It has helped stabilise food prices and make food available to the poor at affordable prices.
• It maintains the buffer stock of food grains in the warehouse so that the flow of food remain active even during period of less agricultural food production.
• It has helped in the redistribution of grains by supplying food from surplus regions of the country to deficient regions. Hence, option 1 is correct.

Minimum Support Price (MSP):

• The MSP is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers, and is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
• MSP is a “minimum price” for any crop that the government considers as remunerative for farmers and hence deserving of “support”.
• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative prices (FRP) for sugarcane. Hence, option 2 is correct.

Buffer Stock:

• Buffer stocks refer to a pool of certain commodities like Rice, Wheat, etc which are maintained to provide food security and tackle unforeseen emergencies like drought, famine, wars, etc.
• In India, the buffer stocks are maintained by the public sector.
• The purchase of food grains from farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) relieves them of the need to sell their goods at a loss and guarantees them a fair return on their investment.
• To meet the objective of supplying every Indian person with sufficient food for their sustenance, or preserving food security, buffer stocks of food grains are maintained. Hence, option 3 is correct.

The correct answer is S. V. S. Raghavan Committee.

Key Points

S. V. S. Raghavan Committee:

• S. V. S. Raghavan is an Indian industrialist and the former head of Bharat Business International Limited (BBIL).
• The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002, on the recommendations of the Raghavan committee.
• In view of rapid globalisation, the government embarked upon a policy of promoting competition and framed a competition policy in 2000 following the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee in October 1999.

​Competition Act, 2002:

• The Competition Act, of 2002  is a law that governs commercial competition in India.
• It replaced the erstwhile Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, of 1969.
• The Competition Act aims to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India.
• The Act mainly covers these aspects;
• Prohibition of anti-competitive agreements.
• Prohibition of abuse of dominance.
• Regulation of combination (acquisition, mergers, and amalgamation of a certain size)
• Establishment of the competition commission of India.
• Power and functions of the competition commission of India.

The correct answer is a - 4, b - 1, c - 3, d - 2

Key Points

• Grey Revolution: Grey revolution is related to increased fertilizer production. It is basically associated with the mal effects of the green revolution of India focusing on what can happen if the new agricultural equipment turns things wrong.
• Pink Revolution: The "pink revolution" refers to a revolution in the production of onions, drugs, and prawns.
• Silver Revolution: The production of eggs was tremendously increased during the Silver Revolution phase. The increased production of eggs was made possible due to medical science and more protein-rich food for the hens.
• Red Revolution:- The red revolution was an agricultural reform in India that resulted in an increase in tomato and meat production. It was led by Vishal Tewari, who is the father of the red revolution in India.

The correct answer is None of the above.

Key Points

• The 8^th Five-Year Plan recognized human development as the core of all developmental efforts.
• The Eighth Five-Year Plan was launched on 1^st April 1992.
• The Plan Document was approved by the National Development Council in its forty-fourth meeting held in May 1992.
• The Fifth Five-Year Plan laid stress on employment, poverty alleviation (Garibi Hatao), and justice. The plan also focused on self-reliance in agricultural production and defense.
• Seventh Five-Year Plan was to establish growth in areas of increasing economic productivity, production of food grains, and generating employment through "Social Justice".
• Ninth Five Year Plan India is to prioritize the agricultural sector and emphasize rural development. to generate adequate employment opportunities and promote poverty reduction.
• The current 5-year Plan is the 12^th 5-year plan.

Additional InformationFifth Five year plan:

• The Fifth Five-Year Plan of India (1974–1979) was formulated by the Indira Gandhi government.
• It focused on agriculture, poverty alleviation, employment generation and Human Resource Development.
• The plan also aimed to reduce social and economic inequality between different sections of society.

Employment Generation:

• One of the most important objectives of the Fifth Five-Year Plan was to create employment opportunities.
• It was estimated that about 50 lakh new jobs would be generated during the plan period.

Poverty Alleviation:

• Another objective of the plan was to alleviate poverty and increase economic growth.
• The target set for poverty alleviation was to bring down the number of people below the poverty line to 22 per cent by the end of the plan period.

Population Control:

• The Fifth Five-Year Plan is also aimed at population control measures.
• The target set for population control was to reduce the population growth rate to about two per cent per annum.

Important Points