Search Previous Year Questions

The correct is All of these.

Key Points

National Food Security Mission:

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which was launched in 2007.
• It Aims to increase the production of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals, and commercial crops, through area expansion and productivity enhancement.
• It works toward restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level and enhancing the farm-level economy.
• It further aims to augment the availability of vegetable oils and reduce the import of edible oils.

 Additional Information

Eight components under NFSM:

1. NFSM- Rice
2. NFSM-Wheat
3. NFSM-Pulses
4. NFSM-Coarse Cereals (Maize, Barley)
5. NFSM-Sub Mission on Nutri Cereals
6. NFSM-Commercial Crops
7. NFSM-Oilseeds and Oil palm
8. NFSM-SeedVillage Programme.

The correct answer is 'Progressive'.

Key Points

• Progressive Tax System in India:
• A progressive tax system is one where the tax rate increases as the taxable income increases. In other words, higher income earners pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes compared to lower income earners.
• This system is designed to reduce income inequality by placing a larger tax burden on those who have the ability to pay more.
• In India, income tax is a prime example of a progressive tax. The tax slabs increase with higher income brackets, ensuring that those with higher incomes contribute more to the government’s revenue.

Additional Information

• Other Types of Tax Systems:
• Degressive Tax: In this system, the tax rate decreases as the taxable amount increases. This means lower income earners pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes compared to higher income earners. India does not follow this system.
• Proportional Tax: Also known as a flat tax, this system charges the same percentage of tax on all income levels. Regardless of how much a person earns, they pay the same tax rate. India does not employ this tax system.
• Regressive Tax: This system imposes a higher tax burden on lower income earners relative to their income. Lower income earners pay a higher percentage of their income compared to higher income earners. Examples include certain consumption taxes like sales tax, which is the same for everyone regardless of their income level.

The correct answer is fifth** Plan.**

Key Points

Rolling Plan

• It was started in 1978.
• The rolling plan concept was coined by Gunnar Myrdal.
• This plan was rejected again by the Indian National Congress government when it came to power in 1980 and a new sixth plan was made.
• The main advantage of the rolling plans is that they are flexible.
• The Rolling Plan is a plan in which every year the performance of the plan is assessed and a new plan is made next year based on this assessment.
• Thus, both the allocation and targets are revised during this plan.
• In India, the Janta Government terminated the fifth five-year plan in 1977-78 and launched its own sixth five-year plan for the period 1978-83 and called it a Rolling Plan.​

The correct answer is Both (1) and (2) are correct.

Key Points 

Net National Product or NNP 

• It is the market value of all the finished goods and services that are produced by citizens of a nation, living Domestically and Internationally during a year.
• The net national product can be calculated by the following formula:
• NNP = GNP – Depreciation
• NNP = GDP + Income from Abroad - Depreciation
• Net National Product is also referred to as the value that is obtained by subtracting depreciation from the gross national product (GNP).
• Net national product considers all the goods, products, and services that are manufactured by the country’s citizens, irrespective of their location, or in other words, net national product considers products that are produced domestically and also from overseas.
• NNP is one of the important metrics for determining the actual growth of a nation.
• NNP of an economy is the GNP after deducting the loss due to depreciation
• It measures how much the country is able to consume in a given period of time.

Additional Information​ 

• When the net national product (NNP) of a country declines or falls, then the businesses consider moving to industries that are deemed to be recession-proof.
• The Depreciation that is calculated refers to the wear and tear of the capital assets and the depreciation of human capital is observed when there is workforce turnover.
• The extent of workforce turnover helps in understanding the resources that will be required to be spent by the companies in order to find new employees.
• This concludes the concept of NNP which is one of the indicators of the economic health of a nation.

The correct answer is The purchase of bonds or stocks issued by Pharma Company overseas.

Key Points

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is considered a significant source of non-debt financial resources for economic development.
• A non-resident entity can invest in India except in those sectors/activities which are prohibited.
• FDI is an investment made by a company or individual in the business of another country in the form of either establishing a new business or acquiring an existing business.
• FDIs are mainly made in Open Economies as opposed to tightly controlled closed economies.
• FDIs are made for a longer period as the foreign investor controls and owns the companies in which they have invested.
• As per the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the threshold for an investment to be considered as FDI is 10 per cent or more ownership stake.

Additional Information

Foreign Portfolio Investment:

• ​FPI is an investment made by a company or an individual in the stock markets or debt markets of another country. FPI investors merely purchase equities/shares/bonds/debentures of foreign-based countries.
• FPIs are mainly made with the objective of making quick profits by buying and selling shares, bonds and debentures.

The correct answer is it has no way to solve trade disputes among member nations.

Key Points

 World Trade Organisation

• An international organisation to set the rules for global trade which was set up in 1995 as a successor to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and has 157 members, (as of 1 September 2012)
• Major economic powers such as the US, EU and Japan have managed to use the WTO to frame rules of trade to advance their own interests.
• The developing countries often complain of non- procedures and being pushed around by big powers.
• WTO has no way to solve trade disputes among member nations.
• It is Criticised for "only serves the interests of multinational corporations, undermines local development, penalizes poor countries, [and] is increasing inequality", and have argued that some agreements about agriculture and pharmaceutical goods have led to restricted access to food and healthcare, thus causing large numbers of deaths.
• Several factors are alleged to contribute to these conditions, including but not limited to: the Most Favoured Nation rule (MFN), National Treatment policies, and failure to regard the infant industry argument.

The correct answer is just equal to the interest payment.

Key Points

• Primary deficit is defined as fiscal deficit minus interest payments on previous borrowings. The primary deficit shows the borrowing requirements of the govt. for meeting expenditure excluding interest payment.
• Gross Primary deficit = Fiscal deficit – Interest payments.
• Therefore, the primary Deficit can be zero, if Fiscal Deficit = Interest Payments. Hence, Option 1 is the correct answer.
• Net Primary deficit = Fiscal deficit + Interest received – Interest payments.
• It shows the total amount that the central government needs to borrow.

 Additional Information

• There are three ways by which the central government finances deficit. These are:
• Borrowing from Public and Foreign Governments.
• Withdrawing Cash Balances held with the Reserve Bank of India (R.B.I.).
• Borrowing from the Reserve Bank of India (R.B.I)
• The Government ordinarily prefers to borrow either from its citizens or from foreign governments instead of withdrawing cash balances held with the R.B.I. or borrowing from it.
• The two ways to finance a deficit increase the supply of money. The increase in the supply of money increases the prices in an economy.
• On the other hand, borrowing domestically from the public has no effect on the supply of money and consequently on prices because when the government borrows, the money held by people is transferred to the government with no change in the supply of money.
• However, the money supply would increase when the government borrows from foreign countries. The last two ways to finance a deficit increase the supply of money.
• Any money that flows out of the R.B.I. increases the supply of money in economy and increases the prices in the domestic economy

The correct answer is  HDR 2010.

Key Points

Gender Inequality Index (GII)

• An index for Measurement of Gender Disparity was introduced in the 20^th Human Development Report -2010 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• It shows the percentage of potential human development loss due to gender inequality and ranges from 0 representing “no lost opportunity” to 1 representing complete opportunity loss.
• India has moved up four positions since 2019 to become the third-most innovative lower-middle-income economy in the world, according to the report. India, at 48, also retains the highest rank in the central and southern Asia region.

Additional Information

There are Three critical dimensions to the GII :

• Reproductive health - GII's dimension of reproductive health has two indicators :
• Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), the data for which come from UNICEF's State of the World's Children, and
• Adolescent fertility rate (AFR), the data for which is obtained through the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, respectively.
• Empowerment - The empowerment dimension is measured by two indicators :
• The share of parliamentary seats held by each sex, which is obtained from the International Parliamentary Union, and
• Higher education attainment level, which is obtained through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Barro-Lee data sets. The GII index of higher education evaluates women's attainment of secondary education and above.
• Labour market participation - The labour market dimension is measured by women's participation in the workforce. This dimension accounts for paid work, unpaid work, and actively looking for work. The data for this dimension is obtained through the International Labour Organization databases.

Important Points 

GII Dimensions & Indicators :

The correct answer is 131.

India was ranked 131 in the Human Development Report 2020 of UNDP. 

Key Points 

 Human Development Index:

• HDI is an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• The HDI was created to emphasize that people's social and economic factors should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone.
• It was created by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990.

HDI major indicators:

• Health (Life expectancy at birth).
• Education (Expected years of schooling).
• Standard of living (Gross national income per capita).

Human Development Index 2019:

• 189 countries were covered.
• Norway topped the list with a score of 0.954.
• Niger was the lowest-ranked country with a score of 0.377.
• India ranked 129 with a score of 0.647.​

Hence, the Birth rate is not an indicator of HDI.

The correct answer is 2020.

Key Points

MSME Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 classifies MSMEs based on the

• Investment in plant and machinery for manufacturing units
• Investment in equipment for service enterprises.

Micro. Small and Medium Enterprises Classification 2020

• The centre also removed the distinction between the manufacturing and services sector in MSME definition.

Here’s a table with the current definition of MSMEs and the revised definition announced by the government: