Daily Current Affairs (MCQ) | Date 03.06.22

Q1. Consider the following statements

1. Article 246A confers simultaneous or concurrent powers on Parliament and the state legislatures to make laws relating to GST
2. Under Article 279A, the GST Council has to make “recommendations” on various topics including the tax rate and exemptions

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c)

Explanation:

The recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the nature of recommendations made by the GST Council has attracted widespread comments because of the important observations made on Indian federalism, especially on it being a dialogue between cooperative and uncooperative federalism. The states, the court held, were free to use means of persuasion ranging from collaboration to contestation.

The ocean freight: the Immediate cause

1. The Gujarat High Court had quashed the two notifications that levied IGST (Integrated GST) on the ocean freight component in a CIF (cost, insurance and freight) contract.
2. Briefly, the high court held that these notifications were unconstitutional and amounted to double The Supreme Court, in appeal, had to merely consider the correctness of this judgment.
3. However, before the Supreme Court, the Union of India made far-reaching submissions that led to this landmark ruling on federalism in general, and fiscal federalism in particular.

The GST Council:

1. Article 246A confers simultaneous or concurrent powers on Parliament and the state legislatures to make laws relating to This article is in sharp contrast to the constitutional scheme that prevailed till 2017.
2. It clearly demarcated taxing powers between the Centre and states with no overlaps. After 2017, several central and state levies were subsumed into Each state was to have its own GST Act, all of them being almost identical to the Central GST Act. Inter-state supplies and imported goods are liable to IGST.
3. Under Article 279A, the GST Council has to make “recommendations” on various topics including the tax rate and exemptions.

Arguments of the centre:

1. The Union of India argued that the “constitutional architecture” showed that Articles 246A and 279A, when read together, made the GST Council the ultimate policy-making and decision-making body for framing GST laws.
2. The GST Council was unique and incomparable to any other constitutional body and its recommendations would override the legislative power of Parliament and state legislatures; neither of them could legislate on GST issues independent of the recommendations of the GST council.
3. The argument went further: On a combined reading of Article 279A, the provisions of the IGST and CGST Acts and the recommendations of the GST Council were transformed into In simple terms, a recommendation of the GST Council was law and binding on Parliament and state legislatures.

The Counter argument of the court:

1. While rejecting these submissions, the three-judge bench made important observations on
2. Delving into legislative history, the court ruled that a draft Article 279B, which provided for a GST Disputes Settlement Authority, was omitted because it would have effectively overridden the sovereignty of Parliament and the state legislatures, and diminished the fiscal autonomy of the
3. Democracy and federalism are interdependent for their If the states had been conferred less power, they could still resist the mandate of the Union by using different forms of political contestation as permitted by constitutional design. Such contestation is valuable as part of “uncooperative federalism”.
4. It was desirable, the Court said, to have some level of friction, some amount of state contestation, some deliberation- generating froth in our democratic system.
5. Therefore, the states could use various forms of contestation if they disagreed with the decision of the Centre. Putting to rest any controversy, the court held that the recommendations of the GST Council had only a persuasive value.
6. To regard them as binding edicts would disrupt fiscal federalism because both the Union and states were conferred equal power to legislate on GST.
7. Unlike so many statutes, Article 279A has made no provision to make the decision of the majority binding on the dissenting In effect, states can amend their GST laws if they so choose.

Q2. The four-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is situated in the Indian state of

1. Uttarakhand
2. Madhya Pradesh
3. Maharashtra
4. Kerala

Answer (a)

Explanation:

A liquid mirror telescope in Devasthal sees first light

1. The four-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) saw the first light recently, gazing out from its vantage on Devasthal, a hill in Uttarakhand, into the deep sky.
2. The telescope, staring at the sky overhead, will make sky surveys possible and obtain images that can help observe transient phenomena such as supernovae and record the presence of space debris or meteorites — basically, watch the skies.
3. The telescope has been built by a collaboration of scientists from Canada, Belgium and India. It is located at an altitude of 2,450 metres on the Devasthal Observatory campus of the Aryabhata Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital district, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
4. A large pool of mercury placed in a vessel is spun around so fast that it curves into a parabolic shape. Since mercury is reflective, this shape helps in focusing the reflected light.
5. The telescope, having a primary mirror that is liquid, cannot be turned and pointed in any It “stares” at the zenith and watches the sky as the earth rotates, thereby giving a view of different objects.
6. This property can be used to scan and survey the sky, and observe transients and moving objects such as meteorites.
7. Once it starts making observations, the telescope will collect gigabytes of data, which will need to be analysed using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) tools.

Q3. Arrange the following in chronological order of their happening or coming into force

1. Kyoto protocol
2. Earth summit
3. Montreal Protocol
4. Stockholm+50

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

1. 3, 2, 1, 4
2. 2, 1, 3, 4
3. 2, 1, 4, 3
4. 4, 3, 2, 1

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Kyoto protocol (2005)

Earth summit (1992)

Montreal Protocol (1989)

Stockholm+50 (2022)

Stockholm+50: Build on the strong legacy

1. The Stockholm+50 conference (June 2-3) commemorates 50 years of the 1972 United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment, which made the environment a pressing global issue for the first time, established the United Nations Environment Programme, and began a dialogue between industrialised and developing countries on the links between the environment, economic growth, and human wellbeing.
2. Stockholm+50 is an opportunity for nations to steer humanity back on the path to a healthy Whether nations can rise to the challenge remains to be seen.

Q4. Which of the following factors are responsible for the tolerant religious ideas of Akbar?

1. Early contacts with the Sufi saints
2. Marriage with Rajput women
3. Ambition to establish an empire in Hindustan

Select the correct answer using the code given below

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

1. Akbar rose to fame in the pages of history due to his religious Various factors were responsible for his religious ideas.
2. The most important among them were his early contacts with the Sufi saints, the teachings of his tutor Abdul Latif, his marriage with Rajput women, his association with intellectual giants like Shaikh Mubarak and his two illustrious sons – Abul Faizi and Abul Fazl – and his ambition to establish an empire in (Hence all three statements are correct)
3. At the beginning of his life, Akbar was a pious Muslim. Soon after marrying Jodh Bai of Amber, he abolished the pilgrim tax and in 1562, he abolished jizyah. He allowed his Hindu wives to worship their own gods.
4. Later, he became a sceptical Muslim. In 1575, he ordered the construction of Ibadat Khana (House of worship) at his new capital Fatepur Sikri. Akbar invited learned scholars from all religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity and He disliked the interference of the Muslim Ulemas in political matters. In 1579, he issued the “Infallibility Decree” by which he asserted his religious powers.
5. In 1582, he promulgated a new religion called Din Ilahi/Divine It believes in one God. It contained good points of all religions. Its basis was rational. It upholds no dogma. It was aimed at bridging the gulf that separated different religions. However, his new faith proved to be a failure. It fizzled out after his death. Even during his lifetime, it had only fifteen followers including Birbal. Akbar did not compel anyone to his new faith.

Q5. Consider the following about the Krishna Deva Raya of the Tuluva dynasty

1. He was in constant conflict with the Portuguese
2. He was also known as Andhra Bhoja
3. Krishna Deva    Raya    himself    authored    a Sanskrit   work Amukthamalyadha

Which of the above is/are incorrect?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (c)

Explanation:

1. Vira Narasimha founded The Tuluva dynasty. The greatest of the Vijayanagar rulers, Krishna Deva Raya, belonged to the Tuluva He possessed great military ability. His imposing personality was accompanied by high intellectual quality.
2. His first task was to check the invading Bahmani forces. By that time the Bahmani kingdom was replaced by Deccan The Muslim armies were decisively defeated in the battle of Diwani by Krishna Deva Raya.
3. Then he invaded Raichur Doab which had resulted in the confrontation with the Sultan of Bijapur, Ismail Adil Shah. But, Krishna Deva Raya defeated him and captured the city of Raichur in From there he marched on Bidar and captured it.
4. He maintained friendly relations with the Albuquerque sent his ambassadors to Krishna Deva Raya.
5. Though a Vaishnavaite, he respected all religions. He was a great patron of literature and art, and he was known as Andhra (Hence statement 2 is Correct)
6. Eight eminent scholars known as Ashtadiggajas were at his royal court. Allasani Peddanna was the greatest, and he was called Andhrakavita His important works include Manucharitam and Harikathasaram. Pingali Suranna and Tenali Ramakrishna were other important scholars.
7. Krishna Deva Raya himself authored a Telugu work, Amukthamalyadha ( Amukthamalyadha is a Telugu work, not a Sanskrit work hence statement 3 is also incorrect) and Sanskrit works, Jambavati Kalyanam and Ushaparinayan.
8. He repaired most of the temples of south India. He also built the famous Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples at He also built a new city called Nagalapuram in memory of his queen Nagaladevi. Besides, he built a large number of Rayagopurams.

Q6. Which of the following statements are correct about the Medieval Bhakti Movement?

1. It was a direct result of the influence of the spread of Islam in India
2. The preaching of Sufi teachers shaped the thinking of Bhakti reformers like Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak
3. Saivaite Nayanmars and Vashnavaite Alwars opposed many Islamic Ideas

Which of the above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (a)

Explanation:

1. We have already studied the rise of the Bhakti cult in Tamil Nadu during the seventh and eighth centuries. The Saivaite Nayanmars and Vashnavaite Alwars preached the Bhakti cult under the Pallavas, Pandyas and They opposed Buddhism and Jainism, not Islam. Islam became widespread only after the Delhi Sultanate. ( Hence statement 3 is incorrect)
2. But, the spread of the Bhakti movement in medieval India ( after the arrival of Islam) is a different kind. This medieval Bhakti movement was the direct result of the influence of the spread of Islam in India. Monotheism or belief in one God, equality and brotherhood of man and rejection of rituals and class divisions are the distinctive characteristics of These Islamic ideas created a profound impact on the religious leaders of this period. Moreover, the preaching of Sufi teachers shaped the thinking of Bhakti reformers like Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak.