Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 15-11-2022

Q1. Consider the following statements

1. Statutory Grants are given by the centre under Article 275
2. Discretionary Grants under the Article 282 empower both the Centre and the states to make any grants for any public purpose

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

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

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Grants-in-Aid: Besides sharing of taxes between the Centre and the States, the Constitution provides for Grants-in-aid to the States from the Central resources. There are two types of grants:

Statutory Grants (Article 275): These grants are given by the Parliament out of the Consolidated Fund of India to such States which are in need of assistance. Different States may be granted different sums.

• Specific grants are also given to promote the welfare of scheduled tribes in a state or to raise the level of administration of the Scheduled areas therein.

Discretionary Grants (Article 282): It empowers both the Centre and the states to make any grants for any public purpose, even if it is not within their respective legislative competence.

• Under this provision, the Centre makes grants to the states. These grants are known as discretionary grants, the reason being that the Centre is under no obligation to give these grants and the matter lies within its discretion.

• These grants have a two-fold purpose: to help the state financially to fulfil plan targets; and to give some leverage to the Center to influence and coordinate state action to effectuate the national plan.

Q2. Arrange the following in decreasing order of their contribution to total installed power capacity of India

1. Hydro
2. Renewable energy sources
3. Nuclear

Select the correct answer using the code given below

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

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Q3. Which of the following are taxes/levies/commissions on the base price of petrol?

1. Excise duty
2. Value-added tax
3. Dealer’s commission

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

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

Answer (d)

Explanation:

The Prime Minister had earlier urged several Opposition-ruled states to cut taxes on petrol and diesel in order to reduce the economic burden on citizens, citing similar reductions by the Union government earlier — an appeal that sparked a furious war of words and statistics between the Centre and opposition parties.

Q4. Consider the following statements

1. Indian government is targeting to achieve 20 percent of ethanol blending with petrol by 2030
2. Ethanol is biofuel obtained primarily from sugarcane

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 (b)

Explanation:

1. The country has enough raw material to produce 1,016 crore litres of ethanol by 2025 for blending with petrol, but policies of oil marketing firms and other factors are curbing the output of the fuel additive, according to industry body ISMA, which made a presentation to Members of Parliament.
2. Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said about 1,016 crore litres of ethanol were required to achieve the 2025 target of 20% blending, for which the raw material was available, but that there was a need to raise production capacity with mills as well as necessary infrastructure and storage with oil marketing companies (OMCs).
3. Banks were not willing to sanction loans without the in-principle approval of the Food Ministry and long-term purchase pacts between OMCs and project proponents.
4. OMCs are not signing long-term agreements with existing ethanol producers and new ethanol plants which are not interested in concessional loans.
5. ISMA said approvals for bank loans should be given within 7 days from the date of application. Else, “the pace of capacity creation will see a major fall, and achieving 20% ethanol production by 2025 will become extremely difficult,” it said.