Expert Panel Members:
Anchor: Frank Pereira
Latitude : 7° 12' N to 83° 38' N Longitude : 12° 08' W to 172° 30' W
Area : 24,709,000 sq. km (including Greenland and the Caribbean Islands).
Population : 533.8 million
Situation : North America is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, Gulf of Mexico in the south, the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Arctic Ocean in the north. To the north it is separated from the easternmost tip of Siberia by the Bering Strait.
Size : Third largest continent after Asia and Africa.
• 49° N latitude forms the boundary between Canada and U.S.A.
• The 100° W longitude divides North America into more or less two equal parts.
वायुमंडल में उपस्थित आर्द्रता को वायुमण्डल की आर्द्रता कहते हैं। कम अनुपात (0 से 5%) में होते हुए भी यह वायुमण्डल का महत्त्वपूर्ण घटक है। यह वायुमण्डल में तीनों रूपों में रहता है। यह गैसीय अवस्था में जलवाष्प, तरल अवस्था में जल की बूँदों तथा ठोस अवस्था में हिमकणों के रूप में होता है। स्थान तथा समय के अनुसार इसकी मात्रा में परिवर्तन आता रहता है।
Write and Discuss Your Answer with Q.No in Comment Box at the Bottom of Post.
General Studies - I "Syllabus Topic – Post- Independence India"
Source:
The Hindu
General Studies - II "Syllabus Topic – International
Relations”
Source:
The Hindu
General Studies - III "Syllabus Topic- Economy"
Source:
The Hindu
General Studies - IV "Syllabus Topic – Probity in
Governance"
Source: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Examination By P. N. Roy Chowdhury, G. Subba Rao
Write Your Answer in Comment Box at Bottom of this Page.
This was my 2nd interview and was also my 2nd attempt in UPSC exam. In my 1st interview in 2013 I could not make it to the final list, but gracefully I have made it in the 2nd attempt. I had my interview on 5th June 2014 and that was the last of this year’s interview. One bad thing about this was that I had to wait for more than two and half months for my interview after my Mains result and the good thing about this was that the final results were out within one week after my interview was over i.e, on 12th June 2014.
I already told you that my interview was on last day, it was not only last day but also the last session. My interview was in the afternoon session. Since it was the last day and the last session, the board members were doing their job in an accelerated manner and my interview was just for around 20 minutes.
1. What are the provisions of the Food Security Act(FSA)?
2. Govt is spending a lot on FSA, instead the same money can be spent for
providing education and employment to the people and thereby we can empower them
to earn their own food. What is your view on this? Is the FSA necessary?
Budget is a socio economic document which is gien under Art 112 of Constitution. The budget is prepared by the budget division in department of economic affairs, Ministry of Finance. Budget making itself is not a one day issue, it passes through various stages. In total Budget goes through following processes. First to come up is Formulation of Budget, then budget would be approved by the legislature, finally the execution and auditing of the Budget ammount takes place. Process of budget making itself takes more than six months. The five year plans are referred to discuss the gross budgetary support from the union government to support the annual plans. The real test of the budget maker is to pass the legislation which fiscally disciplines the government. The fiscal responsibility and Budget management (FRBM) act sets the target of keeping the revenue deficit nil and fiscal deficit below 3%. The process of budget takes final shape in around month of January when the revenue. By convention the union budget is presented on the last day of February in the Lok Sabha. The budget is tabled at the Rajya Sabha only after the finance minister completes its speech in the Lok Sabha. A broad discussion takes place at this stage without any voting. Then the house is adjourned.
Budget continued the path setup in last budget of improving the fiscal discipline and making legislative and tax reforms. This was the first budget presented after the reforms introduced in the budget process. This was the first time when budget was presented on end of Jan month so that it gives ministries full financial year. Also this year budget incuded railway budget in itself and a single budget was presented. Another reform which was introduced this year is merger of plan and non plan expenditure. However government has nicely maintained its fiscal discipline. Along with rural economy government's focus on improving the infrastructure of the country has continued from last year's budget.
Important points of budget are given below :
Inflation brought under control. CPI-based inflation declined from 6% in July 2016 to 3.4% in December, 2016
Economy has moved on a high growth path. India's Current Account Deficit declined from about 1% of GDP last year to 0.3% of GDP in the first half of 2016-17. FDI grew 36% in H1 2016-17 over H1 2015-16, despite 5% reduction in global FDI inflows. Foreign exchange reserves have reached 361 billion US Dollars as on 20th January, 2017
The Indian Economy has sustained a macro-economic environment of relatively lower inflation, fiscal discipline and moderate current account deficit coupled with broadly stable rupee-dollar exchange rate. The Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley states that such a sustenance is despite continuing global sluggishness. It says : Growth rate of GDP at constant market prices for the year 2016-17 is placed at 7.1 per cent, as against 7.6 per cent in 2015-16. This estimate is based mainly on information for the first seven to eight months of the financial year. Government final consumption expenditure is the major driver of GDP growth in the current year. Fixed investment (gross fixed capital formation) to GDP ratio (at current prices) is estimated to be 26.6 per cent in 2016-17, vis-à-vis 29.3 per cent in 2015-16. For 2017-18, it is expected that the growth would return to normal as the new currency notes in required quantities come back into circulation and as follow-up actions to demonetisation are taken. On balance, there is a likelihood that Indian economy may recover back to 6 ¾ per cent to 7 ½ per cent in 2017-18.
Fiscal
In nominating Rex Tillerson, Chief Executive of the oil and gas conglomerate ExxonMobil, to the post of Secretary of State, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has provided another glimpse into his world view and decision-making process. Similar to Mr. Trump, Mr. Tillerson has no formal experience in political office, yet brings impressive heft in terms of deal-making across 52 countries over six continents. On his watch, the stock market value of ExxonMobil, the U.S.'s largest oil company, soared to over $360 billion. Yet the vast global reach of Mr. Tillerson's work and the sheer complexities involved in drilling for oil, especially the sometimes messy geopolitics at play, have meant he has often been at odds with the agenda of the U.S. State Department. In Nigeria, for example, his company faced flak for lack of transparency in dealings with the government. Nowhere is the potential divergence from the hallowed traditions of Foggy Bottom's diplomatic norms more visible than in Mr. Tillerson's decade-plus engagement with Russia to secure oil drilling rights. Under him, ExxonMobil since 2006 signed a plethora of drilling agreements including through partnerships with the Russian oil behemoth Rosneft. Yet, as Mr. Tillerson's star rose in the eyes of the Kremlin, U.S. President Barack Obama's fell, especially since early 2014 when he authorised sanctions against certain Russian individuals and entities for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
रेलवे की 'विकल्प'योजना के तहत मेल या एक्सप्रेस ट्रेन में टिकट बुक कराने वाले यात्री उसी मार्ग से जाने वाली राजधानी, शताब्दी, दुरंतो या सुविधा जैसी प्रीमियर ट्रेनों से गंतव्य तक यात्रा कर सकेंगे। यह योजना एक अप्रैल से हर मार्ग के लिए प्रभावी हो जाएगी।
विकल्प योजना में प्रतीक्षा सूची वाले यात्रियों को वैकल्पिक ट्रेन में कंफर्म बर्थ मिल सकेगी। इसके लिए टिकट बुक कराते समय विकल्प सुविधा का चयन करना होगा। नियमानुसार दूसरे ट्रेन में कंफर्म टिकट के एवज में यात्रियों से किसी भी तरह का न तो अतिरिक्त शुल्क लिया जाएगा और न ही किराये में अंतर आने पर लौटाया जाएगा। विकल्प योजना का उद्देश्य प्रीमियर ट्रेनों जैसे राजधानी, शताब्दी, दुरंतो, सुविधा और अन्य विशेष ट्रेन में खाली रह गई सीटों का उपयोग करना है।
रेलवे को हर साल टिकट रद कराने के एवज में तकरीबन 7,500 करोड़ रुपये रिफंड करने पड़ते हैं।
प्रीमियर ट्रेनों में फ्लेक्सी किराया लाने से कुछ बर्थ खाली रह जाती हैं, जबकि उसी समय मेल/एक्सप्रेस ट्रेनों में यात्रियों को सीट नहीं मिलती है। इस अधिकारी ने बताया कि इन वजहों के चलते सीटें खाली रह जाती हैं। विकल्प योजना से रेलवे कुछ हद तक आर्थिक नुकसान की भरपाई कर सकेगा।
1. राष्ट्रीय स्वास्थ्य नीति 2017 के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर ध्यान दें :-
(i). इस नीति का उद्देश्य सभी लोगों, विशेषकर अल्पसेवित और उपेक्षित लोगों को
सुनिश्चित स्वास्थ्य देखभाल उपलब्ध कराना है।
(ii). राष्ट्रीय स्वास्थ्य नीति 2017 में प्रति 1000 की आबादी के लिए अस्पतालों में
एक नहीं बल्कि 2 बिस्तरों की उपलब्धता सुनिश्चित करने का लक्ष्य रखा गया है।
(iii). राष्ट्रीय स्वास्थ्य नीति 2017 में आयुष प्रणाली के त्रि-आयामी एकीकरण की
परिकल्पना की गई है।
इनमें से कौन सा/ से कथन सत्य है ?
a. i एवं ii
b. ii एवं iii
c. i एवं iii
d. उपरोक्त सभी
Suggesting an out-of-court rapprochement among rival parties in the 68-year-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute, CJI advised peace negotiations instead of a pitched court battle, even offering help to settle the fight amicably.
The dispute, which has seen much tension and violence over the past decades, debuted in court in 1950 when Gopal Simla Visharad filed the first suit in the Faizabad civil court for rights to perform pooja to Ram Lalla.
The same year saw Paramahansa Ramachandra Das also file a suit for continuation of pooja and keeping idols in the structure. Nine years later, in 1959, NirmohiAkhara followed with a third suit for directions to hand over the charge of the disputed site.
U.P. Sunni Central Wakf Board filed the fourth suit in 1961 for declaration and possession. The fifth was in 1989 in the name of Ram Lalla Virajman for declaration and possession.
On September 2010, a three-judge Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court held that Hindus have the right to the makeshift temple under the central dome of the Babri Masjid.
The High Court ruled in favour of a three-part division of the disputed 2.77 acre area among the Sunni Waqf Board, NirmohiAkhara and the Ram Lalla at the disputed site. The Bench had relied on Hindu faith, belief and folklore.
The Sunni Waqf Board and other parties filed their appeals in the Supreme Court against the 2010 judgment. The appeals have remained pending in the SC for the past six years.
CJI Khehar said parties should understand that these are sensitive issues involving religious sentiments. They should adopt a give and take approach to arrive at a consensus, he suggested.
The NDA government has proposed to make Aadhaar mandatory for individuals to apply for a PAN (Permanent Account Number) card and file income tax returns from July 1 this year.
Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley moved an amendment, to this effect, in the draft Finance Bill 2017 that was taken up by the Lok Sabha.
Centre made it mandatory for beneficiaries to quote their Aadhaar number to avail themselves of benefits under the PMKVY for skill development, and the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers.
The Centre had identified 31 schemes in which the Aadhaar could be made mandatory.
Notifications have been issued in recent months by departments to make Aadhaar compulsory for getting subsidised foodgrains under the NFSA, jobs under the MGNREGA and pension benefits under the Employees’ Pension Scheme.
The Cabinet Secretariat has asked all Ministries to issue a notification under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, which makes the use of Aadhaar “an identifier for delivery of subsidies or benefits or schemes” to beneficiaries.
India slipped down one place from 130 to 131 among the 188 countries ranked in terms of human development, says the 2016 Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
India’s human development index (HDI) value of 0.624 puts it in the “medium human development” category, alongside countries such as Congo, Namibia and Pakistan.
It is ranked third among the SAARC countries, behind Sri Lanka (73) and the Maldives (105), both of which figure in the “high human development” category.
The world’s top three countries in HDI are Norway (0.949), Australia (0.939) and Switzerland (0.939).
The HDI is a measure for assessing progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and access to a decent standard of living.
The report says 1.5 million people worldwide still live in multidimensional poverty, 54% of them concentrated in South Asia. While poverty fell significantly from 1990 to 2015, inequalities sharpened in the region.
South Asia also had the highest levels of malnutrition in the world, at 38%, and the lowest public health expenditure as a percentage of the GDP (1.6%, 2014). India’s public health expenditure was even lower, at 1.4% of the GDP.
However, it did make some gains between 1990 and 2015, improving life expectancy by 10.4 years in this period. Child malnutrition also declined by 10 percentage points from 2015, and there was a modest gain in infant and under-five mortality rates.
The report noted with approval India’s progressive laws, especially the Right to Information, National Food Security, and Right to Education Acts.
Noting that women, on an average, have lower HDI than men across the world, the report pointed out that the largest gender disparity in development was in South Asia, where the female HDI value is 20% lower than the male value.
In South Asia, gender gaps in entrepreneurship and labour force participation caused an estimated income loss of 19%. “Between their first and fifth birthdays, girls in India and Pakistan have a 30% to 50% greater chance of dying than boys,” the report noted.
While India’s HDI value increased from 0.428 in 1990 to 0.624 in 2015, it still had the lowest rank among BRIC nations. However, its average annual growth in HDI (1990-2015) was higher than that of other medium HD countries.
Amul Thapar, an Indian-American legal luminary, was on Monday nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to a key judicial position on the Court of Appeals.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Thapar will be part of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.
1. Every citizen is entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.
2. To verify the identity of a person receiving a subsidy or a service, the
government may require them to have an Aadhaar number.
3. Biometric information will not be shared with anyone even in the interest of
national security.
A. 2 only
B. 1,2
C. 2,3
D. All
Based on the results of the Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination 2016 held by Union Public Service Commission in November, 2016 followed by Personality Test held in February-March, 2017, the following is the list, in order of merit, of candidates who have been recommended for appointment to posts in Indian Forest Service.
The number of candidates recommended for appointment under different categories are as under :
| General | OBC | SC | ST | Total |
| 48 ( including 01 PH-2) | 37 (including 01 PH-2 & 01 PH-3) | 17 | 08 | 110 (including 02 PH-2 & 01 Ph-3 candidates) |
Topic of Discussion: Urban Reforms & Centre Woos Foreign Investors
Expert Panel Members:
Anchor: Frank Pereira
Introduction
South-east of Mexico, the North American continent tapers southwards through a narrow isthmus which connects North and South America and embraces seven small countries known collectively as Central America. Five of the countries Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama have sea coast on both the sides— the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea). The other two countries have coasts on the one side only. EL Salvador has coast on the Pacific side and Belize on the Atlantic side. Geographic fragmentation is the major characteristic of Central America.
वायुमंडल में उपस्थित आर्द्रता को वायुमण्डल की आर्द्रता कहते हैं। कम अनुपात (0 से 5%) में होते हुए भी यह वायुमण्डल का महत्त्वपूर्ण घटक है। यह वायुमण्डल में तीनों रूपों में रहता है। यह गैसीय अवस्था में जलवाष्प, तरल अवस्था में जल की बूँदों तथा ठोस अवस्था में हिमकणों के रूप में होता है। स्थान तथा समय के अनुसार इसकी मात्रा में परिवर्तन आता रहता है।
Write and Discuss Your Answer with Q.No in Comment Box at the Bottom of Post.
General Studies - I "Syllabus Topic – Post- Independence India"
Source:
The Hindu
General Studies - II "Syllabus Topic – International
Relations”
Source:
The Hindu
General Studies - III "Syllabus Topic- Economy"
Source:
The Hindu
General Studies - IV "Syllabus Topic – Probity in
Governance"
Source: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Examination By P. N. Roy Chowdhury, G. Subba Rao
Write Your Answer in Comment Box at Bottom of this Page.
