1. Which of the following pairs of important days and dates are matched correctly?
- Civil Services Day – 21 April
- National Panchayati Raj Day – 24 April
- National Integration Day – 29 November
- National Statistics Day – 19 June
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1 & 2
[B] Only 1, 2 & 3
[C] Only 1, 2 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Only 1 & 2]
Notes:- The Government of India celebrates April 21 every year as ‘Civil Services day’ as an occasion for the civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work. This date is chosen to commemorate the day when first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi, he referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’. The first such function was held on 21 April 2006.
- National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of Panchayati Raj System in India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually. Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh declared the first National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April 2010.
- National Integration Day is observed on November 19th every year on the birth anniversary of the nation’s first female Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. The day is also referred to as Quami Ekta Diwas.
- National Statistics Day is marked on June 29 to celebrate the notable contribution in the fields of economic planning and the statistical development made by Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
2. Consider the following statements regarding the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021:
- It seeks to implement provisions of CITES in India.
- It empowers the state government to notify a conservation reserve.
- It seeks to reduce the total number of schedules in the Act to three.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
[A] Only 1 and 2
[B] Only 2 and 3
[C] 1, 2 and 3
[D] Only 1
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Only 1]
Notes:
The Bill primarily seeks to implement provisions of CITES (Statement 1 is correct). However, it empowers the central, not state, government to notify a conservation reserve (Statement 2 is incorrect). It proposes reducing the number of schedules from six to four, not three (Statement 3 is incorrect). Thus, only statement 1 is correct.
3. Which of the following reports was/were released by NITI Aayog?
- State of India’s Children: Status and Trends in Multidimensional Child Development
- Reimagining Healthcare in India through Blended Finance
- School Education Quality Index
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 3
[B] Only 1 & 2
[C] Only 2 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [1, 2 & 3]
Notes:- NITI Aayog collaborated with UNICEF to bring out the country’s first report on multidimensional child development, focusing on aspects such as health, education and nutrition, namely ‘State of India’s Children: Status and Trends in Multidimensional Child Development’.
- In its report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’, NITI Aayog proposed fiscal incentives, like tax breaks or start-up grants, for companies with about one-third of their workforce as women and people with disabilities. This is in an attempt to increase the participation of women in the gig economy.
- In its report titled ‘Reimagining Healthcare in India through Blended Finance’, NITI Aayog highlighted that, India’s healthcare spending is least among BRICS countries. Around 65 per cent of hospital beds in India cater to almost 50 per cent of the population in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, and Kerala.
- School Education Quality Index (SEQI) was developed by NITI Aayog to evaluate the performance of States and Union Territories (UTs) in the school education sector. The index aims to bring an ‘outcomes’ focus to education policy by providing States and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses and undertake requisite course corrections or policy interventions.
