SCORE MAXIMISER

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PRELIMS TEST SERIES 2015

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL

DEVELOPMENT - 2 ANSWERS
(d)

2.

(c)

Exp: The US ranks first in services sector GDP

as well as in overall GDP, with China and
Japan a distant second and third.
3.

(c)

Exp:

Sustainable employment for artisans and

rural entrepreneurs.

Innovative Skills-Technology upgradation

Developing public private partnership.

Strengthening the local governance system

of Industry Clusters.

SC

India is famous for food production. More

than 50% of Indian population work in
Agriculture related activities. If there are
good food processing industries in India,
raw materials like grains or meat can be
converted into food for domestic and
foreign consumption.

GS

Making them more competitive and

productive.

OR
E

1.

Food processing units acts as a link

between agriculture and industries.

5.

(c)

Exp: Additional 2% surcharge for the superrich with income more than Rs.1 crore.
6.

(c)

7.

(d)

Food processing industries can absorb a

major share of workers from the
agriculture sector, who face disguised
unemployment. It can lead to better
productivity and GDP growth.

Exp: Five major challenges: Agricultural income

under stress, increasing investment in
infrastructure, decline in manufacturing,
resource crunch in view of higher
devolution in taxes to states, maintaining
fiscal discipline.

Food processing prevents food wastage

and help in attaining food security.

8.

(d)

Processed food requires less space for

storage.

9.

(d)

10.

(d)

Processed food can be exported. This may

help us in getting foreign exchange
reserves.

4.

(b)

Exp: Objectives of the Scheme:

Development of Traditional Industries.

Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

Exp: Blue box contains aid to livestock or land,

not linked to prices but to fixed figures for
surface and yield. Amber box subsidy
include measures to support prices,
subsidies directly related to production
quantities, export subsidies, cheap loans,
etc.
[1]

11.

(a)

orandum has been made easy by

simplification of form and making the
process online 24X7. The validity period
of the Industrial Licence and security
clearance from Ministry of Home Affairs
has been increased. The process of
registration with Employees' Provident
Fund Organization and Employees' State
Insurance Corporation has been made on
line and real-time. Process of obtaining
environment and forest clearances has
been made online. The Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion has
advised Ministries and State Governments
to simplify and rationalize the regulatory
environment through business process
reengineering and use of information
technology. Government of India services
have been integrated with the online single
window eBiz portal.

Exp: Instead of going to the public, the company

gives its existing shareholders, the right to
subscribe to newly issued shares in
proportion to their existing holdings.
Usually the price at which the new shares
are issued by way of rights issue is less
than the prevailing market price of the
stock, i.e. the shares are offered at a
discount.
12.

(c)

13.

OR
E

Exp: The state/UT with the worst child sex

ratio (CSR) is Haryana (834 girls per 1,000
boys). Daman and Diu is worst in overall
sex ratio (618).
(d)

14.

(d)

19.

(b)

20.

(d)

21.

(c)

22.

(d)

Exp: The four pillars are:

(i)

New Processes: 'Make in India' recognizes

'ease of doing business' as the single most
important factor to promote entrepreneurship. A number of initiatives have
already been undertaken to ease business
environment.

(ii)

New Infrastructure: Government intends

to develop industrial corridors and smart
cities, create world class infrastructure
with state-of-the-art technology and highspeed communication. Innovation and
research activities are supported through
a fast paced registration system and
improved infrastructure for IPR
registration. The requirement of skills for
industry are to be identified and
accordingly development of workforce to
be taken up.

GS

SC

Exp: Crop rotation is the growing of different

kinds of crops on a piece of land in a
preplanned succession. A cover crop is a
crop planted primarily to manage soil
erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water,
weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and
wildlife in an agro-ecosystem. Farmscaping
is the practice of creating and maintaining
habitat specifically for beneficial insects
and other helpful species. Soil solarization
is a preplant method for heating the soil
to destroy soil borne pathogens and weed
seeds.

Exp: The percentage share is as follows: China13.12%; USA- 4.63%; Japan- 2.23%;
Russia- 0.94%.
15.

(d)

16.

(a)

17.

(d)

18.

(c)

Exp: Government has undertaken following

steps to improve Ease of Doing Business:
A large number of components of Defence
Products' list have been excluded from the
purview of Industrial Licencing. The
application process for Industrial Licence
and Industrial Entrepreneur's Mem[ 2 ]

(iii) New Sectors: FDI has been opened up in

Defence Production, Insurance, Medical
Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

Devices, Construction and Railway

infrastructure in a big way. Similarly FDI
has been allowed in Insurance and Medical
Devices.
(iv) New Mindset: In order to partner with
industry in economic development of the
country, Government shall act as a
facilitator and not a regulator.
23.

(d)

24.

(a)

30.

(d)

31.

(c)

Exp: The organization of UN as a whole has

been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for the
year 2001. The International Court of
Justice was part of the UN charter since
its formation.
32.

(c)

Exp: Agriculture releases a number of Green

House Gases (GHG) into the atmosphere.
These GHGs include Carbon dioxide (CO2),
Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O).
Manure application, digestion process of
ruminants and wetland rice cultivation are
the main contributors to Methane
emissions. Most of the Nitrous Oxide
emissions are linked with application of
nitrogenous fertilizers. Carbon dioxide
emissions arise mainly due to the use of
diesel pumps in irrigation. Other sources
of carbon dioxide include burning of
agricultural wastes for field preparation,
burning of biomass, microbial decay, etc.

25.

(b)

26.

(a)

SC

OR
E

Exp: The energy requirement as calculated by

Rangarajan is 2,155 kcal per person per
day in rural areas and 2,090 kcal per
person per day in urban areas. This is
significantly lower than the 2,400 kcal in
rural areas and slightly less than 2,100
kcal in urban areas used by the earlier
Lakdawala panel. The reason given is that
the age profile and working conditions
have changed with time.

Exp: SEZs are treated as foreign territory only

for trade operations, duties, tariffs, etc.
Manufacturing and Services are equally
allowed.

27.

(b)

GS

Exp: It gives average income and does not

reflect the pattern of income within the
country hence not a satisfactory measure
of poverty.

Exp: NRLM is supported by World Bank not

IMF.
28.

(d)

Exp: India has full convertibility in Current

Account but in the Capital Account it has
partial convertibility, however we are
moving towards the full Capital Account
convertibility.
India follows free floating exchange rate
for rupee, however it is not ideal free
floating as it has its own system for
maintaining stability in the speculative
forex market by dual exchange rate.
29.

(b)

Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

33.

(a)

Exp: FDI up to 49 per cent through the

government route has been permitted in
the defence industry.
34.

(a)

Exp: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is

an abstract number or ratio which
measures the growth of various sectors in
the economy. In India, IIP is a
representative figure which measures the
general level of Industrial activity in the
country. Being an abstract number, it does
not show volume of activity and only
shows the magnitude which represents the
status of production in the industrial sector
for a given period of time as compared to
a reference period of time. IIP is released
monthly and this is partially due to the
[3]

fact that the Annual Survey of Industries

are released annually and a short term
index is required for assessment of short
term activities.
35.

(b)

36.

(a)

(c)

38.

(d)

39.

(d)

SC

Exp: The beneficiary has to pay Rs. 30 per

annum as registration/renewal fee to get
biometric-enabled smart card for
identifying their eligibility.
37.

GS

Exp: The purpose of the multilateral development bank is to provide finance to

infrastructure projects in the Asian region.
All the prospective founding members of
AIIB do not belong to Asia and India is
one prospective founding member.
40.

(b)

Exp: Union budget 2015 has provided that

employees in the organized sector will now
be able to opt out of contributions to the
Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and
invest in the NPS instead. Hence EPF is
no more mandatory.
41.

(a)

Exp: The Factories bill 2014 identifies factory as

an entity comprising of 20 workers if
power used and 40 if not.
42.
[ 4 ]

(d)

(b)

Exp: PSI is a more refined index of poverty

which gives the greatest weight on those
further below the poverty line whereas it
is the Poverty Gap which measures the
proportionate income shortfalls below the
poverty line for all the poor.
44.

(d)

45.

(a)

Exp: In 2013-14, Bihar had the highest services

growth of 17.3 per cent and Uttarkhand
the lowest of 5.5 per cent. Bihar has been
consistently showing double-digit growth
in the services sector in the last five years
due to high growth in trade, hotels, and
restaurants.

OR
E

Exp: Proposes to ban the employment of

children below 14 years in all occupations
except family enterprises and the audiovisual entertainment industry, on condition
that such work does not interfere with
their education. The amendment proposes
to regulate "adolescents" in the 14-18 age
group by prohibiting their employment in
hazardous occupations unsuitable to their
age.

43.

46.

(b)

Exp: The Ministry of Housing and Urban

Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) development
is the nodal Ministry for issue of guidelines
to identify BPL families in urban areas.
47.

(d)

48.

(b)

Exp: The RIRI is computed by averaging a

country's GDP growth rate and its macroeconomic indicators; the latter measured
as the average of the fiscal deficit, current
account deficit, and inflation (all with
negative signs). Thus, equal weight is given
to growth and macroeconomic stability.
The greater the number, the better should
be its investor rating.
49.

(b)

Exp: Autarky is a state of independence. For

example, a country that is functional
without partaking in any international
trade. From an economic view, autarky
involving the elimination of foreign trade.
50.

(c)

Exp: The Indian banking system is afflicted by

what might be called "double financial
Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

repression" which reduces returns to savers

and banks, and misallocates capital to
investors. Financial repression on the asset
side of the balance sheet is created by the
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
requirement that forces banks to hold
government securities, and Priority Sector
Lending (PSL) that forces resource
deployment in less-than-fully efficient
ways.
51.

Exp: The EXOGENOUS FACTORS relate to

such factors as government policies
pertaining to production, prices and
distribution. Further, shortage of power,
transport, raw materials, change in
investment plan, deteriorating industrial
relations are some other factors to be noted
in this connection.
The most important ENDOGENOUS
FACTOR causing industrial sickness has
been weak management or mismanagement.

(a)

Exp: It will be established in NITI Aayog.

(d)

53.

(c)

54.

(d)

60.
61.

(b)

62.

(b)

63.

(c)

64.

(c)

65.

(a)

66.

(c)

67.

(d)

68.

(a)

69.

(c)

70.

(c)

(d)

56.

(a)

GS

SC

Exp: The National Mission for Sustainable

Agriculture (NMSA) is envisaged as one
of the eight Missions under the National
Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
with the objective of promoting Sustainable
Agriculture. The thrust areas to be
addressed under this Mission are dryland
agriculture, access to information, biotechnology and risk management.
55.

Exp: India's major services exports in 2013-14

are computer services (45.8 per cent share);
other business services (18.8 per cent share)
including professional and consulting
services (10.2 per cent share), technical and
trade-related services (7.8 per cent share)
and R & D services (0.8 percent share);
travel (11.8 per cent share); transport (11.5
per cent share); and financial, insurance
and pension services (5.8 per cent share).
57.

(c)

58.

(c)

Exp: India introduced a formal plan model after

the First Five Year Plan (1951-1956).
59.

(a)

OR
E

52.

(d)

Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

Exp: Countries themselves decide whether they

want to be in developed or developing
categories. There are no WTO definitions
of "developed" or "developing" countries.
Developing countries in the WTO are
designated on the basis of self-selection
although this is not necessarily
automatically accepted in all WTO bodies.
71.

(d)

Exp: Its loans are interest free (only

administrative cost is charged). Further,
the repayment period is very long like 3540 years and the repayment starts after
10 years of taking loans. This way, it helps
the developing countries to fo focus on
development without worrying about
paying back of loan quickly.
[5]

72.

(d)

in the North East region, a 40 per cent

subsidy on gas operations has been
extended to private companies operating
in the region.

Exp: Recent Policy Initiatives for enhancing

Crude Oil and Natural Gas production:

New Gas Pricing Formula: The

Government approved the New Gas
Pricing formula on 18 October, 2014 and
released New Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2014.
The increase in price of domestically
produced natural gas strikes a fine balance
between the expectations of investors and
interests of consumers.
Reforms in Production-Sharing Contracts
to push Investment in Exploration: The
government has ironed out a number of
rigidities in production- sharing contracts
to instil confidence among investors and
ensure that work, which was stuck in a
number of blocks, takes off in right earnest
and without further delay.

Reassessment of Hydrocarbon Potential:

An elaborate plan has been rolled out to
reassess hydrocarbon resources in India's
sedimentary basins which will provide
greater clarity to future investors on the
prospects of the basins.

Project for Survey of Un-appraised

Sedimentary Basins of India: A project
has been undertaken to appraise about 1.5
million sq. km area in twenty-four
sedimentary basins where scanty geoscientific data is available. Data generated
under the project shall be stored,
maintained, validated in a National Data
Repository (NDR) which is being set up in
the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons
(DGH).

Data Acquisition through Non Exclusive

Multi-Client Model: A policy for
acquisition of geo-scientific data through
a non-exclusive multi-client model is being
implemented. This model replaces the
earlier fiscal term of profit sharing after
cost recovery with the payment of a onetime project fee.

GS

SC

[ 6 ]

Gas Grid Infrastructure: In addition to

the existing 15,000 km gas pipeline
network, another 15,000 km has been
planned for completion of the gas grid.

73.

(a)

Exp: Separating agriculture and non-agriculture

feeders to facilitate distribution companies
(discoms) in the judicious rostering of
supply to agricultural and non-agricultural
consumers.
74.

(d)

OR
E

Level Playing Field for Gas operations

in the North East Region: For
incentivizing exploration and production

Exp: The overall growth in eight core industries

during April-December 2014-15 has
improved marginally to 4.4 per cent
compared to 4.1 per cent in the same
period last year. Electricity (9.7 per cent),
coal (9.1 per cent), and cement (7.9 per
cent) boosted the performance, while
natural gas (-5.1 per cent), fertilizers (-1.4
per cent), crude oil (-0.9 per cent), refinery
products (0.2 per cent), and steel (1.6 per
cent) accounted for moderation in growth.
The improved performance in electricity
is due to high growth in thermal
generation; in coal mining to higher
production by Coal India Ltd. and captive
mining; and in cement to capacity
addition. Natural gas and crude oil
production have declined because of no
major discoveries and problems with old
oilfields. Domestic steel production is
affected by slowdown in domestic demand
and cheaper imports. Fertilizer production
has contracted mainly because of nonavailability of gas and no significant
capacity addition in the past few years.
75.

(a)

76.

(a)

Exp: Kerala has the highest road density in the

country. Assam is second and West Bengal
is third in road density.
Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

77.

(d)

87.

(a)

78.

(c)

88.

(c)

Exp: Assistance under the scheme will be given

to the Panchayati Raj Institutions / local
bodies and eligible Non-Governmental
Voluntary Organizations.
79.

(b)

89.

(c)

Exp: It is to achieve full immunization coverage

for all children by 2020
Diseases including diphtheria, whooping
cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles
and hepatitis B.
90.

(c)

Exp: Financial assistance is released in the form

of "one times grant" to the Medical
Superintendent of the hospital in which
the treatment is being received.

OR
E

Exp: The objective of EMRS is to provide quality

middle and high level education to
Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote
areas, not only to enable them to avail of
reservation in high and professional
educational courses and as jobs in
government and public and private sectors
but also to have access to the best
opportunities in education at par with the
non ST population. Admission to these
schools will be through selection/
competition with suitable provision for
preference to children belonging to
Primitive Tribal Groups, first generation
students, etc.

Exp: ULIPs is regulated by IRDA.

(c)

92.

(b)

93.

(a)

(d)

81.

(d)

94.

(d)

82.

(b)

95.

(c)

83.

(d)

96.

(c)

84.

(a)

97.

(d)

98.

(c)
(b)

GS

80.

SC

91.

Exp: The quota decide the voting power.

Exp: Vocational Trainings for girls aged 16 and

above under NSDP.

85.

(d)

99.

86.

(b)

100. (d)

Economic & Social Development - 2 Answers

[7]