Question 31: Consider the following statements:

1. As per the Old pension scheme, pension was fixed as 30% of the last basic salary drawn, along with other benefits.
2. The New Pension Scheme is a contribution-based pension system.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

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

Correct Answer: B

Explanation

What is the difference between the old and new pension schemes?

• As per the OPS, pension was fixed as 50% of the last basic salary drawn, along with other benefits.
• Whereas the New Pension Scheme (NPS) is a contribution-based pension system. The pension benefit is also determined by factors such as the amount of contribution made, the age of joining, the type of investment, etc.
• The scheme was introduced by the Centre for all government appointments after January 1, 2004.
• The NPS is regulated under the PFRDA (The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority) Act, 2013.
• Under the Centre’s scheme, every government employee is allotted a Permanent Retirement Account Number, and has to mandatorily contribute 10% of pay, which the government matched, and dearness allowance to the new pension fund. This money can then be invested by fund managers.
• After the latest amendment, in 2019, the government’s contribution was raised from 10% to 14%.

Question 32: Consider the following statements:

1. Supreme Court judgment of 1977 in Rev Stanislaus v State of Madhya Pradesh, it was held that the “right to propagate” does not mean the “right to convert”.
2. Wadhwa Commission is related with the issues associated with the religious conversion.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

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

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• Supreme Court judgment of 1977 in Rev Stanislaus v State of Madhya Pradesh, in which it was held that the MP Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 and Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, were constitutional even though both these Acts were hindrances in the propagation of religion.
• It was held that the “right to propagate” does not mean the “right to convert”. The Niyogi Commission (1956) and Wadhwa Commission (2000), after the gruesome killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, had highlighted the problem of conversion.

Question 33: Consider the following statements:

1. A carbon border adjustment tax is a duty on imports based on the amount of carbon emissions resulting from the production of the product in question.
2. It is proposed by G7.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

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

Correct Answer: A

Explanation

What is a carbon border adjustment tax? What is driving the EU in that direction?

• A carbon border adjustment tax is a duty on imports based on the amount of carbon emissions resulting from the production of the product in question. As a price on carbon, it discourages emissions. As a trade-related measure, it affects production and exports.
• The idea of a carbon border tax has been discussed by experts for If designed unilaterally, it tends to be seen as unfair by trading partners. There is the risk that it becomes a protectionist device, unduly shielding local industries from foreign competition in so-called ‘green protectionism’.
• The United States, China, India, Brazil, South Africa and several others, including least-developed countries, have expressed concern over the EU’s CBAM.

Question 34: Consider the following statements:

1. Bhagat Singh referred Kartar Singh Sarabha as his “Guru”.
2. The Pacific Coast Hindustan Association was a precursor to the Ghadar Party.
3. The Pacific Coast Hindustan Association was formed by Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

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

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• Kartar Singh Sarabha, all of 19 years old and one of the 27 other revolutionaries to be punished for their alleged roles in Lahore
• Inspiration to several revolutionary and other freedom fighters, including Bhagat Singh, who referred to him as his “Guru”.
• Kartar Singh had refused any counsel for himself during the trial of the case. he came into contact with Lala Hardayal, an acclaimed Sanskrit scholar, Sohan Singh Bhana, a farmer, and Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje, an agricultural scientist who formed the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association in 1913.
• It was a precursor to the Ghadar Party, that was formed on July 15, 1913
• So, when the Gadar movement was born in 1913, Kartar Singh became a key Gadar Party was formed by the Indians in Oregon on April 21, 1913, with the aim to oust the British from India, putting all they had at stake. Kartar Singh was made in charge of bringing out the Punjabi language edition of Gadar, the party mouthpiece. Other than Punjabi, Gadar was published in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati and Pushto and went to Indians all over the world.
• On September 15, 1914, Kartar Singh left for India with Satyen Sen and Vishnu Ganesh Pingle and met Jatin Mukherjee, of Yugantar, in Kolkata. Mukherjee connected him to Rash Behari Bose. Kartar Singh met Bose in Banaras and informed him of the arrival of as many as 20,000 more Gadarites and plans of the revolution. A Punjabi novelist Nanak Singh wrote a novel titled “Ikk Miyan Do Talwaran” based on his life.