The 2016 Codex
Questions 71 to 80 (Set A)
What is/are the purpose/purposes of Government's 'Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme' and 'Gold Monetization Scheme'?
1. To bring the idle gold lying with Indian households into the economy
2. To promote FDI in the gold and jewellery sector
3. To reduce India's dependence on gold imports
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 1 and 3 only
India has a massive cultural affinity for gold, leading to massive imports that drain the country's foreign exchange reserves and widen the Current Account Deficit. To tackle this, the government launched the Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS) and Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) in 2015.
Statement 1 is True: The GMS specifically aims to mobilize the thousands of tonnes of idle physical gold lying in household lockers and temple trusts, melting it down to put it into productive economic circulation.
Statement 3 is True: The SGB offers paper/digital gold instead of physical gold. By shifting investment demand from physical to paper gold, the ultimate aim is to reduce the nation's reliance on gold imports.
Statement 2 is False: Neither scheme has anything to do with promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the jewelry sector.
Route: [REALM 130: BOP & Current Account Deficit]The Golden Shift
The Dragon's Silk
'Belt and Road Initiative' is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) China
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formerly known as One Belt One Road (OBOR), is the colossal, multi-trillion-dollar global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 under Xi Jinping.
It consists of two main components: the overland "Silk Road Economic Belt" connecting China to Europe via Central Asia, and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" connecting China's ports to Africa and the Mediterranean via the Indian Ocean. India has strictly boycotted the BRI because its flagship project (CPEC) violates Indian sovereignty by passing through PoK.
Route: [REALM 122: Global Geopolitical Strategies] & [REALM 78: India-China Relations]Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana is aimed at
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) bringing the small entrepreneurs into formal financial system
MUDRA stands for Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency. Launched in 2015, its singular mission is to "fund the unfunded."
Millions of small shopkeepers, fruit vendors, truck drivers, and artisans in the informal sector previously relied on extortionate local moneylenders because banks wouldn't give them loans without collateral. PM MUDRA Yojana provides collateral-free loans to these small/micro non-corporate, non-farm enterprises, bringing them securely into the formal financial system through three stages: Shishu (up to ₹50k), Kishore (₹50k to ₹5L), and Tarun (₹5L to ₹10L).
Route: [REALM 112: Schemes for Financial Inclusion]Fund The Unfunded
The Fractured Basins
In which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found?
1. Cambay Basin
2. Cauvery Basin
3. Krishna-Godavari Basin
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Shale gas is natural gas trapped deep underground within fine-grained sedimentary rocks (shales). To extract it, companies use hydraulic fracturing (fracking). According to ONGC and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, India has six major basins with significant, commercially viable shale gas potential.
The top basins identified are the Cambay Basin (Gujarat), the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin (Andhra Pradesh), and the Cauvery Basin (Tamil Nadu). (Other major ones include the Damodar Valley and the Assam-Arakan basin).
Route: [REALM 69: Energy Resources (Shale Gas)]'Global Financial Stability Report' is prepared by the
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) International Monetary Fund
The Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) is one of the most critical flagship publications of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Published semi-annually (in April and October), it assesses the vulnerabilities and risks in the global financial markets, assessing whether the world economy is heading toward another massive crisis.
Note: The IMF's other flagship report is the World Economic Outlook (WEO). The World Bank (IBRD) publishes the Global Economic Prospects.
Route: [REALM 183: IMF Reports]The Risk Radar
The Unorganized Umbrella
Regarding 'Atal Pension Yojana', which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers.
2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme.
3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber's death.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statement 1 is True: Replacing the Swavalamban scheme, the APY was launched to provide a universal social security net. It guarantees a minimum monthly pension (₹1000 to ₹5000) at age 60, aimed primarily at the millions of workers in the unorganized sector without formal pensions.
Statement 2 is False: There is absolutely no family limit restriction. Any individual citizen of India between the ages of 18 and 40 who holds a bank account can join APY. Thus, a husband and wife can both have separate, active APY accounts.
Statement 3 is True: The scheme has a strong social safeguard: in the event of the subscriber's death, the exact same guaranteed pension amount is paid to the spouse for life. After the demise of both, the accumulated corpus is returned to the nominee.
Route: [REALM 112: Social Security (Atal Pension Yojana)]The term 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership' often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) ASEAN
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a massive free trade agreement. Its entire architectural core was driven by the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They sought to consolidate their individual Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with six other regional partners (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India) into one mega-regional trade bloc.
Note: India famously walked out of the RCEP negotiations in 2019 due to fears that China would dump cheap manufactured goods and Australia/NZ would dump cheap dairy products into the Indian market, devastating domestic producers.
Route: [REALM 194: Global Trade Agreements] & [REALM 89: ASEAN]The ASEAN Hub
The Efficiency Marks
On which of the following can you find the Bureau of Energy Efficiency Star Label?
1. Ceiling fans
2. Electric geysers
3. Tubular fluorescent lamps
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) 1, 2 and 3
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, runs the highly successful Standards and Labeling (S&L) Program to help consumers identify energy-efficient appliances (the 1 to 5 Star ratings).
The BEE mandates these star labels for a specific list of high-energy-consuming household appliances. The list of mandatory labeled items explicitly includes Tubular Fluorescent Lamps (tube lights), Stationary Storage Type Water Heaters (electric geysers), and (initially voluntary but later mandatory) Ceiling Fans.
Route: [REALM 151: Energy Efficiency Standards]India is an important member of the 'International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor'. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) It can build fusion reactors for power generation
This requires parsing the exact vocabulary of the question. The keyword is "Thermonuclear."
Current nuclear power plants worldwide operate on Nuclear Fission (splitting heavy atoms like Uranium or Plutonium). ITER is an unprecedented global scientific partnership (being built in France) to prove that Nuclear Fusion (smashing light atoms together, exactly like how the Sun generates power) can be harnessed commercially.
If the ITER project succeeds in containing the plasma inside its massive magnetic Tokamak, it proves the viability of fusion. As a full member, India will gain the exact technological know-how to build its own commercial fusion reactors, securing virtually limitless, clean energy without the long-term radioactive waste associated with fission.
Route: [REALM 464: Nuclear Fusion & ITER]The Star on Earth
The Chola Vocabulary
In the context of the history of India, consider the following pairs:
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Eripatti | Land, revenue from which was set apart for the maintenance of the village tank |
| 2. Taniyurs | Villages donated to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins |
| 3. Ghatikas | Colleges generally attached to the temples |
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) 1 and 3
This tests the highly sophisticated administrative vocabulary of the Chola Empire in South India.
- 1. Eripatti (True): Cholas were masters of irrigation. A special category of land known as "Eri-patti" (tank land) was designated solely so its tax revenue could be used to desilt and maintain the massive village water tanks (Eris).
- 2. Taniyurs (False): A "Taniyur" was a massive, distinct revenue unit or independent township, often carved out of a kurram due to its huge size. The description given—land donated to Brahmins—actually defines a Brahmadeya or Agrahara.
- 3. Ghatikas (True): In Pallava and Chola times, Ghatikas were elite educational institutions/colleges attached to major temples, generally imparting Vedic and philosophical education.