The 2019 Codex
Questions 81 to 90 (Set A)
With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements:
1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to be constitutionally invalid.
2. An amendment to the Constitution of India cannot be called into question by the Supreme Court of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Statement 1 is False: Under Article 226, High Courts enjoy comprehensive judicial review powers. A High Court has full jurisdiction to examine and strike down any Central or State law if it violates Fundamental Rights or constitutional provisions (established decisively in the L. Chandra Kumar case, 1997).
Statement 2 is False: Since the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court has the unequivocal constitutional power to scrutinize and strike down any constitutional amendment if it breaches or destroys the "Basic Structure" of the Constitution (as proven when the 99th Amendment establishing the NJAC was declared unconstitutional).
Route: [REALM 71: Judicial Review] & [REALM 62: Basic Structure Doctrine]The Unbroken Review
The Third Giant
Consider the following statements:
1. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rates are calculated by comparing the prices of the same basket of goods and services in different countries.
2. In terms of PPP dollars, India is the sixth largest economy in the world.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) 1 only
Statement 1 is True: The Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rate is computed by comparing the domestic currency price of an identical representative basket of consumer goods and services across different national economies (the Law of One Price).
Statement 2 is False: In nominal GDP terms, India hovered between 5th and 7th worldwide during this period. However, in PPP terms, India is the third-largest economy in the world, trailing only China and the United States.
Route: [REALM 175: Exchange Rate Determination] & [REALM 28: GDP]With reference to the cultivation of Kharif crops in India in the last five years, consider the following statements:
1. Area under rice cultivation is the highest.
2. Area under the cultivation of jowar is more than that of oilseeds.
3. Area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugarcane.
4. Area under sugarcane cultivation has steadily decreased.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) 1 and 3 only
Statement 1 is True: Rice is the undisputed king of Indian agricultural acreage, occupying around 43 to 45 million hectares annually.
Statement 2 is False: Oilseeds cover approximately 25 to 28 million hectares, whereas coarse jowar accounts for only 4 to 5 million hectares.
Statement 3 is True: Cotton acreage spans roughly 11 to 12 million hectares, comfortably exceeding sugarcane acreage, which stands at around 4.5 to 5 million hectares.
Statement 4 is False: Sugarcane acreage has fluctuated up and down based on monsoons and FRP mill payments; it has not shown a "steady decrease".
Route: [REALM 25: Cropping Pattern in India] & [REALM 40: Rice Geography of India]Acreage Hierarchy
The Golden Liquid
Among the agricultural commodities imported by India, which one of the following accounts for the highest imports in terms of value in the last five years?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Vegetable oils
India imports nearly 55% to 60% of its domestic edible oil consumption (primarily palm oil from Indonesia/Malaysia, and soybean/sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, and Ukraine). In terms of fiscal value, vegetable oils command the lion's share—amounting to over $10–$15 billion annually, dwarfing pulses, fresh fruits, and spices combined.
Route: [REALM 188: Agricultural Imports] & [REALM 47: Oilseeds Geography of India]In the context of polity, which one of the following would you accept as the most appropriate definition of liberty?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Opportunity to develop oneself fully
In democratic political theory and Indian constitutional jurisprudence, Positive Liberty represents the pinnacle definition. Merely having an "absence of restraint" (Negative Liberty) is insufficient if poverty or societal discrimination prevents an individual from thriving.
As affirmed by thinkers like T.H. Green, Isaiah Berlin, and B.R. Ambedkar, genuine liberty is the provision of enabling conditions that grant every citizen the opportunity to fully develop their human personality and creative potential.
Route: [REALM 18: Liberty]The Unfolding Self
The Rupee Anchor
Which one of the following is not the most likely measure the Government/RBI takes to stop the slide of Indian rupee?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Following an expansionary monetary policy
When a currency depreciates sharply, an expansionary monetary policy (slashing repo rates and injecting excess rupee liquidity) exacerbates inflation and drives foreign investors to move capital abroad in search of higher yields, causing the rupee to plunge even further.
To halt a slide, central banks implement a tight/contractionary monetary policy (raising interest rates), curb non-essential imports (saving dollars), ease ECB norms (attracting dollars), and promote Masala bonds (shifting currency risk entirely away from the rupee).
Route: [REALM 177: Rupee & Exchange-Rate Management] & [REALM 113: Monetary Policy]Consider the following statements: The Reserve Bank of India's recent directives relating to 'Storage of Payment System Data', popularly known as data diktat, command the payment system providers that
1. they shall ensure that entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India
2. they shall ensure that the systems are owned and operated by public sector enterprises
3. they shall submit the consolidated system audit report to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by the end of the calendar year
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) 1 only
Statement 1 is True: The RBI April 2018 circular mandated that all payment system providers (including Visa, Mastercard, and Google Pay) must ensure that the complete end-to-end transaction data is stored in servers situated exclusively in India.
Statement 2 is False: There is no requirement whatsoever that the payment servers be owned or run by public sector entities; private entities own and manage their cloud servers freely provided they reside on Indian soil.
Statement 3 is False: System audit reports by CERT-In empaneled auditors must be submitted to the RBI, not to the CAG (the constitutional auditor of public accounts).
Route: [REALM 33: Digital Payments Infrastructure] & [REALM 76: Data Governance & Privacy]The Sovereign Server
The Privacy Vault
Which of the following adopted a law on data protection and privacy for its citizens known as 'General Data Protection Regulation' in April 2016 and started implementation of it from 25th May, 2018?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) The European Union
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the benchmark data privacy and security framework enacted by the European Union (EU). Adopted in April 2016 and implemented on May 25, 2018, it imposes stringent privacy rules directly onto any organization anywhere in the world that targets or collects data related to EU residents, introducing concepts like the "Right to be Forgotten".
Route: [REALM 09: Digital Personal Data & Privacy] & [REALM 52: European Integration]Recently, India signed a deal known as 'Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field' with which of the following countries?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) Russia
During the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit held in New Delhi in October 2018 between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin, India and Russia signed the landmark joint document titled 'Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field'.
The agreement mapped out the roadmap for expanding nuclear power cooperation, including constructing units 5 and 6 at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and developing a prospective second Russian-designed nuclear power site in India.
Route: [REALM 51: India–Russia Relations] & [REALM 53: India–Russia Strategic Cooperation]The Kudankulam Atom
The Fractional Fountain
The money multiplier in an economy increases with which one of the following?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) Increase in the banking habit of the population
The Money Multiplier ($m$) indicates how much broad money ($M_3$) is generated from a given base of high-powered reserve money ($M_0$):
Money Multiplier = (1 + c) / (c + r)
Where c is the currency-deposit ratio (cash in hand vs bank deposits) and r is the reserve ratio (CRR/SLR).
When people develop stronger banking habits (preferring bank deposits over holding physical cash in mattresses), the currency-deposit ratio c drops. Commercial banks obtain a larger pool of deposits to re-lend and create credit repeatedly, causing the money multiplier to expand. Conversely, increasing CRR or SLR locks more money into idle reserves, shrinking the multiplier.
Route: [REALM 112: Money & Monetary System] & [REALM 148: Financial Inclusion in India]