Statement 1 is not correct, 2 and 3 are correct.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged industry to step up investments and expand capacities, noting that worries about high public capital spending and borrowings crowding out private investments were misplaced.
The argument supporting higher debt leading to lower growth is as follows:
• Higher levels of public debt are accompanied by more taxes in the future to pay for the debt, thereby leading to lower lifetime wealth, which may decrease consumption and savings, eventually resulting in lower aggregate demand and growth rates. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• If higher public debt (i.e. lower public savings) is not accompanied by increase in private savings, it may also lead to lower total savings in the economy.
• This may put upward pressure on the interest rates, resulting in crowding out of investment and thus negatively impacting the growth rates.
Crowding Out Effect
• As the government adopts an expansionary fiscal policy stance and increases its spending to boost economic activity.
• This leads to an increase in interest rates. Increased interest rates affect private investment decisions.
• A high magnitude of the crowding-out effect may even lead to lesser income in the economy.

Only statement 1 is correct, 2 is not correct.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)
• PMMVY is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January, 2017.
• It is a centrally sponsored scheme being executed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Cash benefits are provided to pregnant women in their bank account directly to meet enhanced nutritional needs and partially compensate for wage loss. Hence statement 1 is correct.
Target Beneficiaries
• All Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding those who are in regular employment with the Central Government or the State Governments or PSUs or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• All eligible Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who have their pregnancy on or after 1st January 2017 for the first child in the family.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct, 3 and 4 are not correct.
External debt of India
• The external debt of India is the total debt the country owes to foreign creditors. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The debtors can be the Union government, state governments, corporations or citizens of India. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• The debt includes money owed to private commercial banks, foreign governments, or international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
• At end of December 2021, India’s external debt was placed at $ 566.2 billion. External Commercial borrowings remained the largest component of external debt, with a share of 38.1 per cent, followed by non-resident deposits (23.9 per cent) and short-term trade credit (18.2 per cent).
• The ratio of external debt to GDP in India varies as shown below: (Source PIB)

Year Ratio of External Debt to GDP
2017 23.4
2018 19.8
2019 20.1
2020 19.8
2021 (Provisional) 21.8
• Hence, it can be seen that India’s External Debt to GDP ratio did not increased steadily. Hence statement 4 is not correct.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct, 3 is not correct.
Long Term Repo Operations
• It is a tool under which the central bank provides one year to three-year money to banks at the prevailing repo rate, accepting government securities with matching or higher tenure as the collateral.
• It is a mechanism to facilitate the transmission of monetary policy actions and the flow of credit to the economy. This helps in injecting liquidity in the banking system.
• The LTRO scheme will be in addition to the existing Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) operations.
• LTROs are conducted on Core Banking Solution (EKUBER) platform.
Benefits of the LTROs
• It will enhance liquidity in the banking system.
• The introduction of long-term repo operations (LTRO) will bring down the cost of funds for banks without effectively cutting deposit rates. As banks get long-term funds at lower rates, their cost of funds falls. In turn, they reduce interest rates for borrowers.
• It is a measure that is expected to bring down short-term rates and also boost investment in corporate bonds.
• LTRO helped RBI ensure that banks reduce (not increase) their marginal cost of funds-based lending rate, without reducing policy rates. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

Statements 2 and 4 are correct, 1 and 3 are not correct.
RBI’s Monetary Policy
Monetary policy refers to credit control measures used by the central bank to regulate and control the level of credit creation by commercial banks. Lack of credit facilities results in fall in money supply and deflation or deficiency in demand in the economy. Monetary policy aims at controlling the excess or deficiency in demand.
• Bank Rate: It is the rate at which the central bank discounts the securities of the commercial banks. It is also the rate at which commercial banks borrow money from the central bank. The central bank can decrease the bank rate to increase the money supply in the economy. Thus the central bank can decrease the bank rate to cure deflation.
• Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): It is a specified minimum fraction of the total deposits of customers, which commercial banks have to hold as reserves either in cash or as deposits with the central bank. The lower the CRR, the higher liquidity with the banks, which in turn goes into investment and lending and vice versa. Hence, RBI decreases CRR to fight deflation.
• Reverse Repo Rate: Under the Reverse Repo Rate, banks deposit excess funds with the RBI and earn interest for it. An increase in the Reverse Repo Rate provides an incentive to the banks to park their surplus funds with the central bank on a short-term basis, thereby reducing liquidity in the banking system. Therefore, in order to fight deflation, the Reverse Repo Rate is kept lower to discourage banks from keeping surplus funds with RBI as against lending them to individuals and businesses.
• SLR: It is the minimum percentage of deposits that a commercial bank has to maintain in the form of liquid cash, gold or other securities. RBI keeps it lower to fight the Deflation.

Only statement 1 is correct.
Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) Status
• It is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the US Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
• Nations with MNNA designation are eligible to, among other things, host U.S. war reserve stockpiles of material inside their countries.
• While MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any commitments to the designated country.
• India is not a MNNA of US.

All the statements are correct.
CAATSA
• Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)‘s core objective is to counter Iran, Russia and North Korea through punitive measures.
• Enacted in 2017.
• Includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors.
What sanctions will be imposed?
1. prohibition on loans to the sanctioned person.
2. prohibition of Export-Import bank assistance for exports to sanctioned persons.
3. prohibition on procurement by United States Government to procure goods or services from the sanctioned person.
4. denial of visas to persons closely associated with the sanctioned person.

Both statements are correct.
Operation AAHT
• It is a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking.
• As part of the operation, special teams will be deployed on all long-distance trains/routes with focus on rescuing victims, particularly women and children, from the clutches of traffickers.
• The infrastructure and intelligence network of the RPF will be utilized to collect, collate and analyse clues on victims, source, route, destination, popular trains used by suspects, kingpins and shared with other law-enforcing agencies.
• Hence, the RPF could act as a bridge cutting across States to assist the local police in the mission to curb the menace of human trafficking.

Statements 3 is correct, 1 and 2 are not correct.
Public Order
• Public order is normally equated with public peace and safety.
• It is one of the grounds on which the state can restrict free speech and other fundamental rights. It is one of the three grounds on which the state can restrict freedom of religion. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• It is a duty imposed on the District Magistrate to assess whether it is necessary to rush to the spot where law and order has been breached to prevent violence spreading and ease tension. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• Therefore, it is the primary duty of the State Governments to prevent, detect, register and investigate crime and prosecute the criminals.

Both statements are not correct.
Election Symbols
• As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the Election Commission allots symbols for anyone contesting in polls.
• A person contesting on behalf of a recognised political party will inherit the party’s symbol.
• An independent candidate or someone contesting on behalf of an unrecognised political party has to approach the Commission and get a symbol allotted from the list of ‘free’ symbols available. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• A candidate will have to provide three symbols from the free list at the time of submission of nomination papers, one of which will be allocated to him/her.
• Any choice other than from the EC’s list will be summarily rejected.
• In the case of a recognised political party, the Commission allows it to ‘reserve’ a symbol.
• For example, if a political party recognised in a particular State wishes to contest in elections in another State, it can ‘reserve’ the symbol being used by it. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• The Commission will oblige, provided the symbol is not being used by anyone else.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct, 3 is not correct.
Election in India
• Under section 33 of the RPA, 1951, a person is allowed to contest polls, whether a general election, more than one by-elections or biennial elections, from a maximum of two seats. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Before this law, candidates could run in any number of constituencies.
• If candidates win both seats, they must vacate one within 10 days, triggering a by-election, as stated under section 70 of the Act.
• Under Sec 33(7) of RPA, 1951, an individual can contest from two parliamentary constituencies but, if elected from both, he has to resign one seat within 14 days of the declaration of the result, failing which both his seats shall fall vacant. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Under Article 101(2) of the Constitution (read with Rule 2 of the Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules, 1950, made by the President under this Article) members of state legislatures who have been elected to Lok Sabha must resign their seats within 14 days “from the date of publication in the Gazette of India or in the Official Gazette of the State, whichever is later, of the declaration that he has been so chosen”, failing which their seats in Lok Sabha shall automatically fall vacant. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

Statement 1 is not correct, 2 and 3 are correct.
Minorities in India
• Constitution recognizes Religious minorities in India and Linguistic minorities in India through Article 29 and Article 30. But Minority is not defined in the Constitution.
• Article 29: It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script, or culture of its own, shall have the rights of minorities in India to conserve the same. It is applied to both minorities (religious minorities in India and Linguistic minorities in India) and also the majority. It also includes – rights of minorities in India to agitate for the protection of language. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Article 30: All minorities shall have the rights of minorities in India to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 30 recognises only Religious minorities in India and Linguistic minorities in India (not the majority). It includes the rights of minorities in India to impart education to their children in their own language. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Article 350-B: Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision with respect to the Special Officer for Linguistic minorities in India. However, the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 inserted Article 350-B in the Constitution. It provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India. It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution.
• Currently, the Linguistic minorities in India are identified on a state-wise basis thus determined by the state government whereas Religious minorities in India are determined by the Central Government. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Statement 1 is correct, 2 is not correct.
A local Mumbai court sent YouTuber Vikas Phatak aka Hindustani Bhau to police custody till February 4 along with one Ikrar Khan.
Police Custody in India:
• When following to the receipt of an information/complaint/report by police about a crime, an officer of police arrests the suspect involved in the crime reported, to prevent him from committing the offensive acts further, such officer brings that suspect to police station, it’s called Police Custody.
• It is actually the custody of a suspect with the police in a jail at the police station, to detain the suspect. During this detention, the police officer in charge of the case, may interrogate the suspect and this detention is not supposed to be longer than 24 hours.
• The officer in charge of the case is required to produce the suspect before the appropriate judge within 24 hours, these 24 hours exclude the time of necessary journey from the police station to the court.
Judicial Custody:
• Police Custody means that police has the physical custody of the accused while Judicial Custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned Magistrate. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• In former, the accused is lodged in police station lockup while in latter, it is the jail.
• When Police takes a person into custody, the Cr.P.C kicks-in and they were produced him/her before a Magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest.
• A Judicial Magistrate may remand a person to any form of custody extending up to 15 days and an executive magistrate may order for a period of custody extending up to 7 days. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Statement 1 is correct, 2 is not correct.
Language in Parliament
• The Constitution has declared Hindi and English to be the languages for transacting business in the Parliament. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• However, the presiding officer can permit a member to address the House in his mother-tongue. In both the Houses, arrangements are made for simultaneous translation. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Though English was to be discontinued as a floor language after the expiration of fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution (that is, in 1965), the Official Languages Act (1963) allowed English to be continued along with Hindi.
• The Indian Constitution gives Hindi (in Devanagari Script) as the official language of the union.
• Article 343(1) of our constitution specifically provided; Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the official language of the Union. For official purposes, the international form of Indian numerals shall be used.
• In the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution there are 22 languages that have been recognized (Originally 14 languages were mentioned).

• Paramarsh – is a scheme for mentoring the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) accreditation aspirant institutions to promote quality assurance in Higher Education.
• It would also facilitate the sharing of information, knowledge and opportunities for research collaboration and faculty development in the mentee institutions.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct, 2 is not correct.
Inter-State Water Disputes
• Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of inter-state water disputes.
• It makes two provisions:
1. Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution and control of waters of any inter-state river and river valley. Hence statement 1 is correct.
2. Parliament may also provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.
• Under this, the Parliament has enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 for adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valley thereof.
• ISRWD act empowers the Central government to set up an adhoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute between two or more states in relation to the waters of an inter-state river or river valley. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• The parliament enacted that the decision of the tribunal would be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
• Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to such a tribunal under this Act. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Only statement 1 is correct, 2 and 3 are not correct.
Removal of Governor:
• A Governor of a state is an appointee of the President, according to Articles 155 and 156 of the Constitution, and he or she serves “at the pleasure of the President.”
• If a Governor continues to have the “pleasure of the President,” he or she can serve another five years. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The grounds for a Governor’s removal by the President are not specified in the constitution. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• The Governor’s office has no fixed term and no security of tenure because the President can remove him at any time. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• After submitting his resignation letter to the President, the Governor can resign from his office.
• Governor may also get transferred from one state to another by the President. He also can be reappointed.
• The Punchhi Commission (2010) suggested that the phrase “during the pleasure of the President” should be deleted from the Constitution, because a Governor should not be removed at the will of the central government; instead he or she should be removed only by a resolution of the state legislature.
• The Sarkaria Commission (1988) also recommended that Governors must not be removed before completion of their five year tenure, except in rare and compelling circumstances. This was meant to provide Governors with a measure of security of tenure, so that they could carry out their duties without fear or favour.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct, 1 and 4 are not correct.
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
• It gives powers to the army, state and central police forces to shoot to kill, search houses and destroy any property that is “likely” to be used by insurgents in areas declared as “disturbed” by the home ministry. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• AFSPA is invoked when a case of militancy or insurgency takes place and the territorial integrity of India is at risk.
• Security forces can “arrest a person without warrant”, who has committed or even “about to commit a cognizable offence” even based on “reasonable suspicion”.
• It also provides security forces with legal immunity for their actions in disturbed areas. Hence statement 4 is correct.
• While the armed forces and the government justify its need in order to combat militancy and insurgency, critics have pointed out cases of possible human rights violations linked to the act.
• AFSPA was first enacted to deal with the Naga insurgency in the Assam region. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• The powers to declare an area as “disturbed” are conferred concurrently upon the Central government along with the States. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Currently, the Union Home Ministry issues periodic “disturbed area” notification to extend AFSPA.

The process of snow compacting into glacial firn in dense, grainy ice is called firnification.
When the ice grows thick enough, about 50 meters (160 feet), the firn grains fuse into a huge mass of solid ice. The glacier begins to move under its own weight.
Different parts of a glacier move at different speeds. The flowing ice in the middle of the glacier moves faster than the base.
Researchers in Nepal warned that the highest glacier on the top of Mount Everest could disappear by the middle of this century as the 2,000-year-old ice cap on the world’s tallest mountain is thinning at an alarming rate.

Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct, 3 is not correct.
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)
• Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is an autonomous organization of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, located in Pragathi Nagar, Hyderabad. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• INCOIS was established as an autonomous body in 2007 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO).
Services Provided by INCOIS
• The identification of Potential Fishing Zones was one of the first advisory services started by INCOIS. The PFZ uses real-time data for ocean colour and imagery provided by OCEANSAT. Hence statement 4 is correct.
• OCEANSAT is a satellite built by ISRO for ocean applications. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• Following the devastating Tsunami of December 26, 2004, and frequent storm-surgest that occur from time to time, the Government of India wanted to set up an early warning centre for tsunami and other storm surges in the Indian Ocean region.
• On October 15 2007, a centre housing the Tsunami Early Warning System was set up in INCOIS by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Statement 2 is also correct. INCOIS has carried out coastal vulnerability assessment for entire Indian coast at states level to bring out an Atlas comprising 156 maps on 1:100000 scales to prepare a Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI).

Both statements are not correct.
OECM
• The OECM tag is given by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The tag is conferred upon areas that have achieved effective IN-SITU conservation of biodiversity, but are outside protected areas like national parks and sanctuaries. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The OECM tag does not bring any legal, financial or management implications but designates the area as a biodiversity hotspot on the international map.
• The proposal to declare Aravalli Biodiversity Park an OECM site was sent by the National Biodiversity Authority to the IUCN in 2020.