Inspired by: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-strait-of-hormuz-the-worlds-most-important-oil-artery-5780260/

Answer: (c)

Strait of Hormuz

• The strait lies between Oman and Iran
• It links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond
• It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just two miles (three km) wide in either direction.

Bimal Jalan Committee

• The committee was appointed in December 2018 to review the Economic Capital Framework (ECF) for the RBI after the Finance Ministry advised the central bank to transfer surplus funds to the government.
• The RBI has over Rs 9.6 lakh crore surplus capitals.
• The panel has been entrusted with the task of reviewing the best practices followed by central banks worldwide in making assessment and provisions for risks.

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/jalan-panel-defers-report-on-rbi-surplus-funds/

Inspired by: Cabinet approves ratification of OECD’s multilateral convention to check tax evasion

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/cabinet-approves-ratification-of-oecds-multilateral-convention-to-check-tax-evasion/

Answer: (b)

Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS)

• Firms make profits in one jurisdiction, and shift them across borders by exploiting gaps and mismatches in tax rules, to take advantage of lower tax rates and, thus, not paying taxes to in the country where the profit is made.
• BEPS refers to this corporate tax planning strategies to “shift” profits from higher–tax jurisdictions to lower–tax jurisdictions.
• The OECD has considered ways to revise tax treaties, tighten rules, and to share more government tax information under the BEPS project.

Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one’s own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law.

Tax sheltering is very similar, although unlike tax avoidance tax sheltering is not necessarily legal. Tax havens are jurisdictions which facilitate reduced taxes.

Inspired by: Chandrayaan-2 Mission

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/chandrayaan-2-mission/

Answer: (a)

The Moon Impact Probe

• For largely symbolic reasons, though, the Chandrayaan-1 mission did make one of its instruments, called Moon Impact Probe, or MIP.
• It was a 35-kg cube-shaped module with the Indian tricolour on all its sides, to crash-land on the moon’s surface.
• ISRO claims that while on its way, MIP had sent data that showed evidence for the presence of water on the moon.
• Unfortunately, those findings could not be published because of anomalies in calibration of the data.
• The confirmation for water had come through another onboard instrument, the M3 or Moon Mineralogy Mapper that had been put by NASA.

Inspired by: CSP 2016

Answer: (b)

European Stability Mechanism

• The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone Member States having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty.
• It was established on 27 September 2012 as a permanent firewall for the eurozone, to safeguard and provide instant access to financial assistance programmes for member states of the eurozone in financial difficulty, with a maximum lending capacity of €700 billion.