Inspired by: India pledges to contribute $ 5 million to UN Palestine refugee agency

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/india-pledges-to-contribute-5-million-to-un-palestine-refugee-agency/

Answer: (d)

UNHCR vs. UNRWA

• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a United Nations programme with the mandate to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people, and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Wikipedia
• The UNRWA for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a relief and human development agency which supports more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees.
• UNRWA is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict and is separate from UNHCR.
• Formed in 1950, UNHCR is the main UN refugee agency, which is responsible for aiding other refugees all over the world.
• Unlike UNRWA, UNHCR has a specific mandate to aid its refugees to eliminate their refugee status by local integration in current country, resettlement in a third country or repatriation when possible.
• UNRWA allows refugee status to be inherited by descendants of male refugee, including legally adopted children.

Inspired by: New Code on Wages Bill

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/new-code-on-wages-bill/

Answer: (d)

National Floor Level Minimum Wage

• In order to have a uniform wage structure and to reduce the disparity in minimum wages across the country, a concept of National Floor Level Minimum Wage was mooted on the basis of the recommendations of the National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL) in 1991.
• Keeping in view the recommendation of NCRL and subsequent rises in price indices, the National Floor Level Minimum Wage was fixed at Rs.35/- per day in 1996. This is revised periodically. National Floor Level Minimum Wage is the minimum wage below which no state Government in India can fix the minimum wage.
• Unlike the concept of “minimum wage” this is a non-statutory measure to ensure upward revision of minimum wages in different in States/UT’s.
• Thus, the State Governments are persuaded to fix minimum wages such that in none of the scheduled employments (those employments which are by law, liable for payment of minimum wages), the minimum wage is less than the National Floor Level Minimum Wage.
• This method has helped to some extent in reducing disparity among different rates of minimum wages existing in various states. Rates are revised periodically.
• The Central Government has fixed the National Floor Level Minimum wage at Rs 160.00 per day with effect from 1 July 2015.
• This is the minimum wage fixed irrespective of any kind of schedule of employment both at centre and state level.

Inspired by: Explained: Privilege Motion

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-privilege-motion-2/

Answer: (c)

Privilege motion

• Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”.
• When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.
• A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.
• Each House also claims the right to punish as contempt actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege, are offences against its authority and dignity.
• Rule No 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and correspondingly Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook govern privilege.
• It says that a member may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a committee thereof.
• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion.
• The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.
• If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under Rule 222, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement.

Inspired by: https://www.financialexpress.com/budget/economic-survey-2019-making-india-fit-for-the-future/1629415/

Answer: (a)

Pump Priming

• Pump priming is the action taken to stimulate an economy, usually during a recessionary period, through government spending and interest rate and tax reductions.
• The term pump priming is derived from the operation of older pumps – a suction valve had to be primed with water so that the pump would function properly.
• Pump priming assumes that the economy must be primed to function properly once again.
• In this regard, government spending is assumed to stimulate private spending, which in turn should lead to economic expansion.

Inspired by: CSP 2018

Answer: (c)

Maitreya (Sanskrit), Metteyya (Pali), is regarded as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita.