Indian Governance and Policy

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Francis Buchanan undertook detailed surveys of the areas under the jurisdiction of the British East India Company. b. He proposed a policy of pacification of Paharia chiefs by giving them an annual allowance and made them responsible for the proper conduct of their men. c. Buchanan travelled through the Rajamahal Hills region in the winter of 1810-11 and was welcomed by the Paharias.

Which of the following statements is/are incorrect?

a. The British encouraged forest clearance, and zamindars and jotedars turned uncultivated lands into rice fields. b. The lower Rajmahal Hills were taken over by Santhal settlers with the support of the Company by 1780. c. A large area of land was demarcated as Damin-i-Koh and was declared to be the land of the Santhals by 1832.

Statement: Should legal professionals of India have the right to go on strike? Arguments: 1. No, India is already facing a backlog of about 3 crore cases countrywide due to frequent strikes of lawyers. Another strike will only enhance the grievance of the aggrieved clients.

1. Yes, legal professionals are also a part of our society. If they feel that their dignity, independence and integrity has been lowered, strike would be the only meaningful weapon for them.

Statement: Should a citizen of India have the right to access information from the government? Arguments: 1. Yes, more than twenty countries have equipped their citizen with the right to access information from their respective governments.

1. Yes, the move would provide openness in Government functioning and ensure transparency and accountability in it.

Statement: Should the Indian government launch community based programmes with focus on the mother's care? Arguments:

1. Yes, the mother plays a big role in child's good health and if the programmes is community based it will have immense impact on the poor nutritional condition of the child in India.
   
2. No, it will harm the secular status of the country.

‘If a survey is carried out about the impact these routine statements make on the people, by and large, the report may embarrass the authorities.’ What possible impact may the author be alluding to?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Some statements are routinely issued by the government of the day and they become news. They become news not necessarily because they are newsworthy, but because they are headlined by the newspapers. The headlines are usually catchy, although rhetorical in nature. If a survey is carried out about the impact these routine statements make on the people by and large, the report may embarrass the authorities.
Let us examine some of these statements. No one will be allowed to take law into his own hands; the corrupt will be dealt with firmly; indiscipline will not be tolerated whether it is in a campus or in a political outfit; India will not tolerate outside interference; India will not compromise on its principles; J & K is the integral part of India, and so on and so forth. These have been spoken on innumerable occasions and have been heard on umpteen occasions and will continue to be spoken and heard. No one quite keeps count of these statements. They have become so routinely stale that they have ceased to convey any meaning to anyone. These rhetorics are necessary evils of non-governance or ill-governance. Yet they make news and we have the mortification of having to encounter them every morning in bold prints as if to mock and tease us. Mortification because these are forced on our eardrums and the cacophony that they produce does immense harm to our hearing organ. But the statements continue to be ritualistically made.
What do they actually mean when they say they will not allow anyone to take law into his own hands? What is happening all around is just opposite of what they declare from the roof top. Law in its various forms is not only taken into hands, but is also wantonly bandied about with contumely disregard. It is not only tolerated, but is often given respectability too. If it were not so, we would not have been seeing the mushrooming of people with dubious character on the ascendancy right in our midst, not just loafing about, but lording over it all.
Today, words speak, actions do not. As a nation, we have not yet been able to decide as to what our national principles are despite the voluminous constitution and lofty preamble to it. We cannot say with any degree of belief that this and not that is India’s principle. So, how do we decide whether or not we have compromised?

'Statements routinely issued by the government of the day are not newsworthy'. Choose the correct option regarding this statement.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Some statements are routinely issued by the government of the day and they become news. They become news not necessarily because they are newsworthy, but because they are headlined by the newspapers. The headlines are usually catchy, although rhetorical in nature. If a survey is carried out about the impact these routine statements make on the people by and large, the report may embarrass the authorities.
Let us examine some of these statements. No one will be allowed to take law into his own hands; the corrupt will be dealt with firmly; indiscipline will not be tolerated whether it is in a campus or in a political outfit; India will not tolerate outside interference; India will not compromise on its principles; J & K is the integral part of India, and so on and so forth. These have been spoken on innumerable occasions and have been heard on umpteen occasions and will continue to be spoken and heard. No one quite keeps count of these statements. They have become so routinely stale that they have ceased to convey any meaning to anyone. These rhetorics are necessary evils of non-governance or ill-governance. Yet they make news and we have the mortification of having to encounter them every morning in bold prints as if to mock and tease us. Mortification because these are forced on our eardrums and the cacophony that they produce does immense harm to our hearing organ. But the statements continue to be ritualistically made.
What do they actually mean when they say they will not allow anyone to take law into his own hands? What is happening all around is just opposite of what they declare from the roof top. Law in its various forms is not only taken into hands, but is also wantonly bandied about with contumely disregard. It is not only tolerated, but is often given respectability too. If it were not so, we would not have been seeing the mushrooming of people with dubious character on the ascendancy right in our midst, not just loafing about, but lording over it all.
Today, words speak, actions do not. As a nation, we have not yet been able to decide as to what our national principles are despite the voluminous constitution and lofty preamble to it. We cannot say with any degree of belief that this and not that is India’s principle. So, how do we decide whether or not we have compromised?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage.

Narendra Modi has made Gujarat’s economy________

Narendra Damodardas Modi (born September 17, 1950) is the longest-serving chief minister of Gujarat. He has held the office since 2001 and has been successfully re-elected three times. Widely seen as a protégé of LK Advani, a senior BJP leader and its former president, Modi is known for his astute administrative skills and has a record for being incorruptible. He is credited with turning around Gujarat's economy and making it an attractive investment destination for industrialists. Modi's nemesis though has been the Gujarat riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident in 2002. Allegedly, while Hindu rioters went on a rampage against the Muslims, killing people and destroying property. The state administration under Modi's charge turned a blind eye and failed to control the violence. Modi himself has been accused of watering down the seriousness of the situation, implicitly justifying the killings of Muslims  and failing to condemn the attacks on them. A sum of Rs five per person was charged from the audience during Modi's rally in Hyderabad this year. Nearly a lakh people turned up by paying the fee.The entire sum was donated to Uttarakhand relief works.

Consider the following facts about International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation.

1. Only developed countries are permanent members of this organisation. Developing countries are granted non-member observer status.
2. Both members and non-members, and the private sector can benefit by IPEEC supported initiatives.
3. IPEEC is a forum for dialogue on energy, environment and economy.

Which of the above statements is/are true?

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Through the twentieth century, the site of Hampi was preserved by the Karnataka Department of Archaeology and Museums. b. In 1976, Hampi was recognised as a site of national importance and Archaeological Survey of India took over the site. c. UNESCO declared Hampi a world heritage site in 1986.

Why does the passage say ‘not everyone is celebrating’?

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the following question. 

The long fight of Nepalis to have a constitution written by representatives of the people is over. The fight that lasted 65 years, saw a civil war and multiple major revolutions - along with a century old monarchy toppled in the process. The new constitution, which took more than seven years to draft, was overwhelmingly endorsed in the constitutional assembly - a constitution-making body comprised of 601 elected lawmakers. The three prominent parties - Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - collaborated for the majority while few other smaller opposing parties either voted against, or boycotted the process. The civil war, instigated by Maoist rebels, lasted for 10 years, from 1996 to 2006 and claimed more than 15,000 lives. With the signing of the Constitution, it is also now officially over. More than 80% of the country's population is Hindu - the largest Hindu majority in the world- will remain secular as per the new constitution. But not everyone is celebrating. A handful of groups representing a number of ethnic minorities have denounced the new constitution. The smaller opposition parties representing the Madhesi and Tharu indigenous groups have been the most vocal opponents of the new constitution. Lawmakers from the parties boycotted the final voting process.