BHIM : Indian Government's Massive Digital Transaction Push

Question 1 : Recently, the government of India has launched a digital payment application - BHIM to encourage cashless transactions in the country. Which of the following statements is incorrect in the context of BHIM?

Reference : BHIM

a) The BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is named after a mythological character in an epic - Mahabharata.
b) BHIM is an Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-based digital payment application.
c) Transactions can be fulfilled via IFSC code, MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) code and UPI account.
d) Currently the app is only available for Android users.

Answer

1) a, The BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is named after Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Further Reading

Unified Payment Interface

Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Quote Decode # 1 : An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind

In simple words, the essence of the above quote is - hate begets hate and violence is perpetuated by violence. When Mahatama Gandhi propounded this quote during the Indian struggle for freedom movement, he simultaneosly asserted that 'ahimsa' or non violence is a weapon of strong. By this he meant that, only an individual  with a strong mental aptitude and a strong moral strength can practice the tenets of non violence.

It often happens that one gets hurt by someone's words or something visible disturbs one. In that scenario it would not be ideal to seek revenge for the same. In words of Gandhiji, it would be rather ideal to conquer one's opponent with love. The feeling of revenge, extreme competition, quest for power and other such negative thoughts make one vulnerable to the situation and make one morally weak. The most visible manifestation of which is rise in terrorism, fundamentalism and intolerance in today's world.

Case Study

A soldier died during a cross border attack. His younger son , being closest to his father took pledge on his father's death pyre that he will give justice to his father by killing all those terrorists. Though the intention of that kid was to seek justice for his father but the way justice was thought to be achieved was not moral. Ideally the kid should be made to understand the ethos of 'service of the nation' that his father has practiced in the real sense. His father has become a martyr, the place which few can achieve in their life.

The boy should rather take the pledge to follow his father's footsteps and get himself inducted into defence forces.

Budget Special Set 1,2 : Historical Perspective

Set-1

1. The first budget in India was presented on 7^th April, 1860 by East India Company to British Crown. Who presented this budget?
   1. James Wilson
   2. John Mathai
   3. James Augustus Hickey
   4. None of the above
       
2. The first Indian Prime Minister to present the budget was:
   1. Shri. Morarji Desai
   2. Shri. Lal Bahadur Shastri
   3. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
   4. Shri. Manmohan Singh
       
3. Which of the following finance minister has a record of presenting maximum number of budgets in independent India?
   1. Shri. C.D. Deshmukh
   2. Shri. Morarji Desai
   3. Shri. Yashwant Sinha
   4. Shri. R.K. Sanmukham Chetty
       
4. The first Union Budget of Independent India was presented by :
   1. Shri. R.K. Sanmukham Chetty
   2. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
   3. Shri. Morarji Desai
   4. Shri. Yashwant Sinha
       
5. Who presented the final and interim budgets in 1991-92?
   1. Manmohan Singh and Yashwant Singh respectively
   2. Yashwant Singh and Manmohan Singh respectively
   3. Manmohan Singh
   4. Jaswant Singh
       
6. Which finance minister had changed the time of budget presentation from 5pm to 11am?
   1. Shri. Jaswant Singh
   2. Shri. Yashwant Sinha
   3. Shri. Manmohan Singh
   4. Shri. Pranab Mukherjee
       
7. The first budget for republic of India was presented in 1950-51 by:
   1. Shri. John Mathai
   2. Shri. C.D. Deshmukh
   3. Shri. Lal Bahadur Shastri
   4. Shri. R.K. Sanmukham Chetty
       
8. Who presented the first budget in the first elected parliament on the basis of adult franchise?
   1. Shri. John Mathai
   2. Shri. Lal Bahadur Shastri
   3. Shri. R.K. Sanmukham Chetty
   4. Shri. C.D. Deshmukh

Answers

1. a
2. c, He presented budget in 1958-59
3. b, 10 times
4. a, He presented budget on 26^th November 1947 at 5:00 pm. The budget included only seven and a half months starting from 15^th August 1947 till 31^st March 1948.
5. a
6. b, in 2001
7. a
8. d

Set-2

1. Write 'true' or 'false' against each of following 10 statements.
   1. Budget papers began to be prepared in Hindi from 1991-92.
   2. Shri. Morarji Desai was the only finance minister to have had the opportunity to present two budgets on his birthday.
   3. The word "Budget" was derived from the French word "bougette", which means "red briefcase"
   4. Indian budget is presented in Parliament on a date fixed by the Finance Minister.
   5. The union budget also contains estimated for the next year called the budgeted estimates.
   6. Shri. TT Krishnamachari as the finance minister during 1964-65 introduced the voluntary disclosure of concealed income scheme in India for the first time.
   7. Budget of 1985-86 is known for 'Black Budget' in India due to high budget deficit.
   8. R. Venkataraman is the only finance minister of India who later also served as the president of India from 1987-92
   9. Corporate Tax (now known as MAT) was first introduced by Shri. Manmohan Singh in 1990-91.
   10. Service Tax was introduced by Shri. Manmohan Singh in 1994 Budget.

Answers:

1. False (1955-56)
2. True
3. False (It means "leather purse")
4. False, President
5. True
6. True
7. False, Budget of 1973-74
8. True
9. False, By Shri. Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 budget.
10. True

 

Current Affairs Based Questions Set-19

1. The government of India has recently decided to upgrade to Bharat VI norms to regulate vehicular pollution. What is the permissible sulphur concentration in BS VI compliant fuels?
   1. 50 ppm
   2. 10 ppm
   3. 1 ppm
   4. 20 ppm
       
2. Which of the following is/are the causes of high level of air pollution in Delhi?
   1. Travelling air mass from Afghanistan and Pakistan
   2. Rapid motorization primarily of two wheelers
   3. Pre-monsoon dust storms
   4. All of the above
       
3. Which of the following statement regarding the Unemployment Rate (UR) is incorrect in context of new data released by National Survey Sample Office (NSSO) for the year 2011-12?
   1. UR is 3.8% in urban areas and 1.7% in rural areas.
   2. Muslims have the highest UR in both rural and urban areas.
   3. Studies indicate that UR is relatively higher among richer and more educated.
   4. Hindus have the lowest UR in urban areas while Sikhs have the lowest UR in rural areas.
       
4. Which of the following is the correct sequence (in descending order) of major sources of income of households in 2011-12 as per NSSO data?
   1. Self employment, Regular wage/Salary earnings, Casual labour
   2. Self employment, Casual labour , Regular wage/Salary earnings
   3. Casual labour, Self employment , Regular wage/Salary earnings
   4. Regular wage/Salary earnings, Casual labour, Self employment
       
5. Brexit refers to :
   1. Britain's exit from the European Union
   2. Britain's exit from EU's Monetary Union or common currency 'Euro'
   3. Both a and b
   4. Neither a nor b
       
6. Discuss the reservation policy of government of India? Examine the difference between the OBC and EBC categories of reservation.

Answers:

1. b
2. d
3. b, Christians have the highest UR in both rural and urban areas
4. a
5. a
6. Reference : http://iasir.net/AIJRHASSpapers/AIJRHASS13-225.pdf