1. Consider the following statements.
Statement 1:
The expression natural justice' is well defined in the Constitution of India.
Statement 2:
The principle of natural justice ensures that no person shall be punished without a fair hearing.

Answer: D
Soln:
● As discussed in Section 14.4.4 of the Polity Simplified book, Article 21 stipulates that no
person shall be deprived of his/her life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by the law.
A. K. Gopalan Case (1950)
● The Supreme Court literally interpreted Article 21 and held that the due process of law is
not available in India.
● Hence, it implied that the right under Article 21 only protects life and liberty of an
individual from arbitrary executive action, and not from legislative action.
● Further, it was enough if the procedure was followed and the courts could not inquire into
the reasonableness of the procedure.
Maneka Gandhi Case (1978)
● The Supreme Court overturned its decision in the A. K. Gopalan case and accepted that the
due process is inherent in procedure established by the law.
● The Supreme Court in this case applied the principle of the 'due process of law' for the first
time.
● It applied the following arguments:
○ Articles 19 and 21 can't be understood as watertight compartments and the same
criteria of reasonableness as applicable in Article 19 must be applied for Article 21
as well.
○ Merely following the procedure established by the law is not enough. The courts
have the right to review and question the reasonableness of the procedure itself.
Restrictions must be reasonable, just and fair and shouldn't be arbitrary.
● In India, traditionally we followed the principle of 'procedure established by law', as it
prevailed in Britain.
● However, since 1978 after the Maneka Gandhi case, the courts have held that the procedure
established by the law has to be reasonable and follow the principles of natural justice.
● As discussed in the Maneka Gandhi case, natural justice requires hearing the other party
before any action or punishment. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

● The various writs under Article 32 provides remedies against any wrongful action by
the State or private person that violates the Fundamental Rights and natural justice.
● Natural justice is not defined in the Constitution and hence Statement 1 is incorrect.

2. Which of the following is/are characteristics of Quick Response code or QR code?
1. They store information in two dimensions.
2. They hold much more information than standard barcodes.
3. QR codes do not require line of sight.

Answer: A
Soln:
● QR codes are two-dimensional (2D) barcodes, also known as matrix codes. QR codes are a
way of storing data in the form of computer understandable format, that can be scanned by
using QR code scanner to retrieve the data. These are widely used nowadays for cashless
and UPI payment services. They can be used in case of identifications and are also used for
sharing photos, videos and other files.
● Statements 1 & 2 correct: Unlike the standard barcode which is usually one-dimensional,
QR codes can store information in two dimensions – horizontally and vertically. This
allows them to hold much more information.
● Statement 3 is incorrect: Both barcodes and QR codes require line of sight.
○ In communication, line of sight is the direct path from a transmitter to the receiver
with no physical obstruction between the two.

3. The ‘G33 grouping’, sometimes seen in the news, is related to

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Answer: A
Soln:
G33 countries
● The G33 is a forum of developing countries including India, Brazil, South Africa etc.
formed during the Cancun Ministerial Conference (2003) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), to protect the interest of the developing countries in agricultural
trade negotiations.
● It was created in order to help group countries which were all facing similar problems. The
G33 has proposed special rules for developing countries at WTO negotiations, like allowing
them to continue to restrict access to their agricultural markets.
● The group, despite its name, has 47 members currently.

4. With reference to the Svalbard Global Seed Bank, consider the following statements.
1. It is located near the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic archipelago.
2. It is considered as the last line of defence against the loss of genetic diversity of crops.

Answer: B
Soln:
● Statement 1 is incorrect: The Svalbard Global Seed Bank is located in Svalbard in a
Norwegian archipelago (an area of ocean containing many islands) in the Arctic Ocean.
● Svalbard is found north of mainland Europe, halfway between continental Norway
and the North Pole.
● The vault was launched in 2008 as a backup for the world's national and regional gene
banks that store the genetic code for thousands of plant species. The objective of the Seed
Vault is to safeguard as much of the world’s unique crop genetic material as possible,
while also avoiding unnecessary duplication.
● It has seed samples from nearly every country in the world, and played an essential role
between 2015 and 2019 in rebuilding seed collections damaged during the war in Syria.
● Statement 2 is correct: The whole of humanity relies on the genetic diversity of crops
maintained in the world’s gene banks, and the Seed Vault is the last line of defence
against the loss of that diversity.
● For instance: The world used to cultivate over 6,000 different plants but U.N. experts say
we now get about 40% of our calories from three main crops - maize, wheat and rice -
making food supplies vulnerable if climate change causes harvests to fail.
● Svalbard also serves as a backup for plant breeders to develop new crop varieties
more resistant to climate change.

5. Consider the following statements about Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)
1. These schools aim to provide quality primary education for Scheduled Tribe students in
remote areas.
2. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED)
establishes, endows, maintains, controls and manages these schools.
3. Only Scheduled Tribe students can be enrolled into these schools.

Answer: D
Soln:
Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS):
● The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing the Central Sector Scheme of Eklavya
Model Residential School (EMRS) to provide quality middle and high-level education to
Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote areas. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● Introduced in 1997-98, the schools are aimed to enable ST students to access the best
opportunities in education and to bring them at par with the general population.
● The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of
the students.
● Each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to students from Class VI to XII. Non-
ST students can be admitted in EMRSs up to 10% of the total seats. Hence, statement 3
is incorrect.
● The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous
organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, establishes, endows, maintains, controls
and manages these schools. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● The government aims to establish EMRS in every block with more than 50% ST
population and at least 20,000 tribal persons.
● EMRS are set up in States/UTs with grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of
India. 

○ Article 275(1) guarantees grants-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund of India
each year for promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
○ Infrastructure development schemes like protected drinking water, road
connectivity, electricity and housing are provided under this scheme.

1. Consider the following statements about the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC).
1. Venezuela is a founder member of this organisation.
2. OPEC members produce more than 80% of the global petroleum production.

Answer: A
Soln:
OPEC:
● The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent
intergovernmental organization of 12 oil-exporting developing nations.
● Countries that belong to OPEC include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela
(the five founders), plus the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Congo,
Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● OPEC was founded in 1960 to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members and to
provide member states with technical and economic aid.
● OPEC is used to work as a cartel and fix prices in a favourable band. It could bring down
prices by increasing oil production and raise prices by cutting production.
● The OPEC Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria.
OPEC Plus
● The 2014 oil crisis, which was accentuated by oversupply of crude, brought down prices
below $30 a barrel.
● Since then, OPEC has been working with non-OPEC countries like Russia, Azerbaijan,
Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan and South Sudan to fix
the global prices and supply.
● Known as the “OPEC Plus” arrangement, this alliance kept production lower and pumped
up the prices.
● Together, these nations produce about 40% of the entire world's crude oil. Hence,
statement 2 is incorrect.

2. Consider the following statements about the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
(NIIF).

1. It aims to provide long-term capital to India's infrastructure sector.
2. The stakes are completely held by Indian Government and Domestic Indian investors.
3. The Governing Council of NIIF is chaired by the Union Finance Minister.