Socio-Economic

Both statements are correct.
There are two measures used to assess the proportion of infected individuals with fatal outcomes. The first is infection fatality ratio (IFR), which estimates this proportion of deaths among all infected individuals. The second is case fatality ratio (CFR), which estimates this proportion of deaths among identified confirmed cases.
The true severity of a disease can be described by the Infection Fatality Ratio:

Serological testing of a representative random sample of the population to detect evidence of exposure to a pathogen is an important method to estimate the true number of infected individuals.
Case fatality ratio (CFR) is the proportion of individuals diagnosed with a disease who die from that disease and is therefore a measure of severity among detected cases:

The National Viral Hepatitis Control Program was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the World Hepatitis Day, 28th July 2018.
It is an integrated initiative for the prevention and control of viral hepatitis in India to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3 which aims to ending viral hepatitis by 2030.
Statement 1 is correct. Aim of the program:
– Combat hepatitis and achieve country wide elimination of Hepatitis C by 2030;
– Achieve significant reduction in the infected population, morbidity and mortality associated with Hepatitis B and C viz. Cirrhosis and Hepato-cellular carcinoma (liver cancer);
– Reduce the risk, morbidity and mortality due to Hepatitis A and E.
Statement 2 is correct. Components of NVHCP: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment, Monitoring and Evaluation, Surveillance and Research; and Training and Capacity Building.

The Poverty and Shared Prosperity biennial series published by the World Bank provides a global audience with the latest and most accurate estimates on trends in global poverty and shared prosperity.
Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020: Reversals of Fortune report presents new estimates of COVID-19’s impacts on global poverty and inequality. Harnessing fresh data from frontline surveys and economic simulations, it shows that pandemic-related job losses and deprivation worldwide are hitting already-poor and vulnerable people hard, while also partly changing the profile of global poverty by creating millions of “new poor.”
Global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years because of the disruption caused by COVID-19. Around 9.1% to 9.4% of the world will be affected by extreme poverty in 2020.

National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) aims to liberate citizens from the challenges of finding the right doctors, seeking appointment with them, payment of consultation fee, making several rounds of hospitals for prescription sheets.
Statement 1 is correct. Every person in the country will get a digital health ID which is basically a digital format of all his/her health records which will be linked to the registry of doctors and health facilities across the country.
The platform has been planned to improve efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of health service delivery. The health ID will be in the form of a mobile application of website.
Statement 2 is incorrect. National Health Authority (NHA) will design, build, roll-out and implement the NDHM. The scheme would first be tested in the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

2020 CRI Index: Fighting Inequality in the Time of Covid-19 has been recently released by the Oxfam. The CRI Index database is updated annually by Development Finance International (DFI) and Oxfam.
Only one in six countries assessed for the CRI Index 2020 were spending enough on health, only a third of the global workforce had adequate social protection, and in more than 100 countries at least one in three workers had no labour protection such as sick pay.

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has published “The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” report to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13, 2020.
In the period 2000 to 2019, there were 7,348 major recorded disaster events claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people (many on more than one occasion) resulting in approximately US$2.97 trillion in global economic losses.
There has also been a rise in geo-physical events including earthquakes and tsunamis which have killed more people than any of the other natural hazards under review in this report.

Statement 1 is correct. Cabinet has recently approved the implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project with a total project cost of Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to US $ 500 million.
STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MOE).
Statement 2 is correct. STARS project has separate National and State level implementation components.
It further includes a Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the National Component which would enable it to be more responsive to any natural, man-made and health disasters. It will help the government respond to situations leading to loss of learning such as school closures/infrastructure damage, inadequate facilities and use technology for facilitating remote learning etc.

Union Education Minister recently launched the ‘KAPILA’ Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign on the 89th birth anniversary of former President and Scientist Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Under this campaign, students pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of application process for patenting their invention and they will be aware of their rights. He further said that we need to take a giant leap in the field of patents.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Global Hunger Index was first produced in 2006. It is published every October. The 2020 edition published by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide marks the 15th edition of the GHI.
GHI scores are based on a formula that captures three dimensions of hunger—insufficient caloric intake (undernourishment), child undernutrition, and child mortality—using four component indicators:
Statement 2 is incorrect. India has the highest prevalence of wasted children under five years in the world, which reflects acute under nutrition, according to the Global Hunger Index 2020. Overall, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries in the Index, lower than neighbors such as Bangladesh (75) and Pakistan (88).

Statement 1 is incorrect. SVAMITVA Scheme is a Central Sector scheme. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme.
In the States, the Revenue Department / Land Records Department will be the Nodal Department and shall carry out the scheme with support of State Panchayati Raj Department. Survey of India shall work as the technology partner for implementation.
Statement 2 is correct. The scheme aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India. The demarcation of rural abadi areas would be done using Drone Surveying technology.
The scheme seeks to achieve the following objectives:
–To bring financial stability to the citizens in rural India by enabling them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
–Creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
–Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer.
–Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use.
–To support in preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
–To reduce property related disputes and legal cases

Statement 1 is incorrect. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is not an annual survey. The First National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) was conducted in 1992-93. The Second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) was conducted in 1998-99 The Third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) was carried out in 2005-2006.
The 2015-16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), the fourth in the NFHS series, provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each state and union territory. All four NFHS surveys have been conducted under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
MoHFW designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency for all of the surveys.
Statement 2 is correct. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
Decisions about the overall sample size required for NFHS-4 were guided by several considerations, paramount among which was the need to produce indicators at the district, state/union territory (UT), and national levels, as well as separate estimates for urban and rural areas in the 157 districts that have 30-70 percent of the population living in urban areas as per the 2011 census, with a reasonable level of precision.

Statement 1 is correct. National Health Stack (NHS) as proposed by NITI Aayog in its strategy paper in 2018 is digital infrastructure built with the aim of making the health insurance system more transparent and robust, while factoring in the uniqueness of India’s health sector, and the political realities of federalism
Statement 2 is correct. The key components of the National Health Stack are:
-National Health Electronic Registries: to create a single source of truth for and manage master health data of the nation;
-A Coverage and Claims platform: building blocks to support large health protection schemes, enable horizontal and vertical expansion of Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission by states and robust fraud detection;
-A Federated Personal Health Records (PHR) Framework: to solve twin challenges of access to their own health data by patients and availability of health data for medical research, critical for advancing our understanding of human health;
-A National Health Analytics Platform: to bring a holistic view combining information on multiple health initiatives and feed into smart policy making, for instance, through improved predictive analytics;
-Other horizontal Components: including, and not restricted to, unique Digital Health ID, Health Data Dictionaries and Supply Chain Management for Drugs, payment gateways etc. shared across all health programs.

Recently Rockefeller Foundation has selected Naandi Foundation, Hyderabad-based non-profit, as one of the ‘Top 10 Visionaries’ in the world for the Food Vision 2050 Prize.

Naandi’s vision titled “Arakunomics” is based on work with tribal farmers in Araku for nearly 20 years. Arakunomics is a new integrated economic model that ensures Profits for farmers, Quality for consumers through Regenerative Agriculture (PQR).

The Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula for allocation of Central Plan Assistance to states was adopted by the National Development Council (NDC) meeting held in 1990.

On the demand of State Governments for a revision, a Committee under Shri Pranab Mukherjee, then Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission was constituted to evolve a suitable formula. The suggestions made by the Committee were considered by NDC in December 1991, where following a consensus, the Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula was adopted.

It was made the basis for allocation post 8th FYP (1992-97). After setting apart funds required for (a) Externally Aided Projects and (b) Special Area Programme, 30% of the balance of Central Assistance for State Plans is provided to the Special Category States. The remaining amount is distributed among the non-Special Category States, as per Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula.

Statement 1 is correct. The Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana provides relief to the extent of 25% of the average per day earning during the previous four contribution periods to be paid up to maximum 90 days of unemployment once in lifetime, in case the Insured Person (IP) is rendered unemployed.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana is a welfare measure being implemented by the Employee’s State Insurance (ESI) Corporation.

The Scheme was made effective from 01-07-2018 on pilot basis for a period of two years initially.

# The ESI Corporation has recently decided to extend the scheme for one more year upto 30th June 2021. It has been decided to relax the existing conditions and the amount of relief for workers who have lost employment during the Covid-19 pandemic period.

Statement 1 is correct. As per the National Food Security Act, 2013, the central government is responsible for determining the total number of persons to receive food security in each state.

Each state government is responsible for specifying criteria for identifying priority households. States are also responsible for identifying exact households according to these criteria. Antyodaya Anna Yojana households are identified according to the scheme guidelines.

Statement 2 is correct. Section 8 of the act states that in case of non-supply of the entitled quantities of food grains or meals to entitled persons, such persons are entitled to receive food security allowance from the concerned State Government, within such time and manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

Entitlements under NFSA:

-Highly subsidized food grains under PDS (5 kg per person for PHH category and 35 kg per household for AAY households.).

-Nutritious meal, free of charge to pregnant women & lactating mothers and children up to 6 years of age.

-Nutritious meal, free of charge to children in the 6-14 years of age group under MDM.

-Maternity benefits of Rs. 6000 to Pregnant Women & Lactating Mother.

All of the above are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.

2015 was a landmark year for multilateralism and international policy shaping, with the adoption of several major agreements:

-Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (March 2015)

-Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development (July 2015)

-Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 SDGs was adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York in September 2015.

-Paris Agreement on Climate Change (December 2015)

Today, we live in the most prosperous time in human history. Poverty,

sicknesses, and ignorance are receding throughout the world, due in large part to the

advance of economic freedom. In 2020, the principles of economic freedom that have fueled

this monumental progress are once again measured in the Index of Economic Freedom,

an annual guide published by The Heritage Foundation, Washington’s No. 1 think

tank.

The economic freedom is based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four

broad categories, or pillars, of economic freedom:

• Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
• Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
• Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom)
• Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)

Each of the twelve economic freedoms within these categories is graded on a scale of 0 to

100. A country’s overall score is derived by averaging these twelve economic freedoms, with

equal weight being given to each.

The Economic Cost of food-grains consists of three components, namely,

pooled cost of grains, procurement incidentals and the cost of distribution. The pooled cost

of food grains is the weighted MSP of the stock of food-grains available with FCI at the time

of calculating the economic cost

Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955 was enacted to control the production, supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce in, certain goods considered as essential commodities.

• The Act itself does not lay out Rules and Regulations but allows the States to issue Control Orders related to dealer licensing, regulate stock limits, and restrict movement of goods and requirements of compulsory purchases under the system of levy.
• The Act also provides for action to confiscate the stock seized; to suspend/ cancel

licences, if any and impose punishments like imprisonment.

• The Act also gives the power to fix price limits, and selling the particular commodities above the limit will attract penalties.
• Most of the powers under the Act have been delegated by the Central Government to the State Governments with the direction that they shall exercise these powers.
• Food and civil supply authorities in States execute the provisions of the Act.

It may be noted that internationally, there is a move towards conditional cash

transfers (CCTs), aimed at tackling problems of food insecurity and poverty and for nudging

people towards improved health and education levels.

India’s female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)—the share of working-age women who report either being employed, or being available for work—has fallen to a historic low of 23.3% in 2017-18, meaning that over three out of four women over the age of 15 in India are neither working nor seeking work. (The age of 15 is the cut-off used for global comparisons by the International Labour Organization.)

 This would imply that they are most likely running the house and taking care of children.

 Among men, caste and religion make no real difference to workforce participation rates. But among women, Muslim women have the lowest LFPR while among Hindu women, forward caste women have the lowest LFPR, implying that social norms and religious conservatism might play a role in women being “allowed” to work.

 Among Indian states, Bihar has by far the lowest rates of female workforce participation, while the southern and eastern states do better.

: Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana is a welfare measure being implemented by the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Corporation. The scheme was launched in 2018.

 It is implemented on pilot basis for a period of two years initially.

 It offers a relief payable in cash directly to the Bank Account in case an insured person is rendered unemployed and is in search for new engagement.

 The scheme is for Insured Persons covered under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.

Global Gender Gap Report, 2020 by World Economic Forum benchmarks 153

countries on their progress towards gender parity across four thematic dimensions:

• Economic Participation and Opportunity
• Educational Attainment
• Health and Survival, and
• Political Empowerment.

India slipped four places to 112th rank and has closed two-thirds of its overall gender gap

(score of 66.8%). While India has improved in political empowerment, it has fallen in other

three indicators. India is the only country among the 153 countries studied where the

economic gender gap is larger than the political one.

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

• The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global

intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender

equality and the empowerment of women.

• A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was

established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946.

• The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of

women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender

equality and the empowerment of women.

• In 1996, ECOSOC in resolution 1996/6 expanded the Commission’s mandate and

decided that it should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress

and problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform

for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities.

The World’s Women reports are prepared by the Statistics Division of the UN
Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) at five-year intervals, starting in
1990.
The World’s Women 2020: Trends and Statistics compiles 100 data stories that provide a
snapshot of the state of gender equality worldwide.
The report analyses gender equality in six critical areas: population and families; health;
education; economic empowerment and asset ownership; power and decision-making; and
violence against women and the girl child as well as the impact of COVID-19.
Less than 50% of working-age women are in the labour market, a figure that has barely
changed over the last quarter of a century. Unpaid domestic and care work falls
disproportionately on women, restraining their economic potential as the COVID-19
pandemic additionally affects women’s jobs and livelihoods, the report warns.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Indian Railways has launched “Meri Saheli”
initiative for focused action on security of women across all zones with an objective to
provide safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their entire journey
from starting station to destination station.
Statement 2 is correct. An initiative of RPF, the Strategy entails interaction with lady
passengers especially those travelling alone by a team of young lady RPF personnel at the
originating station.
RPF teams at the destination collect the feedback from the identified lady passengers.
The feedback is then analysed and corrective action, if any, is taken. If some distress call
comes from a train covered under “Meri Saheli” initiative, the disposal of the call is
monitored at the level of senior officers.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Global Hunger Index was first produced in
2006. It is published every October. The 2020 edition published by Welthungerhilfe and
Concern Worldwide marks the 15th edition of the GHI.
GHI scores are based on a formula that captures three dimensions of hunger—insufficient
caloric intake (undernourishment), child undernutrition, and child mortality—using four
component indicators:
Statement 2 is incorrect. India has the highest prevalence of wasted children under five
years in the world, which reflects acute under nutrition, according to the Global Hunger
Index 2020. Overall, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries in the Index, lower than
neighbors such as Bangladesh (75) and Pakistan (88).

Statement 1 is incorrect. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is not an annual survey. The First National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) was conducted in 1992- 93. The Second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) was conducted in 1998-99 The Third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) was carried out in 2005-2006.

The 2015-16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), the fourth in the NFHS series, provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each state and union territory.

All four NFHS surveys have been conducted under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

MoHFW designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency for all of the surveys.

Statement 2 is correct. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multiround survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.

Decisions about the overall sample size required for NFHS-4 were guided by several considerations, paramount among which was the need to produce indicators at the district, state/union territory (UT), and national levels, as well as separate estimates for urban and rural areas in the 157 districts that have 30-70 percent of the population living in urban areas as per the 2011 census, with a reasonable level of precision.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an independent U.S. foreign assistance agency that has the goal of reducing poverty in developing countries through supporting economic growth.

It was created by the U.S. Congress in January 2004 with strong bipartisan support. MCC grants are designed to complement other U.S. and international development programs, as well as create an enabling environment for private sector investment.

The Poverty and Equity Briefs (PEBs) of World Bank Group highlight poverty, shared prosperity and inequality trends for over 100 developing countries. The briefs are released twice a year for the spring and Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund.

The India PEB October 2020 notes: Between FY2011/12 and 2017, India’s poverty rate is estimated to have declined from 22.5 percent to values ranging from 8.1 to 11.3 percent at the international poverty line (2011 PPP $1.90 per person per day). However, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, poverty rates in 2020 are estimated to revert to levels observed in 2016.

# ‘Global Estimate of Children in Monetary Poverty: An Update’ that builds on previous collaboration between the World Bank Group and UNICEF to estimate the global extent of child poverty. It estimates that one in six children or 356 million globally were living in extreme poverty before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and this is set to worsen significantly.

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and
tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. GHI scores are based on the values
of four component indicators:
Undernutrition: the share of the population that is undernourished (that is, whose caloric
intake is insufficient);
Child wasting: the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (that is, who have
low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition);
Child stunting: the share of children under the age of five who are stunted (that is, who
have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition); and
Child mortality: the mortality rate of children under the age of five (in part, a reflection of
the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments).
Based on the values of the four indicators, the GHI determines hunger on a 100-point scale
where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Each country’s GHI
score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming.
# In the 2020 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 94th out of the 107 countries. With a score of
27.2, India has a level of hunger that is serious.

From insights to action: Gender equality in the wake of COVID-19′ has
been published by the UN Women.
This publication summarizes data, research, and policy work by UN Women’s Policy and
Programme Division on the pandemic’s impact on women and girls, including the impact on
extreme poverty, employment, health, unpaid care, and violence against women and girls.
The poverty rate for women was earlier projected to decrease by 2.7 per cent between
2019 and 2021, but with the coming of the pandemic, it has increased to 9.1 per cent.
By 2021, for every 100 men aged 25 to 34 living in extreme poverty (living on USD 1.90 a
day or less), there will be 118 women, a gap that is expected to increase to 121 women per
100 men by 2030.
The report gave suggestions to prevent women from falling behind permanently because of
the COVID-19 pandemic. These included addressing inadequate access to affordable
childcare, addressing occupational segregation and gender pay gaps.

The Vice President recently released ‘The State of Young Child in India’
report prepared by Mobile Creches a policy advocacy organisation which works with the
underprivileged children across India. It a comprehensive account of the challenges related
to early child development in India.
The Young Child Outcomes Index in the report measures health, nutrition and cognitive
growth with the help of indicators such as infant mortality rate, stunting and net
attendance at the primary school level. As per the report Kerala, Goa, Tripura, Tamil Nadu
and Mizoram are among the top five States for well-being of children.
The report has also developed the Young Child Environment Index to understand the
policy and environment enablers that influence a child’s well-being. According to the
environment index, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh secured the top five
positions

Published recently by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, the International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice for Persons with
Disabilities were adopted jointly by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with
disabilities, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Special Envoy
of the UN Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility.
They have been endorsed by the ICJ and the International Disability Alliance.

India is a founder member of the International Labour Organization, which

came into existence in 1919. At present the ILO has 186 Members.

The eight Core Conventions of the ILO (also called fundamental/human rights

conventions) are:

-Forced Labour Convention (No. 29)

-Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105)

–Equal Remuneration Convention (No.100)

-Discrimination (Employment Occupation) Convention (No.111)

-Minimum Age Convention (No.138)

-Worst forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182)

(The above Six have been ratified by India)

-Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organised Convention (No.87)

-Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (No.98)

(These two have not been ratified by India)

Statement 1 is correct. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance

Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19 is an accident insurance scheme covers;

loss of life due to COVID19, and accidental death on account of COVID-19 related duty.

Statement 2 is incorrect. This Central Sector Scheme provides an insurance cover of Rs.

50 lakhs. Individual enrolment is not required and there’s no age limit for this scheme.

It was announced on 30th March this year for a period of 90 days and it was extended for a

further period of 90 days up to 25th September. The scheme has now been extended for

another 180 days.

Statement 1 is correct. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) is

available to people in the age group 18 to 70 years with a bank account.

The risk coverage under the scheme is Rs.2 lakh for accidental death and full disability

and Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability.

Statement 2 is correct. The Government recently clarified that Pradhan Mantri Suraksha

Bima Yojana (PMSBY) doesn’t cover COVID-19 related deaths.

# Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) covers COVID deaths with certain

conditions.

# The PMJJBY is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank

account. Risk coverage under this scheme is for Rs. 2 Lakh in case of death of the insured,

due to any reason.

Statement 1 is correct. The Social Security Code 2020 states that the

central government will set up a Social Security Fund for social security and welfare of the

unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers.

Further, state governments will also set up and administer separate social security funds

for unorganised workers. The 2020 Bill also makes provisions for registration of all three

categories of workers – unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers.

Statement 2 is correct. The code states that the Central Government shall, by notification,

constitute a National Social Security Board for unorganised workers under chairmanship

of the Union Minister for Labour and Employment.

The National Social Security Board shall perform the following functions:

-recommend to the Central Government for formulating suitable schemes for different

sections of unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers;

-advise the Central Government on such matters arising out of the administration of this

Code as may be referred to it;

-monitor such social welfare schemes for unorganised workers, gig workers and platform

workers as are administered by the Central Government;

-review the record keeping functions performed at the State level;

-review the expenditure from the fund and account.

Statement 1 is correct. Section 31 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, every child with benchmark disability between the age of six to eighteen years shall have the right to free education in a neighborhood school, or in a special school, of his choice.

Statement 2 is correct. The statute recognizes Intellectual disability, a condition characterized by significant limitation both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behavior which covers a range of every day, social and practical skills, including—

—“specific learning disabilities” means a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia;

—“autism spectrum disorder” means a neuro-developmental condition typically appearing in the first three years of life that significantly affects a person’s ability to communicate, understand relationships and relate to others, and is frequently associated with unusual or stereotypical rituals or behaviors.

Statement 1 is correct. Section 16 of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) provides that every State Government shall, by notification, constitute a State Food Commission for the purpose of monitoring and review of implementation of the Act.

Statement 2 is correct. Section 18 of the Act provides that the State Government, if considers it necessary, by notification, designate any statutory commission or a body to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the State Commission. Section 19 provides that two or more States may have a joint State Food Commission with the approval of the Central Government.

Statement 1 is correct. Government is implementing the POSHAN Abhiyaan since December, 2017 to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.

There are a number of schemes directly/indirectly affecting the nutritional status of children (0-6 year’s age) and pregnant women and lactating mothers. In spite of these, level of malnutrition and related problems in the country is high. POSHAN Abhiyaan through robust convergence mechanism and other components would strive to create the synergy.

The programme through the targets will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies. It will create synergy, ensure better monitoring, issue alerts for timely action, and encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals.

Statement 2 is correct. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is nodal ministry for implementing POSHAN Abhiyaan.

Option 1 is incorrectly matched. Stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally occurs before age two, and effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.

Option 2 is correctly matched. Wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five. It is usually the result of acute significant food shortage and/or disease.

Statement 1 is correct. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India, designated IIPS as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the NFHS.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Four NFHS have been conducted with first being in 1992-93. The Union Health Ministry recently released partial data for the fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) noting a considerable improvement in the supply of vaccine for childhood immunization from the fourth round in 2015-16.

Statement 1 is correct. The Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB) today signed a loan agreement for lending $1,000 million for ‘supporting India’s economic recovery from COVID-19’ by supporting expenditures on rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under Government of India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Statement 2 is correct. The Government of India and the World Bank today signed a $400 million project to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the second operation in a programmatic series of two. The first operation of $750 million was approved in May 2020. The programme will strengthen the capability of state and national governments in India to provide coordinated and adequate social protection to the poor and vulnerable from the shocks triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both statements are correct.

Prime Minister will launch Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all the residents of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir on 26th December 2020.

The scheme will ensure Universal Health Coverage and focus on providing financial risk protection and ensuring quality and affordable essential health services to all individuals and communities. 

It provides health insurance cover upto Rs 5 lakh per family on a floater basis to all residents of the UT of J&K. It provides for operational extension of PM-JAY to 15 lakh (approx) additional families.

The scheme will operate on insurance mode in convergence with PM-JAY. The benefits of the scheme will be portable across the country. The hospitals empanelled under PM-JAY scheme shall provide services under this scheme as well.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2019-2024 on January 10, 2020.

 It sets forth the vision and objectives of financial inclusion policies in India.

 The strategy was prepared by the RBI with inputs from the central government and financial sector regulators (Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India).

RBI identified six strategic objectives of a national strategy for financial inclusion:

 universal access to financial services,

 providing basic bouquet of financial services,

 access to livelihood and skill development,

 financial literacy and education,

• customer protection and grievance redressal, and

 effective coordination.

To achieve this vision, it identified certain milestones such as:

 providing banking access to every village (or hamlet of 500 households in hilly areas) within a five km radius by March 2020,

 strengthening digital financial services to create infrastructure to move towards a cash less society by March 2022, and

 ensuring that every adult has access to a financial service provider through a mobile device by March 2024.