Economy and Finance

Ethanol is a biofuel produced mainly by fermenting sugars found in crops like corn and sugarcane, with the USA and Brazil being the top global producers—each using a different primary feedstock.

Statement I: Incorrect * The United States is the largest ethanol producer, not Brazil.

Statement II: Correct * USA uses corn; Brazil uses sugarcane as the primary feedstock for ethanol.

With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana, here's the breakdown of the statements:

* Statement 1: Incorrect. The eligible age group for enrolment in the scheme is 18 to 40 years, not 21 to 40 years. This allows younger workers to join early and contribute for a longer period.

* Statement 2: Correct. Beneficiaries are required to make age-specific monthly contributions, which increase with age. For instance, contributions start at ₹55 for an 18-year-old and go up to ₹200 for a 40-year-old.

* Statement 3: Correct. Subscribers will receive a minimum pension of ₹3,000 per month after attaining 60 years of age. This provides social security for workers in the unorganized sector.

* Statement 4: Incorrect. Family pension is available only to the spouse, who will receive 50% of the pension amount after the subscriber's death. Unmarried daughters are not eligible for this benefit.

* The number of children born per 1000 people in the population in a year. This describes the crude birth rate, not the total fertility rate.

* The number of children born to a couple in their lifetime in a given population. This is close but not quite accurate. The total fertility rate is calculated for women, not couples.

* The birth rate minus death rate. This defines the rate of natural increase, which indicates population growth, not fertility.

* The average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age. This is the correct definition of Total Fertility Rate (TFR). It's a hypothetical measure assuming a woman lives through her childbearing years and experiences the age-specific fertility rates of a given period.

* In simple terms, TFR tells us the average number of children a woman would have if current birth trends continued.

* Statement 1: Correct. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rules in India state that expenditures aimed at benefiting the company's business interests or its employees (such as those related to employee welfare or activities that are a direct business benefit) will not be counted as CSR activities. The focus of CSR is on activities that benefit society at large and not just the company or its direct stakeholders.

* Statement 2: Incorrect. Under the Companies Act, 2013, CSR rules do specify a minimum spending requirement. Companies meeting certain criteria (like having a net worth of ₹500 crore or more, or an annual turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or a net profit of ₹5 crore or more) must allocate at least 2% of their average net profits over the last three years towards CSR activities.

So, the correct answer is: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct: The Tea Board of India is a statutory body created under the Tea Act, 1953 and it was established to regulate the Indian tea industry and protect the interests of tea producers in India.

Statement 2 is incorrect: It is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The Tea Board of India's Head Office is situated in Kolkata.

Statement 4 is correct: The Tea Board of India has overseas offices in Moscow, Dubai, Hamburg, London, and New York.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Career Service is not an initiative of the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India. It is actually implemented by the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour & Employment.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The National Career Service has indeed been launched in a Mission Mode, but it is not specifically targeted at improving the employment opportunities for uneducated youth of the country. It is a comprehensive platform providing a wide array of employment and career related services to all citizens of India, aiming to bridge the gap between jobseekers and employers, candidates seeking training and career guidance, and agencies providing training and career counselling.

Statement 1 is Correct: Atal Pension Yojana is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme primarily targeted at unorganized sector workers in India. It encourages saving for retirement through regular contributions during their working years.

Statement 2 is Incorrect: There is no restriction on the number of family members who can join the Atal Pension Yojana scheme. As long as they meet the eligibility criteria (age 18-40 and savings bank account), multiple members within a family can enroll.

Statement 3 is Correct: Atal Pension Yojana provides a pension benefit for the spouse after the subscriber's death. The spouse becomes the nominee and receives a pension, though the specific amount might differ depending on the chosen pension plan by the subscriber.

Hence, option C is the correct answer.

Statement 1 is Correct: The Stand-up India scheme aims at promoting entrepreneurship among women and scheduled castes and tribes.

Statement 2 is Correct: The scheme is anchored by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

- The scheme provides for a refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs, 10,000 Crore. - Stand-Up India Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 Crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch for setting up a greenfield enterprise. - This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector. - In the case of non-individual enterprises, at least 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either an SC/ST or woman entrepreneur.

Hence, option C is the correct answer.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is aimed at providing affordable credit to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the non-farm sector.

Here's a breakdown of its key objectives

- Financial Inclusion: MUDRA helps bring unbanked or underserved entrepreneurs into the formal financial system, enabling them to access loans from banks and other financial institutions. - Loan Products: The scheme offers a range of loan products categorized under three categories based on loan amount Shishu (up to Rs. 50,000), Kishore (above Rs. 50,000 up to Rs. 5 lakh), and Tarun (above Rs. 5 lakh up to Rs. 10 lakh). - Focus on Non-Farm Sector: MUDRA loans cater to income-generating micro enterprises engaged in manufacturing, trading, or service activities. - Activities allied to agriculture, like poultry, dairy, and beekeeping, are also included.

Hence, option A is the correct answer.

PMJDY is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all households in the country. The plan envisages:

- Universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household. - Financial literacy. - Access to credit. - Insurance and pension facility.

Business Correspondents (BCs) or Bank Saathis are agents appointed by banks to provide basic banking services in rural and unbanked areas where setting up a full-fledged branch might not be feasible.

They act as a bridge between the bank and the local population, offering essential financial services

Statement 1 is correct: BCs can help villagers access government subsidies and social security benefits electronically deposited into their accounts. This eliminates the need to travel long distances to banks and reduces the risk of cash handling. Statement 2 is correct: Villagers can deposit their savings or withdraw cash through BCs, promoting financial inclusion and facilitating small transactions without requiring them to visit a bank branch.

Therefore, both options (1 and 2) are the facilities that beneficiaries can avail through Business Correspondent services.

Banks have to lend a minimum of 40% to the priority sector, which includes all of the given sectors.

Priority Sector Lending is an important role given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the banks for providing a specified portion of the bank lending to a few specific sectors, like: - Agriculture and allied activities, - Micro and small enterprises, - Poor people for housing, - Students for education, and - Other low-income groups and weaker sections.

This is essentially meant for all-round development of the economy as opposed to focusing only on the financial sector.

Statement 1 is correct: The MPLAD scheme lets MPs recommend works for local infrastructure and development needs in their constituency. The focus is on creating durable assets that benefit the community. Certain works are prohibited under MPLAD guidelines, which MPs must follow.

Statement 2 is correct: The scheme requires MPs to allocate at least 15% of the MPLADS entitlement for the year to areas inhabited by the Scheduled Caste population and 7.5% for areas inhabited by the Scheduled Tribe population. If there are insufficient tribal populations in the MP's constituency, they can recommend this amount for the creation of community assets in tribal areas outside their constituency, but within their State of election. If a state does not have Scheduled Tribe inhabited areas, this amount can be utilized in Scheduled Caste areas.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Funds released to the District Authority by the Government of India under the MPLAD scheme are non-lapsable, meaning that funds left in the district can be carried forward and utilized in subsequent years.

Statement 4 is correct: The District Authority is responsible for coordinating and supervising the works under the scheme at the district level. They also inspect at least 10% of the works under implementation every year.

Based on the above information, the correct answer is (d).