In a landmark unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down as “unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary” the electoral bonds scheme, which provides blanket anonymity to political donors, as well as critical legal amendments allowing rich corporations to make unlimited political donations.

The lead opinion authored by Chief Justice Chandrachud said that the absolute non-disclosure of the source of political funding through electoral bonds promoted corruption, and a culture of quid pro quo with the ruling party to introduce a policy change or for bagging a license. The scheme and the amendments authorised “unrestrained influence of corporates in the electoral process”, it said.

Source – https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/

Passage 2

Ministers from the International Energy Agency’s member countries have begun talks with India on its application to become a full member of the agency of various nations, IEA said on February 14.
In a statement issued after IEA’s 2024 ministerial meeting in Paris, the agency said the talks with India are in recognition of the country’s “strategic importance” in tackling global energy and climate challenges.
“The Ministerial gave the IEA a strong mandate to deepen cooperation with major emerging economies. This includes starting discussions with India on its request for full IEA membership,” it added.

Source- https://www.thehindu.com/news/

16th FEB 2024

First Name

Passage 1

1. SC asserted that transparency regarding funding to political parties is crucial for informed electoral decisions, affirming that the scheme infringes upon the right to information as enshrined in Article ____.

A. 19(1)(a)

B. 19(1)(b)

C. 19(1)(c)

D. 19(1)(d)

2. Which of this bank is authorized to issue and encash electoral bonds?

A. HDFC

B. SBI

C. CBI

D. All of these

3. The electoral bonds were issued in denominations of?

A. 10000, 100000, 1000000

B. 1000, 10000, 100000, 1000000

C. 10000, 100000, 1000000, 10000000

D. 1000, 10000, 100000, 1000000, 10000000

4. Which of this is incorrect?

A. The electoral bonds system was introduced in 2018 by way of a Finance bill and it was implemented in 2019.

B. Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.

C. Both

D. None

5. SC has directed bank to stop issuing electoral bonds immediately and submit all the details to which of this by 6th March, 2024?

A. Supreme Court

B. Election Commission

C. Parliament

D. ED

Passage 2

6. India became an Associate member of IEA in?

A. 2016

B. 2017

C. 2018

D. None

7. How many total members are there in the IEA?

A. 27

B. 29

C. 31

D. 34

8. IEA is an autonomous Intergovernmental Organisation established in the year ___ and at ___.

A. 1972, Paris

B. 1974, Paris

C. 1972, Brussels

D. 1974, Stockholm

9. Which of these eligibility criteria for membership is incorrect?

A. Crude oil and/or product reserves (Strategic Oil Reserves) equivalent to 30 days of the previous year’s net imports, to which the government has immediate access (even if it does not own them directly) and could be used to address disruptions to global oil supply.

B. A demand restraint programme to reduce national oil consumption by up to 10%.

C. Legislation and organisation to operate the Coordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM) on a national basis.

D. Legislation and measures to ensure that all oil companies under its jurisdiction report information upon request.

10. As per the criteria, India's current strategic oil reserves equal to how many days of its requirement?

A. 7.5

B. 8.5

C. 9.5

D. 10.5

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