While refusing a revival of paper ballots, the Supreme Court upheld the electronic voting machine (EVM) polling system and underscored the need to “exercise care and caution” when raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process.

It also declined the petitioners’ demand to direct 100% cross-verification of votes cast on EVMs with the accompanying Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) paper slips.

In separate but concurring opinions, a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reiterated the faith the judiciary has so far reposed in the integrity of the electoral process. The Court however issued a series of directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to strengthen the existing system.

Source – https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/evm-vvpat-case-key-takeaways-from-

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Passage 2

A Fintech firm has received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator, the company said on Wednesday. With in-principle approval in place, it can now on-board new merchants and provide them digital payment services.

This will allow the firm to begin on-boarding new merchants, offering them digital payment solutions.

In January 2023, the RBI had returned the fintech firm’s application to operate as a payment aggregator due to its complex corporate structure and directed it to reapply. Following this, the firm had to pause on-boarding new merchants for its online payment aggregation business.

Source- https://www.business-standard.com/finance/personal-finance/payu-receives-

30th APR 2024

First Name

Passage 1

1. Only what % of EVM-VVPAT counts are currently randomly verified in any Assembly constituency?

A. 1

B. 5

C. 10

D. 12

2. After consensus on the use of EVMs, the ECI issued directives under which Article for the use of EVMs?

A. 324

B. 325

C. 326

D. 328

3. In which year, Amendment to the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 introduced the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. Used in the by-election for the Noksen assembly seat in Nagaland?

A. 2011

B. 2013

C. 2014

D. 2015

4. Consider the following statements: 1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body. 2. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections. 3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 and 2 only

B. 2 only

C. 2 and 3 only

D. 3 only

5. Which of this is incorrect?

A. In its 2015 ruling in the case of Subramanian Swamy v. Election Commission of India, the Court held that “a paper trail is an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections.”

B. Later, in 2019, while dealing with a plea seeking 50% cross-verification of EVM votes with VVPAT slips in each Assembly constituency, the Court favoured an increase in the number of polling stations in which VVPAT verification would be done from one per Assembly constituency or segment to five.

C. Both

D. None

Passage 2

6. The FinTech firm mentioned in the above passage is?

A. PayU

B. FastPay

C. UPayx

D. PayUPI

7. As per the Capital requirement, New PAs must have a minimum net worth of Rs how many crore at the time of application and reach Rs 25 crore by the end of the third financial year post-authorisation?

A. 5

B. 10

C. 15

D. 20

8. While banks provide PA services as part of their normal banking relationship and do not require separate authorisation, non-bank PAs must obtain authorisation from the RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, of which year?

A. 2002

B. 2004

C. 2005

D. 2007

9. With reference to digital payments, consider the following statements: 1. BHIM app allows the user to transfer money to anyone with a UPI-enabled bank account. 2. While a chip-pin debit card has four factors of authentication, BHIM app has only two factors of authentication. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

10.Consider the following statements: 1. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) helps in promoting the financial inclusion in the country. 2. NPCI has launched RuPay, a card payment scheme. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2