Parliamentary Standing Committees:
- A good deal of Parliamentary business is transacted in the committees. Both Houses of Parliament have a similar committee structure, with a few exceptions.
- Their appointment, terms of office, functions and procedure of conducting business are also more or less similar and are regulated as per rules made by the two Houses under Article 118(1) of the Constitution.
- Broadly, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds – Standing Committees and ad hoc Committees.
- The former are elected or appointed every year or periodically and their work goes on, more or less, on a continuous basis.
- The latter are appointed on an ad hoc basis as the need arises and they cease to exist as soon as they complete the task assigned to them
FDI:
- Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by a company or an individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
- FDI is an important driver of economic growth.
- FDI is when a foreign entity acquires ownership or controlling stake in the shares of a company in one country, or establishes businesses there.
- It is different from foreign portfolio investment where the foreign entity merely buys equity shares of a company.
Monetary Policy Committee:
- It was created in 2016.
- It was created to bring transparency and accountability in deciding monetary policy.
- MPC determines the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target.
- Committee comprises of six members where Governor RBI acts as an ex-officio chairman. Three members are from RBI and three are selected by government.
- Inflation target is to be set once in a five year. It is set by the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank.
Kharif crop:
- Sown: June-July
Harvested: September-October - Rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, soybean etc.
- Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra
WTO:
- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) traces its origins to the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which laid the foundations for the post-World War II financial system and established two key institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.
- The WTO has 164 members (including European Union) and 23 observer governments (like Iran, Iraq, Bhutan, Libya etc).
HCI:
- Human Capital Index is Published by: World Bank
- It measures which countries are best in mobilizing the economic and professional potential of its citizens.
Parameter/Dimensions: - Survival, as measured by under-5 mortality rates;
- Expected years of Quality-Adjusted School which combines information on the quantity and quality of education; and
- Health environment using two proxies of (a) adult survival rates and (b) the rate of stunting for children under age 5.
CBI:
- The CBI was established as the Special Police Establishment in 1941, to investigate cases of corruption in the procurement during the Second World War.
- Later, the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption recommended the establishment of the CBI. The CBI was then formed by a resolution of the Home Affairs Ministry. The Ministry of Personnel, later on, took over the responsibility of the CBI and now it plays the role of an attached office.
MPLADS:
- The MPLAD scheme was formulated in 1993 to enable Members of Parliament (MPs) to recommend development works in their constituencies with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets based on the locally felt need.
- Initially, the Scheme was under the control of the Ministry of Rural Development and Planning. In October, 1994, the scheme was transferred to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
- Under this scheme, every MP is entitled to spend Rs 5crore annually.
- Similar to MPLADS, several states have enacted schemes called Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme (MLALADS) where funds are given to MLAs.
CVC:
- Central Vigilance Commission is the apex vigilance institution, free of control from any executive authority, monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government and advising various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
- The CVC was set up by the Government in February, 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam. In 2003, the Parliament enacted CVC Act conferring statutory status on the CVC.
- The CVC is not controlled by any Ministry/Department. It is an independent body which is only responsible to the Parliament.