Q 1.b Election Commission of India is a constitutional body (Article 324 of the Indian Constitution). Election commission both at state level(State Election Commission) and at Union level can take cases suo moto i.e. on its own and not just by way of appeal. Recently, Election Commission took a suo moto case after an advertisement appeared in the newspaper seeking votes on caste lines mentioning that “Haryana got a Punjabi Chief Minister first time in the state’s 52 year history”. Hence only state 2 is correct.

2.c Assam government started Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), a World Bank funded project.
Reiterating the state government’s commitment to motivate the farmers of the state to make the shift from single to multi cropping for increasing the farm income. This project would be able to fulfill the state’s much larger vision of an agriculture based rural transformation by increasing productivity, raising private sector investment and create better job opportunities among others.

Q 3.c The Madras High Court yesterday held that drugs and cosmetics could not be sold online until the centre notified the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendments) Rules, 2018 intended for permitting sale of drugs through e-pharmacies, in government gazette.
hence both the statements are correct.

Ans.4 c  Oxytocin is a life-saving drug used to stem post-partum bleeding among new mothers. Because of this it had been listed by both the World Health Organization and the Health Ministry as an essential medicine. Around 45,000 women die from post-partum complications in India each year, and in 38% of the cases the reason is haemorrhaging. Without the easy availability of inexpensive oxytocin, efforts to stem the maternal mortality epidemic could have suffered a costly setback.

In April 2016 the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare imposed the ban on Oxytocin, referred to a 2016 Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment, which discussed oxytocin’s misuse in dairy cattle, fruits and vegetables.  These worries led to the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a patient-rights group, to challenge the order in the Delhi High Court.

In its recent judgment court struck down the ban, calling it “unreasonable and arbitrary”. The court found that the government had failed to weigh the danger the ban posed to thousands of young mothers.

Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Limited, the only authorised oxytocin producer after the ban, did not have the capability to manufacture it until mid-2017. . This was despite the fact that all statutory bodies, including the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, had advised against a ban.

Q 5.a It is a right of voters to reject all candidates contesting the elections. NOTA option is not allowed in the Rajya Sabha Elections as well as State Legislative Council Elections. It is not mandatory to inform the Presiding officer while using the NOTA option.