UPSC Current Affairs Quiz, 30 July 2026

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, election petitions challenging the election of a Member of a State Legislative Assembly are filed before the High Court of the concerned state, not the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court only gets involved if the matter is appealed from the High Court's decision. Statement 2 is correct. The RPA, 1951 lists as corrupt practices the making or publishing of false statements about the personal character or conduct of a candidate, which can form the basis of an election petition challenging a returned candidate's election. Statement 3 is correct. High Courts are empowered to manage their dockets for election petitions and can constitute special benches to hear petitions arising from a general election, which is consistent with the institutional framework under the RPA, 1951 for expeditious disposal of election disputes.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. Article 262 of the Constitution empowers Parliament to provide by law that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution, or control of waters of an inter-state river or river valley. Parliament has exercised this power through the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, which ousts the Supreme Court's jurisdiction over such disputes. Statement 2 is incorrect. A State cannot directly invoke the Supreme Court for adjudication of an inter-state water dispute; it must first request the Central Government to refer the dispute to a tribunal. The mechanism under the Act requires the Central Government to constitute a tribunal upon receiving such a request, and the Act itself bars judicial recourse to courts (including the Supreme Court) unless the tribunal has been constituted and its award has been made. Statement 3 is correct. The Act provides that the Central Government constitutes a tribunal when a state makes a request and when the dispute cannot be settled by negotiation. The Central Government also has the power to extend the tribunal's tenure — consistent with what was done for the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal — to give parties adequate opportunity to present their views.

Explanation

Statement 3 is correct. Ethanol carries roughly two-thirds the energy per litre of petrol, so a higher blend delivers less energy per unit volume and fuel economy falls slightly — the effect is small and can be partly offset by engine tuning that exploits ethanol's higher octane. This is a physical property of the fuel, distinct from the emissions and import-substitution arguments for blending.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. States' own-tax revenue comprises taxes that states themselves levy — such as their share of GST (SGST), stamp duty on property registrations, motor vehicle taxes, and state excise — and is the principal measure of a state's independent tax effort relative to the size of its economy (often expressed as own-tax revenue as a share of GSDP). Statement 2 is also correct. Revenue buoyancy is a well-established concept in public finance: it describes how government revenues should grow in tandem with, or faster than, economic output. When an economy expands, more transactions, incomes, and assets come into the tax net, naturally raising government receipts. A declining tax-to-GSDP ratio despite economic growth therefore signals a structural — not merely cyclical — fiscal deterioration. Statement 3 is incorrect. Salaries, pensions, and interest payments are classified as revenue expenditure (not capital expenditure) in state budgets, because they do not create durable physical assets. Precisely because they fall within revenue expenditure, they directly compete with and crowd out other items on the revenue account — such as spending on operations, maintenance, and social services — leaving less fiscal space for development activities. It is also worth noting that high committed revenue expenditure compresses the revenue surplus available for financing capital expenditure, further limiting developmental investment.