Committees — Set 6

Correct Answer: C. Narasimham Committee

• **Narasimham Committee** = The Narasimham Committee suggested bank consolidation to create global-sized Indian banks by merging 27 Public Sector Banks into 6. • **Resilience** — Larger banks are more resilient to financial shocks; this consolidation process has been actively pursued by the government in recent years. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Malhotra Committee: focused on insurance reforms; P.J. Nayak Committee: focused on governance of PSBs; Verma Committee: dealt with restructuring of weak banks.

Correct Answer: B. Insurance and Tax

• **Insurance and Tax** = The Rangachary Committee (2012) examined taxation issues in the IT and insurance sectors, particularly safe harbour rules for transfer pricing. • **Multinational clarity** — It was aimed at providing more clarity for multinational companies operating in India on transfer pricing norms. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Civil Aviation: covered by separate sector committees; Information Technology: Rangachary focused on tax issues in IT, not the sector itself; Mining: covered by different committees.

Correct Answer: B. Trade Policy and Export-Import

• **Trade Policy and Export-Import** = The Abid Hussain Committee (1984) recommended reforms in India's export-import policies, suggesting a shift from physical controls to fiscal incentives. • **Early liberalization** — This was one of the early steps toward liberalizing Indian trade, predating the major 1991 reforms. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Internal Trade: covered by other committees; Agricultural Exports: a subset of trade, not the full scope; Service Exports: not the focus of this 1984 committee.

Correct Answer: C. Ashok Dalwai Committee

• **Ashok Dalwai Committee** = The Ashok Dalwai Committee on doubling farmers' income recommended making the crop insurance system more farmer-friendly and technologically driven. • **Climate safety net** — The aim was to provide a better safety net for farmers against climate risks through improved insurance mechanisms. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Kasturirangan Committee: focused on Western Ghats ecology; Swaminathan Committee: focused on MSP and agrarian crisis; Sivaraman Committee: led to NABARD creation.

Correct Answer: B. Data Protection and Privacy

• **Data Protection and Privacy** = The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee (2017) was constituted by MeitY to draft a data protection framework and submitted a draft Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018. • **Article 21** — It emphasized that informational privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, laying groundwork for India's data protection legislation. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Arbitration Laws: covered by Law Commission reports; Financial Sector Reforms: covered by FSLRC; Cyber Security Standards: covered by separate CERT-In frameworks.

Correct Answer: D. Economic Capital Framework

• **Economic Capital Framework** = The Vimal Jalan Committee (2019) decided on the size of reserve capital the RBI should maintain and recommended transferring part of its surplus to the government. • **Fiscal support** — This was to help the government meet fiscal targets without compromising RBI's financial stability. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Foreign Reserves: managed by RBI under FEMA; Monetary Policy: set by Monetary Policy Committee; Banking Supervision: function of RBI's Department of Banking Supervision.

Correct Answer: B. Takeovers and Mergers

• **Takeovers and Mergers** = The Bhagwati Committee (1997) formulated the Takeover Code for the Indian stock market to protect minority shareholders during corporate buyouts. • **Transparent framework** — It provided a transparent legal framework for corporate acquisitions, building investor confidence. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: IPO Pricing: regulated by SEBI separately; Penny Stocks: covered by separate market surveillance; Insider Trading: covered by PIT regulations under SEBI.

Correct Answer: B. Kelkar Task Force (2003)

• **Kelkar Task Force (2003)** = The Kelkar Task Force on Indirect Taxes proposed a nationwide GST to replace excise and sales tax, arguing a single tax reduces goods cost and improves compliance. • **GST blueprint** — This became the blueprint for the current GST regime implemented in July 2017. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: N.K. Singh Committee: focused on FRBM Act review; Challiah Committee: recommended tax reforms in 1991, not specifically GST; Asim Dasgupta Committee: worked on GST design at state level, not the originator.

Correct Answer: B. Small Scale and Village Industries

• **Small Scale and Village Industries** = The Karve Committee (1955) highlighted the importance of small-scale industries for rural employment and recommended diverting developmental resources to this sector. • **Second Five Year Plan** = Its recommendations influenced the strategy of the second Five Year Plan, which emphasized small-scale and cottage industries. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Handicraft Sector: a subset, not the full scope of Karve Committee; Textile Sector: covered by separate textile committees; Heavy Industries: the second plan covered heavy industry, but Karve focused on small-scale.

Correct Answer: D. High Level Expert Group

• **High Level Expert Group** = The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) recommended universal health coverage for all citizens and advocated increasing public health spending to 2.5% of GDP. • **2.5% of GDP** — This report shaped the current government's focus on healthcare infrastructure and the National Health Policy 2017. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Srinath Reddy Committee: related to a different health commission; NITI Aayog Working Group: a subsequent body for implementation; Alok Kumar Committee: not specifically associated with this health policy framework.