TEST-26: Vision

VISION IAS
www.visionias.in
Test Booklet Series
TEST-26
Time Allowed: Two Hours
GENERAL STUDIES (P) 2021 – Test – 3203
C
Maximum Marks: 200
INSTRUCTIONS
UPSC CSE Free Material (OPTIMISTIC IAS)
FULL LENGTH TEST-3 +
(COMPLETE SYLLABUS)
+ Current Affairs
1. Which of the following statements is correct 4. Consider the following statements with
regarding the practice of the President respect to Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party:
addressing Parliament in India? 1. It was established in 1922 with Motilal
(a) The practice of the President addressing Nehru as its President.
Parliament can be traced back to the
2. They won the majority of elected seats
Government of India Act of 1858.
in Central Legislative Assembly in 1923
(b) The constitution mandates the President
elections.
to address each session of the
3. Swarajists succeeded in electing
Parliament.
Vithalbhai Patel as the President of
(c) It broadly deals with governance agenda
for upcoming year and the President can Central Legislative Assembly.
make new policy and legislative Which of the statements given above is/are
announcements. correct?
(d) President's address in India is mirrored (a) 1 only
on the American system in which the (b) 1 and 2 only
speech is delivered in written to the (c) 3 only
Parliament. (d) 1 and 3 only
2. Which of the following may be the cause of

5. Cells divide and reproduce in two ways,
lead poisoning?
mitosis and meiosis. Which of the following
1. Batteries
statements describe the differences between
2. Cosmetics
the two?
3. Paints
1. Mitosis involves the division of somatic
4. Ceramic wares
Select the correct answer using the code cells, while meiosis involves the division
given below. of gamete cells.

(a) 1, 3 and 4 only 2. Two daughter cells are produced after
(b) 2 and 4 only mitosis while four daughter cells are
(c) 1, 2 and 3 only produced after meiosis.
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 3. Daughter cells resulting from mitosis are
diploid, while those resulting from
3. The term ‘Strategic Trade Authorisation’
meiosis are haploid.
sometimes seen in the news is associated
Which of the statements given above are
with India's economic relations with which
correct?
of the following countries/union?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(a) Japan
(b) 2 and 3 only
(b) European Union
(c) China (c) 1 and 3 only
(d) United States of America (d) 1, 2 and 3
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6. Which of the following laws/legislations 8. With reference to the Eravikulam National
consider noise as a pollutant? Park, consider the following statements:
1. Water Prevention and Control of 1. South India’s highest peak ‘Anamudi’ is
Pollution Act, 1974 situated in this park.

2. Neelakurinji flower that blooms once in
2. Air (Prevention and Control of
twelve years is found here.
Pollution) Act, 1981
3. Eravikulam National Park is home to
3. Environment (Protection) Act 1986
India’s largest population of Nilgiri
Select the correct answer using the code
Tahr.
given below.
4. The indigenous people Muthuvans have
(a) 1 and 2 only
been associated with the management of
(b) 2 only the park.
(c) 2 and 3 only Which of the statements given above are
(d) 1 and 3 only correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
7. Consider the following statements with (b) 2, 3 and 4 only
reference to the Information Technology (c) 1, 3 and 4 only
Agreement (ITA): (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
1. It is one of the significant tariff

9. Consider the following statements with
liberalization arrangement negotiated
reference to gravity anomalies:
under G20.
1. It is the difference in the values of
2. According to the rules of the ITA, all the
gravity from the expected values.
signatories have to eliminate customs
2. It gives us information about the
duties for certain high technology
distribution of mass of the material in
products.
the earth's crust.
3. India is not a signatory of the 3. These anomalies are the most
Information Technology Agreement. pronounced in the Atlantic Ocean.
Which of the statements given above is/are Which of the statements given above is/are
correct? correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only (b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only (c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3
10. In the context of Khunkatti system during 12. Consider the following statements with
British rule, consider the following reference to the Pardoning power of the
President:
statements:
1. The power can only be exercised by the
1. It is a system of customary tribal land
President on the advice of the union
ownership practiced among Bhils of cabinet.
Western India. 2. The President has no pardoning powers
2. It was marked by absence of the class of on sentences inflicted by court-martial.
landlords. Which of the statements given above is/are
correct?
3. Replacing Khunkatti system with
(a) 1 only
Zamindari system led to revolt among
(b) 2 only
the tribals. (c) Both 1 and 2
Which of the statements given above are (d) Neither 1 nor 2
correct?
13. ‘Rakshita’, which was in news recently is:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(a) a bullet proof jacket developed by Indian
(b) 2 and 3 only
Ordinance factory.
(c) 1 and 3 only (b) a collapsable tent developed by DRDO
(d) 1, 2 and 3 for use in high altitude area by Indian
army.
11. Consider the following statements with (c) a hemorrhagic bandage used to
completely stop the blood flow to a
respect to Vanchit Ikai Samooh aur Vargon
wound.
ki Aarthik Sahayta (VISVAS) Scheme:
(d) a bike-based casualty transport
1. It is an interest subvention scheme for emergency vehicle.
Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other
Backward Classes (OBCs). 14. Which of the following occurred during
Viceroyship of Lord Ripon?
2. Only a household involved in non-
1. Enactment of the First Factory Act
agricultural activity with a family
2. Repeal of Vernacular Press Act
income less than Rs. 1 Lakh is eligible 3. Appointment of Hunter Commission to
under the scheme. suggest education reforms
3. It is being implemented by the Ministry 4. Invasion of Afghanistan from British
of Social Justice and Empowerment. India
5. Ilbert bill controversy
Which of the statements given above are
Select the correct answer using code given
correct?
below.
(a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
(b) 2 and 3 only (b) 1 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 3 only (c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
(d) 1, 2 and 3

15. Consider the following statements: 18. Consider the following statements with
1. Arunachal Pradesh is the leading reference to Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP)
Programme:
producer of Kiwi in India.
1. Under this programme, Oil Marketing
2. Temperate climate on hill slopes is Companies (OMCs) procure and blend
suitable for the cultivation of Kiwi fruit up to 10% ethanol in petrol.
2. It has been extended to all States and
vine.
UTs.
3. Organic certification in India for fruits is 3. The price of Ethanol is administered by
granted by the Agricultural and the Cabinet Committee on Economic
Processed Food Products Export Affairs.
Which of the statements given above is/are
Development Authority (APEDA).
correct?
Which of the statements given above are (a) 1 only
correct? (b) 2 and 3 only
(a) 1 and 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only 19. With reference to the GST collections in
(d) 1, 2 and 3 India, arrange the following in increasing
order of their contribution to GST revenue
since its introduction:
16. He studied mathematics at the Cambridge 1. Public limited company
University. He worked as secretary of the 2. Private limited companies
Indian National Association. He was elected 3. Public Sector Undertakings
4. Proprietorship Firms
the first President of Sadharan Brahmo
Samaj. He was given below.
(a) Surendranath Banerjee (a) 4-2-3-1
(b) Ananda Mohan Bose (b) 2-3-1-4
(c) 2-1-4-3
(c) Umesh Chandra Dutta
(d) 1-2-4-3
(d) Chittaranjan Das
20. India's foreign exchange reserves have risen
by over $100 billion since the lockdown
17. During the colonial period in India, William
announced in March-end. In this context,
Adam's report was concerned with which of the following are the reasons for
(a) Defining powers of Secretary of State the increase in India's forex reserves?
for India. 1. High FDI and FPI inflows
2. Increase in exports
(b) Improving the relationship between the
3. Decline in crude oil prices
Government of India and the Indian 4. Increase in gold imports
States. Select the correct answer using the code
(c) Examining the progress of education in given below.
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
vernacular schools.
(b) 1 and 3 only
(d) Development of general strategy to deal (c) 3 and 4 only
with the famines. (d) 1, 2 and 3 only

21. A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures 24. Consider the following statements:
between two blocks of rock. In this context, 1. Recession is contraction in economic
arrange the following seismic faults from
activities for at least two consecutive
east to west.
1. Bhima fault quarters.
2. Malda fault 2. Indian economy entered recession for
3. Allah Bund fault the first time in its history during the
4. Churachandpur mao fault 1991 economic crisis.
given below.
(a) 3-1-2-4 correct?
(b) 4-2-1-3 (a) 1 only
(c) 1-4-3-2 (b) 2 only
(d) 4-1-3-2
(c) Both 1 and 2
22. With reference to the National Investigation (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Agency (NIA) of India, consider the
following statements: 25. ‘Partners in Population and Development
1. It is a statutory body under the Ministry (PPD)’, recently seen in the news is:
of Home Affairs
(a) An intergovernmental initiative for
2. It is empowered to investigate and
prosecute offences committed within improving South-to-South collaboration
and outside India. in reproductive health and development.
3. It can investigate cases related to (b) An agency of the United Nations to
counterfeit currency and cyber-
enhance development of human capital.
terrorism.
(c) An international organization to account
correct? for the carbon footprint generated by
(a) 1 and 2 only increasing population every year.
(b) 1 only (d) An inter-governmental body of South
(c) 2 and 3 only
Asian countries with increasing geriatric
(d) 1, 2 and 3
population.
23. Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) cells are
receiving attention of scientists in recent 26. Consider the following pairs:
years. In this context, consider the following
Places in news Country
statements:
1. Norilsk Russia
1. OPVs can be made using polymers.
2. OPVs are far more efficient than Silicon 2. Sinjar Syria
based solar cells. 3. Nantaz Iran
3. OPVs result in flexible solar panels that Which of the pairs given above is/are
can be installed on curved surfaces.
correctly matched?
correct? (a) 1, 2 and 3
(a) 3 only (b) 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
27. In which of the following areas can 30. Consider the following statements with
Geographic Information System (GIS) reference to the Right to Constitutional
Remedies:
technology be used?
1. Under this right, the Supreme Court can
1. Identify and map electrification status of
issue writs for the enforcement of
villages ordinary legal rights.
2. Curb illegal mining 2. Right to Constitutional Remedies is a
3. Map assets in the urban areas basic feature of the Constitution.
4. Developing information system 3. The right cannot be suspended even
during a national emergency.
regarding land banks
Select the correct answer using code given correct?
below. (a) 2 only
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only (b) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 4 only (c) 2 and 3 only
(d) None
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 31. In the context of Mauryan Architecture,
consider the following statements:
28. Consider the following pairs: 1. The Lion Capital at Sarnath was built in
Site River bank commemoration of the historical event
of Mahaparinirvana.
1. Harappa Ravi
2. The Bull capital of Ashoka from
2. Kalibangan Ghagghar
Rampurva has a mixture of both Persian
3. Chanhudaro Luni and Indian elements.
Which of the pairs given above is/are 3. Ashokan pillars were usually made of
correctly matched? Chunar sandstone.
(a) 1 only
correct?
(b) 2 and 3 only
(a) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3 (c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
29. Consider the following pairs in the context
32. With reference to Graphene, consider the
of mahajanapadas of ancient India and the
following statements:
famous rulers associated with them: 1. It is an allotrope of carbon.
Mahajanapada Ruler 2. It is harder than diamond.
1. Magadha Vasudeva 3. It has high electrical conductivity but
2. Kosala Prasenjit very low optical transparency.
4. It can be used to develop anti microbial
3. Avanti Pradyota
surfaces.
Which of the pairs given above is/are Which of the statements given above are
correctly matched? correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 3 only (b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1 only
33. Consider the following statements with 36. Which of the following natural landscapes
reference to Production Linked Incentive
act as a barrier against coastal hazards?
(PLI) Scheme:
1. It aims to boost domestic manufacturing 1. Mangroves
by extending an incentive on 2. Salt marshes
incremental sales of goods manufactured
3. Sand dunes
in India.
2. The Scheme is applicable only for 4. Coral Reefs
domestic manufacturing companies.
3. PLI Scheme is compliant with WTO
commitments as the quantum of support given below.
is not directly linked to exports. (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
correct?
(a) 1 only (c) 3 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
37. Which of the following will be likely
34. The term ‘Eternal Blue’, in news recently, is
benefits of recently launched Patent
associated with which of the following?
(a) Oceanic explorations Prosecution Highway Program?
(b) Cyber attacks 1. Accelerated examination of the patent
(c) Cryptocurrencies
application of Indian MSME in partner
(d) Space expeditions
countries.
35. Recently Methane Budget 2020 has been
2. Expedited resolution of bilateral patent
released by the Global Carbon Project. In
this context, consider the following disputes between India and partner
statements: countries.
1. Tropical regions are responsible for
3. Introduction of newer technologies in
more than 50 per cent of the entire
planet's emissions. India.
2. Anthropogenic sources are responsible
for nearly 90 per cent of global
emissions. given below.
Which of the statements given above is/are (a) 1 and 2 only
correct?
(b) 2 and 3 only
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
38. With reference to Consumer Price Index- 40. Which of the following payment systems are
operated by National Payments Corporation
Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), consider the
of India (NPCI)?
following statements: 1. RuPay
1. Consumer Price Index for Industrial 2. Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
3. National Electronic Fund Transfer
Workers does not include services
(NEFT)
consumed by Industrial Workers. 4. National Electronic Toll Collection
(NETC)
2. It is used to determine the dearness
allowance of employees in both the given below.
public and private sectors. (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
3. It is published annually by the Office of
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
the Economic Adviser, Department for (d) 1, 2 and 4 only
Promotion of Industry and Internal
41. Consider the following statements, with
Trade (DPIIT). respect to the recently passed The Aircraft
Which of the statements given above is/are (Amendment) Act, 2020:
1. It provides statutory status to the
correct?
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(a) 1 and 2 only (DGCA).
(b) 2 only 2. It mandates the Aircraft Accidents
Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to carry
(c) 1 and 3 only out investigations related to aircraft
(d) 1, 2 and 3 accidents and incidents.
correct?
39. Consider the following statements with (a) 1 only
reference to ‘microwave weapons’: (b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
1. This is a type of direct energy weapon
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
which aim at highly focused energy in
42. With reference to the FSSAI Food Hygiene
the form of sonic and laser.
Rating Scheme, consider the following
2. They are high-frequency electromagnetic statements:
radiation to heat the water in the human 1. This is a mandatory scheme applicable
to food businesses supplying food
target skin.
directly to consumers.
Which of the statements given above is/are 2. It has been launched by the Quality
Council of India.
correct?
(a) 1 only correct?
(b) 2 only (a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

43. With reference to the Indian economy, 46. With reference to the administration of the
consider the following statements: Vijayanagar Empire, consider the following
statements:
1. Floating rate bonds are securities
1. The provincial governors were always
carrying a variable coupon rate. appointed from royal princes.
2. Zero-Coupon Bonds are the interest 2. The office of Nayak (military chiefs)
bearing short-term bonds issued by the became hereditary.
3. Under their rule, the Chola traditions of
Scheduled Commercial Banks.
local self-governing institutions were
Which of the statements given above is/are expanded and got strengthened.
correct? Which of the statements given above is/are
correct?
(a) 1 only
(a) 1 and 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 (c) 1 and 3 only
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 (d) 1, 2 and 3
47. The water footprint measures the amount of

44. Who among the following are associated water used to produce each of the goods and
with All India Kisan Sabha? services we use. In this context, consider the
1. Swami Sahajanand following pairs:
Type of Definition
2. Indulal Yagnik
Water
3. Acharya Narendra Dev Footprint
4. Bankim Mukherjee 1. : The water from
Select the correct answer using code given Greenwater precipitation that is stored
in the root zone of the soil
below.
and evaporated, transpired
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only or incorporated by plants.
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only 2. Bluewater : The polluted water
(c) 2 and 3 only discharged to a freshwater
resource directly through a
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
pipe or indirectly through
runoff or leaching from the
45. Which of the following is/are the likely soil, impervious surfaces,
benefits of the devaluation of a currency in a or other diffuse sources.
3. Greywater : The water sourced from
country?
surface or groundwater
1. Imports become cheaper resources and is either
2. Purchasing power of currency increases evaporated, incorporated
3. Sovereign debt burden reduces into a product or taken
from one body of water
Select the correct answer using the code and returned to another
given below. Which of the pairs given above is/are
(a) 1 and 2 only correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only (c) 1 only
(d) 1 and 3 only (d) 1 and 3 only

48. Consider the following statements with 51. Consider the following statements with
reference to the recently constituted National
respect to the economic policies during the
Medical Commission (NMC):
1. It is a statutory body whose members are 19th century British rule in India:
appointed by the Central Government. 1. The British economic policies resulted in
2. It lays down the policies and codes to
the ruin of feudalism in Indian Society.
ensure the observance of professional
ethics in the medical profession. 2. Cultivation of crops like opium and
3. It assess the requirements in human
oilseeds increased.
resources for health and healthcare
infrastructure. 3. Number of people depending on
Which of the statements given above is/are agriculture decreased due to exploitation
correct?
under the land revenue systems.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only Which of the statements given above is/are
(c) 1 and 2 only
correct?
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(a) 1 and 3 only
49. In the context of regulation of electronic (b) 2 and 3 only
media, consider the following statements
regarding News Broadcasting Standards (c) 2 only
Authority (NBSA): (d) 1, 2 and 3
1. It is a statutory body under the Ministry
of Information and broadcasting
2. Its jurisdiction extends over all news 52. Consider the following pairs:
channel whether they are its members or Index/Report Published by
not.
Which of the statements given above is/are 1. Global Social : World Economic
correct? Mobility Index Forum
(a) 1 only
2. Human : United Nations
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 Freedom Index Human Rights
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
2020 Council
50. In the context of economy, Potential GDP 3. Urban Quality : UN-Habitat

refers to: of Life Index
(a) measure of country's economic output
Which of the pairs given above is/are
adjusted for the impact of inflation.
(b) the level of output that an economy can correctly matched?
produce at a constant inflation rate.
(a) 1 only
(c) the market value of goods and services
produced in an economy, unadjusted for (b) 1 and 3 only
inflation. (c) 2 and 3 only
(d) measure of country's economic output at
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Zero inflation.
53. With reference to Natural Capital 56. In the context of interspecific interaction,
Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem
which of the following can be considered as
Services (NCAVES), consider the following
statements: examples of mutualism?
1. It aims to assist partner countries in
improving the monetary measurement of 1. Nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria in
their ecosystems and ecosystem services.
the roots of leguminous plants.
2. It is being implemented only in Brazil,
China, India, Mexico and South Africa. 2. Birds entering the mouths of crocodiles
3. It has been launched by the United
Nations Statistics Division and to remove leeches.
Convention on Biological Diversity.
3. Snakes taking shelter in trees.
correct? Select the correct answer using the code
(a) 1 and 3 only
given below.
(b) 1 only
(c) 2 and 3 only (a) 1 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
reference to allotment of Party symbols:
1. Allotment of symbols to political parties (d) 1, 2 and 3
is governed by the Representation of the
People Act, 1950.
2. Election Commission acts as a court for
57. With the advent of electric vehicles, the
settling disputes related to allotment of
election symbols. demand for Lithium is going to rise further.
In this context, consider the following
correct?
(a) 1 only statements:
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 1. Among the continents, Africa accounts
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
for more than fifty per cent of the total
55. Which of the following statements is/are global Lithium reserves.

correct regarding Jainism?
1. Jainism holds that every atom has a soul. 2. Among the countries, Australia is the top
2. The concept of "Anekantavada"
producer of Lithium.
implying that the truth can be viewed
from aneka or various angels is a Which of the statements given above is/are
distinguishing feature of Jainism.
correct?
3. Jainism specifies householders to
practice virtues called anuvrata. (a) 1 only
given below. (b) 2 only
(a) 1 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(d) 1, 2 and 3
58. Which of the following pairs are correctly 60. Which of the following subjects are
matched regarding land revenue assessment mentioned in the concurrent list of the
methods in Medieval India? seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution?
Land Revenue Features 1. Markets and Fairs
Assessment 2. Agriculture
3. Inter-state Trade and Commerce
Systems
4. Bankruptcy and Insolvency
1. Batai System : Produce was divided
5. Protection of wild animals and birds
between the peasants
Select the correct answer from the code
and the state in a fixed
given below:
proportion decided by
(a) 1, 3 and 5 only
the State
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
2. Kankut : Productivity of land (c) 4 and 5 only
System was estimated to fix (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
the revenue demand
3. Dahsala : Average produce and 61. Recently, satellite launch vehicle Stardust
System prices prevailing over 1.0 is in news. Why?
the last ten years were (a) It is the first commercial space launch
calculated to fix the vehicle powered by biofuel.
State's share (b) It is the fully reusable launch vehicle

developed by SpaceX.
(c) It is a mini rocket launched by NASA to
given below.
conduct microgravity experiments.
(a) 1 only
(d) It is a rocket that uses scramjet engine
(b) 2 and 3 only
where combustion takes place at
(c) 1 and 3 only
supersonic speeds.
(d) 1, 2 and 3
62. Which of the following mechanisms can be

59. "It is a cold surface current of the western
used for reducing the emissions from
Indian Ocean, caused during the northern
thermal power plants?
summer months by the blowing of the 1. Use of electrostatic precipitators
southwest monsoon along the coast of East 2. Use of Flue gas desulphurization
Africa, moving coastal waters 3. Deployment of a selective non-catalytic
northeastward." reduction system
The above passage refers to which of the Select the correct answer using the code
following ocean currents? given below.
(a) West Australian Current (a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) Somali Current (b) 3 only
(c) Agulhas Current (c) 1 and 2 only
(d) Mozambique Current (d) 1 and 3 only

63. With reference to the aquatic freshwater 66. Consider the following statements in the
ecosystem, which of the following belongs context of sufi movement:
1. Be-shara refers to those sufi orders who
to the lentic category?
are not bound by Islamic law.
1. Lake 2. Ba-shara refers to those sufi orders who
2. Marshes are bound by Islamic law.
3. Chisthi and suharwadi silsilahs were ba-
3. River
sharas.
4. Spring Which of the statements given above are
Select the correct answer using the code correct?
given below. (a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(a) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 3 and 4 only
reference to Ordinance making power of
Governor:
64. Which of the Tamil literatures are known as 1. Governor can issue ordinances only on
those subjects which are in the State list.
twin Tamil epics?
2. Governor cannot issue ordinance
(a) Tolkkappiyam and Tirukkural
involving expenditure from the
(b) Silappadikaram and Tirukkural Consolidated Fund of State.
(c) Manimekalai and Silappadikaram Which of the statements given above is/are
correct?
(d) Tolkkappiyam and Silappadikaram
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
65. With reference to Sessions of Parliament, (c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
1. The maximum gap between two sessions 68. With reference to 'Vulture Action Plan 2020-
of Parliament cannot be more than six 25', consider the following statements:
months. 1. It proposes to set up at least one vulture
safe zone in each State of India.
2. The power to convene a session of
2. It covers conservation of only the
Parliament rests with the Cabinet endangered species of Vulture found in
Committee on Political Affairs. India.
3. It also includes action to regulate the
sale of pesticides and herbicides.
correct? Which of the statement given above is/are
(a) 1 only correct?
(b) 2 only (a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 (d) 1 and 3 only
69. Among the major ports of India, which of 72. Mycoremediation is a bioremediation
the following is/are landlocked in nature? technique that uses which of the following
living organisms to break down
1. Kandla
contaminants?
2. Ennore (a) Bacteria
3. Paradip (b) Algae
4. Visakhapatnam (c) Fungi
Select the correct answer using the code (d) Amoeba
given below.
73. Phytorid Technology, recently seen in the
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only news, is associated with which of the
(b) 2 and 4 only following?
(c) 4 only (a) Sewage treatment
(b) Biofuel production using plant biomass
(d) 3 and 4 only
(c) Sterilization of food and beverages
(d) Crop production using artificial light
70. Consider the following statements:
1. Generally, Question Hour in both 74. Who among the following are the intended
beneficiaries under the National Food
Houses is held for two days a week
Security Act, 2013?
during a parliamentary session.
1. Every child up to the age of fourteen
2. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has years.
the final authority with respect to the 2. Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
conduct of Question Hour. 3. Pregnant women and lactating mothers
in regular employment with the Central
Government.
correct? Select the correct answer using the code
(a) 1 only given below.
(b) 2 only (a) 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 (d) 1 and 2 only
71. With reference to the famous 'Kutiyattam', 75. In the context of emissions from agricultural
consider the following statements: activities in India, consider the following
statements:
1. It is an ancient Sanskrit theatre
1. Agricultural activities account for more
performed in the state of Kerala. than 25 per cent of the gross national
2. It is enlisted in the UNESCO's emission.
Representative List of the Intangible 2. Only use of nitrogenous fertilisers
accounts for more than 85 per cent of the
Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
total emissions from agriculture.
Which of the statements given above is/are Which of the statements given above is/are
correct? correct?
(a) 1 only (a) 1 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
76. Which of the following rivers drain into 79. Which of the following statements are not
Black Sea? correct with respect to the post of Deputy
1. Danube River Chairman of Rajya Sabha?
2. Dnieper river (a) The post of deputy chairman is
3. Rhine river mentioned in the constitution.

(b) The date of election of the Deputy
4. Volga river
chairman is fixed by the chairman.
5. Don river
(c) Salary and allowance of the deputy
chairman is fixed by Parliament and are
below.
charged on the Consolidated Fund of
(a) 1, 2 and 5 only
India
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) He automatically becomes chairman of
(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only that parliamentary committee in which
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only he is appointed as a member.
77. Which of the following add/adds nitrogen to 80. With reference to 'Golden Mahseer', a fish
the soil in the nitrogen cycle? found in Indian waters, which of the
1. Rain Water following statements is/are correct?
2. Azotobacter present in the soils 1. It is found across the Himalayan as well
3. Excreta of living organisms as the peninsular rivers
Select the correct answer using the code 2. Due to its fighting skills it is referred to
as the 'Tiger of the Rivers'
given below.
3. It is included under Schedule 1 of the
(a) 1 and 2 only
Wildlife Protection Act 1972
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
given below.
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
78. With reference to a three-parent baby, (c) 2 only
consider the following statements: (d) 1, 2 and 3
1. The healthy nuclear DNA is removed
from the patient’s egg cell leaving 81. Which of the following statements is not
behind faulty mitochondrial DNA. correct with reference to Rigvedic age?
2. Patient’s nuclear DNA will be (a) Sabhas and Samitis were popular
transplanted to a donor’s egg with assemblies.
healthy mitochondrial DNA. (b) Nishkas (gold coins) were used as
Which of the statements given above is/are medium of exchange in transactions.
(c) Brahmanas are the treatises relating to
correct?
prayer and sacrificial ceremony.
(a) 1 only
(d) Women were not given equal
(b) 2 only
opportunities as men for spiritual and
(c) Both 1 and 2
intellectual development.
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
82. The Ministry of Environment Forest and 85. It is the growing trend of embedding
Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched computation capability into everyday objects
‘Firefly Bird Diverters’ initiative for the to make them effectively communicate and
conservation of which of the following perform useful tasks in a way that minimises
species? the end user's need to interact with
(a) Red headed Vulture computers. What is it?
(b) Jerdon’s Courser (a) Cloud Computing
(c) Forest Owlet (b) Virtual Private Networking
(d) Great Indian Bustard (c) Pervasive Computing
(d) Internet Protocol
83. Which of the following were part of the
Indian National Congress programme of
86. Which of the following correctly describes
action while launching the Non Cooperation
the legal philosophy of ‘Originalism’,
movement?
recently seen in the news?
1. Boycott of elections to provincial and
(a) The constitution should be interpreted
central assembly election
the way it was understood at the time of
2. Boycott of foreign goods
its adoption.
3. Non payment of taxes
(b) The constitution should reflect the
4. Boycott of Government schools and
ancient cultural philosophy of its people
colleges
and not update with changing times.
(c) Tribal groups and primitive people of a
below.
society must be granted special
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
protection under the Constitution.
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) The system of government of a country
(c) 2 and 3 only
must be based on the conventions
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
established with time.
84. Consider the following pairs:

87. In the context of ecology, the term
Crop Leading producer state
community is best described as
1. Cotton : Maharashtra
(a) organisms of the same species that are in
2. Sugarcane : Uttar Pradesh
proximity to one another.
3. Coffee : Assam
(b) groups of vegetation and wildlife
Which of the pairs given above is/are
adapted to a particular climate.
correctly matched?
(c) the aggregate of the populations of
(a) 1 only
living organisms occupying a given area
(b) 1 and 2 only
(d) the collection of all those regions on
(c) 2 only
earth where lifeform exists.
(d) 2 and 3 only

88. What is the purpose of Laser Interferometer 91. With reference to the Optical Ground Wire
Space Antenna (LISA) experiment, which is (OPGW) Network, consider the following
frequently mentioned in news? statements:
(a) To develop satellite navigation system 1. It is a dual-use wire network which can
with full global coverage.
be used both as an earth wire and optical
(b) To measure gravitational waves.
fibre for telecommunication.
(c) To aid in the global agricultural growth
2. In India, Power Grid Corporation of
using remote sensing.
India Limited is the only utility having
(d) To study climate change patterns across
the globe. overhead optic fibre network using
OPGW on power transmission lines.
89. As per the findings from Indica and Which of the statements given above is/are
Arthashastra, consider the following correct?
statements about the administration of (a) 1 only
Chandragupta Maurya: (b) 2 only
1. There was decentralised form of (c) Both 1 and 2
governance. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
2. The provinces were headed by a
bureaucrat who was selected on the basis
of merit.
reference to 'Critical Tiger Habitats':
3. There were committees which were
1. Critical Tiger Habitats are essentially the
created to look after the civic amenities.
Which of the statements given above is/are core areas of tiger reserves.
correct? 2. These areas have been identified under
(a) 1 only the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
(b) 1 and 2 only Which of the statements given above is/are
(c) 3 only correct?
(d) 1, 2 and 3 (a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
90. Consider the following statements with (c) Both 1 and 2
respect to Dual system of Government in (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Bengal during Colonial rule:
1. It was introduced during the reign of
93. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean
Robert Clive.
Research (NCPOR) is often seen in the news
2. Under the system, East India Company
controlled finances of the provinces and in relation to mineral exploration within the
its army while the Nawab was given Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India. It
complete autonomy in the is an autonomous institution under which of
administration. the following ministries?
Which of the statements given above is/are (a) Ministry of Science and Technology
correct? (b) Ministry of Earth Sciences
(a) 1 only (c) Ministry of Environment, Forest and
(b) 2 only Climate Change
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Ministry of Mines
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
94. Consider the following statements with 97. With reference to the Narrow Band-Internet
respect to mRNA vaccines:
of Things (NB-IoT), consider the following
1. RNA vaccines work by introducing an
mRNA sequence coded for a disease statements:
specific antigen, into the body. 1. It is a wireless communication standard
2. mRNA sequence cannot be synthesised
for small data volume infrequently
artificially in a laboratory.
Which of the statements given above is/are transmitted.
correct? 2. NB-IoT significantly improves the
(a) 1 only
power consumption of user devices.
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 3. Recently, BSNL has launched the
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 world's first satellite-based NB-IoT
95. Due to the pandemic, the country's fiscal network in India.

deficit soared to new heights. In this context, Which of the statements given above are
which of the following could reduce the
correct?
fiscal deficit of the central government?
1. Disinvestments of Public Sector Units (a) 1 and 2 only
2. Reducing tax rates under GST (b) 2 and 3 only
3. Taxing agricultural incomes
(c) 1 and 3 only
given below. (d) 1, 2 and 3
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
98. Recently, Global E-waste Monitor 2020
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3 Report was released. In this context,

96. Consider the following pairs:
Cloud Feature 1. Only 5 per cent of the total global e-
1. Cirrus : Cotton-shaped clouds that waste is recycled.

form at a height of 4,000 -
2. India is the second-largest electronic
7,000 m
waste generator in the world after China.
2. Cumulus : Dark-coloured layered
clouds found closest to the 3. India does not have any guidelines for e-
ground.
waste management.
3. Nimbus : Feather-shaped clouds
formed at an average
height of 10000 m correct?
Which of the pairs given above is/are not (a) 1 only
correctly matched?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3 (c) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) None
(d) None
99. Recently there is a revival of demand for
bringing the entire Arunachal Pradesh under
the ambit of the Sixth Schedule. In this
context which of the following is/are the
provisions of administration contained under
Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution?
1. Constitution of autonomous district
councils (ADCs) to provide legislative
and executive powers to tribals
2. Empowering ADCs with civil and
judicial powers.
3. Constitution of Tribes Advisory Council
to advise on welfare and advancement of
the tribes.
given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

reference to Negotiable Warehouse Receipts
(NWRs):
1. Farmers can seek loans from banks
against the NWRs issued by the
Warehousing Development and
Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
2. NWRs are not transferable and cannot
be traded.
3. NWRs can be issued only for food
crops.
correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
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ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS

GENERAL STUDIES (P) TEST – 3203 (2021)
Q 1.C
• Recent Context - The first Parliament session of 2021 began with President addressing members of both
Houses of Parliament.
• President Address - The Constitution gives the President the power to address either House or a joint
sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.
• Article 86(1) of the Constitution provides that the President may address either House of Parliament or
both Houses assembled together, and for that purpose require the attendance of members. However, since
the commencement of the Constitution, there has not been any occasion when the President has addressed
either House or both Houses assembled together, under the provision of this article
• Article 87 provides two special occasions on which the President addresses a joint sitting. The first is to
address the opening session of a new legislature after a general election. The second is to address the first
sitting of Parliament each year. If at the time of commencement of the first session of the year, Lok Sabha
is not in existence and has been dissolved, and Rajya Sabha has to meet, Rajya Sabha can have its session
without the President's Address. It happened in 1977. In the case of the first session after each general
election to Lok Sabha, the President addresses both Houses of Parliament assembled together after the
members have made and subscribed the oath or affirmation and the Speaker has been elected.
• In India, the practice of the President addressing Parliament can be traced back to the Government
of India Act of 1919. This law gave the Governor-General the right of addressing the Legislative
Assembly and the Council of State. The law did not have a provision for a joint address but the Governor-
General did address the Assembly and the Council together on multiple occasions.
• When the Constitution came into force, the President was required to address each session of Parliament.
So, during the provisional Parliament in 1950, President Rajendra Prasad gave an address before every
session. The First Amendment to the Constitution in 1951 changed this position and made the
President’s address once a year.
• The address of the President follows a general structure in which it highlights the government’s
accomplishments from the previous year and sets the broad governance agenda for the coming year. The
government uses the President’s address to make policy and legislative announcements.
• The President’s Address in India is mirrored on the British system. In the United Kingdom, it is
referred to as the Queen’s Speech and is part of the ceremony to mark the formal start of the
parliamentary year. In the British system, the Queen’s speech written by the government. She reads it in
person from the throne in the House of Lords. In the American system, the President has the option of
simply sending his written speech to Congress instead of personally going to deliver it. Hence option
(c) is the correct answer.
Q 2.D
• Lead is a naturally occurring toxic metal found in the Earth’s crust. Its widespread use has resulted in
extensive environmental contamination, human exposure and significant public health problems in many
parts of the world.
o It affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children. Human exposure is
usually assessed through the measurement of lead in blood. Lead in bone is released into the blood
during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus.
• Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) Drinking Water Specifications prescribed lead content in water not to
exceed 50 parts per billion. The World Health Organisation limit for lead in drinking water is 5 ppb.
• Causes:
o A leading contributor to lead exposure is informal and sub-standard recycling of lead-acid batteries.
o As per the report, water is also another source of lead poisoning.

o Folk remedies and cosmetics used by households that contained lead.
o It is widely used in many lead-acid batteries, paints, stained glass, pigment, ceramics, cosmetics,
ammunition, jewellery, e-waste, etc.
o Drinking water supplied through lead pipes and pipes joined through lead solder may contain
lead. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
o Lead is also entering the food chain through vegetables. The inorganic lead could be ingested and
directly absorbed by the digestive tract through certain foods and water, as well as some folk and
unbranded traditional medicines
• Consequences:
o Small exposure to lead causes symptoms like headaches, nausea, irritability, tiredness and stomach
ache. Hence, it has a tendency to go undiagnosed. Most children with lead poisoning do not show any
outward symptoms unless blood lead levels are extremely high. Consequently, many cases go
undiagnosed
o Large exposure affects the development of the brain, especially in children and lowers IQ.
o Lead exposure also makes the body susceptible to anaemia as it prevents the formation of
haemoglobin. Lead replaces minerals, notably iron and calcium, in the body and prevents
haemoglobin. It also increases the risk of early death.
Q 3.D
• Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) U.S. trade preference programs such as the Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP) provide opportunities for many of the world’s poorest countries to use
trade to grow their economies and climb out of poverty. GSP is the largest and oldest U.S. trade
preference program. Established by the Trade Act of 1974, GSP promotes economic development by
eliminating duties on thousands of products when imported from one of 119 designated beneficiary
countries and territories. The GSP Guidebook provides basic information on the program.
• Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1):
o STA allows for license exception with regards to exports from the US. This type of US
government authorisation allows a certain item to be exported under defined conditions without a
transaction-specific license, according to a report in Descartes Customs Info.
o India is the 37th country to be designated the STA-1 status by the United States. India has become
the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to get the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1
(STA-1) status after the U.S. issued a federal notification to this effect, paving the way for high-
technology product sales to New Delhi, particularly in civil space and defence sectors. Hence option
(d) is the correct answer.
o Traditionally, the U.S. has placed only those countries in the STA-1 list who are members of the four
export control regimes: Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement
(WA), Australia Group (AG) and the NSG.
o By placing India in the STA-1 list, the United States has acknowledged that for all practical purposes
India adheres to the export control regimes of the NSG.
Q 4.C
• After the withdrawal of Non-Cooperation Movement, there was disintegration, among nationalist ranks.
One section known as Swarajists led by C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru and Ajmal Khan wanted an end to
the boycott of legislative councils. While the other school of thought led by C. Rajagopalachari,
Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad and M.A. Ansari came to be known as the ‘No- changers’. The ‘No-
changers’ opposed council entry, advocated concentration on constructive work.
• In December 1922, Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party with CR Das as
its President and Motilal Nehru as one of the secretaries. The new party was to function as a group
within the Congress. It accepted the Congress programme except in one respect - it would take part in
Council elections. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Swarajists won 42 seats out of 101 elected seats in the Central Legislative Assembly. With the
cooperation of other Indian groups, they repeatedly outvoted the Government in the Central Assembly and
in several of the Provincial Councils. In 1925, they succeeded in electing Vithalbhai Patel as
the President (Speaker) of the Central Legislative Assembly. Hence statement 2 is not correct and
statement 3 is correct.
• But they could not change the policies of authoritarian Government of India and found it necessary
to walk out of the Central Assembly in March 1926. They failed to bring masses into active politics.
Swarajists suffered a grievous blow in the death of Deshbandhu Das in 1925.

Q 5.D
• Organisms grow and reproduce through cell division. In eukaryotic cells, the production of new cells
occurs as a result of mitosis and meiosis. These two nuclear division processes are similar but distinct.
• In Mitosis, the genetic material (DNA) in a cell is duplicated and divided equally between two cells. The
dividing cell goes through an ordered series of events called the cell cycle. Somatic cells of the body
replicate by mitosis. Examples of somatic cells include fat cells, blood cells, skin cells etc.
• Meiosis is the process by which gametes (sex cells) are generated in organisms that reproduce sexually.
Gametes are produced in male and female gonads and contain one-half the number of chromosomes as the
original cell.
• Key differences between Mitosis and Meiosis:
o Mitosis and meiosis are nuclear division processes that occur during cell division.
o Mitosis involves the division of body cells, while meiosis involves the division of sex cells. Hence
o The division of a cell occurs once in mitosis but twice in meiosis.
o Two daughter cells are produced after mitosis and cytoplasmic division, while four daughter
cells are produced after meiosis. Hence statement 2 is correct.
o Daughter cells resulting from mitosis are diploid, while those resulting from meiosis are haploid.
Hence statement 3 is correct.
o Daughter cells that are the product of mitosis are genetically identical. Daughter cells produced after
meiosis are genetically diverse. Tetrads formation occurs in meiosis but not mitosis.
Q 6.C
• Any unwanted sound that causes annoyance, irritation and pain to the human ear is termed noise. It is
measured in A-weighted decibels (dB (A)) that indicate the loudness of the sound.
• Noise level refers to the decibel levels of noise produced by any appliance or machine. In general,
the human ear can tolerate noise levels up to 85 dB. Anything beyond that can affect their productivity
and quality of life.
• The decibel levels of common sounds above 80 dB are considered ‘loud’, while the decibel levels of
common sounds between 100-125 dB are termed ‘uncomfortable’.
• All machines operating in an area should produce noise within the acceptable level to maintain the well-
being of people around.
• Both section 6 of the Environment Protection (Act), 1986 and the Air (Prevention And Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981 consider 'noise' as a pollutant. Hence options 2 and 3 are correct.
• While the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974, does not consider noise as a
pollutant. Hence option1 is not correct.
• Noise Regulation in India:
o Earlier, noise pollution and its sources were addressed under the Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981.
o They are now, however, regulated separately under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control)
Rules, 2000.
o Additionally, noise standards for motor vehicles, air-conditioners, refrigerators, diesel
generators and certain types of construction equipment are prescribed under the Environment
(Protection) Rules, 1986.
o Noise emanating from industry is regulated by State Pollution Control Boards / Pollution
Control Committees (SPCBs / PCCs) for states / Union territories under the Air (Prevention
and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981(Noise is included as an 'air pollutant' under Section 2(a)).
Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
• The permissible noise level in India
o The CPCB has laid down the permissible noise levels in India for different areas. Noise pollution
rules have defined the acceptable level of noise in different zones for both daytime and night time.
o In industrial areas, the permissible limit is 75 dB for daytime and 70 dB at night.
o In commercial areas, it is 65 dB and 55 dB, while in residential areas it is 55 dB and 45 dB during
daytime and night respectively.
o Additionally, state governments have declared ‘silent zones’ which includes areas that lie within
100 meters of the premises of schools, colleges, hospitals and courts. The permissible noise limit
in this zone is 50 dB during the day and 40 dB during the night.

Q 7.B
• Information Technology Agreement (ITA) is the first and most significant tariff liberalization
arrangement negotiated in the WTO after its establishment in 1995. All the signatories are members
of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• As per the rules of the ITA, all the signatories have to “eliminate and bind customs duties at zero for
all products specified”. It led to the elimination of import duties on specified IT products. Hence,
• The ITA covers a large number of high technology products, including computers, telecommunication
equipment, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment, software, scientific
instruments, as well as most of the parts and accessories of these products.
• India is a signatory to the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) (now also known as ITA-1), a
plurilateral agreement of WTO signed in 1997. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• Chinese Taipei and Japan have filed a case against India in WTO over the import duties imposed on
certain electronic goods, including telephones for cellular networks; machines for reception, conversion
and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data; and parts of telephone sets.
Q 8.D
• Eravikulam National Park:
• Eravikulam National Park is located in the Southern Western Ghats near Idukki, Kerala.
• It was declared a Sanctuary in 1975 with the intention of protecting the indigenous population of Nilgiri
Tahr and declared as a National Park in 1978.
• Anamudi (2695 m), South India’s highest peak is situated in this park. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• This is also the land of “Neelakurinji”, a flower that blooms once in twelve years. Hence statement 2 is
correct.
• Eravikulam National Park is home to the largest population of Nilgiri Tahr. Hence statement 3 is
correct.
• The Muthuvans are the indigenous people, who have traditionally been associated with the management
of the park. Hence statement 4 is correct.
• The catchment area of three important rivers, Periyar, Chalakudy and Pambar is located in this area.
• The park is of undulating terrain and the highest peak is Anamudi (2695 m). Three major types of plant
communities found in the park are Grasslands, Shrub Land and Shola Forests. The high plateau and the
hills rising above it are primarily covered by Grasslands. Shrub Lands are seen along the base of the cliffs.
Shola Forests are located in the valleys and folds. Turner’s valley, which splits the park roughly in half
from northwest to southeast is the deepest.
• Lakkom Waterfalls is in this region. Eravikulam National Park of Kerala is home to the largest
population.
Q 9.C
• The value of gravity on the surface of the earth differs due to the uneven distribution of the mass of
the material within the earth. These readings differ from expected values and such a difference is
called gravity anomaly.
• Gravity anomalies give us information about the distribution of mass of the material in the crust of
the earth.
• The data from various earth observation satellites such as Seasat and Geosat have found that the shape of
the ocean surface is warped by seafloor features: massive seamounts cause the surface to bulge over them
because of gravitational attraction. Similarly, the ocean surface downwards occur over deep-sea trenches.
• Using these satellite measurements of the ocean surface, the gravity field there was computed and a
gravity map was prepared that shows a linear pattern of gravity anomalies that cut obliquely across the
grain of the topography. These anomalies are most pronounced in the Pacific basin; they are
apparently about 100 km (about 60 miles) across and some 1,000 km (about 600 miles) long aligned
west-northwest—very close to the direction in which the Pacific Plate moves over the mantle below.
Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
Q 10.B
• Tribal people in Chotanagpur area, which is in present day Jharkhand, practiced Khuntkatti system
(joint holding by tribal lineages) till mid 19th century. Before the introduction of the British policies in
the areas inhabited by Oraon and Munda, their traditional land and social systems had existed. Their land
system was known as 'Khuntkatti system'. The tribals enjoyed customary rights over their land. The

system was marked by the absence of the class of landlords. The tribals worked on their land and paid
tributes to their chiefs. Hence statement 1 is not correct and statement 2 is correct.
• By 1874, the British replaced the traditional khuntkari system by the zamindari system. The introduction
of zamindari system created the classes of zamindars (landlords) and ryots (tenants). The emergence of
well-to-do farmers, merchants, moneylenders and dikus (non-tribals) led to indebtedness and beth-begari
(forced labour) among the tribal people.
• The Mundas held the dikus and the missionaries responsible for their miseries. Therefore, they developed
feelings of hatred against the dikus. In 1899-1900, the Mundas rose under Birsa Munda's
leadership which came to be known as the Ulgulan. The rebellion which began as a religious movement
gathered political force to fight against introduction of feudal, zamindari tenures, and exploitation by
money-lenders and forest contractors. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• The Birsa Munda movement had its impact on the government attitude towards their problems. The
government conducted surveys and settlement operations for the tribals between 1902 and 1910 for
achieving this purpose. It decided to abolish the compulsory begar system and passed the Tenancy Act of
1903 which recognised the Mundari Khuntkatti system. The Government also passed the
Chotanagpur Tenancy Act in 1908.
Q 11.C
• Vanchit Ikai Samooh aur Vargon ki Aarthik Sahayta (VISVAS) Yojana: This is an Interest
subvention Scheme of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for financial empowerment
of economically marginalized OBC/SC SHGs & Individuals. Under this scheme, interest subvention
will be provided to Self Help Groups with 100% OBC members and OBC individuals who have taken
loan for various income-generating activities from those Lending Institutions who have signed MoA with
NBCFDC. Hence statement 1 and statement 3 are correct.
• The scheme will benefit OBC/SC SHGs with loans/borrowings up to Rs.4.00 Lakh and OBC/SC
individuals with loan/borrowing up to Rs.2.00 Lakh with a quick interest subvention benefit of 5%
directly into the standard accounts of borrowing SHGs/beneficiaries. All OBC beneficiaries involved in
Agricultural activities and getting coverage under the PM Kisan shall be eligible for coverage under
Interest Subvention. To become eligible for an applicant’s annual family income should be less than Rs.
3.00 Lakh. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
Q 12.A
• Article 72 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant pardons to persons who have been tried
and convicted of any offence in all cases where the:
o Punishment or sentence is for an offence against a Union Law;
o Punishment or sentence is by a court-martial (military court); and Hence, statement 2 is not
correct.
o The sentence is a sentence of death.
• The pardoning power of the President is independent of the Judiciary; it is an executive power. But, the
President while exercising this power, does not sit as a court of appeal.
• The Supreme Court examined the pardoning power of the President under different cases and laid down
the following principles:
o The power is to be exercised by the President on the advice of the union cabinet. Hence,
o The petitioner for mercy has no right to an oral hearing by the President.
o The exercise of power by the President is not subject to judicial review except where the presidential
decision is arbitrary, irrational, mala fide or discriminatory.
o The President is not bound to give reasons for his order. The President can afford relief not only from
a sentence that he regards as unduly harsh but also from an evident mistake.
o There is no need for the Supreme Court to lay down specific guidelines for the exercise of power by
the President.
o The President can examine the evidence afresh and take a view different from the view taken by the
court.
Q 13.D
• ‘Rakshita’: Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi based DRDO laboratory
recently handed over Rakshita, a bike-based casualty transport emergency vehicle to Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF).

• The bike ambulance will help in overcoming the problems faced by Indian security forces and
emergency healthcare providers. It will provide life-saving aid for the evacuation of injured patients
from low-intensity conflict areas. This will be handy in the congested streets and remote locations, where
access through ambulance is difficult and time-consuming. The bike can respond to a medical emergency
need of patients faster than a four-wheeler due to its functionality and integrated emergency medical
support system.
• Rakshita is fitted with a customized reclining Casualty Evacuation Seat (CES), which can be fitted in and
taken out as per requirement. Other major features are the head immobilizer, safety harness jacket, hand
and foot straps for safety, adjustable footrest, physiological parameter measuring equipment with wireless
monitoring capability and auto warning system for the driver. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
• The vital parameters of the patient can be monitored on the dashboard-mounted LCD. It is also equipped
with air splint, medical and oxygen kit for on-spot medical care. This bike ambulance is useful not only
for the paramilitary and military forces but has potential civil applications too.
Q 14.A
• Lord Ripon (1880-84) was a staunch Liberal democrat with faith in self- government. He was appointed
as the Viceroy of India in 1880. Ripon was instructed to reverse the Afghan policy of Lytton. As a
result, peace was made with Afghanistan without affecting the British prestige. Hence only option 4 is
not correct.
• Important measures taken by Lord Ripon:
o Introduction of Local Self-Government: Ripon helped the growth of local bodies like the Municipal
Committees in towns and the local boards in taluks and villages. The local bodies were given
executive powers with financial resources of their own.
o Educational reforms: To improve the system of Education in India, Ripon appointed
a Commission in 1882 under the chairmanship of Sir William Hunter. The Commission
recommended for the expansion and improvement of the elementary education of the masses.
o First Factory Act (1881): Lord Ripon introduced the Factory Act of 1881 to improve the service
condition of the factory workers in India. The Act banned the appointment of children below the
age of seven in factories. It reduced the working hours for children.
o Ilbert Bill Agitation: The Ilbert Bill was a legislative act introduced in 1883 during the tenure of
Viceroy Ripon and written by Sir Ilbert. The act stipulated that Indian judges could try Europeans.
The mere possibility that a European could be tried by an Indian, whom the Europeans regard as
inferiors, was a point of much anger and resentment. So it was withdrawn but was reintroduced and
enacted in 1884 in a severely compromised state. The passage of this bill opened the eyes of the
Indians and deepened antagonism between the British and Indians.
o He was also responsible for the rendition of Mysore to its Hindu ruler. Moreover, he repealed the
Vernacular Press Act and earned much popularity among Indians.
• Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
Q 15.D
• Recently, Arunachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to obtain Organic
Certification for Kiwi under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region
(MOVCD-NER). In Arunachal Pradesh, a domesticated variety of kiwi was introduced as a
commercial fruit only in 2000. Today Arunachal Pradesh is the leading producer of Kiwi in India.
Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Twenty years ago, the kiwis that grew wild in Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro Valley barely caught anyone’s
attention. However, in the last decade, farmers slowly recognised the commercial value of the fruit.
Today, the kiwis of the region are the only certified organic fruit of their kind in the country.
• Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) which is otherwise also known as Chinese gooseberry is an important fruit crop
of temperate regions and is widely grown in the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh, J & K, Sikkim,
Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Kiwis grow as vines, so require a number of supporting
planting materials, such as fencing, iron posts etc. The Kiwi fruit vine grows well between 900 to 1600 m
above mean sea level. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The certification: Organic certification was provided by the Mission Organic Value Chain
Development for North East Region (MOCVD-NER), a scheme for the northeastern states by the
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare under the Central government.
• An agricultural practice/product is considered organic when there are no chemical fertilisers or pesticides
involved in its cultivation process. Such certifications in India can be obtained after a strict scientific

assessment done by the regulatory body, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export
Development Authority (APEDA). Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• Kiwis of Ziro Valley — located in Lower Subansiri district — were certified as organic following a
standard three-year-process. Certification helps producers and handlers, they receive premium prices for
the products and have access to fast-growing, local, regional and international markets.
Q 16.B
• Ananda Mohan Bose was an Indian politician, academician, social reformer, and lawyer during the
British Raj.
• After his schooling he left for England and enrolled himself as a student of Higher Mathematics at Christ
Church College, Cambridge. In 1874, he became the first Indian Wrangler (a student who has
completed the third year of the Mathematical Tripos with first-class honours) of the Cambridge
University.
• With Surendranath Bannerjee as his mentor and through his own organisational ability, Ananda
Mohan Bose set up a number of pioneering institutions. The Calcutta Students Association was the
earliest attempt made to organise students for constructive political work. The Indian Association was
the first political organisation at an All India level to institute a vigorous constitutional agitation for rights
and privileges of the Indian citizens. One of it's by products was the convening of the, first National
Conference in 1883 which became a precursor of the Indian National Congress (1885). Bose was
associated with the Congress since its inauguration and was elected President of its Madras Session in
1898.
• The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was formed in a public meeting of Brahmos held in Calcutta in May
1878. Anandamohan Bose was appointed the first President. Shib Chandra Deb the first Secretary and
Umesh Chandra Dutta the Assistant Secretary. Later It not only became a church and a congregation but
also an active centre for the spread of education and social uplift.
• Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
Q 17.C
• In the 1830s, William Adam, a Scottish missionary, toured the districts of Bengal and Bihar. He had been
asked by the Company to report on the progress of education in vernacular schools. Hence option (c) is
the correct answer.
• Adam found that there were over 1 lakh pathshalas in Bengal and Bihar. These institutions were set up
by wealthy people, or the local community. The system of education was flexible. There were no fixed
fee, no printed books, no separate school buildings etc. Classes were often held under trees, or in the
temples. Fee depended on the income of parents. Adam discovered that this flexible system was suited to
local needs. For instance, classes were not held during harvest time where rural children often worked in
the fields. Adam’s enquiries provide a fair picture of the indigenous system of education as it existed at
the beginning of the 19th century.
Q 18.C
• The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
(MoP&NG). The EBP seeks to achieve blending of Ethanol with Petrol with a view to reducing pollution,
conserving foreign exchange and increasing value addition in the sugar industry enabling them to clear
cane price arrears of farmers.
• The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are to procure ethanol from domestic sources at remunerative
prices fixed by the government. Under the EBP Programme, OMCs procure and blend up to 10%
ethanol in petrol. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The government has set targets of 10% bioethanol blending of petrol by 2022 and to raise it to 20% by
2030 under the Ethanol Blended Programme (EBP).
• The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) vide its notification has extended the programme
to the whole of India except Union Territories of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep
islands. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Government has notified administered price of ethanol since 2014. For the first time during 2018, the
differential price of ethanol-based on raw material utilized for ethanol production was announced by the
Government.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved higher
ethanol price derived from different sugarcane-based raw materials under the Ethanol Blended
Petrol (EBP) Programme for the forthcoming sugar season 2020-21. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Q 19.B
• The Goods and Services Tax was implemented in India on July 1, 2017. The government aimed to bring
in an indirect tax regime with a theory of ‘One Nation, One Tax’.
• The public listed companies in India contributed the highest amount of Goods and Services tax revenues
for the government. These companies comprise a mere 0.62 percent of the overall taxpayer base, but they
contributed 35.29 percent of the GST revenues, revealed the statistical report of GST Network after three
years of GST. On the flip side, the proprietorships with the maximum 80.18 percent taxpayer base
contributed 13.35 percent of the revenue. The contributions of PSU companies also remained significant
as they comprised only 0.02 percent share in the taxpayer base but accounted for 9.12 percent of the total
GST revenue.
• The GST revenue in the country remained skewed as most of the revenues have been generated by
businesses with an annual turnover above Rs 5 crore. These businesses comprising a taxpayer base of 7
percent contributed 80.7 percent to overall GST revenue. While 22 percent of the taxpayers recorded nil
tax liability under GST, 28 percent of the taxpayers having an annual turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh
accounted for 1-2 percent of the revenue.
Q 20.B
• Recently, India’s forex reserves have crossed an unprecedented mark — over half trillion USD — placing
India only behind China and Japan in Asia. During the 10-month period between September 2019 and
July 2020, the foreign exchange reserves have swelled by $100 billion.
• Reasons for the surge in Forex Reserves:
o FPI and FDI inflows: Rise in foreign exchange inflows through Foreign portfolio investment (FPI)
and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Between April and December 2019, FPIs pumped in a net $15.1
billion, according to the RBI. Between September 2019 and March 2020 foreign direct investments
stood at $23.88 billion
o Dip in crude oil prices: India’s oil import bill declined as the global spread of coronavirus led to a
crash in the Brent crude oil prices.
o Import savings: Lockdown across countries in response to Covid-19 pandemic impacted global trade
and has resulted in a sharp dip in import expenditure — electronics, gold and also crude oil prices
among others.
ü Exports also declined but the decline in imports is more than exports which resulted in
import savings.
o Dip in gold imports: Gold which was a big import component for India witnessed a sharp decline in
the quarter ended June 2020 following the high prices and the lockdown induced by the Covid-19
pandemic.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Q 21.B
• A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move
relative to each other. This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake - or may
occur slowly, in the form of creep. Faults may range in length from a few millimetres to thousands of
kilometres. Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time.
• During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other. The fault
surface can be horizontal or vertical or some arbitrary angle in between.
• Some major faults in India:
o The Churachandpur Mao Fault is named after two places in Manipur and runs north-south
into Myanmar along the border of Champhai. Mizoram is caught between two geological faults.
These are the Churachandpur Mao Fault and the Mat Fault, which runs northwest-southeast across
Mizoram, beneath river Mat near Serchhip and thus experiences frequent tremors.
o Malda Fault: It is the fracture in the rock observed in the Malda district of West Bengal. The
fault runs several layers deep below the earth's surface and is formed during the upliftment of the
Himalayas. It separates the Meghalayan Plateau from the Chota Nagpur Plateau.
o Bhima fault: found in the southern part of the river Bhima basin in Maharashtra. The Southern
part of Bhima basin was displaced transversely towards west. The net slip of this fault on the northern
part is about 35 km. Second-order shears are numerous in the area. Gravity and thrust faults are also
observed in the region. Folds of plunging, non-plunging and superposed types are identified. The
basin seems to be tilted towards the north at 5° or, possibly, the central part of the basin is sunken.
o The Allah Bund Fault scarp is an elongated steeply dipping south-facing scarp bordered on the
south by the salt-encrusted surface of Rann of Kutch. On June 16, 1819, one of the biggest
earthquakes hit the Indian sub-continent. The tremblor, which created a ridge 90 km long, 16km wide
and 3-4 m high in Greater Rann - all in less than a minute - continues to intrigue geologists and earth
scientists event today. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
Q 22.D
• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a statutory body which was constituted under the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008 in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
• NIA is functioning as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency of India which
functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• NIA Act, 2008 empowers the NIA to investigate and prosecute offences within India and NIA
(Amendment) Act, 2019 empowered the agency to investigate offences committed outside India,
subject to international treaties and domestic laws of other countries. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• NIA act empowers the NIA to take suo motu cognisance of terror activities in any part of India and
register a case, to enter any state without permission from the state government, and to investigate.
• The investigated cases by NIA are trailed under special courts whose judges are appointed by the
Central government on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High Court with jurisdiction
in that region.
• The NIA can also make an application to the Chief Justice of the High Court for appointment of a Judge
to preside over the Special Court.
• NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019 widened the power of NIA : Originally The NIA can investigate and
prosecute offences under The Atomic Energy Act, 1962, The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,
and The Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982, among other entries. The amendment has allowed the NIA to
investigate, in addition, cases related to (i) human trafficking, (ii) counterfeit currency or banknotes,
(iii) manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, (iv) cyber-terrorism, and (v) offences under the
Explosive Substances Act, 1908. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• Recently, National Investigation Agency (NIA) was empowered to investigate offences under the
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Q 23.B
• Traditional crystalline solar cells are typically made of silicon. An organic solar cell uses carbon-based
materials and organic electronics instead of silicon as a semiconductor to produce electricity from the
sun. In an organic solar cell, the photovoltaic process is the same, but carbon-based compounds are used
instead of silicon as the semiconducting material.
• OPV cells are categorized into two classes:
o Small-molecule OPV cells,
o Polymer-based OPV cells.

• Small-molecule OPV cells use molecules with broad absorption in the visible and near-infrared portion of
the electromagnetic spectrum. Polymer-based OPV cells use long-chained molecular systems for the
electron-donating material. Most organic photovoltaic cells are polymer solar cells. Hence statement 1 is
correct.
• Comparison with Silicon-based Solar cells:
o Silicon solar cells use crystalline silicon, while organic cells use carbon-based organic compounds
applied in a thin layer to a synthetic backing. Because organic cells are made using an ink-based
application and can exhibit transparentness, they usually result in a flexible solar panel that can be
installed in more unique ways than traditional solar panels. Hence statement 3 is correct.
o Efficiency: A solar cell’s efficiency measures what percentage of incoming sunlight that hits the solar
cell is converted to electricity. Crystalline silicon PV cells have laboratory energy conversion
efficiencies over 25% for single-crystal cells and over 20% for multi-crystalline cells. Organic solar
cells have exhibited efficiencies topping out near 11 per cent. OPVs still have a way to go before they
can compete with silicon-based solar cells in terms of efficiency alone. Hence statement 2 is not
correct.
Q 24.A
• In any economy, a recessionary phase is the counterpart of an expansionary phase. When the GDP
contracts from one quarter to another, the economy is said to be in a recessionary phase.
• When a recessionary phase sustains for long enough, it is called a recession. In other words, when the
GDP contracts for a long enough period, the economy is said to be in a recession.
• Recession is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, which is
most commonly measured using the real gross domestic product (GDP). An economic recession is
broad as a downturn in the GDP of a nation for at least two successive quarters, ie, 6 months.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• During the first quarter of 2020-21, the GDP of India declined by 23.9% and RBI predicts that India’s
economy will contract by 8.6% in the second quarter (July, August, September) of the current financial
year.
• While this pace of contraction is considerably slower than the 23.9% decline in the real gross domestic
product (GDP) during the first quarter (April, May, June), the contraction of Q2 is crucial because it
implies India that has entered a “technical recession” in the first half of 2020-21— for the first time
in its history. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Typically, recessions last for a few quarters. But if they continue for years, they are referred to as
“depressions”. Depressions are drastic economic downturns in which real GDP falls by 10% or
more. They are far more severe than recessions and their effects can be felt for years. Depressions
are known to cause calamities in banking, trade, and manufacturing, as well as falling prices,
extremely tight credit, low investment, rising bankruptcy, and high unemployment.
• A slowdown, on the other hand, means that the pace of the GDP growth has decreased (but
positive). It means the production and earnings of these economies are not growing at the same pace
as, say, last year.
Q 25.A
• Recent Context - Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare digitally addressed the Inter-Ministerial
Conference by ‘Partners in Population and Development (PPD)’.
• About Partners in Population and Development (PPD): It is an international Inter-Governmental
Organization (IGO) grouping of 27 developing countries. Its vision is to promote South-South cooperation
towards the attainment of the global population and reproductive health agenda for sustainable
development through the governments, NGOs and private sector organizations. Hence option (a) is the
correct answer.
• It was created at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994.
• Its member countries include countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, covering
nearly 60% of total world population. India is a member country.
• The Secretariat of PPD is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• It focuses on six priority areas:
o Integrating population dynamics into national development plan
o Improving adolescents access to Sexual and Reproductive Health services
o Improving maternal and child health
o Promoting social cohesion of migrants by addressing their health care services

o Promoting healthy ageing
o Enhancing understanding of the relationship between poverty and Reproductive Health
• The United Nations General Assembly conferred Permanent Observer Status on PPD as the recognition of
establishing South-South Cooperation (SSC) as the most effective and cost-efficient framework of
international development cooperation and uplifting the lives of millions of impoverished people of
Southern hemisphere.
Q 26.C
• Recent Context: There are certain places of the world is news such as
• Norilsk (Russia): In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency after a spill
of over 20,000 tonnes of massive diesel reservoir at a power plant near the city of Norilsk into a
Siberian river. It is regarded as second-largest oil spill in modern Russian history in terms of volume.
• Sinjar (Iraq): Turkey conducted “Operation Claw-Eagle,” hit suspected Kurdish rebels targets in
several regions in Iraq’s north, including Sinjar.
• Nantz (Iran): It is one of the main underground uranium enrichment site of Iran. It was in the news
as On July an explosion and massive fire occurred at the nuclear centre which raised the question of
security measures of nuclear sites.
Q 27.D
• Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system used for capturing, storing, checking and
displaying data with regard to positions on the Earth’s surface. Rooted in geography,
GIS integrates numerous types of data, analyses spatial locations and organises these layers of
information into maps and 3D visualisations. The ubiquitous use of the geographic information system
(GIS) across Multiple platforms and sectors makes it the new age fire that powers our systems, enables
globalisation and is integrated with almost every New technology being used.
• In India, GIS is being used in variety of application such as
o Mapping all Central Government land parcels, including that of Central Public Sector Enterprises
(CPSEs).
o Rural Electrification System: Identify and map electrification status of villages under Grameen
Vidyutikaran App (GARV).
o Mining Surveillance System: Curb illegal mining through automatic remote sensing detection.
o Industrial Information System (DIPP): GIS based master plan for industrial areas, zones, parks
etc.
o Road Information System: Geo-mapping present status of lanes, impedances of national highways,
state highways etc.
o GlS-enabled BHARATMAPS to enhance governance and improve planning and monitoring in New
India.
o For crop and agriculture insurance.
o To provide a facility to map assets/amenities and facilitate developmental planning under AMRUT
scheme.
• Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
Q 28.C
• The Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization was the culmination of a long and
sustained cultural evolution in the Indus Valley and surrounding areas.
• IVC site River bank
o Harappa: Ravi Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.
o Mohenjodaro: Indus
o Chanhudaro: Indus Hence pair 3 is not correctly matched.
o Lothal: Bhogava
o Kalibangan: Ghaggar Hence pair 2 is correctly matched.
o Banawali: Ghaggar
• Harappa is the first discovered site of this civilization excavated in 1921 by a team led by Daya Ram
Sahni. It was a major urban centre during its mature phase surrounded by extensive walls. It is located in
Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old bank / bed of the River Ravi.
• Kalibangan (black bangles) is in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. It was located on the banks of now
dried up Sarwaswati River.
The oldest ploughed field, evidence of earliest recorded Earthquake (which might have ended this city
itself), Fire-Altars, Charging bull, tiled floor, two kinds of burials (circular and rectangular graves), bones

of camels etc. are important findings of Kalibangan. Further, this site was different from Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro in the following respects: The bricks in other sites were baked ones, while Kalibangan
bricks are earthen ones.There was no drainage system in Kalibangan.Due to these, Kalibangan is not
considered a well planned city as comparable to other important sites of Indus Valley.
• Chanhudaro is situated 130 kms south of Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh and is the only harappan city which
does not have a fortified citadel. The Chanhu Daro has given evidence of factories of various figurines,
seals, toys, bone implements so it has been interpreted that it was a settlement with lots of artisans and
was an industrial town.
Q 29.C
• Angutara Nikaya, a Buddhist scripture mentions 16 great kingdoms or Mahajanapadas at the
beginning of the 6th century BCE in India. They emerged during the Vedic Age.
• Bimbisara was the first king of Magadha to have standing army and contemporary to the Buddha.
• He was the first who started matrimonial alliances to strengthen its position as a king after defeating
Brahamadutta , the king of Anga.
• He married to the Mahakosaladevi , the princess of Koshala and sister of the Kosala prince Prasanjit,
Licchhavi princes Chellana and Khema ,princess of Madra clan of Punjab. Hence, pair 2 is correctly
matched.
• Mahajanapada of Avanti with its capital at Ujjain under the king Chanda Pradyota Mahasena was a
serious rival of Magadha. Hence, pair 3 is correctly matched.
• But, both of them ultimately thought it is wise to become friends and Bimbisara even sent his physician
Jivaka to cure Pradyota of Jaundice.
• Vasudeva I was a Kushan emperor, last of the "Great Kushans." His name, Vasudeva, is that of the
father of Krishna, the popular Hindu God, and he was the first Kushan king to be named after the Indian
God. He converted to Hinduism during his reign. His name reinforces the notion that his center of power
was in Mathura. Hence, pair 1 is not correctly matched
Q 30.A
• Article 32 deals with the ‘Right to Constitutional Remedies’, or affirms the right to move the Supreme
Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred in Part III of the
Constitution. It is one of the fundamental rights listed in the Constitution that each citizen is entitled.
• Dr Ambedkar called Article 32 as the most important article of the Constitution—‘an Article without
which this constitution would be a nullity. It is the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of
it’. The Supreme Court has ruled that Article 32 is a basic feature of the Constitution. Hence, it
cannot be abridged or taken away even by way of an amendment to the Constitution. Hence, statement 2
is correct.
• It states that the Supreme Court “shall have the power to issue directions or orders or writs, including
writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, whichever may
be appropriate, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this Part”.
• Therefore, only the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution can be enforced under
Article 32 and not any other right like non-fundamental constitutional rights, statutory rights,
customary rights and so on. The violation of a fundamental right is the sine qua non for the exercise of
the right conferred by Article 32. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• In other words, the Supreme Court, under Article 32, cannot determine a question that does not involve
Fundamental Rights. Article 32 cannot be invoked simply to determine the constitutionality of an
executive order or legislation unless it directly infringes any of the fundamental rights.
• Article 32 also states that the right guaranteed by this Article “shall not be suspended except as otherwise
provided for by this Constitution”. Thus the Constitution provides that the President can suspend the
right to move any court for the enforcement of the fundamental rights during a national emergency
(Article 359). Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
Q 31.B
• The tradition of constructing pillars is very old and it may be observed that the erection of pillars was
prevalent in the Achamenian empire as well. But the Mauryan pillars are different from the Achamenian
pillars. The Mauryan pillars are rock-cut pillars thus displaying the carver’s skills, whereas the
Achamenian pillars are constructed in pieces by a mason.
• Stone pillars were erected by Ashoka, which have been found in the north Indian part of the Mauryan
Empire with inscriptions engraved on them. Ashokan pillars are quite similar to each other in form and
dimensions. They are made of sandstone quarried at Chunar. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The top portion of the pillar was carved with capital figures like the bull, the lion, the elephant, etc. All the
capital figures are vigorous and carved standing on a square or circular abacus. Abacuses are decorated
with stylised lotuses. Some of the existing pillars with capital figures were found at Basarah-Bakhira,
LauriyaNandangarh, and Rampurva in Bihar, Sankisa and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Mauryan pillar capital found at Sarnath popularly known as the Lion Capital is the finest example of
Mauryan sculptural tradition. It is also our national emblem. It is carved with considerable care—the
voluminous roaring lion figures firmly standing on a circular abacus which is carved with the figures of a
horse, a bull, a lion and an elephant in vigorous movement. This capital was built by Ashoka in
commemoration of the historical event of the first sermon or the Dhammachakrapravartana by the
Buddha at Sarnath. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• Rampurva Bull capital is a magnificent third century B.C. sandstone capital. It gets the name from the site
of its discovery, Rampurva in Bihar. The Rampurva Bull is noted for its delicately sculpted model
demonstrating superior representation of soft flesh, sensitive nostrils, alert ears, and strong legs. It has a
mixture of Indian and Persian elements. Whereas the motifs on the base, atop the inverted lotus, the
rosette, palmette, and the acanthus ornaments are not Indian features, the bull capital is a masterpiece of
Indian craftsmanship. The Rampurva Bull sculpture is said to have a velvet touch. Hence, statement 2 is
correct.
Q 32.B
• Graphene is the name for an atom-thick honeycomb sheet of carbon atoms. It is an allotrope of
carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a two dimensional honeycomb lattice. It is the
fundamental element of other allotropes like graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. It is the
strongest and thinnest material known to exist. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Properties of Graphene:
o Electronic: It has good electrical conductivity. The unique atomic arrangement of the carbon atoms
in graphene allows its electrons to easily travel at extremely high velocity without the significant
chance of scattering, saving precious energy typically lost in other conductors.
o Mechanical: Graphene has good strength as it is harder than diamond. Graphene is about 300 times
harder than steel. The tensile strength of graphene exceeds up to 1 TPa (Tetra pascal). Hence
o Graphenes have high electrical conductivity and high optical transparency which makes it for
transparent conducting electrodes. For example, a single layer of graphene only absorbs 2.3% of light,
so 97.7% of light passes through a single layer, with around 0.1% reflected from its initial
trajectory. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
o Chemical: It is chemically most reactive form of carbon.
• Uses of Graphene:
o Graphene derivatives are rapidly emerging as an extremely promising class of antimicrobial
materials due to their diverse bactericidal mechanisms and relatively low cytotoxicity towards
mammalian cells. Hence statement 4 is correct.
o Graphene has a very high carrier mobility but low noise. This property of graphene allows it to be
used as the channel in a field-effect transistor.
o Graphene oxide made filters could outperform than other techniques of desalination. Graphene oxide
made membranes also allow water vapour to pass through it, but are impermeable to other liquids and
gases.
o Graphene could be used to produce supercapacitors which have a greater energy storage density than
is currently available.
o Graphene material will also be used in photoelectrochemical energy conversion in sensitised solar
cells.
Q 33.C
• In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the central government introduced
a scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in
domestic units. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The scheme aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in
domestic units. The scheme invites foreign companies to set units in India, however, it also aims to
encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units. Many of Apple's key
partners (global smartphone majors) joined PLI scheme. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

• Initially, the scheme was introduced in Electronics manufacturing and Pharmaceutical industry.
Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing notified on 1st
April, 2020, extends an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods under target
segments that are manufactured in India to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the
base year (FY2019-20).
• Recently, Cabinet approves PLI Scheme to 10 key Sectors for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing
Capabilities and Enhancing Exports. These sectors are labour intensive and are likely, and the hope is that
they would create new jobs for the ballooning employable workforce of India
• The objective is really to make India more compliant with our WTO (World Trade Organisation)
commitments and also make it non-discriminatory and neutral with respect to domestic sales and
exports. PLI is compatible with World Trade Organization commitments as the quantum of support
is not directly linked to exports or value-addition. This is unlike some of the earlier schemes like the
Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), which were challenged at the WTO. Hence, statement
3 is correct.
Q 34.B
• What Is Eternal Blue? Eternal Blue is an exploit that allows cyber threat actors to remotely execute
arbitrary code and gain access to a network by sending specially crafted packets. It exploits a software
vulnerability in Microsoft’s Windows operating systems (OS) Server Message Block (SMB) version 1
(SMBv1) protocol, a network file sharing protocol that allows access to files on a remote server. Hence
option (b) is the correct answer.
• This exploit potentially allows cyber threat actors to compromise the entire network and all devices
connected to it. Due to EternalBlue’s ability to compromise networks, if one device is infected by
malware via EternalBlue, every device connected to the network is at risk. This makes recovery difficult,
as all devices on a network may have to be taken offline for remediation. This vulnerability was patched
and is listed on Microsoft’s security bulletin as MS17-010. Malware that utilizes EternalBlue can self-
propagate across networks, drastically increasing its impact. For example, WannaCry, a crypto-
ransomware, was one of the first and most well-known malware to use this exploit to spread.
WannaCry uses the EternalBlue exploit to spread itself across the network infecting all devices connected
and dropping the crypto-ransomware payload. This increased the persistence and damage that WannaCry
could cause in a short amount of time. This increase has made EternalBlue popular with various malware,
such as Trickbot, a modular banking trojan, as well as CoinMiner and WannaMine, crypto
miners that use the EternalBlue exploit in order to gain access to computing power to mine
cryptocurrencies.
Q 35.A
• Global Carbon Project (GCP)
o It is a research project founded in 2001 to slow down and ultimately stop the increase of greenhouse
gases.
o It integrates knowledge of greenhouse gases for human activities and the Earth system.
o GCP creates global budgets for three dominant greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane,
and nitrous oxide.
o The key findings of Methane Budget 2020 are:
ü Emissions increased by 9% compared to the last decade.
ü The global increase mainly from anthropogenic sources between Agriculture and Waste and
Fossil Fuel.
ü Tropical regions in three continents, Africa, Asia, and South America, were responsible for
64% of the entire planet’s emissions, while temperate regions and the Arctic contributed to 32%
and four per cent respectively. Hence statement 1 is correct
• Sources of Methane
o Anthropogenic sources are responsible for about 60% of global emissions. Some of these sources
include Fossil fuel production, Livestock industry, Rice cultivation, Biomass burning, Waste
management. Hence statement 2 is not correct
o Natural sources include wetlands, gas hydrates, termites, oceans, freshwater bodies, and other sources
such as wildfires. Natural wetlands are responsible for approximately 80% of global methane
emissions from natural sources.

Q 36.D
• Recently, West Bengal launched a project to plant 5 crore mangrove trees in cyclone-hit
Sundarbans. There is growing evidence that mangroves and other natural barriers are critical components
in the overall resilience of coastal areas to threats posed by tsunamis, cyclones, and other natural disasters.
• Coastal ecosystems protect against hurricanes, storm surges, flooding, and other coastal hazards –
combined protection from coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand dunes/coastal wetlands/coastal
forests are particularly effective.
• Coastal wetlands buffer against saltwater intrusion and adapt to slow sea-level rise by trapping sediment
and organic matter. Non-porous natural barriers, such as sand dunes (with associated plant communities)
and barrier islands, dissipate wave energy and act as barriers against waves, currents, storm surges, and
tsunamis, depending on the magnitude.
• Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone. There are about 80
different species of mangrove trees. All of these trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-
moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate. Mangrove forests only grow at tropical and
subtropical latitudes near the equator because they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.
o Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and
tides. The intricate root system of mangroves also makes these forests attractive to fish and other
organisms seeking food and shelter from predators.
• Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tides. They
are marshy because the soil may be composed of deep mud and peat. Salt marshes occur worldwide,
particularly in middle to high latitudes. Thriving along protected shorelines, they are a common habitat in
estuaries.
o Salt marshes also protect shorelines from erosion by buffering wave action and trapping sediments.
They reduce flooding by slowing and absorbing rainwater and protect water quality by filtering
runoff, and by metabolizing excess nutrients.
• A coastal sand dune is a hill of sand built by wind action and an extension of the beach into the land.
While a beach is closely linked to the sea and controlled by waves and tides, the dunes are linked to land
and are controlled by winds.
o Coastal sand dunes are common in different parts of the world. These are natural structures that
protect the coastal environment by absorbing energy from wind, tide, and wave action.
• Coral reefs are important for many different reasons aside from supposedly containing the most diverse
ecosystems on the planet. They:
o protect coastlines from the damaging effects of wave action and tropical storms
o provide habitats and shelter for many marine organisms
o are the source of nitrogen and other essential nutrients for marine food chains
o assist in carbon and nitrogen-fixing
o help with nutrient recycling.
Q 37.C
• Patent prosecution is the process of drafting, filing, and negotiating with the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) in order to obtain patent protection and rights for an invention.
• Patent prosecution is distinct from patent litigation, which describes legal action relating to the
infringement of patents. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal for the Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
Programme between the Indian Patent Office and patent offices of other interested countries.
• On a pilot basis, a Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program has commenced between the
Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO).
o With this, the patent offices of India and Japan have inked an agreement for expeditious grant of
patents to Indian entities and individuals by entering into the pilot program on PPH for a period of
three years.
o Under this pilot program, Indian Patent Office may receive patent applications in certain specified
technical fields only, like electrical, electronics, computer science, information technology, physics,
civil, mechanical, textiles, automobiles and metallurgy while Japan Patent Office may receive
applications in all fields of technology.
• The PPH program will lead to benefits like:
o reduction in disposal time and pendency of patent applications.
o consistency in the quality of granted patents.
o more inbound investments by companies.

o introduction of newer technologies thereby giving a fillip to Make in India. Hence statement 3 is
correct.
o increasing employment opportunities.
o opportunity for Indian inventors including MSMEs and startups to get accelerated examination of
their patent applications in Japan. Hence statement 1 is correct.
Q 38.B
• Consumer price Index - Industrial Workers (CPI- IW) is the oldest among the CPI indices as its
dissemination started as early as 1946. The history of compilation and maintenance of the Consumer Price
Index for Industrial workers owes its origin to the deteriorating economic condition of the workers post-
world war which resulted in a sharp increase in prices.
• Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial workers measure a change over time in prices of a
fixed basket of goods and services consumed by Industrial Workers. CPI-IW also includes selected
services and is measured on the basis of retail prices. The target group is an average working-class
family belonging to any of the seven sectors of the economy- factories, mines, plantation, motor transport,
port, railways and electricity generation and distribution. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• Consumer Price Index for Industrial Worker (CPI-IW) with the base year 2016, is being compiled
and maintained by Labour Bureau, an attached office of Ministry of Labour & Employment. The
index has a time lag of one month and is released on the last working day of the month (monthly). Hence,
statement 3 is not correct.
• The CPI-IW is the single most important price statistics, which has financial implications. It is primarily
used to regulate the dearness allowance of government employees and the workers in the industrial
sectors. It is also used in fixation and revision of minimum wages in scheduled employments besides
measuring the inflation in retail prices. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Q 39.C
• Recent Context: Microwave weapons have been seen recently in news in the context of a report rejected
by the Indian Army that claimed that the Chinese army had used them to drive Indian soldiers away from
their positions in eastern Ladakh.
• Microwave weapons are supposed to be a type of direct energy weapon. Direct-energy weapons
damage their target with highly focused energy including laser, sonic, and microwaves are one such
type of weapons. Hence statement 1 is correct
• They use beams of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation to heat the water in a human target's
skin which causes pain and discomfort. The microwaves agitate the water molecules in the food and their
vibration produces heat that cooks the food. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• A number of countries are thought to have developed these weapons to target both humans and electronic
systems. India has also made a breakthrough in its efforts to develop directed energy weapons or DEWs
that will soon put it firmly in control of its own fate. DRDO has conducted a successful test of a laser
system.
• These types of directed energy microwave devices came on the scene in the late 1960s in the US and the
Soviet Union. They were enabled by the development of pulsed power in the 1960s. Pulsed power
generates short electrical pulses that have very high electrical power, meaning both high voltage –
up to a few megavolts – and large electrical currents – tens of kiloamps. That is more voltage than the
highest-voltage long-distance power transmission lines, and about the amount of current in a lightning
bolt.
• The US apparently deployed such a weapon in Afghanistan but withdrew it without ever using it against
human targets. China had first put on display its "microwave weapon" called Poly WB -1 at an air show
in 2014.
• High-power microwaves impact people through the Frey effect. The human head acts as a receiving
antenna for microwaves in the low gigahertz frequency range. Pulses of microwaves in these frequencies
can cause people to hear sounds. Other symptoms (Havana syndrome) include headaches, nausea,
hearing loss, lightheadedness, and cognitive issues.
• Havana Syndrome: The mystery ailment that has afflicted the United States embassy staff and Central
Intelligence Agency officers off and on over the last four years in Cuba, China, Russia and other countries
appears to have been caused by high-power microwaves, according to a report released by the National
Academies. A committee of 19 experts in medicine and other fields concluded that directed, pulsed
radiofrequency energy is the “most plausible mechanism” to explain the illness, dubbed Havana
syndrome.

Q 40.D
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments
and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’
Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a
robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• NPCI has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of
Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013), with an intention to provide infrastructure
to the entire Banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.
The Company is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of
technology for achieving greater efficiency in operations and widening the reach of payment systems.
• NPCI has made a significant impact on the retail payment systems in the country. Some of the payment
systems operated by NPCI include:
o RuPay: RuPay is an Indigenously developed Payment System – designed to meet the expectation and
needs of the Indian consumer, banks and merchant eco-system. RuPay supports the issuance of debit,
credit and prepaid cards by banks in India and thereby supporting the growth of retail electronic
payments in India.
o UPI: Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single
mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund
routing & merchant payments into one hood.
o Immediate Payment Service (IMPS): IMPS allow transferring of funds instantly within banks
across India which is not only safe but also economical.
o Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS): To access funds at door step & drive the financial
inclusion in India, Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS) has been introduced. Since inception it
has become instrumental to increase accessibility of basic banking services in underserved areas
o National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC): National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has
developed the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program to meet the electronic tolling
requirements of the Indian market. It provides an electronic payment facility to the customer to make
the payments at national, state and city toll plazas by identifying the vehicle uniquely through a
FASTag.
• National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a nation-wide centralised payment system owned and
operated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It offers round the clock availability of fund transfer on all
days of the year.
• Hence, option (d) is correct.
Q 41.C
• Recently, Parliament passed The Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020 which further amended the Aircraft
Act, 1934.
• Key provisions of the Act:

o The act converts three existing bodies under the Ministry of Civil Aviation into statutory bodies
under the Act. These three authorities are:
ü Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
ü the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and
ü the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Hence statement 1 is correct.
ü Each of these bodies will be headed by a Director General who will be appointed by the
centre.
ü The DGCA will carry out safety oversight and regulatory functions with respect to matters
under the act.
ü The BCAS will carry out regulatory oversight functions related to civil aviation security.
ü The AAIB will carry out investigations related to aircraft accidents and incidents. Hence
o Act provides the penalty for various offences is imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine of up
to Rs 1 crore, or both. These offences include: (i) carrying arms, explosives, or other dangerous
goods aboard aircraft, (ii) contravening any rules notified under the Act, and (iii) constructing
building or structures within the specified radius around an aerodrome reference point.
o The Act provides for the appointment of designated officers, not below the rank of Deputy
Secretary to adjudicate penalties under the act.
o Persons aggrieved by an order of a designated officer may appeal to an appellate officer. The
Appeals must be filed by the aggrieved person within 30 days from the day the order is received.
o Aircraft belonging to the naval, military, or air forces of the Union are exempted from the
provisions of the Act. The act expands this exemption to include aircraft belonging to any other
armed forces of the Union (Not state governments).
o However, aircrafts belonging to an armed force other than the naval, military, and air forces
which are currently regulated under the Act will continue to do so until specified otherwise by
the central government.
Q 42.B
• About Hygiene Rating: Quality Council of India (QCI) at the behest of the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI) has come out with a Scheme for approval of Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies
to scale up Hygiene Rating by increasing the number of recognised Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies in the
country. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• FSSAI Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is an online, transparent scoring and rating process which aims to
allow consumers to make informed choices about the places where they eat out & through these choices,
encourage businesses to improve their hygiene standards & thus reduce the incidence of food-borne
illness.
• Hygiene Rating reflects the standards of food hygiene found on the date of inspection by the local
authority or recognized third-party audit agency. This is a voluntary scheme applicable to food
businesses supplying food directly to consumers either on or off the premises and food businesses are
rated on the basis of food hygiene and safety conditions found at the time of inspection. Hence, statement
1 is not correct.
• The rating system will be implemented in 2 parts:
o Hygiene ratings - which will score and rate the FBO on meeting basic requirements ensuring good
hygiene practices for all processes including handling raw material, maintaining clean premises,
storing food etc.
o Hygiene ratings + (Also known as "Responsible place to eat") - Its compliance will enhance the
FBO's scope and responsibility towards providing safe and nutritious food to a larger community.
They will be motivated to taking care of their employees, the underprivileged and also serving the
customer beyond the mandatory, by making them aware of healthy choices and giving them access to
such options.
• This scheme is voluntary. Current Mandatory Requirements for Food Business Owners (FBOs) as
per FSSAI include:
o Qualified FBOs need to have FSSAI License/ Registration and follow schedule 4 requirements. This
aims to provide for adequate measures that are to be adopted to ensure that food being served to the
consumers is of good quality and safe to eat.
o Train all food handlers and appoint a certified Food Safety Supervisors. Access FSS training portal
"FOSTAC" to get more information.
o Must have Food Safety Display Boards prominently displayed in the premises.
o Get food samples tested periodically.

• NOTE: Quality Council of India: Set up in 1997, QCI is a pioneering experiment of the Government of
India in setting up organizations in partnership with the Indian industry. Indian industry is represented in
QCI by three premier industry associations namely Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of
India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and FICCI. Its mandate is to establish
and operate the National Accreditation Structure (NAS) for conformity assessment bodies and
providing accreditation in the field of health, education and quality promotion.
o Nodal Ministry: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce &
Industry is the nodal department for QCI.
o Chairman: The Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the
industry to the government.
• FSSAI: It is a statutory, autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare. It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and
supervision of food safety.
Q 43.A
• Government securities (G-Secs) are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
Government of India may issue from time to time the following types of Government Securities:
o Securities with fixed coupon rates: The securities will carry a specific coupon rate ( rate of interest
paid by bond issuers on the bond’s face value) remaining fixed during the term of the security and
payable periodically.
o Securities with variable coupon rates, viz, Floating Rate Bonds: The Security will carry a coupon
rate which will vary according to the change in the Base Rate to which it is related. Hence,
statements 1 is correct.
o Zero-Coupon Bonds: Zero-Coupon Bonds are issued at a discount and redeemed at par. No interest
payment is made on such bonds at periodic intervals before maturity. Hence, statement 2 is not
correct.
Q 44.D
• Mainly due to the efforts of the Home Rule activists, Kisan Sabhas were organised in UP. The United
Provinces Kisan Sabha was set up in February 1918 by Gauri Shankar Mishra and Indra Narayan
Dwivedi. In October 1920, the Awadh Kisan Sabha came into existence. However the need for a central
organisation of the peasants was felt by the socialists and the communists.
• Their efforts led to the formation of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in 1936 with Swami Sahjanand
Saraswati as the president and N.G. Ranga as the general secretary.
• The Kisan Manifesto, which was adopted in August, contained radical demands, such as the abolition of
zamindari, graduated income tax on agricultural income, granting of occupancy rights to all tenants and
scaling down of interest rates and debts. A number of CSP leaders and communists follow ing the 1935
Comintern decision to follow a 'united front' strategy joined the AIKS. Acharya Narendra Dev,
Indulal Yagnik and Bankim Mukherjee were some of the prominent leaders of AIKS.
Q 45.C
• Devaluation is the decision to reduce the value of a currency in a fixed exchange rate. A devaluation
means that the value of the currency falls. Currency devaluation involves taking measures to strategically
lower the purchasing power of a nation's own currency.
• Advantages of devaluation:
o Exports become cheaper and more competitive to foreign buyers. Therefore, this provides a boost
for domestic demand and could lead to job creation in the export sector. On the other hand, imports
become costlier.
o A higher level of exports should lead to an improvement in the current account deficit. This is
important if the country has a large current account deficit due to a lack of competitiveness.
o A government may be incentivized to encourage a weak currency policy if it has a lot of
government-issued sovereign debt to service on a regular basis. If debt payments are fixed, a
weaker currency makes these payments effectively less expensive over time.
• Disadvantages of devaluation:
o Devaluation is likely to cause inflation, aggregate demand (AD) increases – causing demand-pull
inflation.

o Domestic residents will find imports and foreign travel more expensive.
o Firms/exporters have less incentive to cut costs because they can rely on the devaluation to improve
competitiveness.
o Devaluation also significantly reduces the overseas purchasing power of a nation’s citizens.
• Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.
Q 46.B
• The Vijayanagara Empire was based in the Deccan Plateau region in South India.
o It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty
o It was also known as the Karnata Empire and the Kingdom of Bisnegar by the Portuguese.
o It lasted until 1646, although its power declined after a major military defeat in the Battle of
Talikota in 1565.
o It was named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a
World Heritage Site in Karnataka.
o It maintained the well-functioning administrative methods developed by their predecessors, the
Hoysala, Kakatiya and Pandya kingdoms, to govern their territories and made changes only where
necessary.
o The King (Svamin), ministry (Amatya), territory (Janapada), fort (Durga), treasury (Kosa), army
(Daiufa), and ally (Mitra) formed the seven critical elements that influenced every aspect of
governance.
o King was the ultimate authority, assisted by a cabinet of ministers (Pradhana) headed by the prime
minister (Mahapradhana).
o The empire was divided into five main provinces (Rajya), each under a commander (Dandanayaka or
Dandanatha) and headed by a governor.
• Statement 1 is not correct: The governors of provinces were royal princes at first. Later, persons
belonging to vassal ruling families and nobles were appointed as governors. The provincial governors
had a large measure of autonomy. They held their own courts, appointed their own officers and
maintained their own armies. They were allowed to issue their own coins of small denominations. There
was no regular term for governors. The governor had the right to impose new taxes or remit old ones.
• Statement 2 is correct and 3 is not correct: The Chola traditions of village self-government were
considerably weakened. The growth of hereditary nayakship tended to curb their freedom and
initiatives. The Nayaks were the military governors. They were given territories to govern. They
collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders. They retained part of the revenue
for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants. Many of these
Nayaks gradually declared their independence in 16th and century and went on to establish their own
kingdoms.
Q 47.C
• The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services
we use. It can be measured for a single process, such as growing rice, for a product, such as a pair of
jeans, for the fuel we put in our car, or for an entire multi-national company.
• The water footprint can also tell us how much water is being consumed by a particular country – or
globally – in a specific river basin or from an aquifer.
• The water footprint has three components: green, blue and grey. Together, these components provide
a comprehensive picture of water use by delineating the source of water consumed, either as rainfall/soil
moisture or surface/groundwater, and the volume of freshwater required for assimilation of pollutants.
• The Three Water Components:
o Greenwater water footprint is water from precipitation that is stored in the root zone of the soil and
evaporated, transpired or incorporated by plants. It is particularly relevant for agricultural,
horticultural and forestry products.
o Bluewater footprint is water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources and is
either evaporated, incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water and returned to
another, or returned at a different time. Irrigated agriculture, industry and domestic water use can
each have a blue water footprint.
o Greywater footprint is the amount of fresh water required to assimilate pollutants to meet
specific water quality standards. The grey water footprint considers point-source pollution
discharged to a freshwater resource directly through a pipe or indirectly through runoff or leaching
from the soil, impervious surfaces, or other diffuse sources.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Q 48.D
• Recently, the central government constituted National Medical Commission (NMC) which replaced
the Medical Council. It is a statutory body which is constituted under Section 32 of the National
Medical Commission (NMC) Act 2019.
• The acts provides that the Commission shall consist of 32 persons which are to be appointed by the
Central Government, namely:
o a Chairperson;
o ten ex officio Members; and
o twenty-two part-time Members
• The chairperson and part time members are appointed by the central government on the
recommendation of the search committee (chaired by cabinet secretary). Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Functions of the National Medical Commission
o lay down policies for regulating medical institutions, medical researches and medical professionals
and make necessary regulations in this behalf;
o lay down policies and codes to ensure observance of professional ethics in medical
profession and to promote ethical conduct during the provision of care by medical
practitioners. Hence statement 2 is correct.
o assess the requirements in healthcare, including human resources for health and healthcare
infrastructure and develop a road map for meeting such requirements.
o take such measures, as may be necessary, to ensure compliance by the State Medical Councils of
the guidelines framed and regulations made under this Act for their effective functioning under
MCA.
o exercise appellate jurisdiction with respect to the decisions of the Autonomous Boards;
o frame guidelines for determination of fees and all other charges in respect of fifty per cent. of
seats in private medical institutions and deemed to be universities which are governed under the
provisions of this Act. Hence statement 3 is correct.
Q 49.D
• Recent Context - The centre has informed the SC that there is no legal void in regulating electronic
media.
• About News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) -It is an independent body set up by the
News Broadcasters Association. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Its task is to consider and adjudicate upon complaints about broadcasts. It has laid down the Code of
Ethics and Broadcasting Standards for violation of which a complaint may be made. It is empowered to
warn, admonish, censure, express disapproval and fine the broadcaster a sum upto Rs. 1 lakh for violation
of the Code.
• It comprises of
o A Chairperson, being an eminent jurist;
o Four eminent persons having special knowledge and/or practical experience in the field of law,
education, medicine, science, literature, public administration, consumer affairs, environment, human
psychology and/or culture; and
o Four eminent editors employed with a broadcaster.
• Any broadcasting channel can become its member as its membership is voluntary.
• It only has jurisdiction over broadcasters that are members of the News Broadcasters Association.
It does not have any statuary rights as it is a private association. Its writ extends only to its
members. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• About News Broadcasters Association (NBA) - It represents the private television news & current
affairs broadcasters. It is the collective voice of the news & current affairs broadcasters in India .It is an
organization funded entirely by its members.
• It has presently 26 leading news and current affairs broadcasters (comprising 77 news and current affairs
channels) as its members. The NBA presents a unified and credible voice before the Government, on
matters that affect the growing industry.
Q 50.B
• Like GDP, potential GDP represents the market value of goods and services, but rather than capturing the
current objective state of a nation’s economic activity, potential GDP attempts to estimate the highest
level of output an economy can sustain over a period of time.
• According to OECD’s Economic Outlook publication, Potential gross domestic product (GDP) is
defined as the level of output that an economy can produce at a constant inflation rate. Hence
option (b) is the correct answer.

• Although an economy can temporarily produce more than its potential level of output, that comes at the
cost of rising inflation. Potential output depends on the capital stock, the potential labour force (which
depends on demographic factors and on participation rates), the non-accelerating inflation rate of
unemployment (NAIRU), and the level of labour efficiency.
• Real GDP measures a country's economic output adjusted for the impact of inflation. Real GDP
makes comparing GDP from year to year and from different years more meaningful because it shows
comparisons for both the quantity and value of goods and services.
• Nominal GDP is the market value of goods and services produced in an economy, unadjusted for
inflation. Since nominal GDP doesn't remove the pace of rising prices when comparing one period to
another, it can inflate the growth figure.
• Economic growth at zero inflation is possible. But this could occur if there were improvements in
productivity, which caused lower costs and higher output at the same time. There is no specific term for
the measure of country's economic output at zero inflation.
Q 51.C
• During the British rule, the structure and operation of Indian economy were determined by the interests of
the British economy.
o Drain of Wealth: The Constant flow of wealth from India to England for which India did not get an
adequate economic, commercial or material return has described as the Drain of Wealth from India.
Major Constituents of Economic Drain are
ü Home charges: Dividend to the shareholders of the East India Company, Interest on Public Debt
raised abroad, Civil and Military charges, Store purchases in England,
ü Interest on Foreign Capital investments
o One way free trade: Cheap and machine-made imports flooded the Indian market after the Charter
Act of 1813 allowing one-way free trade for the British citizens. On the other hand, Indian products
found it difficult to penetrate the European markets due to high tariffs.
o Deindustrialisation led to decline of many cities and a process of ruralisation of India. Many artisans,
faced with diminishing returns abandoned their professions, moved to villages and took to agriculture.
This resulted in increased pressure on land. Hence there was an increased dependence of
population on agriculture which was a major cause of poverty. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
o The introduction railways in India inaugurated a new economic era. Railways served commercial,
administrative and defence interests of British. In 1853, Dalhousie started the “guarantee system” by
which the railway companies were guaranteed a minimum interest of 5% percent on their
investment. The government retained the right of buying the railway at the end of the period of
contract.
o Emergence of Intermediaries: Under British rule, new intermediaries such as merchants, money
lenders and other moneyed class emerged. These new zamindars, with increased powers but with little
or no avenues for new investments, resorted to landgrabbing and sub-infeudation. Hence British led
to increase in feudalism in Indian society. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
o Commercialisation of Agriculture: Agriculture began to be influenced by commercial
considerations. Commercial crops like cotton, jute, groundnut, oilseeds, sugarcane, tobacco, Opium
etc., increased. Hence statement 2 is correct.
Q 52.A
• Some of the important indices recently seen in the news are:
o Recently, India has been ranked very low at 76th place out of 82 countries on a new Social Mobility
Index compiled by the World Economic Forum, while Denmark has topped the charts. The Global
Social Mobility Index by World Economic Forum benchmarks 82 global economies and is
designed to provide policy-makers with a means to identify areas for improving social mobility and
promoting equally shared opportunities in their economies, regardless of their development. Social
mobility can be understood as the movement in personal circumstances either “upwards” or
“downwards” of an individual in relation to those of their parents. In absolute terms, it is the ability of
a child to experience a better life than their parents. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.
o Measuring countries across five key dimensions distributed over 10 pillars — health; education
(access, quality and equity); technology; work (opportunities, wages, conditions); and protections and
institutions (social protection and inclusive institutions) — shows that fair wages, social protection
and lifelong learning are the biggest drags on social mobility globally. The Areas of improvement for
India include social protection (76th) and fair wage distribution (79th).

o Other flagship Publications of World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report Fostering Effective
Energy Transition 2020. Social Mobility Index 2020. Global Gender Gap Report Global Risks Report
Global Competitiveness Report Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. Energy Transition
Index. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
o FAO Food Price Index: The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in
international prices of a basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity
group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups over 2014-2016. It
measures changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.
o Some flagship Publications of FAO include: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
(SOFIA), The State of the World's Forests (SOFO), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the
World (SOFI), The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA), The State of Agricultural Commodity
Markets (SOCO). Other initiatives include Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems
(GIAHS). The Codex Alimentarius Commission or CAC is the body responsible for all matters
regarding the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme.
o Human Freedom Index: The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom in the
world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom. Human
freedom is a social concept that recognizes the dignity of individuals and is defined here as negative
liberty or the absence of coercive constraint. Because freedom is inherently valuable and plays a role
in human progress, it is worth measuring carefully. The Human Freedom Index is a resource that can
help to more objectively observe relationships between freedom and other social and economic
phenomena, as well as the ways in which the various dimensions of freedom interact with one
another. The report is co-published by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute. Hence pair 2 is
not correctly matched.
o Urban Quality of Life (UQoL) Index: IIT-Bombay, recently released its Urban Quality of Life
Index, wherein the institution compared the life quality in various cities all over India on the basis of
some common denominations and ranked them accordingly. It has various categories of comparisons
including water, power, electricity, literacy rate, gender parity, the employment rate among
others. Hence pair 3 is not correctly matched.
Q 53.D
• Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) India Forum-
2021 The NCAVES Project, funded by EU, has been jointly implemented by the United Nations
Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the
Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). India is one of the five countries taking
part in this project - the other countries being Brazil, China, South Africa and Mexico. Hence
statement 2 and statement 3 are correct.
• The project funded by the European Union through its Partnership Instrument (PI), aims to
o Improving the measurement of ecosystems and their services (both in physical and monetary
terms) at the (sub)national level; Hence statement 1 is correct.
o Mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystems at (sub)national level policy planning and
implementation;
o Contribute to the development of internationally agreed methodology and its use in partner countries.
• In India, the NCAVES project is being implemented by the MoSPI in close collaboration with the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Remote Sensing
Centre (NRSC). MoSPI has coordinated with all the stakeholders through a consultative process by setting
in place a mechanism for linking the diverse stakeholders concerned – namely producers and the
policymakers using the environmental accounts.
• The participation in the project has helped MOSPI commence the compilation of the Environment
Accounts as per the UN-SEEA framework and release environmental accounts in its publication
“EnviStats India” on an annual basis since 2018. Several of these accounts are closely related to the
social and economic attributes, making them a useful tool for the Policy.
• NOTE: Natural Capital Accounting (NCA): It is an umbrella term covering efforts to make use of an
accounting framework to provide a systematic way to measure and report on stocks and flows of natural
capital. Natural capital is another term for the stock of renewable and non-renewable resources that
combine to yield a flow of benefits to people. NCA covers accounting for individual environmental assets
or resources, both biotic and abiotic (such as water, minerals, energy, timber, fish), as well as accounting
for ecosystem assets (e.g. forests; wetlands), biodiversity and ecosystem services, in both physical and
monetary terms.

Q 54.B
• Due to high illiteracy rates, India’s election commission historically has assigned visual symbols to
political parties to help voters identify their candidate of choice. The symbols also help the several
unrecognised parties and independent candidates differentiate themselves from one another and help
voters identify the party of their choice.
• The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) order, first promulgated in 1968, mandates the
Election Commission to provide for “specification, reservation, choice and allotment of symbols at
parliamentary and assembly elections, for the recognition of political parties”. Hence, statement 1 is
not correct.
• As per the guidelines, to get a symbol allotted, a party/candidate has to provide a list of three symbols
from the EC’s free symbols list at the time of filing nomination papers. Among them, one symbol is
allotted to the party/candidate on a first-come-first-serve basis.
• As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2017, party symbols are
either “reserved” or “free”. While eight national parties and 64 state parties across the country have
“reserved” symbols, the Election Commission also has a pool of nearly 200 “free” symbols that are
allotted to the thousands of unrecognised regional parties that pop up before elections.
• When a recognised political party splits, the Election Commission takes the decision on assigning
the symbol. The ECI acts as a court for settling disputes related to granting of recognition to
political parties and allotment of election symbols to them. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Q 55.D
• The teachings of Jainism are eternal, and hence have no founder; however, the Jainism of this age can be
traced back to Mahavira, a teacher of the sixth century BCE. Jainism and Buddhism were regarded as the
‘unorthodox darsanas’.
• Jainism believed that the main goal of human life is the purification of the soul and attainment of nirvana,
which means freedom from birth and death. This can be achieved not through rituals and sacrifices but by
the pursuance of Triratna and panchamahavrata. Triratna or three jewels are the right faith, right
knowledge, and right conduct, which can lead to liberation.
• Right conduct means observance of five great vows: ahimsa (do not commit violence) satya vachana (do
not speak a lie), asteya (do not steal), brahmacharya (do not indulge in sexual act) and aprigraha (do not
acquire property). Householders were expected to observe the milder form of the practice of these
virtues called anuvrata (small vows) in comparison to the monks. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The main teachings of Jainism include:
o that there is a sharp distinction between souls and matter;
o that souls are normally implicated through karma, in the painful round of reincarnation; and
o that through the practice of virtue, meditation, and great austerity the ultimate release of the soul is
possible.
• Jainism makes a distinction between Jivas and Ajivas. They also hold that every atom has a soul but it
is not Jiva, because they do not have sense organs. Although Jainism recognizes souls, it rejects the
notion of an ultimate, universal soul. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The most distinguishing feature of Jainism was the concept of anekantavada or syadavada. It means
that the truth can be viewed from aneka or various angels. Another important feature of Jainism was its
emphasis on the extreme form of penance, austerity, and strict non-violence. Hence, statement 2 is
correct.
Q 56.B
• Vital processes, such as growth, nutrition, and reproduction depend on the interactions between the
individuals of the same species (intra-specific interaction) or between those of different species
(interspecific interaction). Plants have interactions with animals and other plants. Animals interact with
plants and other animals.
• The relationship between species may be beneficial to both, harmful to both or beneficial or harmful to
one and neutral to the other. These interactions can be broadly classified as:
o Positive Interactions; and
o Negative Interactions
• Positive Interactions: These interactions are beneficial to both parties and are not harmful to anyone
species. These include the following:
• Mutualism: Both species are mutually benefited. Examples:
o Lichens: the relationship between algae and fungus. The algae are embedded within the fungus. The
algae produce food photosynthetically. Algae depend upon the fungus for water and protection, and in
turn, provides food to the fungus.

o Symbiosis: nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria that form nodules in the roots of leguminous
plants. The bacteria receive carbohydrates and other substances from the juices of the host
(leguminous plant), while the plant gets the nitrogen fixed by the bacteria.
o Dispersal of seeds of fruits.
o Some bacteria living in the intestines of the animals produce important vitamins.
o Removal of parasites: Parasites are removed from the backs of grazing animals by birds (cowbirds).
• Commensalism: refers to the association of different species in which the only one of the organisms is
benefited, but the other organism is not benefited, or adversely affected under normal conditions.
Example: Epiphytes, Squirrels, monkeys, tree frogs, snakes use trees or other plants for substratum,
shelter or breeding sites. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
• Negative Interactions: It is the interaction in which either of the species or both are adversely affected.
These include the following:
o Competition: the association of two or more species in which each species is adversely affected by
the presence of others in respect to food, shelter, space, light, etc. Example: Fishes eating
zooplankton.
o Predation is an association between two species, where one species (predator) kills to feed on the
second (prey). Predation maintains population balance in an ecosystem.
o Exploitation: one organism is benefitted by the direct utilization of the other.
o Antibiosis: is the production of secretions by an organism that is harmful to others. In this type, none
of the population is benefitted. For example, some species of blue-green algae that grow in ponds
produce toxic substances that kill fishes as well as cattle that drink the water.
o Parasitism: A parasite is an organism that derives nourishment from the tissues of another large
organism (called the host) on or in which it lies.
• Amensalism: is where one member is harmed, while the other member is neither positively nor
negatively affected. Example: Penicillin killing bacteria.
Q 57.B
• Lithium is an alkali metal with atomic number 3. it is the lightest metal, and has a high specific heat
capacity. Lithium is produced from a variety of geological sources, e.g., minerals such as spodumene,
clays such as hectorite, salt lakes, and underground brine reservoirs etc. In order to simplify, two broad
categories of lithium sources will be defined and used throughout the paper, namely rock and brine
sources. Rock sources will cover lithium contained in rocks; specifically, Rock sources include mineral
sources such as spodumene, amblygonite, jadarite, as well as clay sources of lithium such as hectorite.
Typical mineral deposits have a lithium content of around 0.5%–2% Li. Often the lithium from minerals is
concentrated to around 2%–4% Li and used in the ceramics and glass industry. Lithium rock production
began with lithium minerals back in 1899 in the USA. Lithium is also referred to as 'white gold'.
• With the impending advent of the widespread use of electric cars, trucks plus the millions of rechargeable
consumer electronic devices that utilize lithium-ion batteries, it is no wonder that numerous exploration
companies have turned their attention to the vast Lithium Triangle in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.
• It has been estimated that South America’s Lithium Triangle hosts about 54% of the world’s
lithium resources. Africa accounts for less than five per cent of the total Lithium reserves. Hence
• There are two sources of lithium – hard rock (the mineral spodumene) and lithium brine that formed in
desert climates where there is a slow inflow of lithium and other metals and salts but no outflow. Gradual
evaporation over thousands of years slowly increases lithium grades to an economic level.
• Top three lithium-producing countries in the world in 2019-20 are Australia (1st, which produced 42,000
tonnes), Chile (which produced18,000 tonnes) and China (3rd, produced 7,500 tonnes). Hence statement
2 is correct.
• Recently, India has also show interests in investing in this region and India and Bolivia are in talks about
having a joint manufacturing base for the batteries, both Chile and Argentina are in talks about
exploration and exports of Lithium.
• The government has formed `KABIL’ consortium which has three state-owned companies: National
Aluminum Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corp Ltd., (MECL).
It has been set up to help in the process of acquiring this most strategic mineral globally.

Q 58.D
• The medieval state derived the largest share of its income from land revenue. An elaborate mechanism of
land revenue administration gradually developed due to efforts of medieval rulers like Alauddin Khalji,
Sher Shah Suri and Akbar. In its developed form, the land revenue administration involved well-
formulated policies.
• During the medieval period, different methods of revenue assessment and collection were used. The
most simple and basic method was crop sharing or batai. In this system, the produce was divided
between the peasants and the state in a fixed proportion decided by the State. In this method out of
the total production, the state share was collected by the designated official. Here the measurement of land
had no bearing on revenue collection. The actual product was the main focus of attention. Hence, pair 1
is correctly matched.
• In Kankut system the measurement was important. In this method, the land was first measured. After
the measurement, the productivity of land was estimated to fix the revenue demand per unit of the
measured area. Sher Shah improved the method of assessment. For estimating the productivity sample
cutting from three types of land i.e. good, middling and badlands was taken and the average yield was
obtained. The State demand was fixed at 1/3rd of the average yield. Hence, pair 2 is correctly matched.
• The problem of compiling fresh rates every year for different localities was overcome through the
adoption of Dahsala or ten years revenue rates. Akbar instituted a new system called the
dahsala. Under this system, the average produce of different crops as well as the average prices
prevailing over the last ten (dah) years were calculated. One-third of the average produce was the
state share. The state demand was, however, stated in cash. This was done by converting the state share
into money on the basis of a schedule of average prices over the past ten years. The dahsala system was a
further development of the zabti system. Hence, pair 3 is correctly matched.
Q 59.B
• The Somali current can be found on the surface of the northern Indian Ocean, serving as a western
boundary of this ocean. It is a movement of waters around the Indian Ocean, dispersing heat.
• Atmospheric circulation and ocean circulation together are the major mechanisms for global heat
distribution. As atmospheric circulation defines large-scale air movements around the globe, ocean
circulation refers to the patterned movement of particular waters.
• In summer, a southwest monsoon blows upward from the east coast of the Horn of Africa. Carried along
with the monsoon are the waters of the western Indian Ocean, moving in a northeast direction underneath,
and powered by winds. These waters may reach speeds of 9 mi. per hour (14 km. per hour).
• As the current reaches Somalia, the waters turn eastward. Some stay on near the Arabian Peninsula to
form the East Arabian Current. Those that continue eastward eventually become the northeast monsoon
during the autumn and winter, flowing southwest back to their origins.

• During the months of December and March, the Somali Current typically hovers between 5 degrees and 1
degree of latitude North of the equator, with this reach extending to span between 10 and 4 degrees
latitude North during the central months of January and February.
• The Somali Current is of interest because it creates an upwelling of cold water that is the only other
region of such low surface temperatures within 10 degrees of the equator outside of Peru, and
perhaps even colder. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
Q 60.C
• Recent Context - The high-level group (HLG) formed for the health sector by the 15th Finance
Commission has said that the subject of ‘health’ must be transferred to the Concurrent List of the Indian
Constitution from the State List. Also, many of the subjects were in news due to the Farmer’s Produce
Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Bill and the Farmer’s (Empowerment & Protection)
Agreement on Price Assurance and the Farm Services Bill.
• About Union List, State List and Concurrent List - Article 246 of the constitution of India provides for
a threefold division of legislative subjects between centre and states (Seventh Schedule). It is a) Union
List (List-I), b) State List (List -II) and c) Concurrent List (List -III). This threefold division of legislative
subjects has been taken from the Government of India Act of 1935.
• The Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to any matter enumerated in Union List. It
has 100 subjects (originally 97). Some of the subjects are – Post office saving bank, defence, banking,
foreign affairs etc.
• The state legislature has in normal circumstances exclusive powers to make laws with respect to any of
the matters enumerated in the State List. It has 61 subjects (originally 67 subjects). Some of the subjects
are – Health, Agriculture, Police, etc.
• Both the Parliament and state legislatures have concurrent powers to make laws with respect to any matter
mentioned in the Concurrent List. It has 52 subjects (originally 47 subjects). Some of the subjects are -
Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Forests, Protection of wild animals and birds, Electricity etc.
• Inter-state trade and commerce is a Union subject (Entry 42). Agriculture with all its associated,
ancillary and subsidiary enterprises – including education and research, livestock, fisheries, irrigation etc
– is a state subject. ‘Markets and fairs’ are also a state subject (Entry 28 of the state list). Even trade
and commerce within a state is also a state subject (Entry 27). However, it is subject to Entry 33 of the
concurrent list. It is this Entry 33 of the concurrent list which has been put to use by the Centre to
bring the three Farm Bills. It states: Trade and commerce in, and the production, supply and distribution
of,-
o the products of any industry where the control of such industry by the Union is declared by Parliament
by law to be expedient in the public interest, and imported goods of the same kind as such products;
o foodstuffs, including edible oil seeds and oils;
o cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates;
o raw cotton whether ginned or unginned, and cotton seeds; and
o raw jute.”
Q 61.A
• On January 31, Stardust 1.0 was launched from Loring Commerce Centre, US, becoming the first
commercial space launch powered by biofuel, which is non-toxic for the environment as opposed to
traditionally used rocket fuels. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
• The rocket is manufactured by bluShift, an aerospace company based in Maine that is developing rockets
that are powered by bio-derived fuels. These rockets will help to launch small satellites called
cubesats into space in a way that is relatively cheaper than using traditional rocket fuel and is less toxic
for the environment.
• Biofuels are obtained from biomass, which can be converted directly into liquid fuels that can be used as
transportation fuels. The two most common kinds of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel and
they both represent the first generation of biofuel technology.
Q 62.A
• In 2015, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified specific standards
for the thermal power plants to control the emissions under “Environment (Protection) Amendment
Rules, 2015’.
• As per rough estimates, the 2015 norms can reduce the TPPs’ PM emissions by 35%, SO2 emissions by
80%, and NOx emissions by 42% and reduce their water consumption by nearly a third.

• The norms provide different mechanisms to reduce the emissions and usage of water such as:
o Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) process for controlling SOx emissions.
o Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system for
controlling NOx emissions.
o Electro-Static Precipitators (ESPs) are to be deployed for control of particulate matter (PM) in
thermal power stations.
o Installation of cooling towers in order to change over to a closed cooling water system for
controlling water consumption. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
• Need for such standards
o Coal dependent power sector: Coal accounts for 205 GW (56%) of the total installed power
generation capacity in the country—and for 77% of the current electricity supply in the country and
India needs to ensure that this capacity is made cleaner.
o High emissions by power plants: Thermal power plants are a source of 60% of industrial particulate
matter, 45% of SO2, and 30% of NOx emissions in the country, apart from 80% of mercury as a
pollutant.
o Health impacts: TPPs account for some 80% of India’s industrial emissions of sulfur- and nitrous-
oxides in India, which cause lung diseases, acid rain and smog.
Q 63.A
• An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem located in water bodies. The two main types of aquatic
ecosystems are freshwater ecosystems and marine ecosystems.
• Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration - usually less than 1%. Plants and animals in
freshwater regions are adjusted to the low salt content and cannot survive in areas of high salt
concentration (i.e. ocean).
• Freshwater ecosystems can be divided into two categories:
o Standing water or lentic ecosystems like a lake, pond, marshes or swamp. These are also known
as pond ecosystems. Hence options 1 and 2 are correct.
o A lake, any relatively large body of slowly moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin of
appreciable size. Definitions that precisely distinguish lakes, ponds, swamps, and even rivers and
other bodies of nonoceanic water are less well established. It may be said, however, that rivers
and streams are relatively fast-moving (lotic ecosystems); marshes and swamps contain relatively
large quantities of grasses, trees, or shrubs; and ponds are relatively small in comparison with lakes.
Geologically defined, lakes are temporary bodies of water.
o A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species. Marshes can
often be found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems. They are often dominated by grasses, rushes, or reeds.
o A swamp is a wetland ecosystem characterized by mineral soils with poor drainage and by plant life
dominated by trees. Swamps are found throughout the world, most often in low-lying regions (with
poor drainage) next to rivers, which supply the swamp with water. Some swamps develop from
marshes that slowly fill in, allowing trees and woody shrubs to grow.
o Examples of running water or lotic ecosystems are - rivers, springs and streams. Hence options
3 and 4 are not correct.
Q 64.C
• Sangam literature is the name given to the earliest available Tamil literature. Although most of the work
is believed to have been composed between 100 CE and 250 CE. The word ‘Sangam’ literally means
association. Here, it implies an association of Tamil poets that flourished in ancient southern India. This
period is known as the Sangam Period. The three chief Tamil kingdoms of this period were the Cheras,
the Cholas and the Pandyas.
• All the works of the first two Sangams except Tolkappiyam (2nd Sangam work) are lost. Only the works
of the third Sangam survives. The compositions of the third Sangam are classified into eight anthologies
known as Ettuttokoi/Ettuthokai and ten idylls known as Pattuppattu. The third Sangam saw the
Patinenkilkanakku. They mainly deal with moral values. The most important among them is the
Thirukkural, also simply called the Kural.
• Tolkkappiyam deals with grammer and poetics.
• Another important Tamil text deals with philosophy and wise maxims; this text is called Tirukkural.

• Silappadikaram and Manimekalai are twin Tamil epics. The two epics Silappathikaram is written by
Elango Adigal and Manimegalai by Sittalai Sattanar. They also provide valuable details about the Sangam
society and polity.
Q 65.A
• India does not have a fixed parliamentary calendar. The summoning of Parliament is specified in Article
85 of the Constitution. Like many other articles, it is based on a provision of The Government of India
Act, 1935.
• This provision specified that the central legislature had to be summoned to meet at least once a year, and
that not more than 12 months could elapse between two sessions. By convention, Parliament meets for
three sessions in a year.
• The power to convene a session of Parliament rests with the government. The decision is taken by the
Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. The decision of the Committee is formalised by the
President, in whose name MPs are summoned to meet for a session. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The president from time to time summons each House of Parliament to meet. But, the maximum gap
between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months. In other words, the Parliament
should meet at least twice a year. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
Q 66.D
• The important changes in the realm of ideas and beliefs in the Islamic religion took place in 10th century
AD -the rise of sufi mystic orders. Mystics, who are called Sufis, were persons of deep devotion who were
disgusted by the display of wealth and degeneration of morals following the establishment of the Islamic
empire.
• The core concept of Sufi Movement is Darikh-i-Duniya / Wahad-ul-wahjud, meaning “Universal
Brotherhood”. It outwardly rejected the religion and emphasized love and devotion to God and
compassion towards all fellow human beings.
• The Sufi orders are broadly divided into two: Ba-shara – Those who followed the Islamic Law and Be-
shara – Those who were not bound by the Islamic Law. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct.
o Both of these orders prevailed in India-Of the Bashara movements, only Chisthi silsilah and
suharwardi silsilah gained significant influence in India. Hence, statement 3 is also correct.
o The Beshara were also called ‘mast kalandar’. They comprised of wandering monks who were also
called Baba. They did not leave any written accounts.
• The Sufis were organized in 12 orders or Silsilahs. A Silsilah was generally led by a prominent mystic
who lived in a Khanqah or hospice along with his disciples.
• The Sufi saints made themselves popular by adopting musical recitations called “Sama”, to create a mood
of nearness to God. Qawwali is the form of sufi devotional music popular in South Asia and ghazal is a
form of Qawwali.
• The four main Sufi orders – Chisti, Qadiriyya, Suhrawardiyya and Naqshbandi order were
practiced in India.
Silsilah Founder/Established Nature Important personalities assosciated
in India by
Chishti Khwaja Muinuddin lived in poverty and lead a Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki,
Chisti hermit life. They did not Nizamuddin Auliya (also known as
accept State service. Siddha), Amir kushro, Nasruddin
Chiragh-i-Delhi.
Suharwardi Bahauddin Zakanya. accepted the service of the Shaikh shihabuddin Suharwadi and
state and held important posts Hamid-ud-din Nagori.
mainly under Delhi Sultanate
ruler Iltutmish
Nakshbandhi Bahibillah popularized in India by Babur Khwaja Ubaidullah Ahrar,Shaikh
Ahmad Sirhindi
Qadri Niyammad-ulla-Qadiri Dara Shiko-A great follower of Qadri
Order
Q 67.D
• Just as the President of India is constitutionally mandated to issue Ordinances under Article 123, the
Governor of a state can issue Ordinances under Article 213, when the state legislative assembly (or either
of the two Houses in states with bicameral legislatures) is not in session.

• His ordinance-making power is co-extensive with the legislative power of the state legislature. This
means that he can issue ordinances only on those subjects on which the state legislature can make
laws. Therefore, the Governor can also promulgate Ordinance on subjects in the Concurrent List.
Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• However, the Governor cannot make an ordinance without the instructions from the President in three
cases:
o If a bill containing the same provisions would have required the previous sanction of the President for
its introduction into the state legislature.
o If he would have deemed it necessary to reserve a bill containing the same provisions for the
consideration of the President.
o If an act of the state legislature containing the same provisions would have been invalid without
receiving the President’s assent.
• During COVID 19 pandemic some states including Madhya Pradesh has taken the ordinance route to
promulgate Madhya Pradesh Finance Ordinance, 2020 and the Madhya Pradesh Appropriation (Vote on
Account) Ordinance, 2020 which involve expenditure from Consolidated Fund of State. Hence,
Q 68.D
• The new VULTURE ACTION PLAN 2020-25 extend the project to 2025 to not just halt the decline but
to actively increase the vulture numbers.
• Key Highlights of the plan:
• Establishment of four rescue centres in Pinjore, Bhopal, Guwahati and Hyderabad and at least one
Vulture Safe Zone in every State. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Additional vulture conservation and breeding centre each at UP, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. And Enhancement of Conservation Breeding Programme so that Conservation
Breeding Centres play a major role in the conservation of all the vulture species for many years to
come. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Conservation breeding programme for Red Headed vulture and Egyptian vulture.
• Regulate the sale of veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that lead to the death of
vultures.
o The DCGI must institute a system that automatically removes a drug from veterinary use if it is found
to be toxic to vultures. Such a system would ensure that drugs other than diclofenac that are toxic to
vultures like aceclofenac and ketoprofen are banned for veterinary use.
• Database on emerging threats to vulture conservation.
• Nationwide Vulture Survey once in 4 years.
• The Action Plan includes Timelines for Various Actions
o Action Timeline for Advocacy and Implementation at the National level
o Timeline Actions for the Conservation Breeding Programme
o Action Timeline for Vulture Safe Zone Implementation
o Activity Timeline for Research and Monitoring
o Action Timeline for Vulture Safe Zone Monitoring
o Timeline for Advocacy and Implementation on National Level - Regulate the sale of Agriculture
pesticides/insecticides/herbicide in coordination with various agencies/stakeholders like MoEF&CC,
Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizer, Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, Indian
Veterinary Research Institute, Indian Toxicological Research Institute, BNHS. Hence statement 3 is
correct.
• Threats to Vulture include collision and electrocution, unintentional poisoning, etc.
o Between the 1990s and 2007, numbers of three critically-endangered species – Oriental white-
backed, long-billed and slender-billed vultures — declined by 99%.
Q 69.C
• Visakhapatnam is an all-weather, landlocked and protected port, meaning it is encircled by land
with an opening to the sea. It houses the country’s biggest shipbuilding and ship-repair industry.
• Visakhapatnam is an arterial port connecting manufacturing hubs and industrial clusters across
the region. It is among the 13 major seaports in India and is the second-largest seaport in Andhra
Pradesh, in terms of annual traffic.
• Visakhapatnam is endowed with natural advantages like the availability of large mineral reserves, a
long coastline, and deep-draft ports that enable linkages with major markets in Southeast Asia.
• Key exports from Vizag comprise of: iron ore (especially from Bailadila mines to Japan), manganese ore,
spices, and wood. Primary imports include mineral oil, coal, luxury items, and other industrial products.

• The hinterland of Visakhapatnam port constitutes an approximate area of 1.31 lakh square miles (3.4 lakh
sq. km) that includes Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining mineral-rich areas of Odisha, Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka states.
• There are several Special Economic Zones and industrial parks in Visakhapatnam, namely the
Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) that started operations in 1989,
• Excellent government support, accelerated industrialization in the region, access to skilled workforce,
agglomeration of cargo from distant hinterland centers, and increased connectivity continue to create
ample opportunities for businesses in the region. Hence the correct answer is option (c)
Q 70.D
• Question Hour is the liveliest hour in Parliament. It is during this one hour that Members of Parliament
ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries. The questions
that MPs ask are designed to elicit information and trigger suitable action by ministries
• The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this. During this time, the members ask
questions and the ministers usually give answers. The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred,
unstarred and short notice.
o A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary
questions can follow.
o An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence, supplementary
questions cannot follow.
o A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less than ten days. It is answered
orally.
• Parliament has comprehensive rules for dealing with every aspect of Question Hour. The presiding
officers of the two houses are the final authority with respect to the conduct of Question
Hour. Parliamentary rules provide guidelines on the kind of questions that can be asked by MPs.
Questions have to be limited to 150 words. They have to be precise and not too general. The question
should also be related to an area of responsibility of the Government of India.
• Also, Questions should not seek information about matters that are secret or are under adjudication before
courts. It is the presiding officers of the two Houses who finally decide whether a question raised by an
MP will be admitted for answering by the government.
• Question Hour in both Houses is held on all days of the session. But there are two days when an
exception is made. There is no Question Hour on the day the President addresses MPs from both Houses
in the Central Hall. The President’s speech takes place at the beginning of a new Lok Sabha and on the
first day of a new Parliament year. Question Hour is not scheduled either on the day the Finance Minister
presents the Budget.
• Hence, both statements are not correct.
Q 71.C
• Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre, which is practised in the state of Kerala, is one of India’s oldest living
theatrical traditions. Originating more than 2,000 years ago, Kutiyattam represents a synthesis of
Sanskrit classicism and reflects the local traditions of Kerala. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• In its stylized and codified theatrical language, neta abhinaya (eye expression) and hasta abhinaya (the
language of gestures) are prominent. They focus on the thoughts and feelings of the main character.
Actors undergo ten to fifteen years of rigorous training to become fully-fledged performers with
sophisticated breathing control and subtle muscle shifts of the face and body. The actor’s art lies in
elaborating a situation or episode in all its detail. Therefore, a single act may take days to perform and a
complete performance may last up to 40 days.
• Kutiyattam is traditionally performed in theatres called Kuttampalams, which are located in Hindu
temples. Access to performances was originally restricted owing to their sacred nature, but the plays have
progressively opened up to larger audiences.
• It was inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
(originally proclaimed in 2001). Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Q 72.C
• Bioremediation is a process that uses mainly microorganisms, plants, or microbial or plant enzymes
to detoxify contaminants in the soil and other environments.
• Bioremediation technology has made it possible to decontaminate soil and groundwater and has helped us
clean up our oceans after oil spills and other environmental disasters.

• Types of Bioremediation techniques:
o Microbial bioremediation uses microorganisms to break down contaminants by using them as a food
source.
o Phytoremediation uses plants to bind, extract, and clean up pollutants such as pesticides, petroleum
hydrocarbons, metals, and chlorinated solvents.
o Mycoremediation uses fungi’s digestive enzymes to break down contaminants such as pesticides,
hydrocarbons, and heavy metals.
• Mycoremediation is an effective and inexpensive way of controlling soil and water pollution. It is cost-
effective and can remove pollutants present in low concentrations. It has the edge over current chemical
and physical methods of removing pollutants.
• Similarly, it is more effective than bacterial remediation processes due to available higher fungal biomass
compared to bacteria, high surface-to-cell ratio, a network of hyphae, tolerance to varying pH and
temperature, aggressive growth, and presence of metal-binding proteins and polysaccharides of
fungi. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
Q 73.A
• Phytorid Technology
• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Environmental Engineering Research
Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur has developed an efficient Phytorid Technology Sewage Treatment
Plant (STP), for wastewater reuse.
• Phytorid is a self-sustainable technology for wastewater treatment that works on the principle of
natural wetland. It uses certain specific plants that can absorb nutrients directly from wastewater but do
not require soil. These plants act as nutrient sinker and remover.
• Using Phytorid Technology for the treatment of sewage, it is possible to recover and reuse the treated
water for gardening purposes. It is a zero energy and zero operation and maintenance of sewage treatment
technology. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
• CSIR-NCL is the first CSIR laboratory to use NEERI Phytorid water treatment technology. Compared to
the conventional processes, this natural system based Phytorid Technology for sewage treatment is zero
energy and zero operation & maintenance (O&M).
Q 74.D
• Government of India enacted the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 2013 which marks a paradigm
shift in the approach to food security from welfare to a rights-based approach. This act gives legal
entitlement to 67% of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas) to receive highly
subsidized foodgrains.
• Under the Act, foodgrain is allocated @ 5 kg per person per month for priority households category and
@ 35 kg per family per month for AAY families at a highly subsidized price of Rs. 1/-, Rs. 2/- and Rs. 3/-
per kg for nutri-cereals, wheat and rice respectively. Coverage under the Act is based on the population
figures of Census, 2011. The Act is now being implemented in all 36 States/UTs and covers about 81.35
crore persons.
• Corresponding to the all India coverage of 75% and 50% in the rural and urban areas, State-wise coverage
under NFSA was determined by the erstwhile Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) by using the NSS
Household Consumption Survey data for 2011-12. Within the coverage under TPDS determined for each
State, the work of identification of eligible households is to be done by States/UTs. It is the responsibility
of the State Governments/UTs, to evolve criteria for identification of priority households and their actual
identification. Hence statement 1 is not correct.Section 16 of the National Food Security Act, 2013
(NFSA), provides that every State Government shall, by notification, constitute a State Food Commission
for the purpose of monitoring and review of implementation of the Act. However there is no provision for
National Food Commission.
• Other provisions of NFSA 2013 include:
o Nutritional support to pregnant women and lactating mothers (excluding all pregnant women
and lactating mothers in regular employment with the Central Government or State
Governments or Public Sector Undertakings):
ü meal, free of charge, during pregnancy and six months after the childbirth, through the local
Anganwadi;
ü maternity benefit of not less than rupees six thousand, in such instalments, as may be prescribed
by the Central Government.
ü those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force shall not be
entitled to these benefits.

o Nutritional support to children: Every child up to the age of fourteen years shall have the
following entitlements for his nutritional needs, namely
ü in the case of children in the age group of six months to six years, age-appropriate meal, free of
charge, through the local Anganwadi
ü in the case of children, up to class VIII or within the age group of six to fourteen years, whichever
is applicable, one mid-day meal, free of charge, everyday, except on school holidays, in all
schools run by local bodies, Government and Government aided schools.
o Recently, the Centre had asked State governments to focus on inclusion of persons with
disabilities (PwDs) under the National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA) so that those still out of
the net can get the benefit of ration under PDS.
o Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
Q 75.D
• Recently Union Government launched Green-Ag Project to reduce emissions from agriculture. It aims to
bring at least 104,070 ha of farms under sustainable land and water management and ensure 49 million
Carbon dioxides equivalent sequestered or reduced through sustainable land use and agricultural
practices.
• Agricultural emissions in India
o In India agriculture and livestock accounts for 18% of gross national emissions, the third-
highest sector after energy and industry. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
o Out of this more than 85% of emissions are due to cattle production system, rice cultivation and
ruminant meat and the remaining 15% come from other crops and nitrous oxide emitted from
fertilisers. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
o Most of the GHG emission from Indian agriculture takes places from states like Punjab, Haryana, UP,
Bihar, West Bengal etc.
• Source of emissions
o Enteric fermentation: is a natural part of the digestive process in ruminant animals such as cattle,
sheep, goats, and buffalo. Microbes in the digestive tract, or rumen, decompose and ferment food,
producing methane as a by-product
o Rice cultivation: GHG emissions from rice cultivation consist of methane gas from the anaerobic
decomposition of organic matter in paddy fields due to standing water in the rice fields.
o Manure management: GHG emissions from manure management consist of methane and nitrous
oxide gases from aerobic and anaerobic manure decomposition processes.
o Synthetic fertilizers: GHG emissions from synthetic fertilisers such as urea consist of nitrous oxide
gas from synthetic nitrogen additions to managed soils due to volatilization.
o Crop residues: GHG emissions from crop residues consist of nitrous oxide gas deriving from the
decomposition of nitrogen in crop residues and the burning of crop residues. Eg. Stubble burning in
the outskirts of Delhi causing the rise of particulate matter.
o Energy use: Irrigation uses highly inefficient water pumps and accounts for around 70% of the
energy consumption of agriculture causing emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide
gases associated with fuel burning and the generation of electricity used in agriculture.
Q 76.A
• The Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by
Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and
Romania to the west. The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at
the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters of the Atlantic Ocean by
the Bosporus strait (which emerges from the sea’s southwestern corner), the Sea of Marmara, the
Dardanelles, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Crimean Peninsula thrusts into the Black
Sea from the north, and just to its east the narrow Kerch Strait links the sea to the smaller Sea of Azov.
• It is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper and Don. Danube River is the second-
longest in Europe after the Volga. It rises in the Black Forest mountains of western Germany and opens its
mouth into the Black Sea. Don is the fifth-longest river in Europe. It flows from Central Russia to the Sea
of Azov ( part of Black Sea) in Southern Russia. The Dnieper is one of the major rivers of Europe, rises in
the Valdai Hills in Russia, flows through Belarus and Ukraine and opens its mouth into the Black Sea.
• The Rhine is one of the major European rivers, which has its sources in Switzerland and flows in a mostly
northerly direction through Germany and the Netherlands, emptying into the North Sea. The Volga is the
longest river in Europe. It flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea.

Q 77.D
• Nitrogen the living block of living cells is one of the core components of proteins. It plays an important
role in the biochemical processes that take place in living beings. It limits the rate of production in
ecosystems.
• The atmosphere is the largest reservoir (78% approximately) of free nitrogen. The nitrogen in this
form cannot be used by the living systems. It has to be converted into nitrates through a process known as
nitrogen fixation and then it is available for use by plants.
• Plants take nitrogen in the form of nitrates from the soil and animals obtain nitrogen by eating plants or
animals which eat plants.
• The atmospheric nitrogen enters the soil in the following ways:
o Nitrogen and oxygen in the air combine to form nitric oxide. This nitric oxide is then converted into
nitrogen dioxide by the oxygen of the atmosphere.
o Nitrogen oxide along with oxygen dissolves in rainwater forming nitric acid.
o Nitric acid is washed down by rainwater into the soil. In the soil, this nitric acid reacts with minerals
like calcium carbonate to form calcium nitrate and is absorbed by the roots of the plants.
o Nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Azobacter, Rhizobiurn, etc. convert the atmospheric nitrogen into
nitrates, that are soluble in water. This process is called nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen thus assimilated, is
used by the plants to form nitrogenous compounds, mainly proteins that enter the food chain.
• Nitrogen is returned to the soil through manure. excreta and earthly remains of plants and animals,
and micro-organisms. Nitrogen in organic form is insoluble and cannot be used by plants. Therefore the
organic matter of plant and animal origin is decomposed to ammonia and amino acids by micro-organisms
in the soil through the process of ammonification and nitrification respectively. Hence option (d) is the
correct answer.
o Ammonification is the process of ammonia formation carried out by all organisms. The ammonia
may escape to the atmosphere or be retained in the soil and is sometimes oxidised to nitrates.
o Nitrification is the process of conversion of ammonia to nitrates by the bacteria, (Nitrosomonas in
soil and Nitrosococcus in marine systems).
o Denitrification is the process by which some other bacteria (decomposers) reduce nitrates back to
nitrogen or to ammonia or to some other oxides. Free nitrogen returns to atmospheric pool and oxides
are taken up by plants.

Q 78.C
• Three-parent baby:
• In simple words when a baby is born from the DNAs of three people then we generally call it a three-
parent- baby. The first three-parent baby was born recently in the USA with the help of a technique.
The technique replaces a small amount of faulty DNA in a mother’s egg with healthy DNA from a second
woman. This results in the baby inheriting genes from two mothers and one father.
• The idea is to prohibit certain genetic diseases from being passed on to children. The technique which
was used in achieving this landmark in the history of medical science is known as Spindle transfer.
• This technique is explained in detail below.
• The healthy nuclear DNA is removed by the patient’s egg cell leaving behind faulty mitochondrial
DNA. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Patient’s nuclear DNA will be transplanted to the donor’s egg with healthy mitochondrial DNA. Hence,
• Therefore by replacing the dysfunctional mitochondria carried by a woman who wishes to conceive a
child with the healthy mitochondria of a donor.
• Egg is then fertilized with partner’s sperm through In Vitro Fertilization.
• The embryo thus created is one technically cleansed of the mutated mitochondrial DNA that the mother
originally carried.
• The reconstructed egg cell fertilized with sperm in the lab and implanted into the mother and thus resulted
in the embryo will have three genetic parents.
Q 79.D
• Article 89 of the Indian Constitution mentions the post of deputy chairman. As the Chairman, the
Deputy Chairman is also elected by the council itself from amongst its members.
• The election of a Deputy Chairman shall be held on such date as the Chairman may fix and the
Secretary-General shall send to every member notice of this date. Hence option (a) and option (b) are
correct.
• The Deputy Chairman performs the duties of the Chairman’s office when it is vacant. He also acts as the
Chairman when the latter is absent from the sitting of the council. In both cases, he has all the powers of
the Chairman.
• As enumerated in Article 112(3) of the Constitution of India, the salaries and allowances of
the Chairman and the Deputy chairman are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India (Schedule 2
of Indian constitution). Hence option (c) is correct.
• It is the Deputy Speaker (Not deputy chairman) who has one special privilege, that is, whenever he is
appointed as a member of a parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its
chairman. Hence option (d) is not correct.
Q 80.B
• The golden mahseer (Tor putitora), known for their striking golden hues, are large-bodied fish that have
reached weights greater than 50 kg and lengths of over 200 centimetres.
• Consequently, they are popular as sport fish.
• Found in cold-water habitats of the Himalayan region, the presence of the endangered golden
mahseer, a flagship species, indicates healthy freshwater ecosystems.
• Golden mahseer is “naturally distributed” throughout the rivers (and associated reservoirs) of the
south Himalayan drainage (the Indus, Ganges-Yamuna and Brahmaputra) from Pakistan (also
unverified reports from Afghanistan) in the west to Myanmar in the east.
• Records are also available from several river systems and associated reservoirs in the Mahanadi
(previously recorded as Tor mosal mahanadicus) and the Krishna (as a consequence of captive
breeding and stocking from hatcheries) located south of the Himalayan landscape.
• Mahseer roughly translates as mahi – fish and sher – tiger, and hence is also referred as tiger
among fish. Hence statement 1 and statement 2 are correct.
• The species have suffered severe population declines in much of its distribution range, and are now
considered threatened due to pollution, habitat loss and over-fishing. There is a dearth of information on
habitat, feeding and breeding ecology of the species.
• Mahseer is a sensitive species that can barely tolerate a modified water environment, therefore, small
climatic fluctuation may lead to a change in its genetic structure. This is evident from the decrease in its
size (length) recorded over the last century, size composition (predominance of young/ immature
individuals) and reduced share in the catch (as low as 5% from 40-50%) from it’s distribution ranges.

• Out of the 47 species of Mahseer that exist in the world, India is home to fifteen. Tor remadevi is one of
the newest species identified while Tor moyarensis, confined to the Moyar river of Tamil Nadu, is
reported to be another.
• Realizing the severity of the stated dangers, WWF-India convened a national meeting in New Delhi to
identify the problems, review current conservation initiatives and develop a conservation plan to improve
the status of this and other Mahseer species in the reservoirs and rivers of India.
• Government officials, scientists, civil society groups and anglers interested in Mahseer conservation
participated in the meeting. WWF-India also conducted Golden Mahseer survey and is in process of
preparing the species management plan along 30km stretch of River Kosi in Uttarakhand.
• There are more than ten fish species protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The
whale shark is the first such fish to be protected. But Golden Mahseer is not protected under Schedule
1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
Q 81.D
• During rigvedic period, There were two popular bodies called the Sabha and Samiti. The former
seems to have been a council of elders and the latter, a general assembly of the entire people. Hence
statement (a) is correct.
• Trade was another important economic activity and rivers served as important means of transport. Trade
was conducted on barter system. In the later times, gold coins called nishka were used as media of
exchange in transactions. Hence statement (b) is correct.
• The Brahmanas are the treatises relating to prayer and sacrificial ceremony. The Upanishads are
philosophical texts dealing with topic like the soul, the absolute, the origin of the world and the mysteries
of nature. The Aranyakas are called forest books and they deal with mysticism, rites, rituals and
sacrifices. The author of Ramayana was Valmiki and that of Mahabharata was Vedavyas. Hence
statement (c) is correct.
• The Rig Vedic society was patriarchal. The basic unit of society was family or graham. The head of the
family was known as grahapathi. Monogamy was generally practiced while polygamy was prevalent
among the royal and noble families.
• The wife took care of the household and participated in all the major ceremonies. Women were
given equal opportunities as men for their spiritual and intellectual development. Hence statement
(d) is not correct.
Q 82.D
• “Firefly bird diverter”: The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) along
with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) India has come up with a unique initiative — a “firefly
bird diverter” for overhead power lines in areas where Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations are
found in the wild. GIB is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with less than 150 birds
left in the wild. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
• A report by the Ministry, submitted to the National Green Tribunal in 2019, pointed out that power lines,
especially high-voltage transmission lines with multiple overhead wires, are the most important
current threat for GIBs in the Thar region, and are causing unsustainably high mortality in about 15% of
their population.
• Firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines. They work as reflectors for bird species like the
GIB. Birds can spot them from a distance of about 50 meters and change their path of flight to avoid
collision with power lines. Smaller birds can change their direction [swiftly] but for larger bird species, it
is difficult because of their body weight and other factors.
• The diverters are called fireflies because they look like fireflies from a distance, shining on power lines in
the night. The selected stretch is opposite the Pokhran Field Firing Range, which offers a safe habitat to a
breeding population of GIBs outside the Desert National Park Sanctuary in Jaisalmer.
Q 83.A
• The passing of the Rowlatt Acts, the Jallianwalla Bagh tragedy, and the Khilafat wrongs gave a new turn
to Indian politics. Mahatma Gandhi was particularly interested in bringing the Hindus and the Muslims
together to achieve the country’s independence. Subsequently, the Khilafat Movement merged with the
Non-Cooperation Movement which was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920.
• Mahatma Gandhi announced his plan to begin Non-Cooperation with the government as a sequel to
the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Khilafat Movement. It was approved by the
Indian National Congress at the Nagpur session in December, 1920.
• The Indian National Congress outlined following programme of action while launching Non Cooperation:

o Surrender of Titles and honorary positions
o Resignation of membership from the local bodies
o Boycott of election held under the provisions of the 1919 Act
o Boycott of Government functions
o Boycott of courts, government schools and colleges
o Boycott of foreign goods
o Establishment of national schools, colleges and private panchayat courts
o Popularising swadeshi goods and khadi
o Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
• The movement began with Mahatma Gandhi renouncing the titles, which were given by the British.
National schools such as the Kashi Vidyapeeth, the Bihar Vidyapeeth and the Jamia Millia
Islamia were set up. the whole movement was abruptly called off on 11th February 1922 by Gandhi
following the Churi Chaura incident in the Gorakpur district of U.P. Earlier on 5th February an angry
mob set fire to the police station at Churi Chaura and twenty two police men were burnt to death.
Q 84.C
• Cotton is one of the most important fibres and cash crops of India and plays a dominant role in the
industrial and agricultural economy of the country. Cotton, a semi-xerophyte, is grown in tropical & sub-
tropical conditions. A minimum temperature of 15oC is required for better germination at field conditions.
The optimum temperature for vegetative growth is 21-27 degrees C & it can tolerate temperature to the
extent of 43 degrees C but temperature below 21 degrees C is detrimental to the crop. Warm days of cool
nights with large diurnal variations during the period of fruiting are conducive to good boll & fibre
development.
o Cotton is grown on a variety of soils ranging from well-drained deep alluvial soils in the north to
black clayey soils of varying depth in the central region and in black and mixed black and red soils in
the south zone. Cotton is semi-tolerant to salinity and sensitive to waterlogging and thus prefers well-
drained soils.
o Cotton is a Kharif crop in the major parts of the country. Gujarat is the leading producer state. In
Gujarat, cotton is cultivated in about 15.19 lakh hectares with an annual production of about
31.80 lakh bales of cotton. Gujarat is followed by Punjab and Maharashtra.
• Sugarcane is a tropical plant, therefore, requires a year of warm weather to reach maturity. The areas
having a temperature of 20° to 26°C and an average rainfall of 150 cm are suitable for its cultivation.
o Uttar Pradesh with about 1,77,000 '000 tonnes of sugarcane production is the leading state
followed by Maharashtra.
• Coffee: Production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with Karnataka
accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21% and Tamil Nadu (5% of overall production with 8,200
tonnes). Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight
anywhere in the world.
• Ideal climatic conditions to grow coffee are related to temperature and rainfall; temperatures in the range
of 73 °F (23 °C) and 82 °F (28 °C) with rainfall incidence in the range of 60–80 inches (1.5–2.0 m)
followed by a dry spell of 2–3 months suit the Arabica variety. Cold temperatures closer to freezing
conditions are not suitable to grow coffee. Where the rainfall is less than 40 inches (1.0 m), providing
irrigation facilities is essential. In the tropical region of the south Indian hills, these conditions prevail
leading to coffee plantations flourishing in large numbers. Relative humidity for Arabica ranges 70–80%
while for Robusta it ranges 80–90%. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
Q 85.C
• Pervasive computing, also called ubiquitous computing, is the growing trend of embedding
computational capability (generally in the form of microprocessors) into everyday objects to make them
effectively communicate and perform useful tasks in a way that minimizes the end user's need to interact
with computers as computers. Pervasive computing devices are network-connected and constantly
available.
• It is a concept in software engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime
and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using any device, in
any location, and in any format. A user interacts with the computer, which can exist in many different
forms, including laptop computers, tablets and terminals in everyday objects such as a refrigerator or a
pair of glasses.

• The underlying technologies to support ubiquitous computing include Internet, advanced middleware,
operating system, mobile code, sensors, microprocessors, new I/O and user interfaces, computer networks,
mobile protocols, location and positioning, and new materials.
• Pervasive computing is a combination of three technologies, namely:
o Microelectronic technology: This technology gives small powerful device and display with low
energy consumption.
o Digital communication technology: This technology provides higher bandwidth, higher data transfer
rate at lower costs and with worldwide roaming.
o The Internet standardization: This standardization is done through various standardization bodies
and industry to give the framework for combining all components into an interoperable system with
security, service and billing systems.
Q 86.A
• Recent context - US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has described “originalism” as her
legal philosophy.
• About Legal Philosophy of 'Originalism' -It is a legal philosophy which believes that the constitution
should be interpreted the way it was written. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
• This theory prescribes that while resolving disputes, judges should interpret the constitution as it
was understood at the time it was ratified, irrespective of whether they personally agree or disagree
with the outcome of a case decided this way.
• According to originalists, the meaning of the constitution is fixed at the time of its framing, either in the
form of the meaning of the words used, or the intentions of the drafters. The job of the court is to stick to
this original meaning.
• Adherents of originalism believe that social change should be brought about by new laws made by elected
representatives, and not through judicial activism, in which judges make new interpretations of the
constitution.
• Originalism is a theory focused on process, not on substance. A good originalist judge will not hesitate to
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution’s original meaning, regardless of contemporary political
consequences.
• The legal philosophy which is said to be the opposite of originalism is ‘living constitution’ or
‘modernism’. This theory believes that the constitution should be updated with times to encompass
changing societal needs.
Q 87.C
• An ecosystem is a self-regulating and self-sustaining structural and functional unit of the biosphere.
This system depends upon the sun for its energy.
• Ecosystems can be small or large and are placed in nature side by side. There is an exchange of materials
and energy within the ecosystem as well as between adjoining ecosystems. They are all interconnected
and hence, interrelated. The vast network of all interconnected ecosystems constitutes the biosphere.
• It is that part of the earth's terrestrial system - including air, land, and water - in which life develops and
where life processes, in turn, get transformed. It is the life zone of the earth.
• Terms related to ecosystem
o Organism: An organism is a fundamental functional unit in ecology because it interacts directly with
the environment as well as with other organisms, e.g., a rabbit.
o Population: It refers to the organisms of the same species that are in proximity to one another, e.g a
group of rabbits.
o Community: It includes all the populations occupying a given area. An ecological community
consists of various organisms in an area. From a theoretical systems viewpoint, an ecological
community is the aggregate of organisms in groups that eat one another and that are eaten by
one another, and it is a trophic structure made up of trophic compartments (food chain and food
web). The size of a community depends on our scale of reference. We might use the community to
refer to all of the living things in a particular area like a pond or we might restrict our interest to the
fish community or the plant community.
o A biome is a large community of vegetation and wildlife adapted to a specific climate. The five major
types of biomes are aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra, though some of these biomes can be
further divided into more specific categories, such as freshwater, marine, savanna, tropical rainforest,
temperate rainforest, and taiga.

o The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the
deepest root systems of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high
mountaintops.
o The community and the non-living environment together are referred to as an ecological system or
ecosystem, e.g., a pond with fish and plants.
o Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
Q 88.B
• The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a proposed space probe to detect and accurately
measure gravitational waves - tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time - from astronomical sources. LISA
would be the first dedicated space-based gravitational wave detector. It aims to measure gravitational
waves directly by using laser interferometry. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
• Funded by the European Space Agency, LISA will consist of three identical spacecraft that will trail
the Earth in its orbit by about 50 million km (30 million miles). The spacecraft will contain thrusters for
manoeuvring them into an equilateral triangle, with sides of approximately 5 million km (3 million
miles), such that the triangle's centre will be located along the Earth's orbit. By measuring the
transmission of laser signals between the spacecraft, scientists hope to detect and accurately measure
gravity waves.
Q 89.C
• Indica by Megasthenes and Arthashashtra by Kautilya throws valuable light on the administration,
society and economy of Maurya times.
o Chandragupta Maurya was evidently an autocrat who concentrated all power in his hands. A
statement in the Arthashastra mentioned that the king had set a high ideal. Hence statement 1 is not
correct.
o The empire was divided into a number of provinces, and each of these was placed under a
prince who was a scion of the royal dynasty.
o The provinces were divided into still smaller units, and arrangements were made for both rural and
urban administration. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
o Megasthenes states that numerous cities existed in India, but he considered Pataliputra to be the most
important.
o The city was administered by six committees, each of which consisted of five members.
o These committees were entrusted with sanitation, care of foreigners, registration of birth and
death, regulation of weights and measures, and similar other functions. Hence statement 3 is
correct.
Q 90.A
• During the rule of Mughal Empire, Subahdar and Diwan are the two principle officers of the Central
Government. The Subahdar looked after the Nizamat functions i.e., military defence, police
and administration of criminal justice, while the Diwan was the chief financial officer and in charge
of revenue affairs.
• The system of Dual Government was introduced in Bengal by Robert Clive of British East India
Company. It lasted from 1765 to 1772. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Under this system, Diwani powers were carried out by the Company and administrative power was vested
with the Nawab. But in reality Dual system of Government proved a sham, for the East India Company
both Nizamat as well as Diwani powers.
• The East India Company became the real master of Bengal from 1765 (after the Battle of Buxar). The
firman issued by the Shah Alam granted the Diwani functions to the Company in return for an annual
payment of 26 lakh rupees. The Company also controlled Nizamat powers through the right to nominate
the Deputy Subahdar. It held great advantage for the British - they had power without responsibility. They
controlled the finances of the provinces and its army directly and its administration indirectly. By
this arrangement Nawab practically surrendered the Nizamat functions. Hence statement 2 is not
correct.
• The system was abolished by Warren Hastings in 1772 and Bengal was brought under direct control of
the British and the Nawabs remained as the mere pensioners of the East India Company.

Q 91.C
• What is OPGW? – Optical Ground Wire: OPGW stands for Optical Ground Wire. Earlier we used
shield wire/sky wire / Ground Wire for protecting the high voltage phase wires from lightning strikes on
the Transmission Tower. But today, OPGW is used as shield wire /sky wire/ground wire. It is designed to
replace traditional static/shield/earth wires on overhead transmission lines with the added benefit of
containing optical fibres which can be used for telecommunications purposes.
• OPGW serves two purposes:
o One is to protect the high voltage phase wire on the tower from the lightning strikes.
o Another very important function is transmitting data. It is used form data telemetry from Generating
Station to the load dispatch centre. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Construction of OPGW: OPGW is optical fibre composite ground wire. This cable contains a tubular
structure having one or more optical fibre and surrounded by layers of aluminium and steel wires.
This layer of aluminium and steel wires serves to connect the tower to the ground. The optical fibre within
the cable is used for the high-speed data telemetry between the utilities or sold to some third parties for
high-speed fibre interconnection between the cities. For example, POWERGRID with its brand name
‘POWERTEL’ in Telecom business is the only utility in the Country having overhead optic fibre
network using Optical Ground Wire on power transmission lines. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Through this OPGW Network, Telecom Service providers will be able to provide uninterrupted
mobile/Internet services to the people of the state.
• An optical ground wire is also known as an OPGW or, in the IEEE standard, an optical fibre composite
overhead ground wire.
• It is a type of cable that is used in overhead power lines.
Q 92.A
• Critical 'tiger' habitats (CTHs), also known as core areas of tiger reserves—are identified under the
Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), 1972 based on scientific evidence that "such areas are required
to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the
Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers". Hence statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is not
correct.
• The notification of CTH is done by the state government in consultation with the expert committee
constituted for the purpose.
• ‘Inviolate’ is a general term used to indicate no human settlement and usage. This inevitably implies that
establishing CTHs as inviolate areas requires relocation of people living in such areas.
• However, the Section 38V (5) of WLPA, 1972 clearly states: "no Scheduled Tribes or other forest
dwellers shall be resettled or have their rights adversely affected for the purpose of creating
inviolate areas for tiger conservation unless the process of recognition and determination of rights
and acquisition of land or forest rights of the Scheduled Tribes and such other forest-dwelling
persons is complete".
• Under the revised Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger (2008), two options have been given to
people:
• Option-I: Payment of Rs. 10 lakhs per family in case the family opts so, without any
rehabilitation/relocation process by the Forest Department.
• Option-II: Carrying out relocation/rehabilitation by the Forest Department with the following per family
norms out of Rs. 10 lakhs:
o Agricultural land procurement (2 ha.) and development - 35% of the total package
o Settlement of rights - 30% of the total package
o Homestead land and house construction - 20% of the total package
o Incentive - 5% of the total package
o Community facilities (access road, irrigation, drinking water, sanitation, electricity,
telecommunication, community centre, places of worship, cremation ground) - 10% of the total
package
• The cash option has been provided for catering to people who are not interested in resettlement and are
prepared to establish themselves elsewhere under ‘mutually agreed terms and conditions’, as indicated in
the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Q 93.B
• National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is India’s premier R&D institution
responsible for the country’s research activities in the polar and Southern Ocean realms.
• It was established as an autonomous Research and Development Institution of the Ministry of Earth
Sciences in 1998. Hence (b) is the correct answer.

• It is also responsible for the maintenance of the Indian stations in Antarctica (Maitri & Bharati) and the
Arctic (Himadri).
• The Geoscientific Programmes at NCPOR seek to carry out a systematic geoscientific survey of the
Ocean realm around India.
• In the field of the mineral exploration mandate of NCPOR is currently confined to the exploration of gas
hydrate occurrences within the EEZ as well as Multi-metal hydrothermal mineralization in the
Indian ridge area.
Q 94.A
• An RNA vaccine or mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a natural
chemical called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response.
• Conventional vaccines usually contain inactivated disease-causing organisms to stimulate the body’s
immune response. An RNA vaccine consists of an mRNA strand that codes for a disease-specific
antigen. Once the mRNA strand in the vaccine is inside the body’s cells, the cells use the genetic
information to produce the antigen. This antigen is then displayed on the cell surface, where it is
recognised by the immune system. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• A major advantage of RNA vaccines is that RNA can be produced in the laboratory from a DNA
template using readily available materials, less expensively and faster than conventional vaccine
production. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Benefits of mRNA vaccines:
o RNA vaccines are not made with pathogen particles or inactivated pathogen, so are non-infectious.
o Early clinical trial results indicate that these vaccines generate a reliable immune response.
o Production of RNA vaccines is laboratory based, and the process could be standardised and scaled,
allowing quick responses to large outbreaks and epidemics.
Q 95.C
• Fiscal Deficit is the difference between the total income of the government (total taxes and non-debt
capital receipts) and its total expenditure. A fiscal deficit situation occurs when the government’s
expenditure exceeds its income.
• Large fiscal deficit has two bad consequences. First, it leads to excessive Government borrowing from the
market which causes a rise in market interest rate. Second, it causes greater expansion in the money
supply through the process of money multiplier and generates an inflationary situation in the economy.
• Fiscal deficit can be reduced either by increasing government income or by decreasing government
expenditure.
o Disinvestment proceeds bring extra revenue to the government. The government has set a
disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore in the next financial year to bridge the fiscal deficit.
o Taxing agricultural incomes and incomes derived from unorganised industrial and services
sectors would broaden the tax base and increases government revenue. Thus reduces the fiscal
deficit.
o Reducing tax rates under GST further reduces the income of the government, thus to reduce
fiscal deficit government may increase taxes under GST.
• Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.
Q 96.B
• Clouds: Cloud is a mass of minute water droplets or tiny crystals of ice formed by the condensation of the
water vapour in free air at considerable elevations. As the clouds are formed at some height over the
surface of the earth, they take various shapes. According to their height, expanse, density and
transparency or opaqueness clouds are grouped under four types:
o Cirrus: Cirrus clouds are formed at high altitudes (8,000 - 12,000m). They are thin and detached
clouds having a feathery appearance. They are always white in colour. Hence pair 1 is not correctly
matched.
o Cumulus: Cumulus clouds look like cotton wool. They are generally formed at a height of 4,000 -
7,000 m. They exist in patches and can be seen scattered here and there. They have a flat base. Hence
pair 2 is not correctly matched.
o Stratus: As their name implies, these are layered clouds covering large portions of the sky. These
clouds are generally formed either due to loss of heat or the mixing of air masses with different
temperatures.
o Nimbus: Nimbus clouds are black or dark gray. They form at middle levels or very near to the
surface. of the earth. These are extremely dense and opaque to the rays of the sun. Sometimes, the
clouds are so low that they seem to touch the ground. Nimbus clouds are shapeless masses of thick
vapour. Hence pair 3 is not correctly matched.

• A combination of these four basic types can give rise to the following types of clouds:
o high clouds – cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus;
o middle clouds – altostratus and altocumulus;
o low clouds – stratocumulus and nimbostratus and
o clouds with extensive vertical development – cumulus and cumulonimbus.
Q 97.D
• NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA)
technology developed to enable a wide range of new IoT devices and services. It is a wireless
communication standard for the Internet of Things (IoT). NB-IoT belongs to the category of low-power
wide-area networks (LPWAN), enabling to connect devices that need small amounts of data, low
bandwidth, and long battery life. In NB-IoT applications, typically small data volume amounts need to be
infrequently transmitted. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• NB-IoT significantly improves the power consumption of user devices, system capacity and spectrum
efficiency, especially in deep coverage. Battery life of more than 10 years can be supported for a wide
range of use cases. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• New physical layer signals and channels are designed to meet the demanding requirement of extended
coverage – rural and deep indoors – and ultra-low device complexity. Initial cost of the NB-IoT modules
is expected to be comparable to GSM/GPRS. The underlying technology is however much simpler than
today’s GSM/GPRS and its cost is expected to decrease rapidly as demand increases.
• Supported by all major mobile equipment, chipset and module manufacturers, NB-IoT can co-exist with
2G, 3G, and 4G mobile networks. It also benefits from all the security and privacy features of mobile
networks, such as support for user identity confidentiality, entity authentication, confidentiality, data
integrity, and mobile equipment identification.
• Recently BSNL, in partnership with Skylo, has introduced worlds' first, satellite-based narrowband-
IoT network in India. This new ‘Made in India’ Solution, which is indigenously developed by Skylo,
will connect with BSNLs satellite- ground infrastructure and provide PAN-India coverage, including
Indian seas. The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of
India, from Kashmir &Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian
seas. Hence statement 3 is correct.
Q 98.D
• E-waste refers to all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been
discarded by its owner as waste without the intent of re-use.
• According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020 Report, in 2019, the world generated 53.6 Mt of e-
waste, an average of 7.3 kg per capita, with a 21% increase in just 5 years. It will increase by 38%
between 2020 and 2030.
o Asia generated the highest quantity followed by the Americas and Europe. Europe ranked first
worldwide in terms of e-waste generation per capita with 16.2 kg per capita.
o According to Global E-waste Monitor 2020, India is the third-largest electronic waste generator
in the world after China and the USA. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• A report on e-waste presented by the United Nations (UN) in World Economic Forum on January 24,
2019, points out that the waste stream reached 48.5 MT in 2018 and the figure is expected to double if
nothing changes.
• Only 20 per cent of global e-waste is recycled. The UN report indicates that due to poor extraction
techniques, the total recovery rate of cobalt (the metal which is in great demand for laptop, smartphone
and electric car batteries) from e-waste is only 30 per cent. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• In 2016-17, India treated only 0.036 MT of its e-waste. About 95 per cent of India’s e-waste is
recycled in the informal sector and in a crude manner. The report cites that one recycler in China
already produces more cobalt (by recycling) than what the country mines in one year. Recycled metals are
also 2 to 10 times more energy-efficient than metals smelted from virgin ore.
• E-Waste Management in India:
• The government passed the first law on e-waste management in 2011, based on Extended Producer
Responsibility
o It put the onus on the producer for the management of the final stages of the life of its product, in an
eco-friendly way, by creating certain norms in tandem with state pollution control boards. Hence
• Thereafter, the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 were enacted in supersession of the 2011 Rules.
o A manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) were also
brought under the ambit of these Rules.

o PRO is a professional organization authorized or financed collectively or individually by producers,
which can take the responsibility for collection and channelization of e-waste generated from their
products to ensure environmentally sound management.
• E-Waste (Management) Amendment Rules, 2018 objective is to channelize the e-waste generated in the
country towards authorized dismantlers and recyclers in order to further formalize the e-waste recycling
sector.
• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, as a part of the Digital India campaign, has
launched the GREENE initiative. The programme aims to create effective awareness in various levels
(of society) to reduce the adverse impact on the environment and health arising out of the polluting
technologies used in recycling e-waste in the unorganized sector.
Q 99.A
• The Constitution, under Sixth Schedule, contains special provisions for the administration of tribal areas
in the four north-eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• The various features of administration contained in the Sixth Schedule are as follows:
o The tribal areas in the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram have been constituted
as autonomous districts councils. Schedule Six seeks to safeguard the rights of the tribal
population through the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC). ADCs are bodies
representing a district to which the Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy within the
state legislature.
o The governor is empowered to organise and re-organise the autonomous districts.
o The ADCs are empowered with civil and judicial powers, can constitute village courts within their
jurisdiction to hear trial of cases involving the tribes. Governors of states that fall under the Sixth
Schedule specifies the jurisdiction of high courts for each of these cases.
o The district council can establish, construct or manage primary schools, dispensaries, markets, ferries,
fisheries, roads and so on in the district. It can also make regulations for the control of money lending
and trading by non-tribals. But, such regulations require the assent of the governor.
o The district and regional councils are empowered to assess and collect land revenue and to impose
certain specified taxes.
o The acts of Parliament or the state legislature do not apply to autonomous districts and autonomous
regions or apply with specified modifications and exceptions
• The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution provides for the establishment of a tribes advisory council to
advise on welfare and advancement of the scheduled tribes. It is to consist of 20 members, three-
fourths of whom are to be the representatives of the scheduled tribes in the state legislative
assembly. Hence, option (a) is correct.
Q 100.C
• Warehouse Receipts are documents issued by warehouses to depositors against the commodities deposited
in the warehouses, for which the warehouse is the bailee.
• Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 (WDR Act) defines a "negotiable warehouse
receipt" to mean a warehouse receipt under which the goods represented therein are deliverable to the
depositor or order, the endorsement of which has the effect of the transfer of goods represented thereby
and the endorsee for which takes a good title;”
• NWRs can be traded, sold, swapped and used as collateral to support borrowing. Hence, statement
2 is not correct.
• Benefits of NWRs:
o NWRs issued by registered warehouses help farmers to seek loans from banks against NWRs and this
way NWRs become a prime tool of trade. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
o NWRs provide farmers with an instrument that allows them to extend the sales period of modestly
perishable products well beyond the harvesting season.
o When delivering the product to an accredited warehouse, the farmer obtains a Warehouse Receipt that
can be used as collateral for short-term borrowing to obtain working capital. That way, the farmer
does not need to sell the product immediately to ease cash constraints.
• Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) has notified 123 agricultural
commodities including cereals, pulses, oil seeds, spices, rubber, tobacco, coffee etc for issuing
negotiable warehouse receipts and also 26 horticultural commodities for cold storage. Hence,
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2. Which of the following may be the cause of

given below. of gamete cells.

(d) United States of America (d) 1, 2 and 3

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consider noise as a pollutant? Park, consider the following statements:

1. Water Prevention and Control of 1. South India’s highest peak ‘Anamudi’ is

Pollution Act, 1974 situated in this park.

7. Consider the following statements with (b) 2, 3 and 4 only

reference to the Information Technology (c) 1, 3 and 4 only

Agreement (ITA): (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

1. It is one of the significant tariff

(a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only (b) 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only (c) 1 and 2 only

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22. With reference to the National Investigation (d) Neither 1 nor 2

is not directly linked to exports. (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

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47. The water footprint measures the amount of

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50. In the context of economy, Potential GDP 3. Urban Quality : UN-Habitat

55. Which of the following statements is/are global Lithium reserves.

Land Revenue Features 1. Markets and Fairs

State's share (b) It is the fully reusable launch vehicle

62. Which of the following mechanisms can be

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3. Rhine river mentioned in the constitution.

84. Consider the following pairs:

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95. Due to the pandemic, the country's fiscal network in India.

consider the following statements:

1. Cirrus : Cotton-shaped clouds that waste is recycled.

100. Consider the following statements with

Copyright © by Vision IAS

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ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS

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