UPSC Prelims 2021 Question Paper with Answers

Statement 1 is not correct: The ICC considered percentage of points earned from the contested matches in deciding the finalists of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC), which had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the current regulations WTC league standings would be determined by the percentage of points (PCT) earned by teams. PCT is the percentage of points won out of the total number of points contested by each team. Statement 2 is not correct: New Zealand finished in the second spot with 70 percentage of points, including seven wins and four loses, while England was at 4th with 61. percentage of points, including 11 wins and 7 losses.

Statement 1 is not correct: The Olympic motto was amended to “faster, higher, stronger - together” during the International Olympic Committee’s session in July 2021. The word “together” after a hyphen has been added to the earlier motto, which was made up of three Latin words — Citius, Altius, Fortius, translating to “Faster Higher Stronger” in English.

Statement 2 is correct: Under new IOC rules first introduced for the Tokyo Games, Olympic host cities can hand-pick sports and propose them for inclusion in those Games if they are popular in that country and add to the Games appeal. The Tokyo Olympics saw six new sports that were not on the programme in Rio, out of which four made their debut, along with repackaged disciplines and the introduction of the mixed team events in traditional sports.

Baseball and softball, surfing, skateboarding, karate and sports climbing will become part of the Olympic roster in Tokyo.

Additionally, the Tokyo Olympics will also feature several existing sports in new forms in basketball and cycling.

Statement 1 is correct: American golfer Tiger Woods was the first winner of this award in 2000.

Statement 2 is not correct: Tennis players dominate the winners list, with eleven awards, while athletes and Formula One drivers have won four times, and golfers twice.

Statement 3 is correct: In 2018 Tennis legend Roger Federer became the most decorated winner in the history of Laureus World Sports Awards after his sixth award.

Statement 1 is not correct and statement 2 is correct: Hyderabad is the only city from India to have been recognised as a 2020 Tree City of the World by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for its commitment to growing and maintaining urban forests.

Statement 1 is not correct: Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri “do not amount to titles within the meaning of Article 18(1) of the Constitution and thus are not to be used as prefixes or suffixes to the name of the recipient in any manner whatsoever”.

Statement 2 is not correct: Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, is announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day except for brief interruption(s) during the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997.

Statement 3 is not correct: Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. It is treated on a different footing from Padma Award. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President of India. No formal recommendations for Bharat Ratna are necessary. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. Government has conferred Bharat Ratna Award on 45 persons till date.

Some of the popular languages spoken by the tribes of India are as follows: Bhatri, Bhilli, Halbi, Ho, Kui etc.

Halabi is spoken by over 5.25 Lakh people in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It belongs to the group of Indo Aryan Tribal languages.

Important Dravidian Tribal languages are Kolami, Kui, Konda, Koya, Gondi, Oraon/Kurukh, Parji. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Constitutionalism is a doctrine in which a government’s authority is determined by a body of laws or constitution. Although constitutionalism or constitutional government is sometimes regarded as limited government. It is an effort to prevent arbitrary government.

Hence, the government is limited by the terms of the constitution.

So, option (d) is the correct answer.

As this right is mentioned in constitution, it is a constitutional and legal right. So, option (d) is incorrect.

As the original preamble, during 26th January-1950, constitutional status of India was a “Sovereign Democratic Republic.” Later, with 42nd Constitutional Amendment two more words were added to constitutional status of India, i.e., “Socialist and Secular.”

Thus, option (b) is the correct answer.

According to Article 300A of the Indian Constitution, “no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law.” Since, the article says that no person shall be deprived, so the statement, “legal rights are available to citizens only”, is incorrect. Thus, option (a) is incorrect and option (b) is correct.

This article was inserted in the Indian Constitution by 44th constitutional amendment. Before that, Right to property was a fundamental right under Article 31. Thus, option (c) is incorrect.

In Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) of the constitution, Article 39(c) says that, “the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment.”

From the above statement, we can say that concentration of wealth violates DPSP. So, option (B) is the correct answer.

Committed judiciary i.e. a judiciary committed to the policies of the government. Such judiciary will never go against the governments policies. Therefore, will not be able to protect the liberty. So, option (a) is not correct.

Centralization of power refers to a setup in which the decision- making powers are concentrated in a few leaders at the top of the organizational structure. Decisions are made at the top and communicated to lower-level for implementation. This leads to authoritarian tendencies, impacting the liberty. So, option (b) is also not correct.

Elected government is representative of the people. It is expected to ensure liberty. This is not the best safeguard to ensure liberty.

Separation of power (executive, legislature and judiciary) checks the abuse of power by other organs. So, this helps in checking the authoritarian tendencies. This is the best safeguard to safeguard liberty. So, option (d) is the correct answer.

In India, we have single citizenship, i.e., a person can have only one citizenship. Also, at a particular time, a person can have only one domicile. Thus, statement 1 is correct.

Any citizen (Citizen by birth or Naturalised Citizen) can become the Head of State, i.e., the President, in India. So, statement 2 is not correct.

A foreigner once granted the citizenship can be deprived of the citizenship under circumstances like registration is done by fraud, person is disloyal towards constitution, voluntarily acquires citizenship of other country, etc. So, statement 3 is not correct.

Article 128: Chief Justice of India may at any time, with the previous consent of the president, request any person who has held the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the Federal Court or who has held the office of a Judge of a High Court and is duly qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Thus, statement 1 is correct.

Article 215: Every High Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself. As a court of record, a High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement (Pottakalathil Ramakrishnan v. Thahsildar, Tirur &ors.). Thus, statement 2 is also correct.

State is a political organization of society. The state is a form of human association distinguished from other social groups based on its purpose of formation.

Following are the elements of a state:

1) People, i.e. the community of persons permanently living there.

2) Government

3) Territory: Demarcated boundary that separates one state from the other.

4) Sovereignty: It has independent say in all domestic and external decision making.

Thus, the 1st option is the correct answer.

The federal character of the Indian Polity is indicated by following features: Written Constitution, Supremacy of the Constitution, Rigid Constitution, Division of Powers, Independent Judiciary, Bicameral Legislature, Dual Government Polity, etc.

So, option (A) is the correct answer.

Article 14 ensures that all citizens are equal and that no person shall be discriminated on the basis of sex, religion, race or place of birth. It ensures that there is a separation of power between the three wings of the government and the executive. By these methods, the constitution fulfils all the requirements of Dicey’s theory to be recognized as a country following the Rule of Law.

Thus, a legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority, an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of application of law, will violate Rule of law as prescribed under Article 14. So, option (a) is correct answer.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal agency at the national level to ensure effective implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

An Act to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded. It provides a framework for recording the forest rights so vested and the nature of evidence required for such recognition and vesting in respect of forest land.

Parole is a system of releasing a prisoner with suspension of the sentence. The release is conditional, usually subject to behaviour, and requires periodic reporting to the authorities for a set period of time. Parole is considered a reformative process. The provision (along with furlough) was introduced with a view to humanising the prison system. It is not a matter of right. Hence statement 1 is not correct. In India, parole (as well as furlough) are covered under The Prisons Act of 1894. Prisoners convicted of multiple murders or under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are not eligible for parole. Since prisons is a State subject in the Constitution, the Prisons Act of each state government defines the rules under which parole is granted in that state. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Police Custody means that police has the physical custody of the accused while Judicial Custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned Magistrate. In former, the accused is lodged in police station lockup while in latter, it is the jail. Thus, in judicial custody, the accused in not locked up in police station but in jail. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

During Judicial Custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect. However, the court may allow the interrogations to be conducted if it opines the interrogation being necessary under the facts produced before the court. Hence statement 2 is correct.

‘Right to the City’ is an agreed human right. The Right to the City is the right of all inhabitants, present and future, to occupy, use, and produce just, inclusive, and sustainable cities, defined as a common good essential to the quality of life. Also, the UN- Habitat monitors the commitments made by each country in this regard. Hence statement 1 is correct.

Right to the city means right to reclaim public spaces, public participation in the city and more importantly right to housing and basic amenities. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Here, the State can deny any public service or facility to the unauthorized colonies in the city. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

According to Section 33 of Representation of People Act 1951, “a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election, in the case of a general election to the House of the People, from more than two Parliamentary constituencies.” Hence statement 1 is not correct.

In 1991 Lok Sabha Election, Shri Devi Lal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies. Hence statement 2 is correct.

There is no such provision in the rules like, “if a candidate contests in one Lok Sabha election from many constituencies, his/her party should bear the cost of bye- elections to the constituencies vacated by him/her in the event of him/her winning in all the constituencies.” Hence statement 3 is not correct.

In K. S. Puttaswamy Case (2017), Supreme Court of India has held that right to privacy is a Fundamental Right and it is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

The Court reasoned that privacy is an incident of fundamental freedom or liberty guaranteed under Article 21. The Court overruled M.P. Sharma, and Kharak Singh judgements, in so far as the latter did not expressly recognize the right to privacy.

1st Administrative reforms committee suggested that a minister and a secretary be designated solely for pursing the subject of administrative reform and promoting it. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

In 1970, the Department of Personnel was constituted on the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966, and this was placed under the charge of Cabinet Secretariat. In 1985, it was placed under the overall charge of the Prime Minister assisted by a Minister of State.

Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Britain follows “Parliamentary Sovereignty”, i.e., Parliament is supreme. But, India follows constitutional government where the power of Parliament to legislate is limited by the constitution.

Hence statement 1 is correct.

The provision for a Constitution bench has been provided in the Constitution of India under Article 143 and Article 145(3). It is the Chief Justice of India who is constitutionally authorized to constitute a constitution bench and refer cases to it. A constitution bench consists of at least five or more judges of the court which is set up to decide substantial questions of law with regard to the interpretation of the constitution in a case. Hence statement 2 is correct.

The only thing absolute in this universe according to Einstein is the speed of light, rest everything is relative. Light travels at the speed of about 300,000 km per second and it is always same throughout the universe. A light- year is the distance light travels in one Earth year. On the scale of the universe, measuring distances in miles or kilometers doesn’t cut it therefore, astronomers measure the distances of stars and other astronomical distances in the time it takes for light to travel to us. Hence option (d) is the correct option.

Triclosan is used as antimicrobial chemicals to increase the shelf life of consumer products. In a recent study it is found that triclosan can cause neurotoxic effects and damage the neurons. It is added to personal care products, such as hand soaps and cosmetics, and materials ranging from athletic clothing to food packaging. US Food and Drug Administration have imposed a partial ban on its use. However, India lacks any such regulation so far on the use of triclosan-based products. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate, a hard, clear plastic, which is used in many consumer products. BPA is also found in epoxy resins, which act as a protective lining on the inside of some metal-based food and beverage cans. Bisphenol A can leach into food from the protective internal epoxy resin coatings of canned foods and from consumer products such as polycarbonate tableware, food storage containers, water bottles, and baby bottles. The degree to which BPA leaches from polycarbonate bottles into liquid may depend more on the temperature of the liquid or bottle, than the age of the container. BPA can also be found in breast milk. One reason people may be concerned about BPA is because human exposure to BPA is widespread. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

Option (d) is correct: On the surface of human cells is an enzyme called ACE2, which acts as the receptor that enables SARS-CoV2 to launch its attack. The virus’s spike protein binds to the receptor, then fuses with the cell surface, and releases its genetic material (RNA in the case of SARS- CoV2) into the cell. The coronavirus that causes SARS, called SARS-CoV, uses the same ACE2 receptor to invade a cell.

Sodium vapor lights are omnidirectional. Omnidirectional lights produce light in 360 degrees. This is a large system inefficiency because at least half of the light needs to be reflected and redirected to the desired area being illuminated.

Whereas, LEDs are extremely energy efficient relative to every other commercially available lighting technology. There are several reasons for this to include the fact they waste very little energy in the form of infrared radiation (much different than most conventional lights to include fluorescent lights), and they emit light directionally (over 180 degrees versus 360 degrees which means there are far fewer losses from the need to redirect or reflect light). Hence, statement 1 is correct.

In some areas (e.g. lifespan) sodium lamps are drastically inferior to LEDs. The extremely low maintenance and replacement costs with LEDs is actually a major cost benefit over the long term. LED lifespan can be greater than 100,000 hours, i.e more than 4 times than sodium lamps. Hence, statement 2 is not correct. Sodium-based lamps produce visible light directly but also in a very narrow frequency range (yellow-orange) so that objects of other colors appears as shades of grey. Such light is referred to as monochromatic.

Sodium lamps are coated with indium tin oxide which permits visible light to exit but infrared radiation (heat) to be reflected back. Whereas a very broad spectrum of color rendering index (CRI) is available with LEDs ranging generally from 65-95. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Option (a) is correct: Water is called the universal solvent since it is capable of dissolving a variety of different substances more than any other liquid. Water can dissolve more substances than any other compound because of its polar nature.

The water molecules because of their composition – hydrogen with a positive charge on one side and oxygen with a negative charge on another, are able to attract other molecules easily.

Adenoviruses are medium-sized (90–100 nm), non-enveloped, icosahedral viruses composed of a nucleocapsid and a linear, double- stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome. Viruses of the family Adenoviridae infect vertebrates, including humans.

In a double stranded RNA form, retroviruses infect a host cell with their genome, and then are reverse transcribed into double stranded DNA, with the DNA then integrated into the home cell genome. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cell’s DNA. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

Adenoviruses are common viruses that cause a range of illness. They can cause cold-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, and pink eye (conjunctivitis).

HIV is called a retrovirus because it works in a back-to-front way. Unlike other viruses, retroviruses store their genetic information using RNA instead of DNA, meaning they need to ‘make’ DNA when they enter a human cell in order to make new copies of themselves. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Options 1 and 2 are correct: Microbes like bacteria and many fungi can be grown on nutritive media to form colonies that can be seen with the naked eyes. Such cultures are useful in studies on micro-organisms.

Option 3 is not correct: Unlike bacteria, many of which can be grown on an artificial nutrient medium, viruses require a living host cell for replication. Infected host cells (eukaryotic or prokaryotic) can be cultured and grown, and then the growth medium can be harvested as a source of virus.

Inside a pressure cooker the boiling point is increased by increasing the pressure. Hence cooking is faster. Therefore the temperature at which food is cooked is affected by the pressure and not temperature of the flame. This can also be understood by understanding why cooking is difficult on hills.

At high altitudes, atmospheric pressure is lower, reducing the boiling point of water as compared to that at sea level.

Bollgard I Bt cotton (single-gene technology) is India’s first biotech crop technology approved for commercialization in India in 2002, followed by Bollgard II – double-gene technology in mid- 2006, by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the Indian regulatory body for biotech crops.

Bollgard cotton provides in-built protection for cotton against destructive American Bollworm Heliothis Armigera infestations, and contains an insecticidal protein from a naturally occurring soil microorganism, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Bollgard II technology contains a superior double-gene technology - Cry1Ac and Cry 2Ab which provides protection against bollworms and Spodoptera caterpillar, leading to better boll retention, maximum yield, lower pesticides costs, and protection against insect resistance. Both, Bollgard II and Bollgard insect-protected cotton are widely planted around the world as an environmentally friendly way of controlling bollworms.

Hence option (b) is the correct option.

Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) is a new form of reproductive invitro fertilization (IVF) which works on the principle of replacing a women’s abnormal mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) with the donor’s healthy one.

Mitochondrial donation can be performed either prior to or shortly after fertilisation. In both cases, this is before the fertilized egg becomes an embryo. MRT include different techniques like spindles transfer (ST), pronuclear transfer (PNT) or polar body transfer (PBT).

The development of healthy baby free from genetic disorders and to terminate the lethal mitochondrial disorders are the chief motive of this technique. In nearly all mammals, this mitochondrial genome is inherited exclusively from the mother, and transmission of paternal mitochondria or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has not been convincingly demonstrated in humans. Hence both statements 1 and 2 are correct.

The recombinant subunit vaccine causes the immune response of the human body by directly injecting the subunit of the pathogen into the body.

This method is generally of low immunogenicity and can only induce the humoral immune response of the human body. Therefore, to simultaneously induce the humoral and cellular immune processes of the human body and improve the immunogenicity of vaccines, several technical platforms have been developed to directly produce antigen proteins in the human body.

The recombinant virus vector vaccine is one of the important emerging technologies.

Recombinant vector vaccines are live replicating viruses that are engineered to carry extra genes derived from a pathogen—and these extra genes produce proteins against which we want to generate immunity. Hence statement 1 is correct.

It exposes the body to proteins made by a virus or bacteria, are often made by using weakened or inactive versions of that virus or bacteria. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Black soils are mineral soils which have a black surface horizon, enriched with organic carbon that is at least 25 cm deep. Black soil is formed due to the weathering or erosion of the basalt rocks. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Basalt is an aphanitic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron exposed at or very near the surface.

The black soil in India is found in the states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Moringa has a straight trunk with cork-like bark. Depending on the species and climate, Moringa trees may be evergreen or semi- deciduous. Moringaceae is a member of the mustard-oil plants, the great group of families that includes the mustards, the capers, the papayas etc. It does not fix nitrogen. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Tamarind is native to tropical Africa. It is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible fruit, the sweet and sour pulp of which is extensively used in foods, beverages, and traditional medicines. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Tamarind (with seeds) is classified as minor forest produce. It s also covered under Minimum Support Price Scheme for NTFP. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

India produces 1.2-2 million tonne moringa every year making it the largest producer of the crop in the world. The country is also the largest moringa exporter and meets 80 per cent of its world demand.

Last year China procured huge quantity of moringa seeds from India at Rs 3,000 per kg while the usual cost is between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 per kg.

Tamarind seed is highly nutritious and contains upto 17-20 percent protein. Chemical called Pectin extracted from the seed is added in bakery products. Tamarind is exported from India to about 60 countries. Karnataka is the largest producer of tamarind in the country. About 18 percent of the national l production is from Kerala and half of this is from Palakkad district. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Tamarind seed oil biodiesel possesses excellent combustion properties and can be sanctioned for its adoption in engine.

Moreover, the tamarind seed oil biodiesel is environment-friendly and can contribute in the reduction of carbon emission when used as an engine fuel.

Moringa seed oil exhibit a high oxidative stability and its thermal stability exceeds other oil crops like sunflower oil, soybean oil amongst others. Biodiesel produced from M. oleifera seed oil exhibit enhanced oxidative ability, high cloud point and a higher cetane number of approximately 67 than for most biodiesels. Hence, statement 5 is correct.

Savanna ecosystems are heterogeneous environments characterized by the presence of trees, bushes, and grasses.

Nutrient and soil moisture availability are usually the limiting factors affecting the biomass growth in savannas, and overall biomass is impacted by competition, fire, grazing, and harvesting.

Savanna grassland soils are not very fertile. The nutrients in the soil are found near the surface as they come from decayed organic matter (vegetation) from the previous growing season. This organic matter decays rapidly due to the high temperatures

In the parched grasslands and savannas, or drylands, of Africa, South America and Asia, termite mounds store nutrients and moisture and via internal tunnels, allow water to better penetrate the soil. Dirt mounds the insects build sustain significantly more shrubs, fruit-bearing trees, bugs, and animals, such as elephants, cheetahs, and zebras, than do surrounding areas.

Herbivory and burrowing activities can reduce overall plant biomass associated with burrowing mammal colonies, but the higher levels of soil nutrients and greater degree of water infiltration that occurs around their mounds can result in elevated foliar nutrient concentrations and greater plant biomass surrounding their burrows.

In general, savannas grow in tropical regions 8° to 20° from the Equator. Conditions are warm to hot in all seasons, but significant rainfall occurs for only a few months each year—about October to March in the Southern Hemisphere and April to September in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to limited rainfall, it is characterized by an open tree canopy.

The tropical rainforest is a hot, moist biome found near Earth’s equator. The hot and humid conditions make tropical rainforests an ideal environment for bacteria and other microorganisms. Because these organisms remain active throughout the year, they quickly decompose matter on the forest floor. In other biomes, such as the deciduous forest, the decomposition of leaf litter adds nutrients to the soil. But in the tropical rainforest, plants grow so fast that they rapidly consume the nutrients from the decomposed leaf litter. As a result, most of the nutrients are contained in the trees and other plants rather than in the soil. Most nutrients that are absorbed into the soil are leached out by the abundant rainfall, which leaves the soil infertile and acidic.

Epiphytes - these are plants which live on the branches of trees high up in the canopy. They get their nutrients from the air and water, not from the soil. Epiphytes are found throughout rainforests.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach that helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security in a changing climate.

In Climate-Smart Villages, farmers and researchers test and implement portfolios of climate- smart agricultural practices, technologies, and services, which can be combined together to make the best out of an increasingly difficult situation.

Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is an international programme to address the increasing challenge of global warming and declining food security on agricultural practices, policies and measures through a strategic collaboration between CGIAR and Future Earth. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security headquartered in France.

Hence, statement 2 is correct. CCAFS Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) have successfully combined global knowledge with local action to help farmers sustainably produce more food, while curbing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience to climate change. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Center, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub- Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.

Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Mid-ocean surface temperatures vary with latitude in response to the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing longwave radiation. There is an excess of incoming solar radiation at latitudes less than approximately 45° and an excess of radiation loss at latitudes higher than approximately 45°.

The northward displacement of warm water to higher latitudes by the Gulf Stream of the North Atlantic and the Kuroshio (Japan Current) of the North Pacific creates sharp changes in temperature along the current boundaries or thermal fronts, where these northward-moving flows meet colder water flowing southward from higher latitudes.

At low latitudes the trade winds act to move water away from the lee coasts of the landmasses to produce areas of coastal upwelling of water from depth and reduce surface temperatures.

Hence option (c) is correct.

It takes about 210 litres of water to produce 1 kg of sugar cane.

Water footprint of sunflower is 7– 9 litre per kg. Millets are sown in dry areas with minimal irrigation. Red gram requires 35 to 40 cm water, during its entire growth period. Optimum moisture is required during budding, flowering, and pod formation stages. As Red gram is a rain-fed crop grown in assured rainfall areas, usually it does not need any irrigation. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

The Global Ocean Commission was an international initiative between 2013 and 2016 to raise awareness, and promote action to address, the degradation of the ocean and help restore it to full health and productivity. Licences for seabed exploration and mining in international waters are granted by International Seabed Authority (ISA). Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

India has been exploring deep sea for minerals since 1981. in 2017, India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) have been extended by five years. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The deep seabed contains two potential sources for rare earth elements: polymetallic nodules which typically contain manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earth minerals; and sea- floor hydrothermal vents which pump out rare-earth elements dissolved in their hot fluids.

Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Nagavali River forms a prime river of north eastern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha. The origin of Nagavali River lies in the eastern slopes of the Eastern Ghats near Lakhbahal, located at an altitude of 1,300 metres in the Kalahandi district of the Indian state Odisha. Hence option 2 is correct.

Vamsadhara river rises in the Eastern Ghats on the border Kalahandi district and Rayagada district of Odisha. It runs for a distance of about 254 kilometers, where it joins the Bay of Bengal at Kalingapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Hence option 4 is correct.

Brahmani is a major seasonal river in the Odisha state of eastern India. The Brahmani is formed by the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers near the major industrial town of Rourkela. The Sankh has its origins near the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border.

The South Koel too arises in Jharkhand, near Lohardaga, on the other side of a watershed that also gives rise to the Damodar River. Both of these sources are in the Chota Nagpur Plateau. Hence, option 1 is not correct.

Subarnarekha River flows through the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. After originating near Ranchi it traverses a long distance through Ranchi and East Singhbhum.

Thereafter, it flows for shorter distances through West Bengal and Odisha before joining the Bay of Bengal. Hence, option 3 is not correct.

Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are names of towns with or near saline lakes. Didwana is a town in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. It also has a famous Didwana salt-water lake of Rajasthan. Kuchaman lake occupies an area of about 8.5 sq. kms in Nagaur District of Rajasthan.

The Indus originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range in Tibet near Lake Manasarovar. It follows a north- westerly course through Tibet. It enters Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir. The main tributaries of the Indus in India are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Jhelum and Ravi join Chenab, Beas joins Sutlej, and then Sutlej and Chenab join to form Panjnad, 10 miles north of Uch Sharif in Muzaffar Garh district. The combined stream runs southwest for approximately 44 miles and joins the Indus River at Mithankot.

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. Palm oil tree is native to Africa. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Our palm oil trees are grown in Malaysia and Indonesia, which represents 85% of the world’s palm oil supply.

Palm oil is a vegetable oil used in cosmetics for its moisturising and texturising properties.

Palm oil is used in lipstick as it holds color well, doesn’t melt at high temperatures, and has a smooth application and virtually no taste.

Also, palm oil makes perfumed and deodorants more effective and helps the fragrance to last longer. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Palm oil is considered as an alternative and promising feedstock to further diversified the biodiesel production in the global market. Palm oil contains various phytonutrients that can be separated out prior to biodiesel production. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Permaculture is, amongst others, an approach to land management that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole systems thinking. It uses these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, rewilding, and community resilience.

Permaculture discourages monoculture and serves to open up the possibility of growing a wide range of food grains, fruits and vegetables and thereby expanding the food basket; thus permaculture also contributes to community health. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Application of permaculture methods and introducing permaculture techniques like swales, natural mulching, rainfall harvesting, legume cultivation, have a clear role in improving soil properties, increasing soil organic matter content and reducing soil salinity. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Due to its focus on water conservation and region specific crops, it is very much suitable for arid and semi arid regions. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Mulch is a material placed on the soil surface to maintain moisture, reduce weed growth, mitigate soil erosion and improve soil conditions. Mulching can help to improve crop yield and optimise water use which is an essential component of permaculture.

Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Statement 1 is not correct:

Ekushe February, or simply

“Ekushe”, which is “The 21st” in Bangla, commemorates the day in 1952 when students of the University of Dhaka launched a nationwide protest against the imposition of Urdu on the people of what was then East Pakistan. In 1999, in recognition of the Bengali people’s struggle for their language and culture, UNESCO announced that February 21 would be observed worldwide as International Mother Language Day.

Statement 2 is correct: During the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on 23 February 1948, some of the government officials stated that only Urdu or English could be spoken at the Assembly, excluding Bengali. Dhirendrana Datta, a representative from the East Pakistan Congress Party, requested a motion to include Bengali at the Assembly. The Chief Minister of East Pakistan, West Pakistani leaders, and the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan opposed the motion.

The most prominent examples of the rock-cut architecture of this period are found at Ajanta and Bagh (Huntington, 1985: 239–74). The spectacular Buddhist site of Ajanta consists of several caves nestled in a curving section of the Sahyadri hills, overlooking the Waghora river. There are 28 caves at Ajanta. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

Nizamat of Arcot was established by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was the legal dependency of the Nizam of Hyderabad, it did not emerge from the

Hyderabad state. Hence statement 1 is not correct. Mysore was a small feudatory kingdom under the Vijayanagar Empire. After Vijayanagar fell in 1565, the ruling dynasty of Wodeyars asserted their independence and the Raja Wodeyar ascended the throne in 1578. The capital moved from Mysore to Srirangapatnam in 1610. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Several states emerged as a result of the decline of the Mughal Empire. Some of them are Awadh, Bengal, Rohilkhand. The states of Rohilakhand and the kingdom of the Bangash

Pathans were a fall out of the Afghan migration into India. Large scale immigration of Afghans into India took place in mid-18th century because of political and economic turmoil in Afghanistan. Ali Muhammad Khan took advantage of the collapse of authority in north India following Nadir Shah’s invasion, to set up a petty kingdom, Rohilakhand.

Ahmad Shah Durrani was the founder of the state of Afghanistan and ruler of an empire that extended from the Amu Darya to the Indian Ocean and from Khorâsân into Kashmir, the Punjab, and Sindh. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

The British had initially decided to hold public trials of several hundreds of INA prisoners besides dismissing them from service and detaining without trial around 7,000 of them. They compounded the folly by holding the first trial at the Red Fort in Delhi in November 1945 and putting on dock together three INA members- a Hindu, Prem Kumar Sehgal, a Muslim, Shah Nawaz Khan, and a Sikh, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

With encouragement from and participation of like-minded social reformers like Ramgopal Ghosh, Raja Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee and Pandit Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, Bethune established Kolkata’s first school for girls in 1849 called the Hindu Female School. Bethune passed away in 1851.

In 1856, the Government took charge of the Hindu Female School, later renamed as Bethune School. The Managing Committee of the school was then formed and Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, the celebrated social reformer responsible for the eradication of the custom of Sati and a relentless supporter of women’s emancipation was made the Secretary.

Using the methods of Sher Shah, Akbar organised his empire into administrative units independently of existing local usage. Groups of villages formed parganas, then sarkars, and finally subahs. Hence the correct order is Paragana-Sarkar-Suba.

Songs from Prison’ is a book of translation from Sanskrit hymns and lyrics, from the Upanishads and other scriptures. Mahatma Gandhi made these translations during his incarceration in Yeravada Prison in 1930.

Translations of works by Manu, Tulsidas, Kabir, Nanak, Mirabai, Ramdas, Tukaram and many other poets. Gandhi prepared these translations mainly for his English friends and especially for Mirabehn. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

In July 1942, the Congress Working Committee met at Wardha and resolved that it would authorise Gandhi to take charge of the non-violent mass movement. The resolution generally referred to as the ‘Quit India’ resolution. Proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru and seconded by Sardar Patel, it was to be approved by the All India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay in August. The Quit India Resolution was ratified at the Congress meeting at Gowalia Tank, Bombay, on August 8, 1942. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

In line with the government policy contained in Montagu’s statement of August 1917, the government announced further constitutional reforms in July 1918, known as Montagu-Chelmsford reforms, Based on these, the Government of India Act, 1919 was enacted.

Under the Act, Women were given the right to vote. But there was no universal adult suffrage. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

The Government of India Act, 1935 extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labourers (workers). A separate electorate meant that not only were the seats reserved for a specific group, but voting for the reserved constituency was allowed for only members of that specific community. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Bhavabhuti, a major dramatist of the later Sanskrit dramatic period, was the court poet of King Yashovarman of Kannauj, in north India in 8th CE. He too wrote plays based on the Ramayana, such as the Mahaviracharita (Exploits of a Great Hero), which depicts the early life of Rama and Uttaramcharita (The Latter History of Rama), which shows the final years of Rama’s life as written in the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana. Both the plays consist of seven acts written in the Nataka style. His third drama, Malatimadhava (Malati and Madhava), is a Prakarana play centered on the love story of Malati, the daughter of a minister and Madhavya, her beloved.

Hastimalla is a kannada poet and playwright during the reign of Hoysalas.

Statement 1 is not correct: Both the Two systems of family/civil law, Dayabhaga and Mitakshara are the basic to the upper castes alone - Dayabhaga system prevailed in eastern India and Mitakshara in remaining parts of the country.

Statement 2 is correct: According to the Dayabhaga system, which came to prevail in eastern India, only on the death of the father could the sons claim rights to property and partition the property. In Mitakshara system, the sons could claim this right even during the lifetime of the father.

Statement 3 is not correct: Both the systems deal with the property rights of both of men and women –

In Mitakshara school property rights of the women were restricted to a great extent; women were believed to never be able to become a coparcener. The widow of a deceased coparcener could not get his share and was not allowed to enforce a partition of his husband’s share against his brothers, Dayabhaga school on the other hand was somewhat lenient, a widow has the right to inherit her deceased husband’ s share and could enforce a partition against his brothers.

St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Goa in 1542 and travelled as far as Thoothukudi and Punnakayal to baptize the converts. Xavier established a network of Jesuit mission centres. Hence statement 1 is correct.

He died of a fever on a Chinese island in 1552, at just 46 years old, and was brought back to Goa a few years later. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Each year, on 3rd December, marks the anniversary of St Francis Xavier’s death, when thousands gather at the Basilica of Bom Jesus. This annual festival, known as the Feast of St Francis Xavier is the biggest of all the Christian festivals in Goa. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Statement 1 is correct: The Khwarezm ruler Jalaluddhin who was being pursued by Chengiz khan fled to Delhi Sultanate .

Iltutmish, who was ruling Delhi then, refused the request of Jalaluddhin for asylum.

Statement 2 is not correct: Muhammad Tughluq time period is 1324 -1351 (He died in 1351) Source: https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/gess1 03.pdf) and Timur had started his career of conquest in 1370. He crossed Indus during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351 -1388). Statement 3 is not correct: Devaraya II died in 1446 and Vascodagama arrived in 1498.

In the Kashmir valley, there are several neolithic sites near Srinagar and between Baramulla and Anantnag. These include Burzahom, Gufkral, Hariparigom, etc. Pits have been found at neolithic levels at Burzahom.

Other finds of Period I at Burzahom included ill-fired, handmade, coarse pottery in grey, red, brown, and buff colours. Burzahom had a well- developed bone tool industry; artefacts such as points, harpoons, needles etc. The site is famous for pit dwelling and neolithic tool industry. Hence pair 1 is not correctly matched.

Chandraketugarh is located in the Ganga delta in West Bengal. In early historic times, Chandraketugarh was connected to the Ganga by the Vidyadhari river, and must have been an important centre of trade, and possibly also a political centre.

Chandra-ketugarh was a major centre of terracotta craft. Various kinds of artefacts have been found at the site over the years, including coins, pottery, seals and sealings, and figurines made of ivory, wood, and bronze. Hence pair 2 is correctly matched.

The Ganeshwar–Jodhpura culture was located in the north-eastern part of Rajasthan. Hundreds of copper objects found at this site suggest that it had emerged as a copper-working centre and that its people were supplying these items to communities elsewhere.

Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.

The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bangla by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950.

It was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.

The complete song consists of five stanzas.

It was at Madanapalle (Chittoor), in February 1919, that Tagore translated his Bengali poem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ into English as ‘Morning Song of India’.

It was given tune by Margaret Cousins.

Fernao Nuniz, Portuguese traveller, visited the empire during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya. According to Nuniz, a large number of women were employed in royal palaces as dancers, domestic servants and palanquin bearers. There were also wrestlers, astrologers and soothsayers among them. Some women were also appointed as accountants, judges, bailiffs, and watch women.

In the sixth century CE, the Huns occupied Malwa, Gujarat, Punjab and Gandhara. As the Hun invasion weakened the Gupta hold in the country, independent rulers emerged all over the north like Yasodharman of Malwa, the Maukharis of Uttar Pradesh, the Maitrakas in Saurashtra and others in Bengal. In time, the Gupta Empire came to be restricted to only Magadha.

North India splintered into several warrior kingdoms after the downfall of the Gupta Empire.

Excepting in the areas that were subdued by the Huns (modern Punjab, Rajasthan and Malwa), regional identity became pronounced with the emergence of many small states. Maithriyas had organised a powerful state in Sourashtra (Gujarat), with Valabhi as their capital. Agra and Oudh were organised into an independent and sovereign state by the Maukharis. The Vakatakas had recovered their position of ascendency in the western Deccan. Despite political rivalry and conflict among these states, Thaneswar, lying north of Delhi between Sutlej and Yamuna, was formed into an independent state by Pushyabhutis.

By the beginning of the tenth century two powerful Rajput Kingdoms Gurjar Prathihara and Rashtrakutas had lost their power. Tomaras (Delhi), Chauhans (Rajasthan), Solankis (Gujarat), Paramaras (Malwa), Gahadavalas (Kanauj) and Chandelas (Bundelkhand) had become important ruling dynasties of Northern India.

At the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Delhi Sultanate was preparing to extend southwards, the Deccan and south India were divided into four kingdoms: the Yadavas of Devagiri (Western Deccan or present Maharashtra), the Hoysalas of Dvarasamudra (Karnataka), the Kakatiyas of Warangal (eastern part of present Telengana) and the Pandyas of Madurai (southern Tamil Nadu).

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

English East India Company was formed by a group of merchants known as the ‘Merchant Adventures’ in 1599. A charter to the new Company was granted by Queen Elizabeth (December, 1600) giving it the monopoly of Eastern trade for 15 years.

Establishment of Factories by East India Company:

West Coast: The English established factories at Agra, Ahmadabad, Baroda and Broach by 1619, all of which were placed under the control of the president and council of the Surat factory. The company acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease at an annual rental often pounds in 1668.

South-eastern Coast: Factories were established at Masulipatam (1611) and Armagaon near Pulicat (1626).

Eastern India: Factories were set up at Hariharpur and Balasore in Orissa (1633), at Hugli in 1651, followed by those at Patna, Dacca, Kasimbazar in Bengal and Bihar.

Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

Moreover, during Carnatic wars (18th C), in return for the French help to Salabat Jung, to the throne of Hyderabad as Nizam, Salabat granted the French the area in Andhra known as Northern Circars (The Northern Circars were 5 in number: Chicacole (Srikakulam), Rajahmundry, Eluru, Kondapalli and Guntur)-So during the first quarter of 17th C, Chicacole was under the control of regional kingdoms-there was no East India company factory here.

Also during the same Carnatic wars , Trichinopoly was under the Kingdom of Arcot, as there was famous incident of seize of

Dholavira is located on Khadir bet island in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. In protohistoric times, water levels in the Rann may have been higher than they are today, allowing boats to sail from the coast up to the site. The architecture of Dholavira shows a large-scale use of sandstone, combined in places with mud- brick—a feature of the Harappan sites of Gujarat.

The city had an impressive and unique water harvesting and management system. It can be noted that this area receives less than 160 cm of rain every year and is very prone to droughts. The site is flanked by two streams— the Manhar and Mandsar. Dams were built across these to channelize their water into reservoirs. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The Chausath Yogini temple is in Morena district 40 kilometres from Gwalior. According to an inscription dated to 1323 CE (Vikram Samvat 1383), the temple was built by the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala (1055 – 1075).

Hence statement 1 is correct.

The cells and the main shrine are flat topped, but it is believed that initially each had a shikhara on top. While the 64 Yoginis originally placed in the 64 subsidiary shrines are now missing, a Shiva linga has taken their places in each cell. The central shrine also holds a Shivalinga. The uniqueness of this Yogini temple is its circular shape that is popularly believed to have inspired the design of the Indian Parliament. The circular shape is likely to have represented a Sri- Yantra in which the Yoginis reside, with the Supreme Yogini or Maha Sakti residing in the centre (represented by the circular central main shrine). It is not the only circular temple built in India. Hence statements 2 and 3 are not correct and statement 4 is correct.

Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Cnidarian, also called coelenterate are mostly marine animals. They include the corals, hydras, jellyfish, Portuguese men- of-war, sea anemones, sea pens, sea whips, and sea fans. The relationship between cnidarians and dinoflagellate algae is termed as “symbiotic”, because both the animal host and the algae are benefiting from the association. It is a mutualistic interaction.

Fungi have several mutualistic relationships with other organisms. In mutualism, both organisms benefit from the relationship. Two common mutualistic relationships involving fungi are mycorrhiza and lichen.

Termites have a mutualistic relationship with protozoa that live in the insect’s gut. The termite benefits from the ability of bacterial symbionts within the protozoa to digest cellulose.Hence option (d) is the correctanswer.

The Common Carbon Metric is the calculation used to define measurement, reporting, and verification for GHG emissions associated with the operation of buildings types of particular climate regions. It does not include value-based interpretation of the measurements such as weightings or benchmarking.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

While it is not a building rating tool, it is consistent with methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings used globally.

The Common Carbon Metric is applied to the specific inventory of the buildings under study. Such an inventory can be developed from a top-down or bottom-up approach, depending on the scope and goal of the investigation.

Detritivores are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus. There are many kinds of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants that carry out coprophagy. By doing so, all these detritivores contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles.

Examples of detritivores are earthworms, blowflies, millipedes, maggots, and woodlice.

Seahorse is considered a secondary consumer. They occupy a middle position in their food chain. Seahorses do not have teeth; they suck in their food and swallow it whole. Thus their prey needs to be very small. Primarily, seahorses feed on plankton, small fish and small crustaceans, such as shrimp and copepods. Fish, jellyfish and crustaceans are common secondary consumer.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Much of the phosphorus on Earth is tied up in rock and sedimentary deposits, from which it is released by weathering, leaching, and mining.

Phosphorus moves in a cycle through rocks, water, soil and sediments and organisms. Over time, rain and weathering cause rocks to release phosphate ions and other minerals. This inorganic phosphate is then distributed in soils and water. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Filter Feeder is an animal (such as a clam or baleen whale) that obtains its food by filtering organic matter or minute organisms from a current of water that passes through some part of its system.

Oysters are natural filter feeders. This means they feed by pumping water through their gills, trapping particles of food as well as nutrients, suspended sediments and chemical contaminants.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Magnetite can have potentially large impacts on the brain due to its unique combination of redox activity, surface charge and strongly magnetic behaviour.

Airborne magnetite pollution particles < ~200 nm in size can access the brain directly via the olfactory and/or trigeminal nerves, bypassing the blood-brain barrier. These tiny particles, each less than a thousandth the width of a human hair, are generated by a wide variety of processes, both natural and fabricated, including forest fires and wood-burning stoves, road traffic pollution, and many high-temperature industrial processes.

In addition to occupational settings (including, for example, exposure to printer toner powders), higher concentrations of magnetite pollution nanoparticles may arise in the indoor environment from open fires or poorly-sealed stoves used for cooking and/or heating, and in the outdoor environment from vehicle (tailpipe and brake wear) and/or industrial PM sources.

The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) is a political declaration calling for global action to protect and restore forests. It offers a common, multi- stakeholder framework for forest action, consolidating various initiatives and objectives that drive forest protection, restoration, and sustainable use.

It is a voluntary and non-legally binding political declaration which grew out of dialogue among governments, companies and civil society, spurred by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit held in New York in 2014. Hence, statements 1 and 4 are correct while statement 3 is not correct.

The declaration includes ambitious targets to end natural forest loss by 2030, with a 50% reduction by 2020 as a milestone toward its achievement. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The Declaration is currently endorsed by over 190 entities including more than 50 governments, more than 50 of the world’s biggest companies, and more than 50 influential civil society and indigenous organizations. It is not endorsed by India. Hence, statement 5 is not correct.

Hedgehogs are a small mammal with short limbs and a body low to the ground. When they are frightened, or annoyed, hedgehogs will roll into a ball so that an predator will feel the full brunt of its sharp spines and will then leave the hedgehog alone. Hence option 1 is correct.

Marmots are relatively large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota, with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer when often found in groups, but are not seen during the winter when they hibernate underground. They are the heaviest members of the squirrel family. They do not roll up when threatened. Hence, option 2 is not correct.

Pangolins are uniquely covered in tough, overlapping scales. These mammals eat ants and termites using an extraordinarily long, sticky tongue, and are able to quickly roll themselves up into a tight ball when they feel threatened. Hence option 3 is correct.

Autotrophs or primary producers are organisms that acquire their energy from sunlight and materials from nonliving sources. Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Copepods are major secondary producers in the World Ocean.

They represent an important link between phytoplankton, microzooplankton and higher trophic levels such as fish. They are an important source of food for many fish species but also a significant producer of detritus. Hence, option 1 is not correct.

Cyanobacteria, also called blue- green algae, are microscopic organisms found naturally in all types of water. Cyanobacteria are important primary producers and form a part of the phytoplankton. They may also form biofilms and mats (benthic cyanobacteria).

Hence option 2 is correct.

Diatoms are photosynthesising algae, they have a siliceous skeleton (frustule) and are found in almost every aquatic environment including fresh and marine waters. Diatoms are one of the major primary producers in the ocean, responsible annually for ~20% of photosynthetically fixed CO2 on Earth. Hence option 3 is correct.

Foraminifera are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses. Hence, option 4 is not correct.

Citronella the essential oil found in Lemongrass is registered with the FDA. It is the most widely used natural mosquito repellent found in candles, sprays, and lotions. To help deter mosquitoes with its strong fragrance, plant lemongrass along walkways and in locations close to seating areas.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

A fern is a member of a group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. Ferns require indirect sunlight, moist soil, and a humid atmosphere. Ferns prefer potting soil with good drainage and high organic content. Hence, option 1 is not correct.

Lichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga. only require an undisturbed surface, time, and clean air. Lichens grow on any undisturbed surface—bark, wood, mosses, rock, soil, peat, glass, metal, plastic, and even cloth.

Hence option 2 is correct.

Mosses are non-flowering plants which produce spores and have stems and leaves, but don’t have true roots. Moss is very low maintenance and needs virtually nothing except shade and moisture to thrive. Hence option 3 is correct.

A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. Mushrooms can be cultivated hydroponically as fungi.

Hence option 4 is not correct.

Blue carbon is the term for carbon captured by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Sea grasses, mangroves, and salt marshes along our coast “capture and hold” carbon, acting as something called a carbon sink.

These coastal systems, though much smaller in size than the planet’s forests, sequester this carbon at a much faster rate, and can continue to do so for millions of years.

Fuel oil (also known as heavy oil, marine fuel, bunker, furnace oil, or gasoil) is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation.

Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Diesel-based power plants may use Diesel, Furnace Oil, Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (LSFO) or Low Sulfur Heavy Stock (LSHS). The Basin Bridge Diesel Generator Power Plant (DGPP) in Tamil Nadu was one such example. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The oxides of sulphur (SOx; SO2 + SO3) emissions are a direct result of the sulphur content of the fuel oil. During the combustion process this fuel-bound sulphur is rapidly oxidised to sulphur dioxide (SO2). A small fraction of the SO2, some 3-5% may be further oxidised to sulphur trioxide (SO3) within the combustion chamber and exhaust duct.  Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore in order to extract a base metal. The copper concentrates are fed through the flash smelting furnace with oxygen-enriched air. In the furnace, the concentrates are instantly oxidized, after which they melt and separate by their own reaction heat into copper matte with a grade of 65% and slag consisting of iron oxide, silica, and other compounds.

Extractive metallurgical and smelting processes can be highly polluting activities. Some facilities that carry out metal and smelting processes are known to emit high quantities of air pollutants such as hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, offensive and noxious smoke fumes, vapors, gases, and other toxins.

Due to the application of pyro- metallurgical processes in copper smelters, significant air pollution occurs with suspended particles. These particles contain high concentrations of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni) and Arsenic (As). Copper slag can have heavy metals like cobalt, zinc, arsenic, lead, cadmium, barium etc. Slag can release these elements into the environment under natural weathering conditions and cause pollution of soils, surface waters and groundwater. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Organic vapors and sulfur oxides resulting from secondary smelting roasting operations and fuel combustion can cause smog, containing ozone, fine airborne particles, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Hence, statement 1 is not correct and 3 is correct.

R2 stands for Responsible Recycling and is a standard specifically created for the electronics recycling industry by Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI). Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

SERI is the housing body and ANSI-accredited Standards

Development Organization for the R2 Standard: Responsible Recycling Practices for Use in Accredited Certifications Programs.

Stakeholders who contributed to the creation of these standards include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA was responsible for a study of the implementation of the R2 standards); regulators from state agencies; electronics recyclers, refurbishers, and their trade associations; OEMs/customers of electronics recycling services; and non-governmental organizations.

The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

Though originally privately owned, since nationalisation in 1949, the Reserve Bank is fully owned by the Government of India.

The functions of the Reserve Bank can be categorised as follows:

1. Monetary policy
2. Regulation and supervision of the banking and non-banking financial institutions, including credit information companies
3. Regulation of money, forex and government securities markets as also certain financial derivatives
4. Debt and cash management for Central and State Governments
5. Management of foreign exchange reserves
6. Foreign exchange management—current and capital account management
7. Banker to banks
8. Banker to the Central and State Governments
9. Oversight of the payment and settlement systems
10. Currency management
11. Developmental role
12. Research and statistics

As a Banker to Banks, the Reserve Bank also acts as the ‘lender of the last resort’. It can come to the rescue of a bank that is solvent but faces temporary liquidity problems by supplying it with much needed liquidity when no one else is willing to extend credit to that bank. The Reserve Bank extends this facility to protect the interest of the depositors of the bank and to prevent possible failure of the bank, which in turn may also affect other banks and institutions and can have an adverse impact on financial stability and thus on the economy.

Water.org is a global nonprofit organization working to bring water and sanitation to the world. It started the initiative of WaterCredit loan program to address the barrier of affordable financing for safe water and sanitation.

Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

WaterCredit is a powerful solution and the first to put microfinance tools to work in the water and sanitation sector. WaterCredit helps bring small loans to those who need access to affordable financing and expert resources to make household water and toilet solutions a reality.

How it works

1. It identifies a region where people need access to water and sanitation and that is ready for a microfinance solution.
2. It partners with carefully selected institutions to provide affordable financing for water and sanitation to families in need.
3. These microfinance partners establish water and sanitation loans in their portfolio of offerings. It supports them by providing technical assistance, connections and resources to get them started.
4. People in need use these small, affordable loans to put a tap or toilet in their homes and access local resources to do the work. It enables poor households to meet their water and sanitation needs without depending on subsidies.
5. Every repaid loan can be lent to another family in need of safe water or sanitation.

Hence, statements 1 and 3 are correct.

Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

In February, 2021, RBI allowed retail investors to directly purchase government bonds by opening gilt accounts with RBI. RBI has provided retail investors with online access to the government securities market (primary and secondary) through the RBI (Retail Direct).

Hence statement 1 is correct. Previously, retail investors can purchase government bonds by registering themselves on stock exchanges for non-competitive bids. Other route for retail investors is to buy government bonds is government securities (gilt) mutual funds. These are mutual funds which in turn invest in government securities.

Negotiated Dealing System-Order Matching(NDS-OM) is a screen based electronic anonymous order matching system for secondary market trading in Government securities owned by RBI. The membership of the system is open to entities like Banks, Primary Dealers, Insurance Companies, Mutual Funds etc. i.e. entities who maintain SGL accounts with RBI. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) was promoted by BSE Ltd. jointly with leading banks such as State Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Union Bank of India.

CDSL was set up with the objective of providing convenient, dependable and secure depository services at affordable cost to all market participants. A Depository facilitates holding of securities in the electronic form and enables securities transactions to be processed by book entry. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Demand Pull Inflation- This type of inflation is caused by increase in demand and when the demand in the economy outgrows the supply in the economy. This kind of inflation can be described by “too much money chasing too few goods”. One of the reasons for demand pull inflation can be the increase in money supply, by way of increased salary, increased government expenditure etc.

First statement- expansionary policies whether it is fiscal or monetary.

Expansionary fiscal policy is defined as an increase in government expenditures and/or a decrease in taxes. Expansionary monetary policy increases the supply of money in an economy by making credit supply easily available. so expansionary policy can cause demand pull inflation in the economy. Hence, statement 1 is Correct.

Second statement- Fiscal stimulus- it is the part of expansionary policies of the government. It is used by the government to stimulate the economy by way of tax rebates, various incentives, stimulate private sector economic activities thus job creation, etc. So it can also lead to Demand Pull Inflation in the economy. Hence, statement 2 is Correct.

Third statement- Inflation- indexing wages, wages in the economy is linked to the inflation which means wage moves as inflation changes in the economy. Such indexing is provided to reduce the effect of inflation on wages. For example- a worker is getting 100 rs as a wage and inflation in the economy increases to 5%, so wage of the worker increases by 5% i.e. 105. So effective change in the wages is zero and it does not increase/decrease purchasing power. So, it can not lead to demand pull inflation in the economy. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Higher purchasing power- If purchasing power increases in the economy (for example previously a household has an income of 100 rs and out of that 50 rs is spending, if the spending capacity of this household increases to 60 rs then it can demand more goods/services in the economy.) and it can lead to demand pull inflation in the economy. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Rising interest rates- It decreases the money supply in the economy. This may result in credit crunch in the economy. It is costlier to borrow money in the economy and it leads to decreased money supply. So, it can not cause demand pull inflation in the economy.

Hence, statement 5 is not correct.

Banks create money by making loans. A bank loans or invests its excess reserves to earn more interest. A one-rupee increase in the monetary base causes the money supply to increase by more than one rupee.

The increase in the money supply is the money multiplier.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) =

Percentage of deposits which a bank must keep as cash reserves with the bank.

Apart from the CRR, banks are also required to keep some reserves in liquid form in the short term. This ratio is called Statutory Liquidity Ratio or SLR.

Money Multiplier=1/CRR

Let us assume that our bank starts with a deposit of Rs 100 made by Mr. X. The reserve ratio is 20%.

Thus our bank has Rs 80 (100 – 20) to lend and the bank lends out Rs 80 to Mr. Y, which shows up in the bank’s deposits in the next round as liabilities, making a total of Rs 180 as deposits. Now our bank is required to keep 20 per cent of 180 i.e. Rs 36 as cash reserves. Recall that our bank had started with Rs 100 as cash. Since it is required to keep only Rs 36 as reserves, it can lend Rs 64 again (100 – 36 = 64).

The bank lends out Rs 64 to Mr. Z. This in turn shows up in the bank as deposits. The process keeps repeating itself till all the required reserves become Rs 100. The required reserves will be Rs 100 only when the total deposits become Rs 500. This is because for deposits of Rs 500, cash reserves would have to be Rs 100 (20 per cent of 500 = 100).

From the above example, it is clear that money multiplier in the economy increases with the banking habit of the people not only an increase in the population. Increase in banking habit leads to lower cash deposit ratio and hence increase in money multiplier.

But this money creation is limited by CRR, money supply increases from Rs 100 to Rs 500. Given a CRR of 20%, the bank cannot give a loan beyond Rs 400. Hence, requirement of reserves acts as a limit to money creation. So, as CRR or SLR is increased by RBI, money multiplier is decreased, as there would be less amount of money for credit creation with the banks.

Hence correct option is c.

Borrowing from public and banks will lead to a decrease in the money supply in market as in both the options money in hand is reduced for public and money to lend is reduced for banks.

Creation to new money to finance a budget deficit will have more inflationary effect than repayment of debt, as it will lead to an increase in total money supply in the market.(as new money is being created). Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

During last fiscal year, option of monetization of deficit was explored but idea was dropped due to likely inflationary pressure.

Black Money- There is no official definition of black money in economic theory, with several different terms such as parallel economy, black money, black incomes, unaccounted economy, illegal economy and irregular economy all being used more or less synonymously. The simplest definition of black money could possibly be money that is hidden from tax authorities. That is, black money can come from two broad categories: illegal activity and legal but unreported activity.

The first category is the more obvious of the two. Money that is earned through illegal activity is obviously not reported to the tax authorities, and so is black. The second category comprises income from legal activity that is not reported to the tax authorities. For example, let us assume that a piece of land is sold, with the payment made in the proportion of 60% by cheque or electronic transfer, and 40% in cash. If that 40% cash component is not reported to the Income Tax Department, then it is black money. A large number of small shops around the country almost exclusively do business in cash without receipts. All of this could potentially be black money.

Another major source of black money is income earned by companies that is routed through shell companies abroad, thereby evading tax authorities.

There are several ways to curb black money and the first is through legislative action. The government has already enacted several laws that seek to formalise the economy and make it necessary to report economic transactions. These include the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, the various GST Acts at the State levels, the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act to name a few.

Another method employed by the government to make it harder for transactions to be hidden is to mandate the reporting of PAN for transactions of more than ¹ 2.5 lakh, and the prohibition of cash receipts of ¹ 2 lakh or more and a penalty equal to the amount of such receipts if a person contravenes the provision. statements given in option a, b, and c are ways of creation of black money.

Option d is the effect of creation of black money.

Devaluation means official lowering of the value of a country’s currency within a fixed exchange rate system.

Devaluation of a currency happens in countries with a fixed exchange rate (or also where it is managed floating rate). Example- Let us assume that prevailing exchange rate of $1 is 10 rs. So currently 1 rs is worth of $0.1. If devaluation of currency is done and now exchange rate of $1 is 20 rs, this means 1 rs is worth of $0.05. So the value of domestic currency (rs) is decreased in terms of value of foreign currency ($). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Let us take another example to understand statement 1- If a shirt costs $8 in the US and Rs 400 in India, the rupee-dollar exchange rate should be Rs 50. To see why, at any rate higher than Rs 50, say Rs 60, it costs Rs 480 per shirt in the US but only Rs 400 in India. In that case, all foreign customers would buy shirts from India. So devaluation of currency improves the competitiveness of the domestic exports (India) in the foreign markets. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Balance of Trade (BOT) is the difference between the value of exports and value of imports of goods of a country in a given period of time.

Regarding third statement, with the devaluation of currency competitiveness of the export improves, but trade balance depends upon both export as well as imports and it is not necessarily true that devaluation of currency improves trade balance. (Let us take a possibility in Indian economy, our economy is heavily dependent upon the import of crude oil, and at the time of devaluation of currency, export increases but for the same period, demand for crude oil also increases due to increased growth in the economy, and the value of this increase in import is more than the value of increase in export. So, in this scenario again we have deficit trade balance).

Hence statement 3 is not correct.

In Capital Account of Balance of Payment, we can classify into Investment, Borrowings and External Assistance.

Investment includes Equity flow in the economy. Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB), Foreign Institutional Investment with certain conditions (subject to the overall limit of 24%), and Global Depository Receipts (GDR) are the instruments for the foreign investment in India. Hence options 1, 2 and 3 are correct.

Non-Resident external deposits are a ‘debt creating’ flow in balance of payments accounts and therefore, not part of Foreign Direct investments. Hence options 4 is not correct.

Bond yield is the return an investor gets on that bond or on a particular government security. It depends on the price of the bond which is impacted by its demand. The major factors affecting the yield is the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India, especially the course of interest rates, the fiscal position of the government and its borrowing programme, global markets, economy, and inflation.

Actions of the United States federal reserve can impact the investments flowing in India. The investments by foreign players in government securities can be effected by this. This will lead to change in demand of government securities and thereby impacting its yield. Hence statement 1 is correct.

Actions of Reserve bank determine the liquidity and also the cost of funds available in the economy through its various inflation management tools. The cost of funds will directly impact the demand of government securities in the market and thereby influencing its yield.

Hence statement 2 is correct. Inflation and short term rates determine the purchasing capacity of the people in the economy. Therefore, this also has impact on the demand and price of the government -securities thereby influencing the yield.

Hence statement 3 is correct.

Large cooperative banks with paid-up share capital and reserves of Rs.1 lakh were brought under the preview of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 with effect from 1st March, 1966 and within the ambit of the Reserve Bank’s supervision. This marked the beginning of an era of duality of control over these banks.

Banking related functions (viz. licensing, area of operations, interest rates etc.) were to be governed by RBI and registration, management, audit and liquidation, etc. governed by State Governments as per the provisions of respective State Acts. So the control of the RBI was partial and it shared the control with the registrar of cooperative societies of States, giving rise to the much-discussed dual control and the difficulties it posed to the central bank. Hence statement 3 is correct.

The recent Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act 2020 enables the RBI to get all the powers, including those hitherto exclusively with the registrar of cooperative societies. However, powers of registrar continue to be with him but the powers of RBI override those of registrar. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

While the amendment gives the required powers to the RBI to take timely action and steps to prevent UCBs from failing so that depositors’ monies are protected, which was the main purpose of the amendment, it also enjoins upon the central bank to make regulations under BR Act without compromising on the cooperative nature and cooperative principles of the banks.

The Reserve Bank has given new guidelines allowing primary urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to augment capital through issuance of equity shares, preference shares and debt instruments.

The UCBs, it said, could raise share capital by issue of equity to persons within their area of operation enrolled as members and also through additional equity shares to the existing members.

Hence statement 2 is correct.

Law of Demand- Law of Demand states that other things being equal, there is a negative relation between demand for a commodity and its price. In other words, when price of the commodity increases, demand for it falls and when price of the commodity decreases, demand for it rises, other factors remaining the same. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

The quantity of a good that the consumer demands can increase or decrease with the rise in income depending on the nature of the good.

For most goods, the quantity that a consumer chooses, increases as the consumer’s income increases and decreases as the consumer’s income decreases. Such goods are called Normal Goods. Thus, a consumer’s demand for a normal good moves in the same direction as the income of the consumer.

However, there are some goods the demands for which move in the opposite direction of the income of the consumer. Such goods are called Inferior Goods.

As the income of the consumer increases, the demand for an inferior good falls, and as the income decreases, the demand for an inferior good rises.

Examples of inferior goods include low quality food items like coarse cereals. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

The quantity of a good that the consumer chooses can increase or decrease with the rise in the price of a related good depending on whether the two goods are substitutes or complementary to each other. Goods which are consumed together are called complementary goods.

Examples of goods which are complement to each other include tea and sugar, shoes and socks, pen and ink, etc. Since tea and sugar are used together, an increase in the price of sugar is likely to decrease the demand for tea and a decrease in the price of sugar is likely to increase the demand for tea. Similar is the case with other complements. With the increase in price of complement, demand reduces.

Hence statement 2 is not correct. In contrast to complements, goods like tea and coffee are not consumed together. In fact, they are substitutes for each other.

Since tea is a substitute for coffee, if the price of coffee increases, the consumers can shift to tea, and hence, the consumption of tea is likely to go up. On the other hand, if the price of coffee decreases, the consumption of tea is likely to go down. The demand for a good usually moves in the direction of the price of its substitutes.

Hence statement 1 is correct.

Recession- It is a situation which is characterized by negative growth rate of GDP in two successive quarters. Some of the indicators of a recession include slowdown in the economy, fall in investments, fall in the output of the economy etc. If an economy experiences a recession and GDP falls, tax revenues fall because firms and households pay lower taxes when they earn less.

It is prudent for government as well as central bank to follow Expansionary fiscal and monetary policy respectively to stimulate the economy, but keeping in mind the inflationary pressure.

In all the given options-

Cut in tax rates accompanied by increase in interest rate- Increase in interest rate results into credit crunch in the economy which is not desirable at the time of recession.

Increase in expenditure on public projects- It is one of the tool to stimulate the economy at the time of recession, as it triggers the virtuous cycle of investment, which leads to increase in GDP (production of goods & services) and income in the economy and in turn increase in demand, and thus completes the virtuous cycle.

Increase in tax rates accompanied by reduction of interest rate- Increase in tax rate is not desirable at the time of recession as income is falling in the economy.

Reduction of expenditure on public projects- It is not desirable at the time of recession as it will lead to less government expenditure thereby not contributing much to output.

Hence (b) is the correct answer.

Holding that an employer cannot differentiate between contractual and permanent employees, the Supreme Court in Pawan Hans Limited & Ors. Vs Aviation Karmachari Sanghatana has ruled that casual workers are also entitled to social security benefits under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act.

Code on Social Security, 2020- The Code replaces nine laws related to social security. These include the Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 1952, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 among others. The code is applicable to any establishment (subject to size- threshold as may be notified by the central government).

Social security fund: The code states that the central government will set up such a fund for unorganized workers, gig workers and platform workers.

Further, state governments will also set up and administer separate social security funds for unorganized workers.

Code on Wages, 2020 ,Section 6 & 7 are related to number of regular working hours and Weekly day of rest & overtime provisions respectively. Hence statements 1& 2 are correct.

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 has been amended by Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2017 (effective from 28.12.2016) to enable the employers to pay wages to their employees by (a) cash or (b) cheque or (c) crediting to their bank account.

The amendment in the Act also enables the appropriate Government to specify the industrial or other establishment, by notification in the Official Gazette, which shall pay to every person employed in such industrial or other establishment, the wages only by cheque or by crediting in his bank account.

Hence statement 3 is correct.

According to Section 8 of RBI ACT 1934-

A Governor and (not more than four) Deputy Governors to be appointed by the Central Government. Hence statement 1 is correct.

According to Section 7 of RBI ACT 1934-

The Central Government may from time to time give such directions to the Bank as it may, after consultation with the Governor of the Bank, consider necessary in the public interest. There is no such provision in the constitution of India. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

According to Section 7 of RBI Act 1934-

The Governor and in his absence the Deputy Governor nominated by him in this behalf, shall also have powers of general superintendence and direction of the affairs and the business of the Bank, and may exercise all powers and do all acts and things which may be exercised or done by the Bank. Hence statement 3 is correct.