Insights Full Length Mock Test For Prelims – 2014

Solution: a)

Kirthar Mountains are a Mountain Range located in Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan.

The Sulaimanare a major geological feature of eastern and southeastern Afghanistan (Zabul, most of LoyaPaktiaand northeastern Kandahar), and South Waziristan, most of northern Balochistan Province and some of southwestern PunjabProvince of Pakistan.

Solution: b)

Though only 10 miles (16 km) wide in places, the Shiwalik range has an average elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 feet (900 to 1,200 metres). It rises abruptly from the plain of the Indus and Ganges (Ganga) rivers (south) and parallels the main range of the Himalayas(north), from which it is separated by valleys.

The Shivalik hills are the southernmost and geologically youngest east-west mountain chain of the Himalayas.

Solution: b)

Sandstone is a  sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Sandstone has been used for domestic construction and housewares since prehistoric times, and continues to be used.

Sandstone was a popular building material from ancient times. It is relatively soft, making it easy to carve. It has been widely used around the world in constructing temples, homes, and other buildings. It has also been used for artistic purposes to create ornamental fountains and statues.

Solution: d)

The excavations at Hallur have revealed two periods of occupation, Period I: Neolithic-Chalcolithic and Period II: An overlapping period between Neolithic-Chalcolithic and early Iron Age.

Chirand is a stratified Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Iron Age settlement in the eastern Ganges Valley of Bihar in northern India.

DaojaliHalding is in Assam and is also a Neolithic site.

Solution: a)

Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia.With its origin in the Angsi Glacier, located on the northern side of the Himalayas in Burang County of Tibet as the YarlungTsangpo River,^[3] it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges (including the YarlungTsangpo Grand Canyon) and into Arunachal Pradesh (India) where it is known as Dihang or Siang.^[4] It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna (not to be mistaken with Yamuna of India). In the vast Ganges Delta it merges with the Padma, the main distributary of the Ganges, then the Meghna, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

Solution; d)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_dam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakra_Dam

Solution: c)

Stone tools were probably made using two

different techniques:

1. The first is called stone on stone. Here, thepebble from which the tool was to be made (alsocalled the core) was held in one hand. Anotherstone, which was used as a hammer was held inthe other hand. The second stone was used tostrike off flakes from the first, till the requiredshape was obtained.

2. Pressure flaking: Here the core was placedon a firm surface. The hammer stone was usedon a piece of bone or stone that was placed onthe core, to remove flakes that could be shapedinto tools.

http://www.cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/projects/stone/press.html

Solution: d)

She was British. She was made the president of the India National Congress in late 1917.

The All India Home Rule League was a national political organization founded in 1916 to lead the national demand for self-government, termed Home Rule, and to obtain the status of a Dominion within the British Empire as enjoyed by Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland at the time.

Solution: c)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aravalli_Range

Solution: c)

Greenwashing is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization’s products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly. Evidence that an organization is greenwashing often comes from pointing out the spending differences: when significantly more money or time has been spent advertising being “green” (that is, operating with consideration for the environment), than is actually spent on environmentally sound practices.

Greenwashing efforts can range from changing the name or label of a product to evoke the natural environment on a product that contains harmful chemicals to multimillion dollar advertising campaigns portraying highly polluting energy companies as eco-friendly.

While the practice is not new, it has increased significantly in these years.

Solution: a)

The forest cover includes lands with a tree canopy density of 10% of more. Scrubs do not fit in the definition. It does include plantations. And, in fact, the increase in tree cover reported since 2011 is mainly because of increase in plantation cover.

Solution: c)

Refer to http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/all-about-ebola

Solution: a)

The Jatakas is a voluminous body of literature that belongs to India concerning the previous births (jati) of the Buddha.The Jātakamālā is also called Bodhisattva Avadānamālā, for Bodhisattva Avadāna is synonymous with Jātaka. The Jātakas are consequently nothing but Avadānas having the Bodhisattva for their hero. Consequently works like the Sūtrālaṁkāra and the Jātakamālā have much in common with the texts of the Avadāna literature. On the other hand numerous Jātakas are to be found in the collections of Avadānas.

Solution: c)

From the National Youth Policy document – “United Nations defines ‘youth’ as persons between 15 and 24 years of age. In the National Youth Policy-2003, ‘youth’ was defined a person of age between 13-35 years, but in the current Policy Document, the youth age-group is defined as 15-29 years with a view to have a more focused approach, as far as various policy interventions are concerned. However, it needs to be recognised that all young persons within this age-group are unlikely to be a homogeneous group. Different segments of the Youth would have different needs and concerns, which need to be addressed. It divides youth in separate groups with diverse needs and aspirations.”

Solution: b)

The Tendulkar Committee recommended four major changes from earlier approaches: (i) a shift away from calorie consumption based poverty estimation; (ii) a uniform poverty line basket (PLB) across rural and urban India; (iii) a change in the price adjustment procedure to correct spatial and temporal issues with price adjustment; and (iv) incorporation of private expenditure on health and education while estimating poverty.

And, the following are excerpts from an interview given by Mr. Rangarajan –

“We differed from the Tendulkar committee in two or three ways. One, we included not only calories, but also fat and proteins. Second, we had a minimum basket separately for rural and urban areas. The Tendulkar committee had only one basket and the difference between rural and urban areas came only because of the price differences. Thirdly, I think for the first time, certain normative requirements with respect to non-food consumption expenditures were introduced. It is, of course, very difficult, but we felt that at least for the four categories that I have mentioned earlier (adequate nourishment, clothing, house rent, conveyance and education), we should impose certain minimum expenditures or norms which should be followed. So all this resulted in our poverty line being higher than the poverty line which was indicated by the Tendulkar committee.”

Solution: a)

Vajrayana is firmly grounded in Mahayana-philosophy, especially Madhyamaka.

Vajrayana subscribes to the two truths doctrine of conventional and ultimate truths, which is present in all Buddhist tenet systems. The two truths doctrine is a central concept in the Vajrayana path of practice and is the philosophical basis for its methods. The two truths identifies conventional a.k.a. relative, and absolute a.k.a. nirvana. Conventional truth is the truth of consensus reality, common-sense notions of what does and does not exist. Ultimate truth is reality as viewed by an awakened, or enlightened mind.

Solution: d)

Please refer to http://www.consumerrights.org.in/rights.htm

Solution: b)

Some miners still use canaries to detect the presence of deadly carbon monoxide in underground mines. Miners collapse and often die even if small quantities of the highly poisonous CO are present in the air. When lowered into mines with CO presence, the birds show distress symptoms such as ruffling of feathers, pronounced chirping and loss of life. These reactions occur even if 0.15 per cent of CO is present in the air. If the content is 0.3 per cent the bird shows immediate distress and falls off its perch in two to three minutes. A cage of birds is a good indicator in air containing more than 0.15 per cent CO.

Solution: d)

The objectives of PURA are proposed to be achieved under the framework of Public Private Partnership between Gram Panchayats and private sector partner with active state government support. Core funding shall be sourced from the Central Sector scheme of PURA and complemented by additional support through convergence of different Central Government schemes. The private sector shall also bring into the project its share of investment besides operational expertise. The scheme would be implemented and managed by the private sector on considerations of economic viability but designed in a manner whereby it is fully aligned with the overall objective of rural development.

Solution: d)

The Bill proposes that the Chief Justice of India will head a six-member National Judicial Appointments Commission, other members of which would be the law minister, two senior Supreme Court judges and two eminent people.

A collegium comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the leader of the single largest party in the Lok Sabha will select the two eminent people.

One eminent person will be nominated from among the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, minorities or women.

Solution: a)

It refers to the death of Lord Buddha. First sermon by Buddha is called Dhammachakrapravartan. The enlightenment of the Buddha is yearly celebrated in many Buddhist countries. Bodhi (Enlightenment) Day is observed in many mainstream Mahayana traditions including the traditional Zen and Pureland Buddhist schools of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. In Japanese Zen, it is also known as Rohatsu.

Solution: a)

Naqqar khana was a drum house from where ceremonial music was played over the gate in Mughal complexes. Intarsia is an Italian art form related to Peitra-dura.

Solution: a)

Here is the breakup till May 2014:

Solution: c)

Strategic Sale refers to the sale of 51% or more stake of a PSU to the private sector who bids the highest. The ownership of PSU is handed over to the private sector.

Minority Sale refers to the sale of less than 49% stake of a PSU to the private sector. The ownership of PSU still remains with the government as it holds 51% of stakes.

Solution: a)

Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away. Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away. This process is known as “upwelling.”

Upwelling occurs in the open ocean and along coastlines. The reverse process, called “downwelling,” also occurs when wind causes surface water to build up along a coastline and the surface water eventually sinks toward the bottom.

Water that rises to the surface as a result of upwelling is typically colder and is rich in nutrients. These nutrients “fertilize” surface waters, meaning that these surface waters often have high biological productivity i.e. more phtoplanktons etc..  Therefore, good fishing grounds typically are found where upwelling is common.

The three main drivers that work together to cause upwelling are wind, Coriolis effects, and Ekman transport (Ekman Transport is the net motion of fluid as the result of a balance between Coriolis and turbulent drag forces).

Solution: a)

Total spending is the highest in elementary education and the per capita spending is highest in tertiary education i.e. higher and technical education sector.

To give an idea of only Central government spending ( not total public expenditure); spending on education was 3.3% of GDP in 2013-14. Out of this, more than 50% was spent on the elementary education sector.

Solution: a)

List of All Revolutions:

• Black Revolution – Petroleum Production
• Blue Revolution – Fish Production
• Brown Revolution – Leather/non-conventional(India)/Cocoa production
• Golden Fibre Revolution – Jute Production
• Golden Revolution – Fruits/Overall Horticulture development/Honey Production
• Green Revolution – Food grains
• Grey Revolution – Fertilizer
• Pink Revolution – Meat Production – some also refer it to prawns/onion/pharmaceuticals production
• Round Revolution – Potato
• Silver Fiber Revolution – Cotton
• Silver Revolution – Egg/Poultry Production
• White Revolution (In India: Operation Flood) – Milk/Dairy production
• Yellow Revolution – Oil Seeds production

Solution: d)

UPSC keeps asking questions related to laws concerning contemporary issues.

Here is the list of some important labour laws in India:

a) Apprentices Act, 1961 29

b) Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 36

c) Employees Provident Fund And Misc. Provisions Act, 1952 51

d) The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959

e) Factories Act, 1948 58

f) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 74

g) Labour Laws (Exemption From Furnishing Returns & Maintaining Registers By Certain Establishments) Act, 1988

h) Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 83

i) Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 87

j) Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923

Solution: d)

Refer to http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20122607-23613.html

Solution: d)

In order to address two major environmental concerns in India, viz. water and air pollution, the government set up the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 1974. This was followed by states establishing their own state level boards to address all the environmental concerns.

They investigate, collect and disseminate information relating to water, air and land pollution, lay down standards for sewage/trade effluent and emissions. These boards provide technical assistance to governments in promoting cleanliness of streams and wells by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution, and improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.

These boards also carry out and sponsor investigation and research relating to problems of water and air pollution and for their prevention, control or abatement. They also organise, through mass media, a comprehensive mass awareness programme for the same. The PCBs prepare manuals, codes and guidelines relating to treatment and disposal of sewage and trade effluents.

They assess the air quality through regulation of industries. In fact, state boards, through their district level officials, periodically inspect every industry under their jurisdiction to assess the adequacy of treatment measures provided to treat the effluent and gaseous emissions. It also provides background air quality data needed for industrial siting and town planning.

Solution: a)

Dubbed the Cheerios Effect by scientists, this clumping phenomenon applies to anything that floats, including fizzy soda bubbles and hair particles in water after a morning shave.

Surface tension makes the milk’s surface cave in slightly in the middle of the bowl. Because water molecules in the milk are attracted to glass, the milk’s surface curves upward around the bowl’s edge. For this reason, pieces of the cereal near the edge float upward along this curve, appearing as if they’re clinging to the edge.

Also because of surface tension, cereal floating in the middle of your bowl dents the milk’s surface, creating a dip in it. When two pieces of cereal touch, their two dents become one, and, resting in it, they stick together.

Solution: c)

The short explanation is this: as the ice freezes fast under supercooled conditions, the surface can get covered except for a small hole. Water expands when it freezes. As freezing continues, the expanding ice under the surface forces the remaining water up through the hole and it freezes around the edge forming a hollow spike. Eventually, the whole thing freezes and the spike is left.

A slightly longer explanation: the form of the ice crystals depends on the cooling rate and hence on the degree of supercooling. Large supercooling favors sheets which rapidly cover the surface, with some sheets hanging down into the water like curtains. These crystallites tend to join at 60 degrees and leave triangular holes in the surface. Hence, spikes often have a triangular base. The sides of the spike are sometimes a continuation of pre-existing subsurface crystallites, and can extend from the surface at steep angles.

Solution: c)

Faster freezing of hot water seems counter-intuitive. But this phenomenon was first observed by Aristotle. It is explained based on several principles but a correct explanation has been elusive till date.

Air pressure certainly affects the freezing temperature. The higher the pressure, the lower the freezing temperature. Since it will take water longer to reach the lower temperature, it would freeze more slowly.

There are two ways that the higher pressure lowers the freezing temperature.

One is direct. Ice occupies more volume than liquid water, so squeezing harder favors the liquid over the ice state.

The second is less direct. At higher pressure, more air (nitrogen and oxygen molecules) goes into solution. The more molecules dissolved in the water, the lower the freezing point. That’s discussed more in other answers here on the freezing of saltwater.

There are two other points to worry about here. One is that at higher pressures, the air will have a higher heat capacity per unit volume than at lower pressures, and so flowing high-pressure cold air past the water can freeze the water faster. If the high-pressure air does not flow (that is, if you pressurize a closed container) then this should have almost no effect.

Placing water in a vacuum: Liquid water will boil if its vapor pressure is greater than the ambient air pressure. In a vacuum, liquid water will start to boil regardless of what the temperature is. Turning water from a liquid to a vapor takes 540 calories per gram, and this heat is taken from the liquid water, cooling it off. In a vacuum, the water will continue to boil until so much heat has been removed that the remaining water will freeze. This is a very quick way to freeze water.

If you put the water in a sealed container with a vacuum, then the water will only boil for a very short time until the container is full of water vapor (no vacuum any more). If you want to freeze the water by boiling it, you have to constantly pump away the water vapor with a vacuum pump.

Solution: d)

A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building.

Indian Green Building Council, formed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the year 2001, is continuously striving towards wider adoption of eco-friendly / green building concepts in the Indian Industry.

The Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) had launched the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). The code is set for energy efficiency standards for design and construction with any building of minimum conditioned area of 1000 Sq mts and a connected demand of power of 500 KW or 600 KVA.

Solution: a)

It is the measure of habitat to indefinitely sustain a population at a particular density. A more technical definition for carrying capacity is the largest size of a density-dependent population for which the population growth rate is zero. Hence, below carrying capacity, populations will tend to increase, while they will decrease above carrying capacity.

Solution: d)

Solution: d)

Special Economic Zone (SEZ) : It is a geographical region that has economic laws different from a country’s typical economic laws. Usually the goal is to increase foreign investment. Special Economic Zones have been established in several countries, including the People’s Republic of China, India, Jordan, Poland, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Russia.

Broadly, SEZs are located within a country’s national borders. The aims of the zones include: increased trade, increased investment, job creation and effective administration. To encourage businesses to set up in the zone liberal policies are introduced. There policies typically regard investing, taxation, trading, quotas, customs and labour regulations. Additionally, companies may be offered tax holidays.

The creation of special economic zones by the host country may be motivated by the desire to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The benefits a company gains by being in a Special Economic Zone may mean it can produce and trade goods at a globally competitive price. The operating definition of an economic zone is determined individually by each country.

Solution: d)

Refer to https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/what-2012-02-25-en

Solution: d)

A GI tag ensures that no one other than the registered users ( or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name. Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India in 2004-05. India enacted the GI of goods (registration and protection) Act, 1999 which is in force from 2003.

Solution: a)

http://energyfromwasteandwood.weebly.com/generations-of-biofuels.html

Solution: a)

A term used to describe net capital accumulation during an accounting period. Capital formation refers to net additions of capital stock such as equipment, buildings and other intermediate goods. A nation uses capital stock in combination with labour to provide services and produce goods; an increase in this capital stock is known as capital formation.

Solution: d)

Self-explanatory.

Solution: a)

Total production of final goods can thus be either in the form of consumption or investment. This implies that there is a trade-off. If an economy, produces more of consumer goods, it is producing less of capital goods and vice-versa.

Of the total output of final goods of an economy, if a larger share goes for production of capital goods, a smaller share is available for production of consumer goods.

For a detailed explanation refer to the chapter – National Income accounting 12^th NCERT Macroeconomics.

Solution: a)

GDP deflator is used to calculate overall rise in prices alongwith the total production in the economy in an year. It does not capture the true rise in the GDP as it includes inflation too. GDP real calculates the GDP growth at constant prices.

Solution; a)

The fiat money or currency that we carry has the legal backing of the RBI. Note that the note itself has no intrinsic value. It is the legal tender that the RBI has with you is of value.

The value of the currency notes and coins is derived from the guarantee provided by the issuing authority of these items. Every currency note bears on its face a promise from the Governor of RBI that if someone produces the note to RBI, or any other commercial bank, RBI will be  responsible for giving the person purchasing power equal to the value printed on the note. The same is also true of coins. Currency notes and coins are therefore called fiat money. They do not have intrinsic value like a gold or silver coin. They are also called legal tenders as they cannot be refused by any citizen of the country for settlement of any kind of transaction. Cheques drawn on savings or current accounts, however, can be refused by anyone as a mode of payment. Hence, demand deposits are not legal tenders.

Solution: d)

High CRR and high SLR force the banks legally to maintain a high reserve deposit ratio.

Bank rate is the rate at which the commercial banks borrow money from RBI in times of liquidity crunch. If the bank rate is high banks will be de-incentivized to borrow from RBI. Hence, they will maintain high RDR.

Solution: a)

Please refer to page 41-43 of 12^th NCERT Macroeconomics to gain a detailed understanding of money multiplier.

In short, by successive cycles of borrowing, spending and depositing, banks and individuals create much more credit than the RBI initially injects in the economy.

Solution: b)

Fiscal deficit usually injects money in the economy leading to enhanced demand. If this demand is not met with adequate supply, it will result in inflation. Otherwise, it will not be inflationary if kept in limits.

In a recession, there is a fall in production of goods and services in the economy.  The earnings of the government therefore reduce due to a reduction in tax (corporate tax, excise duty) and non-tax revenue (from PSUs etc.). However, the expenditure side remains more or less the same. And, in fact the government may have to inject more money in form of a fiscal stimulus. This leads to widening of fiscal deficit.

Solution: a)

REER and NEER measure the exchange rate in a basket of currencies. So they do not apply to two currencies individually.

Nominal exchange rate is what we usually know as the dollar-rupee, yen-rupee exchange rate.

Real exchange rate is different and takes into account the price levels in the two countries.

Explanation from NCERT: “If one wants to plan a trip to London, she needs to know how expensive British goods are relative to goods at home. The measure that captures this is the real exchange rate – the ratio of foreign to domestic prices, measured in the same currency. It is defined as

Real exchange rate =  ePf/P

where P and Pf are the price levels here and abroad, respectively, and e is the rupee price of foreign exchange (the nominal exchange rate). The numerator expresses prices abroad measured in rupees, the denominator gives the domestic price level measured in rupees, so the real exchange rate measures prices abroad relative to those at home. If the real exchange rate is equal to one, currencies are at purchasing power parity. This means that goods cost the same in two countries when measured in the same currency.

Solution: c)

Solution: c)

High inflation makes domestic products less competitive and thus causes a decline in exports. Besides, high inflation discourages foreign investment. These two combinedly widen the fiscal deficit and make its financing difficult. This leads to depreciation in the currency.

High interest rates, on the other hand, encourage foreign investors as they get high returns on their deposits. This helps finance CAD and thus in the appreciation of the currency.

Solution: b)

Without any formal international agreement, the world has moved on to what can be best described as a managed floating exchange rate system. It is a mixture of a flexible exchange rate system (the float part) and a fixed rate system (the managed part). Under this system, also called dirty floating, central banks intervene to buy and sell foreign currencies in an attempt to moderate exchange rate movements whenever they feel that such actions are appropriate. Official reserve transactions are, therefore, not equal to zero. India also follows this system.

Solution: a)

Consider this: Suppose Tanzania and US produce the same quantity of the same goods and services. Because of the high prices in the US, its GDP will be naturally more than Tanzania even though the total production is same. This would give a false picture of the economic strength of Tanzania.

Read the following. It will be clearer.

Market exchange rates are determined by the daily demand and supply of currencies in the international market, in turn determined mainly by things that are globally tradable, while many goods and services are never traded internationally.

Also, developing countries have relatively lower prices of these non-tradable goods and services. Hence, conversion of GDP into dollars at the market exchange price would give a lower value to the GDP of a developing country like India than is warranted. Hence, to make an apples to apples comparison, PPP exchange rates are calculated by comparing the prices of a similar basket of goods and services in different countries.

These rates are then used to determine the GDPs of different countries in PPP dollars. To see how much of a difference using PPP rates can make, consider this: In nominal dollars, China has only just overtaken Japan as the second largest economy in the world and is only a little more than one-third the size of US economy. India is ranked 12th and is just 10% of the US economy.

In PPP terms, China is more than double the size of Japan and about two-thirds the size of the US. India is ranked fourth just a little behind Japan and about one-fourth as big as the US economy.

Solution: a)

The Triffin dilemma or paradox is the conflict of economic interests that arises between short-term domestic and long-term international objectives when a national currency also serves as a world reserve currency. The dilemma of choosing between these objectives was first identified in the 1960s by Belgian-American economist Robert Triffin. He pointed out that the country whose currency, being the global reserve currency, foreign nations wish to hold, must be willing to supply the world with an extra supply of its currency to fulfill world demand for these foreign exchange reserves, and thus cause a trade deficit.

The use of a national currency, e.g., the U.S. dollar, as global reserve currency leads to tension between its national and global monetary policy. This is reflected in fundamental imbalances in the balance of payments, specifically the current account: some goals require an overall flow of dollars out of the United States, while others require an overall flow of dollars into the United States.

Specifically, the Triffin dilemma is usually cited to articulate the problems with the role of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency under the Bretton Woods system.

Solution: a)

NNP at factor cost = GDP – depreciation – (Indirect taxes – subsidies)

It takes inflation into account and hence is not called national income.

NNP at factor cost at constant prices = GDP at constant prices – depreciation – (Indirect taxes – subsidies)

It takes inflation into account and hence is called national income.

Solution: c)

An elastic good is a good where if the price goes up, people will stop buying or greatly reduce demand of a particular product; and if the price goes down, people will greatly increase of increase demand of a particular good. An inelastic good is a good where if the price goes up, people will only slightly reduce demand of a particular product; and if the price goes down, people will only slightly increase demand of a particular good.

Elastic goods are generally non-necessities or luxuries like movie tickets, cars, dinner in restaurants etc. Inelastic goods are generally necessary goods like salt, water, petrol etc.

Solution: a)

FPOs are self-help organizations of farmers owned and administered by the farmer-members. Every annual budget from the past few years is making certain concessions to these FPOs. They are usually registered as a company under the Companies Act or as a society under the Societies Registration Act. Please refer to the following document to understand the background and guidelines for FPOs http://nhm.nic.in/Archive/FPO-Policy&Process-GuidelinesDAC2013.pdf

Just scan through the initial 8-10 pages.

And this too http://www.business-standard.com/article/budget/farmer-producer-organisations-may-get-tax-exemptions-in-2013-budget-113022300355_1.html

Solution: a)

This legislative council so established came to be known as Central legislative council.

Solution: a)

Other features borrowed are federal scheme; judiciary, emergency provisions and other administrative details.

Solution: c)

Rights and duties clarify the political architecture of the Indian state, to some extent social too. But the socialist essence of the state is characterized best by DPSP.

Solution: b)

Prior Presidential recommendation is required before taking up this bill in Parliament. And before recommending the bill, the President refers the bill to the concerned state legislature.

Solution: d)

All these require a simple majority in the Parliament and thus are not considered an amendment under Article 368 of the constitution.

Solution: b)

In addition to these, ECI also conducts elections of President, Vice-President etc.

Solution: c)

There are no qualifications mentioned by the constitution for the election commissioners. NHRCF chairman should be a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court. Members of the FC should be experts in finance, economics, administration etc.

Solution: c)

Other offices which take oath are: President, Vice-President,  PM, judges of SC and HC, Union and State Ministers, MPs, Governor, MLAs, MLCs.

Solution: b)

Appeal will lie to both the HC and SC. State legislatures can make laws on all matters related to elections to state legislatures but it should not contravene Parliamentary laws on the same.

Solution: d)

Self-explanatory. For e.g. Jains were recently recognized as a national religious minority group.

Solution: a)

The choice of official language of the state is not restricted to 8^th schedule.

It is up to the state to decide their official language. The constitution does not prescribe it for the state.

Solution: d)

Appeal from SIC lies to the High court. The CIC handles only cases related to the Central government and its agencies.

Solution: c)

Solution: c)

The approval of the concerned state legislatures is required, not the Governor’s.

Solution: c)

Great Himalayan National Park is located in Himachal Pradesh.

Solution: d)

Severe ozone level depletion will lead to severe penetration of UV rays which would inhibit the growth and even kill phytoplankton populations in the ocean. These are major carbon sinks.

Coral reefs are important in determining the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The zooxanthellae algae, through photosynthesis, remove carbon dioxide from the air and make carbohydrates available as food for both the zooxanthellae and the coral polyps. Eventually, much of the carbon removed from the air will reside on the ocean bottom in the form of limestone produced by coral polyps.

Ocean acidification and global warming would negatively affect coral reefs, even bleaching them completely. This would result in corals that are much less effective in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere.

Solution: d)

Five major wetland types are generally recognized:

• marine (coastal wetlands including coastal lagoons, rocky shores, and coral reefs);
• estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps);
• lacustrine (wetlands associated with lakes);
• riverine (wetlands along rivers and streams); and
• palustrine (meaning “marshy” – marshes, swamps and bogs).

In addition, there are human-made wetlands such as fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals. The Ramsar Convention has adopted a Ramsar Classification of Wetland Type which includes 42 types, grouped into three categories: Marine and Coastal Wetlands, Inland Wetlands, and Human-made Wetlands.

Solution: a)

All Gyps species of vultures (Critically Endangered), Forest Owlet (Critically Endangered), Lesser Florican (Endangered), Narcondam Hornbill (Endangered), Sarus Crane (Vulnerable), Yellow-throated Bulbul (Vulnerable), Lesser Flamingo (Near Threatened) and Painted Stork (Near Threatened).

Solution: c)

Solution: d)

Aerosols are fine particles suspended in the atmosphere. Others are volcano ash, water vapour and dust.

Solution: a)

Conservation tillage is any method of soil cultivation that leaves the previous year’s crop residue (such as corn stalks or wheat stubble) on fields before and after planting the next crop, to reduce soil erosion and runoff.

Conservation tillage methods include no-till, strip-till, ridge-till and mulch-till. Each method requires different types of specialized or modified equipment and adaptations in management.

No-till and strip-till involve planting crops directly into residue that either hasn’t been tilled at all (no-till) or has been tilled only in narrow strips with the rest of the field left untilled (strip-till).

Ridge-till involves planting row crops on permanent ridges about 4-6 inches high. The previous crop’s residue is cleared off ridge-tops into adjacent furrows to make way for the new crop being planted on ridges. Maintaining the ridges is essential and requires modified or specialized equipment.

Mulch-till is any other reduced tillage system that leaves at least one third of the soil surface covered with crop residue.

Solution: a)

When you cut an onion, you break cells, releasing their contents. Amino acid sulfoxides form sulfenic acids. Enzymes that were kept separate now are free to mix with the sulfenic acids to produce propanethiol S-oxide, a volatile sulfur compound that wafts upward toward your eyes. This gas reacts with the water in your tears to form sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid burns, stimulating your eyes to release more tears to wash the irritant away.

Solution: b)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gir_Forest_National_Park#The_lion_breeding_programme_and_lion-counting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-situ_conservation#Reserves

Solution: b)

The demonstration was to demand the release of two popular leaders of the Indian Independence Movement, Satya Pal and SaifuddinKitchlew, who had been earlier arrested by the government and moved to a secret location.

Along with these protesters, there were also other people who had gathered to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi at JallianwalaBagh.

Solution: a)

Tropical cyclones are compact, circular storms, generally some 320 km (200 miles) in diameter, whose winds swirl around a central region of low atmospheric pressure. The winds are driven by this low-pressure core and by the rotation of Earth, which deflects the path of the wind through a phenomenon known as the Coriolis force. As a result, tropical cyclones rotate in a counterclockwise (or cyclonic) direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in a clockwise (or anticyclonic) direction in the Southern Hemisphere.

Solution: c)

Troposphere is the lowest region of the atmosphere, bounded by the Earth beneath and the stratosphereabove, with its upper boundary being the tropopause, about 10–18 km (6–11 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The troposphere is characterized by decreasing temperature with height and is distinguished from the overlying stratosphere by a region of nearly constant temperature in the lower stratosphere. Most of the clouds and weather systems are contained within the troposphere.

Solution: b)

Mixed farming is an agrarian system that mixes arable farming with the raising of livestock. When on a farm along-with crop production, some other agriculture based practice like poultry, dairy farming or bee keeping etc. is adopted, then this system of farming is known as mixed farming. It is the dominant system in Europe and now in parts of India, where most farms have a mixture offields and pastures.It was first mainly used for self-consumption, but now in Advanced countries like USA, Japan ,etc., this is done for a commercial purpose.

Solution: a)

Except groundnut, all are cereals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal_crop#Production

Solution: a)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbeling

Solution: b)

The Indian Independence Act 1947 was as an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received the royal assent on 18 July 1947, and Pakistan came into being on August 14, and India on August 15, as two new countries

Solution: d)

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/438323/Pahari-painting

Solution: d)

In 1911, Bengal was reunited.

In 1947, Bengal was partitioned for the second time, solely on religious grounds, as part of the Partition of India following the formation of the nations India and Pakistan.

Solution: c)

The oldest Veda is the Rigveda,composed about 3500 years ago. The Rigvedaincludes more than a thousand hymns, calledsukta or “well-said”. These hymns are in praiseof various gods and goddesses. Three gods are especially important: Agni, the god of fire; Indra,a warrior god; and Soma, a plant from which a special drink was prepared.

Solution: c)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Langur

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemism

Solution: c)

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2011/03/tsunamis-how-they-form/

Solution: a)

The Nehru Report in August 1928 was a memorandum outlining a proposed new dominion status constitution for India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with his son Jawaharlal acting as secretary. There were nine other members in this committee, including two Muslims. However, the final report was signed by only eight persons: Motilal Nehru, Ali Imam, TejBahadurSapru, M.-S. Aney, Mangal Singh, ShuaibQureshi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and G. R. Pradhan . Shuaaib Qureshi disagreeing with some of the recommendations.

Solution: b)

The prevailing languages are Sindhi in the southwest, Lahnda in the northwest, andRajasthani languages—especially Marwari—in central and eastern portions of the Thar

Lahnda language, also called Lahndi or Western Punjabi ,  group of Indo-Aryan dialects spoken in and around the western districts of Punjab province in Pakistan.

Solution: c)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism_in_India#Impact_of_Sufism

Solution: b)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_soil#Content

Solution: b)

While travelling towards the Indian Ocean, the dry cold wind picks up some moisture from the Bay of Bengal and pours it over peninsularIndia and parts of Sri Lanka. Cities like Chennai, which get less rain from the Southwest Monsoon, receives rain from this Monsoon. About 50% to 60% of the rain received by the state of Tamil Nadu is from the Northeast Monsoon. In Southern Asia, the northeastern monsoons take place from December to early March when the surface high-pressure system is strongest.^[29] The jet stream in this region splits into the southern subtropical jet and the polar jet. The subtropical flow directs northeasterly winds to blow across southern Asia, creating dry air streams which produce clear skies over India. Meanwhile, a low pressure system develops over South-East Asia and Australasia and winds are directed towardAustralia known as a monsoon trough.

Solution: c)

The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a freshwater or river dolphin found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistanwhich is split into two subspecies, the Ganges river dolphin (P. g. gangetica) and Indus river dolphin (P. g. minor).^[2] The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, while the Indus river dolphin is found in the Indus River in Pakistan and its Beas and Sutlej tributaries.

Solution: b)

satyagraha, ( Hindi: “insistence on truth” or “zeal for truth”) concept introduced in the early 20th century by Mahatma Gandhi to designate a determined but nonviolent resistance to evil. Gandhi’ssatyagraha became a major tool in the Indian struggle against British imperialism and has since been adopted by protest groups in other countries.

According to this philosophy, satyagrahis—practitioners of satyagraha—achieve correct insight into the real nature of an evil situation by observing a nonviolence of the mind, by seeking truth in a spirit of peace and love, and by undergoing a rigorous process of self-scrutiny. In so doing, thesatyagrahi encounters truth in the absolute. By his refusal to submit to the wrong or to cooperate with it in any way, the satyagrahi asserts this truth. Throughout his confrontation with the evil, he must adhere to nonviolence, for to employ violence would be to lose correct insight. A satyagrahialways warns his opponents of his intentions; satyagraha forbids any tactic suggesting the use of secrecy to one’s advantage. Satyagraha includes more than civil disobedience; its full range of application extends from the details of correct daily living to the construction of alternative political and economic institutions. Satyagraha seeks to conquer through conversion; in the end, there is neither defeat nor victory but rather a new harmony.

Satyagraha draws from the ancient Indian ideal of ahimsa (“noninjury”), which is pursued with particular rigour by Jains. In developing ahimsa into a modern concept with broad political consequences, as satyagraha, Gandhi also drew from the writings of Leo Tolstoy and Henry David Thoreau, from the Bible, and from the Bhagavadgita, the great Sanskrit epic. Gandhi first conceivedsatyagraha in 1906 in response to a law discriminating against Asians that was passed by the British colonial government of the Transvaal in South Africa. In 1917 the first satyagraha campaign in India was mounted in the indigo-growing district of Champaran. During the following years, fasting and economic boycotts were employed as methods of satyagraha, until the British left India in 1947.

http://www.mkgandhi.org/nonviolence/phil1.htm

Solution: a)

The Chambal is a tributary of the Yamuna River in central India, and forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state.