Civil Services Examination Prelims 2022: উত্তরসহ প্রশ্ন

RFI and RCF are IMF emergency lending facilities for members facing urgent balance-of-payments needs.

A rising NEER means rupee appreciation. A rising REER means loss of trade competitiveness, not improvement. REER adjusts NEER for relative inflation, so higher domestic inflation widens the gap between them.

To fight inflation the RBI sells (not buys) G-secs to absorb liquidity. It sells dollars to support a falling rupee, and it buys dollars when lower foreign rates bring capital inflows that push the rupee up.

The Common Framework for Debt Treatments (2020) was agreed by the G20 and Paris Club to help low-income countries restructure unsustainable debt.

IIBs carry lower real coupons because principal/interest is indexed to inflation, protecting investors. Interest and capital gains on IIBs are taxable.

FDI rules allow foreign e-commerce firms only the marketplace model (no inventory model), and restrict their equity/control over sellers on their platforms.

The real sector produces goods and services (agriculture, manufacturing). Bank lending and bond issuance are financial-sector activities.

Indirect transfer refers to transfer of shares of a foreign entity whose value substantially derives from Indian assets (e.g., the Vodafone and Cairn retrospective tax cases).

Acquiring technology creates a long-term asset, so it is capital expenditure. Debt and equity are sources of finance, not categories of expenditure.

Household savings flow to government borrowing via small savings, banks, insurance etc., and dated G-secs form the bulk of internal debt.

The 1971 Act followed the Sanyal Committee; Articles 129 and 215 empower SC/HCs; Parliament legislates under Entry 77 (List I) and Entry 14 (List III). Civil and criminal contempt are defined in the 1971 Act, not the Constitution.

Under the Advocates Act, the Bar Council of India regulates legal education and recognises law colleges. Legal firms are not 'advocates', and the recognition distinction in statement 1 is inaccurate.

No prior Presidential recommendation is needed for an amendment bill. Since the 24th Amendment the President must assent, and there is no joint sitting under Article 368.

Ranks of ministers are not in the Constitution; they come from convention. The 91st Amendment (Art. 75(1A)) caps the Council of Ministers at 15% of Lok Sabha strength.

Emergency approval and presidential impeachment involve both Houses. Only the Lok Sabha can pass a no-confidence motion (Art. 75(3)).

A nominated member may join a party within six months of taking the seat; after that he is disqualified. The Tenth Schedule prescribes no time limit for the presiding officer.

Only the Attorney General (not the Solicitor General) has the right to take part in parliamentary proceedings under Art. 88, and ministers also participate. AG resignation with the government is a convention, not a constitutional requirement.

Mandamus lies against public authorities, including government companies that are 'State', and against private bodies only if they perform public duties. Quo warranto can be sought by any person, not necessarily aggrieved.

ABDM is voluntary for both hospitals and citizens; its health IDs offer nationwide portability of records.

Rule 8 lets the Speaker fix the election date, and when presiding the Deputy Speaker has the Speaker's powers with no appeal. There is no mandatory party rule, and the motion is not moved by the Speaker.

Flooded paddy fields emit methane (anaerobic decomposition), and fertiliser use/wet-dry cycles emit nitrous oxide.

SRI uses fewer seeds (single young seedlings), and intermittent irrigation cuts methane and pumping electricity.

Lake Faguibine in Mali dried up due to droughts and reduced Niger floodwaters.

Gandikota canyon ('Grand Canyon of India') in Kadapa, AP, is carved by the Pennar river through the Erramala hills.

Namcha Barwa is in the eastern (Assam/Tibet) Himalaya and Nokrek is in the Garo Hills, Meghalaya. Nanda Devi lies in the Kumaon Himalaya.

The Levant covers the eastern Mediterranean: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan (and Cyprus/parts of Turkey).

Afghanistan borders Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (plus Iran, Pakistan, China), not Azerbaijan or Kyrgyzstan.

Monazite is a rare-earth and thorium mineral. It occurs in specific beach sands (Kerala, TN, Odisha, AP), not all coasts, and only government entities like IREL can process/export it.

The summer solstice (longest day) in the northern hemisphere falls around 20–21 June.

Renuka (HP) and Rudrasagar (Tripura) are correct. Hokera is in Jammu & Kashmir and Sasthamkotta in Kerala.

All four are part of India's digital public infrastructure built on open-source platforms/stacks (e.g., CoWIN on DIVOC, DIKSHA on Sunbird; Aarogya Setu's code was open-sourced).

Web 3.0 is a decentralised, blockchain-based web where users own their data and platforms are collectively governed.

SaaS apps are cloud-hosted, accessible from any device, allow configuration of UI/fields, and web email services are classic SaaS examples.

FOBS places a warhead in low orbit and deorbits it onto a target, evading early-warning systems; it was in the news after China's 2021 hypersonic test.

A qubit (quantum bit) is the basic unit of information in quantum computing and can exist in superposition.

RFID and WLAN are recognised short-range radio devices. CCTV is a video surveillance system, not an SRD category.

Biofilms (microbial communities in a matrix) form on implants and food surfaces and are notably resistant to antibiotics.

Probiotics include bacteria (Lactobacillus) and yeasts (Saccharomyces), and they aid lactose digestion. Many of these organisms do occur naturally in the gut.

Covishield is a viral-vector (chimpanzee adenovirus) vaccine, not mRNA. Sputnik V uses adenoviral vectors, and Covaxin is an inactivated whole-virion vaccine.

Geomagnetic storms disrupt GPS, grids, satellites (atmospheric drag) and HF radio, and cause widespread auroras. They do not cause tsunamis or forest fires.

CAT is an independent analysis by research organisations (Climate Analytics and NewClimate Institute).

EP100 was launched by the Climate Group with the Alliance to Save Energy (not the IEA), and has Indian members such as Mahindra. The Climate Group, not the IEA, is the Under2 Coalition secretariat.

Like kidneys, wetlands filter pollutants; aquatic plants absorb heavy metals and excess nutrients.

The 2021 WHO limits for PM2.5 are 15 (24-h) and 5 (annual) µg/m³, and ozone triggers asthma. Ozone peaks in sunny, not inclement, weather, and it is PM2.5 (not PM10) that enters the bloodstream.

Gucchi (morel mushroom) is a wild fungus from Himalayan forests (J&K, HP) and is not commercially cultivated.

PET (polyester) fibres are blended with cotton/wool, and PET bottles are recyclable. It is not suitable for all alcoholic beverages, and incineration emits CO2.

Golden Mahseer is a freshwater fish; the others are birds.

Alfalfa, chickpea and clover are legumes with nitrogen-fixing root nodules.

Biorock uses low-voltage current on steel frames to deposit limestone, helping corals regrow (used in the Gulf of Kutch).

The Japanese Miyawaki method densely plants native species to create fast-growing mini forests in urban spaces.

Justice, land revenue and police were reserved subjects under the Governor. Local self-government was a transferred subject under Indian ministers.

Fanam was a small gold/silver coin used in South India.

Rash Behari Bose coordinated the Ghadar uprising plan of 1915. Barindra Ghosh was with Anushilan/Jugantar and Jogesh Chatterjee with HRA.

Under Cripps, provincial members were to be elected by provincial assemblies (princely states would nominate), and provinces could opt out and sign separate agreements.

Parishishtaparvan (Hemachandra) and Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana (Jinasena/Gunabhadra) are Jaina. Nettipakarana and Avadanashataka are Buddhist.

Aryadeva was a Buddhist (Madhyamaka) scholar, a disciple of Nagarjuna. Dignaga was a Buddhist logician and Nathamuni a Sri Vaishnava acharya.

The first Mongol incursion came under Iltutmish (Chengiz Khan, 1221). Under Alauddin, Targhi besieged Delhi (1303), and Muhammad bin Tughlaq bought off Tarmashirin without losing territory (per the official key).

Sayyids (claimed descendants of the Prophet) were called Kulah-Daran ('cap wearers') in the Delhi Sultanate.

Albuquerque took Goa from Bijapur in 1510, and Madras land was granted by Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, a Vijayanagara representative (1639). Dutch east coast factories (Masulipatnam, Pulicat) were granted by Golconda/Vijayanagara rulers, not the Gajapatis.

The Arthashastra recognises slavery through judicial punishment (dandadasa), and frees a female slave and her son when the master fathers him, giving the son the master's son's status.

Fed tightening pulls capital out of emerging markets, weakening their currencies and raising the cost of servicing foreign-currency ECBs. Devaluation increases, not decreases, ECB currency risk.

Kerala, Himachal Pradesh (Kangra) and Tripura are recognised tea-producing states; Andhra Pradesh is not generally known for tea.

Credit rating agencies are regulated by SEBI. ICRA is a public limited company, and Brickwork is an Indian CRA.

BBB is chaired by an eminent person appointed by the government, not the RBI Governor. It recommends PSB heads and advises on strategy/capital raising (now replaced by FSIB).

The conversion option lets issuers pay lower coupons. Since equity prices tend to rise with inflation, conversion gives some protection against rising prices.

India is a founding member of AIIB, joined MTCR in 2016 and SCO in 2017.

Vietnam is a fast-growing, export-led economy attracting manufacturers with low costs and a stable currency. It is a one-party communist state, and the e-services claim is unfounded.

Under the amended RBI Act (flexible inflation targeting), the RBI's MPC is mandated to maintain price stability.

NFTs are unique blockchain tokens representing digital or physical assets. Being non-fungible, they cannot be exchanged at equivalency like currency.

Only Gandhi Sagar (MP) is correct. Ghataprabha is in Karnataka, Indira Sagar in MP and Maithon in Jharkhand, so three pairs are wrong.

The Labour Bureau (Ministry of Labour) compiles statistics on industrial disputes, closures, retrenchments and lay-offs.

CCO (Kolkata) compiles coal statistics, monitors captive blocks and hears objections under the Coal Bearing Areas Act. It does not enforce delivery timelines.

The Governor can make regulations for Scheduled Areas to prohibit or restrict transfer of tribal land to non-tribals (Para 5(2)). Autonomous councils belong to the Sixth Schedule.

India Sanitation Coalition was launched at FICCI as a multi-stakeholder platform, not funded by GoI/WHO. NIUA is MoHUA's premier urban think tank.

CGWA was constituted under Section 3(3) of the EPA, 1986 to regulate groundwater.

The Credentials Committee is a nine-member committee appointed by the General Assembly (not UNSC), usually meeting before the GA session in autumn.

The IMO's Polar Code (2017) sets safety and environmental rules for ships in Arctic and Antarctic waters.

The UNGA grants observer status to non-member states (e.g., Palestine, Holy See) and IGOs, and permanent observers can keep missions in New York.

The Tea Board is a statutory body under the Tea Act, 1953, with overseas offices in Dubai and Moscow. It is under the Ministry of Commerce, with its head office in Kolkata.

Greenwashing is misleading marketing that presents products or firms as more environmentally friendly than they are.

It is the reverse: high thin clouds trap outgoing infrared and warm the surface, while low thick clouds reflect sunlight and cool it.

Bidibidi is in north-western Uganda (not Kenya) and hosts South Sudanese refugees. Dadaab in Kenya hosts Somali refugees.

OTS members are Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Cochin (Kerala) is the world's first fully solar-powered airport. The largest solar park then was Bhadla (Rajasthan), and the largest floating PV was Ramagundam (Telangana).

UNCLOS sets the territorial sea at up to 12 nm and the EEZ at up to 200 nm, and grants innocent passage to ships of all states.

The Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands in the East China Sea are administered by Japan and claimed by China (and Taiwan).

Guinea saw a 2021 coup, Lebanon a severe economic crisis, and Tunisia's President suspended Parliament in 2021. Chad was in the news for its President's death and military takeover, not a Chinese base.

Anatolia (Turkey) and Amhara (Ethiopia) are correct. Cabo Delgado is in Mozambique and Catalonia in Spain.

Scheduled animals get equal protection inside or outside protected areas. Under Section 39 only certain wild animals (killed, captured, etc.) become government property, and killing requires that the animal has actually become dangerous, not mere apprehension.

Leaf-cutter ants cultivate fungus gardens as food (as do some termites).

Dhauli (Odisha) and Erragudi (AP) are correct. Jaugada is in Odisha and Kalsi in Uttarakhand.

Nannuka founded the Chandelas and Nagabhata II was a Pratihara. Jayashakti was a Chandela, and Bhoja was a Pratihara (or Paramara), not a Rashtrakuta.

Sangam texts mention varna categories (e.g., brahmanas, arasar). They are rich in material culture and warrior ethic (puram poems) and treat magical forces as real.

Nizamuddin Panipati translated the Yogavasistha into Persian (Jug-Basisht) in 1597 under Akbar.

Ramanuja (Vishishtadvaita) taught that intense devotion (bhakti/prapatti) to Vishnu is the best path to salvation.

Somnath is the first of 12 Jyotirlingas, and Al-Biruni described it. The 1951 Pran Pratishtha was performed by President Rajendra Prasad.

B and T lymphocytes drive adaptive immunity (antibodies and cell-mediated) against pathogens.

Nanoparticles occur naturally (volcanic ash, sea spray). ZnO/TiO2 nanoparticles are used in sunscreens and cosmetics, and some are toxic when released.

DNA barcoding uses short standard gene regions to identify species, detecting lookalikes and food adulteration. It cannot determine age.

SO2 and NOx form sulphuric and nitric acids in the atmosphere, causing acid rain.