UPPCS Prelims 2018: questions with answers

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia had 32 teams; France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final.

On 11 May 2018 PM Modi and Nepal PM K.P. Sharma Oli flagged off the Janakpur–Ayodhya bus service, launching the Ramayana Circuit in Nepal.

The Purvanchal Expressway runs from Lucknow through Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Faizabad (Ayodhya), Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh and Mau to Ghazipur. It does not pass through Basti.

In the UN E-Government Development Index 2018, India ranked 96th (up from 107th in 2016). Denmark was first.

The Nipah virus outbreak of May–June 2018 occurred in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala.

The National Digital Library of India, developed by IIT Kharagpur, was dedicated to the nation by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi in June 2018.

In the Global Peace Index 2018 (Institute for Economics and Peace), India ranked 136th of 163 countries. Iceland was the most peaceful.

The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on 21–23 January 2019. Its theme was 'Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India'.

On 4 July 2018 the government raised the MSP of common paddy for 2018-19 by Rs 200 to Rs 1,750 per quintal (Grade A paddy: Rs 1,770).

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won the most seats in the July 2018 general election, and he became Prime Minister in August 2018.

Both Bharat Vatwani (rehabilitation of mentally ill destitutes) and Sonam Wangchuk (education reform in Ladakh) were among the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award winners.

The 10th BRICS Summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in July 2018.

The Shukla (White) Yajurveda has the Vajasaneyi Samhita (Madhyandina and Kanva recensions). Maitrayani, Taittiriya and Kathaka belong to the Krishna (Black) Yajurveda.

Both are true and R explains A: the political fragmentation of North India (Rajput kingdoms fighting each other) let the Ghaznavid and Ghurid invasions succeed.

Sapta Pagoda (Pallava rathas, 7th century) → Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram (Narasimhavarman II, c. 700–728) → Brihadeeswara, Thanjavur (Rajaraja I, 1010) → Gangaikonda Cholapuram (Rajendra I, c. 1035). So: IV, III, I, II.

The Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri (Odisha) records the reign of Kharavela, the Mahameghavahana (Chedi) king of Kalinga.

Both statements are true but unrelated: the League withdrew its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan in July 1946 (followed by Direct Action Day). It later joined the Interim Government in October 1946 to avoid leaving power to the Congress, not because it had withdrawn.

Bagor (Bhilwara, Rajasthan) and Adamgarh (MP) give the earliest evidence of animal domestication in the Mesolithic period in India.

Adina Masjid is at Pandua (Bengal), built by Sikandar Shah of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty, not at Mandu. Lal Darwaza (Jaunpur), Dakhil Darwaza (Gaur) and Teen Darwaza (Ahmedabad) are correctly matched.

Rasik Priya was written by Keshavdas, not Raskhan (Raskhan wrote Prem Vatika and Sujan Raskhan). The other pairs are correct.

Wood's Despatch (1854) → Hunter Commission (1882) → Sadler Commission (1917) → Sargent Plan (1944). So C, A, B, D.

Abhinav Bharat Society was founded in 1904 by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Savarkar, growing out of the Mitra Mela (1899).

The Ahom revolt took place in 1828 (under Gomdhar Konwar), not 1815. Santhal (1855), Kol (1831) and Khasi (1829) are correctly matched.

Kunchikal Falls (Shimoga, Karnataka) is about 455 m high and is usually cited as India's highest waterfall. Jog Falls (253 m) is the highest plunge waterfall.

Wladimir Köppen based his climate classification (1918) on vegetation zones, treating natural vegetation as the best expression of climate.

The Pampas are the temperate grasslands of Argentina (also extending into Uruguay).

The Gibson Desert is in Western Australia, not Brazil. Sonoran (USA/Mexico), Taklamakan (China) and Karakum (Turkmenistan) are correct.

Coffee production in 2016: Brazil (1st) > Vietnam (2nd) > Colombia (3rd) > Indonesia (4th). So C, B, A, D.

The Suez Canal (opened 1869) cut the sea route between India and Europe by roughly 7,000 km compared with going around the Cape of Good Hope.

IMD was set up in 1875 with headquarters at Calcutta, moved to Shimla (1905), then Pune (1928), and finally New Delhi (1944). So B, C, D, A.

Black (regur) soil is found mainly on the Deccan lava plateau (Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP), not in the Himalayan region. It is highly moisture-retentive.

The McMahon Line (Simla Convention, 1914) marks the boundary between India (Arunachal Pradesh) and China (Tibet).

The Mississippi forms the classic bird's-foot delta, with long distributary channels lined by levees.

Natural growth of population = crude birth rate − crude death rate. Migration is not part of natural growth.

UNDP introduced the Human Development Index in its first Human Development Report (1990), developed by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.

MGNREGA (2005) guarantees 100 days of wage employment per rural household and is India's largest rural employment programme.

The Lorenz curve plots the cumulative share of income against the cumulative share of population and measures income inequality (the basis of the Gini coefficient).

Haryana is among the richest states by per-capita income but had the lowest sex ratio (879 in Census 2011).

Gram Panchayats may levy local taxes such as taxes on fairs, markets and property. Sales tax and land revenue are state subjects.

The 12th Five Year Plan (2012–17) had the theme 'Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth'.

UP's 10 Smart Cities are Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi, Allahabad (Prayagraj), Aligarh, Jhansi, Moradabad, Bareilly and Saharanpur. Ghaziabad was not selected.

NFHS-4 (2015-16) reported India's Total Fertility Rate as 2.2 children per woman (down from 2.7 in NFHS-3).

The S.R. Hashim Committee (2012) was set up to recommend a methodology for identifying BPL families in urban areas. The Saxena Committee covered rural BPL identification.

ISFR 2017 put forest cover at 7,08,273 sq km, i.e. 21.54% of India's geographical area (24.39% including tree cover).

Note: UPPSC deleted this question in its final answer key. Project Tiger was formally launched on 1 April 1973 (Jim Corbett National Park), on the recommendation of a task force set up in 1972. No option is exactly right; 1972, the closest, is marked here.

Anthropogenic biomes (anthromes) are shaped by human activity. Cropland is one; freshwater, grassland and rainforest are natural biomes.

The kangaroo rat can survive its whole life without drinking water, getting water metabolically from the seeds it eats and conserving it with very efficient kidneys.

India's first National Centre for Marine Biodiversity was set up at Jamnagar, Gujarat (near the Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch).

Dachigam National Park near Srinagar is the main home of the endangered Hangul (Kashmir stag).

The International Day for Biological Diversity is observed on 22 May, the date the Convention on Biological Diversity text was adopted in 1992.

Edaphic factors are soil-related (texture, pH, moisture, nutrients). Climatic, biotic and topographic factors are other ecological factors.

About 90% of atmospheric ozone lies in the stratosphere (ozone layer, roughly 15–35 km), which absorbs harmful UV-B radiation.

Warmer oceans supply more energy, so global warming increases the intensity, and possibly the frequency, of cyclones, storms and hurricanes alike.

In-situ conservation protects species in their natural habitat (biosphere reserves, national parks, sacred groves). A botanical garden is ex-situ conservation.

UV radiation splits O2 molecules into atoms, which combine with O2 to form ozone (O3). In polluted air, sunlight drives photochemical reactions that also form ground-level ozone.

Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for high-yielding wheat varieties that fought world hunger. There is no Nobel Prize for agriculture.

The ozone layer lies in the stratosphere, not the troposphere. Rennet (renneting) is used in cheese making, plasmids are vectors in genetic engineering, and Golden rice is rich in vitamin A (beta-carotene).

Simlipal National Park is in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha, not Madhya Pradesh. The other pairs are correct.

Astrophysicist Jayant V. Narlikar has consistently argued that astrology is not a science, since its predictions fail scientific testing.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895 and received the first Nobel Prize in Physics (1901).

James Watson and Francis Crick proposed the double-helix model of DNA in 1953, using X-ray data from Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.

Photon energy is proportional to frequency. Among the options, X-rays have the highest frequency and therefore the most energy (X-ray > UV > visible > infrared).

Methane is released both by anaerobic decomposition in flooded paddy fields and by microbes in termite guts. Both are major natural/agricultural sources.

Silicon (like germanium) is a semiconductor. Aluminium, silver and lead are metallic conductors.

The Preamble mentions Justice of 3 kinds (social, economic, political), Liberty of 5 (thought, expression, belief, faith, worship), Equality of 2 (status, opportunity) and Fraternity (1). So 3, 5, 2, 1.

Meira Kumar was the UPA/opposition candidate in the 2017 Presidential election. She lost to the NDA's Ram Nath Kovind.

Arvind Panagariya was NITI Aayog's first Vice-Chairman (2015–2017). He was succeeded by Rajiv Kumar.

Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 on a linguistic (Telugu) basis after Potti Sriramulu's fast-unto-death, making it the first linguistic state.

NITI Aayog was created in 2015 by an executive (Cabinet) resolution, so it is extra-constitutional and non-statutory. UPSC, the Finance Commission and the Election Commission are constitutional bodies.

The Sarkaria Commission (1983–88) examined Centre-State relations.

The parliamentary (cabinet) system of government originated in Great Britain, the 'mother of parliaments'.

Under Article 312, only the Rajya Sabha can pass a resolution (by two-thirds of members present and voting) to create a new All India Service. Removal proceedings for the President or judges can begin in either House.

Citizenship provisions are in Part II (Articles 5–11) of the Constitution.

Per the official key: Parliament can make laws on the use of official languages (e.g. Art. 343(3), the Official Languages Act 1963) by a simple majority, outside the Article 368 procedure.

Under Article 101(4), a House may declare an MP's seat vacant if the member is absent from all its meetings for 60 days without permission.

Viceroy Lord Dufferin (1884–88) dismissed the Indian National Congress as representing only a 'microscopic minority' of the people.

'Dhing Express' is the nickname of sprinter Hima Das from Dhing village, Nagaon (Assam), who won the 400 m gold at the 2018 World U-20 Championships.

In September 2018, boxer M.C. Mary Kom was appointed brand ambassador of BSNL.

In Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (6 Sept 2018) the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual homosexual acts by reading down Section 377 of the IPC.

BrahMos is an India–Russia joint venture (DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyeniya). The name combines the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) won Mexico's presidential election on 1 July 2018.

Following the Panama Papers case, former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif was sentenced in July 2018 to 10 years in the Avenfield properties case.

The final draft NRC of Assam (30 July 2018) left out about 40.07 lakh applicants.

Union Science & Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) for Delhi in July 2018.

Using MARSIS radar data from ESA's Mars Express, scientists reported in Science (July 2018) a 20-km-wide subsurface liquid-water lake under Mars' south polar ice cap.

The first Trump–Kim summit took place on 12 June 2018 at Sentosa Island, Singapore.

From the Allahabad Pillar inscription: Dhananjaya – Kusthalapura, Nilaraja – Avamukta, Ugrasena – Palakka, Vishnugopa – Kanchi. So A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2.

Alamgirpur (Meerut) and Hulas (Saharanpur) are Harappan sites in UP. Kalibangan is in Rajasthan and Lothal in Gujarat.

UPPSC's final key accepted both (c) and (d): Nanadesis and Manigramam were merchant guilds of South India engaged in long-distance and overseas trade. Shrenis were general craft/trade guilds and Nagaram were local town merchant bodies.

Both are true but R does not explain A. Sanskrit music texts were translated into Persian (e.g. under Firoz Shah Tughlaq and the Mughals) out of courtly patronage and interest, not because Chishti Sufis enjoyed sama.

The Ayodhya inscription of Dhanadeva, a descendant of Pushyamitra Shunga, records that Pushyamitra performed two Ashvamedha sacrifices.

Under Shah Jahan, Bengal was divided into chaklas, a territorial unit between the subah and the pargana. In Bengal the chakla was not identical to the sarkar.

Chauth was one-fourth of the land revenue the Marathas claimed from territories in return for protection. Sardeshmukhi was an extra 10% claimed as hereditary 'head deshmukh'.

Khair-ul-Manazil (1561), opposite Purana Qila in Delhi, was built by Maham Anga, Akbar's wet-nurse.

In 1857, Lucknow was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal; Maulvi Liyaqat Ali led the revolt at Allahabad. Surendra Sai (Sambalpur), Radhakrishna Dandasena (Ganjam) and Gulab Singh (Kashmir) are taken as correctly matched.

At the time of Alauddin Khalji's southern campaigns, Warangal (Kakatiyas) was ruled by Prataparudra Deva, not Ramachandra Deva, who ruled Devagiri (succeeded by his son Shankar Deva).

Jahandar Shah (1712–13) → Muhammad Shah (1719–48) → Ahmad Shah (1748–54) → Alamgir II (1754–59). So B, A, D, C.

Gujarat has India's longest mainland coastline (about 1,600 km), followed by Andhra Pradesh.

Per the official key, the Gomti, which flows through Lucknow, has been called a 'biological disaster' because heavy sewage and industrial discharge has collapsed its dissolved oxygen.

Note: UPPSC deleted this question in its final answer key. The Venkateswara temple stands on the Tirumala (Seshachalam) hills of the Eastern Ghats, a southern extension of the Nallamala range. The option 'Mallmalla' (Nallamala) is the intended answer and is marked here. Shevaroy and Javadhi are in Tamil Nadu and Biligiriranga in Karnataka.

The Thar is largely covered by Pleistocene and Recent (Holocene) aeolian sand and alluvial deposits overlying older rocks.

The Tapi rises at Multai in the Satpura range (Betul, MP), not the Western Ghats. The Godavari, Kaveri and Kabini rise in the Western Ghats.

Marshall McLuhan's 'global village' describes how advances in transport and especially communication (electronic media) have made the world behave like one community.

Per the official key, Denmark has the highest milk yield per cow among the given countries, owing to high-yielding breeds and intensive dairying. India's yield per animal is among the lowest.

Census 2011: Shrawasti had UP's lowest overall literacy (46.7%) and lowest female literacy (about 34.8%).

Thompson Seedless (Sultana), Gulabi and Kali Champa are grape varieties grown in India.

Kerala is India's leading producer of black pepper and small cardamom (Idukki, Wayanad).

Kerala – Anamudi, Nagaland – Saramati, Uttarakhand – Nanda Devi, Tamil Nadu – Doddabetta. So A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1.

Chile is the world's largest producer of iodine (about 60%+, extracted from caliche/nitrate deposits of the Atacama), followed by Japan.

Census 2011: Haryana had the lowest child sex ratio (0–6 years) at 834 overall, the lowest in both rural (835) and urban (832) areas among the options.

Uttar Pradesh had the largest rural population in Census 2011 (about 15.5 crore), followed by Bihar.

Shelled animals (Cambrian) → first insects (Devonian) → first reptiles (Carboniferous) → first mammals (Triassic). So 3, 2, 1, 4.

Sustainable development meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet theirs (Brundtland Report, 1987). Conserving energy and resources for the future without sacrificing present comfort captures this.

World Population Day is observed on 11 July (since 1989, inspired by the world population reaching 5 billion on 11 July 1987).

Poverty lines were estimated by the Planning Commission (using expert groups such as Lakdawala, Tendulkar and Rangarajan). This role is now with NITI Aayog.

Per the official key, Maharashtra had the longest total road network among the given states at the time (Basic Road Statistics).

The Direct Taxes Code was proposed to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961, so it relates to income tax. Sales, excise and service taxes are indirect taxes.

Greenpeace International is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Per the official UPPSC key, the ABC Index relates to health. (The Commission did not publish a detailed explanation for this answer.)

UN-DESA's World Urbanization Prospects 2018 reported that 55% of the world's population lives in urban areas, projected to reach 68% by 2050.

Secondary pollutants form in the atmosphere from reactions of primary pollutants. Photochemical smog (ozone, PAN) is secondary; CO2, CO and fly ash are emitted directly (primary).

UPPSC's final key accepted both (b) and (c): tropical rainforests and coral reefs are the most species-rich ecosystems on land and in the sea respectively. Deep sea and deserts have relatively low diversity.

Pearls are produced by molluscs (pearl oysters), not insects. Silk (silkworm), honey (honeybee) and lac (lac insect) come from insects.

Rustling leaves are about 20 dB (a whisper is about 30 dB, normal conversation about 60 dB).

COP21 was held in Paris in December 2015 and produced the Paris Agreement.

India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), with 8 national missions, was released by PM Manmohan Singh on 30 June 2008.

The ocean is the largest and most stable ecosystem: its huge volume buffers temperature and chemical changes.

Incinerators burn (combust) solid, medical and hazardous waste at high temperature, reducing its volume.

Greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, water vapour) trap outgoing infrared radiation, warming the Earth. An enhanced greenhouse effect raises global temperature.

Natural gas is mainly methane (CH4, about 70–90%), with smaller amounts of ethane, propane and butane.

Vultures that ate carcasses of cattle treated with diclofenac suffered kidney failure. India banned veterinary diclofenac in 2006.

China was the largest CO2 emitter in 2015 (about 28% of global emissions), followed by the USA and India.

Note: UPPSC deleted this question in its final answer key. (The Hindi paper said 'India is a disaster-prone country', contradicting the English.) As stated here, 1, 2 and 4 are true: disasters hit developing countries hardest, Bhopal (1984) was an industrial (man-made) disaster, and mangroves buffer cyclone surges. Statement 3 is false; India is highly disaster-prone.

Light travels at about 3 × 10^8 m/s, the maximum speed in nature. Electrons and cosmic-ray particles have mass and move slower than light; supersonic waves are far slower.

Graphene is a single atomic layer of carbon arranged in a hexagonal lattice, a 2-D nanostructure (allotrope) of carbon.

Sound travels fastest in solids: about 5,900 m/s in steel vs about 1,500 m/s in water and 343 m/s in air. It cannot travel through a vacuum.

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), a component of photochemical smog, is a strong eye irritant (lachrymator).

'A Brief History of Time' (1988) was written by physicist Stephen Hawking.

Amla (Indian gooseberry) has about 600 mg vitamin C per 100 g, much more than orange (about 50 mg).

Mars, with evidence of past water, subsurface ice and a moderate temperature range, is considered the planet most likely to support life.

Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, not for relativity.

Solar energy produces no atmospheric pollution during generation. Nuclear energy creates radioactive waste, and petroleum and coal emit greenhouse gases and pollutants.

DPSPs are commonly grouped (not in the Constitution itself) into socialistic, Gandhian and liberal-intellectual principles.

Ashok Chanda called the Planning Commission the 'Economic Cabinet' of India because of its great influence over economic policy.

PIL took shape in the late 1970s–80s through Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer (e.g. S.P. Gupta, 1981). P.N. Bhagwati, CJI 1985–86, is regarded as the father of PIL.

'The Accidental Prime Minister' (2014) was written by Sanjaya Baru, media adviser to PM Manmohan Singh.

The Constituent Assembly held its last session on 24 January 1950, when members signed the Constitution and elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as first President.

A State Legislative Council is a permanent house and cannot be dissolved, but Parliament can abolish (or create) it under Article 169. The Rajya Sabha also cannot be dissolved, but it cannot be abolished by ordinary law.

Note: UPPSC deleted this question in its final answer key. A Department of Women and Child Development was created in 1985 under the Ministry of HRD; it became an independent Ministry only on 30 January 2006. No option is exactly right; 1985, the year of the department, is marked here.

Article 81 caps Lok Sabha members from Union Territories at 20.