UPSC Prelims Past Year Paper 2017: Paper 1 (GS) - UPSC MCQ

• Members of parliament other than ministers are called private members and bills presented by them are known as private member’s bills.
• Any MP can introduce a bill in parliament. Private member bills are bills introduced in parliament by MPs who are not ministers.
• Only 14 private members’ bills passed since Independence. The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, passed by the Rajya Sabha on Friday is the first private member’s bill to get the upper house’s approval in the past 45 years.

• Indus people were basically peace loving. Their arms (swords, daggers, arrow-heads, and spears) were primitive in nature. No evidence of armour, helmet, body armour or shield is available. The Aryans, on the contrary, were warlike people and were conversant with all kinds of traditional arms and armour and had devised a full-fledged ‘science of war’.
• The horse, which played a decisive role in the Aryan system of warfare, was not known to the Indus people. A few bones of horse and terracotta figure of a ‘horse-like animal’ have been unearthed from Surkotada (Gujarat) and still it has not been convincingly proved that the horse was employed by the HarappAnswer:
• The Indus valley people knew the use of copper, bronze, silver, gold but not iron.

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is an assessment of the skills acquired by the individual through experience, observation and selflearning. The assessment, which is followed by a certification, gives an edge to an otherwise informal worker. It provides the employee with the confidence, social recognition and empowerment that are necessary to negotiate his future employment. Following successful assessment, a candidate is given a financial reward, in addition to certification.

Sathyamangalam forest range is a significant wildlife corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve between the Western Ghats and the rest of the Eastern Ghats Located in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu, the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the state. With a forest area of 1,411.6 square kilometres, the reserve is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and lies between the Western Ghats and the rest of the Eastern Ghats. Situated in a key position between the Western and Eastern Ghats, the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve boasts of a wide variety of fauna.
The reserve also adjoins four other protected areas --Billigiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai National Park and Bandipur National Park.

The term ‘equality’ means the absence of special privileges to any section of the society, and the provision of adequate opportunities for all individuals without any discrimination.

TRAFFIC has an enviable reputation as a reliable and impartial organisation, a leader in the field of conservation as it relates to wildlife trade. TRAFFIC was established in 1976 and has developed into a global network, research-driven and action-oriented, committed to delivering innovative and practical conservation solutions based on the latest information.
TRAFFIC also works in close co-operation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

42nd amendment act added participation of workers in the management of industries. New directives was added by new articles 39A, 43A, 48A which, respectively, provide for equal justice and free legal aid to economically backward classes, participation of workers in the management of industries, and protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife.

Rights are claims of citizen of India against the states. They prevent the establishment of an authoritarian and despotic rule in the country, and protect the liberties and freedoms of the people against the invasion by the State. They operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature. In short, they aim at establishing ‘a government of laws and not of men’.

Global Gender Gap Index is released by World Economic Forum. As per the Global Gender Gap Report 2016, India ranks at 87th in respect of Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) among 144 countries of the World. As per the GGR, India climbed 21 spots to rank 87th in 2016, which is an improvement from being ranked at 108th in 2015.

Smart India Hackathon 2017 was a 36 hrs non-stop digital product development competition during which teams of thousands of technology students built innovative digital solutions for the problems posted by 29 different central govt. ministries/ departments e.g. Ministry of Railways, External Affairs, Ministry of Defense, ISRO, Ministry of Tourism, Dept. of Atomic Energy, etc.
Smart India Hackathon 2017, has been launched to build Digital India and to engage the youth directly with nation building. For the first time, govt. departments were directly engaging with students and challenging them to build digital solutions to improve their efficiency, plug revenue leakages and corruption.

The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (RBI Act) has been amended by the Finance Act, 2016, to provide for a statutory and institutionalised framework for a Monetary Policy Committee it would be entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy rate (repo rate) required to contain inflation within the specified target level. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
As per the provisions of the RBI Act, out of the six Members of Monetary Policy Committee, three Members will be from the RBI and the other three Members of MPC will be appointed by the Central Government. Hence statement 2 is not correct. The Governor of the Bank— ex officio Chairperson of MPC. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

Sankirtana encompasses an array of arts performed to mark religious occasions and various stages in the life of the Vaishnava people of the Manipur plains.
Sankirtana practices centre on the temple, where performers narrate the lives and deeds of Krishna through song and dance. Hence, statement 1 and 3 are correct.
In a typical performance, two drummers and about ten singerdancers perform in a hall or domestic courtyard encircled by seated devotees. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

In the British territories in the south there was a similar move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement. The new system that was devised came to be known as the ryotwar (or ryotwari ). It was tried on a small scale by Captain Alexander Reed in some of the areas that were taken over by the Company after the wars with Tipu Sultan. Subsequently developed by Thomas Munro, this system was gradually extended all over south India. Lord Cornwallis was asscoiated with Zamindari/ Permanent Settlement

Statement 1 is correct. Bioremediation is treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or non-toxic substances. It uses microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants in soil, groundwater, sludge, and solids. The microorganisms break down contaminants by using them as an energy source or cometabolizing them with an energy source. Statement 2 is not correct. Not all contaminants are easily treated by bioremediation using microorganisms. For example, heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are not readily absorbed or captured by microorganisms. Statement 3 is correct. Genetic engineering has been used to create organisms designed for specific purposes. For e.g. bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans (the most radioresistant organism known) has been modified to consume and digest toluene and ionic mercury from highly radioactive nuclear waste.

Trade Disputes Act (TDA), 1929 made compulsory the appointment of Courts of Inquiry and Consultation Boards for settling industrial disputes;
• made illegal the strikes in public utility services like posts, railways, water and electricity, unless each individual worker planning to go on strike gave an advance notice of one month to the administration;
• forbade trade union activity of coercive or purely political nature and even sympathetic strikes.

In January 1957, the Government of India appointed a committee to examine the working of the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953) and to suggest measures for their better working. The chairman of this committee was Balwant Rai G Mehta. The committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the establishment of the scheme of ‘democratic decentralisation’, which ultimately came to be known as Panchayati Raj.

Directive Principles of state policy cannot act as constraints/limitations on the government because they are not enforceable and they are fundamental to the governance of a country. Fundamental Rights operate as limitations on the tyranny of the executive and arbitrary laws of the legislature.

The Digital Single Market strategy was adopted by European Union on the 6 May 2015 and includes 16 specific initiatives which aims to open up digital opportunities for people and business and enhance Europe's position as a world leader in the digital economy.

Chandipur is located in Balasore district. This beach is unique in the whole world no where on earth you can find a beach where the sea water retreats inside the sea from 1km to 5Km every day and it again comes back to the shore slowly during high tide. This happens twice every day. It is also known as Odisha's Hide and Seek Beach. Bhavnagar has highest tidal range in India.

Salient features of Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act, 1988 (PBPT Act)-
- The PBPT Act defines benami transactions, prohibits them and further provides that violation of the PBPT Act is punishable with imprisonment and fine. The PBPT Act prohibits recovery of the property held benami from benamidar by the real owner.
- The definition of a benami transaction has been widened to include a transaction made in a fictitious name; where the owner is not aware or denies knowledge of the ownership of the property or the person providing the consideration for the property is not traceable.
- Properties held benami are liable for confiscation by the Government without payment of compensation.
- An appellate mechanism has been provided under the PBPT Act in the form of Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal.

Statement 1 and 3 are correct. Butterflies are pollinating insects. They help in pollination of many flowering plants.
Butterflies also act as a lower member of the food chain. A number of animals, including birds and mice feed on butterfly. As populations of butterfly diminish, so will populations of birds and other animals that rely on them as a food source. This loss of the butterfly is the beginning of the “butterfly effect.” Statement 2 is not correct.

Algae can be grown using land and water not suitable for plant and food production. The algal biofuel technology includes selection of specific species for production and extraction of valuable co-products. The algaes are bioengineered for achieving advanced photosynthetic efficiencies through continued development of production system. To make the industry commercially viable, researchers have pursued biotech varieties, which could be particularly dangerous if released into nature. Some algae biodiesel proposals involve aquaculture-style operations in open ocean waters, which could have harmful ecological effects, especially if biotech algae is used. Water and nutrient use would also be extreme, making any serious scaling up of algae biofuels quite unsustainable.

The key objectives of these programmes are as under:
• To create awareness relating to malnutrition amongst pregnant women, lactating mothers, promote healthy lactating practices and importance of balanced nutrition;
• To improve maternal and child under-nutrition in 200 high burdened districts and to prevent and reduce the under-nutrition prevalent among children below 3 years;
• To reduce incidence of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.

Narayan Meghaji Lokhande (1848-1897) was a pioneer of the labour movement in India. During Lord Ripon’s time, the first Factories Act was adopted in 1881. Following this act , a Factory Commission was appointed in 1885. There was another Factories Act in 1891, and a Royal Commission on Labor was appointed in 1892. The result of these enactments was the limitation on the factory working hours. This was an answer of the Government to the pathetic conditions of the workers in the factory, wherein, only when a laborer exhausted, new laborer was to take his / her place.

Carbon sequestration is the process involved in carbon capture and the long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Geological sequestration involves the storage of CO2 underground in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, saline formations or deep, unminable coal beds.

The Report of the Butler Committee on the relations between the Indian States and British India . The Committee advise that the Viceroy (instead of the Governor-General in Council) should represent the Crown in all dealings with the States. This proposed change is comparable with the new Imperial arrangement by which the Governor-General of a Dominion is High Commissioner for the Dominion's Protectorates. The Committee sympathize with the fear of the Native Princes that their States might pass without their consent under a new Government in British India responsible to an Indian Legislature, and they plainly express the opinion that no such transference should be made without the consent of the Princes.

‘Domestic Content Requirement’, recently in news, is related to development of solar power production.
The World Trade Organization had ruled against India's domestic content policy for solar cells and modules; India appealed the ruling in a bid to keep DCR rules in place for government procurement. The case against India was originally filed in 2013, following the announcement of DCR in JNNSM Phase II policy and after India decided to file an antidumping case against the U.S., China, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Nuclear Security Summits are an United States-led initiative and are not under the aegis of the United Nations. The International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM) was founded in January 2006 and is an independent group of armscontrol and nonproliferation experts (and not an organ of International Atomic Energy Agency) from both nuclear weapon and non-nuclear weapon states. Its members include nuclear experts from seventeen countries: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

NPS (National Pension System) is a defined contribution based Pension Scheme launched by Government of India. Eligibility
- NPS is applicable to all new employees of Central Government service (except Armed Forces) and Central Autonomous Bodies joining Government service on or after 1st January 2004.
- NPS is applicable to all the employees of State Governments, State Autonomous Bodies joining services after the date of notification by the respective State Governments.
- All citizens of India between the age of 18 and 60 years as on the date of submission of his / her application to Point of Presence (POP) / Point of Presence
- Service Provider (POP-SP) can join NPS. Recently, NRIs were also allowed to open National Pension Scheme (NPS) accounts online.

Statement 1 is not correct. The Teesta River originates from the Pahunri (or Teesta Kangse) glacier and flows southward through the Sikkim Himalaya. where the Rangpo River joins, and where it forms the border between Sikkim and West Bengal up to Teesta Bazaar. Just before the Teesta Bridge, where the roads from Kalimpong and Darjeeling join, the river is met by its main tributary, the Rangeet River. Hence Statement 2 is correct. It changes course southwards flowing into West Bengal. The river then goes merging up with the Brahmaputra River after it bifurcates the city of Jalpaiguri and flows just touching Cooch Behar district at Mekhliganj and moves to Fulchori in Bangladesh. Thus it does not flow directly into the Bay of Bengal. Hence statement 3 is not correct.