Kerala PSC KAS Prelims Paper 2 Mock Test - 8 - Kerala PSC KAS MCQ

The RBI's revised directions aim to enhance regulatory compliance and risk management practices among entities to better manage fraud risks. This includes providing clearer guidelines for identifying and mitigating potential fraud, thus ensuring the safety and integrity of the banking system. An interesting fact is that effective fraud risk management is crucial for maintaining customer trust and financial stability in the banking sector.

NIT-Calicut launched 'Nivahika,' a Data Management Portal aimed at improving data organization and accessibility. Such portals are increasingly important in educational institutions for managing large volumes of data efficiently. This initiative reflects a growing trend in educational technology to leverage data for better decision-making and operational efficiency.

Comet A117uUD was ejected from the Solar System after its encounter with Saturn. Such interactions can significantly alter the trajectories of comets and other celestial bodies, often leading to their ejection into interstellar space. This phenomenon provides insights into the dynamics of our Solar System and the gravitational influences of its planets.

India is collaborating with the World Bank on the Green National Highway Project, which aims to promote sustainable transport infrastructure. This initiative underscores the importance of green practices in developing transportation systems, which can help reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental quality. Sustainable infrastructure is increasingly seen as vital for long-term economic growth and environmental conservation.

The Ministry of Home Affairs launched the apps e-Sakshya, e-Summon, Nyaya Setu, and Nyaya Shruti for implementing various schemes. These applications are designed to enhance the efficiency of legal and administrative processes, showcasing the integration of technology in governance. Such initiatives help streamline services and improve accessibility for citizens.

Michael Phelps holds a total of 23 Olympic gold medals, making him the athlete with the most golds in Olympic history. His remarkable achievements in swimming have not only set records but also inspired countless athletes around the world. Phelps's dedication and training regimen exemplify the effort required to excel at the highest levels of competition.

India ranked 39th among 119 countries in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI). This ranking reflects improvements in areas like the prioritization of travel and tourism, safety, security, and health and hygiene. The index is an important indicator of a country's tourism potential and overall attractiveness to international visitors.

Lt Col Kabilan Sai Ashok has been recognized as India's youngest Olympic boxing referee at the Paris Olympics 2024. His appointment highlights the growing recognition of young talent in sports officiating, emphasizing the importance of fairness and ethics in competitive sports. Young referees bring fresh perspectives and energy to the officiating landscape.

The Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) serves to regulate prices and dispose of surplus stocks held by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). This mechanism helps in balancing supply and demand in the market, ensuring that food prices remain stable while clearing excess inventory. It's a crucial strategy for managing agricultural resources effectively.

The new Doppler radar in Lahaul-Spiti will enhance weather forecasting and disaster management capabilities. This technology allows for more accurate and timely weather predictions, which can significantly improve disaster preparedness and response. Effective weather forecasting is vital for mitigating the impacts of natural disasters, especially in vulnerable regions.

A record 7.28 crore income tax returns were filed for the 2024-25 fiscal year by July 31, marking a significant increase from the previous year. This surge indicates growing compliance among taxpayers and reflects the government's efforts to streamline the filing process. High filing rates are essential for the government's ability to collect revenue and fund public services.

The idiom “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” signifies that the true value of something can only be judged by putting it to the test. This emphasizes the importance of practical experience over theoretical claims. In various fields, including business and education, this principle encourages a hands-on approach to evaluation and assessment.

• RBI decides a certain percentage of deposits that every bank must keep as reserves. This is done to ensure that no bank is ‘over lending’. This is a legal requirement and is binding on the banks.

• This is called the ‘Required Reserve Ratio’ or the ‘Reserve Ratio’ or ‘Cash ReserveRatio’ (CRR).

• Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) = Percentage of deposits which a bank must keep as cash reserves with RBI. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

  • Let's Assume, CRR = 20 percent

  • Then with deposits of Rs100, the bank will need to keep Rs 20 (20 percent of 100) as cash reserves. Only the remaining amount of deposits, i.e., Rs 80 (100 – 20 = 80) can be used to give loans. However, apart from the CRR, banks are also required to keep some reserves in liquid form in the short term. This ratio is called Statutory Liquidity Ratio or SLR.

  • The statutory requirement of the reserve ratio acts as a limit to the amount of credit that banks can create.

• In theory, if a Central Bank demands a higher reserve ratio – it has the effect of acting like a deflationary monetary policy. A higher reserve ratio should reduce bank lending and therefore reduce the money supply. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• However, in the real world, there are many reasons why the actual money created is significantly smaller than the theoretically possible money supplied:

  • Import spending: If consumers buy imports the money leaves the economy

  • Taxes: A percentage of income will be taken in taxes.

  • Savings: Not all money is spent and circulated, a significant percentage will be saved

  • Currency Drain Ratio: This is the % of banknotes that individual consumers keep in cash, rather than depositing in banks. If consumers deposited all their cash in banks, there would be a bigger money multiplier. But, if people keep funds in cash then the banks cannot lend more.

  • Bad loans: A bank may lend out $90 but the company goes bankrupt and so this is never deposited bank into the banking system.

  • Safety reserve ratio: This is the % of deposits a bank may like to keep above the statutory reserve ratio. i.e. the required reserve ratio maybe 5%, but banks may like to keep 5.2%.

  • Banks may not want to lend also, at various times, the banks may not want to lend, e.g. during a recession they feel firms and individuals more likely to default. Therefore, the banks end up with a higher reserve ratio.

• Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) is a statutory market committee constituted by a State Government. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

• It is constituted for trade in certain notified agricultural or horticultural or livestock products, under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act issued by that state government. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• APMCs are intended to be responsible for:

  • ensuring transparency in pricing system and transactions taking place in market area;

  • providing market-led extension services to farmers;

  • ensuring payment for agricultural produce sold by farmers on the same day;

  • promoting agricultural processing including activities for value addition in agricultural produce;

  • Publicising data on arrivals and rates of agricultural produce brought into the market area for sale; and

  • Setup and promote public private partnership in the management of agricultural markets.

• Under Constitution of India, agricultural marketing is a state (provincial) subject. While intra-state trades fall under the jurisdiction of state governments, inter-state trading comes under Central Government (including intra-state trading in a few commodities like raw jute, cotton, etc.).Thus, agricultural markets are established and regulated mostly under the various State APMC Acts.

• The whole geographical area in the State is divided and each one is declared as a market area which is managed by the Market Committee (APMC) constituted by the State Government. Hence statement 3 is correct.

  • States also constitute a Market Board which supervises these market committees.

  • APMCs generally consist of representatives of farmers, traders, warehousing entities, registrar of cooperative societies etc.

  • Market Boards generally consists of chairmen of all APMCs, representatives from the relevant Government Departments etc.

• Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

• The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• It is announced by GoI on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• MSP is price fixed by the Government of India to protect the producer - farmers - against excessive falls in price during bumper production years.

  • The minimum support prices are a guaranteed price for their produce from the Government.

  • The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution.

  • In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum price due to bumper production and glut in the market, govt. agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced minimum price.

• Minimum support prices are currently announced for 24 commodities including seven cereals (paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi); five pulses (gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad, and lentil); eight oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soybean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed); copra, raw cotton, raw jute, and de-husked Coconut.

• Such minimum support prices are fixed at the incentive level, so as to induce the farmers to make the capital investments for the improvement of their farm and to motivate them to adopt improved crop production technologies to step up their production and thereby their net income.

• In the absence of such a guaranteed price, there is a concern that farmers may shift to other crops causing a shortage in these commodities.

• In India, commercial energy consumption makes up about 74 percent of the total energy consumed in India. This includes coal and lignite with the largest share of 74 percent, followed by oil at 10 percent, natural gas at 9 percent, hydro and other new, and renewable energy at 7 percent.

• The sectoral pattern of consumption of commercial energy is given in the Table below. The transport sector was the largest consumer of commercial energy in 1953- 54.

• However, there has been a continuous fall in the share of the transport sector while the shares of the household, agriculture, and others have been increasing.

• The share of oil and gas is the highest among all commercial energy consumption. With the rapid rate of economic growth, there has been a corresponding increase in the use of energy.

Hence, both statements 1 and 2 are not correct.

• The draft of the First Five Year Plan and then the actual Plan Document, released in December 1951. The First Five Year Plan (1951–1956) sought to get the country’s economy out of the cycle of poverty.

• The First Five Year Plan addressed, mainly, the agrarian sector including investment in dams and irrigation. The agricultural sector was hit hardest by partition and needed urgent attention. Huge allocations were made for large-scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• The Plan identified the pattern of land distribution in the country as the principal obstacle in the way of agricultural growth. It focused on land reforms as the key to the country’s development. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• One of the basic aims of the planners was to raise the level of national income, which could be possible only if the people saved more money than they spent. As the basic level of spending was very low in the 1950s, it could not be reduced anymore. So the planners sought to push savings up. That too was difficult as the total capital stock in the country was rather low compared to the total number of employable people.

• The balance of payments (BoP) record the transactions in goods, services and assets between residents of a country with the rest of the world for a specified time period typically a year. There are two main accounts in the BoP — the current account and the capital account.

• Current Account is the record of trade and transfer payments. Trade in goods includes exports and imports of goods (assets are part of capital account). Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

• Balance on Current Account has two components:

  • Balance of Trade or Trade Balance

  • Balance on Invisibles

• Balance of Trade (BOT) is the difference between the value of exports and value of imports of goods of a country in a given period of time. Export of goods is entered as a credit item in BOT, whereas import of goods is entered as a debit item in BOT. It is also known as Trade Balance. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Net Invisibles is the difference between the value of exports and value of imports of invisibles of a country in a given period of time. Invisibles include services, transfers and flows of income that take place between different countries. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Micro-insurance policies are a special category of insurance policies created to promote insurance coverage among economically vulnerable sections of society. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• These policies are regulated by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDA). Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• The IRDA Micro-insurance Regulations, 2005, defines and enables micro-insurance.

• Microinsurance can be either a general insurance policy (which can insure health, belongings, house, tools, personal accident contract, livestock, etc) or a life insurance policy with a sum assured of Rs 50,000 or less. They can be on an individual or group basis.

  • A life micro-insurance product is a term insurance contract with or without return of premium, any endowment insurance contract, or a health insurance contract. They can be with or without an accident benefit rider.

• Micro-insurance business is done through the following intermediaries in India:

  • Non-Government Organisations

  • Self-Help Groups

  • Micro-Finance Institutions. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• The World Bank is like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries. These member countries, or shareholders, are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policymakers at the World Bank.

• International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries.

• The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is a member of the World Bank Group. MIGA provides political risk insurance (guarantees) for projects in a broad range of sectors in developing member countries, covering all regions of the world.

• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is the world’s leading institution specializing in international investment dispute settlement. States have agreed on ICSID as a forum for Investor-State dispute settlement in most international investment treaties and in numerous investment laws and contracts. ICSID is an independent, depoliticized and effective dispute-settlement institution. ICSID provides for settlement of disputes by conciliation, arbitration or fact-finding.

Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

• In economics, we often distinguish between quantities that are stocks and those that are flows. These differ in their units of measurement. A stock is measured at one specific time and represents a quantity existing at that point in time, which may have accumulated in the past. A flow variable is measured over an interval of time. Therefore, a flow would be measured per unit of time (say a year). Flow is roughly analogous to rate or speed in this sense.

• For example, Indian nominal gross domestic product refers to the total number of dollars spent over a time period, such as a year. Therefore, it is a flow variable and has units of dollars/year. In contrast, India's nominal capital stock is the total value, in dollars, of equipment, buildings, and other real productive assets in the U.S. economy, and has units of dollars. Hence flows are defined over a period of time and stocks are defined at a particular point of time. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• An item that is meant for final use and will not pass through any more stages of production or transformations is called a final good. Of the final goods, we can distinguish between consumption goods and capital goods. Goods like food and clothing and services like recreation that are consumed when purchased by their ultimate consumers are called consumption goods.

• There are other goods that are of a durable character that is used in the production process. These are tools, implements, and machines. While they make the production of other commodities feasible, they themselves don’t get transformed in the production process. These goods form a part of capital, which continue to enable the production process to go on for continuous cycles of production. These are called Capital goods. That part of our final output that comprises of capital goods constitutes gross investment of an economy. These may be machines, tools and implements; buildings, office spaces, storehouses or infrastructure like roads, bridges, airports or jetties. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct.

• A Participatory Note (PN or P-Note) in the Indian context, in essence, is a derivative instrument issued in foreign jurisdictions, by a SEBI registered Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) or its sub-accounts or one of its associates, against underlying Indian securities. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• The off-shore derivative market allows investors to gain exposure to the local shares without incurring the time and costs involved in investing directly.

• The underlying Indian security instrument may be equity, debt, derivatives, or may even be an index.

• PNs are also known as Overseas Derivative Instruments, Equity Linked Notes, Capped Return Notes, and Participating Return Notes etc.

• Regulation excludes a certain category of Foreign portfolio investors, like individuals, from issuing the PNs) against securities held by it that are listed or proposed to be listed on any recognized stock exchange in India.

• The investor in PN does not own the underlying Indian security, which is held by the FII who issues the PN. Thus the investors in PNs derive the economic benefits of investing in the security without actually holding it. They benefit from fluctuations in the price of the underlying security since the value of the PN is linked with the value of the underlying Indian security. The PN holder also does not enjoy any voting rights in relation to security/shares referenced by the PN. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Being derivative instruments and freely tradable, PNs can be easily transferred, creating multiple layers, thereby obfuscating the real beneficial owner. It is in this respect that concerns about the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner and the source of funds arise.

• For the reason that such instruments are issued outside India, these transactions are outside the purview of SEBI surveillance and it is the FIIs which acts as mini-exchange overseas. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The actual transactions in the underlying are executed by the FIIs only at its discretion, as and when necessary and there is no one-to-one correspondence between transactions in the underlying instruments and issuance of PNs.

• The ex-post reporting requirement enjoined upon the FII in respect of PNs on a monthly basis effectively keeps the transactions in PNs out of the real-time market surveillance mechanism and beyond the enforceability jurisdiction of SEBI.

Statements 1 and 2 are not correct.

• Tritium (T) is a hydrogen atom that has two neutrons in the nucleus and one proton. 
• It is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays strike nitrogen molecules  in the air. It is also produced during nuclear weapons explosions, and as a byproduct in nuclear reactors.
• Tritium is a radiogenic and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of 12.3 years. 

Hence, Statement 3 is correct.

Statement 1 is not correct: Moon’s interior is dynamic: Findings from Chandrayan 1 also showed 
that the Moon’s interior was dynamic and interacted with the exosphere, contrary to the belief 
that it was dormant.

• The terrain mapping camera found evidence of volcanic vent, lava pond, and lava channels as recent as 100 million years old, indicating recent volcanic activity. 
• Measurements of carbon dioxide by the MIP also pointed towards de-gassing from the surface. This shows an interaction of the lunar surface with the exosphere even in the absence of impacts by meteors.

Statement 2 is correct: Distribution of gas in lunar atmosphere: Chandrayaan 2 confirmed that  the Argon-40 (Ar-40) exists in the lunar exosphere but the knowledge of its distribution at higher latitudes was lacking. The findings were crucial for developing insights into the dynamics of the  lunar exosphere.

Statement 3 is correct: Mission experiments of Chandrayaan 3. The lander has four experiments 
on board.

• Study of the electrons and ions near the surface of the moon and how they change over time.
• The thermal properties of the lunar surface near the polar region. Chandrayaan-3 has landed  around 70 degree south latitude, the closest that any spacecraft has reached to the lunar south pole.
• To measure the lunar quakes near the landing site and study the composition of the Moon’s crust and mantle.
• The LASER Retroreflector Array (LRA) is a passive experiment sent by NASA that acts as a target for lasers for very accurate measurements for future missions.

India has consciously proceeded to explore the possibility of tapping nuclear energy for the purpose of
power generation. As result, India has planned three stage nuclear programme.

• STAGE 1 : Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor using Natural UO2 as fuel matrix to produce electricity while generating plutonium-239 as by-product. Heavy water as moderator and coolant India achieved complete self- reliance in this technology and this stage of the programme is in the industrial domain
• STAGE 2 (FBR): Fast Breeder Reactor is India‘s second stage of nuclear power generation. FBR is a nuclear reactor that uses fast neutron to generate more nuclear fuels than they consume while generating power.

In the second stage, it envisages the use of Pu-239 obtained from the first stage reactor operation. As the fuel core in FBR, a blanket of U-238 surrounding the fuel core will undergo nuclear transmutation to produce fresh Pu239 as more and more Pu-239 is consumed during the operation.

Besides a blanket of Th-232 around the FBR core also undergoes neutron capture reactions leading to the formation of U-233. U-233 is the nuclear reactor fuel for the third stage of India‘s Nuclear Power Programme. FBR is known as fast breeder because it doesn‘t use moderator while liquid sodium is used as coolant. India‘s first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is a 500 MWe fast breeder nuclear reactor presently being constructed at the Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu).

• STAGE 3: (Breeder Reactor). A Stage III reactor or an Advanced nuclear power system involves a self-sustaining series of thorium-232-uranium-233 fuelled reactors. U-233, obtained from second stage will be used as fuel in nuclear reactor.

Besides, U-233 fuelled breeder reactors will have a Th-232 blanket around the U-233 reactor core which will generate more U-233 as the reactor goes operational thus resulting in the production of more and more U-233 fuel from the Th-232 blanket as more of the U-233 in the fuel core is consumed helping to sustain the long term power generation fuel requirement.

Hence all the statements are correct.

Electric Fuse is a current interrupting device that protects the electrical circuit. The principle behind the operation of the fuse is the heating effect of the electrical current. If the current passes through a conductor with a certain resistance, the loss due to the conductor's resistance is dissipated in the form of heat. Under normal operating conditions, the heat produced in the fuse element is easily dissipated into the environment due to the flow of current through it. As a result, the fuse part remains at a temperature below its melting point. Hence statement 1 is correct.

Whenever some faults, such as short circuits, occur, the current flow through the fuse element exceeds the prescribed limits. This creates an excess of heat that melts the fuse part and breaks the circuit. So if the electrical current passing through the fuse goes beyond what the device can handle, the fuse link is melted and the circuit is opened to prevent damage to the electrical component. Fuses are always connected in series with the component to be protected from overcurrent, so that when the fuse blows (opens) it will open the entire circuit and stop current through the component. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Proton, neutron, and electron are tiny particles that makeup atoms. The neutrino is also a tiny elementary particle, but it is not part of the atom. Such particles are also found to exist in nature. Hence statement 1 is correct.
Neutrino has a very tiny mass and no charge. It interacts very weakly with other matter particles. So weakly that every second trillion of neutrinos fall on us and pass through our bodies unnoticed. Neutrinos come from the sun (solar neutrinos) and other stars, cosmic rays that come from beyond the solar system, and from the Big Bang from which our Universe originated. They can also be produced in the lab. Hence statement 3 is correct.

The INO (India based Neutrino Observatory) will study atmospheric neutrinos only. Solar neutrinos have much lower energy than the detector can detect. INO Project is aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover to conduct basic research on the neutrino. The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is the nodal institution. The observatory is to be built jointly with the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology. The observatory will be located underground so as to provide adequate shielding to the neutrino detector from cosmic background radiation.

The operation of INO will have no release of radioactive or toxic substances. It is not a weapons laboratory and will have no strategic or defence applications.

They are the second most abundant particle in the universe after particles of light called photons. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

DNA fingerprinting is a chemical test that shows the genetic makeup of a person or other living things.
It‘s used as evidence in courts, to identify bodies, track down blood relatives, and to look for cures for
disease.
Uses:
DNA fingerprinting most often has been used in court cases and legal matters. It can:

• Physically connect a piece of evidence to a person or rule out someone as a suspect.
• Show who your parents, siblings, and other relatives may be.
• Identify a dead body that‘s too old or damaged to be recognizable.
• DNA fingerprinting is extremely accurate. Most countries now keep DNA records on file in much the same way police keep copies of actual fingerprints.
• For criminal identification. Hence, option1 is correct.
• To resolve disputes of maternity/paternity. Hence, option 2 is correct.
• To identify mutilated remains. Hence, option 3 is correct.
• In cases of exchange of babies in a hospital ward. Hence, option 4 is correct.
• In forensic wildlife. Hence, option 5 is correct.

It also has medical uses. It can:

• Match tissues of organ donors with those of people who need transplants.
• Identify diseases that are passed down through your family.
• Help find cures for those diseases, called hereditary conditions.

A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapour gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light.

An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapour, which produces short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor coating on the inside of the lamp to glow. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

Astatine is a radioactive element of the halogen series: a decay product of uranium and thorium that occurs naturally in minute amounts and is artificially produced by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles. There are currently no uses for astatine outside of research.

Cinnabar is a toxic mercury sulfide mineral with a chemical composition of HgS. It is the only important ore of mercury. It has a bright red colour that has caused people to use it as a pigment, and carve it into jewellery and ornaments for thousands of years in many parts of the world.

Phases of soft landing, the 15 minutes of terror:

• The Rough Braking Phase: It includes reducing the lander’s horizontal speed from a range of  1.68 km/sec at a height of 30 km from the lunar surface, to almost zero for a soft landing at  the designated site.
• Attitude Hold Phase: At a height of 7.42 km from the surface, the lander is to go into an ‘attitude  hold phase’ lasting around 10 seconds, during which it should tilt from a horizontal to a vertical position while covering a distance of 3.48 km.
• The “fine braking phase” lasts around 175 seconds, during which the  lander is to move fully into a vertical position. 
• “Terminal descent” is the final stage, when the spacecraft is supposed to descend totally vertically onto the surface