MCQ Online Test: Environment- 4 - UPSC MCQ

Answer: b

Explanation:  Biofuels may lead to monoculture where farmers will prefer cultivating such crops which can be used in making biofuels. Fertilizers used in such crops will only increase the fertilizer use. Biofuels are renewable source and this is their advantage compared to non-renewable fossil fuels. Use of Fertilizers: As biofuels are produced from crops and these crops need fertilizers to grow better. The downside of using fertilizers is that they can have harmful effects on surrounding environment and may cause water pollution. Fertilizers contain nitrogen and phosphorus. They can be washed away from soil to nearby lake, river or pond. Monoculture: Monoculture refers to practice of producing same crops year after year, rather than producing various crops through a farmer’s fields over time. While, this might be economically attractive for farmers but growing same crop every year may deprive the soil of nutrients that are put back into the soil through crop rotation. Farmers may be tempted to produce crops which are goof for biofuels.

Answer: d

Explanation: The GIBs have been vanishing over the years due to shrinking habitat. Thar Desert is the only landscape in the world that provides viable breeding population to GIBs. While changing lifestyle in the desert, and unregulated human activities have endangered the species, thousands of windmills around the park are posing a serious threat to the GIB which has been categorized as “critically endangered”.

Answer: b

Explanation: Montreal protocol aims to phase out several groups of halogenated hydrocarbons that have been shown to play a role in ozone depletion. All of these ozone depleting substances contain either chlorine or bromine (substances containing only fluorine do not harm the ozone layer). These include CFCs and HCFCs. HFCs replaced CFCs and HCFCs. HFCs pose no harm to the ozone layer because, unlike CFCs and HCFCs, they do not contain chlorine. The Montreal Protocol therefore does not address HFCs. But HFCs cause global warming. Dichloromethane is a new entry among gases that depletes ozone layer, but at present it has not been included under Montreal Protocol.

Answer: c

Explanation: Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally. Endosulfan became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. 

Answer & Explanation

a) 1 and 2 only. Loan recoveries are the money, which the government had lent out in past, their capital comes back to the government when the borrowers repay them as capital receipts. long-term capital accruals to the government through the Provident Fund (PF), Postal Deposits, various small saving schemes (SSSs) and the government bonds sold to the public (as Indira Vikas Patra, Kisan Vikas Patra, Market Stabilization Bond, etc.) are also capital receipts. Grants are revenue receipts.

Answer & Explanation

c) the government has to resign. This is an important point to be noted. Although, UPSC has asked a question on this in 2011, it may still resurface as a part/statement in a question.

Answer & Explanation

c) Both 1 and 2. Since 2007-08, the contribution of direct tax has been more than indirect tax. Before this, the trend was opposite. Corporation tax is the largest contributor among the taxes.

Answer & Explanation

d) Department of economic affairs. The Economic Survey is complied by Department of economic affairs, Ministry of Finance. Office of economic advisor publishes WPI, while CSO publishes IIP and CPI.

 Answer & Explanation

d) None. Gross capital formation, in simple terms is equivalent to investment made. It was earlier called gross domestic investment. The part of GDP that is used is called gross domestic consumption, while the part that is saved is gross domestic savings (GDS). Some part of this GDS will be re-invested back, and that is called gross capital formation. Now, an increase in GDP or GDS will not necessarily lead to an increase in capital formation. Because how much in invested back will depend on many other factors.

Answer & Explanation

a) 1 only. GNP = GDP + NFIA. India’s NFIA is negative. Thus India’s GDP is more than its GNP. NFIA = Factor income earned from abroad by residents – Factor income of non-residents in domestic territory.

 Answer & Explanation

c) 2 and 3 only. ICDS provides Supplementary nutrition, Immunization, Primary healthcare (Health check-up, referral services.) and preschool education to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.

Answer & Explanation

c) assistance provided by the Centre to five year plan. The Government’s support to the Central plan is called the Gross Budgetary Support. In the recent years the GBS has been slightly more than 50% of the total Central Plan. The share of the GBS in Central Plan has been rising since 2008-09.

Answer & Explanation

a) 1.2%. ERD = RD – Grants for capital formation. Therefore, here ERD = 3% – 1.8% = 1.2%. The rest two data about primary deficit and non-plan expenditure is not needed to calculate ERD. Effective Revenue was first introduced in the Union Budget 2011-12. While revenue deficit is the difference between revenue receipts and revenue expenditure, this accounting system includes all grants from the Union Government to the state governments as revenue expenditure, even if they are used to create assets. Such revenue expenditures contribute to the growth in the economy and therefore, should not be treated as unproductive in nature.

Answer & Explanation

d) None. All the interest rates in India have been deregulated. The last one was savings interest rate which was deregulated in 2011.

Answer & Explanation

a) 1 only.Under CRR a certain percentage of the total bank deposits has to be kept in the current account with RBI which means banks do not have access to that much amount for any economic activity or commercial activity. Banks can’t lend the money to corporates or individual borrowers, banks can’t use that money for investment purposes.In short, CRR is the amount in cash which banks have to keep with RBI. Any decrease in CRR will therefore increase cash availability with the banks. Repo rate and SLR would not be affected by changes in CRR. They r separate mechanisms, the rate of which is decided by RBI.

 Answer & Explanation

c) countries themselves decide whether they want to be in developed or developing categories. There are no WTO definitions of “developed” or “developing” countries. Developing countries in the WTO are designated on the basis of self-selection although this is not necessarily automatically accepted in all WTO bodies.