OPSC OAS Prelims Paper 1 Practice Test - 5 - OPSC OCS (Odisha) MCQ

The British parliament's acceptance of the eradication of the slave trade in 1788 was a pivotal moment in human rights history, reflecting a growing awareness and moral opposition to slavery. This event laid the groundwork for future abolitionist movements and highlighted the evolving views on human dignity and freedom in society.

India clinched 3 Gold and 2 Bronze medals at the Asian Open Pickleball event, showcasing the country's growing prowess in this emerging sport. The success in this event underscores the increasing popularity of pickleball in India, reflecting a shift towards diverse sports participation.

Fatigue is a primary symptom of Thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder characterized by faulty hemoglobin production and excessive destruction of red blood cells. This leads to anemia, which causes persistent tiredness, weakness, and pale skin, making management through regular blood transfusions crucial for patients.

Maharana Pratap is renowned for his leadership in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576 against Mughal forces. This battle is significant in Indian history for its demonstration of resistance against Mughal expansion and is celebrated for Maharana Pratap's valor and determination.

The theme for World Red Cross Day in 2024, "I give with joy, and the joy I give is a reward," emphasizes the spirit of humanitarian service and the joy derived from helping others. This day commemorates the dedication of volunteers and the impact of the Red Cross in fostering peace and relief during crises.

Kerala is on alert following a reported death from West Nile fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection. This highlights the ongoing public health challenges faced in managing vector-borne diseases, especially in regions with dense mosquito populations.

Yuzvendra Chahal made history as the first Indian player to achieve 350 wickets in T20 cricket. This milestone reflects his exceptional skill and consistency as a bowler, making him one of the leading figures in the format globally.

EVM stands for Electronic Voting Machine, which is used in Indian elections to facilitate the voting process electronically. The use of EVMs has streamlined voting, making it faster and reducing the chances of errors associated with paper ballots.

Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his work "Gitanjali." His achievement not only marked a significant moment in literature but also highlighted the global recognition of Indian literature and its cultural richness.

The Rafah Crossing Point is significant as it is the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Its control is pivotal for humanitarian access, trade, and the movement of people, making it a crucial point in the geopolitical landscape of the region.

Cholas were Samantas or Subordinates to Pallavas who ruled in Tamilnadu.

Statement 1 is correct. Cholas and Muttaraiyar both were subordinates to Pallava king. The rise of Cholas started during the middle of the 9th century when Vijayalaya from Uraiyur captured the kaveri delta from Mutharaiyar and built the town of Thanjavur.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Vijayalaya built the town of Thanjavur and Goddess Nishumbhasudini temple While Rajaraja I became king in 985 CE and was considered as the most powerful Chola ruler.

He recognized his administration and expanded his control over most of South India. His son Rajendra Chola led an expedition to the Ganga valley.

Statement 3 is correct. Rajendra I was Rajaraja’s Son who continued his Father’s policy and raided Ganga Valley, Sri Lanka as well as Southeast Asian Countries. Rajendra I also developed the Navy for these raids.

Option d is correct: The national motto of India, Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the Emblem of India is taken from Mundaka Upanishad. This motto means Truth Alone Triumphs". It is written in Devanagari script.

Thirumalapuram caves and Jaina caves at Sittanavasal are some of the surviving examples. However, mural painting as an art did not decline during the reign of the Cholas. In fact, the Cholas were known for their patronage of the arts. They patronised both Hindu and Jain temples and these temples are renowned for their beautiful paintings and sculptures. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary rights over their property. In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was usually a heterogeneous body. The panchayat being an oligarchy represented various castes and communities in the village, though the village menial-cum-agricultural worker was unlikely to be represented there. The decisions made by these panchayats were binding on the members.

Statement 2 is correct. A headman known as muqaddam or mandal headed the panchayat. According to some sources, the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar. Headmen held office as long as they enjoyed the confidence of the village elders, failing which they could be dismissed by them. Statement 3 is correct. The chief function of the headman was to supervise the preparation of village accounts, assisted by the accountant or patwari of the panchayat.

Statement 1 is correct. Magadha became the most important mahajanapada in about two hundred years. There were many reasons for it; many rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through it which was important for transportation, water supplies and making the land fertile. Also, as the parts of Magadha were forested, wood obtained from it was used to make houses, carts, and chariots. Elephants who lived in the forests could be captured and trained for the army. Also, there were iron ore mines that could be tapped to make strong tools and weapons. In Magadha usually, one person ruled.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Vajji was under a different form of government, known as gana or sangha. This was different from Magadha as here there were not one but many rulers, sometimes thousands of men ruled together and each one was called as raja. These rajas performed rituals together. The system was such that these rajas met in assemblies, and decided through discussion and debate what had to be done and hoe.

However, women, dasas, and kammakaras could not participate in these assemblies. Statement 3 is correct. Both the Buddha and Mahavira belonged to ganas or sanghas.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival every year, but the aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: The Festival is named after the hornbill, the globally respected bird and which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes. However the State bird of Nagaland is ‘Blyth’s Tragopan’ shown in pic below (not hornbill)’. This festival takes place between the 1st and the 10th of December every year in Kohima. (Nagaland formation day 1 December 1963).

• Organized by the State Tourism and Art & Culture Departments, Hornbill Festival showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof. This festival usually takes place between the 1st and the 10th of December every year in Kohima.

  • The Music festival and rock contest is now held in nearby Dimapur. Hornbill Festival is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is about 12 km from Kohima. All the tribes of Nagaland take part in this festival.

  • The aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions.

  • For visitors it means a closer understanding of the people and culture of Nagaland. It must be included in your itinerary, if you are visiting Nagaland during that time to enjoy the food, songs, dances and customs of Nagaland.

  • The Festival is named after the hornbill, the globally respected bird and which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes.

  • The weeklong festival unites one and all in Nagaland and people enjoy the colourful performances, crafts, sports, food fairs, games and ceremonies.

  • Traditional arts which include paintings, wood carvings, and sculptures are also on display. Festival highlights include Traditional Naga Morungs Exhibition and sale of Arts and Crafts, Food Stalls, Herbal Medicine Stalls, Flower shows and sales.

  • Cultural Medley - songs and dances, Fashion shows, Beauty Contest, Traditional Archery, Naga wrestling, Indigenous Games, and Musical concert.

• Option (a) is incorrect: In 1600, the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the sole right to trade with the East. Exclusive right to trade was given to EIC, only in Britain.

• Option (b) is incorrect: Royal charter meant that no other trading group in England could compete with the East India Company. 2nd option is also incorrect as sole monopoly to trade in the east was given to EIC.

• Option (c) is the correct answer: In 1600, the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It means East India Company got the sole right to trade with the East in Britain.

• Option (d) is incorrect: With this charter the Company could venture across the oceans, looking for new lands from which it could buy goods at a cheap price, and carry them back to Europe to sell at higher prices. The Company did not have to fear competition from other English trading companies. The royal charter, however, could not prevent other European powers from entering the Eastern markets.

The Moamarias were low-caste peasants who followed the teachings of Aniruddhadeva (1553-1624), and their rise was similar to that of other low-caste groups in north India. Their revolts weakened the Ahoms and opened the doors for others to attack the region, for instance, in 1792, the King of Darrang (Krishnanarayan), assisted by his band of burkandazes (the demobilised soldiers of the Muslim armies and zamindars) revolted.

• Statement 1 is incorrect as maladministration within the trading companies led to losses for the companies but did not give rise to rivalries.

• Statement 2 is incorrect as many companies wanted to be in the good books of the Rajas and Nawabs to get favourable trading conditions and the Rajas and Nawabs supported most of the companies that came to trade without favouring one or the other.

• Statement 4 is incorrect as it was a consequence of the rivalry and not the cause.

He was bestowed with the title of Raja by Akbar II, the Mughal emperor.

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale called him the ‘Father of Modern India’.

• Several historians consider him one of the pioneers of the Indian Renaissance.

• Monotheism: Rammohan was a strong propagator of monotheistic ideas which he believed to be the fundamental principle of Vedanta philosophy.

  • He believed that monotheism lay at the core of all religious texts.

• Bauxite is an ore that is used in the production of aluminium. Hence statement 1 is correct. India is poorly endowed with non-ferrous metallic minerals except bauxite.

• Bauxite is primarily comprised of aluminum oxide compounds (alumina), silica, iron oxides and titanium dioxide. Approximately 70 percent of the world’s bauxite production is refined through the Bayer chemical process into alumina. Alumina is then refined into pure aluminum metal through the Hall–Héroult electrolytic process.

• Bauxite is found mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated with laterite rocks occurring extensively either on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India and also in the coastal tracts of the country. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• Odisha is the largest producer of bauxite. Kalahandi and Sambalpur are the leading producers. Bolangir and Koraput have also increased their production in the recent years.

• The patlands of Lohardaga in Jharkhand have rich deposits. Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are other major producers.

• Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers of bauxite.

• The continent of Asia produces more than half of the world’s tin. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• China, Malaysia, and Indonesia are among the world’s leading tin producers. China also leads in the production of lead, antimony, and tungsten. Asia also has deposits of manganese, bauxite, nickel, zinc, and copper.

• Australia is the largest producer of bauxite in the world. It is a leading producer of gold, diamond, iron ore, tin, and nickel. It is also rich in copper, lead, zinc, and manganese. Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie areas of western Australia have the largest deposits of gold. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• The Orang Asli:

  • Orang Asli is a collective term (which means original or first peoples in Malay) for some 18 ethnic groups of less than 150,000 in total who are widely regarded as comprising peninsular Malaysia’s original inhabitants (in the sense that they pre-date the arrival of Malays).

  • They are generally divided into three distinct groupings: the Negrito, Senoi and Proto-Malay.

  • In spite of differences in languages and physical appearances, all Orang Asli tribes share one thing in common, which is that they are the descendants of the earliest known inhabitants who occupied the Malay Peninsula.

  • They lived in West Malaysia long before the arrival of the other races, that is, the Malays, the Chinese, and the Indians.

  • They are not a desert inhabitant.

• The Bushmen:

  • They are nomadic hunters and food gatherers, growing no crops and domesticating no animals.

  • They roam the Kalahari desert with their bows and poisoned arrows, spears, traps and snares.

  • They either wear a loin cloth or go virtually naked.

  • They travel in small family groups, and live together in open sherms.

  • They gather dew from leaves early in the morning and store in ostrich shells.

• The Bindibu:

  • The Bindibu or Aborigines of Australia are desert inhabitants and live in very much same way the Bushman.

  • They are lean and dark but healthy.

  • They are nomadic hunters and food gatherers, growing no crops and domesticating no animals except dingo, a wild dog that assists them in tracking down kangaroos, rabbits and birds.

  • They always stay close to a water supply as they still have not devised a means of tapping and storing water.

  • They live in wurlies, simple shelters made of branches and tufts and grass.

• The Kikuyu:

  • The Kikuyu (also known as Agikuyu) are a central Bantu community.

  • They share common ancestry with the Embu, Kamba, Tharaka, Meru and Mbeere.

  • Traditionally they inhabited the area around Mount Kenya and they are not a desert inhabitant.

  • They are among the Kenyan communities that championed the struggle for Kenya’s independence through the Mau Mau movement and the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA).

  • Originally hunters and gatherers, the Agikuyu later adopted agriculture as their main source of livelihood. Women did the farming and gathering of wild fruits using traditional tools (such as hoes, digging knives, etc) for domestic consumption, while men did the hunting.

  • Today, their main economic activities are trade, agriculture and livestock keeping. They grow many crops including potatoes, bananas, millet, maize, beans and vegetables. Other common cash crops grown include tea, coffee and rice.

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

• The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as transhumance.

  • In mountain regions, such as the Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis, and Bhotiyas migrate from plains to the mountains in summers and to the plains from the high altitude pastures in winters. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

  • Similarly, in the tundra regions, the nomadic herders move from south to north in summers and from north to south in winters.

• Movement in search of pastures is undertaken either over vast horizontal distances or vertically from one elevation to another in the mountainous regions.

• Nomadic herding or pastoral nomadism is a primitive subsistence activity, in which the herders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools, and transport.

  • They move from one place to another along with their livestock, depending on the amount and quality of pastures and water.

  • Each nomadic community occupies a well-identified territory as a matter of tradition.

• The Jal Kranti Abhiyan launched by the Government of India in 2015–16 with an aim to ensure water security through per capita availability of water in the country.

• The Jal Kranti Abhiyan aims at involving local bodies, NGOs, and citizens, at large, in creating awareness regarding its objectives.

  The following activities have been proposed under the Jal Kranti Abhiyan:

  • Selection of one water-stressed village in every 672 districts of the country to create a ‘Jal Gram’. Hence option(a) is not correct.

  • Ídentification of the model command area of about 1000 hectares in different parts of the country, for example, UP, Haryana (North), Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu (South), Rajasthan, Gujarat (West), Odisha (East), Meghalaya (North-East).

  • Abatement of pollution:

    • Water conservation and artificial recharge.

    • Reducing groundwater pollution.

    • Construction of Arsenic-free wells in selected areas of the country

  • Creating mass awareness through social media, radio, TV, print media, poster and essay writing competitions in schools.

• Jal Kranti Abhiyan is designed to provide livelihood and food security through water security.

• The human development index (HDI) ranks the countries based on their performance in the key areas of health, education, and access to resources. These rankings are based on a score between 0 to 1 that a country earns from its record in the key areas of human development. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

• The indicator chosen to assess health is life expectancy at birth. A higher life expectancy means that people have a greater chance of living longer and healthier lives. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• The adult literacy rate and the gross enrolment ratio represent access to knowledge. The number of adults who are able to read and write and the number of children enrolled in schools show how easy or difficult it is to access knowledge in a particular country. Access to resources is measured in terms of purchasing power (in U.S. dollars).

• Each of these dimensions is given a weightage of 1/3. The human development index is a sum total of the weights assigned to all these dimensions. The closer a score is to one, the greater is the level of human development. Therefore, a score of 0.983 would be considered very high while 0.268 would mean a very low level of human development.

• The human development index measures attainments in human development. It reflects what has been achieved in the key areas of human development. Yet it is not the most reliable measure. This is because it does not say anything about the distribution.

• Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq created HDI in 1990 which was further used to measure the country's development by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Every year UNDP ranks countries based on the HDI report released in their annual report on Human Development. Hence statement 3 is correct.

• To understand why a particular region keeps reporting low or high levels of human development it is important to look at the pattern of government expenditure on the social sector.

• The political environment of the country and the amount of freedom people have is also important. Countries with high levels of human development invest more in the social sectors and are generally free from political turmoil and instability. Distribution of the country’s resources is also far more equitable. Hence statements 3 and 4 are correct.

• Places with low levels of human development tend to spend more on defence rather than social sectors. This shows that these countries tend to be located in areas of political instability and have not been able to initiate accelerated economic development. Hence statement 2 is not correct while statement 1 is correct.