UPSC CSE Prelims Paper 1 Practice Test - 33 - UPSC MCQ

Leveraging advancements in CRISPR-based genetic engineering, researchers have created a system that restrains populations of mosquitoes that infect millions each year with debilitating diseases.  The “precision-guided sterile insect technique” (pgSIT), alters genes linked to male fertility—creating sterile offspring—and female flight in Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika.
The pgSIT uses CRISPR to sterilise male mosquitoes and render female mosquitoes (which spread disease) flightless. The system is self-limiting and is not predicted to persist or spread in the environment, two safety features that should enable acceptance for this technology.  The scientists say pgSIT eggs can be shipped to a location threatened by mosquito-borne disease or developed at an on-site facility that could produce the eggs for nearby deployment. Once the pgSIT eggs are released in the wild, sterile pgSIT males will emerge and eventually mate with females, driving down the wild population as needed.  Hence, option (d) is the correct answer. 

The Company did not pay much attention to problems of famine and famine relief. It had no administrative machinery and experienced personnel to deal with the problems of famine. In the early 19th century, it did try to solve problems of famine-affected people by half-hearted measures.  First Famine Commission (1880): After the famine of 1876-78 Government of India appointed the first Famine Commission in 1778 under John Strachey, which submitted its Report in 1880. It formulated general principles of famine-relief policy and suggested preventive and protective measures for famine relief.  Second Famine Commission (1898): The famine of 1896-97 led to the appointment of the second commission under James Lyall. It mostly endorsed earlier recommendations and recommended a freer grant of gratuitous relief, a more liberal remission of land revenue, and special attention to weaker sections.
Third Famine Commission (1901): The famine of 1899-1900 led to the appointment of the Third Famine Commission in 1901 under Antony MacDonell. It emphasized the moral strategy of putting the heart into famine-affected people and building up their will-power by rendering assistance to them immediately after the danger of famine is scented.  Woodhead Commission (1944): The Bengal famine of 1943 led to the appointment of the Woodhead Commission. It recommended the creation of the All-India Food Council, monopoly procurement and distribution of food grains through a chain of fair-price shops, etc.  Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

The Plastics Pacts are business-led initiatives and transform the plastics packaging value chain for all formats and products. The India Plastics Pact is an ambitious, collaborative initiative that aims to bring together businesses, governments and NGOs to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics in their value chain. The Pact aims to transform the current linear plastics system into a circular plastics economy that will:  reduce the use of problematic plastic in India.  Retain valuable materials in the economy for use in other products. Generate jobs, investment and opportunities in the plastics system in India.  
It also aims to promote public-private collaborations that bring innovation to the way plastic is designed, used and reused.  Statement 1 is correct: It is jointly developed by the World Wide Fund India (WWF) and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).  Statement 2 is correct: The India Plastics Pact is creating a unified national framework for a circular economy for plastics with aligned targets and associated reporting by the plastic businesses in India

The Singh Sabha movement was founded at Amritsar in 1873 with twin objectives – to bring to the Sikh community the benefits of Western enlightenment through modern education. Hence option (c) is the correct answer. It counter the proselytising activities of Christian missionaries and Hindu revivalists. The Sabha opened a network of Khalsa schools and colleges throughout Punjab.  
The Akali movement was an offshoot of the Singh Sabha movement which aimed to liberate the Sikh gurudwaras from the control of corrupt mahants. In 1921, Akali launched a non-violent, non-cooperation satyagraha movement against the mahants, and subsequently, the Sikh Gurudwaras Act in 1922 was passed which was later amended in 1925. The Akali movement was a sectarian movement and not a communal movement.

Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy commonly known as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'Father of the Dravidian movement. He rebelled against Brahminical dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu. Hence pair 3 is matched correctly.  Gopal Hari Deshmukh was an Indian activist, thinker, social reformer, and writer from Maharashtra. At age 25, Deshmukh started writing articles aimed at social reform in Maharashtra in the weekly Prabhakar under the pen name Lokhitawadi.
In the first two years, he penned 108 articles on social reform. That group of articles has come to be known in Marathi literature as Lokhitawadinchi Shatapatre. Hence pair 2 is matched correctly.  Subramaniam Tirumambu led a jatha of sixteen volunteers during the Guruvayur Temple entry Satyagraha. He became famous as the "Singing sword of Kerala". These volunteers ranged from low castes Harijans to the highest caste namboodiris who began a march from Cannore in north Kerala to Guruvayur. Hence pair 1 is matched correctly.

Recently, the ―National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030 (NAPRE)‖ on the occasion of ―World Rabies Day‖ on September 28.  This action plan was introduced as a roadmap to eliminate rabies by 2030. On the occasion, ministers also launched the ―Joint Inter-Ministerial Declaration Support Statement‖ in order to eliminate of dogmediated rabies from India by 2030 following the approach of one health.  NAPRE has been launched with the aim of reducing human deaths, caused due to dog-mediated rabies, to zero by 2030. This aim will be achieved through sustained mass dog vaccination and appropriate post-exposure treatment. Hence, statement 1 is correct..
The NAPRE was drafted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in association with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying. Its approach for elimination of rabies is based on recommendations of several international agencies WHO and the Global Alliance of Rabies Control (GARC). It was prepared on the basis of 5 major pillars- political will, intersectoral planning, sustained funding, community planning, coordination & review, and operational research. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Recently, a mystery fever was reported from parts of Uttar Pradesh mainly from Firozabad, Agra, Etah, Kasganj and Manipuri that has claimed around 40 lives mostly children in one week. This viral fever was identified as Scrub typhus. It's symptoms include high fever, skin rashes, respiratory problems, red eyes, joint pains and unconsciousness etc.  Statement 1 is not correct: Scrub typhus also known as bush typhus is an infectious disease with symptoms similar to any viral fever. However, it is not caused by a virus, but by a mite-borne bacterium called Orientia tsutsugamushi, which is transmitted by the bite of infected mite larvae in soil containing scrub vegetation. It can also be transmitted by lice, ticks and fleas. It is more common during the wet season when the mites lay eggs. The incubation period is generally 10–14 days. Statement 2 is not correct: As this disease is caused by the bite of infected mite larvae, it is frequently found in people who work in the fields and are in the habit of gardening. So it can impact everyone from infants to adults.

The journal Stri-Dharma was published by the Women‟s Indian Association from 1918 to 1936. It endeavored to be the voice of the Indian women‟s rights movement of the period. It addressed political and social issues facing women in India as well as the achievements of women worldwide.  It was a monthly journal in English but also included articles in Hindi and Telugu, Tamil. Muthulakshmi Reddy worked as the editor of this Journal from 1931 to 1940. It contained the news which was of interest to women, reports from various other branches and articles on Women‘s Education.  
Women's Indian Association (WIA):

• Women's Indian Association (WIA) was founded at Adayar, Madras, in 1917 by Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, Jeena Raja Dasa, and others to liberate women from the deplorable condition women suffered in socio-economic and political matters during the 19th and the early 20th century. 
• It sought  to secure for every girl and boy the right of education through schemes of compulsory primary education, including the teaching of religion.  to secure the abolition of child marriages below 16.  to secure women the right to vote in municipal and legislative councils on the same terms as it is or may be granted to men  to secure for women the right to be elected as members of all municipal and legislative councils  to eradicate social evils like the devadasi system  Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Recently State Bank of India (SBI), one of India's largest lender bank has raised Rs 4,000 crore through additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds. Banks issue these bonds to shore up their capital to meet Basel III norms.  
Statement 1 is correct: Additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds are unsecured bonds that have perpetual tenure that means these bonds have no maturity date. The banks use call option to buy these bonds back from investors.  
Statement 2 is correct: These bonds are also listed and traded on the exchanges. So, if an A bond holder can sell its AT-1 bond in the secondary market whenever there is a need of money. Investors cannot return these bonds to the issuing bank and get the money. i.e. there is no put option available to its holders.  
Statement 3 is not correct: AT1 bonds are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The non-Brahmin Movement played a vital role during the 20th century in Tamil Nadu. In the 20th century, numerically superior castes grouped themselves into Non-Brahmins and claimed their right in administration.  They waged war against Brahmins through the election and took measures for their political empowerment. This movement came into being to uplift the backward and depressed classes.  The South Indian Liberal Federation (SILF) was started by T. M. Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetti, and C. Natesa Mudaliar in 1916. The federation also started an English Newspaper „Justice‟, a Tamil paper „Dravidian‟, and the „Telugu paper‟ AndhraPrakasika. 

• South Indian Liberal Federation was later christened as the Justice Party‘ after its official journal Justice.  SILF demanded separate communal representation for non-Brahmans similar to that of Muslims.  SILF opposed congress and dubbed it as Brahmin dominated organisation. When Congress gave the call for council boycott in 1920 in Madras, SILF opposed it and participated in elections and won 63 out of 98 elected seats in Madras. Hence, statement 1 is correct.  SILF was also opposed to the Home Rule agitation. 
• Annie Besant's association with Brahmins and her vision of a homogeneous India based on Brahminical values brought her into direct conflict with SILF. 
• The December 1916 "Non-Brahmin Manifesto" voiced its opposition to the Home Rule Movement. The manifesto was criticised by the Home rule periodical New India.  Hence, statement 2 is not correct

The first Partition of Bengal was a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj. The reorganization separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas. Announced on 19 July 1905 by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, and implemented on 16 October 1905, it was undone a mere six years later.  Curzon believed in a strong centralized government and powerful bureaucracy. He passed the Calcutta Corporation Act in 1899 which reduced the number of elected legislatures and increased the number of nominated officials in the Corporation to deprive Indians of self-governance.  In 1902-03, a Police Commission was established for the Police reforms under Sir Andrew Frazer and Lord Curzon. It recommended the appointment of Indians at the officer level in the police. Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N.C.O. position. However, they were not part of the Indian Imperial Police.
Additional information: The Convention of Lhasa officially the Convention Between Great Britain and Thibet, was a treaty signed in 1904 between Tibet and Great Britain, in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, then under administrative rule of the Qing dynasty. It was signed following the British expedition to Tibet of 1903–1904, a military expedition led by Colonel Francis Younghusband.  Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The Western-educated progressive Parsis like Dadabhai Naoroji, J.B. Wacha, S.S. Bangali and Naoroji Furdonji founded the Rahanumai Mazdayasanan Sabha (Religious Reform Association) in 1851. Hence statement 3 is not correct.  The association had for its object ―the regeneration of the social condition of the Parsis and the restoration of the Zoroastrian religion to its pristine purity”. Hence statement 1 is correct.
Education as the driving force of social reform was its prime objective. The Sabha campaigned ardently for the education of Parsi priests and for the spread of Western education among the Parsis, including girls.  Through its efforts, the age of marriage was increased and Parsi women achieved emancipation.  The message of the reform was spread by the newspaper Rast Goftar (Truth teller). Hence statement 2 is not correct.  Hitavada began to be published in the year 1911 to project the views of the Servants of India Society, founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905 with the help of MG Ranade.

The enactment of the Coinage Act of 1835 was for uniform coinage to be issued. The period was known to be 'Silver Standard' because silver rupee coins of 180 grains troy in terms of weight, 11/12ths fine in terms of purity, were declared the sole legal tender throughout the British India.  Newly designed coins with the effigy of William IV on the obverse and the value on the reverse in English and Persian, were issued in 1835. Mints were opened to the public for free coinage of the metal and India was thus put on a monometallic silver standard. Though broader preference was for silver coins, the directors of the East India Company were not opposed to circulation of gold coins as such. The Act of 1835 permitted the minting of gold coins of the same weight and fineness as the silver rupee. But in terms of valuation, it was valued at 15 silver coins for 1 gold coin.  Besides the silver and gold coins, currency notes were also in circulation, these being issued mainly by the Presidency Banks of Bengal from 1809, and those of Bombay from 1840 and Madras from 1843. These notes were not national legal tender and their circulation was confined to the Presidency towns.  Members of trade bodies still favoured the introduction of currency notes. After several years of debate, the Paper Currency Bill was enacted in 1861 which gave the government the sole right to issue notes. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

The following are the following events associated with the East India Company. The East India Company was established in 1600 AD. A permanent factory of East India Company is established at Surat in 1613 AD. Hence option (c) is the correct answer. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe, the ambassador of King James I, arrives at Jahangir‟s court. By 1618, the ambassador succeeded in obtaining two farmans (one each from the emperor and Prince Khurram) confirming free trade with exemption from inland tolls. In 1616 the Company established its first factory in the south in Masulipatnam. In 1632 the Company got the golden Farman from the Sultan of Golconda ensuring the safety and prosperity of their trade.  In 1633 the Company established its first factory in east India in Hariharpur, Balasore (Odisha). In 1639 the Company gets the lease of Madras from a local king. In 1651 the Company is given permission to trade at Hooghly (Bengal). In 1662 the British King, Charles II, was given Bombay as dowry for marrying a Portuguese princess (Catherine of Braganza). In 1667 Aurangzeb gave the English a Farman for trade in Bengal. In 1691 the Company got the imperial order to continue their trade in Bengal in lieu of payment of Rs 3,000 a year. In 1717 the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar issued a Farman, called Magna Carta of the Company, giving the Company a large number of trade concessions.

The First Anglo-Mysore War occurred in 1767-69 between the Nizam, the Marathas, and the English allied together against Haidar Ali. The war continued for a year-and-a-half without any conclusion. Haidar changed his strategy and suddenly appeared before the gates of Madras. There was complete chaos and panic at Madras forcing the English to conclude a very humiliating treaty with Haidar on April 4, 1769—Treaty of Madras. Hence pair (1) is correctly matched. The treaty provided for the exchange of prisoners and mutual restitution of conquests. Haidar Ali was promised the help of the English in case he was attacked by any other power. In the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84), Haidar forged an anti-English alliance with the Marathas and the Nizam.
He followed it up by an attack in the Carnatic, capturing Arcot, and defeating the English army under Colonel Baillie in 1781. In the meantime, the English (under Sir Eyre Coote) detached both the Marathas and the Nizam from Haidar‘s side, but the undeterred Haidar faced the English boldly only to suffer a defeat at Porto Novo in November 1781 However, he regrouped his forces and defeated the English and captured their commander, Braithwaite. Late Haidar Ali died of cancer on December 7, 1782. Now his son, Tipu Sultan, carried on the war for one year without any positive outcome. Fed up with an inconclusive war, both sides opted for peace, negotiating the Treaty of Mangalore (March 1784) under which each party gave back the territories it had taken from the other. Hence pair (2) is correctly matched.
The English, siding with Travancore, attacked Tipu Sultan in the Third Anglo-Mysore War.  After the third war, the Treaty of Seringapatam was signed. Under this treaty of 1792, nearly half of the Mysorean territory was taken over by the victors. Baramahal, Dindigul and Malabar went to the English, while the Marathas got the regions surrounding the Tungabhadra and its tributaries and the Nizam acquired the areas from the Krishna to beyond the Pennar. Besides, a war damage of three crore rupees was also taken from Tipu. Hence pair (3) is correctly matched.

During the Swadeshi movement emphasis was given on self-reliance or Atmasakti‘ as a necessary part of the struggle against the British rule. This self-reliance was expressed in manufacturing, education, culture etc. In the development of indigenous culture Swadeshi movement proved very significant.  Songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore, Mukunda Das, Syed Abu Mohammad, Rajani Kanta Sen, etc. became the moving spirit of nationalists across a wide spectrum. Their impact on the development of nationalist sentiments was lasting.  Rabindranath Tagore‟s Amar sonar Bangla written during the Swadeshi movement even inspired the liberation struggle of Bangladesh and it was later adopted in 1971 as national anthem of newly created Bangladesh.
Dakshinarajan Mitra wrote a literary work, Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother‟s tales) which is a collection of Bengali folk tales and fairy tales. According to Rabindranath Tagore this work, written during the Swadeshi movement, was very much needed to revive the folk literature of Bengal and for the children it emerged as an alternate to European literature.
Abanindranath Tagore provided an indispensable contribution in the field of paintings. To oppose the partition of Bengal he painted, Banga Mata in 1906. He later changed the name of the painting to Bharat Mata. Bharat Mata personified a Bengali woman as a deity who was the mother of the nation. He painted her with four attributes that were seen as objects of nationalist goals - food, cloth, learning and spiritual knowledge. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Akshay Kumar Dutta (1820−86) was a progressive thinker from renascent Bengal whose works were not only progressive but also courageous. In proclaiming that rationalism is our only preceptor,‘ Akshay Kumar went a step further.  He held that all-natural and social phenomena could be analyzed and understood by purely mechanical processes.
This perspective not only enabled them to adopt a rational approach to tradition but also to evaluate the contemporary socio-religious practices from the standpoint of social utility and to replace faith with rationality.  Akshay Kumar was not concerned about religious sanctions or whether they existed in the past. His arguments were mainly based on their effects on Society. Instead of depending on the scriptures, he cited medical Opinions against Child marriage.
He held very advanced ideas about marriage and family: courtship before marriage, partnership and equality as the basis of married life and divorce by both law and custom.  Such ideas Dutta formulated in his two well-known treatises — Bahya Bastur Sahit Manavprakritir Sambandha Vichar (A Treatise on the Relationship between Human Nature and the External World, 2 volumes, 1851 and 1853) and Dharmaneeti (Principles of Morality, 1856).
Like Vidyasagar, he was a successful author of school textbooks, as for instance, Charupath (Elementary Lessons, 1853–54), Bhugol (Geography, 1851) and Padarthavidya (Physics, 1856). That apart, he also served as the editor of the well-known journal Tattwabodhini Patrika, the organ of the Tattwabodhini Sabha (founded in 1839)

The Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanand Saraswati as an outcome of reaction to Western Influence. Its ideal was to unite India religiously, socially and nationally with the Aryan religion to be the common religion for all.  The motto was to ‘Go back to Vedas‘. It gave its own interpretation of Vedas and disregarded the authority of later Hindu scriptures like Puranas and described them as the work of lesser men and responsible for the evil practices of idol worship and other superstitious beliefs. Hence statement 1 is not correct.  It condemned idol worship, polytheism, belief in charms and spells and preached unity of Godhead. Hence statement 2 is not correct.  It rejected the popular Hindu philosophy which held that the physical world is an illusion (Maya) and that man‘s soul is merely a part of God. Against this, Dayanand held that God, soul and matter (Prakriti) were distinct and eternal entities. Hence statement 4 is not correct.  It strongly condemned the caste system based on birth, though the Vedic notion of the four-varna system in which a person was not born in any Varuna (caste), but was identified as Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra according to the occupation he followed was accepted. Hence statement 3 is correct.

The Doctrine of Lapse stated that the adopted son could be the heir to his foster father‘s private property, but not the state; it was for the paramount power (the British) to decide whether to bestow the state on the adopted son or to annex it. Though this policy is attributed to Lord Dalhousie (1848-56), he was not its originator. It was a coincidence that during his governor-generalship several important cases arose in which the Doctrine‘ could be applied.
Annexed Lapsed States: It was a matter of chance that during Lord Dalhousie‘s term many rulers of states died without a male issue and seven states were annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse. The most important of these were Satara (1848), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853), and Jhansi (1854). The other small states included Jaitpur (Bundelkhand), Sambalpur (Orissa), and Baghat (Madhya Pradesh). Hence option (c) is the correct answer

In the Viceroy's Executive Council there used to be two members representing the Military Department the Commander in-Chief who was the executive head of the army in India and the Military Member (an ordinary Executive Department and adviser to the Governor-General on military matters. Lord Kitchener who came to India as Commander-in-Chief in 1902 objected to this cumbrous department machinery and desired an end to this dual control of military affairs. In fact Kitchener wanted the abolition of the office of the Military Member of the Viceroy's Executives Council and all functions regarding military administration to be entrusted to the care of the Commanderin-Chief.
Curzon strongly opposed this proposal maintaining that the proposal, if accepted, "would subvert the military authority of the Government of India as a whole and substitute for it a military autocracy in the person of the Commander-in-Chief." The matters came to a head when in February 1903 Mr. Edmond Ellis, the Military Member, modified the plan submitted by the Commander-in-Chief for the Tibet mission. Kitchener took offence at it and said, "While I am Commander-in-Chief nobody is going to have a word in criticism of my proposals and no department which renders this possible shall exist". Kitchener was in full battle array.  A change in the Government in England in 1902 had brought A. J. Balfour as Prime Minister and St. John Brodrick as the new Secretary of State. 

• The new Government apprehensive of a war with Russia was not inclined to support the "dual system" and was more likely to support Kitchener. After great deliberations the Home Government suggested a compromise. The position of the Military Member was not abolished but he was reduced to the position of a Military Supply Member whose duties were more of a civilian than of a military nature. 
• All purely military functions of the Department were transferred to the Commander-in-Chief. Curzon was urged to accept the compromise. 
• Sharp differences, however, arose over the appointment of the new Military Supply Member; Curzon proposed the name of Sir Edmund Barrow while Kitchener claimed the right to be consulted in the appointment of the Military Supply Member. 
• The Secretary of state did not approve of the name of Edmund Barrow maintaining that the Secretary of State was the final authority in making appointments to the Viceroy's Executive Council. Curzon took it as lack of confidence in him and tendered his resignation in August 1905.  Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

• Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) started on March 12, 1930 when Gandhiji, along with a band of 78 members of the Sabarmati Ashram, with men belonging to almost every region and religion of India. 
• Several sections of the population participated in the CDM: 
  • Women: Gandhi had specially asked women to play a leading part in the movement. For Indian women, the movement was the most liberating experience and can truly be said to have marked their entry into the public sphere. 
  • Tribals: Tribals were active participants in Central Provinces, Maharashtra and Karnataka. In Manipur and Nagaland, Rani Gaidinliu raised the banner of revolt against foreign rule. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 
  • Muslims: The hindu-muslim unity was not witnessed during the movement due to active Government encouragement of communal dissension to counter the forces of nationalism. Also, the appeals of communal leaders to stay away had an effect. Communal riots were seen in Dacca (now Dhakha) and Kishoreganj, and there was little participation of Muslims in the movements. Muslim masses in general remained indifferent and aloof from the movement. Hence, statement 2 is not correct. 
  • CDM was the first nationwide movement which was not restricted to the urban areas. This movement gave chance to the people in rural areas the opportunity to participate. Violation of salt law all over the country was soon followed by defiance of forest laws in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central Provinces and refusal to pay ‘chaukidari’ tax in Eastern India. No-rent campaign in different villages such as in U.P. also merged with CDM. Hence, statement 3 is correct. Hence, option (c) is correct.

• Recently, the third edition of the report titled ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and Dashboard 2020–21: Partnerships in the Decade of Action was released by NITI Aayog. 
• Key Findings of the report: 
  • India’s overall score across SDGs improved marginally from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2021 on accounts of improvement in performance in providing facilities including clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), affordable and clean energy (Goal 7) among others.
    (i) However, there has been a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth. 
  • Kerala retains top rank followed by Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu while Bihar is at the bottom followed by Jharkhand and Assam. 
  • Chandigarh maintained its top spot among the UTs followed by Delhi. 
  • Mizoram, Haryana, and Uttarakhand are the top gainers in 2020–21 in terms of improvement in score from 2019.
  • In 2019, 10 states and UTs belonged to the category of Front-Runners while in 2021, 12 more states and UTs made it to the category. 
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index was first launched by NITI Aayog in 2018. The index has become the primary tool for monitoring the progress of India’s states and its Union territories (UTs) towards the SDGs for 2030. 
• It provides a holistic view of the social, economic and environmental status of the country and its States and UTs. 
• The Index for SDGs evaluates the progress of states and Union Territories (UTs) on various parameters including health, education, gender, economic growth, institutions, climate change and environment. 
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

• The evolution of relations between the British authority and states can be traced under the following broad stages: 
  • The Company’s Struggle for Equality from a Position of Subordination (1740-1765): Starting with Anglo-French rivalry with the coming of Dupleix in 1751, the East India Company asserted political identity with the capture of Arcot (1751). 
  • The policy of Ring Fence (1765-1813): This policy was reflected in Warren Hastings’ wars against the Marathas and Mysore, and aimed at creating buffer zones to defend the Company’s frontiers. Wellesley’s policy of subsidiary alliance was an extension of ring-fence—which sought to reduce states to a position of dependence on the British Government in India. Major powers such as Hyderabad, Awadh, and the Marathas accepted subsidiary alliances. 
  • The policy of Subordinate Isolation (1813-1857): In 1833, the Charter Act ended the Company’s commercial functions even as it retained political functions. It adopted the practice of insisting on prior approval/sanction for all matters of succession. In 1834, the Board of Directors issued guidelines to annex states wherever and whenever possible. This policy of annexation culminated in the usurpation of eight states by Dalhousie including some big states such as Satara and Nagpur. 
  • The policy of Subordinate Union (1857-1935):
    (i) The year 1858 saw the assumption of direct responsibility by the Crown. The policy of annexation was abandoned. The new policy was to punish or depose but not to annex. Queen adopting the title of “Kaiser-i-Hind” (Queen Empress of India) meant that the paramount supremacy of the Crown is presupposed and implied the subordination of states. Hence statement 1 is correct.
    (ii) According to the recommendations of the Montford Reforms (1921), a Chamber of Princes (Narendra Mandal) was set up as a consultative and advisory body having no say in the internal affairs of individual states and having no powers to discuss matters concerning existing rights and freedoms. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
    (iii) Butler Committee: The question of the extent of sovereignty and paramountcy was still undefined. The Butler Committee (1927) was set up to examine the nature of the relationship between the princely states and government. Hence statement 3 is correct. 
  • The policy of Equal Federation (1935-1947): A Non-Starter: The Government of India Act, 1935 proposed a Federal Assembly with 125 out of 375 seats for the princes and the Council of States with 104 out of 160 seats for the princes, under its scheme of an all-India federation, which was subject to ratification by states representing more than half of the population and entitled to more than half of the seats in the Council of States. This scheme never came into existence and after the outbreak of World War II (September 1939) it was dropped altogether

• Slavery had been abolished in Britain in 1820, and in India, the colonial administrators continued to detect its existence in various forms. 
• The agrarian relations in India were complex, marked by numerous structures of labor dependencies, many of which, viewed through the post-Enlightenment "lens of the freedom-unfreedom opposition" looked like slavery in British eyes. 
• The Charter Act of 1833, therefore, instructed the government of India to abolish slavery, and parliamentary pressure continued to mount until its legal abolition. 
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

• Unlike most modern states, Britain does not have a codified constitution but an unwritten one formed of Acts of Parliament, court judgments, and conventions. The conventions are unwritten rules of constitutional practice, vital to the working of the government. The very existence of the office of Prime Minister of UK is purely conventional. The Constitution of India is the lengthiest of all the written Constitutions of the world. It not only the fundamental principles of governance but also detailed administrative provisions. Hence option 2 is not correct. 
• The provisions of the Parliamentary system of Government, Rule of law, law-making procedure, and single citizenship were borrowed from the British Constitution. The concept of Rule of Law is that the state is governed, not by the ruler or the nominated representatives of the people but by the law. The rule of law concept is present both in the UK and India. Hence options 1 and 4 are correct. 
• The Constitution of India has opted for the British Parliamentary System of Government. It is a system of governance where the executive is accountable to the legislature. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. A king or queen is the head of state, and a prime minister is the head of government. The UK is a parliamentary democracy. The UK Parliament is a ‘sovereign parliament’ – this means that the legislative body has ‘absolute sovereignty’. 
• The UK has a unitary system of government, meaning a system where power is held in the center, although some powers have been devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Whereas, the Constitution of India established a federal system of Government with Unitary bias. Hence option 3 is not correct. 
• Amending the Constitution in India is a combination of rigid and flexible process. It Can be amended by a Simple Majority, Special Majority, or ratification by more than half of the states. In UK Constitution amending procedure is flexible. Due to its unwritten character, It can be easily amended or repealed by a Simple Majority. No distinction is made between constitutional law and ordinary law. Both are treated alike.

• As a federal court, the Supreme Court decides the disputes between different units of the Indian Federation. That is disputes between the Centre and one or more states; or Between the Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more other states on the other side; or Between two or more states. 
• In these federal disputes, the Supreme Court has exclusive original jurisdiction. Exclusive means, no other court can decide such disputes and original means, the power to hear such disputes in the first instance, not by way of appeal. Hence option (a) is correct. 
• Under Article 226, the high courts are also empowered to issue writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights. It means, when the Fundamental Rights of a citizen are violated, the aggrieved party has the option of moving either the high court or the Supreme Court directly. Therefore, the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court with regard to federal disputes is different from its original jurisdiction with regard to disputes relating to fundamental rights. In the first case, it is exclusive and in the second case, it is concurrent with high courts jurisdiction. Hence option (b) is correct. 
• The Supreme Court is authorised to grant in its discretion special leave to appeal from any judgement in any matter passed by any court or tribunal in the country (except military tribunal and court-martial). 
• This special leave to appeal is a discretionary power and hence, cannot be claimed as a matter of right and It can be granted in any judgement whether final or interlocutory. Hence option (c) is not correct. 
• The Constitution (Article 143) authorises the president to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court in the two categories of matters that are on any question of law or fact of public importance which has arisen or which is likely to arise and on any dispute arising out of any pre-constitution treaty, agreement, covenant, engagement, sanad or other similar instruments. Hence option (d) is correct

• Recent context: A recent study has found that asteroid 16 Psyche, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, could be made entirely of metal and is worth an estimated $10,000 quadrillion — more than the entire economy of Earth. 
• Located around 370 million kilometres away from Earth, asteroid 16 Psyche is one of the most massive objects in the asteroid belt of our solar system. 
• It was first discovered on March 17, 1853, by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis and was named after the ancient Greek goddess of the soul, Psyche. 
• New images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope offer a closer view of the mysterious asteroid 16 Psyche, whose surface may mostly comprise iron and nickel, similar to the Earth’s core, according to the study published in The Planetary Science Journal. 
• Scientists believe that the asteroid may be the leftover core of an earlier planet that lost its crust and mantle after multiple collisions during the creation of our solar system. 
• The exact composition and origins of the asteroid will be uncovered in 2022 when NASA sends an unmanned spacecraft to study it up close. 
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

• The Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE) program is a joint government and industry initiative with a co-funding mechanism to promote innovative technology solutions and strengthen academic research through collaboration with key research and development (R&D) organisations in India. The FIRE programme is a first-of-its-kind initiative launched by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, in collaboration with Intel India. Hence statement 2 is not correct. 
• SERB-FIRE is a novel initiative to bring together industry and academia on a common platform to exchange ground-breaking ideas and co-promote innovative research. This collaboration will open many new doors for exploration in scientific research, which could make India a key player in technology-based solutions. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
• It will increase research opportunities in the space of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), platform systems, circuits & architecture, Internet of Things (IoT), materials & devices, security, and so on from edge to cloud.

Article 76 of the Constitution provides for the office of the Attorney General of India. 

• Attorney General is appointed by the President on the advice of the government. 
• He must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, i.e. s/he must be a citizen of India and must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President. 

1. Duties 

• To give advice to the Government of India (GoI) upon such legal matters, which are referred to her/him by the President. 
• To perform such other duties of a legal character that are assigned to her/him by the President. o To appear on behalf of the GoI in all cases in the Supreme Court or in any case in any High Court in which the GoI is concerned. 
• To represent the GoI in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 (Power of the President to consult the Supreme Court) of the Constitution. 
• To discharge the functions conferred on her/him by the Constitution or any other law. 

2. Rights

• In the performance of the duties, The Attorney General has the right of audience in all courts in the territory of India. 
• He has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of both houses of the parliament and their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which he may be named a member but without a right to vote. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• He enjoys all privileges and immunities that are available to a member of the Parliament. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
• The Attorney General (AG) of India is a part of the Union Executive. AG is the highest law officer in the country. However, he is not part of the Union cabinet. There is a separate law minister in the Central cabinet to look after the legal matters at the government level. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• This doctrine of severability is also known as the doctrine of separability. 
• The doctrine of severability means that when some particular provision of a statute offends or is against a constitutional limitation, but that provision is severable from the rest of the statute, only that offending provision will be declared void by the Court and not the entire statute. Hence option (b) is the correct answer. 
• In this doctrine it is not the whole act which is held invalid for being inconsistent with the Part three of the constitution which is given to the citizens of India. It is only those parts are inconsistent which are violative of the fundamental rights. But just the part which violates the fundamental rights is separable from that which does not isolate them. If it there that the valid portion is combined with the invalid portion that it is impossible to separate them. Then in such cases the court will leave it and declare the whole Act as void. This process of doing it is known as the doctrine of severability. 
• The doctrine of severability was even used in the case of Minerva Mills vs Union of India where section 4 of 55 of the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 was struck down for being beyond the amending power of the Parliament and then it had declared the rest of the Act as valid. Then in another case of Kihoto Hollohan Vs Zachillhu which is very famously known as the defection case. In this case the paragraph 7 of the Tenth Schedule which was first inserted by the 52nd Amendment Act of 1985 was declared as unconstitutional because it had violated the provisions under Article 368(2). But, the whole part was not declared unconstitutional. So, the rest of the Tenth Schedule excluding paragraph 7 was upheld by the Constitution.