UPSC Paper 1 Mock Test - 9 - UPSC MCQ

Justification: Rudolph and Rudolph have attempted to find correlates between the nature of polity of the state and economic characteristics.
In a democratic country, there are two competing sovereignties: state sovereignty and voter/citizen sovereignty. The demand polity refers to the situation when the government’s policies and programmes are for the short-term
benefits of people.
The allocations and welfare activities are carried out keeping elections in mind.
The model of command polity refers to that political set-up in which allocations and distributions are oriented to the long-term goals and sustainable benefits to people.

• The role of the state in command politics is monopolistic and oligopolistic. The command politics relates to the postponement theory, which believes in investment for ensuring future development at the cost of the present needs and necessities of the people.
• In the existing world, both these polities are found in a mixed form to varying degrees.

Justification & Learning:

Statement 2: The climate is not dry, but pretty humid due to the proximity with coasts. It has a humid climate that is ideal for spinning and weaving.

• Favourable locational factors were responsible for the development of the textile industry in Ahmedabad.
• Ahmedabad is situated in the heart of a cotton growing area. This ensures easy availability of raw material.
• The densely populated states of Gujarat and Maharashtra provide both skilled and semi-skilled labour. Well developed road and railway network permits easy transportation of textiles to different parts of the country,thus providing easy access to the market.
• Mumbai port nearby facilitates import of machinery and export of cotton textiles.

Q Source: Page 60: Class 8^th NCERT: Resource and Development

Justification:

Statement 1: The seventh to ninth centuries saw the emergence of new religious movements, led by the Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (saints devoted to Vishnu) who came from all castes including those considered “untouchable” like the Pulaiyar and the Panars.

Statement 3: They drew upon the ideals of love and heroism as found in the Sangam literature (the earliest example of Tamil literature, composed during the early centuries of the Common Era) and blended them with the values of bhakti.

• The Nayanars and Alvars went from place to place composing exquisite poems in praise of the deities enshrined in the villages they visited, and set them to music
• The best known among them were Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar,
• Their songs were compiled in the Divya Prabandham.

Statement 2 and 4: They were sharply critical of the Buddhists and Jainas and preached ardent love of Shiva or Vishnu as the path to salvation.

Q Source: Page 105: Class 7^th NCERT History: Our Pasts-II

Learning: The term ‘State’ as such does not refer to state governments.

• Rather when we use State, we are trying to distinguish it from ‘government’.
• ‘Government’ is responsible for administering and enforcing laws. The government can change with elections.
• The State on the other hand refers to a political institution that represents a sovereign people who occupy a definite territory. We can, thus, speak of the Indian State, the Nepali State etc.
• The Indian State has a democratic form of government. The government (or the executive) is one part of the State. The State refers to more than just the government and cannot be used interchangeably with it.

Q Source: Chapter 1: Class 8^th NCERT: Social and Political Life

Justification:

Statement 1: The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established the GTI. So, 1 is wrong.

It is an inter-governmental effort.

Statement 2: It was started in 1998, much after many important global agreements, conventions and treaties were negotiated and signed, for e.g. CBD in the early 1990s. So, clearly 2 is wrong.

Learning: GTI provides guidance to governments, taxonomists, non-govemment and international organizations, responsible for implementing the GTI (i.e. issues related to taxonomy of flora and fauna).

Justification:

It is the farming practice of plowing and/or planting across a slope following its elevation contour lines.

Statement 3:These contour lines create a water break which reduces the formation of rills and gullies during times of heavy water run-off; which is a major cause of soil erosion.The water break also allows more time for the water to settle into the soil.

Statement 1: Since top soil erosion is reduced and water retention improved, it often leads to greater weed growth.

Statement 2: It doesn’t alter the natural nutrient base of the soil and only helps conserve the already existing nutrients.

Q Source: Improvisation: Page 14: Class 8 ^thNCERT: Resource and Development

Concept: A population pyramid shows the total population divided into various age groups, e.g., 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years.

• It also shows the percentage of the total population, subdivided into males and females, in each of those groups.
• The shape of the population pyramid tells the story of the people living in that particular country.
• The numbers of children (below 15 years) are shown at the bottom and reflect the level of births. The size of the top shows the numbers of aged people (above 65 years) and reflects the number of deaths.

Justification: Statement 1: Since the pyramid is vertically symmetrical, sex-ratio is 1000, i.e. males and females are equal in number. So, 1 is wrong.

Statement 2: It seems that the larger population percentage in the country is of dependents, i.e. children and old people. A nation reaps demographic dividend using working adults, not dependents. So, 2 will be considered wrong.

Statement 3: The population pyramid of a country in which birth and death rates both are high is broad at the base and rapidly narrows towards the top. This is because although, many children are born, a large percentage of them die in their infancy, relatively few become adults and there are very few old people.

Statement 4: It does not tell anything about the geographical distribution of population.

Q Source: Page 72: Class 8th NCERT: Resource and Development

Justification: the animal is allowed to survive after spinning its cocoon and through the pupal phase of its lifecycle, it releases proteolytic enzymes to make a hole in the cocoon so it can emerge as an adult moth.

■  These enzymes are destructive to the silk and can cause the silk fibers to break down from over a mile in length to segments of random length, which seriously reduces the value of the silk threads.

■  To prevent this, silkworm cocoons are boiled. The heat kills the silkworms and the water makes the cocoons easier to unravel. Often, the silkworm itself is eaten.

Learning: As the process of harvesting the silk from the cocoon kills the larvae, sericulture has been criticized by animal welfare and rights activists.

■  Mahatma Gandhi was critical of silk production based on the Ahimsa philosophy "not to hurt any living thing". This led to Gandhi's promotion of cotton spinning machines, an example of which can be seen at the Gandhi Institute.

■  He also promoted Ahimsa silk, wild silk made from the cocoons of wild and semiwild silk moths.

■  Ahimsa silk is promoted in parts of southern India for those who prefer not to wear silk produced by killing silkworms

Q Source: Improvisation (image):Page 17: Class 8^th NCERT: Resource and Development

Justification:

Statement 1: They do not have an independent metabolism for survival. They are totally dependent upon a living cell, either eukaryotic or prokaryotic, for replication and existence. Viruses are thus a kind of intracellular parasites.
Statement 2: This is one their important biological characteristics. Humans have both DNA and RNA. But, Viruses have only one species of nucleic acid which is either DNA or RNA.
Statement 3: Antibiotics affect only bacteria, not viruses. This is why anti-biotics do not work for many diseases. Statement 4: Ultraviolet, X-ray, and high-energy particles inactivate viruses, often used in water purification
systems to clean water.

Justification:

Statement 1: The OIC is an international organization founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states including Iran and Pakistan. Administrative centre (headquarters) is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. So, 1 is incorrect.
Statement 2: In this organisation, India is a blocked country, though it has about 12% of the world’s Muslim population. India has been blocked by Pakistan from joining the OIC over Kashmir issue. OIC regard parts of Kashmir as “occupied by India”.
Learning: Its Objectives:
(i) Raise the collective voice of the Muslim world.
(ii) Collectively work to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony.
OIC has permanent delegations to United Nations and the European Union.

Concept: Quantum communication boasts ultra-high security communication. It uses subatomic particles to securely communicate between two points.

In case intruder (hacker) tries to crack the message in Quantum communication, it will change its form in a way that would alert the sender and cause the message to be altered or deleted.

Justification: Statement 1: Earlier, researchers around the world had successfully sent quantum messages on land. But this first of its kind satellite-based quantum network would make it possible to send quickly encrypted (hack proof) messages around the world. It also opens door to other possible uses of the technology. The launch is also a major triumph for China in the field of quantum technology.

Statement 2: It is not related to research in quantum physics as a separate focus. It will be located in sun- synchronous orbit and help bolster China's communication system.

The QUESS satellite has been nicknamed as Micius after a 5th century BC Chinese philosopher.

Justification: Statement 1: Iron-ore innorth Sweden, copper and nickel deposits in Ontario,Canada, iron, nickel, chromites and platinum in South Africa are examples of minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Statement 2:Limestone deposits of Caucasusregion of France, manganese deposits of Georgia and Ukraine and phosphate beds of Algeria are some examples. Mineral fuels such as coal and petroleum arealso found in the sedimentary rocks.

Q Source: Improvisation: Page 26: Class 8^th NCERT: Resource and Development

Learning: According to current estimates, more than 80% of the world's proven crude oil reserves are located in OPEC Member Countries, with the bulk of OPEC oil reserves in the Middle East, amounting to 65% of the OPEC total.

Countries like Venezuela, Iraq and Kuwait are key members of OPEC with large soil reserves and production.

Q Source: Improvisation: Page 28: Class 8^th NCERT: Resource and Development

Learning: It is a space-based observatory.

■  LISA pathfinder would help LIGO’s (a ground based gravitational waves observatory) work.

■  Seismic, thermal and other noise sources limit LIGO to higher-frequency gravitational waves.

■  But finding signals from more exotic events, such as mergers of supermassive black holes in colliding galaxies, requires the ability to see subtle frequencies, a sensitivity level only possible from space.

■  So, LISA Pathfinder was intended as a stepping stone to the level of performance needed for a full-scale gravitational wave observatory.

Justification: Statement 1: The Act clearly violated the rule of law, which the British often used to justify their administration in India. Indian nationalists including Mahatma Gandhi were vehement in their opposition to the Rowlatt bills due to such arbitrary provisions.

Statement 2: This was not a provision. Seditious acts were definitely penalize by the act though.

Some restrictive provisions on Press were made by the Vernacular Press Act, 1878.

Statement 3: Despite the large number of protests, the Rowlatt Act came into effect on 10 March 1919.

Learning: In Punjab, protests against this Act continued quite actively and on April 10 two leaders of the movement, Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested.

• To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.
• General Dyer entered the park and ordered the troops to fire.
• Several hundreds of people died in this gunfire. This incident is known as Jallianwala Bagh massacre.                     Q Source: Page 44: 8^thNCERT: Social and Political Life

justification: Statement 1: It is found in Aravali Mountains, two-thirds of the Deccan peninsula and some parts of north east.
Statement 2: These rocks have abundant metallic and non-metallic minerals such as iron, copper, manganese, bauxite, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tin, tungsten, mica, asbestos, graphite, etc.
Statement 3: It is the “Dharwar” Rock System which is the first metamorphic sedimentary rocks in India.

Statement 4: These are the oldest followed by Dharwar rocks. Tertiary rocks are the youngest.

Justification: Statement 1: They have adapted to desert conditions by developing extremely long root systems to draw water from deep underground near the water table. The mesquite's roots are considered the longest of any desert plant and have been recorded as long as 80 feet.

Statement 2: Some have succulent leaves to store moisture. Some have thorny leaves to reduce water loss by transpiration. Waxy leaves protect soil moisture beneath the coating.

Q Source: Page 18: Class 8^thNCERT: Resource and Development

Justification: Statement 1: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria. It usually affects the skin and peripheral nerves, but has a wide range of clinical manifestations.

Statement 2: The National Leprosy Eradication Programme is being continued with Govt. of India funds from January 2005 onwards. Additional support for the programme is continued to be received from the WHO and ILEP organizations. MDT is to be supplied free of cost as of now by NOVARTIS through WHO.

Justification: Statement 1: Laws concerning villages can be made only by the State Legislature, and rules/regulations by the State government. So, 1 is incorrect.

The work of a Gram Panchayat includes the construction and maintenance of water sources, roads, drainage,school buildings and other common property resources.

It can also levy and collect local taxes and execute government schemes related to generating employmentin the village.

Q Source: Revision Past test: 7^thNCERT: Social and Political Life

Justification: Statement 1: A natural area designated to protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations. It is not for the conservation of a particular species only.

It is the Wildlife sanctuary that aims at the conservation of particular set of species. So, 1 is incorrect.

Statement 2: No human settlements are even allowed in the core region of a national park. So, 2 is clearly incorrect.

National parks conserve the ecological aspects of the environment, not its cultural and social aspects.

Learning: Biosphere reserves are a series of protected areas linked through a global network, intended to demonstrate the relationship between conservation and development.

Human settlements can generally be found in such reserves, as they conserve the ecosystem in its natural conditions.

Q Source: Page 21: Class 8^th NCERT: Resource and Development

Learning: The proposed corridor will cover 1.65 million square kilometres, encompassing an estimated 440 million people in China's Yunnan province, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bihar in Northern India through the combination of road, rail, water and air linkages in the region.

■  This interconnectedness would facilitate the cross-border flow of people and goods, minimize overland trade obstacles, ensure greater market access and increase multilateral trade

■  The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

■  India's isolated eastern and north-eastern states also stand to gain by higher trade and connectivity with China and the rest of Asia the corridor will run from Kunming to Kolkata, linking Mandalay in Myanmar as well as Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh.

Justification: Nadir Shah’s invasion and the conquest of Delhi in 1739 resulted in the migration of Mughal artists to the hills to escape the uncertainties of the plains.

■  Here they found ready patrons which led to the founding of the Kangra school of painting.

■  By the mid-eighteenth century the Kangra artists developed a style which breathed a new spirit into miniature painting. The source of inspiration was the Vaishnavite traditions.

■ Soft colours including cool blues and greens, and a lyrical treatment of themes distinguished Kangra painting.

Q Source: Chapter 9: Class 7^th NCERT: Our Pasts - II

Learning: The Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) recommended the appointment of Uijit Patel based on the recommendation of the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC).

■  The PMO appoints the RBI Governor.

■  The latter is only an advisory body headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

■  Some of the recent changes made to the RBI Act is the inclusion of a Monetary Policy Committee which will have representation both from government and RBI.

■  The veto power of the Governor regarding key monetary policy decisions has been revoked.

Justification: Delhi during Shah Jahan’s time was also an important centre of Sufi culture. It had several dargahs, khanqahs and idgahs.

Statement 1: It was a sufi lodge, often used as a rest house for travellers and a place where people come to discuss spiritual matters, get the blessings of saints, and hear sufi music.

Statement 2: It was an open prayer place of Muslims primarily meant for id prayers.

Statement 3: It was simply a street with a dead end.

Q Source: Page 66: Class 8^th NCERT History: Our Pasts-III - Part I

Learning:The annual index was released by France-based international business school INSEAD and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.

■  The index ranks world economies since 2007 according to their innovation capabilities using more than 80 indicators.

■  India's better performance in the 2016 GII readings was due to its strengths in tertiary education, corporate R&D, software export and market sophistication.

■  India has starting to excel in ICT and creative goods exports. It is setting a good example highlighting how its policy is improving the innovation environment.

■  Among the middle income countries, India (25th) came second after China (17th) in innovation quality by overtaking Brazil (27th). China has figured at the 25th position (29th in 2015 GII) is the only middle- income country in the top 25.

Justification& Learning: Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav was banned from all competitive sporting events for

four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He was banned by CAS following an appeal by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as there was

• no evidence to accept his claim that his food was spiked by banned doping substance.
• CAS is an international quasi-judicial body established to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration.

Statement 1:According to rule 61 of the Olympic Charter, all disputes in connection with the Olympic Games can only be submitted to CAS. Since 2016, an anti-doping division of CAS was given full authority to judge doping cases at the Olympic Games.

Statement 2: It had replaced earlier mechanism of the IOC disciplinary commission. So, 2 is incorrect.

Justification: The innovative scheme of star rating of mines was launched by the Union Ministry of Mines through IBM as part of Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) in the mining sector.

■  The main objective of this system is to bring all mines to a minimum standard of Star Rating in the shortest possible time frame to adopt sustainable practices.

■  Based on the performance of the mining leases, a one to five star rating would be given to the mines.

■  Initially, the star rating will be done for mines of majorminerals.

The star rating will be based on the following parameters: (i) scientific and systematic mining, (ii) addressing social impact of resettlement and rehabilitation, (iii)local community engagements and welfare programmes, (iv) progressive and final mine closure and adoption of international standards and (v) adoption of international standards for mining operations and reporting.

Justification: It aims at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing through adopting of principle of e- Governance and creation of a nationwide networking infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled-state-of-the-art tracking system around 'Investigation of crime and detection of criminals'.

Objectives of 'CCTNS'

• Make the Police functioning citizen friendly and more transparent by automating the functioning of Police Stations.
• Improve delivery of citizen-centric services through effective usage of ICT.
• Provide the Investigating Officers of the Civil Police with tools, technology and information to facilitate investigation of crime and detection of criminals.
• Improve Police functioning in various other areas such as Law and Order, Traffic Management etc.
• Facilitate Interaction and sharing of Information among Police Stations, Districts, State/UT headquarters and other Police Agencies.
• Assist senior Police Officers in better management of Police Force
• Keep track of the progress of Cases, including in Courts
• Reduce manual and redundant Records keeping

Justification: Statement 1: ICHR is an autonomous body of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. It was established by an Administrative Order of the then Union Ministry of Education and Social Welfare.

Statement 2: It brings historians together and provide a forum for exchange of views between them and gives a national direction to an objective and scientific writing of history and to have rational presentation and interpretation of history.

• It promotes, accelerates and coordinates research in history with special emphasis on areas which have not received adequate attention so far;
• ICHR disburses funds for carrying out research to Indian as well as foreign scholars on their applications

for fellowships, grants, and symposia made to ICHR or through HRD Ministry.

• It has provided financial assistance to the historians and direction to the research scholars in their multifarious topics of historical research.

Learning: The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is planning to document stories and legends relating to villages and towns across India into an encyclopedia.

• This initiative is aimed at to connect people better with the oral and folk traditions.
• It would be among the key initiatives to be under taken by ICHR. Other initiatives to be undertaken include study of the princely States of modern India, studies to fill the gaps between the Harappan civilisation (first Indian urbanisation) and the 6th century BC (second urbanisation).

Justification: Statement 1: Article 156: Governor is appointed by President and hold office during the pleasure of President. It should be also noted that this article also mentions tenure of Governor. In this regard it says that Governor shall hold office for the term of 5 years from date he enters upon his office.

Statement 2: Article 153: It says that there shall be Governor for each state. But 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.