Practice Test: Full Length - 5 - UPSC MCQ

The Constitution states that no money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India except under appropriation made by law‘. Accordingly, an appropriation bill is introduced to provide for the appropriation, out of the Consolidated Fund of India, all money required to meet:
(a) The grants voted by the Lok Sabha.
(b) The expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.

• Statement 3 is not correct: No such amendment can be proposed to the appropriation bill in either house of the Parliament that will have the effect of varying the amount or altering the destination of anygrant voted, or of varying the amount of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The budget consists of two types of expenditure the expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India and the expenditure made‘ from the Consolidated Fund of India. The charged expenditure is non-votable by the Parliament, that is, it can only be discussed by the Parliament, while the other type has to be voted by the Parliament.

The Tobin Tax, named after Nobel Prize-winning US economist James Tobin, was proposed in 1971 for the first time with the intention to levy it on short term capital currency transactions, whenever currencycrises have erupted, the proposal for a levy on international currency transactions has been debated.

• Tobin tax as a tool to discourage speculative currency trading and reduce exchange rate volatility. The Tobin tax is often referred to as the Robin Hood tax, as many see it as a way for governments to takesmall amounts of money from the people making large, short-term currency exchanges.

• The Securities Transaction Tax applicable on stock market transactions in India is a similar tax intended to discourage short-term investments.

• According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), a Tobin tax might reduce market liquidity and effectively increase volatility clearly contrary to its suggested purpose. The legislators should thus consider a Tobin tax proposal only in the event there is a similar imposition at international level a sunilateral measures can prove more damaging than the exchange-rate instability they are designed to cure. Rigid controls can cut India off from economic reality, and make the country uncompetitive.

The 'Cobra Effect,‘ was a phenomenon observed in India during the British colonial rule, which is often reckoned as a classic example of perverse incentives. The British were over whelmed by a rising number of poisonous cobras and had to devise a policy to check this problem.

Correspondingly, the government decided to reward any individual who was able to slay a cobra. Although this measure was an outright success, it gradually augmented the breeding and rearing of serpents with the sole motive of killing them for getting a reward.

• A major implication of this effect is the unsolicited outcome of a scheme that was initially proposed with the objective of dealing with a problem plaguing the society. Thus, any policy which is premeditated with a desirable outcome to contend with a difficulty may make things even worse.

• From a macroeconomic perspective this can be explained by using tax amnesty scheme. A tax amnesty scheme involves comprehensive guiding principles concerning the immunity enjoyed by past tax evadersupon truthful reporting of incomes in the present period. Tax amnesty is likely to discourage the public from paying taxes in the present period in anticipation of the next amnesty, which is a moral hazard.

Monetary inflation is a form of demand-pull inflation. In this case, excess demand is created by the excessive growth of the money supply. A group of economists, appropriately called monetarists, believe that the only cause of inflation is the money supply increases faster than output. They argue that if the money supply increases, people will spend more and this will lead to an increase in prices. Hence statement 1 is correct. 

• A regressive tax is a tax applied uniformly, taking a larger percentage of income from low-income earners than from high-income earners. A regressive tax affects people with low incomes more severely than people with high incomes because it is applied uniformly to all situations, regardless of the taxpayer.

• Inflation operates like a regressive consumption tax because the extent to which individuals are affected by the inflation tax depends on their level of consumption. An increase in inflation raises the cost of transacting for individuals at the bottom of the income distribution to a greater extent than for those at the top. For example, consider person A with low income and person B with High income both buying a product whose price has increased due to inflation. Now both A and B have to spend extra money to purchase the product. But the extra spending forms a higher percentage share in the income of A compared to high income of B. Therefore, Inflation is a regressive tax. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) - 1920  It was founded in 1920 with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first president. Upto 1945 Congressmen, Socialists, Communists worked in the AITUC which was the central trade union organisation of workers of India. Subsequently the trade union movement got split on political lines. The unions affiliated to AITUC are from textile, engineering, coal, steel, road transport, electricity board and of unorganized sector such as beedi, construction and head-load workers, anganwadi, local bodies and handloom. Recently a number of agriculture workers‘ unions have affiliated themselves to AITUC.

• Since the early 1920s, efforts were being made by various capitalists like G.D. Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas to establish a national level organization of Indian commercial, industrial and financial interests to be able to effectively lobby with the colonial government. This effort culminated in the formation of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 1927, with a large and rapidly increasing representation from all parts of India. The FICCI was soon recognized by the British government as well as the Indian public in general, as representing the dominant opinion as well asthe overall consensus within the Indian capitalist class. The FICCI was, however, not to remain merely a sort of trade union organization of the capitalist class fighting for its own economic demands and those of the nation. The leaders of the capitalist class clearly saw the necessity of, and felt strong enough for, thec lass to effectively intervene in politics.

• Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) - 1948 It is a National Trade Union Centre in India. It was founded in Howrah in 1948 by Socialist, Forward Bloc follower and independent unionists. Its founders included Basawan Singh (Sinha), Ashok Mehta, R. S. Ruikar and Mani Benkara. Mr. R.S. Ruikar was elected president and Ashok Mehta as itsGeneral Secretary. The HMS absorbed the Royists Indian Federation of Labour and the Socialist Hind Mazdoor Panchayat.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer. 

Cobweb theory is the idea that price fluctuations can lead to fluctuations in supply which causes acycle of rising and falling prices. The farmers are caught in the cobweb phenomenon when they base their sowing decisions on prices witnessed in the previous marketing period.

• So, if the farmer observes a higher price for a specific crop in period ‘t-1’, he would opt to produce more of it in period ‘t’. However, if the production of the crop exceeds market demand, prices fall in period ‘t’, signaling farmers to produce less of the commodity in period ‘t+1’.

• Economic Survey 2019-20 highlights the trend of inflation rate of pulses. Inflation rate of pulses peaked during the years of 2012-13, 2015-16 and 2018-19. And the inflation rates slipped into negatives during 2013-14 and 2017-18. The presence of peaks might indicate towards the presence of cobweb phenomenon in pulses.

• To prevent the occurrence of the cobweb phenomenon, it is essential that apart from existing measures in place to safeguard pulses, farmers, from crop failure/price shocks like market intervention under Price Stabilization Fund (PSF), coverage under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, PM-AASHA, providing ware houses, improving transportation, price discovery through e-NAM, etc., free export of pulses also needs to be encouraged for India to become self-sufficient in pulses production.

Quasi-judicial bodies have powers analogous to that of the law imposing bodies but these are not courts. They have all the powers of a civil court. They primarily oversee the administrative zones. The courts have the power to supervise over all types of disputes but the quasi-judicial bodies are the ones with the powers of imposing laws on administrative agencies. These organizations generally have authorities of settlement in matters like the breach of discipline, conduct rules, and trust in the matters of money or otherwise. Their powers are usually limited to a particular area of expertise, such as financial markets, employment laws, public standards, immigration, or regulation.

Awards and judgments of quasi-judicial bodies often depend on a predetermined set of rules or punishment depending on the nature and gravity of the offense committed. Such punishment may be legally enforceable under the law of a country, it can be challenged in a court of law which is the finalvital authority.

Some important non-constitutional quasi-judicial bodies are:
• National Human Rights Commission
• State Human Rights Commission
• Central Information Commission
• State Information Commission
• National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
• State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
• District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
• Competition Commission of India

All of the bodies given above are statutory bodies
• Election Commission of India and the Finance Commission are both Constitutional bodies and quasi judicial in nature.

Hence only options 1 and 4 are correct.

• The One Hundred and Second Amendment of the Constitution of India granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The Constitutional (103^rd Amendment) Act got the assent of President in 2018. It provides reservation of jobs in central government jobs as well as government educational institutions. It is also applicable on admissions to private higher educational institutions. It applies to citizens belonging to the economically weaker sections from the upper castes.
• This reservation is "in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of ten percent of the total seats in each category". The bill states that it is drafted with a will to man date Article 46 of the Constitution of India, a Directive Principle that urges the government to protect the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of society. While socially disadvantaged sections have enjoyed participation in the employment in the services of the state, no such benefit was provided to the economically weaker sections. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi over ruled the appointment of former bureaucrat T. M Balakrishnan as the State Election Commissioner (SEC). The government had appointed former bureaucrat T. M Balakrishnan, last year, as SEC after Speaker V. P Si vakolundhu gave a ruling bestowing power to appoint the election officer with the elected government. The Speaker, while giving his ruling, had also canceled a similar advertisement floated allegedly at the behest of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi for the SEC post.

• Statement 1 is not correct: According to Article 243K of the Constitution Of India, the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats shall be vested in a State Election Commission consisting of a StateElection Commissioner to be appointed by the Governor. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or in connection with, elections to the Panchayats.

• Statement 2 is correct: The appointment of State Election Commissioner of Puducherry is anexecutive action but his removal can only be through legislative action as referred in Article 243 K,243 L & 243-ZB of the Constitution of India. The constitution states that 'provided that the State Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in the like manner and on the likeground as a Judge of a High Court and the conditions of service of the State Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

Correct Answer :- c

Explanation : All money bills or other financial bills that come up for the President's consideration after being passed by the state legislature, can be reserved.

Under article 360 of the Constitution, the President can proclaim a financial emergency when the financial stability or credit of the nation or of any part of its territory is threatened.

• In-vitro fertilization refers to the artificial method of fertilization between female egg and male sperm outside a human body. Hence, statement (1) is correct.
• The process of in-vitro fertilisation is: The doctor takes the eggs out of the body and mixes them with sperm cells in a lab, to help the sperm fertilize the eggs. Then the doctor inserts one or more fertilized eggs (embryos) directly into the desired uterus. Pregnancy happens if any of the embryos implants in the lining of the uterus. Thus it is a surgical method of fertilisation. "Test tube baby" is a term sometimes used to refer to children conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Hence, statement (2) is correct.
• Some of the disadvantages associated with the same are :Multiple Births risk increases due to multiple embryos being placed in the uterus. Hence, statement (3) is not correct.
• Premature delivery, low birth weight and babies have a higher relative risk of birth defects than normal ones Miscarriage – the chances of miscarriage in -vitro fertilization increases with the age of the person.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a).

• Under the PM Kusum Yojana decentralized power plants will be set up by individual farmers/ cooperatives/ panchayats /farmer producer organizations (FPO) on their barren or cultivable lands. The power generated will be sold to the National Grid to earn extra income to farmers. So, statement (1) is correct.
• The farmer will be able to use the generated energy under the scheme (Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps) to meet the irrigation needs, thus ensuring financial and water security to farmers. So, statement (2) is correct.
• The proposed PM Kusum Yojan a consists of three components:

1. ​Component-A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants.
2. Component-B: Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
3. Component-C: Solarization of 10 lakh Grid connected Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.

All three components combined; the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022. So, statement (3) is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (d)

Correct Answer :- c

Explanation : a) Direct contact with animals is the easiest way for diseases to spread from animals to humans, such as through petting, handling or getting bitten or scratched by an animal. People who work in the livestock industry or in animal care industries (zoos or aquariums, for instance) are more susceptible to exposure to zoonotic diseases because they're often in direct contact with animals.

b) Infants born to mothers with suspected, probable or confirmed Zika virus infection, or who reside in or have travelled to areas of ongoing Zika virus transmission, should be fed according to normal infant feeding guidelines. They should start breastfeeding within one hour of birth, be exclusively breastfed for six months and have timely introduction of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods, while continuing breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond.

• The Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defence system developed by Israel to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from short distances.
• Iron Dome will operate day and night, under adverse weather conditions, and can respond to multiple threats simultaneously.
• The Dome has three central components -detection and tracking radar, the weapon control system and missile firing unit.

Therefore, the correct answer is (b).

Hyperspectral imaging or hyspex imaging combines the power of digital imaging and spectroscopy. It collects and processes information from across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

India’s first Hypersp ectral Imaging Satellite or HysISis a fullfledged niche Earth observation (EO) satellite recently launched by ISRO. It has an onboard optical imaging detector chip which was developed by Space Applications Centre, Ahmadabad which will enable it the direct identification of objects on earth by reading the spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space. Hence statement (2) is not correct.

With this chip, a satellite can identify 55 spectral or colour bands from 630 km above the ground. The primary goal of HySIS is to study the Earth‟s surface in visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Data from the satellite will be used for a wide range of applications including agriculture, forestry, soil/geological environments, coastal zones and inland waters, etc. Hyperspectral imaging is better than multispectral because multispectral imaging consists of just a few measurements, while hyperspectral imaging consists of hundreds to thousands of measurements for every pixel in the scene. Hence statement (1) is correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a).

The demographic dividend is the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older). Therefore, the correct answer is (b).

• Coccolithophores are recently in the news in the context of Indian scientists expedition across the southern ocean.
• Coccolithophores are one of the main types of phytoplankton in the ocean and their production of calcium carbonate significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the biological pump for sequestering carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the deep ocean.
• Like any other phytoplankton, coccolithophores live in large numbers throughout the upper surface layers of the ocean. So, statement (1) is correct.
• In recent years calcareous nannofossils have become the preferred tool for stratigraphic age det ermination in post - Palaeozoi ccalcareous sequences. Coccolithophores are used to determine past climates. So, statement (2) is correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (c).

The Indo Pacific Warm Pool holds a unique place on the globe. It is a large area [>30×106km²] that is characterized by permanent surface temperature> 28°. Waters from the western Pacific Ocean are transferred into the eastern Indian Ocean via the many passage ways across the Indonesian Archipelago. Alarge portion of those seas are shallow and saddle thee quator. As are sult, sea surface temperatures remain hot (>28°C) the whole year, but water salinities vary significantly are sultofsea son almonsoonal activity and fluxes from large rivers. Because of the shall ownes soft heseas, especially around a large part of Indonesia and north of Australia,and the yare associated with hot temperatures, this are ahas been coined the Indo Pacific Warm Pool(IPWP). This regionis quite extensive asitcovers a surface are aequivalent to that of the entire USA.Therefore,the correct answer is(c).

Recently, Solar orbiter was in the news. It is a mission that is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency. With Solar Orbiter, scientists will for the first time get a good view of the top and bottom of the sun. However, different missions are keeping an eye on the Sun right now. Advanced Composition Explorer, or ACE — A NASA space craft that monitors the solar wind from a vantage point between Earth and the sun. So, pair (1) is correctly matched.

• Cluster — Four European Space Agency Earth-orbiting space craft investigating the interactions of the solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field. So, pair (2) is not correctly matched.
• Hinode— A Japanese spacecraft measuring the sun's magnetic fields. So, pair (3) is not correctly matched.
• Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS — A small NASA ultraviolet telescope in orbit around Earth that studies the movement of heat and energy in the lower parts of the sun's atmosphere.
• Proba-2 — Two instruments on this low-cost European Space Agency satellite observe the sun.
• Solar Terrestri al Relations Observatory, or Stereo — A NASA mission of two nearly identical spacecraft travelling around the sun in the same orbit as Earth, with one ahead of Earth and one trailing. Solar Dynamics Obser vatory, or S.D.O. — A NASA space craft  in geosynchronous orbit that studies the influence of the sun and solar weather on Earth.
• Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO — An earlier European - NASA collaboration that has been taking pictures of the sun since 1995.
• Wind — A NASA spacecraft observing heated gas of charged particles coming from the sun.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a).

• Recently UNGA has passed a non-binding resolution demanding that the United Kingdom unconditionally with draw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean within six months and return it to Mauritius.
• Reunion Island: is an island under the administrative control of the French republic. It is located to the east of Madagascar. Silhouette Island: is the third largest granitic island in Seychelles.
• VypinIsland: is one of the groups of islands that form part of the city of Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala. It is connected to the mainland Kochi by a series of bridges known as Goshree bridges.
  Therefore, the correct answer is (b).

• Gandhiji had strongly disapproved of Jawaharlal's snap Independence resolution passed in his absence at the Madras Congress (1927).
   
• At Calcutta next year he was able to push through a compromise formula which accepted the Nehru Report's dominion status objective provided the British granted it by the end of 1929, failing which the Congress would be free to go in for Civil Disobedience and Purna Swaraj.
   
• Gandhi tried to confine Congress activities during 1929 to constructive work in villages, prohibition, and boycott of British goods, plus redress, along Bardoli lines, of 'specificgrievances'. He encouraged public bonfires of foreign cloth (for which he was arrested in Calcutta inMarch, and awarded a token fine), and toured the country collecting funds for khadi, butrepeatedly rejected pressures for any all-out struggle.
   
• Jawaharlal graced the Lahore Congress (December 1929) with the first of his stirring Presidential addresses, boldly sketching out a new internationalist and socially-radical perspective for the freedom movement—a perspective so far confined to small Leftist sects. He said - 'I must frankly confess that I am a socialist and a republican, and am no believer inkings and princes, or in the order which produces the modern kings of industry”….. He attacked Gandhi's pet 'trusteeship' solution for zamindar-peasant and capital-labour conflicts: “Many Englishmen honestly consider themselves the trustees for India, and yet towhat a condition they have reduced our country!” was the view Nehru held whichmade him reject the trusteeship thesis of Gandhiji.

The location of the thermal equator is not identical to that of the geographic Equator. This is not due to the Level of insolation received in both hemispheres. They are virtually equal. What creates the difference is the distribution of land and water that causes changes in the wayheat is distributed and transported across the planets. Land dominated areas will tend to have a large variation in temperature and a higher average temperature under the same conditions (as compared to a water dominated area). Thus, the thermal equator lies a bit north of the geographical equator.

The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) has passed resolutions to codify the customary laws of three tribal clans- Mizo, Kaipeng and Malsom. As per the Sixth Schedule, the four states viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram contain theTribal Areas which are technically different from the Scheduled Areas. Though these areas fall with in the executive authority of the state, provision has been made for the creation of the District Councils and regional councils for the exercise of the certain legislative and judicial powers.

• During the Neolithic phase, the cultivation of plants and domestication of animals led to the emergence of village communities based on sedentary life.
• There was a great improvement in technology of making tools and other equipments used by man. Stone tools were now polished. Mud brick houses were built instead of grass huts. Large urns were used as coffins for the burial of the dead.
• Wheat, barely, rice, millet were cultivated in different areas at different points of time. Rice cultivation was extensive in eastern India.
• The people of Neolithic Age used clothes made of cotton and wool.
• Domestication of animals, horticulture and primitive cultivation started during Mesolithic period itself. However, during Neolithic period, domestication of sheep, goats and cattle was widely prevalent.Cattle were used for cultivation and for transport.
• During Neolithic age, wheels were used to make pottery. Pottery was used for cooking as well asstorage of food grains.

Chalukyas ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the12th centuries. They built cave temples depicting both religious and secular themes. The temples had beautiful mural paintings also.

The temples under the Chalukyas are a good example of the Vesara style of architecture. This is also called the Deccan style or Karnataka Dravida or Chalukyan style. It is a combination of Dravidaand Nagara styles.

Learning: During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties:

1. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century.

2. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in theeastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century 

3. The Western Chalukyas, of 10th century ruled from Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan) until the end of the 12th century.

Facts about Guru Ravidas
1. He was a poet and saint of the Bhakti movement.
2. Born in Varanasi to the ‘untouchable’ leather tanners caste.
3. He is believed to be a disciple of the bhakti saint-poet Ramananda and a contemporary of the bhakti saint-poet Kabir.
4. One of his famous disciples was the saint, Mirabai.
5.The Panch Vani text of the Dadupanthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poemsof Ravidas.
6. Ravidas' devotional songs were included in the Sikh scriptures, Guru Granth Sahib.
7. Ravidas taught removal of social divisions of caste and gender, and promoted unity in the pursuitof personal spiritual freedoms.
8. Among Ravidas’s moral and intellectual achievements were the conception of “Begampura”, acity that knows no sorrow; and a society where caste and class have ceased to matter.

The BASIC group was formed as the result of an agreement signed bythe four countries on November 28, 2009. They are a block of four large newly industrialized countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China. Significance of the grouping:Objectives: The signatory nations have a broadly common position on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and raising the massive funds that are needed to fight climate change. The BASIC countries constituted one of the parties in the Copenhagen Accord reached with the USledgrouping; the Accord, was, however, not legally binding.

The BASIC group wields considerable heft purely because of the size of the economies andpopulations of the member countries. Brazil, South Africa, India and China put together has one-third of the world’s geographical areaand nearly 40% of the world’s population, and when they unitedly speak in one voice this showstheir determination. BASIC is one of several groups of nations working together to fight climate change and carry outnegotiations within the UNFCCC.

An instrument on Chandrayaan-2, CLASS, designed to detect signatures of elements in the Moon’s soil, had detected charged particles during the mission. This happened in September,during the orbiter’s passage through the “geotail”. A Geotail is a region in space that allows the best observations. The region exists as a result of the interactions between the Sun and Earth.

How is it formed?

• The Sun emits the solar wind, which is a continuous stream of charged particles.
• These particles are embedded in the extended magnetic field of the Sun. Since the Earth has amagnetic field, it obstructs the solar wind plasma.
• This interaction results in the formation of a magnetic envelope around Earth.
• On the Earth side facing the Sun, the envelope is compressed into a region that is approximatelythree to four times the Earth radius.
• On the opposite side, the envelope is stretched into a long tail, which extends beyond the orbit ofthe Moon.
• It is this tail that is called the geotail.
• Once every 29 days, the Moon traverses the geotail for about six days.

Statement 1: Piprahwa is a village near Birdpur in Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Piprahwa and its surroundings are of great significance to the Buddhist religion. It is oneof the sites that is linked directly to the early life of the Buddha as it is thought to be the location ofthe ancient city of Kapilavastu. According to Pali texts and ancient Buddhist traditions Piprahwa is also the site of one of eightstupas constructed over the remains of Lord Buddha. Piprahwa is to be found about nine kilometres north of Birdpur close to the border that separates India from Nepal.

Statement 2: Known as Kushavati in the ancient times, Kushinagar is where Gautama Buddhaattained Parinirvana, which occurs upon death of a body of someone who has attained nirvanaduring their lifetime. 
Many of the ruins of stupas here are dated as early as 3rd and 5th century B.C.
Statement 4: The ancient city of Vaisali, which is now an archeological site, is where Gautama Buddha preached his last sermon before his death in 483 B.C. The second Buddhist council was alsoheld here in 383 B.C. and the city contains one of the best preserved Pillars of Ashoka, topped by asingle Asiatic lion.

Satnamis originally were a militant sect of Hindu Worshippers. Founded by a saint named “Birbhan” in 1657 in Narnaul in Haryana. The major religious activity of this sect is to chant and meditate the true names (Sat-Nam) of God, specially Rama and Krishna.This sect is thought to be an off shoot of Ravidasi sect and comprised of lower strata of the Hindu society, particularly, leather workers, sweepers, carpenters, Goldsmiths etc. The followers of this sect kept their heads shaven (thus called Mundiyas) and abstained from liquor and meat. The religious granth of the Satnamis is called Pothi.