Goa PCS Screening Mock Test- 3 - GPSC (Goa) MCQ

The British policy of ̳Divide and Rule‘ found another expression in the announcement of the Communal Award in August, 1932. The Award allotted to each minority a number of seats in the legislatures, to be elected on the basis of a separate electorate, that is the Muslims would be elected only by the Muslims and the Sikhs only by the Sikhs, and so on. Muslims, Sikhs and Christians had already been treated as minorities. The Award declared the Depressed Classes (The Scheduled Castes of today) also to be a minority community entitled to separate electorate and, thus, separated them from the rest of the Hindus. The Congress took the position that though it was opposed to separate electorates, it was not in favour of changing the Award without the consent of the minorities. Consequently, though strongly disagreeing with the Communal Award, it decided neither to accept it nor to reject it

 In 1928, Jawaharlal joined hands with Subhas Chandra Bose to organize the Independence for India League. Nehru developed a complex relationship with Gandhiji during this period. He criticized Gandhiji for refusing to recognize the conflict of the classes, for preaching harmony among the exploiters and the exploited, and for putting forward the theories of trusteeship by, and conversion of, the capitalists and the landlords. He headed the Lahore Session of the Congress in 1930. The Karachi Session of the Congress was held in March 31, 1931, under the presidentship of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

• In 1866, Dadabhai Naoroji organized the East India Association in London to discuss the Indian question and to influence the British public officials to promote Indian welfare. Later, he organized the branches of the Association in prominent Indian cities.
• The most important of the preCongress nationalist organizations was the Indian Association of Calcutta. The younger nationalists of Bengal had been gradually getting discontented with the conservative and pro-landlord policies of the British India Association. They wanted sustained political agitation on the issues of wider public interest. They found a leader in Surendra Nath Banerjea, who was a brilliant writer and orator. Led by Surendra Nath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose, the younger nationalists of Bengal founded the Indian Association in 1876. The Indian Association set before itself the aims of creating strong public opinion in the country on political questions and the unification of the Indian people under a common political programme.
• The younger elements were also active in other parts of India. Justice Ranade and others organized the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha in 1870. M. Viraraghavachari, G. Subramaniya Iyer, Ananda Charlu and others formed the Madras Mahajan Sabha in 1884. Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T. Telang, Badruddin Tyabji and others formed the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885.

Statement 3 is incorrect. In the Supreme Court, the English language replaced Persian. KB) Under Cornwallis, The District Faujdari Courts were abolished and, instead, circuit courts were established at Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad and Patna. These circuit courts had European judges and were to act as courts of appeal for both civil and criminal cases.

Before reforms by William Bentinck, Persian was the official language in courts. Now, the suitor had the option to use Persian or a vernacular language, while in the Supreme Court, English language replaced Persian

3 Prime Ministers of India have been members of the Rajya Sabha: Indira Gandhi (1966), Deve Gowda (1996), Manmohan Singh (2004). But in the UK, the Prime Minister must necessarily be a member of the Lower House (also called as House of Commons) alone.

Doctrine of purposive construction:

• It is the modern version of mischief rule. It is actually more flexible compared to literal rule and golden rule which tends to concentrate more on the meaning of individual words or phrases. This looks for the purpose of the law.

• This rule allows judges to add or ignore any of the words in the statute while interpreting in order to protect the purpose of creating that law and give fair and equal justice to everyone.

Statement 1 is correct. Constituent assembly did ratify India’s membership to the Commonwealth.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Constituent Assembly was a partly elected and partly nominated body. Moreover, the members were to be indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies, who themselves were elected on a limited franchise.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) together with its sister Covenant, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Universal Declaration, form the International Bill of Human Rights which is the pillar for human rights protection within the United Nations.

• Universal Declaration on Human Rights (a non-legally binding document) was adopted in 1948.

• In 1966, two separate treaties, covering almost entirely all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were adopted after approximately 20 years of negotiations ICESCR is an international human rights treaty, it creates legally binding international obligations to those States that have agreed to be bound by the standards contained in it. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• The Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights is the supervisory body of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. It was established under United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Statement 2 is correct. Prime Minister has to either be a Member of Parliament (i.e. either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) at the time of his appointment or become one within six months from his appointment. He does not have to be a member of Lok Sabha only.

One Nation One Ration Card” (ONORC) scheme

• Statement 1 is correct: The Annavitran portal enables a migrant worker or his family to avail the benefits of PDS outside their district but within their state.
• Statement 2 is correct: ONORC will give the benefic iaries the opportunity to opt for the dealer of their choice. If any dealer misbehaves or misallocates, the beneficiary can switch to another FPS shop instantly. ONORC lets the beneficiaries choose the PDS shop that best delivers on the attributes.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The government is creating a central data repository to get all the details of ration cards which are being maintained by states so that the repository acts as a clearing house or a server to do the cross checking on the basis of Aadhaar authentication.

Central Council of Ministers consists of three categories of ministers, namely, cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers. At times, the council of ministers may also include a deputy prime minister. The deputy prime ministers are appointed mostly for political reasons.

Parliamentary secretaries are ruling party members appointed to assist ministers. They often hold the minister of State's rank and has the same entitlements and is assigned to a government department. They have access to all official files and documents

• Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam, Rajasthan, Punjab, Goa are some of the states where MLAs have been appointed Parliament Secretaries by the Government.
• Various petitions in the High Court have challenged Parliament Secretary's appointment, including in Delhi most recently.
• In June 2015, Calcutta HC quashed 24 Parliamentary Secretaries in West Bengal dubbing it unconstitutional.

Delhi High Court in 2016 quashed the appointment of Parliamentary secretaries as they are deemed to be Ministers, and there is a cap on the number of ministers in the government as per the Constitution (The limit is 10 per cent for Delhi, owing to its special status).

• The ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament and the Lok Sabha in particular (Article 75).
• They act as a team and swim and sink together. The principle of collective responsibility implies that the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry (i.e." council of ministers headed by the prime minister) from office by passing a vote of no confidence.
• Members of the council of ministers are bound by consensus. The government cannot have two opinions on the same issue.

• Article 74 provides for a council of ministers with the prime minister to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions. The 42nd and 44th Constitutional Amendment Acts have made the advice binding on the President.
• Further, the nature of advice tendered by ministers to the President cannot be enquired by any court. This provision emphasises the intimate and confidential relationship between the President and the ministers.
• In 1971, the Supreme Court held that 'even after the Lok Sabha's dissolution, the council of ministers does not cease to hold office'.
• Article 74 is mandatory and, therefore, the president cannot exercise the executive power without the aid and advise of the council of ministers.
• Any executive power exercise without the aid and advice will be unconstitutional as being violative of Article 74.
• In 1974, the court held that 'wherever the Constitution requires the President's satisfaction, the satisfaction is not the President's personal satisfaction, but it is the satisfaction of the council of ministers with whose aid and on whose advice the President exercises his powers and functions'.

National action programmes (NAPs) are the key instruments to implement the Convention, as they provide a framework for countries to develop and implement their own policies and strategies to address desertification and land degradation.

However, the Convention is not committed to a centralized and national approach in combating desertification, as it recognizes the need for a holistic, participatory, and integrated approach that involves all stakeholders, including local communities, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

• India had launched the Pulse Polio immunisation programme in 1995, after a resolution for a global initiative of polio eradication was adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1988.

• The children in the age group of 0-5 years are administered polio drops during national and sub-national immunisation rounds (in high-risk areas) every year.

• Under the programme,all states and Union Territories have developed Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to respond to any polio outbreak in the country.

• Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans (EPRP) have also been developed by states indicating steps to be undertaken in case of detection of a polio case.

In a nutshell, forest fires cause following adverse impacts:

• Loss of valuable timber resources and depletion of carbon sinks. Hence option 1 is not correct and option 2 is correct.

• Degradation of water catchment areas resulting in loss of water.

• Loss of biodiversity and extinction of plants and animals.

• Loss of wildlife habitat and depletion of wildlife.

• Loss of natural regeneration and reduction in forest cover and production.

• Global warming resulting in rising temperature.

• Loss of carbon sink resource and an increase in the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere.

• Change in the microclimate of the area making it unhealthy living conditions.

• Soil erosion affecting the productivity of soils and production.

• Ozone layer depletion. Hence option 3 is correct.

• Health problems leading to diseases.

• Indirect effects on agricultural production leading to loss of livelihood.

• The ecological pyramids are of three categories:

  • Pyramid of numbers,

  • Pyramid of biomass, and

  • Pyramid of energy or productivity

• Pyramid of Numbers:

  • This deals with the relationship between the numbers of primary producers and consumers of different levels. It is a graphic representation of the total number of individuals of different species, belonging to each trophic level in an ecosystem.

  • In a forest or lake ecosystem, the pyramid is always in an upright position. However, the pyramid of Numbers in a parasitic food chain is inverted. For example, a single tree supports many fruit-eating birds. These birds support more numbers of parasites like lice. These parasites support a large variety of other parasites like bacteria and fungi. Hence option 1 is correct.

• Pyramid of Biomass:

  • In this approach individuals in each trophic level are weighed instead of being counted. This gives us a pyramid of biomass, i.e., the total dry weight of all organisms at each trophic level at a particular time.

  • Pyramid of biomass is usually determined by collecting all organisms occupying each trophic level separately and measuring their dry weight.

  • In many ecosystems, such as in forests and grasslands, the biomass of producers is much greater than that of the herbivores, which in turn outweigh the carnivores and so on. Thus, we experience a gradual decline in the biomass of organisms at each hierarchic trophic level. These pyramids are in an upright position. Hence option 2 is not correct.

  • However, in a pond ecosystem, producers are small organisms, so their biomass is also less. But the primary and secondary consumers are bigger, so their biomass is more. Therefore, the value of biomass shows a gradual increase, making it an inverted pyramid. Hence option 3 is correct.

• Pyramid of Energy: An energy pyramid, reflects the laws of thermodynamics, with conversion of solar energy to chemical energy and heat energy at each trophic level and with loss of energy being depicted at each transfer to another trophic level. Hence the pyramid is always upward, with a large energy base at the bottom.

The Correct Answer is B :- All three

Statement 1 Correct

• Lianas (also known as vines, climbing plants or climbers) are plants with long, flexible, climbing stems that are rooted in the ground, and usually have long dangling branches.
• They particularly thrive in disturbed forest areas — such as those affected by logging, natural treefalls, landslides —because they can quickly grow towards the forest canopy using trees as support.

Statement 2 Correct

• Lianas, or woody vines, have been referred to as structural or mechanical parasites.
• Although they are rooted in the soil, they depend upon host plants or other external objects for their mechanical support Studies suggest that lianas may be detrimental to the host trees.

    Statement 3 Correct

•  Lianas use their climbing ability, resilience to climatic stress, and efficient water and nutrient usage to outcompete trees for sunlight and resources.
• They compete for sunlight in the canopy and suppress trees.
• Their lower carbon sequestering capacity compared to trees further exacerbates the threat to carbon storage.

The resistivity of alloy:

• The resistivity of any substance can be defined as the electrical resistance of a conductor of a unit cross-sectional area and a unit length. Every material has some amount of resistivity. Some have high resistivity and some have low resistivity. The more the resistivity, the less the amount of current carrying capacity by the material and the lesser the resistivity more is the current carrying capacity of the material.
• Higher resistivity substances are insulators and lower resistivity materials are conductors.
• Alloys have higher resistivity than their constituent metals because of the following reasons:
  • Alloys have high melting and boiling points.
  • In alloys, higher resistivity is caused by the additional scattering of electrons known as alloy scattering. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Burning or combustion always involves oxygen. Alloys do not get burnt (or get oxidized) easily. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
  • In fact, alloys have better properties than their constituent metals.

Examples of alloys are Steel, Nichrome, Bronze, Brass, Duralumin, and solder. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• When fats and oils are oxidised, they become rancid and their smell and taste change. Usually substances which prevent oxidation (antioxidants) are added to foods containing fats and oil. Keeping food in air tight containers helps to slow down oxidation. The chips manufacturers usually flush bags of chips with gas such as nitrogen to prevent the chips from getting oxidised.

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

Statement 1 is not correct and statement 2 is correct.

Advantages of LEDs

• Long Lifespan: LED bulbs can last up to 25,000 hours or more, which means less frequent replacements and reduced maintenance costs. o LEDs have an extremely long lifespan relative to every other lighting technology (including fluorescent lights).
• Energy Efficiency: They convert a higher percentage of electrical energy into light, reducing energy waste and lowering electricity bills.
• LEDs can produce up to 300 lumen (amount of visible light emitted per second) versus incandescent bulbs’ 16 lumen and fluorescent lamps’ 70 lumen.

• Bhopal Declaration was released after Think20 (T20) meeting, official engagement group of G20 which brings together leading think tanks and research centers worldwide.
• The importance of localization in achieving G-20 sustainable development goals has been acknowledged in the Bhopal Declaration. Eminent speakers said that triangular cooperation of government, society, and private organizations is necessary to achieve this goal. All the prominent speakers also acknowledged that India is doing important work in triangular cooperation and we can change the global scenario with this Indian model. The forum also covered India’s crucial contribution to the containment of COVID-19 and its response to Russia-Ukraine war.
• Key highlights of Bhopal Declaration
  • Appeal to all stakeholders to focus more on inclusive development care for welfare of every section of society in comparison to GDP. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.
  • Encourage model of development led by women.
  • Bridge the gap between North and South.
  • Promoting traditional medicine systems like AYUSH.
  • Encouraging value-oriented development in infrastructure development.
  • Work together to ensure the health for all.

Lassa fever:

• Lassa fever is one of the hemorrhagic fever viruses like Ebola virus, Marburg virus, and others. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses.
• Unlike the Ebola virus, Lassa fever is not as contagious from person to person, nor as deadly. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Lassa virus is typically transmitted by the urine or feces of Mastomys rats to humans. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• Health workers may be infected by direct contact with blood, body fluids, urine, or stool of a patient with Lassa fever.
• Lassa fever occurs primarily in West Africa in areas where these rodents live.

Blueprint Priority Diseases of WHO: Worldwide, the number of potential pathogens is very large, while the resources for disease research and development (R&D) is limited. To ensure efforts under WHO‘s R&D Blueprint are focused and productive, a list of diseases and pathogens are prioritized for R&D in public health emergency contexts. A WHO tool distinguishes which diseases pose the greatest public health risk due to their epidemic potential and/or whether there is no or insufficient counter-measures. At present, the priority diseases are

• COVID-19
• Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
• Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease
• Lassa fever
• Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
• Nipah and henipaviral diseases
• Rift Valley fever
• Zika―
• Disease X‖: Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. The R&D Blueprint explicitly seeks to enable early cross-cutting R&D preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown ―Disease X‖.

Statement 1
The Kuril Islands, a volcanic archipelago stretching between Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan’s Hokkaido, hold geopolitical significance. These islands, disputed between Russia and Japan, are a complex blend of natural beauty and historical tensions.
Statement 2
The Kuril Islands are located in the Sea of Okhotsk, which is part of the northwest Pacific Ocean. The Sea of Okhotsk is bordered by the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia to the west, the Kuril Islands to the northeast, the Russian mainland and Sakhalin Island to the west, and Hokkaido, Japan, to the south. The Kuril Islands stretch from the northeastern tip of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, forming a volcanic archipelago in this maritime region.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 on the Richter Scale jolted Japan’s Kuril Islands.

Statement 1 is not correct: Homo indicates the genus of human beings.

Statement 2 is correct: Human beings belong to the species sapiens.

Statement 3 is correct: All human beings belong to kingdom Animalia. All animals belonging to various phyla are assigned to the highest category called Kingdom Animalia in the classification system of animals.

Statement 1

• The SKA Observatory is an intergovernmental bringing together organizations from ten countries; Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.
• Its aim is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform the understanding of the Universe.
• It will explore the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life.

Statement 2

• Headquarters: United Kingdom
• The observatory consists of the two telescopes at radio-quiet sites in South Africa and Australia, and associated facilities to support the operations of the telescopes.
• Indian Engagement in SKAO
• India, through the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) has been involved in the development of SKA since its inception in the 1990s.
• India’s main contribution is in the development, and operation, of the Telescope Manager element, the “neural network” or the software that will make the telescope work.

India has approved to join the SKA project, accompanied by a financial commitment of Rs 1,250 crore.

Statements 1 and 2 are not correct.

• Tritium (T) is a hydrogen atom that has two neutrons in the nucleus and one proton. 
• It is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays strike nitrogen molecules  in the air. It is also produced during nuclear weapons explosions, and as a byproduct in nuclear reactors.
• Tritium is a radiogenic and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of 12.3 years. 

Hence, Statement 3 is correct.