UPSC 2021 Prelims-GS-I — Previous Year Questions with Answers

Statement 1 is correct: the RBI Governor is appointed by the Central Government under Section 8(1)(a) of the RBI Act, 1934. Statement 3 is correct: the Governor's powers are derived from the RBI Act, 1934, not the Constitution. Statement 2 is incorrect: the Constitution of India does not contain provisions empowering the Centre to direct the RBI. The directive power, instead, comes from Section 7 of the RBI Act, which permits the Centre to issue directions in public interest after consulting the Governor. Hence statements 1 and 3 are correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: EPF coverage applies only to establishments employing twenty or more workers and to specified categories; not all casual workers are entitled. Statement 2 is correct: under labour laws including the Factories Act and the Code on Wages, casual workers are entitled to regulated working hours and overtime payment at twice the ordinary wage. Statement 3 is correct: the Payment of Wages Act and the Code on Wages empower the appropriate government to notify that wages in specified establishments shall be paid only by cheque or credit to a bank account.

During a recession, aggregate demand falls and unemployment rises. Counter-cyclical fiscal policy calls for increased government expenditure on public projects to stimulate demand, employment, and incomes. Tax cuts are useful, but they should be paired with lower interest rates, not higher ones, so option (a) is wrong. Raising taxes (c) or cutting public spending (d) would deepen the contraction. Hence increased expenditure on public projects is the most likely step. This is the standard Keynesian prescription used by governments to revive economic activity during downturns.

Statement 1 is correct: a rise in the price of a substitute shifts demand for the good upward. Statement 4 is correct: a fall in own price increases quantity demanded along the demand curve. Statement 2 is incorrect: a rise in the price of a complement reduces demand for the good. Statement 3 is incorrect: for an inferior good, a rise in consumer income reduces demand. Therefore, only statements 1 and 4 describe situations where market demand for a good might increase, making option (a) the correct answer.

Cooperative banks face dual regulation: Banking functions regulated by RBI (including inspection), management/registration by Registrar of Cooperative Societies (state). The 2020 Banking Regulation Amendment Act strengthened RBI's powers over cooperatives.

Indian government bond yields respond to all three factors. The US Federal Reserve's policy actions affect global capital flows and investor risk appetite, influencing emerging market yields. The RBI's repo rate, open market operations and liquidity stance directly affect domestic yields. Inflation expectations and prevailing short-term interest rates determine real returns demanded by investors and therefore the level of yields. All three statements are correct, so the answer is option (d). Bond yields rise with inflation expectations, tighter Fed policy and tighter RBI policy.

Foreign Direct Investment in India includes FCCBs, GDRs and qualifying Foreign Institutional Investment (within prescribed sectoral limits and conditions), all of which represent investment in equity or instruments convertible into equity. Non-resident external (NRE) deposits are repatriable bank deposits classified under banking capital, not FDI. Hence items 1, 2 and 3 are included while item 4 is excluded. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and RBI definitions list convertible bonds and depository receipts as FDI components, supporting option (a).

Devaluation reduces the foreign-exchange value of the domestic currency, making exports cheaper abroad and imports dearer. Statement 1 is necessarily correct: the competitiveness of domestic exports in foreign markets improves. Statement 2 is incorrect: devaluation lowers the foreign value of the domestic currency. Statement 3 is not necessarily correct: trade-balance improvement depends on the Marshall-Lerner condition (sum of export and import demand elasticities exceeds one) and the J-curve effect, so it does not follow automatically. Therefore, only statement 1 is correct.

The principal worry of the Government regarding black money is the loss of revenue to the State Exchequer due to tax evasion, which reduces resources available for public spending and skews the fiscal position. While diversion to real estate, gold and political donations are also concerns, the central government's official documents, including the White Paper on Black Money (2012), identify revenue loss through tax evasion as the foremost concern because it undermines the formal economy and forces higher tax burdens on compliant taxpayers.

Creation of new money to finance a budget deficit, also called deficit monetisation or printing money, directly increases money supply without a corresponding rise in output, producing the most inflationary impact. Repaying public debt is contractionary. Borrowing from the public mostly transfers existing money rather than creating new money. Borrowing from banks can be moderately inflationary if banks expand credit, but its effect is smaller than direct monetisation. Hence option (d) is the most inflationary, since it directly expands high-powered money in the economy.

The money multiplier equals (1 + c) divided by (c + r), where c is the currency-deposit ratio and r is the reserve ratio. Increases in CRR or SLR raise required reserves and reduce the multiplier, ruling out (a) and (b). Population growth alone does not change the multiplier, ruling out (d). When the public's banking habit improves, more cash is held as bank deposits, lowering the currency-deposit ratio. This permits banks to create more credit on the same reserve base, thereby increasing the money multiplier.

Demand-pull inflation occurs when aggregate demand exceeds aggregate supply at full employment. Expansionary monetary policy (1) and fiscal stimulus (2) raise demand. Higher purchasing power (4) directly increases demand. Inflation-indexed wages (3) ratchet up wages with prices, sustaining demand pressure. Even rising interest rates (5) can reflect demand-pull conditions when borrowing remains strong despite costlier credit, and the question accepts all five as causes/contributors. The official UPSC key marks all five as correct, giving option (d). All listed factors can cause or increase demand-pull inflation.

Statement 1 is correct: retail investors can invest directly in Treasury Bills and Government of India dated securities in the primary market through the RBI Retail Direct scheme and demat-based facilities. Statement 2 is correct: NDS-OM is an electronic, screen-based, anonymous order-matching system for secondary-market trading in government securities, operated by the RBI through CCIL. Statement 3 is incorrect: CDSL is promoted by BSE along with leading banks; the RBI is not a promoter of CDSL. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct.

WaterCredit is an initiative of the non-profit Water.org, co-founded by Gary White and Matt Damon. Statement 1 is correct: it adapts microfinance tools to extend small affordable loans for water and sanitation. Statement 3 is correct: its goal is to enable poor households to meet water and sanitation needs without dependence on subsidies or charity. Statement 2 is incorrect: WaterCredit is not a WHO-World Bank programme. Therefore only statements 1 and 3 are correct, giving option (c).

The lender of last resort function refers to the central bank's role in supplying emergency liquidity to commercial banks facing temporary funding crises, thereby preventing panic and contagion in the financial system. Statement 2 captures this correctly. The RBI does not directly lend to trade and industry bodies (statement 1) or routinely finance government deficits as lender of last resort (statement 3); deficit financing is a separate sovereign-financing function. Hence only statement 2 describes the lender of last resort role accurately, making option (b) correct.

The Responsible Recycling (R2) Standard, commonly called the R2 Code of Practices, is a voluntary certification developed by Sustainable Electronics Recycling International. It sets requirements for environmentally responsible practices in the recycling and refurbishment of used electronics, addressing data security, worker health and safety, environmental management and downstream tracking of materials. It is unrelated to Ramsar wetlands, agricultural cultivation or environmental impact assessment of natural resources. Therefore the correct option is (a), as R2 promotes environmentally responsible practices in the electronics recycling industry worldwide.

Copper smelting roasts sulphide ores and emits sulphur dioxide, a major air pollutant and acid-rain precursor; statement 3 is correct. Copper slag, the silicate by-product, can leach heavy metals such as copper, lead, zinc and arsenic into soil and water if dumped improperly; statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is incorrect: copper smelting is not noted for releasing lethal carbon monoxide; CO is associated more with incomplete combustion in iron and steel making. Hence only statements 2 and 3 are correct, giving option (b).

Furnace oil, also known as fuel oil, is a heavy residual product obtained during the refining of crude petroleum, so statement 1 is correct. Industries use it as fuel in boilers, furnaces and captive power plants for generating steam and electricity, so statement 2 is correct. Furnace oil contains sulphur and its combustion releases sulphur dioxide, a key air pollutant; statement 3 is correct. Therefore all three statements are correct and the answer is option (d). Tighter sulphur norms have prompted regulators to push industry towards cleaner alternatives.

Blue carbon is the carbon captured and stored by the world's oceans and coastal ecosystems, particularly mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows. These ecosystems sequester carbon at rates many times higher than terrestrial forests per unit area and lock it in waterlogged sediments for long periods. Carbon stored in forest biomass and agricultural soils is termed green carbon, while carbon in fossil fuels and the atmosphere has different designations. Therefore the correct definition is option (a): carbon captured by oceans and coastal ecosystems.

Lichens are symbiotic associations of fungi and algae or cyanobacteria that can colonise bare rock, tree bark and other surfaces without soil, deriving moisture and minerals from air and substrate. Mosses are non-vascular plants that can grow on rocks, walls and tree bark using rhizoids rather than true roots, so they too survive without soil. Ferns are vascular plants that generally need soil or organic substrate, and mushrooms (fungi) typically require organic soil or decaying matter. Hence only lichen and moss qualify, giving option (c).

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) yields citronella-rich essential oil whose components, citral and geraniol, are widely used as natural mosquito repellents in oils, candles and sprays. Congress grass (Parthenium hysterophorus) is an invasive weed and not used as a repellent; elephant grass (Napier grass) is a fodder crop; nut grass (Cyperus rotundus) is a perennial weed used in some traditional remedies but not as a mosquito repellent. Therefore option (c) lemongrass is the correct answer for preparing a natural mosquito repellent.

Primary producers in oceanic food chains are autotrophs that fix carbon through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Cyanobacteria carry out oxygenic photosynthesis and are major contributors to oceanic primary production. Diatoms are photosynthetic single-celled algae responsible for a large share of marine primary productivity. Copepods are tiny crustaceans that consume phytoplankton and are primary consumers, not producers. Foraminifera are protozoans that feed on smaller organisms and are also consumers. Hence only cyanobacteria and diatoms are primary producers, making option (b) correct.

Hedgehogs roll into a tight ball, presenting their spiny back and protecting the soft belly, head and limbs from predators. Pangolins curl into a ball using their overlapping keratin scales as armour, sheltering the vulnerable underside. Marmots are large ground squirrels that rely on burrows, alarm calls and group vigilance for defence; they do not roll up. Therefore the rolling-up defensive behaviour applies to hedgehog and pangolin only, giving option (d). This convergent strategy in unrelated mammals exploits hard or spiny exteriors against attack.

The New York Declaration on Forests was first endorsed at the UN Climate Summit in September 2014 (statement 1 correct). It set a global timeline aiming to halve natural forest loss by 2020 and end it by 2030 (statement 2 correct). Endorsers include national and sub-national governments, multinational companies, indigenous peoples organisations and civil society groups (statement 4 correct). The declaration is voluntary, not legally binding (statement 3 incorrect), and India has not endorsed it (statement 5 incorrect). Therefore statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct, giving option (a).

Magnetite nanoparticles in urban air originate predominantly from vehicular and industrial combustion and friction sources. Brakes of motor vehicles release iron-rich wear particles including magnetite (1 correct). Engines emit ultrafine particulates with magnetite from fuel combustion and engine wear (2 correct). Power plants, especially coal-fired stations, are major sources of magnetite-bearing fly-ash particulate (4 correct). Microwave stoves operate without combustion and do not generate magnetite (3 incorrect), and telephone lines are not pollutant sources (5 incorrect). Hence the correct combination is 1, 2 and 4, option (b).

Filter feeders strain suspended food particles, plankton and organic matter from water by passing it through specialised filtering structures. Oysters are bivalve molluscs that draw water across their gills, trapping phytoplankton and detritus in mucus; they are classic filter feeders. Catfish are predators and scavengers, octopuses are active hunters of crustaceans and molluscs, and pelicans scoop fish in their pouches. None of these uses filter feeding. Therefore option (c) oyster is the correct answer, exemplifying the suspension-feeding mode that helps maintain water quality in estuaries.

The phosphorus cycle is unique among major biogeochemical cycles because it lacks a significant atmospheric component. Phosphorus enters the cycle primarily through the slow weathering of phosphate-bearing rocks such as apatite, releasing phosphate ions into soil and water that are then taken up by plants. The carbon, nitrogen and sulphur cycles all have important atmospheric reservoirs and gaseous pathways, with weathering playing a minor role. Hence the correct answer is option (c) phosphorus cycle, where rock weathering is the principal source of nutrient release.

Detritivores consume dead organic matter, breaking it into smaller particles and accelerating decomposition. Earthworms ingest soil and decaying plant litter, releasing nutrient-rich castings (1 correct). Millipedes feed on leaf litter and rotting wood (3 correct). Woodlice (sowbugs) are crustaceans that feed on decomposing plant matter (5 correct). Jellyfish are pelagic predators feeding on live plankton and small fish (2 incorrect), and seahorses prey on small live crustaceans (4 incorrect). Therefore only items 1, 3 and 5 are detritivores, giving option (c).

The Common Carbon Metric is a UNEP-supported protocol developed jointly with the Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative for measuring, reporting and verifying greenhouse-gas emissions and energy use from building operations. It enables consistent benchmarking of operational carbon performance for buildings worldwide using standard intensity indicators per square metre and per occupant. It does not relate to commercial farming entities, country-level footprint accounting or fossil-fuel use globally. Hence the correct option is (a), assessing the carbon footprint of building operations around the world.

Cnidarians include corals that host symbiotic dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae), and sea anemones that shelter clownfish, demonstrating well-known symbioses (1 correct). Fungi form mycorrhizal associations with plant roots and lichens with algae or cyanobacteria, both classic mutualisms (2 correct). Protozoa include species living symbiotically in the guts of termites and ruminants, where they help digest cellulose, and others in mutualism with sponges and corals (3 correct). All three groups contain species that establish symbiotic relationships, so option (d) 1, 2 and 3 is correct.

The Chausath Yogini temple at Mitaoli near Morena, built around 1323 CE during the Kachchhapaghata dynasty, is circular in plan with sixty-four small shrines arranged around a central sanctum, so statement 1 is correct. Its design is widely believed to have inspired the circular plan of the Indian Parliament building, so statement 4 is correct. Statement 2 is incorrect because other circular yogini temples exist, such as those at Hirapur and Ranipur-Jharial in Odisha. Statement 3 is incorrect: the temple is dedicated to yoginis associated with Shaiva-Tantric worship, not Vaishnavism.

Dholavira, a Harappan site in the Khadir Bet of the Rann of Kachchh in Gujarat, is renowned for its sophisticated water-management system. Its inhabitants built a series of dams across seasonal streams, channelled water through stone-lined drains, and stored it in large interconnected rock-cut and masonry reservoirs around the city, enabling habitation in an arid landscape. Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi and Ropar were major Harappan settlements but did not exhibit this elaborate dam-and-reservoir hydraulic system. Hence option (a) Dholavira is the correct answer, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2021.

In the first quarter of the seventeenth century, the English East India Company established its earliest factories on the western coast and in the Coromandel and Bengal regions only later. Broach (Bharuch) in Gujarat had an English factory established by 1616, soon after the first factory at Surat in 1613, so statement 1 is correct. Chicacole (Srikakulam) and Trichinopoly factories were set up much later, after this period, so statements 2 and 3 are incorrect. Hence only Broach falls within the first quarter of the seventeenth century, giving option (a).

Between the decline of the Imperial Guptas (mid sixth century) and Harshavardhana's rise in 606 CE, several dynasties held power in Northern India. The Later Guptas of Magadha continued in eastern India (1 correct). The Pushyabhutis, also called the Vardhana dynasty, ruled Thanesar (3 correct). The Maukharis controlled Kanauj (4 correct). The Maitrakas ruled Valabhi in Gujarat (6 correct). The Paramaras of Malwa and the Yadavas of Devagiri rose much later, in the ninth and twelfth centuries respectively, ruling them out. Hence the correct combination is 1, 3, 4 and 6, option (b).

The Portuguese chronicler Fernao Nunes (Nuniz), who lived in Vijayanagara during the 1530s, recorded that women in the empire were highly accomplished in many spheres. He described them as being expert in wrestling, in astrology and astronomy, in keeping accounts and treasury work, and in soothsaying and divination. They also served as palace guards, dancers and musicians. All four areas listed are mentioned in his accounts, so the correct combination is 1, 2, 3 and 4, giving option (d). His writings remain a key source for Vijayanagara social history.

Madanapalle in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh is historically significant as the place where Rabindranath Tagore translated his Bengali song Jana Gana Mana into English as The Morning Song of India in 1919, while staying at the Besant Theosophical College. Pingali Venkayya designed the national flag at Bezwada (Vijayawada). Pattabhi Sitaramaiah's Quit India role was centred elsewhere, and the Theosophical Society's Indian headquarters was set up at Adyar in Madras (Chennai). Hence option (c) is the correct statement about Madanapalle.

Burzahom in Kashmir is a Neolithic-Megalithic site famous for its pit-dwellings, dog burials and bone tools, not rock-cut shrines, so pair 1 is incorrectly matched. Chandraketugarh in West Bengal is well known for its rich terracotta art, plaques and figurines spanning the Mauryan to Gupta periods, so pair 2 is correctly matched. Ganeshwar in Sikar district of Rajasthan is renowned for its chalcolithic copper artefacts that supplied the Harappans, so pair 3 is correctly matched. Hence pairs 2 and 3 are correctly matched, giving option (d).

Statement 1 is correct: in 1221, during Iltutmish's reign, the Mongol leader Chengiz Khan reached the river Indus while pursuing the fugitive Khwarezmian prince Jalaluddin Mangbarni, but withdrew without invading the Delhi Sultanate. Statement 2 is incorrect: Timur invaded India in 1398 during the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughluq, not Muhammad bin Tughluq, who died in 1351. Statement 3 is incorrect: Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498 during the reign of Mallikarjuna or his successors, well after Deva Raya II (1422-1446). Therefore only statement 1 is correct.

St. Francis Xavier was one of the original founding members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order) in 1540 along with Ignatius of Loyola and others, so statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is incorrect strictly speaking because he died in 1552 on Shangchuan Island off the Chinese coast, with his body later enshrined at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. The official UPSC answer key, however, accepts all three as correct, since a church (the Bom Jesus Basilica) is dedicated to him in Goa and his Feast is celebrated annually there.

The Mitakshara, a commentary by Vijnaneshvara on the Yajnavalkya Smriti, and the Dayabhaga, by Jimutavahana, were two principal schools of Hindu personal law applicable to all castes, not split between upper and lower castes; statement 1 is incorrect. Statement 2 is correct: under Mitakshara, sons acquire a right by birth in ancestral property and can claim partition during the father's lifetime, while under Dayabhaga, sons acquire rights only on the father's death. Statement 3 is incorrect: both schools dealt with property of male and female members in differing ways. Therefore only statement 2 is correct.

Bhavabhuti was an eighth-century Sanskrit dramatist at the court of Yashovarman of Kanauj and the author of Mahaviracharita, Malatimadhava and Uttararamacharita. Hastimalla, a thirteenth-century writer, composed Sanskrit and Prakrit plays such as Vikrantakaurava and Maithili-Kalyana. Kshemeshvara was a tenth-century playwright known for Chandakaushika and Naishadha. All three were therefore famous playwrights of classical and post-classical Sanskrit theatre, not Jain monks, temple architects or philosophers. Hence the correct answer is option (b) playwrights.

The GOI Act 1919 introduced Dyarchy (dual government) in provinces: Reserved subjects (under Governor) and Transferred subjects (under Indian ministers). It also created a bicameral legislature at the centre.

On 8 August 1942, the All India Congress Committee, meeting at Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay, passed the Quit India Resolution drafted by Mahatma Gandhi, demanding immediate British withdrawal from India and giving the call of Do or Die. The expansion of the Viceroy's Executive Council with more Indians took place later, the resignation of Congress provincial ministries occurred in 1939 after the outbreak of war, and the Cripps Mission proposals were made in March 1942. Therefore option (a) is correct: the Quit India Resolution was adopted on 8 August 1942.

Songs from Prison is the English translation of selected ancient Indian devotional and philosophical lyrics, including verses from the Bhagavad Gita and other sources, prepared by Mahatma Gandhi during his imprisonment at Yeravda jail. The translations were rendered into English verse by Sarojini Naidu and published in 1934 with an introduction by John S. Hoyland. Sarojini Naidu's literary association with this volume of translation is the reason the work is linked with her. Therefore option (d) Sarojini Naidu is correct.

Under the Mughal administrative structure consolidated by Akbar, the empire was divided into provinces called subas, each suba was subdivided into sarkars, and each sarkar was further subdivided into parganas, which were groups of villages forming the smallest revenue unit above the village. Therefore in ascending order of size the correct sequence is Pargana, then Sarkar, then Suba. This makes option (a) Pargana-Sarkar-Suba the correct sequence. Each suba was headed by a subedar, each sarkar by a faujdar, and each pargana by a shiqdar.

John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune founded the Hindu Female School in Calcutta in 1849 to promote female education. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the leading Bengali social reformer and educationist, served as its honorary Secretary and played a vital role in expanding female education in Bengal. After Bethune's death in 1851, the school was renamed Bethune Female School in his memory. Annie Besant, Debendranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu were not connected with this institution as Secretary. Hence option (c) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is the correct answer.

Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon were senior officers of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj). After Japan's defeat in 1945, the British put them on trial at the Red Fort in Delhi for waging war against the King-Emperor in the famous INA Trials of 1945-46. Their trials galvanised nationalist sentiment and were defended by Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Jawaharlal Nehru. They had no connection with the Swadeshi Movement, Interim Government or Drafting Committee, so option (d) is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: the Nawabs of Arcot (the Carnatic) were appointed by the Mughal Emperor and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of the Deccan and emerged as a separate Nizamat under the Subahdari of the Carnatic, not from Hyderabad State; the Nizamat of Arcot pre-dates the consolidation of Hyderabad State as an autonomous polity. Statement 2 is incorrect: the Mysore Kingdom under the Wodeyars emerged in the 14th century as a feudatory of Vijayanagara but became prominent after Vijayanagara's decline rather than out of it. Statement 3 is correct: the Rohilkhand kingdom in the upper Doab was carved out of territories overrun by Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani) by Afghan Rohilla chiefs.

The Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra are cut into the steep horseshoe-shaped scarp of the gorge of the Waghora (Waghur) river, a tributary of the Tapi, with the cave entrances opening above the river bed. The Sanchi Stupa stands on a hill near the Betwa, not the Chambal. The Pandulena (Pandu Lena) cave shrines lie near Nashik above the Godavari valley, not the Narmada. The Amaravati Stupa stands on the banks of the Krishna river, not the Godavari. Hence only option (a) is correct: the Ajanta Caves lie in the gorge of the Waghora river.

Statement 1 is incorrect: 21 February was declared International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999, not by UNICEF, in commemoration of the 1952 Bengali Language Movement. Statement 2 is correct: the demand that Bangla be made one of the national languages of Pakistan was first raised in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan by Dhirendranath Datta on 23 February 1948, leading eventually to the language movement and the killings of 21 February 1952 in Dhaka. Therefore only statement 2 is correct, giving option (b).

Permaculture emphasises polycultures, perennial crops, mulching and water conservation; conventional chemical farming relies on monocultures and synthetic inputs. Statement 1 is correct: monoculture predominates in chemical farming while permaculture deliberately mixes species. Statement 2 is correct: chemical farming with heavy irrigation and fertiliser use causes soil salinisation, while permaculture's mulching, cover-cropping and water harvesting avoid such build-up. Statement 4 is correct: mulching is central to permaculture but optional in chemical farming. Statement 3 is incorrect: permaculture techniques actually suit semi-arid regions well. Hence the correct combination is 1, 2 and 4, option (b).

Statement 1 is incorrect: the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is native to West and Central Africa, not Southeast Asia, although Indonesia and Malaysia are now the largest producers. Statement 2 is correct: palm oil and its derivatives are widely used as raw materials in cosmetics, including lipsticks, soaps and perfumes, due to their stable fatty-acid composition. Statement 3 is correct: palm oil is converted into biodiesel through transesterification and is one of the leading feedstocks for biofuel globally. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct, giving option (b).

Among the five Punjab rivers, the Jhelum joins the Chenab near Trimmu, the Ravi joins the Chenab near Ahmadpur Sial, and the Beas joins the Sutlej near Harike. The Sutlej then meets the Chenab near Mithankot to form the Panjnad, which finally joins the Indus. Among the four options listed (Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej), the river that receives Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej (via Beas) and joins the Indus directly is the Chenab, since after Sutlej merges with the Chenab the combined stream is sometimes called the Chenab-Panjnad. Hence option (a) Chenab is correct.

Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are the names of inland saline lakes located in the arid Nagaur and Sikar districts of Rajasthan. These shallow playa lakes occupy depressions on the Aravalli plateau and accumulate salts brought in by surface runoff and groundwater, forming significant sources of common salt and other minerals through traditional evaporation. They are neither glaciers nor mangrove areas and have not been declared Ramsar sites. Therefore option (d) saline lakes is the correct answer, with Didwana being one of the largest of these salt lakes.

The Brahmani river rises from the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers near Rourkela in the Chota Nagpur plateau, not the Eastern Ghats. The Subarnarekha rises near Nagri village on the Chota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand. The Nagavali rises in the Eastern Ghats in Kalahandi district of Odisha. The Vamsadhara also rises in the Eastern Ghats at the border of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha. Therefore among the listed rivers, only the Nagavali and the Vamsadhara originate in the Eastern Ghats, giving option (b) 2 and 4.

Statement 1 is incorrect: licences for seabed exploration and mining in the international seabed area (the Area beyond national jurisdiction) are granted by the International Seabed Authority under UNCLOS, not by the Global Ocean Commission, which was an advocacy body. Statement 2 is correct: India has been allotted exploration contracts by the ISA for polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin and for polymetallic sulphides in the Indian Ocean Ridge. Statement 3 is correct: rare earth elements occur in seabed manganese nodules and crusts in the international waters. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct.

Sugarcane is one of the most water-intensive crops, requiring roughly 1500 to 2500 millimetres of water over its long growing period and causing severe groundwater depletion in many parts of India. Sunflower and red gram (pigeon pea) are far more water-efficient pulse and oilseed crops. Pearl millet (bajra) is a drought-hardy coarse cereal grown in arid regions on minimal water. Therefore among the four options, sugarcane is by far the least water-efficient, making option (a) the correct answer. Excessive sugarcane irrigation has been linked to falling water tables in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Statement 1 is correct: in the tropical zone, easterly trade winds drive surface waters from east to west, piling warm water against the western boundaries of oceans and producing warmer western sections, as seen in the Western Pacific Warm Pool. Statement 2 is correct: in temperate latitudes, prevailing westerlies push surface water from west to east, producing warmer eastern sections of oceans, exemplified by the warm Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Drift along Western Europe and the cool California current along the western coast of North America. Hence both statements are correct, giving option (c).

Statement 1 is correct: India's Climate-Smart Village approach is part of a project led by the CGIAR research programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), implemented in partnership with ICAR and other institutions. Statement 3 is correct: ICRISAT, headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, is one of the fifteen CGIAR research centres focused on dryland agriculture. Statement 2 is incorrect: the CGIAR System Organization is headquartered at Montpellier, France, but historically its consortium has had multiple locations; for the answer key purposes, statement 2 is treated as incorrect. Hence statements 1 and 3 are correct.

The description fits a tropical rain forest. In such forests, warm humid conditions accelerate decomposition of leaf litter so that the soil surface remains almost bare. Dense overhead canopies limit ground-level vegetation; instead, plants reach the canopy as climbers (lianas) or grow as epiphytes rooted on tree branches. Coniferous and dry deciduous forests have slower decomposition and accumulate litter, and mangrove forests show specialised halophytic vegetation with pneumatophores. Hence the description corresponds to tropical rain forest, making option (d) the correct answer.

Savannas occupy a transitional zone between forest and desert. Frequent natural and anthropogenic fires (2) kill tree saplings while grasses recover quickly. Large grazing and browsing herbivores (3) suppress woody regeneration by feeding on seedlings. Strongly seasonal rainfall (4) with prolonged dry periods favours fire-tolerant grasses over moisture-demanding trees. Burrowing animals and termites (1) and soil properties (5) play minor roles globally and are not the main check on forest establishment in savannas. Therefore the principal conditions are 2, 3 and 4, giving option (c) as the correct answer.

Globally, freshwater is distributed very unevenly. About 68.7 per cent of all freshwater is locked in glaciers and polar ice caps, around 30.1 per cent is groundwater, and only about 0.3 per cent is in rivers and lakes. Statement 1 is therefore incorrect because the volume of water in rivers and lakes is far less than groundwater. Statement 2 is correct because polar ice caps and glaciers hold more freshwater than groundwater. Hence only statement 2 is correct, giving option (b). Most of Earth's freshwater is unavailable for direct human use.

Statement 1 is incorrect: moringa belongs to the family Moringaceae, not the legume family Fabaceae, so it is not a leguminous tree. Statement 2 is incorrect: the tamarind tree is native to tropical Africa, particularly Sudan, although it is naturalised in South Asia. Statement 3 is correct: in India most of the tamarind harvest is collected as a minor forest produce. Statement 4 is correct: India exports tamarind and moringa seeds. Statement 5 is correct: oil from moringa and tamarind seeds can be processed into biodiesel. Hence statements 3, 4 and 5 are correct, option (b).

The black cotton soil, also called regur, is rich in clay minerals such as montmorillonite and is dark in colour due to high iron and magnesium content. It has formed by the in-situ weathering of the basaltic lava flows of the Deccan Traps, which are fissure volcanic rocks emplaced during the late Cretaceous to early Eocene. The high clay content gives it strong moisture-retention and self-mulching properties suited to cotton cultivation. It is not derived from brown forest soil, granite, schist, shale or limestone. Therefore option (b) is correct.

Recombinant vector vaccines deliver genetic material encoding antigens of a target pathogen by inserting the relevant gene into the genome of a harmless carrier organism. Statement 1 is correct because such vaccines are constructed using genetic engineering techniques to splice the antigen gene into the vector. Statement 2 is correct because both bacteria, such as attenuated Salmonella, and viruses, such as adenovirus or modified vaccinia Ankara, are routinely used as vectors. Several COVID-19 vaccines are recombinant viral vector vaccines. Hence both statements are correct, making option (c) the correct answer.

Statement 1 is correct: mitochondrial replacement therapy involves transferring the nucleus of a parent's egg or zygote into a donor egg with healthy mitochondria, so it can be carried out either before fertilisation (maternal spindle transfer) or after fertilisation (pronuclear transfer), preventing transmission of mitochondrial diseases. Statement 2 is correct: mitochondria are inherited almost entirely from the mother through the egg's cytoplasm, while paternal mitochondria from the sperm are normally degraded after fertilisation, so children inherit mitochondrial DNA only from their mother. Hence both statements are correct, giving option (c).

Bollgard I and Bollgard II are technologies developed by Monsanto for genetically modified cotton that expresses insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Bollgard I incorporates a single Bt gene (Cry1Ac) for resistance against the American bollworm, while Bollgard II adds a second gene (Cry2Ab) to broaden protection against multiple lepidopteran pests and delay resistance. They are not related to clonal propagation, plant growth substances or biofertilisers. Therefore option (b), developing genetically modified crop plants, is the correct answer for these technologies.

Inside a pressure cooker, water boils at a temperature higher than 100 degrees Celsius because the steam pressure inside is raised above atmospheric pressure. The pressure that builds up depends on how easily steam can escape, which is determined by the area of the vent hole in the lid (1) and the weight of the loaded valve or lid (3) holding the steam in. The flame temperature (2) only affects the rate at which water heats up; once steady state is reached the cooking temperature is fixed by the operating pressure. Hence factors 1 and 3 matter, giving option (c).

Bacteria can be cultured in cell-free synthetic nutrient media such as nutrient agar and broth. Many fungi, including yeasts and moulds, can also be cultivated on artificial media such as Sabouraud's dextrose agar. Viruses, however, are obligate intracellular parasites that require living host cells to replicate; they cannot multiply in cell-free synthetic media and instead need cell cultures, embryonated eggs or laboratory animals. Hence only bacteria and fungi can be cultured in artificial or synthetic medium, while viruses cannot. Therefore the correct answer is option (a) 1 and 2 only.

Statement 1 is incorrect: adenoviruses have double-stranded DNA genomes, while retroviruses such as HIV have single-stranded RNA genomes that are reverse-transcribed into DNA. The descriptions in the statement are reversed. Statement 2 is correct: certain types of common cold are caused by adenoviruses among other respiratory viruses, and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by HIV, which is a retrovirus. Hence only statement 2 is correct, giving option (b). Adenoviruses are also widely used as vectors in modern vaccine platforms.

Water can dissolve more substances than any other common liquid because its molecule is polar. Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, so the water molecule has a partial negative charge near the oxygen and partial positive charges near the hydrogens, making it dipolar. This dipolar nature allows water to surround positive and negative ions and hydrogen-bond with many polar molecules, easily separating and dissolving them. Its high specific heat and good thermal conductivity are not the reasons for solvency, and being merely an oxide of hydrogen does not by itself confer dissolving power. Hence option (a) is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: sodium-vapour lamps emit light in essentially all directions (close to 360 degrees) and so do bare LED chips before housing; LEDs are typically directional only because of how they are packaged into luminaires, but inherently both emit broadly. Statement 2 is incorrect: LED street lights have far longer service life (often 50000 hours or more) than sodium-vapour lamps. Statement 3 is correct: low-pressure sodium lamps emit nearly monochromatic yellow light, while LEDs can produce a wide colour spectrum and high colour-rendering index, offering colour advantages. Hence only statement 3 is correct.

ACE2 stands for Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, a membrane-bound enzyme expressed on the surface of cells in the lungs, intestine, kidneys and blood vessels. It became prominent in the context of viral disease because it serves as the cellular receptor by which the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the cause of COVID-19, enters human cells via its spike protein. ACE2 is unrelated to genetically modified plants, satellite navigation or wildlife radio-collars. Therefore option (d), the spread of viral diseases, is the correct context in which the term ACE2 is talked about.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is the key monomer used along with phosgene to manufacture polycarbonate plastics, which are valued for their strength, optical clarity and heat resistance and used in water bottles, food containers, eyewear and electronic housings. BPA is also used in epoxy resins lining food cans. It is not a building block of low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polyvinyl chloride, which are made from ethylene, terephthalic acid plus ethylene glycol, and vinyl chloride respectively. Concerns over endocrine disruption have led to BPA-free alternatives. Hence option (b) is correct.

Triclosan is a synthetic broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal agent that has been added to a wide range of personal-care products, including toothpastes, mouthwashes, antibacterial soaps, deodorants, shampoos and cosmetics. Long-term, high-level exposure has raised concerns about endocrine disruption, antimicrobial resistance and aquatic toxicity. It is not used as a food preservative, fruit-ripening agent or as a structural component of plastics. Hence among the given options, triclosan is most likely present in toiletries, making option (d) the correct answer. Several regulators have restricted its use in consumer products.

A light-year is the distance that light travels through vacuum in one Julian year, roughly 9.46 trillion kilometres. The unit is meaningful because the speed of light in vacuum is a fundamental physical constant that is the same for all observers and does not change with time or location. Astronomical distances do change as galaxies move, gravity varies, and light bends in the presence of mass; so options (a), (b) and (c) are not the underlying reasons. Therefore the principal reason astronomical distances are measured in light-years is that the speed of light is always the same, option (d).

Statement 1 is correct: the British Parliament is sovereign and can legislate on any subject without judicial restraint, while the Indian Parliament can legislate only within the limits set by the written Constitution and is subject to judicial review and the basic structure doctrine. Statement 2 is correct: questions concerning the constitutionality of an Act or constitutional amendment are decided by a Constitution Bench of at least five judges of the Supreme Court under Article 145(3). Hence both statements are correct, giving option (c) as the answer.

Statement 1 is correct: the N. Gopalaswami Iyengar Committee on Reorganisation of the Machinery of Government (1949) recommended that one Minister and one Secretary be earmarked exclusively to pursue administrative reforms and promote them across departments. Statement 2 is correct: on the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission of 1966 chaired by Morarji Desai and later K. Hanumanthaiah, the Department of Personnel was set up in 1970 and was placed under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. Hence both statements are correct, making option (c) the correct answer.

In the landmark judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy versus Union of India in 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III. Article 15 deals with non-discrimination, Article 19 with specific freedoms and Article 29 with cultural and educational rights of minorities. Therefore option (c) Article 21 is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was amended to limit a candidate to contesting from a maximum of two constituencies in any election, including a Lok Sabha election. Statement 2 is correct: in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, Devi Lal contested from three constituencies, namely Rohtak, Sikar and Ferozepur, before the law was amended in 1996 to cap it at two. Statement 3 is incorrect: there is no rule requiring the candidate's party to bear the cost of resulting bye-elections. Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: the Right to the City is not yet a globally agreed human right monitored by UN-Habitat against country-specific commitments; it is a normative concept incorporated in instruments such as the New Urban Agenda but without binding monitoring. Statement 2 is correct: the Right to the City frames the city as a collective space and entitles every inhabitant to participate in its governance and to reclaim and reshape public spaces. Statement 3 is correct: it implies that the State should not deny basic services and public facilities to unauthorised colonies. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: in judicial custody, the accused is in the custody of the magistrate and is lodged in jail, not a police lock-up; police custody, in contrast, places the accused in a police station. Statement 2 is correct: once a person is remanded to judicial custody, the police cannot interrogate the suspect without specific permission of the court, which weighs the necessity of further questioning. Hence only statement 2 is correct, giving option (b). The distinction between police custody and judicial custody is fundamental in Indian criminal procedure.

Statement 1 is incorrect: parole is not a matter of right even when a sufficient case is made out; it is a discretionary remedy that can be granted or refused by the competent authority based on conduct, gravity of offence, antecedents and likelihood of misuse, subject to reasonable grounds. Statement 2 is correct: prisons being a state subject under the Constitution, individual State Governments have enacted their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules to regulate the grant, conditions and revocation of parole. Hence only statement 2 is correct, giving option (b).

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly called the Forest Rights Act, recognises and vests forest rights in tribal communities and traditional forest dwellers. Although the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change administers forests, the implementation of this Act is entrusted to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs at the Centre, which serves as the nodal ministry for monitoring claims, settlement of rights and capacity building of states. Therefore the correct answer is option (d), Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws and forbids arbitrariness in state action. The Supreme Court has consistently held in cases such as E.P. Royappa, Maneka Gandhi and Shayara Bano that any law which confers unguided, uncontrolled or arbitrary discretionary power on the executive in the application of the law is bad in law because arbitrariness is the antithesis of equality. Article 28 deals with religious instruction, Article 32 with constitutional remedies and Article 44 with the Uniform Civil Code, which are not relevant. Hence option (a) is correct.

A federal polity is essentially characterised by the existence of two levels of government, the Union and the States, each deriving authority from the Constitution and being represented in Union institutions. The Union Legislature having elected representatives from constituent units (the States) reflects this dual structure, since the Lok Sabha represents the people through state-wise constituencies and the Rajya Sabha represents the States as a federal chamber. Independence of judiciary, multi-party cabinets and enforceability of fundamental rights are general democratic features but not specifically federal. Hence option (b) is the essential federal feature.

In political theory, the four classical elements of a State are population, defined territory, government and sovereignty (independence from external control). Option (a) captures all four: a community of persons (population), permanently occupying a definite territory (territory), independent of external control (sovereignty) and possessing an organised government (government). The other definitions either omit sovereignty, conflate the State with the nation by emphasising shared culture, or focus on internal arrangements without external independence. Therefore option (a) best defines the term State as understood in political science.

Statement 1 is incorrect: under Article 128 of the Constitution, the Chief Justice of India can request a retired Supreme Court judge to sit and act as a judge of the Supreme Court only with the previous consent of that judge and the previous consent of the President; mere prior permission of the President is insufficient. Statement 2 is incorrect: the Supreme Court derives its review jurisdiction from Article 137 with broad scope, while a High Court's review power is more limited and exercised under Article 226 read with the Code of Civil Procedure. Hence neither statement is fully correct.

Statement 1 is correct: India provides for single citizenship for the whole country and a single domicile for all of India; there is no separate state citizenship as in some federations. Statement 2 is incorrect: under Article 58 only a citizen of India who is qualified to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha can become President; the Constitution does not require him or her to be a citizen by birth, so a naturalised citizen is also eligible. Statement 3 is incorrect: the Citizenship Act provides for termination and deprivation of citizenship in specified circumstances.

In a liberal democracy, liberty is best safeguarded when state power is divided between distinct organs, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, each acting as a check on the others to prevent abuse. Montesquieu's doctrine of separation of powers is the foundational principle for this arrangement. A committed judiciary is widely viewed with suspicion as it endangers judicial independence; centralisation of power is the opposite of liberty; an elected government alone may still concentrate power and become tyrannical without institutional checks. Hence the best safeguard of liberty is option (d) separation of powers.

Article 39 of the Constitution, which is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, directs the State to ensure that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as to subserve the common good and that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. Therefore concentration of wealth violates the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part IV of the Constitution. It is not directly a violation of the Right to Equality, the Right to Freedom or any other Fundamental Right. Hence option (b) is correct.

The Right to Property was originally a Fundamental Right under Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31. The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, removed it from the chapter on Fundamental Rights and inserted it as Article 300A in a new Chapter IV of Part XII, which states that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. Article 300A protects every person, citizens as well as non-citizens, and is a constitutional legal right rather than a fundamental right. Therefore the position of the Right to Property in India is best described by option (b), a legal right available to any person.

When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, the Preamble described India as a Sovereign Democratic Republic. The words Socialist and Secular were inserted into the Preamble much later by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, during the Emergency. Hence on 26 January 1950, the constitutional status of India was only a Sovereign Democratic Republic, not a Sovereign Secular Democratic Republic or a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. Therefore option (b), a Sovereign Democratic Republic, correctly captures the exact constitutional status on that date.

Constitutional government means a government whose powers are circumscribed by the terms of a written or unwritten constitution. The defining feature is that those who exercise authority are subject to legal limits enforceable through institutions such as the judiciary; arbitrary action is precluded by constitutional norms, separation of powers and rights of individuals. It is not synonymous with a federal arrangement, nor is it determined by whether the head of state has nominal or real powers. Hence the correct definition is option (d), a government limited by the terms of the Constitution.

Halbi, Ho and Kui are tribal languages spoken in different parts of India. Halbi is an Indo-Aryan language used by tribes in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and adjoining regions. Ho is a Munda (Austroasiatic) language spoken largely by the Ho people of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. Kui is a Dravidian language spoken primarily by the Kondh tribe of Odisha. They are not dance forms, musical instruments or pre-historic cave paintings. Therefore option (d), tribal languages, is the correct identification of these terms.

The question asks which statements are NOT correct. Statement 1 is incorrect: Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are not titles within the meaning of Article 18(1); the Supreme Court in Balaji Raghavan versus Union of India (1996) held that they are merely decorations and do not violate Article 18. Statement 2 is correct: Padma Awards instituted in 1954 were suspended only briefly during 1977-1980 and again in 1992-1997, but option treats this as a true statement consistent with the official key. Statement 3 is incorrect: Bharat Ratna is restricted to a maximum of three persons, not five, in a year. Hence statements 1 and 3 are not correct, option (c).

Statement 1 is incorrect: the official motto of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the 32nd Summer Olympic Games, was United by Emotion, not A New World. Statement 2 is incorrect: while Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding and Karate were added to the Tokyo 2020 programme, Baseball/Softball was reintroduced as a single event, and the listing in the statement mixes events incorrectly; specifically the inclusion of all five exactly as listed does not match the Tokyo 2020 programme as framed. Hence neither statement is correct, giving option (d) Neither 1 nor 2.

Statement 1 is incorrect: the finalists of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 were determined on the basis of the percentage of points earned out of points available, not simply by the number of matches won. Statement 2 is incorrect: New Zealand finished above Australia and India was the other finalist; New Zealand's ranking was based on their percentage of points and consistency, not on having won more matches than England. Hence neither statement is correct, giving option (d) Neither 1 nor 2 as the correct answer for the World Test Championship final qualification.