UPSC 2022 Prelims-GS-I — Previous Year Questions with Answers

The Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) are emergency lending facilities of the International Monetary Fund. The RFI provides rapid financial assistance to all member countries facing urgent balance-of-payments needs, while the RCF offers concessional rapid financing to low-income countries. Both gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when the IMF used them to disburse emergency funds to many member states. The Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and UNEP Finance Initiative do not operate facilities under these names.

Statement 1 is correct: NEER is a weighted average of the rupee against a basket of foreign currencies, so a rise indicates rupee appreciation. Statement 3 is correct: when domestic inflation exceeds that of trading partners, the price-adjusted REER moves differently from NEER, widening the gap between them. Statement 2 is incorrect: an increase in REER indicates that domestic goods become relatively more expensive, which actually erodes export competitiveness. A rise in REER therefore reflects a loss, not an improvement, in trade competitiveness.

Statement 1 is incorrect: when inflation is high, the RBI tightens liquidity by selling government securities, not buying them; buying securities injects liquidity and would worsen inflation. Statement 2 is correct: when the rupee depreciates rapidly, the RBI sells dollars from reserves to support the currency. Statement 3 is incorrect: if US or EU interest rates fall, capital flows into India, increasing dollar supply; the RBI may buy dollars to prevent excessive rupee appreciation. The official UPSC key marks option (a), accepting statements 2 and 3 as the intended correct combination.

Both statements are correct. The G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments was endorsed in November 2020 by the G20 jointly with the Paris Club of creditor nations. It was designed to coordinate debt restructuring for low-income countries facing unsustainable debt burdens, particularly those eligible under the earlier Debt Service Suspension Initiative. The framework brings together traditional Paris Club creditors and major non-Paris Club creditors such as China to negotiate debt treatment on comparable terms.

Statement 1 is correct: because IIBs protect investors from inflation, governments can offer lower coupon rates than on conventional bonds, since investors do not demand an inflation risk premium. Statement 2 is correct: the principal and coupon payments of IIBs are linked to an inflation index, shielding investors from inflation uncertainty. Statement 3 is incorrect: interest income and capital gains on IIBs are taxable in India under the Income Tax Act; they enjoy no special tax exemption.

Statement 1 is incorrect: under India's FDI policy for the marketplace model of e-commerce, foreign-owned platforms cannot sell their own inventory directly; they may only provide a marketplace for third-party sellers. Statement 2 is correct: the policy restricts the extent to which marketplace operators can hold equity in the entities selling on their platforms, and a single seller is not allowed to account for more than 25 per cent of platform sales, limiting their control over big sellers.

The real sector covers production of goods and services, while the financial sector covers monetary transactions. Activities 1 and 2 are real-sector: farmers harvesting crops produce agricultural output, and textile mills converting raw cotton into fabric is manufacturing. Activities 3 and 4 belong to the financial sector: a commercial bank lending to a trading company is a financial transaction, and issuing rupee-denominated bonds overseas is raising capital in financial markets. Hence only statements 1 and 2 represent the real sector.

Indirect transfer refers to taxation of capital gains arising when a foreign company transfers shares of an overseas entity, but those shares derive their substantial value from assets located in India. India introduced indirect transfer provisions in the Income Tax Act after the Vodafone case to tax such offshore transactions. Option (d) precisely describes this scenario, where the underlying value flows from Indian assets even though the share transfer happens abroad. The other options describe ordinary cross-border investments rather than indirect transfers.

Statement 1 is correct: acquiring new technology generates long-term benefits and creates an asset, so it is treated as capital expenditure. Statement 2 is incorrect: the classification of expenditure as capital or revenue depends on the nature of the spending, not on how it is financed. Both debt and equity are sources of finance, not categories of expenditure. Funds raised through either route can be used for capital or revenue purposes, so equating debt with capital and equity with revenue expenditure is conceptually wrong.

Both statements are correct. Statement 1: a portion of household financial savings, channelled through instruments such as small savings, provident funds, insurance, and bank deposits, ultimately funds government borrowings, since banks and intermediaries invest in government securities. Statement 2: dated government securities issued through market-related auctions conducted by the RBI form a major component of the Centre's internal debt, alongside Treasury bills and special securities. Together, they finance the bulk of the fiscal deficit.

Statement 1 is correct: the Contempt of Courts Act 1971 was enacted following recommendations of the H.N. Sanyal Committee. Statement 2 is correct: Articles 129 and 215 empower the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively to punish for contempt of themselves. Statement 4 is correct: Entry 77 of List I and Entry 14 of List III enable Parliament to legislate on contempt of court. Statement 3 is incorrect: the Constitution does not define civil and criminal contempt; these are defined in the Contempt of Courts Act 1971.

Statement 1 is incorrect: under the Advocates Act 1961, only individuals enrolled with a State Bar Council are recognised as advocates; government law officers and legal firms as such are not separately recognised, and corporate lawyers and patent attorneys may also be advocates if individually enrolled. Statement 2 is correct: under Sections 7 and 49 of the Advocates Act, the Bar Council of India lays down standards of legal education and recognises universities whose law degrees qualify candidates for enrolment as advocates.

All three statements are marked correct in the official key. Statement 1 was treated as correct in the sense that certain Constitution Amendment Bills affecting state interests require prior recommendation procedures, although strictly Article 368 does not mandate the President's prior recommendation generally. Statement 2 is correct: after the 24th Amendment, it is obligatory for the President to give assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill. Statement 3 is correct: a Constitution Amendment Bill must be passed separately by each House by special majority, and Article 368 makes no provision for a joint sitting.

Statement 1 is incorrect: the Constitution itself does not classify ministers into Cabinet Minister, Minister of State with Independent Charge, Minister of State and Deputy Minister; this fourfold classification is a matter of convention and executive practice, not constitutional text. Statement 2 is correct: the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act 2003 inserted Article 75(1A), which caps the total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, at 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.

Only statement 2 is an exclusive power of the Lok Sabha. A motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers can be moved and passed only in the Lok Sabha, since the Council is collectively responsible to it under Article 75. Statement 1 is incorrect: a proclamation of Emergency must be approved by both Houses, not the Lok Sabha alone. Statement 3 is incorrect: the impeachment of the President under Article 61 can be initiated in either House and requires passage by both Houses by a two-thirds majority.

Statement 1 is incorrect: under the Tenth Schedule, a nominated member of a House is allowed to join a political party within six months of taking the seat; the law actually permits this, rather than prohibiting it. Statement 2 is correct: the anti-defection law does not prescribe any time limit within which the presiding officer must decide a defection petition, a gap repeatedly criticised by the Supreme Court, including in the Keisham Meghachandra Singh judgement.

Statement 1 is incorrect: under Article 88, the Attorney General has the right to participate in the proceedings of either House, joint sittings and parliamentary committees, but the Solicitor General does not have such a constitutional right; ministers also speak in Parliament. Statement 2 is incorrect: the Constitution does not require the Attorney General to resign when the appointing government resigns. The Attorney General holds office during the pleasure of the President, though by convention he may tender resignation when the government changes.

Statement 1 is correct: the writ of mandamus does not lie against a purely private body unless that body is entrusted with a public duty. Statement 3 is correct: in cases of quo warranto, which questions the legal authority by which a person holds a public office, any member of the public, not just an aggrieved party, can approach the court. Statement 2 is incorrect: mandamus can lie against a Government Company if it performs public functions or violates statutory obligations, so the blanket bar stated is wrong.

Only statement 3 is correct. Under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, a citizen's health records, once digitised and linked to an Ayushman Bharat Health Account, can be accessed seamlessly across the country, providing portability. Statement 1 is incorrect: participation by hospitals, both public and private, is voluntary, not mandatory. Statement 2 is incorrect: enrolment of every citizen is also voluntary, based on consent; the mission aims to build a digital health ecosystem rather than compulsorily enrol every individual.

Statement 1 is correct: under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the date for election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker. Statement 3 is correct: when the Deputy Speaker presides, he or she enjoys the same powers as the Speaker, and no appeal lies against the rulings given from the Chair. Statement 2 is incorrect: there is no mandatory rule that the Deputy Speaker must come from a particular party. Statement 4 is incorrect: there is no fixed convention that the motion must be moved by the Speaker and seconded by the Prime Minister.

Among the listed crops, rice is the most important anthropogenic source of both methane and nitrous oxide. Flooded paddy fields create anaerobic conditions in which methanogenic bacteria produce large amounts of methane that is released into the atmosphere. The application of nitrogen-based fertilisers in rice cultivation, combined with alternating wet and dry conditions, also produces substantial nitrous oxide emissions through nitrification and denitrification. Cotton, sugarcane and wheat contribute far less to combined methane and nitrous oxide emissions than rice.

All three benefits are realised under the System of Rice Intensification. SRI uses younger seedlings transplanted singly with wider spacing, drastically lowering seed requirements compared with conventional rice planting. Alternate wetting and drying replaces continuous flooding, so the soil is not waterlogged for long periods, which reduces methane emissions from anaerobic decomposition. Because fields are not kept submerged continuously, less water needs to be pumped, lowering electricity consumption used for irrigation pumps.

Lake Faguibine, located in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali, has effectively dried up due to prolonged droughts and changes in the flow of the Niger river system, with its bed turning into a desert-like landscape. Lake Victoria in East Africa remains one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, Lake Volta in Ghana is a large reservoir created by the Akosombo Dam, and Lake Oguta in Nigeria is a small but still active lake. Hence Lake Faguibine is the correct answer.

The Gandikota canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of India, lies in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. It was carved by the Pennar river as it cuts a deep gorge through the Erramala range of hills near the historic Gandikota fort. The Cauvery, Manjira and Tungabhadra do not pass through this gorge. Hence the Pennar is the correct answer.

Only pair 2 is correctly matched. Nanda Devi is a major peak in the Kumaon Himalaya in Uttarakhand. Pair 1 is incorrect: Namcha Barwa lies in the Eastern Himalaya in Tibet near the great bend of the Brahmaputra, not in the Garhwal Himalaya. Pair 3 is incorrect: Nokrek is a peak in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and forms part of the Meghalaya plateau, not the Sikkim Himalaya. Therefore the correct answer is option (b), 2 only.

The term Levant historically refers to the region along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, broadly covering modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and parts of southern Turkey. The phrase was used by European geographers to describe lands where the sun rises, that is, the eastern Mediterranean coast. It does not denote the entire Mediterranean coastline, the North African shore from Egypt to Morocco, or the Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa. Hence option (a) is correct.

Afghanistan shares borders only with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan among the listed countries. Tajikistan shares its long northern border, Turkmenistan abuts Afghanistan on the north-west, and Uzbekistan touches it in the north along the Amu Darya. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan do not share any boundary with Afghanistan; Azerbaijan lies west of the Caspian Sea and Kyrgyzstan is separated from Afghanistan by Tajikistan. Therefore the correct combination is 3, 4 and 5 only.

Statement 1 is correct: monazite is a phosphate mineral and a major source of rare earth elements such as cerium and lanthanum. Statement 2 is correct: monazite contains thorium, making it a strategic resource for India's nuclear energy programme. Statement 4 is correct: under the Atomic Energy Act, monazite is a prescribed substance, and only government-authorised entities can process or export it. Statement 3 is incorrect: monazite occurs mainly in the beach sands of certain coasts, particularly in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand, not in the entire Indian coastal sands.

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year occurs at the summer solstice, when the Sun's overhead position is at the Tropic of Cancer. This solstice falls on 21 or 22 June every year, which lies in the second half of June. The first half of June, July and the second half of July are not associated with the solstice. Therefore option (b), the second half of the month of June, is correct.

Pairs 2 and 3 are correctly matched, while pairs 1 and 4 are wrong. Renuka Wetland is in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, and Rudrasagar Lake is in Tripura, both Ramsar sites. Hokera Wetland lies in Jammu and Kashmir, not Punjab, so pair 1 is incorrect. Sasthamkotta Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala, not Tamil Nadu, so pair 4 is also wrong. Hence only two pairs are correctly matched.

All four are built on top of open-source digital platforms. Aarogya Setu's source code was released as open-source by the government. CoWIN, the COVID-19 vaccination platform, was also opened up and offered to other countries as an open-source solution. DigiLocker is part of the India Stack and uses open-source components for document storage and verification. DIKSHA, the national digital education platform, is built on the open-source Sunbird platform. Hence the correct answer is option (d).

All three statements correctly describe Web 3.0. Web 3.0 envisages a decentralised internet built on blockchain, where users own and control their personal data through cryptographic identities and self-custodied wallets. Blockchain-based social networks, in which content and reputation are recorded on a distributed ledger rather than controlled by a single company, are a key feature of this vision. Web 3.0 protocols are typically governed collectively by token-holding users through decentralised autonomous organisations rather than by a single corporation.

All three statements are correct. SaaS applications routinely allow customers to customise the user interface, configure workflows and add or modify data fields without altering the underlying code. Because SaaS is delivered over the internet, users can access their data through web browsers and mobile devices from any location with connectivity. Web-based email services such as Outlook on the web, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail are classic consumer examples of SaaS, where the application is hosted by the provider and accessed remotely.

A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) is a strategic weapon concept in which a nuclear-armed missile is launched into a low Earth orbit and then de-orbited over a chosen target before completing a full revolution. Because the warhead can approach from unexpected directions, including over the South Pole, it is harder for early-warning systems and missile defences to intercept. Option (c) accurately captures this idea. The other options describe asteroid defence, planetary landings or comet missions, which are unrelated to FOBS.

A qubit, or quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing. Unlike classical bits that are either 0 or 1, qubits can exist in a superposition of both states and can be entangled with other qubits, allowing quantum computers to perform certain calculations far faster than classical machines. The term is used specifically in quantum computing, not in cloud services, visible light communication, or general wireless communication technologies. Hence option (b) is correct.

Closed-circuit television uses cabled connections to transmit video signals over relatively long distances and is not classified as a short-range device. Radio Frequency Identification operates over distances ranging from a few centimetres to several metres and is treated as a short-range technology. Wireless Local Area Networks, such as those defined by Wi-Fi standards, typically operate within homes, offices or buildings and are also short-range. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct, and the right answer is option (b).

All three statements about biofilms are correct. Biofilms are communities of microorganisms enclosed in a self-produced matrix that adhere to surfaces. They commonly form on medical implants such as catheters, prosthetic joints and heart valves, leading to chronic infections within human tissues. They also develop on food, food-contact surfaces, pipes and processing equipment, posing public health risks. Bacteria within biofilms are well known to exhibit greatly increased resistance to antibiotics compared with the same bacteria in free-floating form.

Statement 1 is correct: probiotics consist of live microorganisms, mainly certain bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, but also yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii. Statement 3 is correct: probiotic bacteria help in digesting milk sugars, particularly lactose, by producing lactase-like enzymes, which is helpful for people who are lactose-intolerant. Statement 2 is incorrect: many of the organisms found in probiotics, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, do naturally inhabit the human gut, so the claim that they do not occur naturally there is wrong.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, is based on the Oxford-AstraZeneca chimpanzee adenovirus viral-vector platform, not an mRNA platform. Statement 2 is correct: Sputnik V uses two different human adenovirus vectors and is therefore a vector-based vaccine. Statement 3 is correct: COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research, is a whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct.

A major solar storm can disrupt the ionosphere and Earth's magnetic field. Statement 1 is correct: GPS and navigation systems can degrade. Statement 3 is correct: induced currents can damage transformers and power grids, as seen in the 1989 Quebec blackout. Statement 4 is correct: intense auroras can occur far from the poles. Statement 6 is correct: increased atmospheric drag and charging can disturb satellite orbits. Statement 7 is correct: shortwave radio used by aircraft over polar regions can be disrupted. Tsunamis and forest fires (statements 2 and 5) are not caused by solar storms.

The Climate Action Tracker is an independent scientific project that monitors government climate action against the goals of the Paris Agreement. It is run by a coalition of two research organisations, Climate Analytics and the NewClimate Institute, which together compile and analyse a database of national climate pledges and policies. It is not a wing of the IPCC, a UNFCCC committee, or an agency promoted by UNEP and the World Bank. Hence option (a), a database created by a coalition of research organisations, is correct.

Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. The Climate Group is an international non-profit that builds and runs networks of businesses and governments to drive climate action. EP100 brings together leading companies committed to using energy more productively, lowering greenhouse-gas emissions and improving competitiveness, and several Indian companies are members. Statement 2 is incorrect: EP100 is run by The Climate Group, not jointly with the International Energy Agency. Statement 5 is incorrect: the secretariat of the Under2 Coalition is The Climate Group, not the IEA.

Wetlands are compared to kidneys because they filter pollutants and purify water, just as kidneys cleanse the blood. The function that best reflects this is option (d): aquatic plants in wetlands absorb heavy metals and excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from runoff before it reaches downstream rivers and seas. The other options describe the water cycle, food webs and sediment regulation, which correspond to other ecosystem services rather than the kidney-like filtering and detoxifying role highlighted in the statement.

Statement 1 is correct: the WHO 2021 Air Quality Guidelines set the 24-hour mean for PM2.5 at 15 micrograms per cubic metre and the annual mean at 5 micrograms per cubic metre. Statement 4 is correct: ground-level ozone is a powerful respiratory irritant and excessive exposure can trigger asthma attacks. Statement 2 is incorrect: ozone pollution peaks during sunny, hot, stable weather, not inclement weather. Statement 3 is incorrect: it is the finer PM2.5, not PM10, that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

Gucchi, scientifically known as Morchella esculenta, is an edible morel mushroom and therefore a fungus, so statement 1 is correct. It grows wild in conifer and oak forests of the Himalayan region, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, so statement 2 is correct. Statement 3 is incorrect: Gucchi is collected from the wild and has not been successfully commercially cultivated, especially not in the foothills of north-eastern India. Hence only statements 1 and 2 are correct.

Statement 1 is correct: PET fibres can be blended with wool and cotton to add strength, durability and crease resistance. Statement 3 is correct: PET bottles are widely recycled into other products such as polyester fibre, sheets and packaging. Statement 2 is incorrect: PET reacts with strong alcohols and is not recommended for storing all alcoholic beverages, and food-grade regulations restrict such use. Statement 4 is incorrect: incineration of PET releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, so disposing of PET articles by burning is not free of greenhouse-gas emissions.

After the 44th Amendment, Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during a National Emergency. Earlier, under the original Constitution, all Fundamental Rights could be suspended. The 44th Amendment was enacted to prevent misuse as happened during 1975 Emergency.

Nitrogen-fixing plants are largely legumes that host nitrogen-fixing rhizobia in root nodules. Among the options, alfalfa, chickpea and clover are all leguminous plants and well-known nitrogen fixers, so 1, 3 and 4 are correct. Amaranth, purslane (kulfa) and spinach are non-leguminous leafy or grain crops and do not fix atmospheric nitrogen biologically. Hence the correct combination is 1, 3 and 4 only, as in option (a).

Biorock technology, also known as mineral accretion technology, uses a low-voltage direct electric current passed through submerged steel structures placed in seawater. The current causes dissolved minerals such as calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide to precipitate on the structure, forming a hard, limestone-like substrate. Coral fragments transplanted onto these structures grow rapidly and form new reefs, making Biorock a key tool for the restoration of damaged coral reefs. It is unrelated to building materials, shale gas exploration or salt licks for wildlife.

The Miyawaki method, developed by the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, involves planting native tree species densely on small plots so that the saplings compete for light and grow rapidly into a dense, multi-layered, self-sustaining forest in a few years. It is widely used to create mini forests and green pockets in urban areas, including in many Indian cities. It is not associated with arid-zone commercial farming, gardens of genetically modified plants, or harvesting wind energy. Hence option (c) is correct.

Under the diarchy introduced by the Government of India Act 1919, provincial subjects were split into reserved and transferred categories. Reserved subjects, administered by the Governor and his Executive Council without responsibility to the legislature, included sensitive and revenue-generating areas: administration of justice, land revenue and police. Local self-government, education, public health, agriculture and industry were transferred subjects, handled by Indian ministers responsible to the legislature. Hence statements 1, 3 and 4 were reserved subjects, making option (c) correct.

In medieval South India, particularly during the Chola, Vijayanagara and other Deccan kingdoms, the term Fanam referred to a small gold or silver coin. Fanams were used for everyday transactions and are mentioned in inscriptions and traveller accounts as a unit of currency. They were not associated with clothing, ornaments or weapons. Hence option (b), coins, is correct.

Among the listed leaders, only Rash Behari Bose was actively associated with the Ghadar Party. He played a leading role in the Ghadar conspiracy of 1915 to spark an armed rebellion in India, before fleeing to Japan. Barindra Kumar Ghosh was associated with the Anushilan Samiti and Bengal revolutionary groups, particularly the Alipore bomb case. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee was active in the Hindustan Republican Association and Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. Hence the correct answer is option (d), 3 only.

Statement 1 is correct: the Cripps Mission of 1942 proposed that after the war a Constituent Assembly would be set up, with members elected by provincial legislatures and partly nominated by the Princely States. Statement 2 is incorrect: the proposals did not allow individual provinces to sign a separate agreement with Britain about their status; instead, any province unwilling to accept the new constitution was given the right to retain its existing constitutional position and conclude a separate agreement with the British Government for that purpose, but this option was for non-acceding provinces only.

Texts 2 and 4 are Jaina works. Parishishtaparvan, written by the Jaina monk Hemachandra in the twelfth century, narrates the lives of Jaina patriarchs. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana, also called Adipurana, is a major Digambara Jaina text composed by Jinasena and Gunabhadra in the ninth century. Nettipakarana is a Pali Buddhist commentarial text traditionally ascribed to Mahakaccana. Avadanashataka is a Sanskrit Buddhist text containing one hundred avadana stories. Hence only 2 and 4 are Jaina texts, giving option (b).

Pairs 2 and 3 are correctly matched. Dignaga was a fifth-century Buddhist scholar known for his work on logic and epistemology. Nathamuni was an early Vaishnava Alvar tradition acharya who compiled the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. Pair 1 is incorrect: Aryadeva was a Buddhist scholar of the Madhyamaka school, a disciple of Nagarjuna, not a Jaina scholar. Hence two pairs are correctly matched, making option (c) correct.

Statement 2 is correct: during Ala-ud-din Khalji's reign, Mongol forces under Targhi reached the outskirts of Delhi in 1303 and besieged Siri before withdrawing. Statement 1 is incorrect: the first Mongol invasion of India occurred under Genghis Khan during the reign of Iltutmish in the early thirteenth century, not under Jalal-ud-din Khalji. Statement 3 is incorrect: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq is not associated with the temporary loss of north-western territories to the Mongols; major Mongol incursions had largely ended before his reign. Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Kulah-Daran, literally cap-wearers, was a term used during the Delhi Sultanate for descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and other holy lineages, generally the Sayyids, who wore distinctive caps as a mark of their status. They received privileges, stipends and respect at court. The term was not used for Arab merchants, who were referred to differently, nor for Qalandars, who were wandering Sufi mendicants, nor for Persian calligraphists. Hence option (d), Sayyids, is correct.

Statement 2 is correct: Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate ruler Yusuf Adil Shah in 1510. Statement 3 is correct: the English East India Company established its factory at Madras in 1639–40 on land leased from a representative of the Vijayanagara empire, the Nayaka of the Damarla family. Statement 1 is incorrect: the Dutch established their early factories on the east coast on grants from rulers of Andhra and Tamil regions, not from the Gajapati rulers of Odisha. Hence only 2 and 3 are correct.

Statement 1 is correct: Kautilya's Arthashastra recognises judicial enslavement as one of the legitimate ways a person could become a slave, alongside birth and capture. Statement 3 is correct: if a master fathered a son with his female slave, the Arthashastra grants that son the legal status of the master's son. Statement 2 is incorrect: the Arthashastra states that a female slave who bore her master a son acquired the right to be freed, but the Arthashastra makes such freedom conditional, not automatic, and pairs it with the son's legitimacy clause. The official key marks 1 and 3 only.

Statement 1 is correct: when the US Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy, US interest rates rise and capital flows out of emerging markets such as India, leading to capital flight. Statement 2 is correct: capital flight typically depreciates the rupee and tightens domestic financial conditions, both of which can raise the effective interest cost for Indian firms with unhedged External Commercial Borrowings. Statement 3 is incorrect: depreciation of the domestic currency increases, not decreases, the currency risk on ECBs because more rupees are needed to repay foreign-currency debt.

All four states listed are tea-producing states. Andhra Pradesh has small-scale tea cultivation in areas such as the Araku valley. Kerala produces tea in the high ranges of Idukki and Wayanad districts, particularly around Munnar. Himachal Pradesh produces Kangra tea, a Geographical Indication product. Tripura is among the smaller tea-producing states in the north-east, with several tea estates and a state-owned tea corporation. Hence the correct answer is option (d), all four states.

Statement 1 is incorrect: in India, credit rating agencies are regulated mainly by the Securities and Exchange Board of India under the SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations 1999, not by the Reserve Bank of India. Statement 2 is correct: ICRA Limited is a public limited company listed on Indian stock exchanges and is a leading domestic credit rating agency. Statement 3 is correct: Brickwork Ratings is an Indian credit rating agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, and registered with SEBI. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: the Banks Board Bureau was an autonomous body whose chairman was an eminent person, not the RBI Governor; the RBI Governor was a member but not the Chairman. Statement 2 is correct: the BBB was tasked with recommending candidates for the posts of whole-time directors and non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks and financial institutions. Statement 3 is correct: the BBB also helped public sector banks develop strategies for capital raising and improving their performance. Hence only 2 and 3 are correct.

Both statements are correct. Convertible bonds give bondholders the option to convert the debt into a fixed number of equity shares. Because this conversion option has value to investors, issuers can offer a lower coupon rate than on equivalent non-convertible bonds. The conversion right also allows holders to participate in any future rise in equity prices, which tend to track corporate profits and inflation, thereby providing a partial degree of protection against rising consumer prices, similar to indexation.

India is a member of all three groupings. India is a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, established in 2016. India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2016 as a full member. India is also a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, having joined in 2017 along with Pakistan. Hence the correct answer is option (d), 1, 2 and 3.

Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. Vietnam has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last few decades, driven by integration into global supply chains in electronics, textiles and other manufacturing, and by an export-oriented strategy. Low labour costs and relatively stable exchange rates have long attracted global manufacturers seeking diversification. Statement 2 is incorrect: Vietnam is a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party of Vietnam. Statement 5 is not supported by evidence, as Vietnam does not have the most productive e-services sector in the Indo-Pacific.

The Reserve Bank of India is responsible for maintaining price stability by controlling inflation in the country. The RBI Act, as amended in 2016, statutorily mandates a flexible inflation targeting framework, under which the central government, in consultation with the RBI, sets a Consumer Price Index inflation target, currently 4 per cent with a band of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The Department of Consumer Affairs, the Financial Stability and Development Council, and the Expenditure Management Commission do not have this mandate.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and can serve as digital representations of physical or digital assets such as artwork, real estate or collectibles. Statement 3 is incorrect: by definition, NFTs are non-fungible, meaning each token is unique and not interchangeable on a one-to-one basis with another token of the same type. They are therefore not used as a generic medium of commercial exchange in the way that fungible currencies or fungible cryptocurrencies are used.

All four pairs are incorrectly matched. Ghataprabha is a tributary of the Krishna in Karnataka, not Telangana. Gandhi Sagar dam, on the Chambal river, lies in Madhya Pradesh, but is on the border with Rajasthan; while pair 2 looks correct as Madhya Pradesh, the question framers treat it as not exclusively in Madhya Pradesh. Indira Sagar dam is on the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, not Andhra Pradesh. Maithon dam is on the Barakar river on the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, not Chhattisgarh. The official key marks all four pairs as not correctly matched.

The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, compiles statistics on industrial disputes, closures, retrenchments and lay-offs in factories employing workers in India. It also brings out indices such as the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers and conducts surveys on employment and unemployment. The Central Statistics Office handles national accounts and macroeconomic statistics, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade handles industrial policy, and NTMIS deals with technical manpower. Hence option (c) is correct.

Statements 1, 2 and 3 correctly describe the role of the Coal Controller's Organisation. The CCO is a major source of coal statistics for the Government of India, monitors the development of captive coal and lignite blocks allocated to various end-users, and hears objections to government notifications relating to acquisition of coal-bearing areas under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act 1957. Statement 4 is incorrect: ensuring that coal mining companies deliver coal to end users in prescribed time is not part of the CCO's mandate. Hence option (a) is correct.

The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution provides for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any state other than the north-eastern states covered by the Sixth Schedule. The Governor is empowered to make regulations, including those that prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of Scheduled Tribes, thereby protecting tribal land from being transferred to non-tribals. The Fifth Schedule does not by itself create local self-government, convert an area into a Union Territory, or grant Special Category Status. Hence option (a) is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: the India Sanitation Coalition is a platform set up by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to promote sustainable sanitation through partnerships, and is not funded by the Government of India and the World Health Organization. Statement 2 is correct: the National Institute of Urban Affairs is the apex think tank attached to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, providing research, training and innovative solutions to address India's urban challenges. Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Central Ground Water Authority was constituted in 1997 under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 to regulate and control the development and management of groundwater resources in India. The Central Water Commission, the Central Ground Water Board and the National Water Development Agency are administrative bodies under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, but they were not constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. Hence option (c) is correct.

Only statement 3 is correct. The UN Credentials Committee assesses the credentials of representatives of all UN member states at each regular session of the General Assembly and submits a report to the General Assembly for approval. Statement 1 is incorrect: the Credentials Committee is appointed by the General Assembly, not the Security Council, and works under the General Assembly. Statement 2 is incorrect: it does not meet on a fixed quarterly schedule of March, June and September; it generally meets once during each annual session of the General Assembly.

The Polar Code is the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, adopted by the International Maritime Organization. It is a binding instrument that lays down safety, training, equipment, design and environmental protection standards for ships sailing in Arctic and Antarctic waters, addressing the unique hazards of ice, low temperatures and remoteness. It is not a territorial demarcation agreement, a research-conduct code or an Arctic Council trade and security pact. Hence option (a) is correct.

All three statements are correct. The General Assembly has, by resolution, granted observer status to non-member states such as the Holy See and Palestine. Inter-governmental organisations, such as the African Union and the European Union, can also seek and obtain observer status in the General Assembly. Permanent observers, both states and organisations, are entitled to maintain permanent missions at UN headquarters in New York, attend most meetings of the General Assembly and circulate documents.

Statement 1 is correct: the Tea Board was set up under the Tea Act 1953 and is therefore a statutory body. Statement 4 is correct: the Tea Board has overseas offices, including in Dubai and Moscow, to promote Indian tea exports. Statement 2 is incorrect: the Tea Board is attached to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, not the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Statement 3 is incorrect: the head office of the Tea Board is in Kolkata, not Bengaluru. Hence statements 1 and 4 are correct.

Greenwashing refers to the practice by which a company conveys a misleading or false impression that its products, services or operations are environmentally friendly, sustainable or eco-conscious, often through marketing claims that are not backed by substantive environmental performance. It does not refer to non-inclusion of environmental costs in financial statements, ignoring ecological consequences of infrastructure projects, or making mandatory environmental cost provisions in government programmes. Hence option (a) is the correct definition.

Statement 1 is incorrect: high clouds, such as cirrus clouds, are thin, allow much solar radiation to pass through and trap outgoing infrared radiation; their net effect is generally warming, not cooling. Statement 2 is correct: low clouds, such as stratus and stratocumulus, absorb and re-emit infrared radiation from the Earth's surface, contributing to a warming effect on the lower atmosphere, even though they also reflect some sunlight. The official key for this question accepts only statement 2 as correct.

Statement 2 is correct: Bidibidi hosts large numbers of refugees who fled the South Sudan civil war that broke out in 2013. Statement 3 is correct: the Dadaab refugee complex in eastern Kenya hosts many refugees who fled the long-running civil war in Somalia. Statement 1 is incorrect: Bidibidi is located in north-western Uganda, not Kenya, and is one of the largest refugee settlements in the world. Hence only statements 2 and 3 are correct.

The Organization of Turkic States, formerly the Turkic Council, comprises member states whose populations speak Turkic languages. Among the listed countries, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are full members, along with Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Armenia is not a Turkic country and is not a member; in fact, Armenia and Azerbaijan have a long-standing conflict. Croatia and Romania are Central and Eastern European states with no Turkic identity and are not members. Hence the correct combination is 2 and 5, option (c).

Statement 1 is correct: at the time of the question, the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan and the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka were among the largest, but the official key treats Gujarat as having the largest, reflecting the planned Khavda Renewable Energy Park. Statement 2 is correct: Cochin International Airport in Kerala became the world's first fully solar-powered international airport. Statement 3 is incorrect: at the time, the largest floating solar photovoltaic project was at Ramagundam in Telangana, not Goa. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct.

All three statements correctly summarise key UNCLOS provisions. Article 3 allows a coastal state to set its territorial sea at a breadth not exceeding 12 nautical miles from baselines determined under the convention. Article 17 provides that ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. Article 57 limits the Exclusive Economic Zone to a maximum of 200 nautical miles measured from the baselines of the territorial sea. Hence option (d) is correct.

The Senkaku Islands are a group of small uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, administered by Japan but also claimed by China, where they are called the Diaoyu Islands, and by Taiwan. They are at the centre of a long-standing maritime and territorial dispute between China and Japan over sovereignty, fishing rights and potential undersea resources. They are not artificial islands in the South China Sea, a US military base supporting Taiwan, or land declared as no man's land by the International Court of Justice. Hence option (b) is correct.

Pairs 2, 3 and 4 are correctly matched. Guinea experienced a military coup in September 2021 that suspended its constitution and government. Lebanon has been gripped by a severe and prolonged economic and financial depression since 2019, described by the World Bank as among the worst globally. In Tunisia, President Kais Saied suspended Parliament in 2021. Pair 1 is incorrect: there is no permanent Chinese military base in Chad; China's first overseas base is in Djibouti. Hence three pairs are correctly matched, option (c).

Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched. Anatolia is the historic name for the Asian portion of modern Turkey. Amhara is a region in northern Ethiopia, central to the recent Tigray conflict. Pair 3 is incorrect: Cabo Delgado is a province in northern Mozambique that has faced an Islamist insurgency, not in Spain. Pair 4 is incorrect: Catalonia is an autonomous region in north-eastern Spain, not Italy. Hence only two pairs are correctly matched, making option (b) the right answer.

Statement 1 is correct: under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, all wild animals are deemed government property, and any person who kills or captures a wild animal must hand it over to the state. Statement 3 is correct: under the Act, a wild animal that has become a danger to human life can be declared as such by the Chief Wildlife Warden, who may then order its capture or killing. Statement 2 is incorrect: protection levels and permitted activities differ between protected areas and outside them, so equal protection is not guaranteed in both contexts.

Certain species of ants, particularly the leaf-cutter ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex in Central and South America, are well known as cultivators of fungi. They cut leaves and bring them to underground chambers, where the leaf material serves as a substrate on which they grow fungal gardens, and these fungi are their main food source. This farming behaviour is a classic example of mutualism. Cockroaches, crabs and spiders do not cultivate fungi in this way. Hence option (a) is correct.

Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched. Dhauli is in the Khurda district of Odisha, near Bhubaneswar, and Erragudi is in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh; both are well-known sites of Ashoka's major rock edicts. Pair 3 is incorrect: Jaugada is also in Odisha (Ganjam district), not Madhya Pradesh. Pair 4 is incorrect: Kalsi is in the Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, not Karnataka. Hence only two pairs are correctly matched, making option (b) correct.

Pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched. Nannuka was the founder of the Chandela dynasty of Bundelkhand. Nagabhata II was a powerful ruler of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. Pair 2 is incorrect: Jayashakti was a Chandela ruler, not a Paramara. Pair 4 is incorrect: the famous king Bhoja referred to in this context belonged to the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, not the Rashtrakutas. Hence only two pairs are correctly matched, giving option (b).

Sangam literature, composed in early Tamilakam, was clearly aware of the brahmanical Varna system and references social classifications, including occasional mentions of Brahmana priests and other groups, alongside the indigenous tinai and kuti categorisations. Hence statement (b) is correct. Sangam poems are rich in references to material culture such as ornaments, food, ports and trade, so option (a) is wrong. Warrior ethic is central to puram poetry, ruling out option (c). Magical and supernatural forces feature prominently and are not portrayed as irrational, so option (d) is also wrong.

The Yogavasistha, an important Sanskrit philosophical text traditionally attributed to Valmiki, was translated into Persian by Nizamuddin Panipati during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar. Akbar's court actively patronised translations of Indian classics into Persian as part of his broader programme of religious and cultural synthesis. The translations were meant to make Hindu philosophical works accessible to Persian-speaking elites. The Yogavasistha translation was not produced under Humayun, Shah Jahan or Aurangzeb. Hence option (a) is correct.

Ramanuja, the eleventh-century South Indian Vaishnava philosopher, propounded the Vishishtadvaita school and emphasised that bhakti, or loving devotion to a personal God, primarily Vishnu, is the best means of salvation. He combined philosophical reasoning with devotional theology but did not present logic alone as the highest means to bliss, nor did he treat the Vedas merely as self-existent eternal authority without reference to God, and he did not regard pure meditation as the chief route to salvation. Hence option (a) best represents his teachings.

Statement 1 is correct: Somnath is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva and stands at Prabhas Patan in Saurashtra, Gujarat. Statement 2 is correct: the eleventh-century scholar Al-Biruni provided a detailed description of the temple and the wealth Mahmud of Ghazni looted during his raid in 1026. Statement 3 is incorrect: the Pran Pratishtha of the present rebuilt Somnath temple was performed by President Rajendra Prasad in 1951, not by S. Radhakrishnan. Hence only statements 1 and 2 are correct.

B cells and T cells are the principal lymphocytes of the adaptive immune system, which protects the body against diseases caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites. B cells produce antibodies that neutralise pathogens and toxins, while T cells include helper T cells that orchestrate immune responses and cytotoxic T cells that destroy infected cells. They are not specifically allergen filters, painkillers or immunosuppressants. Their core role is pathogen-directed immune defence, making option (d) the most accurate description.

Statement 2 is correct: nanoparticles of metallic oxides such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are widely used in cosmetics, including sunscreens. Statement 3 is correct: nanoparticles released into the environment from commercial products can pose health risks because of their small size and ability to penetrate biological barriers, and several have been flagged as potentially unsafe. Statement 1 is incorrect: nanoparticles also occur naturally, for example in volcanic ash, sea spray, and atmospheric dust, so they are not exclusively human-made.

Statement 2 is correct: DNA barcoding compares short, standardised genetic sequences to distinguish between species that may look morphologically similar but differ genetically. Statement 3 is correct: it is widely used to identify undesirable or substituted animal and plant materials in processed foods, such as fish fraud or adulteration of herbal products. Statement 1 is incorrect: DNA barcoding does not assess the age of an organism; ageing is determined by other techniques such as growth rings, isotopic analysis or telomere length. Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct.

Acid rain is mainly caused by sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released from fossil fuel combustion. Once in the atmosphere, sulphur dioxide is oxidised to sulphuric acid and nitrogen oxides to nitric acid, which then fall as acidic precipitation. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas but is not a significant contributor to acid rain. Tropospheric ozone is itself a secondary pollutant formed from nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, but ozone as such is not a primary cause of acid rain. Hence only nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide are responsible.