08 September 2022

Q1. With reference to the central government debt, consider the following statements:

1. Public debt comprises the majority of central government debt.
2. Debt-GDP ratio declined steadily after the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANS-C

Explanation: Central Government Debt as per Economic Survey data:

• Total liabilities of the Central Government at end March 2020 stood at 97.05 lakh crore.
• Out of these, 88.67 percent was public debt and the remaining 10 percent catered to Public
• Account liabilities, which include National Small Savings Fund, State
• Provident Funds, Reserve Funds and Deposits and other Accounts.
• Debt-GDP Ratio declined steadily immediately after the enactment of the FRBM Act, 2003, and has sustained at a level during the last decade.

Q2. The term ‘Key Starting Materials’ is used in the context of

(a) Electronics manufacturing

(b) Pharmaceutical Industry

(c) Agro-processing industry

(d) Automobiles sector

ANS B

Explanation: Economic survey mentions that Excessive dependence of Indian pharmaceutical industry on China for sourcing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials (KSMs). Hence the term relates to the Pharmaceutical industry.

Q3. With reference to the Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL), consider the following statements:

1. Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL), New Delhi was recognized as a Regional Customs Laboratory (RCL) of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for Asia-Pacific Region.

2. Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL) is under the administrative control of GST Council.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANS-A

Explanation:

• Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL), New Delhi was recognized as a Regional Customs Laboratory (RCL) of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for Asia-Pacific Region.
• Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL), New Delhi is under the administrative control of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs.
• With its recognition as RCL, CRCL joins a select group of Customs Laboratories in the region like those in Japan & Korea.
• The World Customs Organization (WCO), established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) is an independent intergovernmental body whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations.

Q4. With reference to the Bond yield, consider the following statements:

1. It is the return an investor gets on that bond or on a particular government security.
2. A rise in bond yields means interest rates in the monetary system have fallen, and the returns for investors have declined.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

 ANS-C

Explanation:

• Rising yields on government securities or bonds in the United States and India have triggered concern over the negative impact on other asset classes, especially stock markets, and even gold.
• Bond yield is the return an investor gets on that bond or on a particular government security.
• The major factors affecting the yield is the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India, especially the course of interest rates, the fiscal position of the government and its borrowing programme, global markets, economy, and inflation.
• A fall in interest rates makes bond prices rise, and bond yields fall — and rising interest rates cause bond prices to fall, and bond yields to rise.
• In short, a rise in bond yields means interest rates in the monetary system have fallen, and the returns for investors (those who invested in bonds and government securities) have declined.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Q5. The central employment guarantee council has been constituted under which one of the following Act?

(a) The Minimum wages Act, 1948

(b) The payment of wages (amendment) Act, 2017

(c) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005

(d) The Factories Act, 1948

 ANS-C

 Explanation:

• The 22nd Meeting of the Central Employment Guarantee Council was held on 23.02.2021 under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Rural Development.
• The Central Employment Guarantee Council has been constituted under Section 10 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005.
• In this current financial year 2020-21 under the shadow of COVID-19 pandemic, Mahatma Gandhi NREGS has played its critical role in providing wage employment to the wage seekers.
• A total of 344 crore person days employment has been generated so far, which is the highest ever person days generated so far and around 44% higher than that of last year during the same period.
• Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

 Q6. Which of the following country’s first-ever Civil Code came into force on January 1, 2021?

(a) Thailand

(b) Nepal

(c) Vietnam

(d) China

 ANS-D

 Explanation:

• On January 1, the Chinese government brought into force a new civil code, which legal experts have described as offering greater protection for individual rights.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q7. A recent initiative to find solutions for water-related challenges “DIWALI” has been developed by India and which of the following country?

(a) France

(b) Netherlands

(c) Poland

(d) USA

ANS-B

 Explanation:

• In order to find solutions for water-related challenges a platform called DIWALI has been developed in which India and Netherlands could participate in designing solutions for water challenges.
• The consortium of experts from the two counties would explore the potential and sustainability of Dutch Solutions to resolve challenges in specific water-challenged sites in India which are scalable, sustainable, and affordable.
• It is being led by dutch consortia titled “Water for Change. Integrative and Fit-for- Purpose Water Sensitive Design Framework for Fast Growing Livable Cities” andIIT
• Roorkee as the lead along with other consortia members named MANIT, Bhopal; CEPT University, Ahmedabad; IIT Gandhinagar; CWRDM, Calicut.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

 Q8. Consider the following pairs regarding wildlife Naturally found in the region:

1. Urial – Arunachal Himalayas
2. Binturong – Sikkim Himalayas
3. Chinkara – Thar Desert

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

 ANS-B

 Explanation:

Wildlife Naturally found in

1. Urial-Ladakh Himalayas
2. Binturong-Sikkim Himalayas
3. Chinkara-Thar Desert

Hence 2 and 3 are correctly matched.

Q9. With reference to the New Development Bank (NDB), consider the following statements:

1. New Development Bank has more than 10 member nations
2. India is the second largest shareholder in the NDB
3. NDB does not have any members from North America and South America
4. Which of the Statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) None of the above

ANS-D

 Explanation:

• New Development Bank has more than 10 member nations.
• It is incorrect because it has only the founding five members.
• India is the second largest shareholder in the NDB.
• It is incorrect because all five BRICS
• members hold equal shares.
• NDB does not have any members from North America, South America and Africa.
• Brazil is from South America.
• Hence it is incorrect.

Q10. Which of the following brings out the ‘Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural and Rural Labours’?

(a) Central Statistics Office

(b) The Labour Bureau

(c) Ministry of Agriculture

(d) The Reserve Bank of India

ANS-B

 Explanation: Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural and Rural Labours (Base: 1986-87=100) is released by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour.

Q11. Which of the following wrote a travelogue describing the lives of Muslims in Kerala;

1. Al-Beruni
2. Al-Masudi
3. Ibn batuta
4. I-tsing

C – Explanation: Many Arab traders also came and settled down here (kerala). Ibn Battuta, who travelled here a little less than seven hundred years ago, wrote a travelogue in which he describes the lives of Muslims and says that they were a highly respected community.

Q12. Consider the following statements:

1. Minhaj-i Siraj, chronicler, used term Hindustan to denote the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna.
2. Babur used Hindustan to describe the geography, the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

C – Explanation: Hindustan term was used in the thirteenth century by Minhaj-i Siraj, a chronicler who wrote in Persian, he meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana, and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. He used the term in a political sense for lands that were a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultan. The areas included in this term shifted with the extent of the Sultanate but the term never included south India within it. By contrast, in the early sixteenth century Babur used Hindustan to describe the geography, the fauna, and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.

Q13. Consider the following description:

Akbar Nama mentions this kingdom. Aman Das, the king of the kingdom, assumed the title of Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Rajput raja of Mahoba. It earned much wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms. In 1565, the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked and annexed part of the kingdom and granted the rest to Chandra Shah.

Which of the following kingdom is described here:

1. Chandel
2. Ahoms
3. Garha Katanga
4. Cheros

C – Explanation:  Akbar Nama mentions Garha Katanga. Aman Das, the king of the kingdom, assumed the title of Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Rajput raja of Mahoba. It earned much wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms. In 1565, the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked and annexed part of the kingdom and granted the rest to Chandra Shah.

Q14. James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered:

1. Brahmi
2. Kharosthi
3. Indus Valley Script

Select the correct answer using the code below

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. All of the above

A – Explanation: Some of the most momentous developments in Indian epigraphy took place in the 1830s. This was when James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi, two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins.

Q15. The Prayaga Prashasti composed in Sanskrit by Harishena is about:

1. Ashoka
2. Kumaragupta
3. Samundragupta
4. Chandragupta

C – Explanation: The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers (c. fourth century CE), is a case in point.

Q16. Which of the following is/are correctly matched:

1. Landowners: Vellalar
2. Ploughmen: Adimai
3. Slaves: Uzhavar

Select the correct answer using the code below

1. 2 only
2. 1 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. All of the above

B – Explanation: Early Tamil literature (the Sangam texts) also mentions different categories of people living in the villages – large landowners or Vellalar, ploughmen or uzhavar and slaves or adimai. It is likely that these differences were based on differential access to land, labour and some of the new technologies. In such a situation, questions of control over land must have become crucial, as these were often discussed in legal texts.

Q17. Which of the following statements is/are true about the India’s contacts with Asian countries?

1. Suvarnabhumi and Suvarnadvipa were the names given to the Indo-China region and Sri Lanka respectively.
2. The temple of Akorvat contains the narration of Ramayan and Mahabharat on its walls.
3. 1 only
4. 2 only
5. Both 1 and 2
6. None

B – Explanation: Suvarnabhumi and Suvarnadvipa were the names given to the areas of Burma and Java in Indonesia.

Q18. Which of the following statements is/are true about the difference between the Gandhara School of Art and the Mathura School of Art?

1. Though Gandhara art can be attributed to all three religions of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, Mathura art depicts only Buddhism.

1. In Gandhara art, the Buddha images exhibit the spiritual feeling in his face which was largely absent in the Mathura school.
2. 1 only
3. 2 only
4. Both 1 and 2
5. None

D – Explanation: Though Mathura art can be attributed to the all three religions of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, Gandhara art depicts only Buddhism. The Buddha images exhibit the spiritual feeling in his face which was largely absent in the Gandhara school. The Mathura school also carved out the images of Siva and Vishnu along with their consorts Parvathi and Lakshmi.

Q19. Which of the following statements is/are true about the knowledge-based developments in ancient India?

1. Panini was credited with the systematization of the rules governing the Sanskrit in his Ashtadhyayi.
2. Indians got the knowledge of the decimal system from the Chinese travelers coming to India.
3. The famous book on astronomy Brihatsamhita was written by Varahamihira.
4. 1 and 3 only
5. 2 only
6. 1 and 2 only
7. None

A – Explanation: Chinese got the knowledge of decimal system from the Buddhist missionaries arriving at China.Hence, statement 2 is not correct. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q20. With reference to the cultural exchanges between different kingdoms in ancient India, consider the following statements:

1. Indians learned the art of painting Buddha from the Chinese.
2. Indians learned the art of growing silk from the Chinese.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

B – Explanation: Chinese learned the art of painting Buddha from the Indians.