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Daily Questions Challenge for IAS PRE (CSAT) Exam (27 July 2015)

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1. Which of the following are correct?

i) India has the third largest coal reserves in the world
ii) India is the world's third largest consumer of coal
iii) The coal resources of India are available in sedimentary rocks of older Gondwana Formations of peninsular India and younger Tertiary formations of northern/ north-eastern hilly region.

(a) i and ii
(b) ii and iii
(c) i and iii
(d) none

2. Consider the following statements.

1) Socialism means ownership of productive forces by the government so that they benefit people equitably.
2) Distributive Justice is a part of the socialist societies.
3) Popular sovereignty means that no law or rule is legitimate unless it rests directly / or indirectly on the consent of the people.
4) The word people in the preamble means representatives of the people in the parliament & thus implies parliamentary sovereignty in an indirect democracy like ours.

Which of the above statements is / are Correct

(a) 1 & 4 only
(b) 1, 2 & 4 only
(c) All of the above
(d) None of the above

3. Consider the following statements.

1) Puducherry was a former French Colony.
2) It consists of four regions - Poducherry, Karaikal (Tamil Nadu), Mahe (Kerala), & Yanam (Andhra Pradesh).
3) After 36th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union.
4) In 1963 Puducherry became a Union Territory.

Which of the above statements is incorrect.

(a) 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 4 only
(d) None of the above

4. The State Reorganization Commission (1953) that included Fazal Ali, KM Panikkar & HN Kunzru, laid down some criteria for accepting the demand by a region for the formation of a state. Therse are:

1) Formation of a new state must strengthen and preserve national unity.
2) State are to be formed on the basis of linguistic & cultural unity.
3) Financial, administrative & economic viability must be considered.
4) It should aid the process of implementation of five year plan.

Which of the above statements is / are Correct.

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 & 4 only
(c) 1, 2 & 4 only
(d) All of the above

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:: CSAT (Paper -2) ::

Direction : Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions that follow.

In journalism, “bias” is a word with many meanings. It suggests a single explanation — a conscious, even willful preference for a selective portrayal of a situation - for a range of instances in which the message does not reflect the reality. But few objective observers of, for instance, the reporting of campaign finance would argue that conventional biases are operating there.

Journalists in general are not singling out Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives, for praise or blame.Rather one has to look tomore intrinsic and ingrained factors - to the “structural biases” of American newspapers and the “politioal assumptions” of their reporters, editors, and headline-writers - to explain bias in the news.

Structural biases are rooted in the very nature of journalism - in its professional norms, in market place imperatives, in the demands of communicating information to an unsophisticated audience. Stories need identifiable actors, understandable activity, and elements of conflict, threat or menace. They cannot be long, and must avoid complexity — must focus on controversy, personalities and negative statistics rather than on conoepts. These define the “good” story.

As for political assumptions, all observers bring a “cognitivemap” to American politics - a critical posture toward politics, parties, and politicians. For some, it is as simple as “all politicians are crooks”; for others, it involves understanding the distribution of power and influence in America.

The media’s particular understanding of the ways of influence and decision-making in government colors the way they describe political reality. It also defines their responsibility in reporting that reality; contemporary reporters are in many ways the grandchildren of the Progressive muokrakers. Few aspects of American politics reinforce this Progressive world-view as effectively as the American way of campaign finance. Its cash is an easy measure of influence, and its PACs are perfect embodiments of vested, selfish interests. In assuming that public officials defer to contributors more easily than they do to their party, their own values, or their voting constituency, one has the perfect dramatic scenario for the triumph of wealthy special interests over the will of majorities and the public interest.

Structural bias and politioal assumption, finally, meet in an analytical conundrum. Structural biases dictate that newspapers print stories that will be read. But does the press publish a story because readers have been previously conditioned to accept and believe such accounts, or does it publish the story because of its conviction that it represents political truth?

1. Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?

(a) Business decisions necessary in journalism lead to inherent biases
(b) The American public demands bad journalism
(c) Two factors influence journalists reporting on campaign financing
(d) Systematic bias and political assumption cause an analytical conundrum

2. According to the passage, which of the following would demonstrate structural biases inherent in journalists’work? According to the passage, which of the following would demonstrate structural biases inherent in journalists’work?

I. An artiole that adheres loyally to Progressivist dictates.
II. An article that successfully masks its biased opinions.
III.An article that is entertaining and easily understood.

(a) I only
(b) II only
(c) III only
(d) I and II

3. The author suggests in the passage that the American system of campaign finance

(a) is unjust and should be reformed
(b) has exclusively served the interests of the wealthy
(c) is an easy target for journalists
(d) has been unfairly singled out for criticism by politicians

4. Which of the following best describes the “analytical conundrum” referred to in the fourth paragraph?

(a) Newspapers cynically promote Progressive ideas in which they do not believe
(b) It is difficult to distinguish the roles of structural biases and political assumptions in publishing decisions
(c) Structural biases and political assumptions exert conflicting pressures on newspaper publishers
(d) Readers’ preferences for dramatic news accounts reflecting Progressive ideas determine what is published

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