UPSC MOCK TEST SOLUTION-2017
1) Answer: A
Explanation: The fundamental argument of the environmental determinists was that aspects of physical geography, particularly climate, influenced the psychological mind-set of individuals, which in turn defined the behaviour and culture of the society that those individuals formed.
For e.g., tropical climates were said to cause laziness, relaxed attitudes, promiscuity and generally degenerative societies, while the frequent variability in the weather of the middle latitudes led to more determined and driven work ethics and thus more civilized and 'stronger' societies.
The theory that opposes it is Possibilism. It argues that the environment only sets certain constraints or limitations, but culture is otherwise determined by social conditions.
Neodeterminism or stop and go determinism is the middle way between both concepts.
2) Answer: D
Explanation: Anaerobic digestion is particularly suited to organic material, and is commonly used for industrial effluent, wastewater and sewage sludge treatment.
Anaerobic digestion, a simple process, can greatly reduce the amount of organic matter which might otherwise be destined to be dumped at sea, dumped in landfills, or burnt in incinerators.
3) Answer: C
Explanation: It is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition.It is widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micro propagation.
Advantages over traditional methods of propagation:
- The production of exact copies of plants that produce particularly good flowers, fruits, or have other desirable traits.
- To quickly produce mature plants.
- The production of multiples of plants in the absence of seeds or necessary pollinators to produce seeds.
- The regeneration of whole plants from plant cells that have been genetically modified.
- The production of plants in sterile containers that allows them to be moved
4) Answer: A
Explanation: The degree of economic integration can be categorized into seven stages:
- Preferential trading area
- Free trade area
- Customs union
- Common market
- Economic union
- Economic and monetary union
- Complete economic integration
These differ in the degree of unification of economic policies, with the highest one being the completed economic integration of the states, which would most likely involve political integration as well.
5) Answer:C
Explanation: The degreeIn India, coastal shipping moves just 7% of the local freight despite a coastline of 7,517km dotted with 12 state-owned ports and around 200 smaller harbours. The share is low compared with the European Union, where coastal shipping has a 43% share of the cargo traffic. In the US, it has a 15% share.
6) Answer: B
Explanation: Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners in use today
Aspartame is used in many foods and beverages because it is about 100-200 times sweeter than sugar, so much less of it can be used to give the same level of sweetness. This, in turn, lowers the calories in the food or beverage.
In the body, aspartame is broken down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Methanol can be toxic in high amounts, but the amounts that result from the breakdown of aspartame is lower than with many "natural" foods.
7) Answer: C
Explanation:
Statement 1: It was officially launched at World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos this year (2017).
Statement 2: CEPI’s plan includes preparations for possible outbreaks of Marburg fever, Lassa fever, MERS, SARS, Nipah virus, Rift Valley fever, chikungunya, and others.
Statement 3: There are no proposals to fund GIS maps in LDCs. SO, 3 is wrong. Under it, CEPI will solicit proposals from academic researchers and industry to develop candidate vaccines for its three target viruses.
8) Answer:C
Explanation: The OPEC Statute distinguishes between the Founder Members and Full Members - those countries whose applications for membership have been accepted by the Conference.
The Statute stipulates that "any country with a substantial net export of crude petroleum, which has fundamentally similar interests to those of Member Countries, may become a Full Member of the Organization, if accepted by a majority of three- fourths of Full Members, including the concurring votes of all Founder Members."
9) Answer: D
Explanation: The organization's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are:[6] to promote international monetary cooperation, international trade, high employment, exchange-rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.
Member countries of the IMF have access to information on the economic policies of all member countries, the opportunity to influence other members' economic policies, technical assistance in banking, fiscal affairs, and exchange matters, financial support in times of payment difficulties, and increased opportunities for trade and investment.
10) Answer: D
Explanation: Madhubani painting/Mithila painting was traditionally created by the women of the Brahman, Dusadh and Kayastha communities in Mithila region in Nepal and India. So, 1 is incorrect.
Originally the paintings depicted an assembly of symbolic images of the lotus plant, the bamboo grove, fishes, birds and snakes in union. These images represented fertility and proliferation of life. So, 2 is incorrect too.Madhubani painting received official recognition in 1975, when the President of India gave Padma Shri award to Jagdamba Devi, of Jitwarpur village near Madhubani. In 1981 Sita Devi was awarded by Padma Shri , In 1990, Ganga Devi of Mithila was awarded Padma Shri. Other painters, Mahasundari Devi (2008), Godavari Dutt, BhartiDayal and Bua Devi were also given National award. So, 3 is incorrect.
11) Answer: A
Explanation: An expert committee under Dhirendra Singh was constituted in May 2015. The Committee was tasked to evolve a policy framework to facilitate 'Make in India' in defence manufacturing and align the policy evolved with DPP-2013.
12) Answer: A
Explanation: Chhau is a style performed exclusively by men from the triangular area where Bihar, Bengal and Orissa meet. This is the tribal belt of India home to the tribal groups of Bhulya, Santhals, Mundas, Hos and Oraons.
13) Answer: D
Explanation:
Statement 1 is not correct : A proclamation of emergency may be revoked by the President at any timeby a subsequent proclamation. Such a proclamation does not require the parliamentary approval.
However, proclamation of national emergency can be done only after receiving a written recommendationfrom the cabinet.
Statements 2 and 3 are not correct: President must revoke the Emergency , if the LokSabha (only)
passes a resolution disapproving its continuation by simple majority ( 44th Amendment Act, 1978)
14) Answer: A
Explanation: The budget goes through six steps. The first three stages are: Presentation, General Discussion and Scrutiny by departmental committees.
• On the basis of report of the departmental committees, the LokSabha takes up voting of demand for grants. The demands are presented ministry wise. A demand become a grant after it has been voted upon. The next step is the passing of Appropriation bill. This is done in order to satisfy the constitutional requirement which says: "no money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India except under appropriation made by law".
• However, passing of this bill takes time. In the meantime, government needs certain amount to run its normal activities. To overcome this functional difficulty, the constitution has authorised the LokSaha to make any grant in advance in respect to the estimated expenditure for a part of the financial year, pending the completion of the voting of demands for grants and the enactment of the appropriation bill. This provision is known as the 'vote on account'. It is passed after the general discussion on budget is over.
• Finally, the Finance Bill is introduced to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the following year. The Finance Act legalises the income side of the budget and completes the process of the enactment of the budget
15) Answer: B
Explanation: A threatened breed of sheep found only in coastal Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts of Odisha has been conferred 'rare and singular species' tag by the Central government. The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has accorded genetic recognition to the breed of sheep, locally called 'kujimendha'.
• The sheep that are reared in this part are delicate domestic animals. Sheep in other parts of Odisha are not known for giving multiple birth. This characteristic makes them distinctive from other species.
• In Sundarbans area of West Bengal, Garol breed sheep are found who are multiple-breeders. Kendrapara district accounts for about 75,000 'kuji' breed of sheep. Because of multiple-birth characteristics, rearing of 'kuji' sheep is a profitable livelihood source
16) Answer: D
Explanation: India's first Green Rail Corridor has been inaugurated on the 114-km long Rameswaram- Manamadurai stretch in Tamil Nadu. About 150 coaches in 13 pairs of express and passenger trains, running in the section, would have biotoilets and there would be zero discharge of human waste on tracks in the section. Rameswaram railway station, which handled the trains, had already been developed as a 'Green Station' to handle the bio-toilets in the coaches. To ensure proper working of the bio-toilets, Southern Railway has established a bio-lab at the coaching depot, which handled the coaches, for testing the discharge. Indian Railway has developed the environment friendly „IR-DRDO Bio-toilets ?, in association with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Regenerative type anaerobic bacteria in liquid form are poured into the six-chamber retention tanks in the bio-toilets and the bacteria helps in disintegrating human waste into liquid and gas. The liquid is chlorinated and discharged with no harm to the environment
17) Answer: A
Explanation: The LokSabha can express lack of confidence in the government in the following ways:
• By not passing a motion of thanks on the President's inaugural address.
•By rejecting a money bill.
•By passing a censure motion or an adjournment motion.
•By defeating the government on a vital issue.•By passing a cut motion.
18) Answer:B
Explanation: All the questions regarding disqualification of Members of state legislature are decided by Governor in consultation with Election Commission of India. Speaker has the power to decide questions of disqualification only under Tenth schedule i.e. Antidefection law.
19) Answer: A
Explanation: The 'nine-dash line' stretches hundreds of kilometers south and east of its southerly Hainan Island, covering the strategic Paracel and Spratly island chains. China laid claim to the SCS back in 1947. It demarcated its claims with a U-shaped line made up of eleven dashes on a map, covering most of the area. The Communist Party, which took over in 1949, removed the Gulf of Tonkin portion in 1953, erasing two of the dashes to make it a nine-dash line.
20) Answer: A
Explanation: The Union Agriculture Ministry and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have launched the second phase of the „Feed the Future? India triangular training programme in a bid to bring specialised agriculture training to 1,500 agricultural professionals across Africa and Asia. The first phase trained more than 200 professionals from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi, and they are now implementing the new farming methods to increase farm productivity and income. India and the U.S. are expanding the programme with the second phase launch to reach hundreds of professionals and in turn thousands of smallholder farmers
21) Answer: A
Explanation: Statement 1 is correct: They are a naturally occurring, ice-like combination of natural gas and water. Generally they are found in oceans and Polar Regions. By nature, Gas hydrates are mostly methane (CH4). Methane gas hydrate is most stable at the seafloor at water depths which is below about 500 meters. They are considered as vast resources of natural gas and are known to occur in marine sediments on continental shelf margins. The total amount of gas available within the world's gas hydrate accumulations is believed to greatly exceed the quantity of all known conventional gas resources.
Statement 2 is not correct: India has discovered a potentially producible large accumulation of natural gas hydrate in the KG Basin off the east coast. Gas hydrate resources in India are estimated to be at 1,894 trillion cubic meters and these deposits are mainly found in Western, Eastern and Andaman offshore areas.
22) Answer: D
Explanation: Madhya Pradesh has become the first State in the country to set up a 'Happiness Department'. It will work to ensure "happiness in the lives of the common people" on the lines of the neighbouring country Bhutan. The newly-constituted department will give suggestions to ensure happiness in the lives of the people. The State Government believes that happiness will not come into the lives of people merely with materialistic possessions or development but by infusing positivity in their lives so that they don’t take extreme steps like suicide.
23) Answer: B
Explanation: The Red Corridor is a region in the east of India that experiences considerable NaxaliteMaoist insurgency. The 106 districts that span 10 States ( Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) are described as those affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and constitute the Red Corridor.
24) Answer: B
Explanation: National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), the largest and one of the most significant initiatives in Automotive sector. It represents a unique joining of hands between the Government of India, a number of State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a state of the art Testing, Validation and R&D infrastructure in the country. The Project aims at creating core global competencies in Automotive sector in India and facilitate seamless integration of Indian Automotive industry with the world as also to position the country prominently on the global automotive map.
25) Answer: D
Explanation: The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the elimination of yaws, and maternal and neonatal tetanus in India. India is the first country under the 2012 WHO neglected tropical diseases (NTD) roadmap to eliminate yaws, a disease known to affect the most underserved population. In January 2016, India completed five years of being polio-free. The last case of polio in the country was reported from Howrah district in West Bengal on January 13, 2011.
26) Answer: D
Explanation: Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), incorporated on 28 September 1992 (under the Companies Act, 1956), is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of Department of Space (DOS). Antrix is the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Antrix promotes and commercially markets the products and services emanating from the Indian Space Programme.In the year 2008, the Company was awarded ?MINIRATNA? status. The current business activities of Antrix include: a) Provisioning of communication satellite transponders to various users, b) Providing launch services for customer satellites, c) Marketing of data from Indian and foreign remote sensing satellites, d) Building and marketing of satellites as well as satellite sub-systems, e) Establishing ground infrastructure for space applications, and f) Mission support services for satellites.
27) Answer: B
Explanation: The A 'mixed site' exhibits qualities of both natural and cultural significance.
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has added Sikkim's Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) and Chandigarh' Capitol Complex in its list of World Heriatge Sites.
•Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim has been named a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO. It is the first 'mixed' heritage site from India to make it to the list.
• The Khangchendzonga National Park exhibits one of the widest altitudinal ranges of any protected area worldwide. It covers 25 per cent of Sikkim, is home to a significant number of endemic, rare and threatened plant and animal species. The park combines the religious and cultural practices of Buddhism as well as the ecological significance of the region, and stands out as an outstanding example of traditional knowledge and environmental preservation. It is also a unique example of coexistence and exchange between different religious traditions and people.
28) Answer: D
Explanation: Kerala Government has proposed a "Fat Tax" on fast food items like burgers, pizzas, donuts and pasta etc.served in branded restaurants in a bid to discourage the junk food culture.
The revised state budget for 2016-17 expects the Fat tax will add an additional Rs.10 crore to the state coffers. The fat tax’s major concern is with issues related to public health more than revenue generation.
29) Answer: B
Explanation: The eleventh edition of the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM11) or ASEM2016 issued Ulaanbaatar Declaration. The declaration has reaffirmed ASEM's commitment for greater partnership through informal political dialogue and initiatives in economic and socio-cultural fields. It also has expressed its commitment for united fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
30) Answer: D
Explanation: Through the Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum quantifies the magnitude of genderdisparities and tracks their progress over time, with a specific focus on the relative gaps between womenand men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics. The 2016 Report covers 144countries. India has been ranked 87th out of 144 countries.
