PT GS 2015 Paper solved with CST performance PT … name Zahiruddin Muhammad (1483-1530), founder of...

PT GS 2015 Paper solved with CST performance

CST performance78/100

And expected cut-off is around 52

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OCTOBER 2015, XXI Year, Issue No.10

Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3(c) 1 and 3 (d) NoneAnswer: (a) 1 onlySource: CST Indian History, Page No.641: Some important points regardingthe Cabinet Mission: - (1) Clearly re-jected the demand of Pakistan (2)Aimed to establish a Union of Indiaconsisting of British India and IndianStates dealing with foreign affairs, de-fence, communication. It was to havepowers to raise finance for its function-ing. (3) Provinces were given full au-tonomy and residuary powers werevested in the provinces. (4) Provinceswere given powers to form groups. (5)The Cabinet Mission Divided India inA, B, C groups and in C Group onlyBengal and Assam were there. (6) Asregards the Constituent Assembly, itwas to be elected by Provincial Legis-lative Council but not by adult suf-frage. The members of the PLA were

divided into 3 groups (General, Mus-lim and Sikh). (7)Provinces were giv-en powers to call for reconsiderationof the terms of the constitution after 10years. (8) The mission contemplatedestablishing of an Interim Governmentin which all portfolios including thatof the War member was to be given toIndian members.(9) Europeans in theProvincial Assemblies were to absentthemselves from voting for selectingthe member of the Constitution Assem-bly but only the Europeans in UP tookpart in elections.6. With reference to Indian history,which of the following is/are the es-sential element/elements of the feudalsystem?1. A very strong centralized politicalauthority and a very weak provincialor local political authority.2. Emergence of administrative struc-ture based on control and possessionof land3. Creation of lord-vassal relationship

Indian History1. Modern History1. Consider the following1. The first woman President of the In-dian National Congress was SarojiniNaidu.2. The first Muslim President of theIndian National Congress was Badru-ddin Tyabji.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d)Neither I nor 2Answer: (b) 2 onlySource: CST Indian History, Page No.447 in Box 1887: Badruddin TyabjiMadras Attended by 607 delegates.

Page No. 447 in Box: 1917 Annie Be-sant Calcutta First lady to preside, gavefirst flag to Congress: Green and Red.2. Who of the following organized amarch on the Tanjore coast to break theSalt Law in April 1930?(a) V. O. Chidambaram Pillai(b) C. Rajagopalachari(c) K. Kamaraj(d) Annie BesantAnswer: (b) C. RajagopalachariSource: CST Indian History, Page No.392 : Tamil Nadu: C. Raja-gopalachariconducted a salt march from Trichino-palli to Veda Vannayam( on Tanjorecoast). Head quarter was Tiruchen-godu. Satyamurti and Srinivas Aiyan-gar were the leaders.3. With reference to Congress Social-ist Party, consider the following state-ments :1. It advocated the boycott of Britishgoods and evasion of taxes.

2. It wanted to establish the dictator-ship of proletariat.3. It advocated separate electorate forminorities and oppressed classes.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only(c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) NoneAnswer: (d) NoneSource: CST Main History: Page No.II.40 and Column number 2: Ideolog-ically, CSP wanted to pursue the Con-gress to adopt a socialist vision of in-dependent India and a more radicalpro-labour and pro-peasant stand oncurrent economic issues. CSP encom-passed three broad ideologically cur-rents: the Marxian, the Fabian and thecurrent influenced by Gandhiji. De-spite differences on certain issues, CSPnever carried its opposition to the ex-isting leadership of Congress to break-ing point. Whenever it came to thecrunch, it gave up its theoretical posi-tion and adopted a realistic approachclose to that of Nehru.4. Who of the following was/were eco-nomic critic/critics of colonialism inIndia?1. Dadabhai Naoroji2. G. Subramania Iyer3. R. C. DuttSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3Source: CST Indian History, Page No.347 : Stages of Colonialism:R.C. Dutt has categorised British colo-nialism into three stages:i) 1797 – 1813 = Merchant Capital;ii) 1813 – 1857 = Industrial Capital; andiii) 1857 – 1947 = Finance Capital.Source: CST Indian History, Page No.590: The famous theory 'Drain ofWealth' was propounded by DadabhaiNaoroji5. With reference to the Cabinet Mis-sion, which of the following statementsis/are correct?1. It recommended a federal govern-ment.2. It enlarged the powers of the Indiancourts.3. It provided for more Indians in theICS.

PT GS 2015 solved with CST performancePT GS 2015 Paper solved with CST performance







1. The Rowlatt Act was based on therecommendations of the ‘SeditionCommittee’.2. In Rowlatt Satyagraha, Gandhijitried to utilize the Home Rule League.3. Demonstrations against the arrivalof Simon Commission coincided withRowlatt Satyagraha.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (b) 1 and 2 onlySource: CST Indian History, Page No.379: Rowlatt Committee, also called theSedition Committee submitted it’s re-port in April 1918.CST Indian History, Page No. 387: On8th November, 1927, the British P.M.established a 7 member team calledSimon Commission with John Simonas its Chairman.2. Medieval History9. Consider the following:The arrival of Babur into India led tothe1. introduction of gunpowder in thesubcontinent2. introduction of the arch and domein the region’s architecture3. establishment of Timurid dynasty inthe regionSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlySource: CST Indian History, Page No.456 in Box: Babar defeated D.Lodhiand in this battle the Gunpowder wasfor the first time used.CST Indian History, Page No. 230: Heconquered Bhira and at the Battle ofBhira gunpowder was used for thefirst time;CST Indian History, Page No. 229:Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur wasfifth in descent from Timur, ‘the earth-shaker’. Babur (Mongolian, “tiger”),real name Zahiruddin Muhammad(1483-1530), founder of the Mughaldynasty of India and its first emperor(1526-1530).10. Consider the following pairs :Medieval Indian State - Present Region1. Champaka — Central India2. Durgara — Jammu3. Kuluta — MalabarWhich of the above pairs is/arc correct-ly matched?

(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 only(c) 1 and 3 (d) 3 onlyAnswer: (b) 2 onlySource: CST Indian History, Page No.57 in Box: Champa was one of the sixprincipal cities of India; a trade andcommerce centre and its merchantssailed to distant Suvarnabhumi. In itsneighbourhood, there was a famoustank named Gaggara and two impor-tant towns were Bhaddiya and As-sapura.3. Ancient History11. Who of the following founded anew city on the south bank of a tribu-tary to river Krishna and undertook torule his new kingdom as the agent of adeity to whom all the land south of theriver Krishna was supposed to belong?(a) Amoghavarsha I(b) Ballala II (c) Harihara I(d) Prataparudra IISource: CST Indian History, Page No.175: Harihara I (1336 - 1356): Follow-ing the Kakatiya model, he organisedthe country into Sthalas, Nadus andSimas. He laid the foundation of a newcapital, which he called Vijaya or Vidy-

anagara.12. Which of the following kingdomswere associated with the life of theBuddha?I. Avanti 2. Gandhara3. Kosala 4. MagadhaSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1, 3 and 4 (d) 3 and 4 onlyAnswer: d) 3 and 4 onlyCST Indian History, Page No. 97:Kaivalya-Jnana: and abandoned themnear Parsavanath Hills altogetherwhen he attained perfect knowledge;propagated for 30 years; visited Kosa-la, Magadha, Mithila, Champa; re-ceived under sala tree on the bank ofthe river Rijupalika near the villageArt and architectureand culture1. Kalamkari painting refers to(a) a hand-painted cotton textile inSouth India(b) a handmade drawing on bamboo

between the feudal lord and his over-lordSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (b) 2 and 3 onlySource: CST Indian History, Page No.223: The ministers were generally fromthe Brahmans.They were paid by thegrant of revenue-villages; the benefi-ciaries had right over the revenue andno administrative authority was trans-ferred as it happened with the land-grants of Satavahanas and onwardswhich gavebirth to feudalism.7. Which one of the following move-ments has contributed to a split in theIndian National Congress resulting in

the emergence of ‘moderates’ and ‘ex-tremists?(a) Swadeshi Movement(b) Quit India Movement(c) Non-Cooperation Movement(d) Civil Disobedience MovementAnswer: (a) Swadeshi MovementSource: CST Indian History, Page No.359: The Moderates understood by thisterm a form of Government on themodel of dominions working underthe British Empire. For the Extremistsit meant self government within theEmpire and if possible outside it. TheModerates laid stress upon the eco-nomic aspects of Swadeshi and lookedupon Boycott as a transitory measurewhereas Extremists were of opinionthat both Swadeshi and Boycott wereweapons of political warfare in perpe-tuity. The situation started to becamemore and more volatile and finally in1907 at Surat Session, the formal splittook place.8. With reference to Rowlatt Satyagra-ha, which of the following statementsis/are correct?







handicrafts in North-East India(c) a block-painted woollen cloth inWestern Himalayan region of India(d) a hand-painted decorative silk clothin North-Western IndiaAnswer: (a) a hand-painted cotton tex-tile in South India2. With reference to the art andarchaeo-logical history of India, whichone among the following was madeearliest?(a) Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar(b) Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli(c) Rock-cut Monuments at Mahaba-lipuram(d) Varaha Image at UdayagiriAnswer: (b) Rock-cut Elephant atDhauliSource: CST Indian History, Page No.463: Dhauli and Kalsi, Rajagriha Ele-phant

Geography1. World Geography1. What explains the eastward flow ofthe equatorial counter-current?(a) The Earth’s rotation on its axis(b) Convergence of the two equatorialcurrents(c) Difference in salinity of water(d) Occurrence of the belt of calm nearthe equatorAnswer: (a) The Earth’s rotation on itsaxisSource: CST Geography, Page No. 181and see question number 106: 1. Di-rection of the ocean currents are affect-ed by the rotation of the earth.2. Equatorial current and counter equa-torial currents are the result of the ro-tation of the earth.3. In the northern hemisphere, oceancurrent are deflected to their left.4. In the southern hemisphere, ocean

currents are deflected to their right.2. In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical lati-tudes, cyclone does not originate. Whatis the reason?(a) Sea surface temperatures are low(b) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zoneseldom occurs(c) Coriolis force is too weak(d) Absence of land in those regionsAnswer: (a) sea surface temperaturesare lowSource: CST Geography, Page No.134: A Tropical Cyclones is a warmcore vortex circulation of tropical ori-gin with a small diameter often of anapproximately circular shape; they oc-cur only in oceanic areas where the seatemperatures exceed 27 degree C.3. Which one of the following Nation-al Parks has a climate that varies fromtropical to subtropical, temperate andarctic?(a) Khangchendzonga National Park(b) Nandadevi National Park(c) Neora Valley National Park(d) Namdapha National ParkAnswer: (d) Namdapha National Park4. The term ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is oftenseen news in the context of(a) the limits of habitable zone abovethe surface of the Earth(b) regions inside the Earth where shalegas is available(c) search for the Earth-like planets inouter space(d) search for meteorites containingprecious metalsAnswer: (a) the limits of habitablezone above the surface of the Earth. or(c) search for the Earth-like planets inouter spaceSource: CST March 2015, Page No. 136and column 1. But the five planets or-bit closer to Kepler-444 than Mercurydoes our sun, putting them outside the“Goldilocks Zone” i.e., the surface tem-peratures at those distances would betoo hot to harbour life. NASA's Keplerspace telescope has found eight plan-ets in the so-called Goldilocks zone oftheir stars, just at the right distance tocontain liquid water and, possibly, life.The first, Kepler-438b is 470 light-yearsfrom Earth. It circles its star once ev-ery 35 days. The smallsize of Kepler438b makes it likely to be a rockyworld, while its proximity to its starputs it in the “Goldilocks” or habitablezone where the temperature is just

right for liquid water to flow.Note: The objective of sending suchsatellites to this specific zone is tosearch for habitable life because of itsoptimum conditions found in suchzone. Under this situation both theoptions look closer and cannot be nul-lified against each other. Therefore,CST prefers both the options to be true.5. Tides occur in the oceans and seasdue to which among the following?I. Gravitational force of the Sun2. Gravitational force of the Moon3. Centrifugal force of the EarthSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) I only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) I and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3 onlySource: CST Geography, Page 153:The rise and fall of sea water due togravitational forces (centripetal) of theSun and Moon are called tides. The seawaves generated by the tides are calledTidal Waves.CST Geography, Page 153: The dailyrising and falling of the tides.6. The term ‘lndARC’, sometimes seen

in the news, is the name of(a) an indigenously developed radarsystem inducted into Indian Defence(b) India’s satellite to provide servicesto the countries of Indian Ocean Rim(c) a scientific establishment set up byIndia in Antarctic region(d) India’s underwater observatory toscientifically study the Arctic regionAnswer: (d) India’s underwater obser-vatory to scientifically study the Arc-tic regionSource: CST October 2014, Page No.127 and column 3. After an year be-coming the permanentobserver to the Arctic Council alongwith China, Japan, South Korea, Sin-gapore and Italy, India was able to in-stall its first multi-sensor moored ob-servatory, Ind ARC, in the Kongsf-jorden fjord of the Arctic, roughly halfway between Norway and the NorthPole.7. Which one of the following coun-tries of South-West Asia does not open







out to the Mediterranean Sea?(a) Syria (b) Jordan(c) Lebanon (d) IsraelAnswer: (b) JordanSource: CST Geography, Page No.312-313: It is a Middle Eastern coun-try, bordered by Syria to the north, Iraqto the northeast, Saudi Arabia to theeast and south and both Israel and theWestBank to the west.8. “Each day is more or less the same,the morning is clear and bright with asea breeze; as the Sun climbs high inthe sky, heat mounts up, dark cloudsform, then rain comes with thunderand lightning. But rain is soon over.”Which of the following regions is de-scribed in the above passage?(a) Savannah (b) Equatorial(c) Monsoon (d) MediterraneanAnswer: (b) EquatorialSource: CST Geography, Page 192: (a)Climate: It is a hot wet climatic region,temperature about 27 degree cthroughout the year. Diurnal rangesare also not significant. It is a humidregion where the humidity is veryhigh. Rainfalls throughout the year butis heavier after the position of Equinox-es on two occasions- after 21st Marchand 23rd Sept. No change in the sea-son. Average annual rainfall between150-300 cm. Rain is of convectionaltype.2. Indian Geography9. Which one of the following regionsof India has a combination of man-grove forest, evergreen forest and de-ciduous forest?(a) North Coastal Andhra Pradesh(b) South-West Bengal(c) Southern Saurashtra(d) Andaman and Nicobar IslandsAnswer: (d) Andaman and Nicobar

IslandsSource: CST Geography, Page No.423: Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests:Temperature: 25-27°C; Rainfall: morethan 250cm; Humidity: exceeding 77per cent; Region: North east India,Western part of the Western Ghats, An-daman and Nicobar Islands.CST Geography, Page No. 465: It is es-timated at about 6,700 sq. km., whichconstitutes about 7 per cent of theworld’s mangroves. Sunderbans is thelargest with 4,200 sq.km, Andaman &Nicobar Islands account for an addi-tional 1,200 sq. Km., while small patch-es are found in Andhra Pradesh, Goa,Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharas-htra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.10. In India, in which one of the fol-lowing types of forests is teak a domi-nant tree species?(a) Tropical moist deciduous forest(b) Tropical rain forest(c) Tropical thorn scrub forest(d) Temperate forest with grasslandsAnswer: (a) Tropical moist deciduousforestCST Geography, Page No. 424: Tropi-cal Moist Deciduous Forests: Tempera-ture: 24-27°C; Rainfall: 100-150cm; Hu-midity: 60-75 per cent; Region: Easternstope's of Western Ghats, North east-ern part of peninsula, Along the foot-hills of Himalaya in Siwaliks and Tarairegion; Specific Trees: Height 30-40m.Sal (Shorea robusta) and Teak (Tectonagrandis) are the most important Shee-sham, Sandal wood, Rose wood, Har-ra, Mahua, Khair, Tomentosa, Kusum,Lendi are some other species.11. Consider the following rivers :I. Vamsadhara 2. lndravati3. Pranahita 4. PennarWhich of the above are tributaries ofGodavari?(a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2, 3 and 4(c) 1, 2 and 4 (d) 2 and 3 onlyAnswer: (d) 2 and 3 onlyCST Geography, Page No. 401-402:Godawari: Rises in Trimbak plateaunear Nasik (Maharashtra) and flowseastward in the gorge upto Nasik town.Direction of flow: It drains eastern andsouth eastern Maharashtra, Bastar dis-trict (Chhattisgarh) and Telengana. It isthe longest river in Indian Peninsula.Tributaries left bank-Darna, Penganga,Wardha, Wenganga, Indravati, Sabri ,Pravara, Purna, Manpla, Maner, Pranh-ita. Right bank-Manjra.

12. Consider the following pairs :Place of Pilgrimage — Location1. Srisailam —Nallamala Hills2. Omkareshwar — Satmala Hills3. Pushkar —Mahadeo HillsWhich of the above pairs is/are cor-rectly matched?(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (a) 1 only13. Which of the following NationalParks is unique in being a swamp withfloating vegetation that supports a richbiodiversity?(a) Bhitarkanika National Park(b) Keibul Lamjao National Park(c) Keoladeo Ghana National Park(d) Sultanpur National ParkAnswer: (b) Keibul Lamjao NationalPark14. Which one of the following pairsof States of India indicates the eastern-most and westernmost State?(a) Assam and Rajasthan(b) Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan(c) Assam and Gujarat(d) Arunachal Pradesh and GujaratAnswer: (d) Arunachal Pradesh and

GujaratCST Geography, Page No. 366: Lati-tudinal extent 8º4’N to 37º6’N; it is 1/3angular distance between equator andnorth pole. Longitudinal extent 68º7’Eto 97º25’E (For mainland); it is 1/12thof the circumference of the equator.Roughly a quadrangular shape. Thetime difference of sunrise in Saurash-tra and Arunachal Pradesh is 2 hours.15. Consider the following statements:1. The winds which blow between 30degree N and 60° S latitudes through-out the year are known as westerlies.2. The moist air masses that cause win-ter rains in North-Western region ofIndia are part of westerlies.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (b) 2 onlySource: CST Geography, Page No.109: In the southern hemisphere, wherethere is a large expanse of ocean, from







40 degree south to 60 degree south;westerlies blow with much greaterforce and regularity throughout theyear.CST Geography, Page No. 412: TheWestern disturbances originate in theMediterranean Sea and move east-wards under the influence of the west-erly jet stream, influencing the winterweather condition in the north Indianplains and the Himalayan regions.16. In a particular region in India, thelocal people train the roots of livingtrees into robust bridges across thestreams. As the time passes, thesebridges become stronger. These uniqueliving root bridges’ are found in(a) Meghalaya(b) Himachal Pradesh(c) Jharkhand(d) Tamil NaduAnswer: (a) Meghalaya17. Consider the following States :1. Arunachal Pradesh2. Himachal Pradesh3. MizoramIn which of the above States do ‘Trop-ical Wet Evergreen Forests’ occur?(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlySource: CST Geography, Page No.423: Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests:Temperature: 25-27°C; Rainfall: morethan 250cm; Humidity: exceeding 77per cent; Region: North east India,Western part of the Western Ghats, An-daman and Nicobar Islands.

Ecology andEnvironment1. Which of the following statementsregarding ‘Green Climate Fund’ is/arecorrect?I. It is intended to assist the develop-ing countries in adaptation and miti-gation practices to counter climatechange.2. It is founded under the aegis ofUNEP, OECD, Asian DevelopmentBank and World Bank.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither I nor 2Answer: (a) 1 onlySource: CST June 2015, Page No. 42,Column 1 and 2: The Cancun climateconference emphasized on the agree-

ment on the Shared Vision, an Adap-tation Framework, a global forest con-servation scheme (REDD Plus) , Tech-nology Transfer, the establishment ofa “Green Climate” fund, proposed tobe worth $100 billion a year by 2020,and a better system for monitoring andmeasuring GHG emissions from theUSA and other major emitters. The factthat this fund can be directly accessedby national institutions without beingchanneled through multilateral devel-opment banks (MDBs), such as theWorld Bank, is another clear win sincenational institutions are far more suit-ed to handle funding because they un-

derstand the contours of the countrybetter. Besides that a technology mech-anism was also set up under the UN-FCCC with a policy-making commit-tee and a centre.2. Which one of the following is asso-ciated with the issue of control andphasing out of the use of ozone-deplet-ing substances?(a) Bretton Woods Conference(b) Montreal Protocol(c) Kyoto Protocol(d) Nagoya ProtocolAnswer: (b) Montreal ProtocolSource: CST June 2015, Page No. 30and Column No. 1It has to be noted that the developednations have long been demanding thatthe HFC to be brought under the pur-view of the Montreal Protocol whichcurrently deals only with Ozone-de-pleting substances.3. What is Rio+20 Conference, oftenmentioned in the news?(a) It is the United Nations Conferenceon Sustainable Development(b) It is a Ministerial Meeting of theWorld Trade Organization

(c) It is a Conference of the Inter-gov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change(d)It is a Conference of the MemberCountries of the Convention on Biolog-ical DiversityAnswer: (a) It is the United NationsConference on Sustainable Develop-mentSource: CST June 2015, Page No. 30and Column No. 1: The concept of Sus-tainable Development Goals was bornat the United Nations Conference onSustainable Development, Rio+20 in2012.4. Which one of the following is thebest description of the term ‘ecosys-tem?(a) A community of organisms inter-acting with one another(b) That part of the Earth which is in-habited by living organisms(c) A community of organisms togeth-er with the environment in which theylive(d) The flora and fauna of a geograph-ical areaAnswer: (c) A community of organ-isms together with the environment

in which they liveSource: CST February 2015, Page No.102 and Column No.2: An ecosystemis a dynamic complex of plant, animal,and microorganism communities andthe nonliving environment interactingas a functional unit. Humans are an in-tegral part of ecosystems. Ecosystemsvary enormously in size; a temporarypond in a tree hollow and an oceanbasin can both be ecosystems. AndEcology is the scientific study of theprocesses influencing the distributionand abundance of organisms, the in-teractions among organisms, and theinteractions between organisms andthe transformation and flux of energyand matter.5. Which one of the following is thenational aquatic animal of India?(a) Saltwater crocodile(b) Olive ridley turtle(c) Gangetic dolphin(d) GharialAnswer: (c) Gangetic dolphin







6. With reference to ‘fly ash’ producedby the power plants using coal as fuel,which of the following statements is/are correct?1. Fly ash can be used in the produc-tion of bricks for building construction.2. Fly ash can be used as a replacementfor some of the Portland cement con-tents of concrete.3. Fly ash is made up of silicon dioxideand calcium oxide only, and does notcontain any toxic elements.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 only(c) 1 and 3 (d) 3 onlyAnswer: (a) 1 and 27. With reference to ‘dugong’, a mam-

mal found in India, which of the fol-lowing statements is/are correct?1. It is a herbivorous marine animal.2. It is found along the entire coast ofIndia.3. It is given legal protection underSchedule I of the Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 only(c) 1 and 3 (d) 3 onlyAnswer: (c) 1 and 3Source: CST February 2015, PageNo.117 and Column No. 2: Dugong(Dugong dugon): Listed as Vulnerable-and protected under Schedule I of theWPA,1972, dugong occurs in the Gulfof Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kachchhand Andaman and Nicobar Islands.8. What can be the impact of exces-sive/ inappropriate use of nitrogenousfertilizers in agriculture?1. Proliferation of nitrogen-fixing mi-croorganisms in soil can occur.2. Increase in the acidity of soil can takeplace.3. Leaching of nitrate to the ground-water can occur.

Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 3 only (b) 2 only(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 2 and 3 onlyThe excess use of nitrogen based fer-tilizer in agriculture leads to follwingimpact:1. water pollution and algal bloom2 leaching of nitrate in ground water3 acidity of soil4 blue baby syndrome among childrenwho consume polluted water.9. With reference to the InternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature andNatural Resources (IUCN) and theConvention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora (CITES), which of the followingstatements is/are correct?1. IUCN is an organ of the United Na-tions and CITES is an internationalagreement between governments.2. IUCN runs thousands of fieldprojects around the world to bettermanage natural environments.3. CITES is legally binding on the Statesthat have joined it, but this Conventiondoes not take the place of national laws.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (b) 2 and 3 onlySource: CST May 2015, Page No.27and Column No. 1:IUCN was founded in October 1948 asthe International Union for the Protec-tion of Nature (or IUPN) as the world’sfirst global environmental organizationfollowing an international conferencein Fontainebleau,France.Source: CST May 2015, Page No.38and Column No. 1:CITES (the Convention on Internation-al Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora) is an internationalagreement between governments. Itsaim is to ensure that international tradein specimens of wild animals andplants does not threaten their surviv-al. CITES was drafted as a result of aresolution adopted in 1963 at a meet-ing of members of IUCN (The WorldConservation Union).10. With reference to an organizationknown as ‘BirdLife International’,which of the following statements is/are correct?1. It is a Global Partnership of Conser-

vation Organizations.2. The concept of biodiversity hotspots’originated from this organization.3. It identifies the sites known/ re-ferred to as ‘Important Bird and Biodi-versity Areas’.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlySource: CST May 2015, Page No.38and Column No. 1:1922 was the year that the birth of theworld’s first true international conser-vation organisation, The InternationalCouncil for Bird Preservation (ICBP),the organisation which grew into theBirdLife International Partnership, wasfounded. ICBP was given responsibil-ity within IUCN for compiling data onthe world’s threatened birds.11. Which one of the following bestdescribes the main objective of ‘SeedVillage Concept’?(a) Encouraging the farmers to use theirown farm seeds and discouragingthem to buy the seeds from others

(b) Involving the farmers for trainingin quality seed production and there-by to make available quality seeds toothers at appropriate time and afford-able cost(c) Earmarking some villages exclu-sively for the production of certifiedseeds(d) Identifying the entrepreneurs in vil-lages and providing them technologyand finance to set up seed companiesAnswer: (b) Involving the farmers fortraining in quality seed productionand thereby to make available quali-ty seeds to others at appropriate timeand affordable cost12. With reference to bio-toilets usedby the Indian Railways, consider thefollowing statements :1. The decomposition of human wastein the bio-toilets is initiated by a fun-gal inoculum.2. Ammonia and water vapour are theonly end products in this decomposi-tion which are released into the atmo-







sphere.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2The decomposition of human waste inthe bio-toilets is initiated by a bacteri-al inoculum (and not fungal).Carbon dioxide and Methane are theend products released into the atmo-sphere.When human excreta comes in contactwith bacteria, it gets converted intomethane and water through a series ofsteps of anaerobic digestion—hydrol-

ysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis andmethanogenesis. You can refer to thispdf document which has explained thewhole process elaborately.

IndianEconomy1. In the ‘Index of Eight Core Indus-tries’, which one of the following is giv-en the highest weight?(a) Coal production(b) Electricity generation(e) Fertilizer production(d) Steel productionAnswer: (b) Electricity generationElectricity generation increased by 6.1per cent in 2013-14 as compared to 4.0per cent growth registered in the pre-vious year.. From among the industriesin the IIP basket, an indicative month-ly index of eight industries—coal, fer-tilizer, electricity, crude oil, natural gas,refinery products, steel, and cement are‘core’ in nature because of their likelyimpact on general economic activity aswell as other industrial activity.2. The substitution of steel for wood-

en ploughs in agricultural productionis an example of(a) labour-augmenting progress tech-nological(b) capital-augmenting progress tech-nological(c) capital-reducing progress techno-logical(d) None of the aboveAnswer: (b) capital-augmentingprogress technological3. Convertibility of rupee implies(a) being able to convert rupee notesinto gold(b) allowing the value of rupee to befixed by market forces(c) freely permitting the conversion ofrupee to other currencies and vice ver-sa(d) developing an international marketfor currencies in IndiaAnswer: (c) freely permitting the con-version of rupee to other currenciesand vice versaSource: CST July 2015, Page No. 136and Column 1: Convertibility of rupee,thus means that the rupee can be free-ly converted into Dollar, Pound, Ster-ling, Yen, Euro, etc. and vis-à-vis at therate of exchange, determined by thedemand and supply forces. Followingthe June 1991 liberalisation, the govern-ment and the RBI have been progres-sively lifting curbs on capital flows,which saw the FII investment into do-mestic debt rise to USD 31 billion as ofnow. RBI had said that the central bankaims to move towards capital accountconvertibility as also set up a systemwhere loans could be benchmarkedagainst market rate, alike London In-terbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).4. Which of the following brings outthe Consumer Price Index Number forIndustrial Workers?(a) The Reserve Bank of India(b) The Department of Economic Af-fairs(c) The Labour Bureau(d) The Department of Personnel andTrainingAnswer: (c) The Labour Bureau5. In India, markets in agriculturalproducts are regulated under the(a) Essential Commodities Act, 1955(b) Agricultural Produce Market Com-mittee Act enacted by States(c) Agricultural Produce (Grading andMarking) Act, 1937(d) Food Products Order, 1956 and

Meat and Food Products Order, 1973Answer: (b) Agricultural ProduceMarket Committee Act enacted byStatesSource: CST Indian Economy, PageNo. 308: Organized marketing of agri-cultural commodities is being promot-ed in the country through a networkof regulated markets. Most of the Statesand Union Territories have enactedlegislations (the Agriculture ProduceMarketing Committee [APMC] Act) toprovide for regulation of agriculturalproduce markets. Seventeen States/UTs have amended their APMC Actsand the remaining are in the processof doing so.6. Which one of the following issuesthe ‘Global Economic Prospects’ reportperiodically?(a) The Asian Development Bank(b) The European Bank for Reconstruc-tion and Development(c) The US Federal Reserve Bank(d) The World BankAnswer: (d) The World BankDeveloping countries face a series oftough challenges in 2015, including the

looming prospect of higher borrowingcosts in a new era of low prices for oiland other key commodities. This willresult in a fourth consecutive year ofdisappointing economic growth thisyear, says the World Bank Group’s lat-est 2015 Global Economic Prospectsreport, released on June 10. Develop-ing countries are now projected togrow by 4.4 percent this year, with alikely rise to 5.2 percent in 2016, and5.4 percent in 2017.7. When the Reserve Bank of India re-duces the Statutory Liquidity Ratio by50 basis points, which of the followingis likely to happen?(a) India’s GDP growth rate increasesdrastically(b) Foreign Institutional Investors maybring more capital into our country(c) Scheduled Commercial Banks maycut their lending rates(d) It may drastically reduce the liquid-ity to the banking systemAnswer: (c) Scheduled Commercial







Banks may cut their lending ratesSource: CST May 2015, Page No. 89and Column 1 and 2: In an attempt toprovide more liquidity to the bankingsystem, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), reduced the Statutory LiquidityRatio (SLR) by 50 basis points to 21.50per cent from 22 per cent with effectfrom February 7, 2015. This is likely topump in around Rs.45,000 crore to thesystem, which is likely to prod banksto cut their lending rates.8. The Fair and Remunerative Price(FRP) of sugarcane is approved by the(a) Cabinet Committee on EconomicAffairs(b) Commission for Agricultural Costsand Prices(c) Directorate of Marketing and In-spection, Ministry of Agriculture(d) Agricultural Produce Market Com-mitteeAnswer: (a) Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs9. A decrease in tax to GDP ratio of a

country indicates which of the follow-ing?1. Slowing economic growth rate2. Less equitable distribution of nation-al incomeSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (b) 2 onlySource: CST August, 2015, Page No.27 and Column 1: Amid debate overimposing higher taxes on super-rich,the economic survey has said effortsshould be made to raise revenue bywidening tax base and not by increas-ing the rates. The survey pointed out“It is much better to achieve a highertax-GDP ratio by broadening the basewhich is taxed rather than increasingmarginal tax rates significantly —higher and higher tax rates impinge

more and more on incentives to under-take taxable activity, while encourag-ing tax evasion”.10. ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yoja-na’ has been launched for(a) providing housing loan to poor peo-ple at cheaper interest rates(b) promoting women’s Self-HelpGroups in backward areas(c) promoting financial inclusion in thecountry(d) providing financial help to the mar-ginalized communitiesAnswer: (c) promoting financial in-clusion in the countrySource: CST November 2014, PageNo. 32 and Column 1: The PradhanMantri Jan Dhan Yojana is a compre-hensive financial inclusion based na-tional mission with the objective ofcovering all households in the countrywith banking facilities and having abank account for each household. Theprogramme, to cover about 7.5 croreunbanked households in the country,is geared towards ensuring inclusivefinancing which is the delivery of fi-nancial services at affordable costs tosections of disadvantaged and low-in-come segments of society, in contrastto financial exclusion where those ser-vices are not available or affordable.11. With reference to the FourteenthFinance Commission, which of the fol-lowing statements is/are correct?1. It has increased the share of Statesin the central divisible pool from 32percent to 42 percent.2. It has made recommendations con-cerning sector-specific grants.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (a) 1 onlySource: CST April 2015, Page No. 43and Column 1: In order to strengthenthe position states to implement theschemes, the Fourteenth Finance Com-mission’s (FFC’s) recommendation in-creasing the share of states in Centraltaxes to 42 per cent from the current 32per cent, but the share of nine stateshas decreased.12. There has been a persistent deficitbudget year after year. Which of thefollowing actions can be taken by thegovernment to reduce the deficit?1. Reducing revenue expenditure2. Introducing new welfare schemes

3. Rationalizing subsidies4. Expanding industriesSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 3 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4Answer: (a) 1 and 3 onlySource: CST Indian Economy, PageNo. 167: Subsidy accounts for rough-ly 2.5 per cent of India’s GDP. If oneadds bonds issued to oil marketingcompanies (in lieu of subsidies) to com-pensate for under-recoveries, it will beanother 2 per cent of India’s GDP.Thus, subsidy— covert and overt — isblocking roughly $90-100 billion annu-ally and is a major cause of high levelsof fiscal deficit.13. The problem of international li-quidity is related to the non-availabil-ity of(a) goods and services(b) gold and silver(c) dollars and other hard currencies(d) exportable surplusAnswer: (c) dollars and other hardcurrenciesSource: CST Indian Economy, Page

No. 212: The SDR, or Special DrawingRight, is an international reserve assetthat member countries can add to theirforeign currency and gold reserves anduse for payments requiring foreignexchange. Its value is set daily using abasket of four major currencies: theeuro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, andU.S. dollar. The IMF introduced theSDR in 1969 because of concern that thestock and prospective growth of inter-national reserves might not be suffi-cient to support the expansion of worldtrade. (The main reserve assets at thetime were gold and U.S. dollars.) TheSDR was introduced as a supplemen-tary reserve asset, which the IMF could“allocate” periodically to memberswhen the need arose, and cancel, asnecessary.14. Consider the following statements:1. The Accelerated Irrigation BenefitsProgramme was launched during1996-97 to provide loan assistance topoor farmers.







2. The Command Area DevelopmentProgramme was launched in 1974-75for the development of water-use effi-ciency.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (b) 2 onlySource: CST Indian Economy, PageNo. 296: The Central Government ini-tiated the Accelerated Irrigation Bene-fit Programme (AIBP) from 1996-97 toextend assistance for the completion ofincomplete irrigation schemes. Underthis programme, projects approved bythe Planning Commission are eligiblefor assistance.CST Indian Economy, Page No. 298:The Centrally-sponsored CommandArea Development (CAD) Programmecurrently known as Command AreaDevelopment and Water Management(CADWM) programme was launchedin 1974-75 with the objective of bridg-ing the gap between irrigation poten-tial created and that utilized throughefficient utilization of created irrigationpotential and optimizing agriculturalproduction from irrigated lands on asustainable basis.15. ‘Basel III Accord’ or simply ‘BaselIII, often seen in the news, seeks to(a) develop national strategies for theconservation and sustainable use of

biological diversity(b) improve banking sector’s ability todeal with financial and economic stressand improve risk management(c) reduce the greenhouse gas emis-sions but places a heavier burden ondeveloped countries(d) transfer technology from developedcountries to poor countries to enablethem to replace the use of chlorofluo-rocarbons in refrigeration with harm-less chemicals

Answer: (b) improve banking sector’sability to deal with financial and eco-nomic stress and improve risk man-agementSource: CST May 2015, Page No. 92and Column 3:Basel III was designed to address theweaknesses of the past crisis and tomake the banking sector much stron-ger and efficient enough to face anycrisis, especially to absorb financial andeconomic stress and whatever thesource, thus reducing the risk of spill-over from the financial sector to the realeconomy. The major thrust area ofBasel III is improvement of quantityand quality of capital of banks, withstronger supervision, risk managementand disclosure standards.16. With reference to Indian economy,consider the following statements :1. The rate of growth of Real GrossDomestic Product has steadily in-creased in the last decade.2. The Gross Domestic Product at mar-ket prices (in rupees) has steadily in-creased in the last decade.Which of the statements given aboveis/arc correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (b) 2 onlySource: CST April 2015, Page No. 25and Column 2 and Page No. 27 (Box)to seen the trends of GDP.17. With reference to Indian economy,consider the following :1. Bank rate2. Open market operations3. Public debt4. Public revenueWhich of the above is/are component/components of Monetary Policy?(a) 1 only (b) 2, 3 and 4(c) 1 and 2 (d) 1, 3 and 4Answer: (c) 1 and 2Source: CST May 2015, Page No. 89and Column 3: Under quantitativecredit control the total amount of creditis affected which is put to use in theeconomy. It is operated through Bankrate, Open market operations, Cashreserve ratio. The success of quantita-tive credit control depends on the lev-el of the functioning of money market.18. With reference to inflation in In-dia, which of the following statementsis correct?(a) Controlling the inflation in India isthe responsibility of the Government

of India only(b) The Reserve Bank of India has norole in controlling the inflation(c) Decreased money circulation helpsin controlling the inflation(d) Increased money circulation helpsin controlling the inflationAnswer: (c) Decreased money circu-lation helps in controlling the infla-tionSource: CST Indian Economy, PageNo. 249: Demand-Pull Inflation: “toomuch money chasing too few goods” -the demand pulls up the prices. TheKeynes says that aggregate demand(total demand for goods and services)is the main source of demand pull. Atfull employment, any increase arisingin any sector of aggregate demand willlead to upward movements in prices.Increases in government expenditureon goods and services for military orany other use will lead to increaseddemand and higher prices. Keynesianstend not to be very concerned aboutmoney supply as a source of, or curefor, demand-pull inflation. Monetar-ists, on the other hand, emphasize the

role of money as a source of demand-pull inflation. If money supply increas-es beyond that amount which house-holds and firms want to hold, the mon-etarists say, they will spend it. Spend-ing will result in the purchase of moregoods at constant prices or the samegoods at higher prices or the samegoods at constant prices or some com-bination of both.19. In India, the steel production in-dustry requires the import ofa) salt petreb) rock phosphatec) coking coald) All of the aboveAnswer: c) coking coalSource: CST Indian Economy, PageNo. 340: The problems of mettallurgi-cal coal.20. The terms ‘Agreement on Agricul-ture’, ‘Agreement on the Applicationof Sanitary and Phytosanitary Mea-sures’ and Peace Clause’ appear in thenews frequently in the context of the







affairs of the(a) Food and Agriculture Organization(b) United Nations Framework Confer-ence on Climate Change(c) World Trade Organization(d) United Nations Environment Pro-grammeAnswer: (c) WTOSource: CST Indian Economy: PageNo. 235: The basic functioning of WTOdepends upon- 1. Multi fibre agree-ment (MFA); 2.Agreements on agricul-ture (AOA); 3. Trade related invest-ment measures (TRIMS); 4. Trade re-lated intellectual property rights(TRIPS)

5. general agreement on trade and ser-vices (GATS)

IndianGovernmentand Politics1. Consider the following statements :1. The Executive Power of the Unionof India is vested in the Prime Minis-ter.2. The Prime Minister is the ex-officioChairman of the Civil Services Board.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither I nor 2Answer: (d) Neither I nor 2Source: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 234: Article 77: (1)All executive action of the Governmentof India shall be expressed to be takenin the name of the President.(2) Orders and other instruments madeand executed in the name of the Presi-dent shall be authenticated in suchmanner as may be specified in rules to

be made by the President, and the va-lidity of an order or instrument whichis so authenticated shall not be calledin question on the ground that it is notan order or instrument made or exe-cuted by the President.(3) The President shall make rules forthe more convenient transaction of thebusiness of the Government of India,and for the allocation among Ministersof the said business.Source: CST February 2015, Page No.136: The Cabinet Secretariat is underthe direct charge of the Prime Minis-ter. The administrative head of the Sec-retariat is the Cabinet Secretary who isalso the ex-officio Chairman of the Civ-il Services Board. In the Governmentof India (Allocation of Business) Rules,1961 “Cabinet Secretariat” finds a placein the First Schedule to the Rules. Thesubjects allotted to this Secretariat are:1. Secretarial assistance; to Cabinet andCabinet Committees;and 2. Rules ofBusiness.2. The Government of India has estab-lished NITI Aayog to replace the(a) Human Rights Commission(b) Finance Commission(c) Law Commission(d) Planning CommissionAnswer: (d) Planning CommissionSource: CST March 2015, Page No. 19:The National Institution for Transform-ing India (NITI) Aayog has finally re-placed the 65-year-old socialist inclinedPlanning Commission. The Niti Aayogwas formed on 1st January, 2015 withthe objective of providing the centraland state governments; serve as a “di-rectional and policy dynamo”, withrelevant strategic and technical adviceon the economy.3. When a bill is referred to a joint sit-ting of both the Houses of the Parlia-ment, it has to be passed by(a) a simple majority of memberspresent and voting(b) three-fourths majority of memberspresent and voting(c) two-thirds majority of the Houses(d) absolute majority of the HousesAnswer: (a) a simple majority of mem-bers present and votingSource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 299: Prevention ofTerrorism Bill, 2002. The Bill waspassed by the Lok Sabha but the RajyaSabha rejected the Bill and as a resultof the Joint Sitting took place on 26th

March 2002. The bill was passed when425 members voted for it and 296against.4. Consider the following statements :1. The Rajya Sabha has no power ei-ther to reject or to amend a Money Bill.2. The Rajya Sabha cannot vote theDemands for Grants.3. The Rajya Sabha cannot discuss theAnnual Financial Statement.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only(c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (b) 1 and 2 onlySource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 303: Bills which ex-clusively contain provisions for impo-sition and abolition of taxes, for appro-priation of moneys out of the Consoli-dated Fund, etc., are certified as Mon-ey Bills. Money Bills can be introducedonly in Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha cannotmake amendments in a Money Billpassed by Lok Sabha and transmittedto it.CST Indian Government and Politics,Page No. 297: Appropriation Bill: As

per Article 114, it is a bill incorporat-ing all the demands for grants votedby the Lok Sabha, along with the ex-penditure charged on CFI. It is intro-duced in the Lok Sabha.5. The Government of India Act of1919 clearly defined(a) the separation of power between thejudiciary and the legislature(b) the jurisdiction of the central andprovincial governments(c) the powers of the Secretary of Statefor India and the Viceroy(d) None of the aboveAnswer: (b) the jurisdiction of the cen-tral and provincial governmentsSource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 37: The new schemeof Government envisaged a division ofsubjects into the Central List and theProvincial List.6. Consider the following statementsregarding the Directive Principles ofState Policy :1. The Principles spell out the socio-







economic democracy in the country.2. The provisions contained in thesePrinciples are not enforceable by anycourt.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2CST Indian Government and Politics,Page No. 208: The court believes thatthe Directive Principles were left by thefounding fathers as non-enforceablewas to give the Government sufficientlatitude to implement them. It is thereadymade guidelines available togovernment that can be fundamentalin governance of the country.7. The provisions in Fifth Schedule andSixth Schedule in the Constitution ofIndia are made in order to(a) protect the interests of ScheduledTribes(b) determine the boundaries betweenStates(c) determine the powers, authorityand responsibilities of Panchayats(d) protect the interests of all the bor-der StatesAnswer: (a) protect the interests ofScheduled TribesSource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 376: The followingnine States have Fifth Schedule Areas:(i) Andhra Pradesh (ii) Chhattisgarh(iii) Gujarat (iv) Himachal Pradesh (v)Jharkhand (vi) Madhya Pradesh (vii)Maharashtra (viii) Orissa and (ix) Raj-asthan. While all nine States have en-acted requisite compliance legislationsby amending the respective PanchayatiRaj Acts, certain gaps continue to ex-ist. Further, some states are also yet toamend the subject laws, like those re-lating to money lending, forest, exciseetc. Consequently, the compliance re-mains incomplete. Vital issues like theownership of minor forest produce,planning and management of minorwater bodies, prevention of alienationof tribal lands etc., which have beenduly recognized in PESA as the tradi-tional rights of tribals living in theScheduled Areas are still in urgentneed of resolution.8. With reference to the Union Gov-ernment, consider the following state-ments1. The Department of Revenue is re-sponsible for the preparation of Union

Budget that is presented to the Parlia-ment2. No amount can be withdrawn fromthe Consolidated Fund of India with-out the authorization from the Parlia-ment of India.3. All the disbursements made fromPublic Account also need the authori-zation from the Parliament of India.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 2 onlySource: CST July 2015, Page No.44 andColumn No. 1: Budgetary processThe entire process proceeds in varioussteps: (a) Preparation starts in Septem-ber by Finance Ministry. (b) PlanningCommission scrutinizes the estimates.(c) Estimates of Revenue are preparedby the Department of Revenue, Minis-try of Finance.Article 112, 113, 265 and Rule 104: Notax should be levied or collected exceptby authority of Parliament and that thePresident shall, in respect of every fi-nancial year, cause to be laid beforeboth Houses, the annual financial state-ment.Source: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 299-300: Public Ac-count: The Provident Fund, small sav-ing collections, etc., re ceived by thegovernment are kept under the PublicAccount. The money under Public Ac-count does not belong to governmentand has to be paid back sometime orthe other to the persons and authori-ties who deposited them.9. Who/Which of the following is thecustodian of the Constitution of India?(a) The President of India(b) The Prime Minister of India(c) The Lok Sabha Secretariat(d) The Supreme Court of IndiaAnswer: (d) Supreme Court of IndiaSource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 42: The Judiciary isthe guardian of the Constitution.10. Which one of the following wasgiven classical language status recent-ly?(a) Odia (b) Konkani(c) Bhojpuri (d) AssameseAnswer: (a) OdiaSource: CST May 2014, Page No.126and Column No. 3: In a significantmove, the Union Cabinet has given itsapproval for classifying Odia as a clas-

sical language. Withthis decision, Odia has become thesixth language in India to get classicalstatus. So far, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu,Kannada and Malayalam have beendeclared as classical languages.11. Consider the following statements:1. The Legislative Council of a State inIndia can be larger in size than half ofthe Legislative Assembly of that par-ticular State.2. The Governor of a State nominatesthe Chairman of Legislative Council ofthat particular State.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither I nor 2Answer: (d) Neither I nor 2Article 171: The total number of mem-bers in the legislative council of a Statehaving shall council shall not exceedone-third of the total number of mem-bers in the Legislative assembly of thatstate.12. “To uphold and protect the Sov-ereignty, Unity and Integrity of India”is a provision made in the

(a) Preamble of the Constitution(b) Directive Principles of State Policy(c) Fundamental Rights(d) Fundamental DutiesAnswer: (d) Fundamental DutiesSource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 215: 11 duties are:(1) To abide by constitution and respectits ideal and institutions, the NationalFlag and National Anthem.(2) To cherish and follow the noble ide-als which inspired our national strug-gle for freedom.(3) To uphold and protect the sover-eignty, unity and integrity of India.13. The fundamental object of Pan-chayati Raj system is to ensure whichamong the following?1. People’s participation in develop-ment2. Political accountability3. Democratic decentralization4. Financial mobilizationSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.







(a) 1, 2 and 3 only(b) 2 and 4 only(c) 1 and 3 only(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlySource: CST March 2015, Page No.52and Column No. 1: Indian constitutionhas clear cut provisions under Article40 to ensure and strengthen people’sparticipation in the governance. Ac-cordingly, the government has empha-sised the need to strengthen Gram Sab-has for effective participation of peo-ple in governance. Panchayats have adefinitive role in preparing village lev-el schemes on the basis of local needsand requirement. Panchayats also playan important role in the implementationof Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Em-ployment Guarantee Programme andthe Indira Aawas Yozana.14. The ideal of ‘Welfare State’ in theIndian Constitution is enshrined in its(a) Preamble(b) Directive Principles of State Policy(c) Fundamental Rights(d) Seventh ScheduleAnswer: (b) Directive Principles ofState PolicySource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 208: DPSP largelycontains social and economic rights,designed to bring about a concept ofwelfare state as well as social change,whereas fundamental rights largelycontains civil and political rights tobring about equal justice and oppor-tunities to all.15. There is a Parliamentary Systemof Government in India because the(a) Lok Sabha is elected directly by thepeople(6) Parliament can amend the Consti-tution(c) Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved(d) Council of Ministers is responsibleto the Lok SabhaAnswer: (d) Council of Ministers is re-sponsible to the Lok SabhaSource: CST Indian Government andPolitics, Page No. 390-392: Relation-ship between council of ministers andlegislature: In Parliamentary systemthe council of ministers is collectivelyaccountable to the legislature. In Pres-idential system the members of Cabi-net have no accountability to the legis-lature. In Parliamentary system thehead of thegovernment is differentfrom the head of the state whereas a

Presidential system has a single exec-utive authority. In Parliamentary sys-tem the head of the government canremain in office only if he enjoys themajority of the legislature; no such stip-ulation in Presidential form.In Parliamentary system the head ofthe government and his cabinet can beremoved by the legislature through noconfidence motion, if they loose major-ity, but in the Presidential system thePresident can only be removed by thelegislature through the extreme step ofimpeachment.

Scienceand Technology1. With reference to ‘Near Field Com-munication (NFC) Technology’, whichof the following statements is/arc cor-rect?1. It is a contactless communicationtechnology that uses electromagneticradio fields.2. NFC is designed for use by deviceswhich can be at a distance of even ametre from each other.3. NFC can use encryption when send-ing sensitive information.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlyAt the theoretical, the working distancewith compact standard antennas is upto 20 cm and a metre.2. With reference to the use of nano-technology in health sector, which ofthe following statements is/are cor-rect?1. Targeted drug delivery is made pos-sible by nanotechnology.

2. Nanotechnology can largely contrib-ute to gene therapy.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2Source: CST October 2014, Page No.74 and Column No. 3:Nano materials exhibit novel proper-ties and its applications can be used inpower systems and to develop appli-cations for product and systems. Nan-otechnology can be used in variousareas of healthcare system like makingmaterials with enhanced biologicalproperties like new implants, develop-ment of regenerative medicines, celldiagnostics and therapy, tissue engi-neering, development of antibacterialnana-materials and wound healingnano-materials, development of bio-sensors with improved sensivity, de-tection of cancer cells and cancer ther-apy, drug delivery through nano de-vices and development of nano vac-cines, nano neutraceuticals and nanofood. Nano technology can be used for

targeting cancer cells.3. Which of the following statementsis/are correct regarding National In-novation Foundation-India (NIF)?1. NIF is an autonomous body of theDepartment of Science and Technolo-gy under the Central Government.2. NIF is an initiative to strengthen thehighly advanced scientific research inIndia’s premier scientific institutions incollaboration with highly advancedforeign scientific institutions.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both I and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (a) 1 onlySource: CST Science and Technology,Page 87: In order to promote conver-gent technology solutions for applica-tions in rural India, a new council forScience and Technology for Rural In-dia (CSTRI) has been formed and twofacilitation centres one at North EastInstitute for Science and Technology







and other at Indian Institute of Tech-nology, Madras at Chennai have beenestablished. Conversion of NationalInnovation Foundation into an Auton-omous Institute of Government of In-dia National Innovation Foundationhas been supported through a corpusfund from DST for promoting grass-roots and inclusive innovations formore than 10 years.4. With reference to ‘fuel cells’ in whichhydrogen-rich fuel and oxygen areused to generate electricity, considerthe following statements :1 If pure hydrogen is used as a fuel,the fuel cell emits heat and water asby-products.2. Fuel cells can be used for poweringbuildings and not for small devices likelaptop computers.3. Fuel cells produce electricity in theform of Alternating Current (AC).Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (a) 1 onlySource: CST March 2014, Page No. 110and Column No. 1:How it works: An individual fuel cell

consists of two electrodes, one positively charged (cathode) and one negative-ly charged (anode), with a substancethat conducts electricity (electrolyte)sandwiched between them. Oxygenfrom the air passes over the cathodeand hydrogen over the anode, gener-ating electricity and water. The hydro-gen fuel for a fuel cell electric vehiclecan be supplied in several ways. Mostvehicles carry a tank of pure hydrogen.Individual fuel cells must be combinedinto groups called fuel cell stacks inorder to achieve the necessary power

required for motor vehicle applica-tions.5. The Genetic Engineering AppraisalCommittee is constituted under the(a) Food Safety and Standards Act,2006(b) Geographical Indications of Goods(Registration and Protection) Act, 1999(c) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986(d) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972Answer: (c) Environment (Protection)Act, 1986Source: CST Science and Technology,Page 576: The Genetic EngineeringApproval Committee (GEAC), theapex body was notified under Rules forthe Manufacture, Use, Import, Exportand Storage of Hazardous Microorgan-isms/Genetically Engineered Organ-isms or Cells Rules 1989 for regulationof genetically modified organisms inIndia. GEAC is the statutory authorityunder the environment ministry toclear trials and introduction of geneti-cally modified crops.6. HIN1 virus is sometimes mentionedin the news with reference to which oneof the following diseases?(a) AIDS (b) Bird flu(c) Dengue (d) Swine fluAnswer: (d) Swine fluH1N1 flu is also known as swine flu.It’s called swine flu because in the past,the people who caught it had directcontact with pigs. That changed sev-eral years ago, when a new virusemerged that spread among peoplewho hadn’t been near pigs.Source: CST Science and Technology,Page 377: Influenza – A (H1N1) (earli-er known as swine flu) is a new influ-enza virus causing illness in people.First detected in Mexico in April, 2009,it has spread to many countries in theWorld. Swine flu is basically a misno-mer.7. In which of the following activitiesare Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satel-lites used?I. Assessment of crop productivity2. Locating groundwater resources3. Mineral exploration4. Telecommunications5. Traffic studiesSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1, 2 and 3 only(b) 4 and 5 only(c) 1 and 2 only(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Answer: (a)1, 2 and 3 onlySource: CST Science and Technology,Page 450-453: Applications of Remotesensing: 1. National Wastelands Mon-itoring; 2. National Wetlands Invento-ry and Assessment; 3. Snow and Gla-ciers Studies: 4. Coastal Zone Studies;5. Forecasting Agricultural output us-ing Space, Agrometeorology and Landbased observations (FASAL); 6. Assess-ment of Irrigation Potential under Ac-celerated Irrigation Benefit Program(AIBP); 7.National AgriculturalDrought Assessment and MonitoringSystem; 8. Biodiversity Characterisa-tion: 9. National Urban InformationSystem (NUIS):10. Indian Forest FireResponse and Assessment System (IN-FFRAS): 11. Water Resources Informa-tion System (WRIS): 12. Space BasedInformation System for DecentralizedPlanning (SIS-DP); 13. Natural Re-sources Census (NRC); 14. Flood Map-ping and Monitoring; 15. WatershedMonitoring and Development; 16. Po-tential Fishery Zone (PFZ) Forecasting8. In the context of modem scientificresearch, consider the following state-

ments about ‘lceCube’, a particle de-tector located at South Pole, which wasrecently in the news :1. It is the world’s largest neutrino de-tector, encompassing a cubic kilome-tre of ice.2. It is a powerful telescope to searchfor dark matter.3. It is buried deep in the ice.(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 39. With reference to the Indian Renew-able Energy Development AgencyLimited (IREDA), which of the follow-ing statements is/are correct?1. It is a Public Limited GovernmentCompany.2. It is a Non-Banking Financial Com-pany.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) I only (b) 2 only(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2







Source: CST Science and Technology,Page 315 in Box: Global InformationSystem (GIS) based Renewable Ener-gy Resource Potential Mapping hasbeen initiated by the Ministry in 2005.Indian Renewable Energy Develop-ment Agency Ltd. (IREDA) was estab-lished in 1987 as a Public Sector Non-Banking Financial Company to pro-vide term loans for renewable energyprojects.

Current andContemporary1. International1. India is a member of which amongthe following?1. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation2. Association of South-East Asian na-tion3. East Asia SummitSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only(c) 1, 2 and 3(d) India is a member of none of them

Answer: (b) 3 onlySource: CST Foreign Policy, Page No.865: EAS is consisted of the 10 ASEANmember states and its dialogue part-ners, including the US, Russia, China,Australia, New Zealand, South Koreaand Japan.CST Foreign Policy, Page No. 893India applied for membership in APECin 1991, at a time when the central ques-tion for the forum was how to incor-porate the “three Chinas,” namely thePeople’s Republic, Hong Kong, and —in APEC parlance —Chinese Taipei.APEC had imposed a moratorium onconsidering new entrants from 1994 to1997. At the time the moratorium was

lifted, it is believed that as many as teneconomies were in the queue to joinAPEC, with India near the top of thelist. Again in 1997, APEC imposed tenyears moratorium on considering newentrants.2. Among the following, which werefrequently mentioned in the news forthe outbreak of Ebola virus recently?(a) Syria and Jordan(b) Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia(c) Philippines and Papua New Guin-ea(d) Jamaica, Haiti and SurinamAnswer: (b) Guinea, Sierra Leone andLiberiaSource: CST February 2015, Page No.19 in Box: Ebola has killed more than5,000 people in West Africa this year,mostly in Guinea, Liberia and SierraLeone. The World Health Organization(WHO) had declared the outbreak aglobal health emergency. According toUN Mission for Ebola Emergency Re-sponse (UNMEER) with some 8,069cases.3. The ‘Fortaleza Declaration’, recentlyin the news, is related to the affairs of(a) ASEAN (b) BRICS(c) OECD (d) WTOAnswer: (b) BRICSSource: CST October 2014, Page No.20 in Box:Finally, at the BRICS Summit in For-taleza, the leaders of Brazil, Russia,India, China and South Africa havedecided to create their own banknamed New Development Bank (NDB)to create an alternative to the econom-ic institutions like the World Bank(WB) and International Monetary Fund(IMF). The western dominated eco-nomic institutions are not able to re-structure their organisation despitedemands of the some developed andemerging market economies (EMEs).4. ‘Beijing Declaration and Platform forAction’, often seen in the news, is(a) a strategy to tackle the regional ter-rorism, an outcome of a meeting of theShanghai Cooperation Organization(b) a plan of action for sustainable eco-nomic growth in the Asia-Pacific Re-gion, an outcome of the deliberationsof the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum(c) an agenda for women’s empower-ment, an outcome of a World Confer-ence convened by the United Nations(d) a strategy to combat wildlife traf-ficking, a declaration of the East Asia

SummitAnswer: (c) an agenda for women’sempowerment, an outcome of a WorldConference convened by the UnitedNations5. Consider the following countries :1. China 2. France3. India 4. Israel5. PakistanWhich among the above are NuclearWeapons States as recognized by theTreaty on the Non-Proliferation ofNuclear Weapons, commonly knownas Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NET)?(a) 1 and 2 only(b) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only(c) 2, 4 and 5 only(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5Answer: (a) 1 and 2Source: CST Foreign Policy, Page 995:The NPT divides parties into two clas-sifications: those that tested nuclearweapons before 1968, and those thatdid not. The former states-known as“nuclear-weapon states”-are China,France, Russia (then the Soviet Union),the United Kingdom, and the United

States. These states were allowed tem-porarily to maintain their nuclear sta-tus. Other countries joined the NPT as“non-nuclear-weapon states”.6. The area known as ‘Golan Heights’sometimes appears in the news in thecontext of the events related toa) Central Asiab) Middle Eastc) South-East Asiad) Central AfricaAnswer: b) Middle EastSource: CST Mains II, Page No. II. 55:Middle East UN Disengagement Ob-server Force (UNDOF): From earlyMarch 1974, the situation in the Israel-Syria sector became increasingly unsta-ble, and firing intensified. The UnitedNations Disengagement ObserverForce (UNDOF) was established on 31May 1974 by Security Council resolu-tion 350 (1974), following the agreeddisengagement of the Israeli and Syri-an forces in the Golan Heights.7. Amnesty International is







(a) an agency of the United Nations tohelp refugees of civil war.(b) a global Human Rights Movement.(c)a non-governmental voluntary orga-nization to help very poor people.(d)an inter-governmental agency tocater to medical emergencies in war-ravaged regions.Answer: (b) a global Human RightsMovement.Source: CST Mains II, Page No. II. 2:Amnesty International is a world-em-bracing movement working for theprotection of human rights. It is inde-pendent of all governments and is neu-tral in its relation to political groups,ideologies and religious dividing lines.8. With reference to ‘Indian Ocean RimAssociation for Regional Cooperation(IOR-ARC)’, consider the followingstatements :I. It was established very recently inresponse to incidents of piracy and ac-cidents of oil spills.

2. It is an alliance meant for maritimesecurity only.Which of the statements given aboveis/are correct?(a) 1 only (b) 2 only(c) Both I and 2 (d) Neither I nor 2Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2Source: CST Foreign Policy, Page 886-887: The Association disseminates in-formation on trade and investment re-gimes, with a view to helping the re-gion’s business community better un-derstand the impediments to trade andinvestment within the region. These in-formation changes have been intend-ed to serve as a base to expand intra-regional trade.9. In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation,an initiative of six countries, which ofthe following is/are not a participant/participants?1. Bangladesh 2. Cambodia3. China 4. Myanmar

5. ThailandSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2, 3 and 4(c) 1 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 5Answer: (c) 1 and 3Source: CST Foreign Policy, Page 885MGC comprises six member countriesnamely India,Thailand, Burma, Cam-bodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam.10. ‘BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sus-tainable Forest Landscapes’ is man-aged by the(a) Asian Development Bank(b) International Monetary Fund(c) United Nations Environment Pro-gramme(d) World BankAnswer: (d) World BankNorway, the United Kingdom, and theUnited States together committed $280million – up to $135 million from Nor-way, $120 million from the U.K, and$25 million from the U.S. – as part oftheir efforts to slow climate change.The initiative will be managed by theBioCarbon Fund, a public-private pro-gram housed within the World Bankthat mobilizes finance for activities thatsequester or conserve carbon emissionsin forest and agricultural systems.11. With reference to ‘Forest CarbonPartnership Facility’, which of the fol-lowing statements is/are correct?1. It is a global partnership of govern-ments, businesses, civil society and in-digenous peoples.2. It provides financial aid to universi-ties, individual scientists and institu-tions involved inscientific forestry research to developeco-friendly and climate adaptationtechnologies for sustainable forestmanagement.3. It assists the countries in their‘REDD+ (Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and Forest Degrada-tion+)’ efforts by providing them withfinancial and technical assistance.Select the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlyTo disseminate broadly the knowledgegained in the development of the Fa-cility and the implementation of Readi-ness Preparation Proposals (RPPs) andEmission Reductions Programs (ERPs).The FCPF's funding mechanisms:

The FCPF has two separate but com-plementary funding mechanisms —the Readiness Fund and the CarbonFund — to achieve its strategic objec-tives. Both funds are underpinned bya multi-donor fund of governmentsand non-governmental entities, includ-ing private companies that make aminimum financial contribution of $5million.2. National12. Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Dis-armament and Development for 2014was given to which one of the follow-ing?(a) Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(b) Indian Institute of Science(c) Indian Space Research Organisation(d) Tata Institute of Fundamental Re-searchAnswer: (c) Indian Space ResearchOrganisationSource: CST January 2015, Page No.34 and Column No. 3: Forty years ofpioneering work culminating in thesuccessful launch of India’s first Marsorbiter in September 2014 has won theIndian Space Research Organisation

the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Dis-armament and Development for 2014.13. Which of the following has/havebeen accorded ‘Geographical Indica-tion’ status1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees2. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma3. Tirupathi LadduSelect the correct answer using the codegiven below.(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3Answer: (c) 1 and 3 onlyAs on December 15, 2014, the GI regis-try, Chennai had received 503 applica-tions and 215 number of products wereregistered as GI. The factors responsi-ble for low percentage of patent appli-cations filed by Indian applicants mayinclude the lack of awareness about thepatent system and its benefits, lack ofproper planning by Indian industry forbuilding of patent portfolio and lackof modern research facilities in Indianindustry.

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