UPSC Prelims 2022 Free Test Series PDF Download

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7. Consider the following with regard to Comptroller and Auditor General: I. After retirement he is disqualified for appointment.

II. He is paid a salary equivalent to Judge of Supreme Court.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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4. Consider the following: I. Attorney General is debarred from private legal practice.

II. Attorney General falls in the category of government servants.

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT 5. Consider the following: I. Office of the Attorney General is created by the Constitution.

II. Office of the Solicitor General is created by the Constitution.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

8. Consider the following: I. Money Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha.

II. Money Bill can only be introduced with prior recommendation of President.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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3. Consider the following: I. Attorney General of India is a member of the Cabinet.

II. Attorney General of India is entitled to the privileges of a member of parliament.

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2. Consider the following: I. Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister.

II. President is free to appoint any one as the Prime Minister.

6. Consider the following: I. Comptroller and Auditor-General submit an audit report of the Union to the President.

II. Comptroller and Auditor-General submit an audit report of the Union to the Parliament.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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1. Consider the following with regard to Union Cabinet Secretary: I. He does not have a supervisory function over any of the ministries.

II. He does not have any administrative authority in relation to ministries.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

.c

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9. Which of the following Newspapers and their Country are correctly matched?

I. The Guardian - United Kingdom II. The Independent - United Kingdom III. The Examiner - United States IV. Financial Times - United Kingdom Select the answer using the code given below: a. I, II & III b. I, II & IV c. II, III & IV d. I, II, III & IV

10. Which of the following ‘Theatres‘ and their ‘States‘ are correctly matched?

I. Yakshagana - Karnataka II. Therukoothu - Tamil Nadu III. Oja-pali - Assam IV. Ankia Nat - Manipur Select the answer using the code given below: a. I, II & III b. I, II & IV c. II, III & IV d. I, II, III & IV

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18. Which of the following State has the most number of backward districts in the country? a. Chhattisgarh b. Bihar c. Jharkhand d. Nagaland

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14. The Union Government plans to connect all Gram Panchayats with high-speed broadband under BharatNet project by which of the following year? a. March 2019 b. March 2020 c. March 2021 d. March 2022 15. Consider the following statements: I. The OCI card was valid for travel, work, and residence in India for a period of 15 years.

II. The PIO card carried more expansive benefits than the OCI card, and was valid for the holders lifetime.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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13. Consider the following statements: A. The electoral bonds will not bear the name of the donor.

B. Donations made to a party will be accounted without exposing the donor details to the public.

Select the CORRECT answer using the code given below: a. Both A and B are True and B is a Correct Explanation of A b. Both A and B are True but B is not a Correct Explanation of A c. A is True but B is False d. A is False and B is True

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17. Consider the following statements: I. Crude oil produced from Bombay High is considered to be of very good quality as compared to crudes produced in middle east.

II. Bombay High crude has more than 60% paraffinic content while light Arabian crude has only 25% paraffin.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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12. To open a verified account for ElectoralBond Transactions by the Election Commission of India, a Political Party must have secured at least how much percent of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State elections? a. 1% b. 2% c. 3% d. 4%

16. Recently, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was released to identify the illegal immigrants in which of the following State? a. Arunachal Pradesh b. Manipur c. Assam d. Nagaland

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11. Consider the following Statements with regard to “Electoral Bonds Scheme‟: I. Electoral Bonds can be purchased by any citizen of India.

II. Electoral Bonds can be purchased from any Bank of India.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

.c

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19. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority under the jurisdiction of which of the following ministry? a. Ministry of Finance b. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology c. Ministry of Home Affairs d. Ministry of Science and Technology

20.

Recently, a high-level panel has recommended for introducing India‟s first pod taxi project also known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) in India. Who was the Chairman of this Committee? a. Rajesh Rajput b. Atul Sinha c. S K Dhramadhikari d. Suresh Grover 21. Consider the following statements: I. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for mandatory packaging of food grains and sugar in the jute material.

II. The approval mandates that 20% of the food grains and 90% of the sugar products shall be mandatorily packed in jute bags.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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23. Recently, Ministry of Railways have launched “SFOORTI App‟. Which of the following are the features of this App? I. Movement of freight trains can be tracked.

II. Movement of passenger trains can be tracked.

III. Online Reservation and Cancellation of Tickets.

IV. Freight business can be monitored.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. I, II, III & IV b. I, III & IV c. I, II & III d. I, II & IV

28. The value of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is based on a basket of which of the following currencies?

I. British pound sterling II. Euro III. Chinese Renminbi IV. Japanese Yen Select the answer using the code given below: a. I, II, III & IV b. I, III & IV c. I, II & III d. I, II & IV

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25. Consider the following statements: A. Foreign insurers have been permitted to open IFSC Insurance Offices at GIFT International Financial Services Centre.

B. GIFT International Financial Services Centre has been notified as foreign territory by the Government of India.

Select the CORRECT answer using the code given below: a. Both A and B are True and B is a Correct Explanation of A b. Both A and B are True but B is not a Correct Explanation of A c. A is True but B is False d. A is False and B is True 26. Recently, which of the following State has setup “Maritime Board” for administration, control and management of non-major ports and non-nationalised inland waterways? a. Gujarat b. Andhra Pradesh c. Odisha d. Maharashtra

29. Which State government has come out with an order, exempting all the Information Technology and IT-Enabled Services (ITES) from certain provisions of the Shops and Establishments Act, 1988, for a period of five years? a. Telangana b. Andhra Pradesh c. Kerala d. Maharashtra 30. Consider the following Statements: I. India is the world’s largest scrap importer.

II. Turkey is the second largest scrap importer.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I and II are CORRECT d. Both I and II are INCORRECT

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24. Which of the following Chemical is used in the “Cloud Seeding Project”?

I. Silver Iodide II. Potassium Iodide Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I and II are CORRECT d. Both I and II are INCORRECT

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27. Consider the following statements: I. The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1979.

II. 204.2 billion SDRs (approx) had been created and allocated to members.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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22. Consider the following statements: I. The Union Government has given its approval to continuation of MPLADS till 2022.

II. The MPLAD Scheme is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme which was launched in 1994.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

31. The Union government recently has approved closure of which of the following Public Sector Undertaking? a. Ferro Scrap Nigam Ltd. b. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. c. MSTC Limited d. Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited 32. Which of the following country has recently declared public health emergency with regard to “Opioid Crisis‟? a. China b. USA c. Mexico d. Brazil

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36. Consider the following statements: I. India is largest energy related carbon dioxide emitter country in the world.

II. Prime Minister has set a goal to reduce the crude-oil import bill by 10% by the year 2022.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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37. Consider the following statements: I. Methanol is a clean burning drop in fuel which can replace both petrol & diesel.

II. Methanol can replace diesel in Railways, Marine Sector, Gensets etc.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT 38. Methanol can be produced from which of the following products?

I. Natural Gas II. High Ash Coal III. Bio-mass IV. Flared Gases Select the answer using the code given below: a. I, II, III & IV b. I, III & IV c. I, II & III d. I, II & IV

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

40. Which of the following has started deploying “environment marshals” to help curb various sources of air pollution, including the burning of waste? a. Himachal Pradesh b. Sikkim c. Bangalore d. Delhi

41. Consider the following statements: I. Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

II. India had joined the Paris agreement on tackling climate change in 2017.

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35. The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on which of the following Indian River? a. Periyar River b. Edamala River c. Cheruthoni River d. Pamba River

Which of these statements are CORRECT?

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

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34. Consider the following Statements: I. The World Bank is a major issuer of green bonds.

II. World Bank green bonds finance projects in India.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I and II are CORRECT d. Both I and II are INCORRECT

39. Consider the following statements: I. Methanol accounts for almost 9% of transport fuel in China.

II. UAE alone produces 65% of world Methanol.

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33. Recently, “S-400 Deal‟ related to Surfaceto-Air Missiles was signed between which of the following countries? a. Russia and Turkey b. Israel and India c. India and USA d. China and Srilanka

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42. Consider the following statements: I. The G77 is the largest inter-governmental organisation of developing countries in the UN. II. India is not a member of G77.

Which of these statements are CORRECT? Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I & II are CORRECT d. Both I & II are INCORRECT

43. Scientific technology named “SHEFROL‟ was in news recently. It is related to which of the following? a. Waste Water Treatment b. Removal of Carbon from Air c. Wireless Internet d. Artificial Intelligence

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50. Which of the following are CORRECTLY match?

I. Odisha - Rourkela Steel Plant II. Jharkhandÿ- Bokaro Steel Plant III. Tamil Nadu - Salem Steel Plant IV. Karnatakaÿ - Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Plant Select the CORRECT answer using the code given below: a. I & II b. II & III c. I, II & III d. I, II, III & IV

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45. Which of the following country has recently published its first “GREEN DEVELOPMENT INDEX” listing regional governments which promote environmentally friendly development? a. India b. China c. USA d. France

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. I & II b. II & III c. III & IV d. I & IV

49. Consider the following Statements: I. Cooperative Societies is a State Subject under Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

II. Banking functions of the Cooperative Banks are regulated by Reserve Bank of India.

Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I and II are CORRECT d. Both I and II are INCORRECT

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44. Recently which of the following central ministries have come together along with Railway Ministry to drive a Technology Mission for Indian Railways?

I. Ministry of Human Resource Development II. Ministry of Science and Technology III. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas IV. Ministry of Power

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46. Consider the following Statements: I. Green bonds are debt instruments in whose cases a third party has certified that the proceeds will be used only for clean projects.

II. Indian company are not allowed to raise funds through a green bond issues.

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. Only I is CORRECT b. Only II is CORRECT c. Both I and II are CORRECT d. Both I and II are INCORRECT

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47. Labour Bureau conducts Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) to assess change in employment by enterprises in which of the following sectors of Indian economy?

I. Transport II. Education III. Health IV. IT/BPO

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Select the answer using the code given below: a. I, II & III b. I, II & IV c. II, III & IV d. I, II, III & IV 48. The Sachivalaya or Secretariat building of which State capital is called as ‘Lok Seva Bhavan’? a. Gujarat b. Andhra Pradesh c. Odisha d. Maharashtra

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[BestCurrentAffairs.com's Test Series for IAS Prelims] ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

1. (C) Cabinet Secretary does not have a supervisory function over any of the ministries or departments. He does not have any administrative authority in relation to them as each department has a secretary of its own.

For IAS Prelims 2021

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2. (A) The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister. Article 75 says only that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the president.

However, this does not imply that the president is free to appoint any one as the Prime Minister. In accordance with the conventions of the parliamentary system of government, the President has to appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister. But, when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, then the President may exercise his personal discretion in the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister. In such a situation, the President usually appoints the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister and asks him to seek a vote of confidence in the House within a month.

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3. (B) Though the Attorney General of India is not (as in England) a member of the Cabinet, he shall also have the right to speak in the Houses of Parliament or in any Committee thereof, but shall have no right to vote [Art. 88]. By virtue of his office, he is entitled to the privileges of a member of parliament. The AG is not a member of the Central cabinet. There is a separate law minister in the Central cabinet to look after legal matters at the government level.

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4. (D) The Attorney General is not a full-time counsel for the Government. He does not fall in the category of government servants. Further, he is not debarred from private legal practice.

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5. (A) In addition to the Attorney General, there are other law officers of the Government of India.

They are the solicitor general of India and additional solicitor general of India. They assist the AG in the fulfilment of his official responsibilities. It should be noted here that only the office of the AG is created by the Constitution. In other words, Article 76 does not mention about the solicitor general and additional solicitor general.

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6. (A) Comptroller and Auditor-General submits an audit report of the Union to the President who shall lay it before the Parliament and the audit reports of the States to the respective Governors who shall lay it before the respective state Legislatures. In case of Union Territories, the Comptroller and Auditor-General submit audit reports to Lt. Governors where the Union territories have Legislative Assemblies of their own. The accounts of the other Union Territories are audited by him as part of the account of the Union of India.

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7. (C) Because of the importance of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Constitution of India contains provisions to ensure the impartiality of the office and to make it independent of the Executive. These are as follows:  He can be removed from his office only on ground of prove misbehaviour or incapacity in a manner a Judge of the Supreme Court is removed i.e., each House of the Parliament passing an resolution supported by two-thirds of the members present and voting and by a majority of the House.  His salary and conditions of service cannot be changed to his disadvantage during his term of office except under a financial emergency.  His salary is charge on the Consolidated Fund of India and is not subject to the vote of the Parliament.  After retirement he is disqualified for appointment either under the Union or the State.  He is paid a salary equivalent to that of a Judge of the Supreme Court.

8. (C) Parliament is the sole power to authorize expenditure and specify purposes. Whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, is decided by the Speaker of Lok Sabha. Speaker issues a certificate of endorsement that a Bill is Money Bill. It shall not be open to question either in a Court of Law or in either House or even by President.  A bill shall not be deemed as Money Bill by reason only that it provides for imposition of fines, other pecuniary penalties, fees for licenses or services rendered, or imposition/ abolition/ remission/ alteration/ regulation of any tax by any local authority/ body for local purposes.  Art 109 says that Money Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha and not in Rajya Sabha. It can only be introduced with prior recommendation of President.

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9.         

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(D) Newspapers and their Countries: The Guardian - United Kingdom USA Today - United States The Wall Street Journal - United States China Daily - China Los Angeles Times - United States The Independent - United Kingdom The Examiner - United States Daily News - United States Financial Times - United Kingdom

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10. (A) THEATRES AND STATES  Yakshagana - Karnataka  Therukoothu - Tamil Nadu  Oja-pali - Assam  Ankia Nat - Assam  Jatra - Bengal  Maha Rasa - Manipur  Tamasha - Maharashtra

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11. (A) An electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India. The bonds will be issued in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore and will be available at specified branches of State Bank of India. They can be bought by the donor with a KYC-compliant account. Donors can donate the bonds to their party of choice which can then be cashed in via the party's verified account within 15 days.

12. (A) Every party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and has secured at least one per cent of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State election will be allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India. Electoral bond transactions can be made only via this account.

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13. (A) The electoral bonds will not bear the name of the donor. In essence, the donor and the party details will be available with the bank, but the political party might not be aware of who the donor is.

The intention is to ensure that all the donations made to a party will be accounted for in the balance sheets without exposing the donor details to the public.

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14. (A) The government has approved ₹4,066 crore for providing internet connectivity to people in all gram panchayats under BharatNet project. ₹4,066 crore has been approved for providing last-mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology, at all the GPs (approximately 2,50,000) in the country. The government is rolling BharatNet project to provide high-speed broadband connectivity at gram panchayat (GP) levels.  The government plans to connect all GPs with high-speed broadband by March 2019.  In the Phase-I of the project, 1 lakh GPs are envisaged to be connected on 100 Mbps (megabit per second) speed.  However in Phase-II, to cover the remaining GPs, dark fibre for leasing to Service Providers, provision of 1 gbps (gigabit per second) bandwidth in case of wired media (OFC) and minimum 100 Mbps bandwidth scalable up to 1 gbps in case of wireless media (radio) at a GP have been decided.

15. (D) The PIO card was first implemented in 2002 as a benefit to foreign nationals who could establish at least a third generation tie to Indian origin.  The PIO card was valid for travel, work, and residence in India for a period of 15 years. The OCI card was implemented in 2005, carried more expansive benefits than the PIO card, and was valid for the holder‘s lifetime.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced in 2014 that the two types of cards would be merged and the Indian diaspora would be given the maximum possible benefits.

16. (C) The first draft of the much awaited National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam has listed 19 million people out of the 32.9 million applicants as legal Indian citizens in a massive exercise aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh.

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For IAS Prelims 2021

17. (C) Bombay High is an offshore oilfield 176 kilometres (109 mi) off the coast of Mumbai, India, in about 75 m of water. The oil operations are run by India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Bombay High field was discovered by a Russian and Indian oil exploration team operating from the seismic exploration vessel Academic Arkhangelsky during mapping of the Gulf of Khambhat (earlier Cambay) in 1964-67, followed by a detailed survey in 1972. The naming of the field is attributed to a team from a survey run in 1965 analysed in the Rashmi building in Peddar Road, Cumballa Hill, Bombay. The first offshore well was sunk in 1974. Every oil resource rock requires Structural traps which are mainly salt dome, coral reefs, fault trap and fold trap. In case of Bombay High, the structure is a "north-northwest to south-southeast trending doubly plunging Anticline with a faulted east limb", 65 km long and 23 km wide", and is the most probable reason to call it "Bombay High". Crude oil produced from Bombay High is considered to be of very good quality as compared to crudes produced in middle east. Bombay High crude has more than 60% paraffinic content while light Arabian crude has only 25% paraffin.

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18. (C) Prime Minister Narendra Modi written to all Ministries to report on the initiatives taken up by them for 115 backward districts and also to come up with an action plan for these districts.  In November 2017, the NITI Aayog had appointed officials of the ranks of Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary as prabhari or in-charge to coordinate the efforts of the Centre and the States.  The districts were identified on the basis of indicators of education, health, nutrition, basic infrastructure, rural household electrification, and access to potable water and individual toilets.  Jharkhand tops the list, with 19 backward districts, followed by Bihar with 13 districts; Chhattisgarh is at the third spot with 10 districts.  NITI Aayog is developing a real-time monitoring mechanism of key performance indicators and will rank the districts on a continuous basis.

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19. (B) The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (―Aadhaar Act 2016‖) on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Prior to its establishment as a statutory authority, UIDAI was functioning as an attached office of the then Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) dated 28th January, 2009.

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20. (C) The much-awaited India‘s first pod taxi project has moved a step closer to reality after a highlevel panel recommended inviting fresh bids for the same conforming to the strictest safety standards on the lines of those prescribed by an American body. The projected Rs. 4,000-crore pod taxi scheme — also known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) — is a dream project of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and the NHAI has been mandated to execute it on Delhi-Gurgaon pilot corridor (12.3 km) from Delhi-Haryana border to Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis. The five-member committee set up for technical and safety standards of PRT is headed by transport expert S K Dhramadhikari.

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21. (B) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for mandatory packaging of foodgrains and sugar in the jute material for the Jute Year 201718. The decision would sustain the core demand for the jute sector and support the livelihood of the workers and farmers dependent on the sector. The Jute Year 2017-18 period is from 1st July 2017 to 30th June, 2018. The CCEA has extended the mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987. The approval mandates that 90% of the food grains and 20% of the sugar products shall be mandatorily packed in jute bags.  The decision also mandates, in the first instance, the entire requirement for packing of food grains would be placed in jute bags thus, making a provision for 100% packing of food grains in jute bags subject to the ability of the jute industry to meet the requirement.

22. (D) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to continuation of Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) till the term of the 14th Finance Commission i.e. 31.03.2020.  The MPLADS funds are released to the nodal District Authorities on receipt of requisite documents and as per provisions of Guidelines on MPLADS.  The MPLAD Scheme is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme which was launched in 1993.  The Scheme enables the Members of Parliament to recommend works for creation of durable community assets based on locally felt needs to be taken up in their constituencies in the area of national priorities namely drinking water, education, public health, sanitation, roads etc.  The Scheme is governed by a set of guidelines, which have been last revised in June, 2016.

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23. (D) In a major digital initiative to help plan the traffic flows and optimize freight operations, Ministry of Railways have launched ‘Smart Freight Operation Optimisation & Real Time Information‘ (SFOORTI) App for Freight Managers which provides features for monitoring and managing freight business using Geographic Information System (GIS) Views and Dashboard. Salient features of SFOORTI Application are as below:  With this application, movement of freight trains on Geographic Information System (GIS) view can be tracked.  Both passenger and freight trains can be tracked over Zones/Divisions/ Sections in single GIS View.  Freight business can be monitored.  Comparative Analysis of Zonal/Divisional Traffic.  Analysis of new traffic captured and traffic lost.  This app provides a Bird‘s eye view of all Freight Assets in a single window.  Provides end to end Rake movement on Geospatial view  Expected Traffic at Interchange points to evaluate daily performance can be viewed.  Performance of each zone and divisions with respect to loading and utilization of freight assets can be viewed.  Sectional performance monitoring for sections, divisions and zones shall help in traffic routing.  Freight terminal and sidings can be better monitored to ensure better turnaround of rakes.

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24. (C) The cloud seeding project aims to condense small water particles by clouds (size less than 10 microns) to droplets of 50 microns, which can constitute rains. The flight for cloud seeding –will spray Silver Iodide, Sodium Chloride and Potassium to condense the water particles. Cloud seeding (also known as weather modification technique) is an artificial way to induce moisture in the clouds so as to cause a rainfall.

In this process, either silver iodide, potassium iodide or dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) are spread onto the clouds causing rainfall. These iodide particles rise into the clouds, cause moisture to freeze. These particles act as a base for water vapours to settle on that later crystallises and falls as rain or snow.

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25. (A) Insurance operations at India‘s only operational International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), at Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT), will get a major boost with the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issuing enabling regulations for undertaking offshore insurance business from this IFSC.  Under the regulations, for the first time in India, foreign insurers have been permitted to open IFSC Insurance Offices (IIO) at GIFT IFSC, which has been notified as foreign territory by the Government of India.  Foreign direct insurers (life, non-life and general) and foreign re-insurers are permitted to open office to undertake dollar-denominated business from within the IFSC in GIFT SEZ, all other Special Economic Zones in India, and foreign countries (including foreign to foreign, India to foreign and foreign to India). It would also be allowed to undertake domestic insurance and reinsurance business in line with the provisions of IRDA regulations.

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26. (C) A proposal for establishment of the Odisha Maritime Board for administration, control and management of non-major ports and non-nationalised inland waterways was approved by the State Cabinet. Odisha is endowed with a vast coastline of 480 km, having rich, unique and natural port locations and perennial rivers. The Board is constituted with 12 members, the Chief Secretary as the chairperson along with representatives of stakeholders departments as well as representatives of the Central government.

27. (B) The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member country’s official reserves. As of September 2017, 204.2 billion SDRs (equivalent to about $291 billion) had been created and allocated to members.

28. (A) SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies. The value of the SDR is based on a basket of five major currencies—the US dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi (RMB), the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.

29. (A) The Telangana government has come out with an order, exempting all the Information Technology and IT-Enabled Services (ITES) from certain provisions of the AP Shops and Establishments Act, 1988, for a period of five years. These sections relate to working hours; daily and weekly hours of work; special provision for young persons, women; and holidays.

30. (D) India has emerged the world’s second largest scrap importer toppling South Korea. Turkey is the largest scrap importer.

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31. (D) The Union Cabinet has approved the implementation of the CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited (TSPL) regarding disposal of its immovable assets. It also provides for getting the name of the company struck off from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of TSPL. Cabinet also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the Company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs. 66 lakh per acre offered by them.

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32. (B) The opioid epidemic or opioid crisis is the rapid increase in the use of prescription and nonprescription opioid drugs in the United States. The opioid crisis is rippling through the U.S. healthcare system, causing a spike in rates of hepatitis C related to increased opioid injections and reducing overall life expectancy among Americans, which has fallen for the second year in a row. President Donald Trump in October 2017 declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, which senior administration officials said would redirect federal resources and loosen regulations to combat abuse of the drugs.

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33. (A) Turkey and Russia signed an accord for Russia to supply Turkey with S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries. The S-400 deal, reportedly worth some $2.5 billion and in the works for more than a year, has worried the West because the system cannot be integrated into NATO‘s military architecture.

As part of NATO‘s collective defence pledge, the allies integrate their ships, planes and weapons systems to make them work together, as well as sharing command across the alliance. The accord is the latest in a series of moves by Turkey to boost its defence capabilities as it faces threats from Kurdish and Islamist militants at home and conflicts across its borders in Syria and Iraq.

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34. (C) The World Bank is a major issuer of green bonds. The institution has been very active through 2016, especially in the United States, where its issuances total over $500 million in U.S. dollars, and in India, where its issuances total over $2.7 billion Indian rupees. World Bank green bonds finance projects around the world, such as India's Rampur Hydropower Project, which aims to provide lowcarbon hydroelectric power to northern India's electricity grid.

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35. (A) The Mullaperiyar Dam or Mullaiperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to donate water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area (present-day Tamil Nadu). It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft).

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36. (B) India needs around 2900 cr litres of petrol and 9000 cr litres of diesel per year currently, the 6 highest consumer in the world and will double consumption and become 3 largest consumer by 2030. Our import bill on account of crude stands at almost 6 lac crores. Hydrocarbon Fuels have also adversely affected the environment with Green House Gas Emissions (GHG). India is the third highest energy related carbon dioxide emitter country in the world. Almost 30% pollution in cities like Delhi is from automobiles and the growing number of automobiles on the road will further worsen the pollution. It must be noted that the recent situation is alarming and time has come for the Govt to present a comprehensive road map to reduce the urban pollution in this country and stop pollution related deaths completely. Prime Minister has set a goal for our Country to reduce the import bill by 10% by the year 2022. Crude oil imports drain our foreign exchange, putting enormous pressure on our currency & thereby weakening our bargaining power with the rest of the world.

37. (C) Methanol is a clean burning drop in fuel which can replace both petrol & diesel in transportation & LPG, Wood, Kerosene in cooking fuel. It can also replace diesel in Railways, Marine Sector, Gensets, Power Generation and Methanol based reformers could be the ideal compliment to Hybrid and Electric Mobility. Methanol Economy is the ’Bridge’ to the dream of a complete ―Hydrogen based fuel systems.

Methanol burns efficiently in all internal combustion engines, produces no particulate matter, no soot, almost nil SOX and NOX emissions (NEAR ZERO POLLUTION). The gaseous version of Methanol – DME can blended with LPG and can be excellent substitute for diesel in Large buses and trucks. Methnaol 15 (m15) in petrol will reduce pollution by 33% & diesel replacement by methanol will reduce by more than 80%.

38. (A) Methanol can be produced from Natural Gas , Indian High Ash Coal , Bio-mass, MSW , stranded and flared gases and India can achieve (through right technology adaptation} to produce Methanol @ Rs.19 a litre from Indian coal and all other feedstock. The best part world is already moving towards renewable methanol from C02 and the perpetual recycling of C02 into Methanol, say CO2 emitted from Steel plants, Geothermal energy or any other source of CO2, effectively ―Air to Methanol‖.

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39. (A) Currently Methanol accounts for almost 9% of transport fuel in China. They have converted millions of vehicles running on Methanol. China alone produces 65% of world Methanol and it uses its coal to produce Methanol. Israel, Italy have adopted the Methanol 15% blending program with Petrol and fast moving towards M85 & M100, Japan, Korea have extensive Methanol & DME usage and Australia has adopted GEM fuels (Gasoline, Ethanol & Methanol) and blends almost 56% Methanol.

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40. (D) The Delhi government has started deploying ―environment marshals‖ to help curb various sources of air pollution, including the burning of waste. The marshals, who are Home Guard volunteers, would stop people from illegally burning garbage and other materials as well as dust pollution and improper management of garbage dumps.

41. (A) India had joined the landmark Paris agreement on tackling climate change in 2016. The Paris Climate Agreement is a pact within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

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42. (A) The G77 is the largest inter-governmental organisation of developing countries in the UN. Established on June 15, 1964, the group today has 134 members including India. As of July 2017, the group comprises all of the UN member states (along with the State of Palestine), excluding the following countries:  Members of the Council of Europe, except for Bosnia Herzegovina  Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, except for Chile  Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area, except for Tajikistan  Two Pacific microstates: Palau and Tuvalu.

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43. (A) Scientific technology named SHEFROL (SHEet Flow ROot Level) was in news in the first week of August 2015. It was in news as the SHEFROL-based waste water treatment plant built at Chinna Kalapet fishing hamlet in Puducherry, was found to be successful. The waste water treatment plant was set up in November 2014 by PhD student Ashraf Bhat as part of his thesis work with the guidance of Assistant Professor Tasneem Bhat. Both are from the Centre for Pollution Control and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Pondicherry University.

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44. (A) Three central ministries have come together to drive a technology mission for Indian Railways. MoU on Technology Mission for Indian Railways (TMIR) was signed by the ministries of railways, human resource development (HRD), and science and technology. The agreement will ―facilitate collaboration and cooperation‖ between the ministries. This MoU will facilitate the co-financing of Technology Mission for Indian Railways by investment sharing for identified railway projects for applied research. The funding component of the railways ministry is 30 per cent; the HRD ministry is 25 per cent and the department of science and technology (DST) 25 per cent.

45. (B) China published its first―green development‖ index, listing regional governments which promote environmentally friendly development, with Beijing coming out top, though it came second-to-last in a survey of public satisfaction.

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46. (A) Recently, after an absence of nine months, India entered the global green bond market. Two Indian companies—Greenko and Adani Green—stormed into the international market for green bonds to raise $950 million and $500 million, respectively. Green bonds are debt instruments in whose cases a third party has certified that the proceeds will be used only for clean projects. The previous time an Indian company raised funds through a green bond issue was in September 2018, when the State Bank of India scooped up $650 million.

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47. (D) Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, conducts Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) to assess change in employment by enterprises in the selected eight sectors of the economy employing more than 10 workers. The sectors are Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport, Education, Health, Accommodation & Restaurants and IT/BPO.

48. (C) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the Sachivalaya or Secretariat building in Bhubaneswar will now be called ‘Lok Seva Bhavan’.

49. (C) Cooperative Societies is a State Subject under Entry 32 of the State List of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has informed that the functioning of Cooperative Banks is guided by the Cooperative Societies Act of the respective States. At the State level, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) of respective States exercises control over the Cooperative Banks. However, the banking functions of the Cooperative Banks are regulated by Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (as applicable to Cooperatives).

50. (D) Odisha: Rourkela Steel Plant Jharkhand: Bokaro Steel Plant Tamil Nadu: Salem Steel Plant Karnataka: Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Plant

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