UPSC Civil Services Pre. Exam Answer Key (Paper 1) – 04 October 2020

Q61. If a particular plant species is placed under Schedule VI of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, what is the implication?
(a) A license is required to cultivate that plant.
(b) Such a plant cannot be cultivated under any circumstances.
(c) It is a Genetically Modified crop plant.
(d) Such a plant is invasive and harmful to the ecosystem.

Q62. With reference to the period of Gupta dynasty in ancient India, the towns Ghantasala, Kadurn and Chaul were well known as
(a) ports handling foreign trade
(b) capitals of powerful kingdoms
(c) places of exquisite stone art and architecture
(d) important Buddhist pilgrimage centres

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Q63. What is/are the advantage/advantages of zero tillage in agriculture?
1. Sowing of wheat is possible without burning the residue of previous crop.
2. Without the need for nursery of rice saplings, direct planting of paddy seeds in the wet soil is possible.
3. Carbon sequestration in the soil is possible.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

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Q64. According to India’s National Policy on Biofuels, which of the following can be used as raw materials for the production of biofuels?
1. Cassava
2. Damaged wheat grains
3. Groundnut seeds
4. Horse gram
5. Rotten potatoes
6. Sugar beet
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 5 and 6 only
(b) 1, 3, 4 and 6 only
(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

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Q65. Which one of the following statements best describes the term ‘Social Cost of Carbon’?
It is a measure, in monetary value, of the
(a) long-term damage done by a tonne of CO2 emissions in a given year.
(b) requirement of fossil fuels for a country to provide goods and services to its citizens, based on the burning of those fuels.
(c) efforts put in by a climate refugee to adapt to live in a new place.
(d) contribution of an individual person to the carbon footprint on the planet Earth.

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Q66. With reference to pulse production in India, consider the following statements:
1. Black gram can be cultivated as both Kharif and rabi crop.
2. Green-gram alone accounts for nearly half of pulse production.
3. In the last three decades, while the production of Kharif pulses has increased, the production of rabi pulses has decreased.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

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Q67. “The crop is subtropical in nature. A hard ice frost is injurious to it. It requires at least 210 frost-free days and 50 to 100 centimeters of rainfall for its growth. A light well-drained soil capable of retaining moisture is ideally suited for the cultivation of the crop.” Which one of the following is that crop?
(a) Call Cotton
(b) Jute
(c) Sugarcane
(d) Tea

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Q68. With reference to solar water pumps, consider the following statements:
1. Solar power can be used for running surface pumps and not for submersible pumps.
2. Solar power can be used for running centrifugal pumps and not the ones with piston.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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Q69. With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the .. following statements :
1. A substantial saving in seed material is made when ‘bud chip settlings’ are raised in a nursery, and transplanted in the main field.
2. When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with single-budded setts as compared to setts with many buds.
3. If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts.
4. Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture,
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 2, 3, and 4 only

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Q70. In the context of India, which of the following is/are considered to be practice(s) of eco-friendly agriculture?
1. Crop diversification
2. Legume intensification
3. Tensiometer use
4. Vertical farming
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
(a) 1, 2, and 3 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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Q71. In India, which of the following can be considered as public investment in agriculture?
1. Fixing Minimum Support Price for agricultural produce of all trops
2. Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit
3. Societies Social Capital development
4. Free electricity supply to farmers
5. Waiver of agricultural loans by the banking system
6. Setting up of cold storage facilities by the governments
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
(a) 1, 2 and 5 only 6
(b) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only
(c) 2, 3, and 6 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

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Q72. What is the importance of the term “Interest Coverage Ratio” of a firm in India?
1. It helps in understanding the present risk of a firm that a bank is going to give loans to.
2. It helps in evaluating the emerging risk of a firm that a bank is going to give loans to.
3. The higher a borrowing firm’s level of Interest Coverage Ratio, the worse is its ability to service its debt.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

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Q73. Which of the following factors/policies were affecting the price of rice in India in the recent past?
1. Minimum Support Price
2. Government’s trading
3. Government’s stockpiling
4. Consumer subsidies
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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Q74. Consider the following statements :
1. The value of Indo-Sri Lanka trade has consistently increased in the last decade.
2. “Textile and textile articles” constitute an important item of trade between India and Bangladesh.
3. In the last five years, Nepal has been the largest trading partner of India in South Asia.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

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Q75. In which one of the following groups are all the four countries members of G20?
(a) Argentina, Mbxico, South Africa and Turkey
(b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand
(c) Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam
(d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea

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Q76. Under the Kisan Credit Card scheme, short-term credit support is given to farmers for which of the following purposes?
1. Working capital for maintenance of farm assets harvesters,
2. Purchase of combine tractors and mini trucks
3. Consumption requirements of farm households
4. Post-harvest expenses
5. Construction of family house and setting up of village cold storage facility
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 5 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

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Q77. Consider the following statements :
1. The weightage of food in Consumer Price Index (CPI) is higher than that in Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
2. The WPI does not capture changes in, the prices of services, which CPI does.
3. Reserve Bank of India has now adopted WPI as its key measure of inflation and to decide on changing the key policy rates.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

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Q78. Consider the following pairs :
     River – Flows into
1. Mekong – Andaman Sea
2. Thames – Irish Sea
3. Volga – Caspian Sea
4. Zambezi – Indian Ocean
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, and 4 only

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Q79. Consider the following statements :
1. In the case of all cereals, pulses and oil-seeds, the procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) is unlimited in any State/UT of India.
2. In the case of cereals and pulses, the MSP is fixed in any State/UT at a level to which the market price will never rise.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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Q80. With reference to the Indian economy, consider the following statements :
1. ‘Commercial Paper’ is a short-term unsecured promissory note.
2. ‘Certificate of Deposit’ is a long-term instrument issued by the Reserve Bank of India to a corporation.
3. ‘Call Money’ is short-term finance used for interbank transactions.
4. ‘Zero-Coupon Bonds’ are the interest-bearing short-term bonds issued by the Scheduled Commercial Banks to corporations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 4 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only

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