Q 1.  Significances of ' sustainable sugarcane initiative'?     

1. SSI supports inter cropping in sugarcane with wheat, potato, French bean etc;

2. By practicing SSI, this seed cost can be reduced up to 75%3. drip irrigation can be practiced effectively in SSI due to wider

spacing and raising of single seedlings.4. chemical fertilizers are used!

correct option (b)

Q 2.  If a wetland of international importance is brought under the 'Montreux record', what does it implies?

         'Montreux record' is a register of wetland sites on the list of wetlands of international importance where changes in ecological characters have occur as a result of technological development, pollution or other human interference.correct option (a)

Q 3.  'Ten degree channel'  separates which two islands?

     The Ten Degree Channel is a channel that separates the South Andaman and Car Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal. The two sets of islands together form the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Wikipediacorrect option (a)

Q 4.  Correct matching

     Drought Prone Area Program- Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development     basic obj. to minimize the effect of drought on crops, livestock, productivity of land, etc. prog promote overall economic development and improving socio-economic condition of resource poor and disadvantaged section inhibiting this area.

     Desert development program- Ministry of rural development     National watershed development project for rain fed areas- Ministry of agriculturecorrect option (d)

Q 5.  Bombay Natural history society:

     BNHS organizes Nature Trails and Talks / Film Screenings on nature, wildlife and conservation for public.     "We at BNHS India, the oldest environmental NGO in India, are engaged in the activities of research, nature conservation and public awareness, since 1883"

correct option (c)     Q 6.  Global Environment Facility:

     GEF is a partnership of international cooperation with 183 countries work together with international institutions, civil society organization and private sector to address global environmental issues.     The GEF serves as financial mechanism for the following conventions:

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

(POPs) UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Minamata Convention on Mercury   The GEF, although not linked formally to the Montreal

Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (MP), supports implementation of the Protocol in countries with economies in transition.

 correct option (a)  Q 7. Photovoltaic Effect vs Solar thermal 

     Serial

Photovoltaic Effect Solar thermal

1 The photovoltaic effect is the creation of voltage or electric current in a material upon exposure to light.

solar thermal energy is a technology used to harness thermal energy or electrical energy.

2  first observed by French physicist A. E. Becquerel in 1839

3 The photovoltaic effect can also occur when two photons are absorbed simultaneously in a process called two-photon photovoltaic effect.

4 The standard photovoltaic effect is directly related to the photoelectric effect, though they are different processes. In the photoelectric effect, by contrast, electrons are ejected from a material's surface into vacuum, upon exposure to light. The photovoltaic effect differs in that the excited electrons pass directly from one material to another, avoiding the difficult step of passing through the vacuum in between.

5 this generates d.c. current which need to be converted to ac using grid converters.

 Q 8.  Classical language of India

     languages so far declared as classical are: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Malayalam and Oriya.     Minister of tourism and culture Ambika Soni set up following criteria for a language to be classical.     High antiquity of its early texts/recorded over a period of 1500 to 2000 years; a body of ancient literature/texts which is considered as a valuable heritage by generations of speakers; the literary tradition be original and not      borrowed form any community; The classical language being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

Benefits     I.   two major international awards are annually awarded for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages.     II.  Center of excellence for study of classical langauge is set up.

correct ans (c)

Q 9.  correct match:

     serial name location1 Dampa tiger reserve mizoram2 Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary tripura3 Saramati peak Nagaland

correct ans (c)

Q 10.  Wetlands International :

     The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands, including rivers and lakes, coastal lagoons, mangroves, peatlands and coral reefs. It also covers human-made wetlands such as fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals. Some,1,650 wetland sites, totalling 150 million hectares, have been designated for inclusion by its 154 member states in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance as of April 2007.

     correct ans (a)

Q 11.  BRICS

anser (b)Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa

     

The grouping was originally known as "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2011. The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members

As of 2014, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people which is 40% of the world population, with a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion (20% world GDP) and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.[1][4] As of 2014, the BRICS nations represented 18 percent of the world economy.[5]

Brazil held the chair of the BRICS group in 2014, having hosted the group's sixth summit in 2014.

The BRIC grouping's first formal summit, also held in Yekaterinburg, commenced on 16 June 2009,[11] with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, all attending. The summit's focus was on means of improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions, and discussed how the four countries could better co-operate in the future.

Q 12.  Which of the following disease have been eradicated from India?          a) Diptheria     b) small pox     c) chicken pox

correct ans (b)

Guinea worm is the second communicable disease after chicken pox which has been eradicated from the country by the efforts of NICD (National Institute for communicable disease) and the concerned states. Guinea worm disease(Dracunculiasis) was an important public health problem in many states of India before it was eradicated in 2000.

Q 13.  Which of the following phenomenon might have influenced the evolution of organism?          Continental drift: Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other, thus appearing to drift across the ocean bed. Evidence for the movement of continents on tectonic plates is now extensive. Similar plant and animal fossils are found around the shores of different continents, suggesting that they were once joined. The fossils of Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile rather like a small crocodile, found both in Brazil and South Africa, are one example; another is the discovery of fossils of the land reptile Lystrosaurus in rocks of the same age at locations in South America, Africa, and Antarctica.[22] There is also living evidence—the same animals being found on two continents. Some earthworm families (e.g. Ocnerodrilidae, Acanthodrilidae, Octochaetidae) are found in South America and Africa, for instance.

     Glacial cycle: A glacial period (or alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate between glacial periods. The last glacial period ended about 15,000 years ago;[1] The Holocene epoch is the current interglacial. A time when there are no glaciers on Earth is considered a greenhouse climate state.

Q 14.  Other than poaching what are the reasons for decline in population of Ganga river dolphins?

    Population of Ganges River Dolphin has declined from 6000 in 1982 to less than 1800 due to construction of dams and water pollution caused by pesticides, fertilisers, and industrial effluents, a leading conservation organisation has found. 

Ganges River Dolphin was declared India's National Aquatic Animal in 2009. 

"Industrial actions and intensive agriculture along the course of the river have introduced new threats for the Ganges River Dolphin and its habitats. Use of pesticides and fertilisers have impacted the freshwater biodiversity. Ganges River Dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphins of the world," WWF India.

Correct ans (c)

Q 15.  The Radcliffe committee was appointed to ?

define the boundaries between India and Pakistancorrect ans (c)

     The Radcliffe Line was published on 17 August 1947 as a boundary demarcation line between India and Pakistan upon the Partition of India. The Radcliffe Line was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who as chairman of the Border Commissions was charged with equitably dividing 175,000 square miles (450,000 km2) of territory with 88 million people

In order to determine exactly which territories to assign to each country, in June 1947, Britain appointed Sir Cyril Radcliffe to chair two Boundary Commissions—one for Bengal and one for Punjab

Members of the Commissions[edit]Each boundary commission consisted of 5 people - a chairman (Radcliffe), 2 members nominated by the Indian National Congress and 2 members nominated by the Muslim league.[13]

The Bengal Boundary Commission consisted of Justices C. C. Biswas, B. K. Mukherji, Abu Saleh Mohamed Akram and S.A.Rahman. [14][15]

The members of the Punjab Commission were Justices Mehr Chand Mahajan, Teja Singh, Din Mohamed and Muhammad Munir.

Q 16.  Borminated flame retardants are used in many household products like mattress and upholstery. Why there is some concern on their use?

     they accumulate in human and animals.

Q 17.  Phenomenon of Hibernation can be observed in which of these animals?

     bats, bears or rodents

     Hibernation refers to a season of heterothermy that is characterized by low body temperature, slow breathing and heart rate, and low metabolic rate.      Hibernation during the summer months is known as aestivation. All the three exhibit Hibernation.

Q 18.  Largest committee of parliament:

     Committee on EstimatesThis Committee consists of 30 members who are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members. It is the largest committee.A minister is not eligible for this committee, 1 yr term.Main function: to report economy, improvement in administration, efficiency, admin reformsand to suggest alternative policies to bring about efficiency and economy in administration.

Q 19.  Which of the following add/adds co2 to the carbon cycle of planet earth?

options: volcanic actions, respiration, decay of organic matters, photosynthesis

The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth. ; it describes the movement of carbon as it is recycled and reused throughout the biosphere.

Q 20.  

Q 21. In medieval India the designation "Mahattara" and "Pattakila"  were used for: village headman

Q 22. Lichens are symbolic association of ?

correct option (A) algae and bacteria     A lichen is a composite organism that emerges from an algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. The properties are sometimes plant-like, but lichens are not plants. Lichen common names may contain the word "moss" (e.g., "Reindeer moss", "Iceland moss"), and lichens may superficially look like and grow with mosses, but lichens are not related to mosses or any plant.Lichens are not parasites on the plants they may grow on, but produce their own food from sunlight, air, water, and minerals in their environment.

Q 23.  Plants naturally growing in Himalayas

     Himalayan vegetation can be broadly classified into four types—tropical, subtropical, temperate, and alpine.Rhododendron occurs everywhere but is more abundant in the wetter parts of the eastern Himalayas, where it grows in all sizes from trees to low shrubs.; oaks (genus Quercus) and Indian horse chestnuts (Aesculus indica) grow on the lithosol (shallow soils consisting of imperfectly weathered rock fragments

correct ans(a) i.e. oak and rhododendron

Q 24.  Important pollutants released by steel industry of India:

correct ans (d)     Oxides of sulphur, Oxides of nitrogen, CO2 and CO

Q 25.  Which of the following kingdom were associated with the life of Buddha?     options:  avanti, gandhara, kosala, magadha?

correct ans(d) avanti, kosala, magadha

Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the Sramana (renunciation) movement [13] common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and KośalaAccording to the Buddhist text, the Anguttara Nikaya, Avanti was one of the solasa mahajanapadas (sixteen great realms) of the 6th century BCE

whereas gandhara kingdom is associated with western kingdom in the epic mahabharata

Q 26.  Every year a month long ecologically important festival is held during which a tribe plant fruit bearing tree. What is that tribe?

ans : Gondu and Korku of madhya pradesh

Q 27.  The sales tax you pay while purchasing a toothpaste is?

ans: The tax on toothpaste comes under CST act which comes under state government.The sales tax is paid to sales tax authority in the state from where the goods are moved.

Q 28. What does a venture capital means?

ans: Venture capital VC is financial capital provided to early stage, high potential, growth startup companies. VC fund earn by owing equity in the companies which it invest in which have a novel technology or business model in high technology.

correct ans (a)

Q 29.  Main objective of 12th five year plan is:

Correct ans: faster, more Inclusive and sustainable growth.

Q 30. With reference to balance of payment, which one constitutes the current account ?options: balance of trade             foreign assets             balance of invisibles             Special drawing rights

ans:  The balance of payments (BoP or BOP) of a country is the record of all economic transactions between the residents of a country and the rest of the world in a particular period (over a quarter of a year or more commonly over a year).  A BOP surplus (or deficit) is accompanied by an accumulation (or decumulation) of foreign exchange reserves by the central bank.

The current account shows the net amount a country is earning if it is in surplus, or spending if it is in deficit. It is the sum of

the balance of trade (net earnings on exports minus payments for imports), factor income (earnings on foreign investments minus payments made to foreign investors) and cash transfers. It is called the current account as it covers transactions in the "here and now" – those that don't give rise to future claims.

thus the correct answer should be (a)

Q 31.  "Marginal standing facility rate" and " Net demand and time liabilities" are  related to?

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) is a new scheme announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy (2011-12) and refers to the penal rate at which banks can borrow money from the central bank over and above what is available to them through the LAF window

MSF, being a penal rate, is always fixed above the repo rate

MSF represents the upper band of the interest corridor and reverse repo as the lower band and the repo rate in the middle.

 Net demand and time liabilities: It is the sum of demand and time liabilities of bank with the public and other bank. Wherein assets of other bank are subtracted to get net liabilities of other bank.

thus these terms are associated with banking operation.

Q 32.  What facilities can the beneficiary can get from the service of business correspondent in branch less areas?

     Bank sathi, besides giving access to banking it also enables government subsidies and social security benefits to be directly credited to the account of beneficiaries, enabling them to draw money from the bank sathi or business correspondents in their village itself.

Q 33.  Arab spring originally started from?

     ans: egypt

Q 34.   Arctic council and its members?

The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. It has eight member countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.          The Arctic Council consists of the eight Arctic States:CanadaDenmarkFinlandIcelandNorwayRussiaSwedenUS

Q 35.  Region often in news and country

S.no Region country1 Chechnya Russian republic2 Darfur Sudan3 Swat valley Pakistan

Q 37.  Agni IV missile:

     Agni IV can take a warhead of 1 tonne.     includes indigenously developed ring laser gyro and composite rocket motor.     Its a two-stage missile powered by solid propellant.     Its length is 20 meters and launch weight 17 tonnes. It can be fired from a road mobile launcher.     note: 

19 September 2012: The missile was successfully test-fired again for its full range of 4,000 km from the Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast

Thus correct options are:agni is a surface to surface missile

Q 38.  skipped

Q 39.  Changapa community of india:-

     The Changpa (or sometimes pronounced Champa) are a semi-nomadic Tibetan ethnic group found mainly in Zanskar region of Jammu and Kashmir.

      The Changpa of Ladakh are high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats.

     As of 2001, the Changpa were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of affirmative action.

Q 40. In context to cluster bean, which of the following are true?          The Guar or cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) is an annual legume and the source of guar gum. It is also known as Gavar, Guwar or Guvar bean.

     agriculturists in semi-arid regions of Rajasthan follow crop-rotation and use guar as a source to replenish the soil with essential fertilizers and nitrogen fixation, before the next crop.

     Demand is rising rapidly due to industrial use of guar gum in hydraulic fracturing (oil shale gas)

     

Q 41.  Which of the following have coral reefs? A&Ngulf of kachchhgulf of mannarsunderbans

ans:     Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals.                                         skipped

Q 42.  Which of the following river flows through Arunanchal Pradesh?BarakLohitSubansiri

ans:     Lohit is a river in Arunanchal Pradesh, a tributary to Brahamputra.           Barak:- Major river of south assam, part of Surma-Meghna River system. Rises in Manipur(most imp) and goes through Mizoram and Assam and then enters Bangladesh/           Subasnsiri  largest tributary of Brahamputra, assam, arunanchal pradesh, Tibet autonomous region of china. The Subansiri River originates in the Himalayas, in China. It flows east and southeast into India, then south to the Assam Valley, where it joins the Brahmaputra River in Lakhimpur district.

Q 43.  In India soil erosion is associated with which of the following?1. Terrace cultivation2. Deforestation3. tropical climate

ans:     correct ans all 3

Q 44.  Seasonal reversal of wind is a typical characteristics of:1. Equitorial climate2. Mediterranean climate3. Monsoon climate

ans:     Monsoon

Q 45.  With reference to cultural history of India the term ' Panchayatan ' refers to?

ans: A Panchayatana temple has four subordinate shrines on four corners and the main shrine in the center of the podium, which comprises their base.thus the correct answer is (c) a style of temple construction.

Q 46.  Wetlands and Confluence of rivers

S.no Wetland state Confluence of river1 Harike Wetlands(largest

wetland of northern India)Punjab headworks is located downstream

of the confluence of Beas and Sutlej river.

2 Keoladeo ghana national park

Bharatpur, Rajasthan  the Gambhir and Banganga

3 Kolleru lake Andhra Pradesh Krishna and West Godavari

Thus option A is correct.

option c has written Musi, which is a tributary of Krishna, in telangana district.

Q 47.  Six system of Indian philosophy:

"Six Philosophies" (ṣad-darśana), all of which accept the testimony of the Vedas.[9][10][11][2]

Samkhya , the enumeration school Yoga , the school of Patanjali (which provisionally asserts the

metaphysics of Samkhya) Nyaya , the school of logic Vaisheshika , the atomist school Purva Mimamsa  (or simply Mimamsa), the tradition of Vedic

exegesis, with emphasis on Vedic ritual, and Vedanta  (also called Uttara Mimamsa),

the Upanishadic tradition, with emphasis on Vedic philosophy.

These are often coupled into three groups for both historical and conceptual reasons:Nyaya-Vaishesika, Samkhya-Yoga, and Mimamsa-Vedanta.

thus the incorrect matching is: lokayata and kapalika

Q 48.  hill-region matching

S.no Hills region1. cardamom hills western ghat2. Kaimur hills kaimur range, eastern portion of vindhya range

3 Mahadeo hills central india MP, forms central part of satpura range4. Mikir hills south of kajiranga national park

thus option (c)

Q 49.  Schedules of COI containing provisions regarding Anti-defection:

     The new Tenth Schedule added in the Constitution contains provisions as to disqualification on the ground of defection.

Q 50.  Conservation of biodiversity together with traditional human life is the establishment of ? 

answer: Biosphere reserves  A biosphere reserve is an area proposed by its residents, ratified by a national committee, and designated by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) program, which demonstrates innovative approaches to living and working in harmony with nature. One of the primary objectives of MAB is to achieve a sustainable balance between the goals of conserving biological diversity, promoting economic development, and maintaining associated cultural values.