UPSC Prelims 2007 — solved PYQs

Hukam Singh served as Speaker of the third Lok Sabha (1962-1967), not the first.

K. M. Munshi was a prominent member of the Constituent Assembly and a minister in Nehru's cabinet, but he never served as Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

U. N. Dhebar was a Congress President and political leader, not a Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Edward Kasner was a mathematician known for coining the term 'googol', not for inventing the Web.

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft but did not invent the World Wide Web.

Vinod Dham is known as the 'Father of the Pentium chip' for his work at Intel, not for inventing the Web.

Agriculture's share is lower than industry's share in India's GDP. Industry surpassed agriculture's share decades ago.

Industry does not contribute the most — services sector is the largest contributor to India's GDP since the 1990s.

Agriculture is the smallest contributor among the three broad sectors of the economy.

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) arrived in India in 1602, before the French.

The English East India Company was established in 1600 and arrived in India by 1608, before the French.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in India, with Vasco da Gama reaching Calicut in 1498.

Galileo is a civilian satellite navigation system, not a missile defence programme.

Galileo is a European Union initiative, not an Indo-Canadian project.

Galileo is a navigation satellite constellation, not an environmental protection project.

Cutaneous respiration is characteristic of some amphibians, not insects.

Gills are used by aquatic organisms like fish and some larval insects, not adult insects generally.

Lungs are characteristic of vertebrates such as mammals, birds and reptiles, not insects.

Incorrect. While A is true, R is false. Wavell's parity proposal was aimed at securing Muslim League participation in the government, not specifically at avoiding partition.

Incorrect. R is false, not true. The Wavell Plan's Hindu-Muslim parity was a political concession to the Muslim League, not a plan to avoid partition.

Incorrect. A is true. The Wavell Plan did propose Hindu-Muslim parity in the reconstituted Executive Council.

The duodenum is the shortest segment, not intermediate; and the ileum is the longest.

The duodenum is the shortest, not the second longest.

The ileum is longer than the jejunum, so this order is incorrect.

Simlipal National Park is in Odisha and is not known as Top Slip.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is in Kerala, famous for elephants and tigers, but is not called Top Slip.

Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary in Telangana is known for its bird population, not as Top Slip.

Bandhavgarh National Park is in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, not in Bastar.

Dandeli Sanctuary is in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, far from Bastar.

Rajaji National Park is in Uttarakhand near Haridwar, not in the Bastar region.

P-Notes are not government debt instruments. They are private market instruments related to portfolio investment.

Warehouse receipts are instruments in commodity markets and are unrelated to P-Notes.

NABARD issues different instruments for rural development. P-Notes are capital market instruments.

The cerebellum coordinates voluntary movements and maintains balance and posture; it does not control swallowing or vomiting reflexes.

The cerebrum handles higher cognitive functions such as thinking, memory, and voluntary motor control, not reflex centres for swallowing and vomiting.

The pons relays signals between the cerebrum and cerebellum and helps regulate breathing rhythm, but the primary swallowing and vomiting centres are in the medulla oblongata.

Fort William in Calcutta was constructed in 1696, after Fort St. George.

Fort St. David near Cuddalore was acquired by the English in 1690, after Fort St. George.

Fort St. Angelo at Kannur was built by the Portuguese in 1505, not by the British.

The Ahmedabad mill workers' strike (1918) came after the Champaran Satyagraha of 1917.

The Bardoli Satyagraha was led by Sardar Patel in 1928, much later than Gandhi's first Indian satyagraha.

The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 followed the Champaran Satyagraha and was therefore not Gandhi's first in India.

This sequence is incorrect. Sikkim became a state in 1975, not before Nagaland (1963) or Haryana (1966).

Incorrect. Haryana (1966) preceded Sikkim (1975), and Nagaland (1963) preceded both.

Incorrect. Arunachal Pradesh became a state in 1987, well after Haryana (1966) and Sikkim (1975).

Raja Rammohan Roy wrote works on Vedanta and religious reform but is not associated with Babuvivah.

Pandita Ramabai was a social reformer who wrote about the condition of Hindu women, particularly The High-Caste Hindu Woman, not Babuvivah.

Tagore wrote many literary works but Babuvivah is specifically associated with Vidyasagar.

Rajnikanta Sen was a Bengali poet who composed patriotic and devotional songs but not 'Amar Sonar Bangla'.

Dwijendralal Ray was a Bengali playwright and songwriter known for historical plays and patriotic songs, but not this particular one.

Mukunda Das (Chakraborty) was a Swadeshi baul-style performer known for jatra performances but did not write this song.

Glucagon is secreted by alpha cells of the pancreas and raises blood glucose levels; it has no direct role in calcium or phosphate regulation.

Growth hormone promotes overall body growth and protein synthesis but does not directly regulate blood calcium and phosphate levels.

Thyroxine regulates basal metabolic rate; while thyroid C-cells secrete calcitonin for calcium regulation, thyroxine itself does not regulate calcium and phosphate.

Elongation is proportional to length and inversely proportional to cross-sectional area; this wire has a low L/A ratio compared to option (c).

Although longer than (a), its larger diameter gives a lower L/A ratio than option (c).

Despite the smallest diameter, the short length gives a lower L/A ratio than option (c).

The assertion is false. Countries like Kenya, Uganda and Malawi have significant tea plantations.

The assertion is false, so this combination cannot apply.

The assertion is false. Tea is grown in several African countries, notably Kenya which is among the world's largest tea exporters.

Lord Lytton (1876-1880) is associated with the Vernacular Press Act and the Royal Titles Act, not the first Factory Act.

Lord Bentinck (1828-1835) is known for abolishing sati and suppressing thuggee, but the first Factory Act came later.

Lord Canning (1856-1862) dealt with the Revolt of 1857 and the transition to Crown rule, not the Factory Act.

Rice production in India exceeds wheat production, so wheat cannot be first.

Coarse cereals are produced in greater quantity than pulses, not less.

Rice exceeds wheat in production, and coarse cereals exceed pulses.

This incorrectly identifies Birju Maharaj as a Bharatanatyam dancer and Priyadarsini Govind as a Kathak dancer.

This incorrectly associates Bhajan Sopori with mridangam and T.V. Gopalakrishnan with santoor.

This incorrectly identifies Bhajan Sopori as a mridangam maestro.

This is incorrect because That is a fiscal term.

This is incorrect because UNDP is unrelated to this market instrument.

This is incorrect because This is an environmental agreement, not a capital market instrument.

B. N. Rau was a constitutional adviser who played a key role in drafting the Indian Constitution, but he did not write this book.

C. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India and a prominent leader, but this particular book was not authored by him.

V. K. Krishna Menon was a diplomat and defence minister, not the author of this work on princely state integration.