UPSC Prelims 2009 — solved PYQs

Pair 1 is incorrect because Gatka is a Sikh martial art from Punjab, not Kerala. Kerala's martial art is Kalaripayattu.

While pair 3 is correct, pair 2 (Madhubani-Bihar) is also correct, making this option incomplete.

Pair 1 is incorrect. Gatka is a martial art of the Sikh tradition originating in Punjab, not Kerala.

The 1992 Earth Summit produced the UNFCCC but carbon credits as tradeable instruments were introduced later under the Kyoto Protocol.

The Montreal Protocol deals with ozone-depleting substances, not carbon emissions trading.

The G-8 Summit at Heiligendamm (2007) discussed climate change but did not originate carbon credits.

The Home Rule Movement (1916-18) was led by Tilak and Annie Besant and had no connection with the Dandi March.

The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) preceded the Dandi March by a decade and was launched at the Calcutta and Nagpur Congress sessions.

The Quit India Movement was launched in August 1942, over a decade after the Dandi March.

This incorrectly assigns theatre direction to Romila Thapar and history writing to Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry.

This incorrectly identifies Mandakini Amte as a dancer and Vanashree Rao as a social worker.

This incorrectly assigns dance to Mandakini Amte and history writing to Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry.

Edwin Hubble is known for discovering the expanding universe and Hubble's law, not the white dwarf mass limit.

Stephen Hawking is known for Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics, not the white dwarf mass limit.

Steven Weinberg contributed to the electroweak unification theory, not to stellar evolution limits.

All four are noted visual artists. Limiting the answer to Amrita Sher-Gil alone ignores the contributions of the other three.

Bikash Bhattacharjee and N. S. Bendre are both significant Indian painters and excluding them from this list is incorrect.

Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941) is one of the most celebrated Indian painters of the 20th century, so she must be included.

This is incomplete because Interest Tax and Securities Transaction Tax were also classified as direct taxes.

This is incomplete because Interest Tax was also a direct tax.

This is incorrect because Fringe Benefit Tax was also a direct tax.

Statement 1 is incorrect. CAT was established under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, not during Lal Bahadur Shastri's time.

Statement 1 is factually wrong. The Administrative Tribunals Act was enacted in 1985, long after Shastri's tenure which ended in 1966.

Statement 2 is correct. CAT membership includes both judicial and administrative streams, which is a distinctive feature of its composition.

Carbon footprint is a measure of total emissions, not a market mechanism for technology transfer.

Carbon Credit Rating is not a formal UNFCCC mechanism; it is not an established term in the convention framework.

Emission Reduction Norm is not a specific UNFCCC market instrument; it is a generic regulatory concept.

Aruna Asaf Ali was a freedom fighter known for hoisting the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank in 1942, not a poet.

Annie Besant was a Theosophist and nationalist leader who edited the New India newspaper, not associated with The Golden Threshold.

Vijayalakshmi Pandit was a diplomat and politician, not known as a poet.

Canada is a major uranium producer but its total reserves are smaller than Australia's.

Russia has significant uranium reserves but they are not the world's largest.

The USA has notable uranium reserves, particularly in the Colorado Plateau region, but they are smaller than Australia's.

While Swadeshi agitation was centred in Calcutta, the specific significance of 16th October 1905 was the formal implementation of Bengal's partition.

Dadabhai Naoroji declared Swaraj as the goal of the Congress at the 1906 Calcutta session, not on 16th October 1905.

Tilak was active in the Swadeshi cause but did not start the movement in Poona on this date. The date is linked to Bengal's partition taking effect.

The son would certainly be colour blind since he gets his only X chromosome from his colour-blind mother.

The son inherits his mother's defective X chromosome and, having no second X to compensate, will be colour blind.

While the son is certainly colour blind, the official answer considers both children affected.

While Aruna Asaf Ali participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement, her major role in underground organisation came during the Quit India Movement.

The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) predated Aruna Asaf Ali's major political activities. She became prominent in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Swadeshi Movement (1905-08) occurred before Aruna Asaf Ali's birth in 1909, so she could not have participated in it.

One month is too short a period. The Constitution provides a longer timeframe to allow for logistical preparation of elections.

Three months is not the constitutionally prescribed period. Article 243E specifies a different deadline.

One year exceeds the constitutionally mandated period. The Constitution requires elections within a shorter timeframe to prevent extended periods without elected local representation.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Advocate General is appointed by the Governor under Article 165, not by the President.

Statement 2 is also incorrect. High Courts exercise original and appellate jurisdiction and writ powers, but do not possess a general advisory jurisdiction at the State level in the manner described.

Both statements are incorrect. The Advocate General is appointed by the Governor, and High Courts do not have advisory jurisdiction.

Kathak is a classical dance form; the Gundecha brothers are not dancers.

Sarod is a stringed instrument; the Gundecha brothers are vocalists, not instrumentalists.

Tabla is a percussion instrument; the Gundecha brothers are Dhrupad singers.

Incorrect. The Cripps proposals did not offer full independence. They proposed Dominion Status after the war, which fell short of complete independence.

Incorrect. Only statement 2 is correct. The Cripps Mission offered Dominion Status, not full independence, which was a major reason for its rejection by the Congress.

Incorrect. Statement 2 is correct. The Cripps proposals did envisage a constitution-making body to be formed after the war.

Toddy tapping in Andhra Pradesh is associated with communities like the Goud, not the Agaria.

Fishing communities in Maharashtra include the Koli, not the Agaria.

Silk weaving in Karnataka is associated with communities in Mysore and other centres, not the Agaria.

This sequence misplaces Rajarani (Odisha) and Kandariya Mahadeo (Madhya Pradesh) by swapping their state codes.

This sequence incorrectly places Vidyashankara in Andhra Pradesh instead of Karnataka.

This sequence misidentifies both Vidyashankara's and Bhimeswara's home states.

This is incorrect because LIC nationalization took place in 1956, which is later than the Banking Regulation Act.

This is incorrect because SBI was created in 1955, later than the Banking Regulation Act.

This is incorrect because The First Plan began in 1951, later than the 1949 Act.

A kite is a raptor bird. The flying fox is not a bird at all but a mammal belonging to the bat family Pteropodidae.

Storks are large wading birds. The flying fox is a fruit bat and shares no taxonomic relationship with storks.

Vultures are scavenging raptors. The flying fox is a fruit-eating bat with a wingspan that can exceed 1.5 metres.

WiMAX has no connection to biotechnology.

WiMAX is not related to space technology.

WiMAX has no connection to missile technology.

The Swadeshi Movement (1905-08) used slogans like 'Vande Mataram' but not 'Do or Die'. The movement focused on boycott of British goods.

The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) had its own set of principles and slogans, but 'Do or Die' was not associated with it.

The Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34) was launched with the Dandi March and had different slogans. 'Do or Die' came a decade later.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a prominent Congress leader but was not the second individual satyagrahi in Gandhi's 1940 campaign.

Rajagopalachari was not the second satyagrahi. He had his own approach to the political situation and later proposed the C.R. Formula for resolving the communal deadlock.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not chosen as the second individual satyagrahi in the 1940 campaign. Gandhi personally selected each satyagrahi for this carefully controlled protest.