UPSC Prelims 2010 — solved PYQs

The size of Mauritius' domestic market does not explain the route used by global investors into India.

India did not limit FDI sources only to island economies.

Crude oil production is unrelated to the treaty-shopping explanation for FDI routing.

Temperature differences create pressure gradients that initiate wind but do not cause the directional deflection of wind in a specific hemisphere.

Earth's magnetic field affects charged particles in the magnetosphere but has no significant effect on atmospheric wind deflection.

Pressure gradients determine wind speed and initial direction but do not cause the systematic leftward deflection seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Simon Commission did not propose an inter-provincial council under the Home Department in this specific form.

The Simon Commission did not suggest abolishing the bicameral legislature at the Centre.

While the police system was discussed, the Commission did not recommend creating a new Indian Police Service with discriminatory pay in this manner.

This significantly underestimates the net sown area and overestimates the forest cover of India.

This greatly overestimates the net sown area and underestimates forest cover.

This overestimates both net sown area and forest cover compared to actual figures.

Humans do develop partial immunity after repeated exposure in endemic areas, so this statement is incorrect.

Vaccines have been developed against viruses, parasites, and fungi as well, not just bacteria.

While the mosquito is the definitive host, the difficulty in vaccine development relates to antigenic diversity, not host classification.

Magnesium does not impart a red colour to soil.

Accumulated humus makes soil dark brown or black, not red.

Phosphates do not cause the red colouration of soil.

Boycott was one of the four resolutions passed at the 1906 Calcutta session under Dadabhai Naoroji's presidency.

National education was one of the four resolutions adopted at the 1906 Calcutta session.

Swadeshi was one of the four resolutions passed at the 1906 Calcutta session.

This is correct; co-infection with STIs like syphilis or herpes increases HIV transmission risk due to genital ulcers and inflammation.

This is correct; vertical transmission can occur in utero, during delivery, or through breast milk.

This is correct; transfusion of infected blood carries over 90% transmission risk, far higher than needlestick exposure (~0.3%).

This is incorrect because an investor expecting prices to rise is called a 'bull', not a bear.

This is incorrect because holding bonds as collateral describes a lending arrangement, not a bear.

This is incorrect because debt redemption management is a government treasury function unrelated to the bear concept.

Gandhi was the guiding force of the Congress, but the drafting of the Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights was Nehru's work.

Rajendra Prasad was a senior Congress leader but did not draft this particular resolution.

Ambedkar was not part of the Congress at this time. He was engaged in his own movement for Depressed Classes' rights.

Incorrect. Lok Adalats can take up both pre-litigation matters and cases already pending before courts. Their jurisdiction is not limited to one stage.

Incorrect. Lok Adalats may handle compoundable criminal matters in addition to civil matters under the Legal Services Authorities Act.

Incorrect. Lok Adalats can include non-judicial conciliators as members, not just serving or retired judicial officers.

This reverses the evolutionary sequence; fish evolved before reptiles, which evolved before mammals.

Sharks (cartilaginous fish) appeared in the fossil record before reptiles like tortoises.

Mammals evolved after reptiles, not before them.

Warren Hastings initiated some administrative reforms but did not create the formal Covenanted Civil Service structure.

Lord Wellesley established Fort William College for training civil servants but the institutional framework of the Covenanted Civil Service was created by Cornwallis.

William Bentinck is known for social reforms but did not create the Covenanted Civil Service.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The English did occupy Pondicherry during the Anglo-French conflicts in the eighteenth century.

Statement 3 is incorrect as the English captured Pondicherry multiple times.

Statements 2 and 3 are not fully correct. The English occupied Pondicherry several times during the Carnatic Wars.

This is incorrect because tax cuts are also a standard tool of fiscal stimulus.

This is incorrect because abolishing all subsidies is not a defining feature of stimulus, while higher public spending is.

This is incorrect because Statement 3 is not an inherent component of fiscal stimulus.

The Supreme Court cannot tender advisory opinions on its own initiative. Article 143 requires a presidential reference before the Court can give its opinion.

The advisory jurisdiction is not confined to Fundamental Rights issues. The President can refer any question of law or fact of sufficient public importance under Article 143.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Supreme Court does not initiate the advisory process; it responds only to a presidential reference.

Insectivorous plants like sundews and pitcher plants grow in open, sunlit bogs and can photosynthesize normally; light is not their constraint.

These plants photosynthesize and produce vitamins; they specifically trap insects to obtain nitrogen and other minerals scarce in their soil.

Insectivory is an evolved adaptation to nutrient-poor environments, not a transitional evolutionary stage between autotrophs and heterotrophs.

While King Cobras are ophiophagous (snake-eaters), the nest is not built to attract prey. It is constructed specifically for egg incubation and protection.

King Cobras are oviparous (egg-laying), not viviparous. They lay 20-40 eggs in their nest and the female guards them throughout incubation.

Snakes do not build nests for hibernation. The King Cobra's nest is exclusively for egg-laying and incubation. Snakes typically brumate in existing crevices or burrows.

This is incorrect because That is disinflation, not deflation.

This is incorrect because Currency depreciation is a foreign-exchange concept.

This is incorrect because Deflation is a price-level concept, not a sector-specific slowdown.

Revenue deficit reduction was explicitly part of the FRBM framework.

Restrictions on monetized deficit and RBI borrowing were part of the reform logic.

The Act required the government to place policy statements such as the Medium-Term Fiscal Policy Statement before Parliament.

Statement 1 is incorrect. It was Raj Kumar Shukla, not Rajendra Prasad, who persistently persuaded Gandhi to visit Champaran.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Raj Kumar Shukla, a local peasant leader, invited Gandhi to Champaran.

Statement 2 is correct. J. B. Kripalani was indeed one of Gandhi's associates during the Champaran inquiry.

Eastern China has a humid subtropical or monsoon climate with hot, wet summers and cool, drier winters — the opposite seasonal rainfall pattern.

Central Asia has a continental climate with extreme temperature ranges and low precipitation. It does not have mild wet winters.

The Atlantic coast of North America has a humid continental or humid subtropical climate with precipitation distributed throughout the year.

Major limestone deposits in India are associated with the Vindhyan and Cuddapah systems, not Gondwana formations.

Black cotton soils (regur) are derived from the Deccan Trap basalts, not from Gondwana sedimentary formations.

Option (b) is the correct reason. Gondwana coal deposits account for the overwhelming majority of India's coal reserves.

The Speaker presides over Lok Sabha proceedings but does not have the constitutional duty to lay Finance Commission recommendations before Parliament.

The Prime Minister heads the government but the specific constitutional duty under Article 281 rests with the President.

While the Finance Minister is involved in fiscal policy, Article 281 places the obligation to lay Finance Commission recommendations before Parliament on the President, not the Finance Minister.

The 1972 Stockholm Conference addressed the human environment broadly but predates the UNFCCC by two decades.

The 2002 Johannesburg Summit reviewed progress on sustainable development but did not originate the UNFCCC.

Copenhagen 2009 was COP15 under the already existing UNFCCC framework, not its origin.