UPSC Prelims 2013 — solved PYQs

This reverses the common description of Indian coal.

Indian coal comprises different grades and is not entirely anthracite.

Coal remains an important feedstock for thermal power generation.

Contour bunding is not used in desert margins with wind erosion. Wind breaks and shelter belts are the appropriate techniques for wind-prone areas.

Contour bunding is not suited for low flat plains near streams. Embankments and levees are more appropriate for flood-prone areas.

Contour bunding is not related to weed control in scrublands. It is a water and soil conservation technique.

While Fundamental Rights are enforceable and vital, the Constitution does not use the phrase 'fundamental in the governance of the country' for them. That specific language is reserved for DPSPs.

Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment and are important, but Article 37 does not describe them as fundamental in the governance of the country.

The specific constitutional language of being 'fundamental in the governance of the country' applies only to the Directive Principles under Article 37, not to Fundamental Rights or Duties.

Cadmium, found in rechargeable batteries and circuit boards, is also a major e-waste pollutant.

Beryllium and chromium are also present in computer components and released during improper e-waste disposal.

Beryllium is used in computer motherboards and finger clips and is released during improper disposal of e-waste.

Buddhism teaches anatta (no-self), so there is no permanent self to be annihilated. Nirvana is not about destroying the self but about ending craving and suffering.

While Nirvana may involve peace, describing it merely as 'bliss and rest' is inadequate. The Buddhist concept specifically emphasises the cessation of suffering through ending desire.

While Nirvana is said to be difficult to describe, defining it as 'beyond all comprehension' is not the best description. The core meaning relates to the extinction of desire and suffering.

Wheat is a rabi crop, grown in winter and harvested in spring. Cotton is a kharif crop.

Cotton is also a kharif crop, sown with the onset of monsoon. All three — cotton, groundnut and rice — are kharif crops.

Wheat is a rabi crop, not kharif. It is sown in October-December and harvested in March-April.

Textiles use water intensively, but thermal power typically has a larger water footprint in this context.

Cement production consumes water, but not at the scale of thermal power generation in such comparisons.

Automobiles are not the largest user among these options.

Statement 1 is correct but statement 3 is also correct. Annie Besant became Congress President in 1917.

Statement 3 is correct but statement 2 is wrong. The Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott in 1875, not by Annie Besant.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott in New York in 1875. Annie Besant joined it later and became its President.

Equity prices are discovered in stock markets; OMOs are monetary operations by the central bank.

Commercial bank lending decisions are distinct from open market operations.

Government procurement is unrelated to the monetary policy tool called OMO.

Chikungunya is primarily transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, not through blood transfusion under standard screening protocols.

Chikungunya is not a recognised transfusion-transmissible infection in clinical practice, unlike HIV.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease and is not classified among standard transfusion-transmitted infections.

A fall in rates would normally be associated with higher liquidity, not unchanged supply facing higher money demand.

Money demand changes do not eliminate inflation instantaneously.

There is no necessary connection of this sort with reserves.

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that cannot independently decompose organic matter. They lack metabolic machinery for decomposition.

Viruses are not decomposers. While bacteria are major decomposers, viruses require living host cells to replicate and do not break down dead organic matter.

Viruses lack the enzymes and metabolic pathways needed for decomposition. Only fungi and bacteria function as decomposers in ecosystem food chains.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Food chains involve different species across trophic levels, not individuals within a single species population.

Statements 2 and 3 are both incorrect. A food chain links different species, not members of one population, and it does not quantify how many organisms are consumed.

Statement 1 is a correct and standard definition of a food chain, so 'none' is wrong.

High wages do not define disguised unemployment.

That is the opposite of disguised unemployment.

Seasonal migration may coexist, but it does not define the concept.

Loktak Lake is in the Manipur valley, not associated with the Barail Range. Namdapha is in the Mishmi Hills, not the Dafla Hills.

Only pair 1 is correct. The geographical associations for Loktak Lake and Namdapha are both incorrect.

Pair 1 is correct since Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is located in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya.

Statement 1 is incorrect because while the Chairman (Vice-President) is not a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman is elected from among the members of the House.

Statement 1 is false because the Deputy Chairman is a member of the Rajya Sabha. Only Statement 2 is correct.

Statement 2 is correct. Under Article 66, the Vice-President is elected by all members of both Houses, including nominated members.

The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) Plateau is in East Africa, not Arabia.

The Guiana Highlands are in northern South America (Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil), not in Africa.

The Okavango Basin is in southern Africa (Botswana), not in Patagonia (southern South America).

Thorns in place of leaves (as in Opuntia) are also a classic xerophytic adaptation to reduce water loss.

Tiny or absent leaves reduce transpiration, but waxy coatings and thorn modifications are equally important xerophytic strategies.

Tiny leaves and aphylly (no leaves) are documented water-conservation strategies in desert plants, so excluding option 2 is incorrect.

This reverses the correct definitions. Viharas are monasteries for monks, not worship halls.

This confuses architectural elements with functional categories. Chaitya refers to the entire prayer hall, not just the stupa within it.

There is a clear functional difference. Chaityas served as worship halls and Viharas as residential monasteries.

This is a correct statement; electromagnetic force acts on electrically charged particles.

This is correct; weak nuclear force is responsible for beta decay (radioactivity).

This is correct; the strong nuclear force binds protons and neutrons together in the nucleus.

Foreign borrowing is only one possible financing source and does not define deficit financing.

Tax increases are ordinary revenue measures, not deficit financing.

Privatization receipts may reduce borrowing needs but do not themselves define deficit financing.

Indians did not oppose constitutional review itself. They objected to being excluded from the body conducting it.

The Commission's recommendations came later. The agitation was against the composition of the Commission, not its findings.

The Simon Commission did not suggest partition. It dealt with constitutional reforms, and the agitation was about its all-British composition.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Xuanzang's account does not describe the subcontinent as free from robbery; he himself faced dangers from bandits during his travels.

Statement 1 is false. Xuanzang mentioned instances of insecurity and banditry, including his own encounter with river pirates on the Ganga.

Statement 1 is incorrect. While statements 2 and 3 are supported by Xuanzang's account, the claim of robbery-free routes contradicts his own narrative.

Rotation causes the daily cycle of day and night but does not explain seasonal variation in their lengths. The tilt during revolution is the key factor.

The elliptical orbit affects the Earth-Sun distance slightly but does not significantly explain seasonal day-length variation. The axial tilt is the primary cause.

Latitude determines the magnitude of day-length variation but is not itself the cause. The cause is the revolution of the tilted Earth around the Sun.

Soil mineral composition matters for long-term growth, but the immediate cause of transplant failure is physical damage to delicate root hairs during uprooting.

Root hairs do not grip soil too hard; they are fragile unicellular extensions that break easily during transplantation, leading to reduced water and nutrient absorption.

While leaf damage can stress a plant, the primary cause of transplant mortality is the loss of root hairs, which are essential for water and mineral uptake.