Environment — UPSC Prelims practice questions

Question 1

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 serves as an 'umbrella legislation'. In this context, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It empowers the Central Government to establish authorities for environmental protection.
2. The EIA Notification and Coastal Regulation Zone Notification derive their authority from this Act.
Select the correct answer using the code given below: (A) 1 only (B) 2 only (C) Both 1 and 2 (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Accepted Answer

(C) Both 1 and 2 — Correct. The EPA serves as an umbrella framework; Section 3(3) allows creation of authorities, while the EIA Notification (2006) and CRZ Notification are issued under the EPA's rule-making provisions.

Question 2

Consider the following statements about the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022:
1. It reduced the number of schedules for wild fauna from four to two.
2. It introduced provisions for regulating trade in CITES-listed specimens.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (A) 1 only (B) 2 only (C) Both 1 and 2 (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Accepted Answer

(C) Both 1 and 2 — Correct. The 2022 amendment rationalized fauna schedules from four (I, II, III, IV) to two (I and II) and introduced comprehensive provisions for regulating trade in CITES-listed specimens.

Question 3

Consider the following statements:
1. Gujarat has the largest solar park in India.
2. Kerala has a fully solar powered International Airport.
3. Goa has the largest floating solar photovoltaic project in India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (A) 1 and 2 (B) 2 only (C) 1 and 3 (D) 3 only

Accepted Answer

(B) 2 only — Correct. Cochin International Airport in Kerala became the world's first fully solar-powered airport; the other two statements are factually incorrect.

Question 4

Consider the following statements about secondary productivity:
1. It refers to the rate of formation of new organic matter by consumers.
2. It includes energy produced by both herbivores and carnivores.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (A) 1 only (B) 2 only (C) Both 1 and 2 (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Accepted Answer

(C) Both 1 and 2 — Correct. Secondary productivity is the rate at which consumers (herbivores and carnivores alike) convert assimilated food into new biomass.

Question 5

The 'biodiversity intactness index' measures: (A) The number of newly discovered species in a region per year (B) The average proportion of a region's original species abundance remaining in local ecological assemblages (C) The total area of protected lands in a country (D) The rate of species extinction over a decade

Accepted Answer

(B) The average proportion of a region's original species abundance remaining in local ecological assemblages — Correct. The Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) estimates how much of a region's original biodiversity remains by measuring the average abundance of originally present species relative to their abundance in undisturbed habitats.

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