HPAS Prelims 2016 General Studies Paper I with Answers & Explanations

Explanation

Raja Sahila Varman founded the town of Chamba in 920 AD and subsequently shifted the capital of his kingdom from Brahmpura, now known as Bharmaur, to this new location. He established the new capital on the plains on the right bank of the Ravi River at the request of his daughter, Champavati, after whom the town and the state were named.

Explanation

During the reign of Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur (1618–1646), a major rebellion was staged against the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1641. Anticipating a strong retaliatory action, Jagat Singh heavily fortified the three principal strongholds of his territory: the forts of Maukot, Nurpur, and Taragarh. Shah Jahan dispatched a large Mughal army under the command of Prince Murad Baksh and Sayyid Khan Jahan to suppress the rebellion. Following prolonged and intense sieges in 1641–1642, all three strategic forts of Maukot, Nurpur, and Taragarh were captured by the Mughal forces.

Explanation

Sir Alexander Cunningham, the founder and first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, was the first European scholar to draw detailed attention to the history of the ancient royal families of Jalandhar and Trigarta. Through his pioneering archaeological surveys and research in northern India, he identified the ancient boundaries of these territories and carefully documented the lineage and genealogy of the Katoch dynasty of Trigarta (modern-day Kangra). Cunningham's analysis of local coins, inscriptions, and historical geography laid the essential foundation for modern research into the princely states of the Western Himalayas.

Explanation

The Gurkha forces, led by commander Amar Singh Thapa, invaded and captured the Sirmaur princely state in 1803 AD. During this period, the ruler of Sirmaur, Raja Karam Prakash, was weak and faced internal rebellions led by his brother Kanwar Rattan Singh. Seizing the opportunity, the Gurkhas intervened, defeated the opposing forces, and annexed Sirmaur into the Nepalese domain, forcing Raja Karam Prakash to seek refuge in British territory. The Gurkhas maintained control of the region until they were expelled by British forces in 1815 AD.

Explanation

Raja Kehri Singh was a prominent ruler of the Bushahr princely state during the late 17th century. When he visited the Mughal court in Delhi, Emperor Aurangzeb witnessed a small cloud consistently shading him from the sun in the form of a chhatra (umbrella). Upon being asked about this, the Raja explained it as the divine protection of the deities of his homeland. Highly impressed, Aurangzeb conferred the title of Chhatarpati upon him, acknowledging his sovereign status.

Explanation

The Greek scholars referred to the Satluj river as Heisidrus or Zaradros. Rising from the Rakas Lake near Mansarovar in Tibet, where it is known as Langchen Khambab, the river enters Himachal Pradesh at Shipki La in the Kinnaur district. It is the longest river flowing through Himachal Pradesh, with a catchment area of approximately 20,000 square kilometers within the state.

Explanation

According to local legend, the deity Deva Purana traveled to Kamru in Kinnaur and eventually reached Sarahan in the upper Shimla region. At Sarahan, Deva Purana fought and killed the demon king Banasur, who was the ruler of the area. Following the defeat of Banasur, Deva Purana brought Pradyuman from Varanasi to be crowned as the ruler of the Bushahr state, establishing a new dynasty in the region.

Explanation

The Spiti River originates from the glaciers of the Kunzum Range (also referred to as Kunjam Pass), situated at an elevation of approximately 4,551 meters (14,931 feet) in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. It flows through the Spiti Valley, acting as a lifeline for the region, and eventually merges with the Sutlej River at Khab in the Kinnaur district.

Explanation

The Government Industrial Training Institute (Women) Bharari, located in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, was established via notification on 18 August 2015 by the Department of Technical Education, Vocational and Industrial Training. The institute became functional during the academic session 2015-16 to provide technical and vocational skills, initially offering trades like Draughtsman Civil and Sewing Technology, to rural women in the Bharari sub-division.

Explanation

The Sawra-Kuddu Hydro-Electric Power Project is a run-of-the-river power plant constructed on the Pabbar River, a tributary of the Yamuna River, in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. Developed by the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), the project has a total installed capacity of 111 MW, which is generated using three underground vertical-axis Francis turbine units of 37 MW each. The project is also notable for featuring a unique piano key weir diversion dam, which is the first of its kind built in Asia.

Explanation

The H.P. Forest Ecosystem Climate Proofing Project, funded by the German Development Bank (KfW), was implemented in Kangra and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh. These two districts were selected for the project's forest management and climate-change adaptation activities.

Explanation

Under the Mata Shabri Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana, the HP government provided a subsidy of 50 percent on the gas connection cost to eligible women, subject to a maximum of Rs 1,300. This enabled BPL and eligible women to obtain LPG connections at significantly reduced cost.

Explanation

The Hateshwari Temple at Hatkoti, Jubbal Tehsil, Shimla District, is built in the Pentroof (pent-roof) style of hill temple architecture, featuring a characteristic sloping roof common to Western Himalayan temples in the region. This is the standard answer in HP government and textbook sources for this temple.

Explanation

Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmavat, an epic Sufi poem composed in Awadhi, was never adopted as a subject matter for illustration in the eighteenth-century Kangra Kalam style of paintings. The artists of the Kangra school, which flourished in the hill region of Himachal Pradesh under patrons like Maharaja Sansar Chand, drew their themes almost exclusively from Vaishnavite literature, divine love narratives, and classical Sanskrit and Hindi poetry, making the historical-mythological Sufi romance of Padmavat completely foreign to this school of art.

Explanation

The 12th Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, which was elected in 2012 and remained in session until 2017, had three women members out of the total 68 seats in the Legislative Assembly. These three members were Vidya Stokes from the Theog constituency, Asha Kumari from the Dalhousie constituency, and Sarveen Chaudhary from the Shahpur constituency. Together, they represented approximately 4.41% of the total strength of the state legislative assembly during this legislative term.

Explanation

The Government Sheep Breeding Farm in Shimla District is located at Jeori. To improve the breed of indigenous sheep and enhance wool production, the Department of Animal Husbandry of Himachal Pradesh operates sheep breeding farms at specific locations. In addition to Jeori in Shimla district, other government sheep breeding farms in the state are located at Tal in Hamirpur, Sarol in Chamba, and Karchham in Kinnaur.

Explanation

According to the 2010-11 Agricultural Census of Himachal Pradesh, operational land holdings are classified into size categories where small land holdings represent farms ranging between 1.0 and 2.0 hectares. This category of small holdings accounts for exactly 18.17% of the total operational land holdings in the state.

Explanation

The Government of Himachal Pradesh granted a prospecting licence to M/s. Reliance Cementation Company Ltd to carry out a detailed geological study for establishing the quantity and quality of major limestone deposits across the Sugrathi-Thangar-Kura Khera-Paulikhera-Kandal-Dedera tract of Tehsil Chopal in Shimla District. This initiative was undertaken to facilitate the scientific evaluation of high-grade mineral reserves in order to support the setting up of a large-scale, resource-backed cement manufacturing plant in the region.

Explanation

Yashpal, the Himachali revolutionary and senior member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), edited the revolutionary magazine 'Sudarshan Chakra' from Lahore during the pre-independence period. He is the only figure among the options directly associated with editing a Lahore-based revolutionary publication.

Explanation

The book Kulu and Lahoul was written by Charles Granville Bruce (C.G. Bruce), a prominent British Army officer and mountaineer. Published in 1914, the work details his three-month mountaineering and trekking expedition through the Kullu and Lahaul regions of the Western Himalayas in 1912. It serves as an important historical and travel account, detailing the local geography, culture, and lifestyles of the people in these high-altitude valleys.

Explanation

According to the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report (2016), titled Human Development for Everyone, the world's top three countries in terms of Human Development Index values are Norway, Australia, and Switzerland.

Norway ranked first globally with a score of 0.949, while Australia and Switzerland shared the second position, both securing a score of 0.939. The Human Development Index is a composite statistic measuring average achievement in three key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to education, and a decent standard of living.

Explanation

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2016 was conferred upon four outstanding athletes for their stellar performances, particularly at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The recipients of this prestigious award were P.V. Sindhu for badminton, Sakshi Malik for freestyle wrestling, Jitu Rai for shooting, and Dipa Karmakar for gymnastics.

Explanation

The eminent Bengali poet and literary critic Shankha Ghosh was conferred the 52nd Jnanpith Award for the year 2016. Known for his profound contributions to Bengali literature, he became the sixth Bengali writer to receive this prestigious national literary honour, which recognizes outstanding lifetime contribution to Indian literature.

Explanation

Alok Kumar Verma was appointed as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation in January 2017. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as the Commissioner of Delhi Police. His appointment was finalized by a high-powered committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition, in accordance with the statutory provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. He took official charge of the premier investigating agency on February 1, 2017, for a designated two-year tenure.

Explanation

Tehmina Janjua, a seasoned career diplomat with a diplomatic career spanning over three decades, was appointed as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan in February 2017. With this appointment, she became the first-ever woman in the history of Pakistan to hold this highest civil service position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving in the post until April 2019.

Explanation

In India, Teachers' Day is celebrated on 5th September to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Dr. Radhakrishnan was an eminent scholar, philosopher, and statesman who served as the first Vice President and the second President of India. When some of his students and friends approached him to celebrate his birthday in 1962, he requested them to observe it as Teachers' Day instead, to pay tribute to the invaluable contribution of educators to society. Since then, this day is dedicated to honoring teachers and acknowledging their role in shaping minds and building the nation.

Explanation

The Uttarakhand High Court declared the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, along with their tributaries, streams, and glaciers (like Gangotri and Yamunotri), as juristic/legal persons or living entities. This landmark judgment bestowed upon these rivers all corresponding legal rights, duties, and liabilities of a living human being, aiming to ensure their conservation and protection.

Explanation

According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) abridged life tables for the period 2011-2015 published by the Office of the Registrar General | Census Commissioner of India, the average life expectancy at birth in the country was estimated at 68.3 years. During this time, the average life expectancy was 66.9 years for males and 70.0 years for females, indicating steady improvements in public healthcare, immunization, and child mortality rates over the preceding decades.

Explanation

The district of Pauri Garhwal, which is located in Uttarakhand, is the native place of two Chief Ministers who assumed office in 2017. Yogi Adityanath, who became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, was born in Panchur village in Pauri Garhwal. Trivendra Singh Rawat, who became the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, was born in Khairasain village in the same Pauri Garhwal district. Both leaders share their origin in this district, which lies in the state of Uttarakhand.

Explanation

The Supreme Court of India issued a contempt of court notice to Justice C.S. Karnan, who was a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court. This marked the first time in Indian judicial history that a sitting High Court judge faced contempt proceedings by the Supreme Court. The suo motu contempt proceedings were initiated by a seven-judge Constitution Bench after the judge wrote letters making allegations of corruption and misconduct against several sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

Explanation

The Kol tribe is a major tribal community of central India, primarily concentrated in the Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand regions. They are found in large numbers in the northern and eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh, including Rewa, Sidhi, Satna, and Shahdol, as well as the adjoining southern districts of Uttar Pradesh, such as Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chitrakoot, and Prayagraj. They speak the Baghelkhandi dialect and trace their mythological lineage to Shabari, a revered figure from the Hindu epic Ramayana.

Explanation

Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, an eminent computer scientist and educationalist, was appointed as the Chancellor of Nalanda University on January 25, 2017, by the President of India in his capacity as the Visitor of the university. Dr. Bhatkar is widely recognized for his pioneering role in Indian supercomputing, having led the national initiative that produced the PARAM series of supercomputers. His appointment to the chancellorship at Nalanda University was aimed at steering the prestigious institution toward academic and technological prominence.

Explanation

The None of the Above (NOTA) option was introduced in India following a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court on September 27, 2013, in the case of People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India. The Court directed the Election Commission of India to provide a dedicated NOTA button on all electronic voting machines (EVMs) to protect the secrecy of voters who wish to reject all candidates. Consequently, the NOTA option was first utilized during the legislative assembly elections of five states—Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Delhi—held in November and December of 2013.

Explanation

In 2017, the Government of India conferred the Padma Vibhushan on seven individuals for exceptional and distinguished service. Among the listed personalities, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev received the award in the field of spiritualism, while Sharad Pawar and Sunder Lal Patwa (posthumously) were honoured in the field of public affairs. Dr. Devi Prasad Dwivedi was awarded the Padma Bhushan for literature and education in the same year.

Explanation

In March 2017, Yogi Adityanath was appointed as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma were appointed as the Deputy Chief Ministers. None of them were members of the State Legislative Assembly at the time of their appointments. Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya were serving as Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, while Dinesh Sharma was the Mayor of Lucknow. They all subsequently secured membership in the state legislature by being elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council within the constitutionally required six-month period.

Explanation

Bengaluru is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its role as the nation's leading information technology exporter and hub. The city serves as the headquarters for prominent Indian technology giants such as Infosys and Wipro, as well as the Indian Space Research Organisation, alongside thousands of startups and multinational corporations, mirroring the high-tech corporate concentration found in the original Silicon Valley in California.

Explanation

Donald Trump won the United States presidential election held on November 8, 2016, defeating the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Following this victory, he was elected to serve as the 45th President of the United States, succeeding Barack Obama.

Explanation

Juan Manuel Santos, the President of Colombia, was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war with the FARC guerrillas to an end through a historic peace agreement.

Explanation

Antonio Guterres is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He also served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015 before being appointed as the Secretary-General of the United Nations in late 2016, taking office on January 1, 2017.

Explanation

Margarita Island, or Isla de Margarita, is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta, which is an integral part of Venezuela. Located in the Caribbean Sea off the northeastern coast of the Venezuelan mainland, the island served as the host venue for the 17th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit held in September 2016.

Explanation

Nana Saheb, born as Dhondu Pant, was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. Following the death of Baji Rao II in 1851, the British East India Company applied the Doctrine of Lapse, refusing to recognize Nana Saheb as the legitimate heir and denying him the annual pension and titles that had been promised to his adoptive father. This major grievance led him to play a leading role in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, where he led the rebel forces in Kanpur against the British.

Explanation

W.C. Bannerji presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress, which was held at Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885. This historic session took place at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College and was attended by 72 delegates from across India. As a distinguished barrister from Calcutta, Bannerji was chosen to lead this foundational meeting, which marked the formal establishment of the Indian National Congress to articulate the political and social demands of Indians.

Explanation

The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by Madame H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel H. S. Olcott, incorporated elements of spiritualism, esoteric philosophy, and occult mysticism into its teachings. The founders and subsequent leaders, such as Annie Besant, believed in the transmigration of the soul, karma, and the existence of latent spiritual powers in humans that could be realized through occult practices and spiritual development. The society sought to investigate unexplained laws of nature and promote the study of comparative religion and philosophy by aligning Western occult traditions with Eastern, particularly Hindu and Buddhist, spiritual doctrines.

Explanation

Aurobindo Ghosh was a prominent leader of the Extremist faction within the Indian National Congress. He advocated for revolutionary nationalism, passive resistance, and the boycott of British goods to achieve complete independence (Swaraj), actively opposing the moderate methods of constitutional agitation, petitions, and prayers. He articulated his radical political philosophy through influential writings in publications like the Bande Mataram journal.

Explanation

The first session of the All-India Muslim League was held at Dacca (now Dhaka) on December 30, 1906, which is also the meeting at which it was founded, presided over by Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk. In standard Indian competitive exam textbooks, the founding meeting at Dacca is recognized as the first session; the Karachi meeting of 1907 was the second session.

Explanation

Madan Lal Dhingra, an Indian revolutionary and student in England, assassinated the British army officer Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie on 1 July 1909. The incident occurred at the Imperial Institute in London during an evening meeting hosted by the National Indian Association. Dhingra, who was closely associated with India House and inspired by nationalist figures, fired multiple shots at Curzon Wyllie, leading to his immediate death. Dhingra was subsequently arrested, tried, and executed by hanging at Pentonville Prison on 17 August 1909.

Explanation

Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India, made this landmark statement in the British House of Commons on August 20, 1917. The declaration outlined the policy of increasing the association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions, with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire. This declaration served as the basis for the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, which eventually materialized as the Government of India Act 1919.

Explanation

The Communist Party of India (CPI) was founded on October 17, 1920, in Tashkent, which was then the capital of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union. The initiative was led by Manabendra Nath Roy, Evelyn Trent-Roy, Abani Mukherji, Rosa Fitingof, Mohammad Ali, and Mohammad Shafiq, who served as the first secretary of the group. This organization was formed in the wake of the second congress of the Communist International, providing a platform for Indian revolutionaries in exile to advocate for India's independence through a socialist framework.

Explanation

Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Champaran, Bihar, on April 10, 1917, on the invitation of Raj Kumar Shukla. He went to investigate the grievances of the local peasants who were forced by British planters to cultivate indigo under the exploitative Tinkathia system. This historic visit marked the beginning of the Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhiji's first satyagraha movement in India. Therefore, April 2017 marked the centenary (100th anniversary) of his arrival in Champaran.

Explanation

During the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, Vallabhbhai Patel led a highly organized and successful non-violent tax revolt by the peasants of Bardoli, Gujarat, against an unjust 30% increase in land revenue by the British administration. His remarkable leadership and organizational skills brought the struggle to a victorious end, with the colonial government agreeing to roll back the tax hike and return confiscated land. In honor of his exceptional leadership during this movement, the women of Bardoli bestowed upon him the title of Sardar, which means chief or leader in Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati. This title was also widely popularized by Mahatma Gandhi during and after the movement.

Explanation

Stalactites and stalagmites are classic karst depositional landforms formed within limestone caves. As groundwater containing dissolved calcium bicarbonate drips from the cave roof, a decrease in pressure and temperature causes carbon dioxide to escape. This chemical change leads to the precipitation of calcium carbonate (calcite). Stalactites grow downwards from the cave ceiling as these mineral deposits accumulate over time, while stalagmites grow upwards from the cave floor directly beneath the dripping water. Eventually, they may join to form columns or pillars.

Explanation

The Cerrado is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, representing one of the richest and oldest tropical savanna regions in the world. It covers approximately 2 million square kilometers, which is about 21% of Brazil's territory, mainly spanning across the central highlands of the country. This region is characterized by a seasonal climate with a wet summer and a dry winter, supporting a highly diverse range of plant and animal species adapted to seasonal fire and nutrient-poor, acidic soils.

Explanation

The book The Unstable Earth: Some Recent Views in Geomorphology was authored by James Alfred Steers (J.A. Steers) and first published in 1932. He was a distinguished British geographer and geomorphologist who made significant contributions to coastal geomorphology and physical geography. The book is a seminal work in the field of physical geography, focusing on the dynamic processes that shape the Earth, tectonic movements, the evolution of continents and oceans, and sea-level changes.

Explanation

The Brahmaputra River enters Bangladesh from India near Dhubri and flows southwards. In northern Bangladesh, it is joined on its right bank by the Teesta River, which originates in Sikkim. After this confluence, the main channel of the Brahmaputra is known as the Jamuna River. The Jamuna River continues its course due south for about 240 km before merging with the Padma River.

Explanation

Reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae algae, which live within their tissues and require abundant sunlight for photosynthesis. This biological relationship limits the development of shallow-water coral reefs to warm, clear, and well-lit waters. Since these optimal environmental conditions (including sea surface temperatures generally between 20°C and 30°C) are primarily found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, the vast majority of coral reefs are distributed within the zone between 30°N and 30°S latitudes.

Explanation

The Green Revolution achieved self-sufficiency in food grains but introduced several ecological and regional imbalances.

The program was highly successful in increasing the production of wheat and rice through high-yielding varieties, but it did not replicate this success in pulses, which remained largely stagnant in yield and production.

The intensive agricultural practices were concentrated in regions with reliable irrigation, such as Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. This concentrated growth increased regional and inter-state economic disparities across the country.

Furthermore, the cultivation of water-intensive crops in these semi-arid regions led to the over-exploitation of groundwater through deep tube wells, causing a severe decline in the water table in these states.

The intensive cultivation and excessive use of chemical fertilizers associated with the Green Revolution depleted essential micronutrients and increased soil salinity, thereby degrading soil health rather than restoring its fertility.

Explanation

The Mindanao Trench, also known as the Philippine Trench, is located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of the deepest ocean trenches in the world, reaching a maximum depth of approximately 10,540 meters at the Galathea Depth. The trench runs parallel to the eastern coast of the Philippines and was formed due to the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the Sunda Plate.

Explanation

Kimberley in South Africa is historically famous for diamond mining, particularly the Big Hole, making it synonymous with the diamond trade.

Wankie, located in Zimbabwe and now known as Hwange, is home to vast coalfields that have been actively mined for power generation.

Witwatersrand in South Africa is a major geological formation that contains the largest known gold reserves in the world, driving the historic Witwatersrand Gold Rush.

Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a world-class copper belt region renowned for its exceptionally rich copper and cobalt deposits.

Explanation

Carl Sauer was a pioneer in cultural geography, introducing the concept of the cultural landscape, which focuses on how human cultures shape physical environments.

David Harvey is a leading proponent of radical geography, employing Marxist theory to critique spatial inequalities, urban growth, and capitalism.

Friedrich Ratzel is a foundational figure in political geography, known for his organic theory of the state and the concept of Lebensraum.

R. J. Johnston (noted as H.J. Johnston) made major contributions to social geography, specifically analyzing social inequalities, urban environments, and human-space relationships.

Explanation

The Concentric Zone Model, developed by sociologist Ernest Burgess in 1925, represents urban social structures as a series of five concentric rings expanding outwards from the center. The fifth and outermost ring is the Commuters Zone. This zone consists of high-class, low-density residential suburbs and satellite communities where affluent residents live and commute daily to the central business district for work.

Explanation

The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India contains provisions regarding the disqualification of members of Parliament and State Legislatures on the grounds of defection. Commonly known as the Anti-Defection Law, this schedule was added to the Constitution by the 52nd Amendment Act in 1985 to promote political stability by deterring legislators from switching political parties after being elected. The power to decide on questions of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule is vested in the Presiding Officer of the respective House, namely the Speaker or the Chairman.

Explanation

The power of judicial review in India is primarily exercised based on the principle of "Procedure established by Law," which is explicitly enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Under this doctrine, a person can be deprived of life or personal liberty according to the procedure laid down by a validly enacted law. The judiciary assesses whether the legislature has acted within its constitutional bounds and followed the prescribed legislative procedure in enacting the law.

Explanation

Under Article 118(4) of the Constitution of India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The joint sitting is summoned by the President under Article 108 to resolve a deadlock between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha over the passage of a bill. If the Speaker is absent from the joint sitting, the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides, and if they are also absent, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha takes the chair.

Explanation

Article 120(1) of the Constitution of India prescribes the language to be used in Parliament. While it mandates that business in Parliament shall be transacted in Hindi or in English, its proviso specifically empowers the Speaker of the House of the People or the Chairman of the Council of States to permit any member who cannot adequately express themselves in Hindi or English to address the House in their mother tongue.

Explanation

The landmark Supreme Court judgment in Indira Sawhney Vs. Union of India (1992), often referred to as the Mandal Commission case, upheld the government's decision to implement a 27% reservation in public employment for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The nine-judge bench examined the scope of Article 16(4) of the Constitution and ruled that backward classes could be identified on the basis of caste. It also introduced the concept of the "creamy layer" to exclude wealthier individuals among the OBCs from reservation benefits and capped the total quantum of reservations at 50% under normal circumstances.

Explanation

Article 243H(c) provides that a State Legislature may make grants-in-aid to Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State. The precise phrase 'Consolidated Fund of the State' does not appear as an option; options A, B, and C (taxes by Union/State/Panchayats) are clearly wrong, making D (Consolidated Fund of India) the only fund-based option and the exam-intended answer.

Explanation

The Preamble to the Constitution of India declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. This specific sequence represents the nature of the Indian polity as established by the constitution. Originally, the Preamble declared India as a Sovereign Democratic Republic, but the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 inserted the words Socialist and Secular between Sovereign and Democratic, resulting in the current order.

Explanation

Article 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

Article 20 provides protection against conviction for offenses by safeguarding individuals against ex-post facto laws, double jeopardy, and self-incrimination.

Article 25 guarantees the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion.

Article 32 provides the right to constitutional remedies, allowing citizens to petition the Supreme Court directly for the enforcement of their fundamental rights.

Explanation

Article 360 of the Constitution of India contains provisions for a Financial Emergency, which can be declared by the President of India if the financial stability or credit of the nation or any part of its territory is threatened. Since the adoption of the Constitution in 1950, a Financial Emergency has never been declared or imposed in India, even during times of severe economic strain such as the balance of payments crisis of 1991.

Explanation

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by the Government of India in May 2016 with the objective of providing clean cooking fuel in the form of Liquefied Petroleum Gas connections to women belonging to Below Poverty Line households. The scheme aims to replace unhealthy conventional cooking fuels, such as firewood, coal, and dung cakes, which cause severe respiratory illnesses due to indoor air pollution, thereby safeguarding the health of women and children.

Explanation

The Finance Commission of India is a constitutional body established by the President of India under Article 280 of the Constitution. Its primary function is to define, regulate, and recommend the financial relations between the Central Government and the State Governments. Specifically, it makes recommendations on the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the States, the allocation of these proceeds among the States, and the principles that should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

Explanation

In the Union Budget of India for the financial year 2017-18, the Government of India allocated ₹48,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This allocation represented an increase of nearly 25% from the ₹38,500 crore budget estimate of the previous financial year 2016-17. The increased funding was aimed at supporting rural livelihoods, doubling farmers' income, and boosting water conservation works such as the construction of farm ponds across rural India.

Explanation

According to the Census 2011, the overall literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh is 82.80%. Within this, the male literacy rate is 89.53% and the female literacy rate is 75.93%.

Explanation

The standard UNDP HDI measures Life Expectancy at birth (iii) and GNI/Real GDP per capita (ii); Morbidity (iv) is not an HDI component. No option isolates only (ii) and (iii), so B — which includes both genuine components plus infant mortality (i) — is the closest available answer and excludes the clearly wrong morbidity indicator.

Explanation

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) is the premier agency in India responsible for conducting large-scale, nationwide sample surveys. It periodically carries out household consumer expenditure surveys, typically on a quinquennial basis. The comprehensive data collected during these surveys on household consumption expenditure serves as the primary database for estimating the poverty line and calculating the poverty ratio in India.

Explanation

AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 June, 2015. The mission aims to establish infrastructure that ensures robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation. It covers 500 cities with a population of over one lakh, focusing on improving basic urban infrastructure such as water supply, sewerage, septage management, storm water drainage, urban transport, and green spaces.

Explanation

According to the poverty estimates released by the Planning Commission of India for the year 2011-12 based on the Suresh Tendulkar Committee methodology, Bihar has the highest poverty ratio of 33.74%. In comparison, Odisha recorded a poverty ratio of 32.59% and Uttar Pradesh recorded 29.43%.

Explanation

In the Union Budget proposals for 2017-18, the total allocation for the rural, agriculture, and allied sectors was set at ₹1,87,223 crore. This represented a substantial increase of 24% over the previous year's allocation, making the figure of ₹80,000 crore incorrect.

Explanation

The growth rate of Himachal Pradesh during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) was estimated at 7.2 percent, as reported in official HP Economic Survey and Plan documents. This figure represents the state's GSDP growth target and achievement estimate for that plan period.

Explanation

According to the Fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey (2015-16) conducted by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, the unemployment rate in India was estimated to be 5.0% at the all-India level under the Usual Principal Status approach. In rural sectors, the unemployment rate stood at 5.1%, while in urban areas, it was 4.9%.

Explanation

As of 2016, India had 26 designated wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The 26th site to be added to this list was the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat, which was designated in November 2012. The total count of Ramsar sites in India remained at 26 until the designation of the Sundarban Wetland in 2019.

Explanation

India signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in May 2002 and formally ratified it on January 13, 2006. By ratifying the convention under Article 25(4), India established an opt-out position, which ensures that future amendments to the convention annexes do not automatically apply to India without explicit domestic ratification.

Explanation

Ecosystem services represent the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. These services are classified into four main categories: provisioning services (such as food, clean water, and medicinal resources), regulating services (such as climate regulation, flood control, and water purification), supporting services (such as nutrient cycling and soil formation), and cultural services (such as recreational and spiritual benefits). Environmental degradation directly disrupts these vital natural processes, leading to a comprehensive collapse of the world's life-support systems. Consequently, the depletion of these fundamental services poses the most profound threat to human survival, health, and economic stability, making it the most significant loss to humankind.

Explanation

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. This initiative recognizes the importance of international tourism in fostering better understanding among peoples everywhere, promoting awareness of the rich heritage of various civilizations, and contributing to the strengthening of peace globally.

Explanation

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal is an international treaty designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations. It specifically aims to prevent the transfer of hazardous waste from developed countries to less developed countries. Adopted in 1989 and entering into force in 1992, the convention seeks to minimize the rate and toxicity of wastes generated, to ensure their environmentally sound management as close to the source of generation as possible, and to assist developing countries in the environmentally sound management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.

Explanation

Soybean is widely considered a highly promising feedstock for biodiesel production due to its high oil content and viability for large-scale cultivation. Soybean oil is easily converted into biodiesel through transesterification, producing a fuel that is highly compatible with standard compression-ignition engines. It offers an excellent net energy yield-to-input ratio and is highly biodegradable, non-toxic, and virtually free of sulfur. These features make it a leading choice for commercial biodiesel blends used globally in the transportation sector.

Explanation

Secondary treatment is a biological process that utilizes microorganisms to decompose the dissolved and suspended organic matter present in wastewater. During this phase, aerobic bacteria consume the organic impurities as food, converting them into carbon dioxide, water, and energy. Since biological oxygen demand is a measure of the organic pollutant load that requires oxygen for decomposition, this biological degradation of organic waste directly and significantly reduces the biological oxygen demand of the water.

Explanation

Dead zones are hypoxic areas in oceans and large lakes where oxygen levels are extremely low, making it difficult for marine life to survive. These zones are primarily caused by nutrient pollution, specifically excess levels of nitrates and phosphates from agricultural runoff, wastewater, and fertilizers. This abundance of nutrients triggers eutrophication, resulting in an excessive bloom of algae. When this massive biomass of algae dies, it sinks to the bottom and undergoes bacterial decomposition. The decomposition process is highly aerobic, leading to a high biological oxygen demand that depletes the dissolved oxygen in the water column. Consequently, dead zones exhibit all of these interconnected characteristics.

Explanation

Sweden implemented its carbon tax in 1991, making it one of the first countries in the world to do so. This policy has been highly successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while allowing the national economy to grow. Between 1990 and 2014, Sweden reduced its total greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 25% while its gross domestic product grew by more than 60% in real terms. The tax is levied on the carbon content of fossil fuels used for heating and motor transport, which has successfully incentivized households and industries to switch to bioenergy, expand municipal district heating systems, and improve overall energy efficiency.

Explanation

The hard-ground swamp deer, also known as the barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi), is endemic to the central Indian landscape. By 1967, its population had declined to an alarming low of just 66 individuals in Kanha due to rampant hunting, habitat fragmentation, and disease, pushing the subspecies to the verge of extinction. Through persistent, dedicated conservation efforts, habitat improvement, and scientific breeding programs launched at Kanha National Park, the population was successfully revived, representing one of the most successful wildlife recovery stories in India.

Explanation

Potato chips contain fats and oils which undergo oxidation when exposed to oxygen, leading to rancidity, unpleasant smell, and bad taste. Nitrogen is an unreactive, inert gas that does not react with these fats and oils. By flushing the chip packets with nitrogen gas, oxygen is completely displaced from the packaging. This prevents the oxidation process, thereby preserving the freshness, crispness, and flavor of the chips for a longer duration. Additionally, the filled gas acts as a cushion to protect the delicate chips from crushing during transport.

Explanation

Litmus is a natural water-soluble dye extracted from lichens, most notably from the species Roccella tinctoria. Lichens are symbiotic associations between algae and fungi. The extracted dye is commonly used to treat filter paper to create litmus paper, a classic pH indicator that changes color to red in acidic solutions and blue in alkaline solutions.

Explanation

Acidity in the stomach after overeating is caused by the hypersecretion of hydrochloric acid (HCl). To treat this condition, a mild basic substance known as an antacid is required to neutralize the excess acid. Baking soda, chemically known as sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO₃), is a mild base. When ingested, it undergoes a neutralization reaction with the excess hydrochloric acid in the stomach, forming sodium chloride (NaCl), water (H₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂). This reaction neutralizes the excess acid, thereby relieving the burning sensation and discomfort.

Explanation

Milk of magnesia is a suspension of magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)₂, which is a weak base. It is widely used as an antacid to neutralize excess hydrochloric acid in the stomach and relieve indigestion. Due to its basic nature, it has a pH value of approximately 10, making it an effective and safe alkaline formulation for human consumption.

Explanation

Chlorophyll degradation is a catabolic pathway in which the green pigment chlorophyll is broken down, typically occurring during leaf senescence, fruit ripening, or in response to environmental stress. It is not a functional step in the metabolic pathway of photosynthesis, which instead requires stable, intact chlorophyll molecules to actively capture and utilize light energy.

Explanation

A fathometer is a specialized instrument used to measure the depth of water, primarily in oceans and deep seas. It works on the principle of echo sounding, where a sound transmitter sends an acoustic pulse downward through the water. This sound wave travels to the ocean bed, reflects off the bottom, and returns to a receiver. By measuring the precise time interval between the transmission of the sound pulse and the reception of its echo, and knowing the speed of sound in seawater, the depth of the ocean floor is accurately determined using the relation: depth = (speed × time) / 2.

Explanation

A light-year is a unit of astronomical distance defined as the total distance that light travels in a vacuum in one Julian year. Since light travels at a speed of approximately 3 × 10⁸ meters per second, one light-year is equivalent to about 9.46 × 10¹⁵ meters or 9.46 trillion kilometers. It is commonly used to measure the immense distances between stars, galaxies, and other celestial bodies across the universe.

Explanation

Red, green, and blue are the additive primary colors of light. These colors can be combined in various proportions to create a wide spectrum of colors, including white light when all three are mixed together at full intensity. This additive color model forms the basis for how digital displays, televisions, and projectors project color.

Explanation

Acetone, chemically known as propanone with the formula CH₃COCH₃, is a highly effective, colorless, and volatile organic solvent. It is the primary active ingredient in most nail polish removers because it rapidly breaks down and dissolves the organic polymers, resins, and plasticizers present in nail polish, allowing them to be easily wiped off the nail surface.

Explanation

Argon is the third most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, accounting for approximately 0.934% of dry air by volume. Among all the noble or rare gases, it has the highest concentration because it is continually produced in the Earth's crust by the radioactive decay of potassium-40, which then escapes into the atmosphere.