UPSC Prelims 2012 Question Paper with Answers & Explanations – Page 2

The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air is slowly raising the temperature of the atmosphere because it absorbs

Which one of the following sets of elements was primarily responsible for the origin of life on the Earth?

What are the reasons for the people’s resistance to the introduction of Bt brinjal in India?

1. Bt brinjal has been created by inserting a gene from a soil fungus into its genome.

2. The seeds of Bt brinjal are terminator seeds and therefore, the farmers have to buy the seeds before every season from the seed companies.

3. There is an apprehension that the consumption of Bt brinjal may have adverse impact on health.

4. There is some concern that the introduction of Bt brinjal may have adverse effect on the biodiversity.

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Other than resistance to pests, what are the prospects for which genetically engineered plants have been created?

1. To enable them to withstand drought.

2. To increase the nutritive value of the produce.

3. To enable them to grow and do photosynthesis in spaceships and space stations.

4. To increase their shelf life.

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Consider the following statements:

The most effective contribution made by Dadabhai Naoroji to the cause of Indian National Movement was that he

1. Exposed the economic exploitation of India by the British.

2. Interpreted the ancient Indian texts and restored the self-confidence of Indians.

3. Stressed the need for eradication of all the social evils before anything else.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to Dhrupad, one of the major traditions of India that has been kept alive for centuries, which of the following statements are correct?

1. Dhrupad originated and developed in the Rajput kingdoms during the Mughal period.

2. Dhrupad is primarily a devotional and spiritual music.

3. Dhrupad Alap uses Sanskrit syllables from Mantras.

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How do you distinguish between Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dances?

1. Dancers occasionally speaking dialogues is found in Kuchipudi dance but not in Bharatanatyam.

2. Dancing on the brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is a feature of Bharatanatyam but Kuchipudi dance does not have such a form of movements.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to the religious history of medieval India, the Sufi mystics were known to pursue which of the following practices?

1. Meditation and control of breath.

2. Severe ascetic exercises in a lonely place.

3. Recitation of holy songs to arouse a state of ecstasy in their audience.

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The Rowlatt Act aimed at

The Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress (1929) is very important in history, because

1. The Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence.

2. The rift between the extremists and moderates was resolved in that Session.

3. A resolution was passed rejecting the two-nation theory in that Session.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with the hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes

The religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily of

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Brahmo Samaj?

1. It opposed idolatry.

2. It denied the need for a priestly class for interpreting the religious texts.

3. It popularized the doctrine that the Vedas are infallible.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) acts as a bankers’ bank. This would imply which of the following?

1. Other banks retain their deposits with the RBI.

2. The RBI lends funds to the commercial banks in times of need.

3. The RBI advises the commercial banks on monetary matters.

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"Under which of the following circumstances may ‘capital gains’ arise?

1. When there is an increase in the sales of a product

2. When there is a natural increase in the value of the property owned

3. When you purchase a painting and there is a growth in its value due to increase in its popularity

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Which of the following measures would result in an increase in the money supply in the economy?

1. Purchase of government securities from the public by the Central Bank.

2. Deposit of currency in commercial banks by the public.

3. Borrowing by the government from the Central Bank.

4. Sale of government securities to the public by the Central Bank.

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Consider the following statements:

The price of any currency in international market is decided by the

1. World Bank

2. Demand for goods/services provided by the country concerned

3. Stability of the government of the concerned country

4. Economic potential of the country in question.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

The basic idea of Lead Bank Scheme is that

Consider the following:

1. Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the quality of crops.

2. Use of mobile cannons in warfare.

3. Cultivation of tobacco and red chillies.

Which of the above was/were introduced into India by the English?

With reference to the guilds (Shreni) of ancient India that played a very important role in the country’s economy, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the king was the chief administrative authority on them.

2. The wages, rules of work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild.

3. The guild had judicial powers over its own members.

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The distribution of powers between the Centre and the States in the Indian Constitution is based on the scheme provided in the

Despite having large reserves of coal, why does India import millions of tonnes of coal?

1. It is the policy of India to save its own coal reserves for future, and import it from other countries for the present use.

2. Most of the power plants in India are coal-based and they are not able to get sufficient supplies of coal from within the country.

3. Steel companies need large quantity of coking coal which has to be imported.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A person stood alone in a desert on a dark night and wanted to reach his village which was situated 5 km east of the point where he was standing. He had no instruments to find the direction but he located the pole star. The most convenient way now to reach his village is to walk in the

Recently, there has been a concern over the short supply of a group of elements called ‘rare earth metals’. Why?

1. China, which is the largest producer of these elements, has imposed some restrictions on their export.

2. Other than China, Australia, Canada and Chile, these elements are not found in any country.

3. Rare earth metals are essential for the manufacture of various kinds of electronic items and there is a growing demand for these elements.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following protected areas:

1. Bandipur

2. Bhitarkanika

3. Manas

4. Sundarbans

Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?

Consider the following statements:

1. The duration of the monsoon decreases from southern India to northern India.

2. The amount of annual rainfall in the northern plains of India decreases from east to west.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following is the characteristic climate of the Tropical Savannah Region?

In which one among the following categories of protected areas in India are local people not allowed to collect and use the biomass?

Consider the following kinds of organisms:

1. Bat

2. Bee

3. Bird

Which of the above is/are pollinating agent/agents?

Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

Consider the following statements:

If there were no phenomenon of capillarity

1. It would be difficult to use a kerosene lamp.

2. One would not be able to use a straw to consume a soft drink.

3. The blotting paper would fail to function.

4. The big trees that we see around would not have grown on the Earth.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment describes the following major categories of ecosystem services—provisioning, supporting, regulating, preserving and cultural. Which one of the following is supporting service?

What is the difference between the antelopes Oryx and Chiru?

Which of the following can be threats to the biodiversity of a geographical area?

1. Global warming

2. Fragmentation of habitat

3. Invasion of alien species

4. Promotion of vegetarianism

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Consider the following:

1. Black-necked crane

2. Cheetah

3. Flying squirrel

4. Snow leopard

Which of the above are naturally found in India?

Consider the following agricultural practices:

1. Contour bunding

2. Relay cropping

3. Zero tillage

In the context of global climate change, which of the above helps/help in carbon sequestration/storage in the soil?

What would happen if phytoplankton of an ocean is completely destroyed for some reason?

1. The ocean as a carbon sink would be adversely affected.

2. The food chains in the ocean would be adversely affected.

3. The density of ocean water would drastically decrease.

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Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to