1 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

ALL INDIA PRELIMS TEST SERIES – 2019

MOCK - 2

GENERAL STUDIES

Answer Key

Ans:1)(d)

Explanation: The government has announced the setting up of Ekalavya

Residential Schools to provide education to

tribals (and not Scheduled Castes) in their

local environment. Ekalavya schools in every

block (not district) with more than 50% ST

population and at least 20,000 tribal persons by 2022. Thus, statement 1 is wrong.

Admission to these schools will be through

selection/competition with suitable provision

for preference to children belonging to

Primitive Tribal Groups, first generation students, etc. Sufficient land would be given

by the State Government for the school, play

grounds, hostels, residential quarters, etc.,

free of cost. In these schools, education will

be entirely free.

Every class can have maximum 60 students preferably in 2 sections of 30 students each

and the total sanctioned strength of the

school will be 480 students. At the Higher

Secondary level (class XI & XII), there will be

three sections per class for the three streams in Science, Commerce & Humanities. Hence

it also provides education to higher secondary

level and is not limited to elementary level of

schooling. Thus, second statement is also

wrong.

Ans:2)(b)

Explanation: The permanent settlement of

Bengal was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in

1793.

Subsidiary alliance was a system of the rulers which was introduced by Lord Wellesley in

India (1798-1805).

The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation

policy purportedly devised by Lord Dalhousie,

who was the Governor General of East India

Company in 1848-56. Partition of Bengal was announced in July

1905 by Lord Curzon.

Ans:3)(d)

Explanation: Subhash Chandra Bose was the first person to call Mahatma Gandhi

‘Father of Nation’. On 6th July, 1944, Bose

addressed to Gandhi on Azad Hind Radio

from Rangoon and said: “India’s last war of

Independence has begun, father of our

nation, in this holy war of India’s liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes. It

was Ravindra Nath Tagore who called

Gandhiji as Mahatma in 1915.

Ans:4)(b)

Explanation: Round Table Conference was

first ever conferences between the British and

Indians as equals. While the congress and

most business leaders boycotted the first Round Table Conference, the Muslim League,

the Hindu Mahasabha, the Liberals and

Princes attended it.

The British Government now made attempts

to negotiate an agreement with the congress so that it would attend the Round Table

Conference, Finally Lord Irwin and Gandhiji

Negotiated a settlement in March 1931

known as Gandhi – Irwin Pact.

Ans:5)(b) Explanation: “Khudai Khidmatgar”, also

known as ‘Red Shirt’ was a volunteer

organisation founded by Khan Abdul Gaffar

Khan in NWFP. He called for Pathan regional

unity and a struggle against colonialism. They also sought to improve the conditions of

wage-earners.

The Muslims of North West Frontier province

played an important role in civil disobedience

Movement, while the Muslims of other

provinces were keeping themselves away from Satyagraha Movement.

It was founded parallel to Civil Disobedience

Movement.

Ans:6)(d) Explanation: British PM Ramsay Macdonald

announced communal award on 16th August,

1932.

According to Legislative Assembly provisions,

few seats of Legislative Assembly were

reserved for minorities whose candidate were to be elected by separate electorates.

Muslims and Sikhs were already considered

as minorities. Morley Minto reforms provided

for separate electorates for Muslims.

Government of India Act 1919 extended the principle of Communal representation to

Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and

Europeans.

Communal Award (1932) extended the

scheme of separate electorates to Dalits

(untouchables).

2 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:7)(a)

Explanation: The Wahabi Movement was

essentially an Islamic revivalist movement

founded by Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly who was inspired by the teachings of Abdul

Wahab (1703-87) of Saudi Arabia and Shah

Waliullah of Delhi. Syed Ahmed condemned

the western influence on Islam and advocated

a return to pure Islam and society as it was

in the Arabia of the Prophet’s time. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed founded the

Ahmaddiya movement.

Ans:8)(a)

Explanation: Waghera Rising: A resentment against the alien rule coupled with the

exactions of the Gaekwar of Baroda

supported by the British Government

compelled the Waghera chiefs of Okha

Mandal to take up arms. The Wagheras

carried out inroads into British territory during 1818-19. A peace treaty was signed in

November 1820.

Chuar Uprising: Famine, enhanced land

revenue demands and economic distress

provoked the Chuar aboriginal tribesmen of Midnapore district to take up arms. The

uprising lasted from 1766 to 1772 and then,

again surfaced between 1795 and 1816.

Ho uprising: The Ho and Munda tribesmen of

Chhotanagpur challenged the Company’s

forces in 1820-22, then again in 1831, and the area remained disturbed till 1837.

Ans:9)(c)

Explanation: Lord Metcalfe’s (Governor

General of India 1835-36) short term of office is memorable for the measure which his

predecessor had initiated, but which he

carried into execution. He is best known for

giving entire liberty to the press. Due to his

liberal policy towards press, Lord Metcalfe is

known as Liberator of India Press but soon he became a victim of party politics in England

and was succeeded by Lord Auckland in

1836.

Ans:10)(a) Explanation: Subhas Chandra Bose is one of

the most eminent freedom fighters of India.

Born in Cuttack, then in Bengal Province into

an affluent family. Educated in Calcutta

acquiring a degree in philosophy. Selected for

the Indian Civil Services (ICS) but refused to

take up service since he did not want to serve the British government.

Bose joined the Indian National Congress

(INC) in 1921. He also started a newspaper

called ‘Swaraj’.

He was the President of the All India Youth

Congress and also the Secretary of the Bengal

State Congress. In 1924, he became the CEO

of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. In

1930, he became the Mayor of Calcutta.

Bose authored the book ‘The Indian Struggle’

which covers the Indian independence movement from 1920 to 1942. The book was

banned by the British government.

He coined the term ‘Jai Hind’. His charisma

and powerful personality inspired many

people into the freedom struggle and

continues to inspire Indians. He was called

Netaji.

Bose was sent to prison in Mandalay for nationalist activities in 1925. He was released

in 1927 and became the INC’s general

secretary.

He worked with Jawaharlal Nehru and the

two became the Congress Party’s young

leaders gaining popularity among the people.

He advocated complete Swaraj and was in

favour of the use of force to gain it.

He had differences with Gandhi and he wasn’t keen on non-violence as a tool for

independence.

Bose stood for and was elected the party’s

president in 1939 but was forced to resign

due to differences with Gandhi’s supporters.

Bose’s ideology tilted towards socialism and

leftist authoritarianism. He formed the All

India Forward Bloc in 1939 as a faction within the Congress.

At the start of the Second World War, Bose

protested against the government for not

consulting Indians before dragging them into

the war. He was arrested when he organised

protests in Calcutta for the removal of the

monument memorialising the Black Hole of Calcutta.

He was released after a few days but was kept

under surveillance. He then made his escape

from the country in 1941 to Germany via

Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. He had

previously travelled to Europe and met with Indian students and European political

leaders.

In Germany, he met with the Nazi leaders and

hoped to stage an armed struggle against the

British to gain independence. He hoped to

befriend the Axis powers since they were

against his ‘enemy’ the British.

He founded the Indian Legion out of about 4500 Indian soldiers who were in the British

army and had been taken prisoners by the

Germans from North Africa.

In 1943, he left Germany for Japan

disillusioned with German support for Azad

Hind.

Bose’s arrival in Japan revived the Indian

National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) which had been formed earlier with Japanese help.

3 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Azad Hind or the Provisional Government of

Free India was established as a government-

in-exile with Bose as the head. Its

headquarters was in Singapore. The INA was

its military.

Bose motivated the troops with his fiery speeches. His famous quote is, “Give me

blood, and I shall give you freedom!”

The INA supported the Japanese army in its

invasion of northeast India and also took

control of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

However, they were forced to retreat by the

British forces.

Ans:11)(c)

Explanation: Kakori Conspiracy is also

known as Kakori Conspiracy Case or The

Kakori Train Robbery, it was an armed

robbery which took place on August 9, 1925, on a train in central Uttar Pradesh. The

raiders were known to be members of the

newly formed Hindustan Republican

Association, a revolutionary organization

whose mission was to liberate India from British colonial rule through a revolution

which included armed rebellion. The HRA

carried out such robberies and raids to make

funds for their militant activities.

The plan was hatched by Ram Prasad Bismil

and Ashfaqullah Khan. It was executed by Bismil, Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad,

Rajendra Lahiri, Sachindra Bakshi, Keshab

Chakravarty and a few others. Unfortunately,

a passenger was killed in an accidental firing.

This made it a murder case.

Ans:12)(d)

Explanation: Few rivers in Rajasthan do not

drain into the sea. They drain into salt lakes

and get lost in sand with no outlet to sea.

Besides these, there are the desert rivers which flow for some distance and are lost in

the desert. These are Luni, Machhu, Rupen,

Saraswati, Banas, Ghaggar and others. These

rivers are known as Inland Rivers.

Ans:13)(b)

Explanation: The song Vande Mataram,

composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra

Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the

people in their struggle for freedom. It has an

equal status with jana-gam-mana.

Ans:14)(b)

Explanation: Presently India is the second

largest fish producing and also second largest

producer of fresh water fish in the world. India is also a major producer of fish through

aquaculture and ranks second in the world

after China.

Fisheries is a sunrise sector with varied

resources and potential, engaging over 14.50

million people at the primary level and many

more along the value chain. Transformation of the fisheries sector from traditional to

commercial scale has led to an increase in

fish production.

Item/Year 1991-92 2016-17

Marine

Fisheries

24.47 Lakhs

Tonne

35.8 Lakhs

Tonne

Inland Fisheries

17.10 Lakhs Tonne

77.69 Lakhs Tonne

Ans:15)(b)

Explanation: The Rotterdam Convention

(formally, the Rotterdam Convention on the

Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain

Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade) is a multilateral treaty to

promote shared responsibilities in relation to

importation of hazardous chemicals. The

Convention entered into force on 24 February

2004 and became legally binding for its Parties.

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic

Pollutants is an international environmental

treaty, signed in 2001 and effective from May

2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the

production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It is legally binding for its

parties.

The "Basel Convention on the Control of

Transboundary Movements of Hazardous

Wastes and their Disposal" controls the international trade in hazardous wastes. The

Convention, which was adopted in 1989 and

entered into force in 1992, was negotiated to

establish a "notice and consent" regime for

the export of hazardous waste to importing

countries. Under the Convention's provisions, trade in hazardous wastes generally cannot

take place:

without the importing country's written

consent

where the exporting country has reason to

believe that the particular wastes will not be

handled in an environmentally sound manner

Currently, there are more than 160 Parties to the Convention.

Ans:16)(d)

Explanation: It is implemented through

Ministry of Defence for ecological restoration of terrains, rendered difficult either due to

severe degradation or remote location or

difficult law and order situation. It is based

on twin objectives of ecological regeneration

in difficult areas, and promotion of

meaningful employment to ex-servicemen.

4 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:17)(b)

Explanation: The Global Learning and

Observations to Benefit the Environment

(GLOBE) Program is an international science and education program that provides

students and the public worldwide with the

opportunity to participate in data collection

and the scientific process, and contribute

meaningfully to our understanding of the

Earth system and global environment. Announced by the U.S. Government on Earth

Day in 1994, GLOBE launched its worldwide

implementation in 1995.

GLOBE is sponsored by the U.S. National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with support from the National Science

Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and

Department of State. Internationally, GLOBE

is implemented through government-to-

government agreements with each country partner responsible for in-country activities.

Ans:18)(c)

Explanation: Bering Strait separated Russia

and America (Alaska). Beringia is a modern name for a strip of land that once connected

Asia to Alaska in North America. Beringia

existed during the Ice Ages, periods when the

climate of the earth was colder.

Ans:19)(a) Explanation: The velocity of the ‘S’ waves

increases with depth but only up to 2,900

kilometers. Afterwards, ‘S’ waves passing

across the direction of their movement do not

pass and the ‘P’ waves travelling in the direction of their movement generally pass at

a reduced velocity.

The velocity of the ‘P’ waves passing through

inner core again increases as compared to

their passage through the outer core. This

briefly point out that the inner core of the earth is of solid iron and the outer core has

probably the properties of a liquid.

Ans:20)(c)

Explanation: The Global Land Outlook (GLO) was launched in September 2017 at the 13th

Conference of the Parties to the United

Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

(COP13) in Ordos, China. The GLO is a

strategic communications platform and

publication that demonstrates the central importance of land quality to human well-

being, assesses current trends in land

conversion, degradation and loss, identifies

the driving factors and analyzes the impacts,

provides scenarios for future challenges and opportunities, and presents a new and

transformative vision for land management

policy, planning and practice at global and

national scales.

Ans:21)(b) Explanation: The targets for the first

commitment period (2008-2012) of the Kyoto

Protocol cover emissions of the six main

greenhouse gases, namely: Carbondioxide

(CO2); Methane(CH4); Nitrousoxide (N2O);

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Ans:22)(c)

Explanation: GEF approved a grant of USD

15 million for the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem

(BOBLME) project, started by the UN Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2009,

involving all eight countries along its

coastline - Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,

Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. BOBLME project aims to promote

sustainable fishing, reduce marine pollution

and improve the lives of approximately 400

million people who live along its coasts.

Nepal and Bhutan (part of BIMSTEC) are not part of this program.

Ans:23)(a)

Explanation: Several people estimates that

national income were prepared in the British

period. Notable among them were: 1. Dadabhai Naoroji (1868)

2. William Digby (1899)

3. Findlay Shirras(1911, 1922 and 1931)

4. Shah and Khambatta (1921)

5. V. K. R. V Rao (1925-29 and 1931-32) 6. R. C Desai (1931- 40)

In 1949, soon after the establishment of

independent India, the National Income

Committee (NIC) was formed to compile

statistics and estimate national income. The

committee was headed by P. C. Mahalanobis and included D.R. Gadgil and V. K. R. V Rao.

Ans:24)(d)

Explanation: Demand-pull inflation is

asserted to arise when aggregate demand in an economy outpaces aggregate supply. This

is commonly described as "too much money

chasing too few goods," since only money that

is spent on goods and services can cause

inflation.

Some of the causes are:

There is a quick increase in consumption and investment along with extremely confident

firms.

There is a sudden increase in exports due to

huge under-valuation of the currency.

There is a lot of government spending.

5 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

The expectation also leads to rise in inflation.

Workers and firms will increase their prices

to 'catch up' to inflation.

There is excessive monetary growth, when

there is too much money in the system

chasing too few goods. The 'price' of a good will thus increase.

There is a rise in population.

Ans:25)(b)

Explanation: Tiger Cub Economies refer to

developing countries in Southeast Asia,

including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The term cub

indicates each country is still in the early

stages of development. After years of growth

and maturation, the hope is to evolve into a

tiger economy like Japan, Taiwan, South

Korea, and Hong Kong. The original Four Asian Tigers experienced

substantial economic growth between 1950

and 1990 from a huge push by the

government and corporate sector to promote

industrialization. Today, the cub economies are following a similar path. They adopted

similar export-driven models that stress the

importance of technology to achieve similar

results as the older Tigers.

Ans:26)(a) Explanation: In economics, a normal good is

any good for which demand increases when

income increases. As with increase in

monthly income, the family increases the

consumption of milk, it is a normal good. An inferior good is a type of good whose

demand declines when income rises.

A Giffen good, in economic theory, is a good

that is in greater demand as its price

increases.

Necessity goods are products and services that consumers will buy regardless of the

changes in their income levels, therefore

making these products less sensitive to

income change.

Ans:27)(c)

Explanation: A regulatory sandbox is a

framework set up by a regulator that allows

FinTech startups to conduct live experiments

in a controlled environment under

supervision. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue

guidelines within two months for fintech

companies to test their new products on a

small group of users before scaling up.

The concept is also being used in the digital economy arena, to refer to testing grounds for

new business models that are not protected

by current regulation, or supervised by

regulatory institutions.

These testing grounds are especially relevant

in the fintech world, where there is a growing

need to develop regulatory frameworks for

emerging business models. The purpose of the sandbox is to adapt compliance

with strict financial regulations to the growth

and pace of the most innovative companies,

in a way that doesn’t smother the fintech

sector with rules, but also doesn’t diminish

consumer protection.

Ans:28)(b)

Explanation: Section 45ZB of the amended

RBI Act, 1934 provides for an empowered six-

member monetary policy committee (MPC) to be constituted by the Central Government by

notification in the Official Gazette.

Accordingly, the Central Government in

September 2016 constituted the MPC.

The MPC determines the policy interest rate

required to achieve the inflation target. Under the amended RBI Act, the monetary

policy making is as under:

The MPC is required to meet at least four

times in a year.

The quorum for the meeting of the MPC is

four members.

Each member of the MPC has one vote. The

governor also has one vote.

In case of deadlock governor has the right to

cast his second vote.

Ans:29)(a)

Explanation: Repo Rate: The (fixed) interest

rate at which the Reserve Bank provides

liquidity in short term to banks against the collateral of government and other approved

securities under the liquidity adjustment

facility (LAF).

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): The share of

NDTL that a bank is required to maintain in

safe and liquid assets, such as, unencumbered government securities, cash

and gold. Changes in SLR often influence the

availability of resources in the banking

system for lending to the private sector.

Reverse Repo Rate (and not Bank Rate): The (fixed) interest rate at which the Reserve

Bank absorbs liquidity, on an overnight

basis, from banks against the collateral of

eligible government securities under the LAF.

Bank Rate: It is the rate at which the Reserve

Bank is ready to buy or rediscount bills of exchange or other commercial papers.

Hence third pair is incorrect.

Ans:30)(c)

Explanation: RBI uses various qualitative

and quantitative tools to control liquidity in the economy.

6 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

When RBI buys government securities, in

exchange it pays INR => increase in supply of

INR. RBI does it through Open Market

Operations. In second case, in the event of an excess

demand for dollars, the RBI supplies the

same by exchanging with INR. Hence money

supply decreases.

Increase in CRR decreases the lending

capacity of banks and thus the flow of money into the economy.

Ans:31)(b)

Explanation: In a major digital initiative to

help plan the traffic flows and optimize freight operations, Ministry of Railways have

launched Smart Freight Operation Optimisati

on & Real Time Information (SFOORTI) App

for Freight Managers which provides features

for monitoring and managing freight business

using Geographic Information System (GIS) Views and Dashboard.

Salient features of SFOORTI Application are

as below:

With this application, movement of freight

trains on Geographic Information System

(GIS) view can be tracked.

Both passenger and freight trains can be

tracked over Zones/Divisions/ Sections in single GIS View.

Freight business can be monitored.

Comparative Analysis of Zonal/Divisional

Traffic.

This app provides a Bird’s eye view of all

Freight Assets in a single window.

Provides end to end Rake movement on

Geospatial view

Expected Traffic at Interchange points to

evaluate daily performance can be viewed.

Performance of each zone and divisions with

respect to loading and utilization of freight assets can be viewed.

Sectional performance monitoring for

sections, divisions and zones shall help in

traffic routing.

Ans:32)(d)

Explanation: Non-tax revenue of the central government mainly consists of interest

receipts (on account of loans by the central

government which constitutes the single

largest item of non-tax revenue), dividends

and profits on investments made by the government, fees and other receipts for

services rendered by the government. Cash

grants-in-aid from foreign countries and

international organisations are also included.

Revenue expenditure consists of all those

expenditures of the government which do not result in creation of physical or financial

assets. It relates to those expenses incurred

for the normal functioning of the government

departments and various services, interest

payments on debt incurred by the

government, and grants given to state governments and other parties (even though

some of the grants may be meant for creation

of assets).

The main items of capital receipts are loans

raised by the government from the public

which are called market borrowings, borrowing by the government from the

Reserve Bank and commercial banks and

other financial institutions through the sale

of treasury bills, loans received from foreign

governments and international organisations, and recoveries of loans granted by the central

government.

This includes expenditure on the acquisition

of land, building, machinery, equipment,

investment in shares, and loans and

advances by the central government to state and union territory governments, PSUs and

other parties. Capital expenditure is also

categorised as plan and non-plan in the

budget documents.

Ans:33)(b)

Explanation: Types of ATMs:

White Label

ATM

ATM Provided by NBFC

(Non-Banking Financial

Company)

Green Label

ATM

ATM Provided for

Agricultural Transaction

Orange Label ATM

ATM Provided for Share Transactions

Yellow Label

ATM

ATM provided for E-

commerce

Pink Label

ATM

ATM for women banking

Brown Label

ATM

ATM are those Automated

Teller Machines where

hardware and the lease of the ATM machine is owned

by a service provider but

cash management and

connectivity to banking

networks is provided by a sponsor bank .

Ans:34)(d)

Explanation: Duty credit scrips are paper

authorizations that allow the holder to import

inputs that go into manufacture of products

that are exported or without paying duties equivalent to the printed value. The scrips are

given to exporters for meeting certain goods

and exporting it to specific markets. Main

objective of the scrip is to incentivize the

exporters to make more exports of specific

7 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

commodities/services and those to specific

markets.

Ans:35)(b) Explanation: Dam Rehabilitation and

Improvement Project: It is a project under

Ministry of Water Resources with financial

assistance from World Bank. 80% of the total

project is provided by the World Bank as

loan/credit and remaining 20% is borne by the States / Central Government (for CWC).

Government has not sought funding from any

internal agency for this project.

The objectives of DRIP are to improve the

safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and associated

appurtenances in a sustainable manner, and

to strengthen the dam safety institutional

setup of participating States / Implementing

Agencies.

Ans:36)(d)

Explanation: GAAR is set of rules under the

Income Tax Act (under the proposed Direct

Tax Code) which empowers the revenue

authorities to deny tax benefits transactions or arrangements.

In India, the GAAR concept was introduced

with the DTC Bill on August 2009. Later, a

revised discussion paper was released with

provisions containing the GAAR under DTC

Bill 2010. The bill aimed to introduce the GAAR involving DTC from 1st April 2012

onwards. The GAAR provisions were

introduced in the 2012-13 budget by the then

Finance Minister Dr. Pranab Mukherjee. But

several of its provisions were criticized because of lack of clarity, lack of safeguards

and increased scope for subjective

authorization by the tax officials.

The government subsequently set up a panel

under Parthasarathy Shome to review the

proposals. The Committee, suggested that the rules be deferred by three years to 2016-17,

arguing that more time is needed to create

administrative machinery for its

implementation and called for intensive

training of officials.

Ans:37)(a)

Explanation: There is a strong connection

between the government’s tax revenue

earnings and economic growth. The simple

fact is that as the economy achieves faster growth, the tax revenue of the government

also goes up.

Tax buoyancy explains this relationship

between the changes in government’s tax

revenue growth and the changes in GDP. It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue

growth to changes in GDP. When a tax is

buoyant, its revenue increases without

increasing the tax rate.

Ans:38)(a) Explanation: If the office of the vice-

president falls vacant by resignation, removal,

and death or otherwise, then election to fill

the vacancy should be held as soon as

possible after the occurrence of the vacancy.

The newly- elected vice-president remains in office for a full term of five years from the

date he assumes charge of his office.

Ans:39)(b)

Explanation: Under the Rules of Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates from amongst the

members a panel of not more than ten

chairpersons. Any of them can preside over

the House in the absence of the Speaker or

the Deputy Speaker. He has the same powers

as the Speaker when so presiding. He holds office until a new panel of chairpersons is

nominated. It must be emphasized here that

a member of the panel of chairpersons cannot

preside over the House, when the office of the

Speaker or the Deputy Speaker is vacant. During such time, the Speaker’s duties are to

be performed by such member of the House

as the President may appoint for the purpose.

A House can declare the seat of a member

vacant if he is absent from all its meetings for

a period of sixty days without its permission. In computing the period of sixty days, no

account shall be taken of any period during

which the House is prorogued or adjourned

for more than four consecutive days. When a

resolution for the removal of the Speaker is under consideration of the House, he cannot

preside at the sitting of the House, though he

may be present. However, he can speak and

take part in the proceedings of the House at

such a time and vote in the first instance,

though not in the case of an equality of votes.

Ans:40)(b)

Explanation: The Constitution which

envisages parliamentary form of government

is federal in structure with unitary features. The President of India is the constitutional

head of executive of the union. Article 74(1) of

the Constitution provides that there shall be

a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister

as its head to aid and advise the President

who shall in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. The real

executive power thus vests in the Council of

Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head.

The Council of Ministers is collectively

responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).

8 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:41)(a)

Explanation: The Constitution of India

provides for a single citizenship for the whole

of India. Every person who was at the commencement of the Constitution (January

26, 1950) domiciled in the territory of India

and: (a) who was born in India; or (b) either of

whose parents were born in India; or (c) who

has been ordinarily resident in India for not

less than five years became a citizen of India. The Citizenship Act, 1955, deals with matters

relating to acquisition, determination and

termination of Indian citizenship after the

commencement of the Constitution.

Ans:42)(c)

Explanation: The Constitution lays down

certain Directive Principles of State Policy,

which though not justifiable, are

‘fundamental in governance of the country’

and it is the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws. These have been

contained in Part IV from Articles 36 to 51 of

the Constitution. These lay down that the

state shall strive to promote the welfare of

people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which

justice—social, economic and political—shall

form the basis in all institutions of national

life.

Ans:43)(a) Explanation: The Union executive consists of

the President, the Vice-President and the

Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister

as the head to aid and advise the President.

Ans:44)(b)

Explanation: The President is elected by

members of an electoral college consisting of

elected members of both Houses of

Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the

states in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of

single transferable vote. To secure uniformity

among states inter se as well as parity

between the states, as a whole, and the

Union, suitable weightage is given to each vote. The President must be a citizen of India,

not less than 35 years of age and qualified for

election as a member of the Lok Sabha. His

term of office is five years and he is eligible for

re-election. His removal from office is to be in

accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may, by

writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-

President, resign his office.

Ans:45)(c) Explanation: There is a Council of Ministers,

headed by the Prime Minister, to aid and

advise the President in exercise of his

functions. The Prime Minister is appointed by

the President who also appoints other

ministers on the advice of Prime Minister. The

Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It is the duty of the Prime Minister to

communicate to the President all decisions of

Council of Ministers relating to

administration of affairs of the Union and

proposals for legislation and information

relating to them.

Ans:46)(d)

Explanation: Legislature of the Union which

is called Parliament, consists of the President

and two Houses, known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha), and House of the People (Lok

Sabha). Each House has to meet within six

months of its previous sitting. A joint sitting

of two Houses can be held in certain cases.

Ans:47)(c) Explanation: The Leaders of Opposition in

the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha are

accorded statutory recognition. Salary and

other suitable facilities are extended to them

through as separate legislation brought into force on November 1, 1997.

The Leader of the Opposition is the politician

who leads the official opposition in either

House of the Parliament of India.

While the position also existed in

former Central Legislative Assembly of British India, and holders of it there included Motilal

Nehru, it received statutory recognition

through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders

of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977.

Ans:48)(b)

Explanation: The Ministry of Parliamentary

Affairs, organises All India Whips Conference

from time to time with the purpose of

establishing suitable links among the whips

of various political parties at the centre and the states/union territories who are

concerned with the practical working of the

legislatures to discuss matters of common

interest and to evolve high standards to

strengthen the institution of parliamentary democracy.

Ans:49)(d)

Explanation: The Solicitor General of India is

the government’s chief legal advisor, and its

primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. The Solicitor General of India is the

secondary law officer of the country, assists

the Attorney-General, and is himself assisted

by several Additional Solicitors General of

India. Like the Attorney-General for India, the Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitors

General advise the government and appear on

behalf of the Union of India in terms of the

9 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Law Officers (Terms and Conditions) Rules,

1972.

However, unlike the post of Attorney-General

for India, which is a constitutional post under Article 76, the posts of the Solicitor General

and the Additional Solicitors General are

merely statutory. Appointments Committee of

the Cabinet appoints the Solicitor General.

Ans:50)(b) Explanation: The Cabinet Secretariat

functions directly under the Prime Minister.

The administrative head of the Secretariat is

the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-

officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board. The business allocated to Cabinet Secretariat

is (i) secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and

Cabinet Committees; and (ii) rules of

business.

The Cabinet secretariat is responsible for the

administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and

the Government of India (Allocation of

Business) Rules, 1961, facilitating smooth

transaction of business in

ministries/departments of the government by ensuring adherence to these rules. It assists

in decision-making by ensuring inter-

ministerial coordination, ironing out

differences amongst ministries/departments

and evolving consensus through the

instrumentality of the standing and ad hoc Committees of Secretaries. The Cabinet

Secretariat ensures that the President, the

Vice-President and ministers are kept

informed of the major activities of all

ministries/departments by means of monthly summary of their activities.

Ans:51)(d)

Explanation: Green Skill Development

Programme is launched by Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2017, it is an initiative for skill development

in the environment and forest sector to

enable India's youth to get gainful

employment and/or self-employment.

All courses are National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) compliant.

The National Skills Qualifications Framework

(NSQF) is a competency-based framework

that organizes all qualifications according to a

series of levels of knowledge, skills and

aptitude. These levels, graded from one to ten, are defined in terms of learning outcomes

which the learner must possess regardless of

whether they are obtained through formal,

non-formal or informal learning. NSQF in

India was notified on 27th December 2013. All other frameworks, including the NVEQF

(National Vocational Educational

Qualification Framework) released by the

Ministry of HRD, stand superceded by the

NSQF.

Ans:52)(b) Explanation: About Lake Urmia

• It is an endorheic (which do not drain to the

sea) salt lake in Iran.

• The lake has shrunk to 10% of its former size

due to damming of the rivers that flow into it,

and the pumping of groundwater from the surrounding area.

• Lake Urmia is designated as a site of

international importance under the UN

Convention on Wetlands.

Ans:53)(b)

Explanation: Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

is a statutory body, under the Ministry of

Environment and Forests, to combat

organized wildlife crime in the country and

was constituted in 2007 by amending the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

It coordinated “Operation Thunder Bird”

(INTERPOL’s multi-national and multispecies

enforcement operation) in India.

It has launched Operation wildnet to counter

the menace of the illegal trade through

internet.

Ans:54)(c)

Explanation: They are large brown algae

seaweeds. They grow in "underwater forests"

(kelp forests) in shallow oceans.

• Usually kelps live further from the tropics than coral reefs, mangrove forests, and

warm-water seagrass beds.

Although kelp forests are unknown in tropical

surface waters, a few species have been

known to occur exclusively in tropical deep

waters.

Kelps and coral reefs are composed of algae

that grow in the shallow parts of the ocean in warm and sunny waters. However, kelp forest

grows in nutrient-rich waters while corals can

develop in low nutrient waters.

Ans:55)(a) Explanation: Vijay kelkar committee is

related to PPP (Public-private-Partnership)

Model.

Madhukar Gupta Committee is related to the

Border Management between India and

Pakistan.

Sailesh Nayak Committee:

The Sailesh Nayak Committee was formed

with an objective to review the issues relating

to Coastal regulation zone 2011. The CRZ

Regulations amended in 2011 had dissatisfied a lot of States. The CRZ

notification 2011 enshrined the concept of a

10 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). It

was to be prepared with the fullest

involvement and participation of local

communities. The amendment had mandated all states to submit coastal development

plans for Centre’s approval which were

pending since 1991, the date of CRZ

notification.

Its other objectives were

Protection of livelihoods of traditional fisher folk communities

Preservation of coastal ecology

Promotion of economic activity that are

necessarily located in coastal regions

Recommendations of Sailesh Nayak

Committee:

1. The committee acknowledged the discrepancy in baseline data demarcating the High Tide

Line, the Low Tide Line and the coastal zone

boundary which has created difficulties in

preparing Coastal Zone Management Plan.

The Committee observed that such plans are essential for the proper implementation of

any CRZ notification

2. The Committee proposed changing the

definition of No Development Zone. It is

reduced from 200 metres from the high tide

line to 100 meters only. This has been done to meet increased demands of housing of

fishing and other traditional coastal

communities.

3. Weaken regulation – It recommends that

except for activities covered under environmental clearances, the state

governments along with the local authorities

should be left in charge of managing coasts in

towns, rural areas as well as the waters up to

12 nautical miles. These relaxations are only for activities not covered under Environment

Impact Assessment Notification 2006.

4. The Committee has recommended that local

town regulations be preferred over existing

Coastal Regulation Zone.

5. States to determine the Floor Area ratio rather than centre under Coastal regulation

Zone.

6. Opening of seas for reclamation of lands for

array of activities allowed. Calling for ‘larger

public interest’ the panel has said that land can be reclaimed for “ports and harbour,

fisheries-related activities and other

infrastructure required in the larger public

interest such as bridges, sea-links on stilts,

roads, important national installations

related to coastal security, tourism etc. 7. States are permitted, if they want to redevelop

and rehabilitate slums in coastal zone.

8. Construction and other activities could be

taken up in CRZIII (rural areas) zone just

50m from the HTL in densely populated rural areas under state norms with the

responsibility to rescue and rehabilitate

during disasters left to local authorities

9. The Committee proposed new, lightly

regulated tourism in the No Development

Zone 10. Determining the list of restrictive activities

has been recommended to be left to the states

and Centre will involve itself with matters

that come under Environmental regulations.

Ans:56)(c)

Explanation:

11 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:57)(c)

Explanation: There are total 37 sites in India

under the UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites

and 11 sites under the UNESCO’s World Network of Man and Biosphere reserves.

List of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in

India:

1. Agra Fort

2. Ajanta Caves

3. Ellora Caves 4. Taj Mahal

5. Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram

6. Sun Temple, Konârak

7. Kaziranga National Park

8. Keoladeo National Park 9. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

10. Churches and Convents of Goa

11. Fatehpur Sikri

12. Group of Monuments at Hampi

13. Khajuraho Group of Monuments

14. Elephanta Caves 15. Great Living Chola Temples 12

16. Group of Monuments at Pattadakal

17. Sundarbans National Park

18. Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National

Parks

19. Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

20. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi

21. Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi

22. Mountain Railways of India 23. Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya

24. Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka

25. Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park

26. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly

Victoria Terminus)

27. Red Fort Complex 28. The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

29. Western Ghats

30. Hill Forts of Rajasthan

31. Great Himalayan National Park Conservation

Area 32. Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan,

Gujarat

33. Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at

Nalanda, Bihar

34. Khangchendzonga National Park

35. The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern

Movement

36. Historic City of Ahmadabad

37. Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of

Mumbai

List of UNESCO’s World Network of Man and Biosphere reserves in India:

Name States Year

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka 2000

Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu 2001

Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve West Bengal 2001

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Uttarakhand 2004

Nokrek Biosphere Reserve Meghalaya 2009

Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve Madhya Pradesh 2009

Simlipal Biosphere Reserve Odisha 2009

Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve Great Nicobar 2013

Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh 2012

Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve Kerala and Tamil Nadu 2016

Khangchendzonga National Park Sikkim 2018

Ans:58)(a)

Explanation: Asiatic Lion, Panthera Leo

Persica is listed in Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and in

Appendix-I of CITES, while IUCN lists it in

endangered category.

• The lion is one of five pantherine cats

inhabiting India, along with the Bengal tiger,

Indian leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard.

• Their population is limited to only five

protected areas in Gujarat – Gir National

Park, Gir Sanctuary, Pania Sanctuary,

Mitiyala Sanctuary and Girnar Sanctuary.

Ans:59)(a)

Explanation: Established in 1989 APEC is an

intergovernmental forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies.

APEC aims for regional economic integration

by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable

growth.

India has applied for the membership of

APEC, but not yet became the member.

12 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:60)(a)

Explanation:

Ans:61)(a) Explanation: Government have launched the

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana on 25th

December, 2000 to provide all-weather access

to unconnected habitations. The Pradhan

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

The unit for this Programme is a Habitation

and not a Revenue village or a Panchayat. A

Habitation is a cluster of population, living in

an area, the location of which does not

change over time. Desam, Dhanis, Tolas, Majras, Hamlets etc. are commonly used

terminology to describe the Habitations.

Hence statement 2 is wrong.

An Unconnected Habitation is one with a

population of designated size located at a distance of at least 500 metres or more (1.5

km of path distance in case of Hills) from an

All-weather road or a connected Habitation.

Ans:62)(b)

Explanation: Aspirational District Programme aims to rapidly transform the

districts that have shown relatively lesser

progress in key social areas and have

emerged as pockets of under-development,

thereby posing a challenge to ensure balanced regional development.

The 112 districts were identified from 27

states, at least one from each state, in a

transparent manner by a committee of Senior

Officers to the Government of India, in

consultation with State Officials using a

composite index of key data sets that included deprivation enumerated under the

Socio-Economic Caste Census, key health

and education sector performance and state

of basic infrastructure. There is no such

limitation on selecting only one district from a

state. Hence first statement is wrong. The objective of the program is to monitor the

real-time progress of aspirational districts

based on 49 indicators (81 data-points) from

the 5 identified thematic areas.

To enable optimum utilization of their potential, this program focuses closely on

improving people’s ability to participate fully

in the vibrant economy. Health & Nutrition,

Education, Agriculture & Water Resources,

Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and

Basic Infrastructure are this programme’s core areas of focus.

Ans:63)(a)

Explanation: The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for

Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) Sabla is a centrally sponsored program of

Government of India initiated on April 1,

2011 under Ministry of Women and Child

Development.

The objectives of the program includes,

enable the Adolescent girls (age- 11 to 18 years) for self-development and

empowerment, improve their nutrition and

health status, promote awareness about

health, hygiene, nutrition, adolescent

reproductive and sexual health (ARSH) and family and child care Upgrade home-based

skills, life skills and integrate with the

National Skill Development Program (NSDP)

for vocational skills, mainstream out of school

adolescent girls into formal/non formal

education provide information/guidance about existing public services such as PHC,

CHC, Post Office, Bank, Police Station, etc.

Ans:64)(c)

Explanation: Samagra Shiksha - an overarching programme for the school

education sector extending from pre-school to

class 12 has been, therefore, prepared with

the broader goal of improving school

effectiveness measured in terms of equal

opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes. It subsumes the three

Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

(RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).

This sector-wide development programme/scheme would also help

harmonise the implementation mechanisms

and transaction costs at all levels,

13 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

particularly in using state, district and sub-

district level systems and resources, besides

envisaging one comprehensive strategic plan

for development of school education at the district level. The shift in the focus is from

project objectives to improving systems level

performance and schooling outcomes which

will be the emphasis of the combined Scheme

along-with incentivizing States towards

improving quality of education.

Ans:65)(d)

Explanation: Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs)

are government securities denominated in

grams of gold. The bonds are to be issued by RBI and not

Ministry of Finance.

Persons resident in India as defined under

Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999

are eligible to invest in SGB. Eligible

investors include individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities and charitable institutions.

Hence it is not restricted to individual citizens

of India, thus first statement is wrong.

They will be denominated in multiples of

gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. Recently, RBI has increased the maximum

investment to 4 kg (from 500g) for individuals

and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and 20 kg

for Trusts, with minimum being 1g.

The interest rate is fixed at the rate of 2.50%

p.a with tenor period of 8 years with exit option from 5th year.

The interest on Gold Bonds shall be taxable.

Only the capital gains tax arising to an

individual on redemption of SGB has been

exempted.

Ans:66)(a)

Explanation: It is a Central Sector Scheme

that aims to supplement agriculture,

modernize processing and decrease

Agriculture waste. It was previously known as Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and

Development of Agro-Processing Clusters

(SAMPADA).

The scheme will be implemented in 2016-20,

and the implementation will result in creation of modern infrastructure, growth of food

processing sector and providing better prices

to the farmers.

The following schemes will be implemented

under it

1. Mega Food Parks 2. Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition

Infrastructure

3. Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing/

Preservation Capacities (Unit Scheme)

4. Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters 5. Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages

6. Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Infrastructure

7. Human Resources and Institutions

Kisan Vigyan Kendra is a project of ICAR

(Indian Council of Agricultural Research) for

testing and transfer of Agricultural technologies at grassroot level. These centres

are located in every state. Its mandate is of

technology assessment and demonstration for

its application and capacity development.

Ans:67)(c) Explanation: Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi aims to

provide financial assistance to BPL patients,

who are suffering from major life threatening

diseases, to receive medical treatment at any

of the 13 listed super specialty institutes or government hospitals.

The central government/state

government/PSU employees are not eligible.

The financial assistance to such patients is

provided in the form of ‘one-time grant‘,

which is released to the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital in which the

treatment has is being received.

The States are needed to create their own

State Illness Assistance funds in which

central government contribute 50% of the fund and the fund is granted to Medical

superintendent for treatment. The State

government can grant up to Rs. 1.5 lakh in

each individual case in their state and

forward the cases that exceed Rs.1.5 lakh to

RAN headquarters. Labour Room Quality Improvement (LaQshya)

Initiative‘s objective is to reduce preventable

maternal and new-born mortality, morbidity

and stillbirths by improving the quality of

care provided in the labour room. Pradha Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana is

a central sector scheme aims to correct

regional imbalances in the availability of

affordable/ reliable tertiary healthcare

services and also to augment facilities for

quality medical education in the country. Ayushman Bnharat Yojana or National Health

Protection Mission is a national initiative

launched in order to achieve the vision of

Universal Health Coverage

It comprises of two inter-related components 1. Establishment of Health and Wellness Centre

2. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)

Ans:68)(b)

Explanation: Project Sunrise: The project is

to tackle the increasing HIV prevalence in the eight North-Eastern states.

It aims to diagnose 90% of such drug addicts

with HIV and put them under treatment at

free of cost, by 2020. It will be implemented

in addition to the existing projects of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).

The project has been sponsored by US based

Centre for Disease Control and would be

14 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

implemented by Family Health International

360.

Ans:69)(c) Explanation: RISE: Revitalising

Infrastructure and Systems in Education

(RISE) was launched to revitalize the

infrastructure of higher educational

institutions with a total investment of one

lakh crore in the upcoming 4 years. It will provide low cost funds to all government

higher educational institutions to promote

higher education. It will cover all centrally-

funded institutes (CFIs) including central

universities, IITs, IIMs, NITs and IISERs. RISE scheme is not associated with

promoting academic research.

IMPRESS Scheme: Impactful Policy Research

in Social Science (IMPRESS) has been

launched to promote policy research in social

science. The objective is to identify and fund research proposals in social sciences with

maximum impact on the governance and

society.

SPARC Scheme: A webportal for the Scheme

for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) was recently launched

for promotion of academic and research

collaboration. It aims at improving the

research ecosystem of India‘s higher

educational institutions by facilitating

academic and research collaborations between Indian and foreign institutions.

Ans:70)(d)

Explanation: Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas

Karyakram (PMJVK) seeks to provide better socio economic infrastructure facilities to the

minority communities particularly in the field

of education, health & skill development

which would further lead to lessening of the

gap between the national average and the

minority communities with regard to backwardness parameters.

As far as PMJVK is concerned, the

communities notified as minority

communities under Section 2 (c) of the

National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 would be taken as Minority Communities. At

present 6 (six) communities namely Muslims,

Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians

(Parsis) and Jains have been notified as

Minority Communities under Section 2 (c) of

the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

The Programme aims to address development

deficits in the identified minority

concentration areas. The identification of

minority concentration areas has been done on the basis of presence of substantial

population of notified Minority Communities

based on Census, 2011.

Ans:71)(c)

Explanation: SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI

It was the first national academy set up for

the Arts by the Government of India in 1952

It was inaugurated by the first President Dr.

Rajendra Prasad

Focus was to create a set up for music,

drama and dances of India

They strive to promote the intangible heritage of India

They also administer the National School of

Drama set up in 1959

It collaborates with international

organizations like UNESCO to save the

cultural heritage of India.

It works under the Ministry of Culture.

Ans:72)(b) Explanation:

Karakattam folk dance is an ancient folk

dance of Tamil Nadu performed in praise of

the rain goddess.

Taakala Folk Dance of Maharashtra is related

to the exchange of the 'takla' vegetable among

local tribal groups.

Koli Folk Dance is performed by fisherwomen

of Maharashtra. 'Koli' is also a an ethnic Indian group native to Rajasthan, Himachal

Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar

Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Jammu

and Kashmir states.

Misra Raas is popularly known as dandiya

raas is one of the most popular folk dances of Gujarat. Mishra raas/Gop raas is a variant of

this genre. It is performed by both men and

women.

Ans:73)(a)

Explanation: A massive burial site of Harappan civilization has been found near

Dholavira, Kutch district in Gujarat. It is for

the first time rectangular graves are found in

Gujarat, so far only semi-circular and

circular graves have been unearthed in Gujarat. The rectangular graves each of

varying dimensions contained skeletons that

were oriented east-west with the heads

positioned on the eastern side. The presence

of animal skeletons along with those of

humans was also recorded in a few graves.

Ans:74)(a)

Explanation: Saint Tyagaraja is one of the

Trinity of Carnatic music (other two was

Muthuswami

Dikshitar and Syama Sastri). He was the most illustrious composer among the trinity

and bhakti was the keynote of his

compositions. He mastered selfless devotion

without any desire and it was Nishkama

Bhakthi. He mainly composed in Telugu.

15 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:75)(c)

Explanation: Stupa is a conventional

representation of a funeral cumulus in which

relics and sheds of the dead were kept. Stupa, Buddhist commemorative monument

usually housing sacred relics associated with

the Buddha or other saintly persons. The

hemispherical form of the stupa appears to

have derived from pre-Buddhist burial

mounds in India. As most characteristically seen at Sanchi in the Great Stupa (2nd–1st

century BC), the monument consists of a

circular base supporting a massive solid

dome (the anda, “egg,” or garbha, “womb”)

from which projects an umbrella. The whole of the Great Stupa is encircled by a railing

and four gateways, which are richly decorated

with relief sculpture depicting Jataka tales,

events in the life of the Buddha, and popular

mythological figures.

Chaitya halls (worship places) were developed during Mauryan empire, Viharas (residential

places) were developed during post-Mauryan

period. The Gandhara School used bluish-

grey sandstone for making sculptures.

Ans:76)(c)

Explanation: Bagru Block printing is a

traditional technique of printing with natural

colour done by the Chippa community in

Bagru village of Rajasthan. Bagru is one of

the famous centres of hand block printing in Rajasthan located 32 km west from Jaipur.

The motifs include wild flowers, buds, leaves

and printed geometrical patterns. The main

colors used in Bagru are Red and Black.

Now day’s synthetic dyes are introduced for various color combinations but still village

has the practice to use the natural color.

Indigo, pomegranate, harda are used to

obtain the natural colors.

Ans:77)(a) Explanation: Sun Temple of Konark, built in

the middle of 13th century by the great ruler

of the Ganga dynasty, King Narasimhadeva-I.

With Unique Style of Ancient Architecture;

Konark’s Sun Temple is the only UNESCO’s World Heritage Site in the state of Odisha.

It is a classic illustration of the Odisha style

of Architecture or Kalinga Architecture.

Konark forms the third arm of Odisha’s

Golden Triangle (other being Jagannath

Temple, Puri, and the Lingaraja Temple of Bhubaneswar).

The temple was used as a navigational point

by European sailors. They referred to it as the

‘Black Pagoda’ due to its dark color and its

magnetic power that drew ships into the shore and caused shipwrecks.

Ans:78)(a)

Explanation: Badshahi Ashoorkhana is a

Shia Muslim mourning place, near

Charminar in Hyderabad, India. It was constructed in

memory of martyrdom of Imam Hussain in

the battle of Karbala, and is used during the

festival of Moharram. It was built by

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1611, three

years after building the Charminar.

Ans:79)(c)

Explanation:

Koodiyattam: Sanskrit Theatre, Kerala

Mudiyettu: a ritual theatre of Kerala

Kalbelia: folk songs and dances of Rajasthan

Sankirtana: ritual singing, drumming and

dancing of Manipur

Ans:80)(a) Explanation: The writ jurisdiction of the high

court (under Article 226) is not exclusive but

concurrent with the writ jurisdiction of the

Supreme Court (under Article 32). It means,

when the fundamental rights of a citizen are violated, the aggrieved party has the option of

moving either the high court or the Supreme

Court directly. However, the writ jurisdiction

of the high court is wider than that of the

Supreme Court. This is because, the Supreme

Court can issue writs only for the enforcement of fundamental rights and not

for any other purpose, that is, it does not

extend to a case where the breach of an

ordinary legal right is alleged.

In the Chandra Kumar case (1997), the Supreme Court ruled that the writ

jurisdiction of both the high court and the

Supreme Court constitute a part of the basic

structure of the Constitution. Hence, it

cannot be ousted or excluded even by way of

an amendment to the Constitution.

Ans:81)(d)

Explanation: the State Legal Services

Authorities, District Legal Services

Authorities, Taluk Legal Services Committees, etc. have been asked to discharge the

following main functions on regular basis:

1. To provide free and competent legal services

to the eligible persons.

2. To organize Lok Adalats for amicable

settlement of disputes. 3. To organize legal awareness camps in the

rural areas.

The free legal services include:-

(a) Payment of court fee, process fees and all

other charges payable or incurred in

connection with any legal proceedings. (b) Providing service of lawyers in legal

proceedings.

16 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

(c) Obtaining and supply of certified copies of

orders and other documents in legal

proceedings.

(d) Preparation of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal

proceedings.

Ans:82)(c)

Explanation: The phrase ‘judicial review’ has

no where been used in the Constitution, the provisions of Articles 13 and 226 explicitly

confer the power of judicial review on a high

court.

The scope of judicial review in India is

narrower than what exists in the USA, though the American Constitution does not

explicitly mention the concept of judicial

review in any of its provisions. This is

because, the American Constitution provides

for ‘due process of law’ against that of

‘procedure established by law’ which is contained in the Indian Constitution.

Ans:83)(d)

Explanation: President does not require

instructions for making an ordinance. Whereas, Governor cannot make an

ordinance without the instructions from the

President in three cases:

If a bill containing the same provisions would

have required the previous sanction of the

President for its introduction into the state

legislature.

If he would have deemed it necessary to reserve a bill containing the same provisions

for the consideration of the President.

If an act of the state legislature containing the

same provisions would have been invalid

without receiving the President’s assent.

Ordinance making power is not a

discretionary power, rather it is to be exercised on the aid and advice of the Council

of Ministers.

Ans:84)(b)

Explanation: Governor is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and

seal. In a way, he is a nominee of the Central

government. But, as held by the Supreme

Court in 1979, the office of governor of a state

is not an employment under the Central

government. It is an independent constitutional office and is not under the

control of or subordinate to the Central

government.

Ans:85)(a) Explanation: In the light of the vision of

Pandit Nehru, five Zonal Councils were set up

vide Part-III of the States Re-organisation Act,

1956. The present composition of each of

these Zonal Councils is as under:

The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the

States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,

Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union

Territory of Chandigarh;

The Central Zonal Council, comprising the

States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar

Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;

The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the

States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim

and West Bengal;

The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the

Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra

& Nagar Haveli;

The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the

States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,

Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of

Puducherry. The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii)

Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura

(v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland

are not included in the Zonal Councils and

their special problems are looked after by the

North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972. The State of

Sikkim has also been included in the North

Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council

(Amendment) Act, 2002 notified on 23rd

December 2002. Consequently, action for exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern

Zonal Council has been initiated by Ministry

of Home Affairs.

The Home Minister of Central government is

the common chairman of the five zonal

councils. The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman

of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation,

each CM holds office for a period of one year

at a time.

Ans:86)(a)

Explanation: Oath of Office and Oath of

Secrecy is for Union Ministers (which

includes the Prime Minister) and the state

ministers (including Chief Ministers).

President takes the oath of office and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution

and the law.

Ans:87)(a)

Explanation: Compulsory Provisions:

1. Organisation of Gram Sabha in a village or

group of villages.

2. Establishment of panchayats at the village,

intermediate and district levels.

3. Direct elections to all seats in panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels.

17 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

4. Indirect elections to the post of chairperson of

panchayats at the intermediate and district

levels.

5. 21 years to be the minimum age for contesting elections to panchayats.

6. Reservation of seats (both members and

chairpersons) for SCs and STs in panchayats

at all the three levels.

7. Reservation of one-third seats (both members

and chairpersons) for women in panchayats at all the three levels.

8. Fixing tenure of five years for panchayats at

all levels and holding fresh elections within

six months in the event of supersession of

any panchayat. 9. Establishment of a State Election

Commission for conducting elections to the

panchayats.

10. Constitution of a State Finance Commission

after every five years to review the financial

position of the panchayats.

Voluntary Provisions

1. Giving representation to members of the

Parliament (both the Houses) and the state

legislature (both the Houses) in the panchayats at different levels falling within

their constituencies.

2. Providing reservation of seats (both members

and chairpersons) for backward classes in

panchayats at any level.

3. Granting powers and authority to the panchayats to enable them to function as

institutions of self-government (in brief,

making them autonomous bodies).

4. Devolution of powers and responsibilities

upon panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice; and

to perform some or all of the 29 functions

listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the

Constitution.

5. Granting financial powers to the panchayats,

that is, authorizing them to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.

Ans:88)(c)

Explanation: Saturated fats are found in

animal products and processed foods, such as meats, dairy products, chips, and pastries.

Saturated fats are not heart healthy, since

they are most known for raising LDL

cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol). Unsaturated

fats, on the other hand, are found foods such

as nuts, avocados, and olives. They are liquid at room temperature and differ from

saturated fats in chemical composition. They

are also heart-healthy fats as they have the

ability to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL

cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).

Ans:89)(c)

Explanation: The Central Council of Local

Government was set up in 1954. It was

constituted under Article 263 of the Constitution of India by an order of the

President of India. The Council is an advisory

body. It consists of the Minister for Urban

Development in the Government of India and

the ministers for local self government in

states. The Union minister acts as the Chairman of the Council. The Council

performs the following functions with regard

to local government:

(i) Considering and recommending the policy

matters (ii) Making proposals for legislation

(iii) Examining the possibility of cooperation

between the Centre and the states

(iv) Drawing up a common programme of

action

(v) Recommending Central financial assistance

(vi) Reviewing the work done by the local

bodies with the Central financial assistance

Ans:90)(d) Explanation: The union territories have been

created for a variety of reasons. These are

mentioned below:

1. Political and administrative consideration—

Delhi and Chandigarh.

2. Cultural distinctiveness—Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.

3. Strategic importance—Andaman and Nicobar

Islands and Lakshadweep.

4. Special treatment and care of the backward

and tribal people—Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh which later

became states.

Ans:91)(a)

Explanation: The 69th Constitutional

Amendment Act of 1991 provided a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi, and

redesignated it the National Capital Territory

of Delhi and designated the administrator of

Delhi as the lieutenant (lt.) governor. The

strength of the council of ministers is fixed at ten per cent of the total strength of the

assembly, that is, seven—one chief minister

and six other ministers.

Ans:92)(a)

Explanation: Candida auris is a multiple drug resistance fungus that presents a

serious global health threat to humans. C.

auris spread in hospitals, targeting people

with weakened immune systems. It can

spread from one patient to another in healthcare settings through contact with

contaminated environmental surfaces or

equipment. It cannot leads to AIDS however if

18 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

AIDS infected person get attracted by

Candida auris fungus than it can be severe

consequences.

Ans:93)(c)

Explanation: Parkinson's disease is a

progressive nervous system disorder that

affects movement. It leads to progressive loss

of controlled muscle activity. Over time,

Parkinson's disease may slow your movement, making simple tasks difficult and

time-consuming. Specific genetic mutations

can cause Parkinson's disease, but these are

uncommon. Having a close relative with

Parkinson's disease increases the chances that you'll develop the disease.

Ans:94)(b)

Explanation:

List of Satellite

RISAT - Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) is a

series of all-weather earth observation satellites.

GISAT - It is a planned Indian geo-imaging

satellite for providing images quickly during

disasters.

GSAT – It is India's indigenously developed

communications satellites, used for digital

audio, data and video broadcasting.

IRNSS -Indian Regional Navigation Satellite

System, with an operational name of NAVIC, to provides accurate real-time positioning and

timing services.

CARTOSAT -The Cartosat series is a part of

the Indian Remote Sensing Programme. They

were specifically launched for Earth’s

resource management and monitoring.

EMISAT - Electro-Magnetic Imagining

Satellite will intercept radar signals and detect the kind of radar and its location.

Microsat R -Microsat-R was an earth

observing satellite manufactured for military

use.

Ans:95)(c) Explanation: At the initial instant of the big

bang, the densities would have been very

high at many points, resulting in the

formation of small black holes and were

named `primordial black holes’. According to

Stephen Hawking primordial black holes make up all of the dark matter. Stephen

Hawking computed that the mass of the

primordial black holes could range from as

low as one-hundredth of a milligram to as

high as more than the mass of thousand Suns.

Ans:96)(a)

Explanation: Gravitational lensing:

Black holes are not radiant and will not be

visible through any telescope.

In rare instances when the black hole is in

alignment with a distant star, due to gravitational attraction, light rays are bent

inwards like a lens, making the star appear

brighter.

These rare phenomena can occur when the

star, the black hole and the observer on the

Earth are aligned in a straight line.

Ans:97)(c)

Explanation: Bumphead parrotfish

(Bolbometopon muricatum), is the largest

herbivorous fish inhabiting coral reefs is an

important component of coral reef ecosystem.

It is categorized as ‘vulnerable’ in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of

Nature (IUCN). The fish is threatened due to

limited knowledge about its distribution and

abundance in Indian waters. According

recent studies fishing and coral reef degradation threaten parrotfish in Andaman.

Ans:98)(d)

Explanation: Pulsars are super dense,

rapidly spinning neutron stars left behind

when a massive star explodes. They emit regular pulses of radio waves like X-rays,

Gama rays and have highly intense magnetic

and electric fields. Recently NASA has

discovered a pulsar PSR J0002 hurtling

through space at nearly four million kilometers an hour.

Ans:99)(a)

Explanation: UNNATI (UNispace Nano-

satellite Assembly and Training by ISRO)

programme is a capacity building programme on Nano satellite development. The UNNATI

Programme is to commemorate the 50th

anniversary of the first United Nations

Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful

Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE+50). The programme will be conducted for 3 years in 3

batches and will target to benefit 90 officials

from 45 countries. The primary objectives of

the programme are:

1. To offer a simplified and increased exposure

to satellite fabrication technologies, as part of the UNISPACE initiative.

2. To provide theoretical course on satellite

technology.

3. To provide hands-on training to assemble,

integrate and test a low cost, modular Nano satellite.

19 AIPTS 2019 (Mock – 2 GS) (E) Answer Key Byju’s Classes: 9205881869

Ans:100)(c)

Explanation: Papain contains an enzyme

which breaks down proteins. Papain is taken

from the fruit of the papaya tree. It is used to make medicine. Papain contains substances

that may help fight infection. Some people

apply papain directly to the skin to treat

insect or animal bites, infected wounds,

sores, and ulcers.

Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever- reducing), anti-

malarial, analgesic (painkilling), and anti-

inflammatory properties and a bitter taste.

Taxol is used for the treatment of breast,

ovarian, lung, bladder, prostate, melanoma, esophageal, as well as other types of solid

tumor cancers.

Morphine is an opioid analgesic drug, and the

main psychoactive chemical in opium. For

Heart failure, Digitoxin is used.