DAILY 10.30 A.M UPSC PRELIMS (25TH QUESTIONS) MCQs : 23TH AUGUST,2020

1. Consider the following statements regarding the differences between ‘Yakshagana’ and the conventional ‘Talamaddale’:

1. Unlike the Yakshagana performance, in the conventional ‘talamaddale,’ the artists sit across in a place without any costumes and engage in testing their oratory skills based on the episode chosen.
2. If music is common for both Yakshagana performance and ‘talamaddale’, the latter has only spoken word without any dance.

• Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

2. Which of the following have been correctly matched?

1. Yakshagana: Karnataka
2. Kathak: Kerala
3. Terukkuttu: Tamil Nadu

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

3. Consider the following statements about the Van Dhan Yojana:

1. The Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
2. The Scheme seeks to improve tribal incomes through value addition of tribal products.

• Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

4. Consider the following statements about the ‘SWADES’ initiative:

1. It is a collaborative initiative of the Ministries of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Civil Aviation and External Affairs.
2. It aims at empowering the returning citizens due to COVID-19 with relevant employment opportunities.

• Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

5. Match the following in the context of human body’s immune response:

1. Macrophages: Antibodies specific to the virus
2. Immunoglobulins: Destroy cells that have been infected by the virus
3. T cells: Prevent the virus from causing symptoms

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

6. Which of the following applies to the ‘Rajya Sabha’ elections?

1. Single transferable vote
2. Principle of proportional representation
3. Secret ballot
4. ‘None of the Above’ or NOTA

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

7. Which of the following is the correct sequence of clouds in ascending order would one meet 500 metres and above the mean sea level?

8. Condensation is a process which occurs when:

9. Consider the following statements about the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG):

1. Currently, there are 48 Participating Governments (PGs) of the NSG.
2. The NSG is a treaty-based organization.
3. Serbia is the latest to join the NSG.

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

10. Which of the following are among the key areas of weaknesses of India’s Intellectual Property regime?

1. Limited framework for the protection of life sciences IP.
2. Limited participation in international IP treaties
3. Lengthy pre-grant opposition proceedings.

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

11. Which of the following parameters are taken into account while calculating the Inclusive Development Index?

1. Living standards
2. Environmental sustainability
3. Protection of future generations from further indebtedness

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

12. ‘Budapest Convention’ is concerned with:

13. The 14th Finance Commission report was accepted in 2015 with the promise that it would devolve more finances to the States. In reality, the finances of States have been consistently below 14th Finance Commission projections. This is, among others, because of:

1. Economic slowdown
2. Lower-than-expected GST collections
3. The imposition of a series of cesses by the Centre

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

14. Which of the following statement is true regarding the ‘PENCIL’ initiative?

15. Match the following in the context of Indian banks:

1. Statutory Liquidity Ratio: a) Assets that can easily be converted into cash.
2. Liquidity Coverage Ratio: b) Assets need to hold in the form of cash.
3. Cash Reserve Ratio: c) Assets in the form of government securities, gold etc.

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

16. Consider the following statements:

1. In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker is elected from among its members by a simple majority of members present and voting in the House.
2. No specific qualifications are prescribed for being elected the Speaker.
3. Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected the Speaker.

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

17. Consider the following statements about the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):

1. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) helps to resettle refugees who are victims of war, political turmoil, or natural disasters.
2. The High Commissioner reports annually to the UNs General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council.
3. UNHCR won the Nobel Peace Prize for its groundbreaking work to resettle the Rohingya refugees.

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

18. Which of the following countries are the members of the Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)?

1. Russia
2. Angola
3. USA
4. Saudi Arabia

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

19.

• Consider the following statements about the ‘Rajya Sabha’ elections:
  1. A member can’t vote in a Rajya Sabha election before taking oath as a legislator.
  2. A member can propose a candidate in a Rajya Sabha election before taking oath.
  3. A person becomes a member as soon as the list of elected members is notified by the ECI.
  • Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

20. Consider the following statements:

1. Telephonic surveillance is sanctioned under the Teleghaph Act, 1885.
2. Electronic surveillance is authorised under the Information Technology Act, 2000.
3. Puttaswamy’s judgment of the Supreme Court is related to the ‘Right to Privacy’.

• Which of the statements given above are correct?

21.  ‘163348 (2002 NN4)’ was a giant asteroid that was in news for being classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). Consider the following statements in this regard:

1. PHA means the asteroid has the potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth.
2. PHA must have a minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of about 7.4 million km or less.

• Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

22. The Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to deregulate commodities such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes. Under the amended EC Act, agri-food stuffs can only be regulated under extraordinary circumstances such as:

1. War
2. Famine
3. The extraordinary slump in the price
4. Natural calamity

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

23. The Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to deregulate commodities such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes. Under the amended EC Act, agri-food stuffs can only be regulated under extraordinary circumstances such as:

1. War
2. Famine
3. The extraordinary slump in the price
4. Natural calamity

• Select the correct answer using the code given below:

24. Consider the following statements about the ‘Essential Commodities Act, 1955’:

1. Essential commodities are defined under Schedule 2(A) of the ‘Essential Commodities Act, 1955’.
2. By declaring a commodity as essential, the government can only impose a stock limit but can’t control the production, supply, and distribution of that commodity.

• Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

25. Recently, Russia declared a state of emergency, after a power plant fuel leak in its Arctic region caused 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil to escape into a local river, turning its surface crimson red. The river in question is:

26. Many trees in the Sunderbans turned yellow and red after the Cyclone Amphan. This was because: