UPSC Civil Services Prelims — 2013

The Ilbert Bill controversy was related to the:

The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for:

The people of India agitated against the arrival of the Simon Commission because:

Quit India Movement was launched in response to:

Annie Besant was: 1. Responsible for starting the Home Rule Movement 2. The founder of the Theosophical Society 3. Once the President of the Indian National Congress Select the correct statement/statements using the codes given below.

With reference to Indian History, the Members of the Constituent Assembly from the Provinces were:

Which one of the following best describes the term ‘repo rate’?

Which one of the following best describes the term ‘reverse repo rate’?

Which of the following are considered functions of the Reserve Bank of India? 1. Banker to the Government 2. Regulator of money supply 3. Custodian of foreign exchange reserves 4. Regulator of the stock market Select the correct answer using the code given below:

In India, ‘Treasury Bills’ are

Which one of the following is not included in the assets of a commercial bank?

Which one of the following is the most appropriate meaning of ‘capital market’?

Which of the following are likely consequences of a high fiscal deficit? 1. Higher government borrowing 2. Possible crowding out of private investment 3. Inflationary pressure under certain conditions Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Which one of the following best describes ‘Foreign Direct Investment’?

What is the provision for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes in the Lok Sabha?

Which of the following are the methods of amendment of the Constitution of India? 1. Amendment by simple majority of Parliament 2. Amendment by special majority of Parliament 3. Amendment by special majority of Parliament and ratification by half of the State Legislatures Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Under the Constitution of India, which one of the following is not normally a function of the Governor?

Which one of the following best describes the relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles?

Which Schedule of the Constitution of India contains the recognised languages?

Which one of the following statements regarding the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is correct?

The objective of the anti-defection law is to

Which one of the following statements about Fundamental Duties is correct?

Variations in the length of daytime and night time from season to season are due to:

Which of the following is/are unique characteristic/ characteristics of equatorial forests? 1. Presence of tall, closely set trees with crowns forming a continuous canopy 2. Coexistence of a large number of species 3. Presence of numerous varieties of epiphytes Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The annual range of temperature in the interior of the continents is high as compared to coastal areas. What is/are the reason/reasons? 1. Thermal difference between land and water 2. Variation in altitude between continents and oceans 3. Presence of strong winds in the interior 4. Heavy rains in the interior as compared to coasts Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

“Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.” The above statement best describes which of the following regions?

During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the: 1. Meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky. 2. Lightning that separates the nimbus cloud. 3. Violent upward movement of air and water particles. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Which of the following statements regarding laterite soils of India are correct? 1. They are generally red in colour. 2. They are rich in nitrogen and potash. 3. They are well-developed in Rajasthan and UP. 4. Tapioca and cashew nuts grow well on these soils. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Consider the following statements: 1. Natural gas occurs in the Gondwana beds. 2. Mica occurs in abundance in Kodarma. 3. Dharwars are famous for petroleum. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following: 1. Electromagnetic radiation 2. Geothermal energy 3. Gravitational force 4. Plate movements 5. Rotation of the earth 6. Revolution of the earth Which of the above are responsible for bringing dynamic changes on the surface of the earth?

Contour bunding is a method of soil conservation used in:

Which of the following adds nitrogen to the soil? 1. Excretion of urea by animals 2. Burning of coal by man 3. Death of vegetation Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Which of the following is/are the characteristic/characteristics of Indian coal? 1. High ash content 2. Low sulphur content 3. Low ash fusion temperature Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Consider the following crops: 1. Cotton 2. Groundnut 3. Rice 4. Wheat Which of these are Kharif crops?

Which one among the following industries is the maximum consumer of water in India?

Consider the following pairs: Tribe — States 1. Limboo (Limbu) — Sikkim 2. Karbi — Himachal Pradesh 3. Dongaria Kondh — Odisha 4. Bonda — Tamil Nadu Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?

The Narmada River flows to the west, while most other large peninsular rivers flow to the east. Why? 1. It occupies a linear rift valley. 2. It flows between the Vindhyas and the Satpuras. 3. The land slopes to the west from Central India. Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Consider the following pairs: National Park — River flowing through the Park 1. Corbett National Park — Ganga 2. Kaziranga National Park — Manas 3. Silent Valley National Park — Kaveri Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

Consider the following pairs: 1. Nokrek Biosphere Reserve — Garo Hills 2. Loktak Lake — Barail Range 3. Namdapha National Park — Dafla Hills Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched? Geographical Feature — Region

Mycorrhizal biotechnology has been used in rehabilitating degraded sites because mycorrhiza enables the plants to: 1. Resist drought and increase absorptive area 2. Tolerate extremes of pH 3. Resist disease infestation Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Recombination DNA technology (Genetic Engineering) allows genes to be transferred: 1. Across different species of plants 2. From animals to plants 3. From microorganisms to higher organisms Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence of a food chain?

With reference to technology for solar power production, consider the following statements: 1. ‘Photovoltaics’ is a technology that generates electricity by direct conversion of light into electricity, while ‘Solar Thermal’ is a technology that utilises the Sun’s rays to generate heat which is further used in the electricity generation process. 2. Photovoltaics generates Alternating Current (AC), while Solar Thermal generates Direct Current (DC). 3. India has a manufacturing base for Solar Thermal technology, but not for photovoltaics. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following: 1. Bats 2. Bears 3. Rodents The phenomenon of hibernation can be observed in which of the above kinds of animals?

Which of the following adds/add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on the planet Earth? 1. Volcanic action 2. Respiration 3. Photosynthesis 4. Decay of organic matter Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Lichens, which are capable of initiating ecological succession even on a bare rock, are actually a symbiotic association of

With reference to the food chains in ecosystems, which of the following kinds of organism is/are known as decomposer organism/organisms? 1. Virus 2. Fungi 3. Bacteria

In the grasslands, trees do not replace the grasses as a part of an ecological succession because of:

Which one of the following is the correct sequence of ecosystems in the order of decreasing productivity?

With reference to food chains in ecosystems, consider the following statements: 1. A food chain illustrates the order in which a chain of organisms feeds upon each other. 2. Food chains are found within the populations of a species. 3. A food chain illustrates the numbers of each organism which are eaten by others. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following terms describes not only the physical space occupied by an organism but also its functional role in the community of organisms?

On the planet Earth, most of the freshwater exists as ice caps and glaciers. Out of the remaining freshwater, the largest proportion

Which of the following can be found as pollutants in the drinking water in some parts of India? 1. Arsenic 2. Sorbitol 3. Fluoride 4. Formaldehyde 5. Uranium

Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers or their parts, which of the following are released into the environment as e-waste? 1. Beryllium 2. Cadmium 3. Chromium 4. Heptachlor 5. Mercury 6. Lead 7. Plutonium

Acid rain is caused by the pollution of environment by

Photochemical smog is a resultant of the reaction among

Improper handling and storage of cereal grains and oilseeds result in the production of toxins known as aflatoxins which are not generally destroyed by the normal cooking process. Aflatoxins are produced by:

With reference to the usefulness of the by-products of the sugar industry, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. Bagasse can be used as biomass fuel for the generation of energy. 2. Molasses can be used as one of the feedstocks for the production of synthetic chemical fertilizers. 3. Molasses can be used for the production of ethanol.

Consider the following fauna and India: 1. Gharial 2. Leatherback turtle 3. Swamp deer. Which of the above is/are endangered?

Consider the following: 1. Star tortoise 2. Monitor lizard 3. Pygmy hog 4. Spider monkey. Which of the above are naturally found in India?

Consider the following animals: 1. Sea cow 2. Sea horse 3. Sea lion. Which of the above is/are mammal/mammals?

Consider the following organisms: 1. Agaricus 2. Nostoc 3. Spirogyra. Which of the above is/are used as biofertilizer/biofertilizers?

In which of the following States is lion-tailed macaque found in its natural habitat? 1. Tamil Nadu 2. Kerala 3. Karnataka 4. Andhra Pradesh