UPSC Civil Services Prelims — 2021

In the first quarter of the seventeenth century, in which of the following was/were the factory/factories of the English East India Company located? 1. Broach 2. Chicacole 3. Trichinopoly Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Consider the following statements: 1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age of 21. 2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in the legislature. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to 8th August 1942 in Indian history, which one of the following statements is correct?

In the context of Colonial India, Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as:

Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School which later came to be known as Bethune Female School?

With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct?

Who among the following is associated with ‘Song from Prison’, a translation of ancient Indian religious lyrics in English?

With reference to Indian economy, demand-pull inflation can be caused/increased by which of the following? 1. Expansionary policies 2. Fiscal stimulus 3. Inflation-indexing of wages 4. Higher purchasing power 5. Rising interest rates Select the correct answer using the code given below:

With reference to India, consider the following statements: 1. Retail investors through demat accounts can invest in “Treasury Bills” and “Government of India Debt Bonds” in primary markets. 2. The “Negotiated Dealing System – Order Matching” is a government securities trading platform of the Reserve Bank of India. 3. The “Central Depository Services Ltd.” is holding the Government securities for retail investors in demat accounts. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following statements: 1. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is appointed by the Central Government. 2. Certain provisions in the Constitution of India give the Central Government the right to issue directions to the RBI in public interest. 3. The Governor of the RBI draws his power from the RBI Act. Which of the above statements are correct?

With reference to casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements: 1. All casual workers are entitled to Employees Provident Fund coverage. 2. All casual workers are entitled to regular working hours and overtime payment. 3. The government can notify that an establishment or an industry shall pay wages only through its bank account. Which of the above statements are correct?

Which among the following steps is most likely to be taken at the time of an economic recession?

Consider the following statements: Other things remaining unchanged, market demand for a good might increase if 1. price of its substitute increases 2. price of its complements increases 3. the good is an inferior good and income of the consumers increases 4. its price falls Which of the above statements are correct?

With reference to Indian economy, consider the following statements: 1. Commercial Paper is a short-term unsecured promissory note. 2. Certificate of Deposit is a long-term instrument issued by the Reserve Bank of India to a corporation. 3. Call Money is short-term finance used for interbank transactions. Which of the above statements are correct?

In the context of India, which one of the following is the characteristic appropriate for bureaucracy?

With reference to India, consider the following statements: 1. There is no law restricting the candidates from contesting in one Lok Sabha election from three constituencies. 2. In the 1991 Lok Sabha Election, Shri Devi Lal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies. 3. As per the existing rules, if a candidate contests in one Lok Sabha election from many constituencies, his/her party should bear the cost of by-elections to the constituencies vacated by him/her in the event of him/her winning in all the constituencies. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to Indian economy, ‘Stagflation’ is a situation characterized by

Consider the following statements: 1. The Charter Act, 1853 introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian Legislative Councils. 2. The Governor-General’s Council for the purpose of making laws and regulations was distinguished from the Council for executive purposes by the Charter Act, 1853. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to India, consider the following statements: 1. There is only one citizenship and one domicile. 2. A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State. 3. A foreigner once granted citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following factors constitutes the best safeguard of liberty in a liberal democracy?

Under the Indian Constitution, the concentration of wealth violates

What is the position of the Right to Property in India?

Which one of the following reflects the idea of Secularism as upheld by the Constitution of India?

We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign but in India, the power of the Parliament to legislate is limited. 2. In India, matters related to the Constitution are judicially reviewable but in Britain, the Parliament can amend the Constitution as there is no written Constitution. 3. British Parliament is more powerful than the Indian Parliament because the British Constitution is unwritten. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Which one of the following in Indian polity is an essential feature that indicates that it is federal in character?

The Judiciary in India is

Which one of the following best defines the term ‘State’?

Consider the following statements: 1. Moringa (drumstick tree) is a leguminous evergreen tree. 2. Tamarind tree is endemic to South Asia. 3. In India, most of the tamarind is collected as minor forest produce. 4. India exports tamarind and seeds for moringa. Which of the statements given above are correct?

The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of

With reference to the Indus River system, of the following four rivers, three of them pour into one of them, which joins the Indus direct. Among the following, which one is that river that joins the Indus direct?

With reference to the history of ancient India, Bhavabhuti, Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were famous

Consider the following statements: 1. The Global Ocean Commission grants licences for seabed exploration and mining in international waters. 2. India has received licences for seabed mineral exploration in international waters. 3. ‘Rare earth minerals’ are present on the seafloor in international waters. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following minerals: 1. Bentonite 2. Chromite 3. Kyanite 4. Sillimanite In the country, which of the above are officially designated as major minerals?

Consider the following statements: 1. The North Equatorial Current flows westwards while the Equatorial Counter-Current flows eastwards. 2. The North Equatorial Current flows towards the west while the Equatorial Counter-Current flows towards the west. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following is not a bird?

Consider the following statements: 1. A billabong is a dry watercourse that fills seasonally. 2. The largest rainforest in the world is in the Amazon Basin. 3. Casuarina is an exotic tree. 4. The earliest Indian cotton was of arboreal variety. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Among the following, which one is the least water-efficient crop?

In which of the following areas can GPS technology be used? 1. Mobile phone operations 2. Banking operations 3. Controlling the power grids Select the correct answer using the code given below:

When the alarm of your smartphone rings in the morning, you wake up and tap it to stop the alarm which causes your geyser to be switched on automatically. The smart mirror in your bathroom shows the day’s weather and also indicates the level of water in your overhead tank. After you take some groceries from your refrigerator for making breakfast, it recognises the shortage of stock in it and places an order for the supply of fresh grocery items. When you step out of your house and lock the door, all lights, fans, geysers and AC machines get switched off automatically. On your way to the office, your car warns you about traffic congestion ahead and suggests an alternative route, and if you are late for a meeting, it sends a message to your office accordingly. In the context of emerging communication technologies, which one of the following terms best applies to the above scenario?

Consider the following statements: 1. Light is affected by gravity. 2. The Universe is constantly expanding. 3. Matter warps its surrounding space-time. Which of the above is/are the prediction/predictions of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, often discussed in the media?

With reference to India’s satellite launch vehicles, consider the following statements: 1. PSLVs launch the satellites useful for Earth resources monitoring whereas GSLVs are designed mainly to launch communication satellites. 2. Satellites launched by PSLV appear to remain permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, as viewed from a particular location on Earth. 3. GSLV Mk III is a four-staged launch vehicle with the first and third stages using solid rocket motors; and the second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

In nature, which of the following is/are most likely to be found surviving on a surface without soil? 1. Fern 2. Lichen 3. Moss 4. Mushroom

Consider the following kinds of organisms: 1. Copepods 2. Cyanobacteria 3. Diatoms 4. Foraminifera. Which of the above are primary producers in the food chains of oceans?

Which of the following are detritivores? 1. Earthworms 2. Millipedes 3. Woodlice 4. Jellyfish 5. Seahorses

In which one of the following biogeochemical cycles is the weathering of rocks the main source of release of nutrients to enter the cycle?

Which of the following have species that can establish a symbiotic relationship with other organisms? 1. Cnidarians 2. Fungi 3. Protozoa

With reference to the water on the planet Earth, consider the following statements: 1. The amount of water in the rivers and lakes is more than the amount of groundwater. 2. The amount of water in polar ice caps and glaciers is more than the amount of groundwater. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following is used in preparing a natural mosquito repellent?

The vegetation of savannah consists of grassland with scattered small trees, but extensive areas have no trees. Which of the following conditions generally keep forest development in check in such areas? 1. Burrowing animals and termites 2. Fire 3. Grazing herbivores 4. Seasonal rainfall 5. Soil properties

How is permaculture farming different from conventional chemical farming? 1. Permaculture farming discourages monocultural practices but in conventional chemical farming monoculture practices are predominant. 2. Conventional chemical farming can cause an increase in soil salinity but the occurrence of such a phenomenon is not observed in permaculture. 3. Conventional chemical farming is easily possible in semi-arid regions but permaculture farming is not so easily possible in such regions. 4. Practice of mulching is very important in permaculture farming but not necessarily so in conventional chemical farming.

In the context of India’s preparation for Climate-Smart Agriculture, consider the following statements: 1. The ‘Climate-Smart Village’ approach in India is a part of a project led by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), an international research programme. 2. The project of CCAFS is carried out under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) headquartered in France. 3. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India is one of the CGIAR’s research centres. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Why is there a concern about copper smelting plants? 1. They may release lethal quantities of carbon monoxide into the environment. 2. The copper slag can cause the leaching of some heavy metals into the environment. 3. They may release sulphur dioxide as a pollutant.