IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Oct 11 & 12, 2015

1)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Whitefly?

1. White-flies typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves.
2. White-fly secrete sticky honeydew deposits as they feed which fall on to the surrounding foliage.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- Whitefly secrete sticky honeydew deposits as they feed which fall on to the surrounding foliage. This causes dark sooty mould to develop on the leaves.
- Whitefly colonies affect a wide range of vegetables, ornamental plants and trees.
- Whitefly destroyed 2/3rd of Punjab's cotton crop


2)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Nation Brands report?

i. Nation Brands report is published by London-based Brand Finance, a leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy.
ii. Only three Asian nations - China, India and Japan - figure among the top 20 most valuable nation brands.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- Only three Asian nations - China, India and South Korea - figure among the top 20 most valuable nation brands.
- India's nation brand value has in 2015 increased by a whopping 32 per cent to $2.14 trillion, compared with $1.62 trillion last year.
- US remains the most valuable nation brand in Brand Finance's 2015 edition while China has maintained its second position.
- India ranked 7th in Nation Brands report.


3)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Hand-in-Hand exercises?

i. Hand-in-Hand are joint navy exercises between China and India.
ii. It will also cover aspect of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in addition to joint handling of insurgency


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- The Indo-China Combined Military Training Exercise HAND-IN-HAND 2015 will be conducted from 12 to 23 October 2015 at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China.
- It will be the fifth joint military exercise in the Hand-in-Hand series between armies of both countries which had started in 2007.


4)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Hindon Air Force Station?

1. Hindon Air Force Station is in Punjab.
2. It is the biggest and largest air base in Asia.
3. The annual Air Force Day Parade venue was shifted from Palam Airport to Hindon from 2006.


a. 1,2
b. 2,3
c. 1,3
d. All
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 2,3

Explanation:
- Hindon Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force base under the Western Air Command (WAC).
- It is the biggest and largest air base in Asia and 8th in the world.
- It is located near Loni Ghaziabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the National Capital Region on the outskirts of Delhi, close to the Hindon River.


5)   The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for helping the country's transition to democracy.Tunisia's uprising was known as -

a. Orange Revolution
b. Cedar revolution
c. Purple Revolution
d. Jasmine Revolution
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Jasmine Revolution

Explanation:
- Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet has played a key role in mediating between the different parties in the country's post-Arab Spring government.
- The Quartet is credited with creating a national dialogue between the country's Islamist and secular coalition parties amid deepening political and economic crisis in 2013.
- The quartet is made up of four organisations: the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.
- It was created in 2013, two years after the revolution.


6)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT)?

1. The Government will set up 50 Centres of Excellence for Curriculum and Pedagogy with necessary emphasis on Maths and Science
2. It will have an outlay of Rs. 900 crores during XII Plan.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
The various components of PMMMNMTT are

- Setting up 30 Schools of Education,
- 50 Centres of Excellence for Curriculum and Pedagogy,
- Two Inter University Centres, National Resource Centre,
- Five Centres of Academic Leadership and Educational Management,
- Subject Based Networks and Workshops and Seminars
This will strengthen teachers, are, in fact aimed at improving the understanding of the students to grasp basic concepts and help them learn better.


7)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Gangetic dolphins?

1. Gangetic dolphins are India's national aquatic animal.
2. To protect the endangered Gangetic river dolphins, West Bengal will soon have the country’s first community reserve for the mammal.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- According to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) factsheet, the Ganges River dolphin, or susu, inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
- Once found in thousands, there are fewer than 2,000 Gangetic dolphins left in the country in the entire distribution range along the Ganga and Brahamaputra river system.
- It was declared as the National Aquatic Animal in 2010.


8)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)?

1.  MTCR was created in order to curb the spread of unmanned delivery systems for nuclear weapons.
2. India is a member of MTCR.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) was established in April 1987 by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States.
- The MTCR has 34 members: Argentina, Australia, Austria,Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic,Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal,Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine,United Kingdom,United States of America


9)   Which of the following are members of Wassenaar Arrangement?

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. China
4. Russia
5. India


a. 2,3,4
b. 1,2,3
c. 1,2,4
d. All
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: 1,2,4

Explanation:
- Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies) is a multilateral export control regime (MECR).
- It is the successor to the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM), and was established on 12 July 1996, in Wassenaar, the Netherlands.


10)   Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. India’s west coast has been excluded from piracy High Risk Area (HRA).
2.Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA) is the name of the military operation defined by the United States for combating militant Islamism and piracy in the Horn of Africa.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
The HRA was extended in 2010 beyond the earlier boundary of 65 degrees East longitude to up to 78 degrees East, stretching right up to the territorial waters on India’s western shores.
This move could potentially lower the insurance and operating costs of Indian shipping companies.


11)   Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Indian Skill Development Service (ISDS) will be a Group ‘A’ service of the technical cadre of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSD&E).
2. Other Group A services such as the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service and Indian Railway Service.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
ISDS was earlier called the Directorate General of Employment & Training which was under the aegis of Ministry of Labour Employment.

It will help to implement various skill and apprenticeship schemes conducted by the ministry as well as those by the Directorate General of Training (DGT).
The new officers will help formulate skill policies, devise a road map for improving the apprenticeship system, revamping ITIs and also help revamp course work for various schemes.


12)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about PMKSY ?

1. A state will become eligible to access PMKSY funds only if it has prepared the district irrigation plans and state irrigation plans and sustained an increasing expenditure trend in irrigation sector in state plan.
2. PMKSY funds would be given to states as 75% grant by the central government & remaining 25% share by the state government.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
The newly launched Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) have allocation of Rs 50,000 crore spread over a period of five years
For northeastern region and hilly states, the funding pattern would be 90:10.


13)   Government is all set to launch the ‘blue revolution’ on the lines of the ‘white revolution’ which played a big role in increasing milk production in the country. Blue revolution is related to -

a. Indigo
b. Blue berry
c. Fish production
d. Mulberry
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Fish production

Explanation:
- Blue Revolution” will be launched for increasing fish production with an allocation of Rs. 50 crore in 2014-15.
- India is the second largest producer of fish, however, it still lags China by a huge margin
- Blue Revolution will focus on construction of new fishing harbours, modernization of fishing boats, imparting training to fishermen, and above all promote fishing as a self-employment activity.


14)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)?

1. ICDS will be aimed at children under 5 years of age
2. It also include their mothers.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
ICDS will be aimed at children under 6 years of age

The following services are sponsored under ICDS to help achieve its objectives:

1. Immunization
2. Supplementary nutrition
3. Health checkup
4. Referral services
5. Pre-school non formal education
6. Nutrition and Health information


15)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about SDGs?

1. SDGs contains 17 goals with 169 targets.
2. Eliminate racism in all its forms is one of the SDGs


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
'Eliminate racism in all its forms', is not a standalone SDG, although goal four includes an ambition to promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all people irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity and religion.


16)   Which of the following pairs is wrongly matched?

1. MDGs: Low income countries
2. SDGs: Low & middle income countries


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
While the millennium development goals were largely focused on lower-income countries, the sustainable development goals apply to all countries.


17)   The Constitution was adopted by the India Constituent Assembly on -

a. 26th January 1950
b. 26th November 1948
c. 26th November 1949
d. 15th June 1948
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: 26th November 1949

Explanation:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that November 26 would be observed as the ‘Constitution Day’

All schools will celebrate the ‘Samvidhan Divas’ as a step towards spreading awareness about the life of its chief architect B R Ambedkar.

The Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, while it came into force on 26 January, 1950. “26th November will be marked as Constitution Day.


18)   The rise in sea level is due to

a. Melting of glaciers and ice-sheets
b. Oceans expand as they get warmer
c. Both a & b
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both a & b

Explanation:
The two major causes of global sea-level rise are thermal expansion caused by the warming of the oceans (since water expands as it warms) and the loss of land-based ice (such as glaciers and polar ice caps) due to increased melting.