Previous Year UPSC Questions

Explanation

Pair 1 is incorrectly matched: In 2008, India’s installed power capacity was significantly higher than 100,000 MW. By 2006-07, India had already surpassed the 125,000 MW mark.

Pair 2 is correctly matched: India’s electricity generation in 2007-08 was around 660 billion kWh (or units). This figure is approximately correct.

Explanation

List-I (Person) List-II (Area) Sabyasachi Mukherjee Fashion Designing Aniruddha Bahal Investigative Journalism Vikram Akula Microfinance Loans Yusuf Hamied Pharmaceuticals

Explanation

The Ministry of Rural Development was designated as the nodal ministry for implementing the National Biodiesel Mission during its initial phases. The mission focused on cultivating Jatropha curcas, a non-edible oilseed crop, on wastelands to produce biodiesel. Jatropha is a plant of Latin American origin, which is now widespread throughout arid and semi-arid tropical regions of the world. This initiative aimed to achieve energy security, promote rural development, and provide an alternative source of livelihood for farmers in marginal and degraded lands.

Explanation

The Ogaden region has been a long-standing disputed territory between Ethiopia and Somalia. In 1977-1978, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, attempting to annex the region, but was eventually pushed back with Soviet and Cuban assistance to Ethiopia. Even today, the Ogaden conflict remains a source of tension due to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a separatist group fighting for independence from Ethiopia.

Explanation

List-I (Service/Agency) List-II (Country) Foreign Intelligence Service Russia Ministry of State Security China Secret Intelligence Service Britain The Mossad Israel

Explanation

Norman Ernest Borlaug, an american, is widely regarded as the Father of the Green Revolution, which transformed global agriculture by significantly increasing crop yields through high-yielding varieties (HYVs), fertilizers, and modern farming techniques. His work had a major impact in India, Mexico, and other developing nations, helping to combat food shortages.

Explanation

List-I (Organization) List-II (Associated Convention /Person/Place / Headquarters) Amnesty International Peter Benenson Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Viskuli Danube Commission Belgrade Convention Europe Space Agency Paris

Explanation

A barrel of oil is a standard unit of measurement used in the oil industry worldwide. It represents the volume of crude oil or petroleum products. One barrel of crude oil is equal to approximately 159 litres (42 U.S. gallons). This is the internationally accepted oil barrel volume.

Explanation

Pair 1 is correctly matched: Francis Collins led the Human Genome Project (HGP), which successfully mapped the entire human DNA sequence. He played a key role in decoding genetic information, impacting medicine and biotechnology.

Pair 2 is correctly matched: Sergey Brin, along with Larry Page, co-founded Google in 1998. They developed PageRank, the algorithm behind Google’s search engine technology.

Pair 3 is correctly matched: Jimmy Wales, co-founded Wikipedia in 2001. Wikipedia became the world’s largest online encyclopedia, offering free knowledge globally.

Explanation

Option (b) is correct: The First Session of the Indian National Congress (INC) took place in Bombay (now Mumbai) in December 1885. It was chaired by Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee. Other Key Congress Sessions:

Year Place President Highlights 1886(2nd Session) Calcutta Dadabhai Naoroji merger of National Congress and National Conference 1887 Madras Syed Badruddin Tyabji first Muslim President 1888 Allahabad George Yule first British President 1905 Benaras Gopal Krishna Gokhale expressed resentment against the partition of Bengal 1906 Calcutta Dadabhai Naoroji the word ‘swaraj’ mentioned for the first time. 1907 Surat Rash Behari Ghosh split in the Congress into the Moderates and the Extremists.