Previous Year UPSC Questions

Explanation

The President of India is elected indirectly by the Electoral College and it is conducted in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

Statement 1 is correct: The President of India is elected by an electoral college consisting of:

1. Elected members of the two Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the States

2. States includes national capital territory of Delhi and the Union territory of Pondicherry The value of votes of MLAs would differ from State to State as it is based on population criterion and population of each state has a different value.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The value of vote of each MP is the same whether it is Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. There shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of the different states at the election of the President as follows:

Value of vote of an MLA of a state:

(Population of state / Total number of elected members of state legislative assembly) * 100 Value of vote of an MP: (Total value of votes of MLA’s of all states/ Total number of elected members parliament) * 100

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: According to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 (MMDR Amendment Act), state governments have the power to auction non-coal mines. The central government sets the guidelines for the auction process, but the actual auction of non-coal mines is conducted by the state governments.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand do have gold mines. Andhra Pradesh: Gold is found in Ramagiri in the Anantapur district. Jharkhand: Both alluvial and native gold are present, with alluvial gold found in the sands of the Subarnarekha River and Sona Nadi, and native gold found near Lowa in the Singhbhum district. Largest gold ore deposits in India are found in Bihar (based on recent discovery but not certified yet by GSI), Rajasthan, and Karnataka with Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand having smaller reserves.

Statement 3 is correct: Rajasthan has significant iron ore deposits. Iron ore deposits, primarily hematite and magnetite, are found in Rajasthan, specifically in districts like Jaipur, Udaipur, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Bhilwara, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa, and Banswara. These deposits contribute to the production of iron in India.

Explanation

The NGT provides environmental justice and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) NGT was established by National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, with jurisdiction over all civil disputes addressing important environmental issues. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 as a statutory body. National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 was enacted for effective and expeditious disposal (within 6 months of appeal) of environmental cases and to help reduce burden of litigation in the higher courts. It is also entrusted with the powers & functions under the Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1981. It provides for Enforcement of legal environmental rights, relief & compensation for damages caused. It works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The tribunal’s decision is enforceable as a civil court judgement and is governed by natural justice principles.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Both the NGT and CPCB were established by some Acts, namely, the NGT Act, 2010 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, respectively.

Statement 2 is correct: The objective of NGT is to provide effective & expeditious disposal (within 6 months of appeal) of the environmental cases and to help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.

Explanation

Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) is an inclusive, voluntary and action-oriented multi-stakeholder platform on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). The vision is to improve food security, nutrition and resilience in the face of climate change. GACSA aims to catalyze and help create transformational partnerships to encourage actions that reflect an integrated approach to the three pillars of CSA.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) was originally developed by FAO and officially presented at the Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change in 2010, through the paper "Climate-Smart Agriculture: Policies, Practices and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation and Mitigation". The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) was launched during the UN Climate Summit of 2014, in New York(not at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015).

Statement 2 is correct: Its membership does not impose any binding obligations on its participants, allowing for flexible engagement in promoting climate-smart agricultural practices.

Statement 3 is incorrect: While India is a signatory to the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA), India had no instrumental role in the creation of GACSA.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: NPOP is implemented under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, not the Ministry of Rural Development. It sets standards for organic production and certification.

Statement 2 is correct: APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, serves as the Secretariat for NPOP, ensuring certification and export facilitation of organic products.

Statement 3 is correct: Sikkim became India’s first fully organic state in 2016, implementing strict policies to eliminate chemical fertilizers and pesticides, covering 75,000 hectares of farmland under organic farming.

Explanation

Air India was nationalized in 1953 under the Air Corporations Act, 1953. Imperial Bank of India was renamed as the State Bank of India (SBI) in 1955 as part of banking sector reforms. India’s first democratically elected communist government was formed in Kerala in 1957, with E.M.S. Namboodiripad as Chief Minister. Goa was annexed by India and became part of independent India in 1961 after "Operation Vijay". Therefore, the correct chronological sequence is 3-2-1-4. Thus, the correct chronological order is 1953 (Air India Nationalization) 1955 (SBI Renaming) 1957 (First Communist Government) 1961 (Goa’s Liberation).

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is a flagship skill development pro-gram aimed at enhancing employability among youth. It is implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), not the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Statement 2 is correct: The scheme imparts training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy, improving employment readiness.

Statement 3 is correct: It aligns competencies of informal sector workers with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) to standardize skill assessment.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: India does not rank third in silicon wafer manufacturing. The top three manufacturers are China, Taiwan, and South Korea. India still imports most of its solar photovoltaic (PV) wafers.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Solar tariffs in India are not determined by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), but by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) through competitive bidding.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect:The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 aims to provide food and nutritional security to the population through subsidized food grains. The NFSA covers up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population, not just BPL families. It includes Priority House-holds and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries.

Statement 2 is correct: As per Section 13 of the NFSA, the eldest woman (18 years or above) is mandated to be the head of the household for the purpose of ration card issuance.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Pregnant women and lactating mothers receive free meals under the Integrated Child Devel-opment Services (ICDS) scheme, but no fixed calorie intake of 1600 kcal per day is prescribed in the NFSA.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Aadhaar APIs can be integrated into multiple electronic devices such as biometric scanners, mobile phones, and ATMs to enable identity verification and digital transactions.

Statement 2 is correct: Aadhaar authentication supports irisbased verification, which is more secure and accurate than fingerprint-based authentication, especially for elderly individuals and those engaged in manual labor. The Aadhaar identity platform enables seamless authentication and integration with various applications through open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), facilitating secure digital identity verification.