Q411. Severe and irreversible fragmentation of a species’ natural habitat often leads conservationists to:
Health, Environment and Agriculture: RAS Prelims MCQs
662 RAS Prelims practice MCQs on health, environment and agriculture are on this page, in 4 chapters. They cover human health, food, nutrition and public health programmes, environmental and ecological changes and impact assessment, biodiversity and conservation of natural resources, and agriculture, horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry in Rajasthan. Each question has an answer and an explanation.
Practice questions based on the RPSC RAS Prelims syllabus. They follow the exam pattern but are not past-paper questions.
Showing 411–420 of 662 questions
Browse Health, Environment and Agriculture chapters
Q412. Find the odd one out in the context of in-situ conservation.
Explanation
Wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and marine protected areas are all forms of in-situ conservation, as they involve protecting species within their natural ecosystems. A zoological garden, however, is an ex-situ conservation method where animals are kept and managed in human-made enclosures outside their original habitats. This fundamental difference in the location of the conservation effort makes it the odd one out.
Q413. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was opened for signature at which major global event?
Explanation
The Convention on Biological Diversity was one of the key international treaties opened for signature during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit. Held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, this landmark event brought global attention to the urgent need for biodiversity conservation and established the first comprehensive international framework for protecting nature.
Q414. The Cartagena Protocol, adopted under the CBD, primarily deals with:
Explanation
Adopted in 2000 as a supplement to the CBD, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety focuses on protecting biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. It establishes procedures for the safe handling, transport, and use of LMOs, particularly focusing on their transboundary movement to ensure that environmental and human health are not compromised.
Q415. Which of the following statements about the Aichi Biodiversity Targets is correct?
Explanation
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were a series of twenty ambitious, time-bound goals adopted in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010. Part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, these targets were intended to be achieved by 2020 to halt the global loss of biodiversity. They covered a wide range of issues, from addressing the causes of loss to improving the status of ecosystems globally.
Q416. Read the following statements and select the correct option:
Statement I: India enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002.
Statement II: The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted to fulfill India’s obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Statement I: India enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002.
Statement II: The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted to fulfill India’s obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Explanation
India enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002 to create a legal framework for managing its rich biological resources. This legislation was specifically designed to fulfill India’s international obligations as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Both statements accurately reflect the timing of the Act and its fundamental purpose in aligning national law with global biodiversity conservation standards.
Q417. Identify the incorrect statement regarding the implementation of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 in India.
Explanation
The Biological Diversity Act established a decentralized three-tier structure consisting of the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and local Biodiversity Management Committees. A key provision of the Act is the regulation of access to biological resources. The claim that foreign individuals can access these resources freely is incorrect, as the law mandates strict prior approval from the NBA for such activities.
Q418. All of the following are protocols/frameworks directly associated with the Convention on Biological Diversity, EXCEPT:
Explanation
The Cartagena Protocol, the Nagoya Protocol and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework are linked with the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Kyoto Protocol belongs to the climate convention, so it is the exception.
Q419. The following question consists of two statements, Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Select the correct answer from the options given below:
Assertion (A): The CBD recognizes that States have sovereign rights over their own biological resources.
Reason (R): Prior to the CBD, genetic resources were widely considered as the "common heritage of mankind," leading to their unregulated exploitation by foreign entities.
Assertion (A): The CBD recognizes that States have sovereign rights over their own biological resources.
Reason (R): Prior to the CBD, genetic resources were widely considered as the "common heritage of mankind," leading to their unregulated exploitation by foreign entities.
Explanation
Before the CBD, genetic resources were often exploited by foreign entities as the "common heritage of mankind" without compensating the source nations. The CBD shifted this paradigm by explicitly recognizing the sovereign rights of States over their own biological resources. This change was essential to empower nations to regulate access and ensure they receive a fair share of benefits from utilization.
Q420. A foreign pharmaceutical company wants to use a medicinal plant native to the Western Ghats to develop a new drug. Under CBD principles, which principle mandates that the company must share profits with India?
Explanation
Access and Benefit Sharing is a central principle of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It mandates that when a company or researcher accesses genetic resources or traditional knowledge from another country for commercial use, they must share the resulting benefits fairly with the provider. This mechanism ensures that biodiversity-rich nations and local communities are compensated for their contribution to scientific innovation.Answer key for these questions
| Q | Correct answer |
|---|---|
| 411 | (c) Start ex-situ measures like captive breeding to prevent imminent extinction. |
| 412 | (d) Zoological Garden |
| 413 | (c) The Earth Summit (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, 1992 |
| 414 | (d) Safe handling, transport, and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). |
| 415 | (a) A set of 20 time-bound targets from 2010 to halt biodiversity loss by 2020. |
| 416 | (c) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct. |
| 417 | (a) It allows foreign individuals to access India’s biological resources freely without any prior approval. |
| 418 | (d) Kyoto Protocol |
| 419 | (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. |
| 420 | (d) Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) |
Key facts from Health, Environment and Agriculture
- The RPSC General Science syllabus includes human health and nutrition, environmental change, biodiversity and the agriculture of Rajasthan.
- Health questions pair a deficiency or a programme with its cause or target, for example iron with anaemia.
- Environment questions cover ecosystems, pollutants, laws and treaties, including carbon markets.
- Rajasthan agriculture questions deal with dryland farming, crops of the arid zones and the State’s agro-climatic zones.
- Science and technology, policies and defence are on the Science and Technology page.
Frequently asked questions
How many RAS Prelims practice MCQs are there on Health, Environment and Agriculture?
This page has 662 practice MCQs on Health, Environment and Agriculture. Each has the correct answer, and most have an explanation.
Which chapters does this set cover?
Four chapters: human health, food, nutrition and public health programmes; environmental and ecological changes and their impact assessment; biodiversity, conservation of natural resources and sustainable development; and agriculture, horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry in Rajasthan.
Are health, environment and agriculture part of the RAS Prelims syllabus?
Yes. The General Knowledge and General Science paper includes human health, nutrition, environment, biodiversity and the agriculture sector of Rajasthan, so these topics can be asked every year.
How can I revise this part of the syllabus?
Make short lists of deficiency diseases, pollutants, laws and treaties, and Rajasthan crops and zones. Attempt each chapter, read the explanations of the misses and revisit the lists after a few days.