Answer (d)
Statement 1 is correct. In a socialist society, the government decides what goods are to be produced in accordance with the needs of society. It is assumed that the government knows what is good for the people of the country and so the desires of individual consumers are not given much importance. The government decides how goods are to be produced and how they should be distributed.
Statement 2 is correct. In a market economy, also called capitalism, only those consumer goods will be produced that are in demand, i.e., goods that can be sold profitably either in the domestic or in the foreign markets. If cars are in demand, cars will be produced and if bicycles are in demand, bicycles will be produced.
Statement 3 is correct. Most economies are mixed economies, i.e., the government and the market together answer the three questions of what to produce, how to produce and how to distribute the produced. In a mixed economy, the market will provide whatever goods and services it can produce well, and the government will provide essential goods and services that the market fails to do.
Answer (a)
• The Indian Independence Act 1947 was legislation passed by the British parliament that legally set up the two independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act codified British withdrawal from and the partition of India. It is only in 1950, the Constitution of India came into effect and India transformed from an independent dominion to an independent constitutional republic.
• Though India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950.
• The idea of the sovereign, socialist and secular has officially been adopted in the preamble through the 42nd amendment act of 1976.
• Importantly, while the Act did substantively cut the link between India and Britain, India was still a dominion under the Governor-General who was the representative of the British Crown. Being unhappy with these provisions, the constituent assembly did two things: first, the Assembly did not put the final Constitution it drafted to the British parliament to approve as was provided for in the Act. Second, it repealed the Act itself through Article 395 of the Constitution.
Answer (c)
Statement 1 is correct. India is the 3rd largest energy consumer in the world after USA and China. The Indian Government has taken a number of energy efficiency measures to reduce and utilize energy efficiently.
Taking these measures forward, recently, the Ministry of Power has launched the Gram Ujala Programme in order to make LEDs available at affordable cost in the rural areas.
Statement 2 is not correct. Under the scheme, each household will get up to 5 LEDs. LEDs will be available for only Rs 10 each for each household, in exchange for working condition old incandescent lamps.
Statement 3 is correct. Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a PSU under the Ministry of Power is the implementing agency.
Answer (a)
• The Indian Independence Act 1947 was legislation passed by the British parliament that legally set up the two independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act codified British withdrawal from and the partition of India. It is only in 1950, the Constitution of India came into effect and India transformed from an independent dominion to an independent constitutional republic.
• Though India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950.
• The idea of the sovereign, socialist and secular has officially been adopted in the preamble through the 42nd amendment act of 1976.
• Importantly, while the Act did substantively cut the link between India and Britain, India was still a dominion under the Governor-General who was the representative of the British Crown. Being unhappy with these provisions, the constituent assembly did two things: first, the Assembly did not put the final Constitution it drafted to the British parliament to approve as was provided for in the Act. Second, it repealed the Act itself through Article 395 of the Constitution.
Answer (b)
Statement 1 is not correct. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a mammal species native to the eastern Himalayas and south-western China. Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, and northern Arunachal Pradesh.
Statements 2 and 3 are correct. Hunting of Red Panda has decreased as per a study by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, indicative of the success of awareness campaigns. Over a ten-year period from July 2010 to June 2019 it is found neither India nor Bhutan had reported any incidences of poaching or illegal trade in Red Pandas, but in Nepal, a total of 13 seizure records were reported between 2016 and 2019.
The red panda is a shy, solitary, and arboreal animal that is considered an indicator species for ecological change.
Answer (c)
Scientists obtain information about the interior of the earth from direct and indirect sources.
• Direct sources: The most easily available solid earth material is the surface rock we get from mining areas. The deepest drill at Kola in the Arctic Ocean has so far reached a depth of 12km. Volcanic eruption forms another source of obtaining direct information. During a volcanic eruption, molten material magma is thrown out and is used for laboratory analysis.
• Indirect sources: Gravitational force, Magnetic field, and seismic activity are examples of indirect sources.
• Gravity anomalies (The readings of gravity that differ from expected values) give us information about the distribution of mass of material in the crust of the earth.
• Magnetic surveys also provide about the distribution of magnetic materials in the crustal portion.
• The study of seismic activity provides a complete picture of the layered interior of the earth.
Answer (c)
Statement 1 is correct. Boustrophedon means written from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines. Although the Harappan script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as it has just too many signs – somewhere between 375 and 400. Since there is cramming of letters at sides, Harappan script was considered as Boustrophedon.
Statement 2 is not correct. Harappan seals are not the only items where we find Harappan writing. Harappan writing has been found on the variety of objects such as seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods, even an ancient signboard.
Statement 3 is correct. It is an indigenous product and does not show any connection to the scripts of western Asia.
Answer (b)
• Silappathikaram, also spelled Silappatikaram, the earliest epic poem in Tamil, was written in the Sangam age by Prince Ilanko Adikal. Silappathikaram is a detailed poetic witness to Tamil culture, its varied religions, its town plans and city types, the commingling of Greek, Arab, and Tamil peoples, and the arts of dance and music.
• The Manimekalai was composed by Sattanar in Sangam age. This describes the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi. These beautiful compositions were lost to scholars for many centuries, till their manuscripts were rediscovered, about a hundred years ago.
• Rajatharangini, (Sanskrit: “River of Kings”) historical chronicle of early India, written in Sanskrit verse by the Kashmiri Brahman Kalhana in 1148, that is justifiably considered to be the best and most authentic work of its kind. It covers the entire span of history in the Kashmir region from the earliest times to the date of its composition.
• Buddhacarita, also spelled Buddhacharitha, in full Buddhacarita-kavya-sutra (Sanskrit: “Poetic Discourse on the Acts of the Buddha”), poetic narrative of the life of the Buddha by the Sanskrit poet Ashvaghosha, one of the finest examples of Buddhist literature.
Answer (d)
Lord Lytton, I was the viceroy of India during the period (1876-80). The main incidents during his tenure are:
• Royal Titles Act of 1876
• Assumption of the title of empress of India by Queen Victoria (Grand Delhi Durbar of 1877)
• Vernacular Press Act of 1878
• Arms Act of 1878
• Second Afghan War (1878-80)
• Appointment of first famine commission in 1878
Answer (d)
• The Ghadar Party was a revolutionary group organized around a weekly newspaper ‘The Ghadar’ with its headquarters in San Francisco.
• These revolutionaries included mainly ex-soldiers and peasants who had migrated from Punjab to the USA and Canada in search of better employment opportunities.
• Ghadar was established in 1913 by the efforts of LalaHardayal, Ramchandra, Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Barkatullah, and BhaiParmanand.
• The Ghadar Party, initially named the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association was formed in was formed on 15 July 1913.