UPSC IAS

41. When a bill is referred to a joint sitting of both the Houses of the P

When a bill is referred to a joint sitting of both the Houses of the Parliament, it has to be passed by

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a simple majority of members present and voting
three-fourths majority of members present and voting
two-thirds majority of the Houses
absolute majority of the Houses
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When a bill is referred to a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), it is passed by a simple majority of members present and voting.
Article 108 of the Constitution of India provides for joint sittings of both Houses in certain disagreements over a bill. Article 118(4) states that at a joint sitting, the Speaker of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall preside, and the rules of procedure shall be made by the President after consultation with the Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the Speaker of the House of the People. The key rule for passing a bill at a joint sitting is that it must be passed by a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting. This means more than half of the members present and casting a vote must vote in favour of the bill.
Joint sittings are rare and are usually convened by the President when there is a deadlock between the two Houses on an ordinary bill (not a Money Bill or a Constitution Amendment Bill). Due to the Lok Sabha having more members than the Rajya Sabha, a simple majority in a joint sitting usually favours the Lok Sabha’s position.

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42. Consider the following rivers : Vamsadhara Indravati Pranahita Pe

Consider the following rivers :

  1. Vamsadhara
  2. Indravati
  3. Pranahita
  4. Pennar

Which of the above are tributaries of Godavari?

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1, 2 and 3
2, 3 and 4
1, 2 and 4
2 and 3 only
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The correct option is D. Indravati and Pranahita are tributaries of the Godavari river.
– The Godavari river is the second-longest river in India and flows east through the Deccan Plateau.
– Vamsadhara is a river that flows through Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and drains directly into the Bay of Bengal. It is not a tributary of Godavari.
– Indravati is a major tributary of the Godavari, flowing through Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra.
– Pranahita is the largest tributary of the Godavari, formed by the confluence of the Wardha and Wainganga rivers, and flows along the border of Maharashtra and Telangana.
– Pennar (also spelled Penna) is a river in South India, flowing through Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and draining into the Bay of Bengal. It is not a tributary of Godavari.
Major tributaries of Godavari include Pravara, Purna, Manjira, Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga, Pranahita, Indravati, and Sabari.

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43. Consider the following pairs : Medieval Indian State Present Regi

Consider the following pairs :

Medieval Indian State Present Region
1. Champaka : Central India
2. Durgara : Jammu
3. Kuluta : Malabar

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

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1 and 2 only
2 only
1 and 3 only
3 only
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The correct option is B. Only pair 2 is correctly matched.
– Pair 1: Champaka refers to the historical state of Chamba, located in the upper valley of the Ravi river in the Himalayas, corresponding to the Chamba district of modern Himachal Pradesh (North India). Central India is incorrect.
– Pair 2: Durgara refers to the historical state of Durgara, located in the foothills of the Himalayas, corresponding to the region around Jammu in modern Jammu and Kashmir. This match is correct.
– Pair 3: Kuluta refers to the historical state of Kullu, located in the upper valley of the Beas river in the Himalayas, corresponding to the Kullu district of modern Himachal Pradesh (North India). Malabar is a region on the southwestern coast of India (Kerala). This match is incorrect.
These historical states were part of the Shivalik and Himalayan kingdoms in the medieval period.

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44. Convertibility of rupee implies

Convertibility of rupee implies

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being able to convert rupee notes into gold
allowing the value of rupee to be fixed by market forces
freely permitting the conversion of rupee to other currencies and vice versa
developing an international market for currencies in India
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The correct option is C. Convertibility of rupee implies freely permitting the conversion of rupee to other currencies and vice versa.
– Currency convertibility refers to the ease with which a domestic currency can be exchanged for foreign currencies.
– Full convertibility means the currency can be freely exchanged for any purpose (trade, services, capital flows).
– Partial convertibility imposes restrictions on certain types of transactions, usually capital account transactions.
– India currently has full current account convertibility (for trade in goods and services) and partial capital account convertibility (restrictions apply to certain capital flows).
Option A relates to the outdated Gold Standard. Option B describes a floating exchange rate system, which is distinct from convertibility, although often associated with it. Option D describes the development of financial markets, which can be facilitated by convertibility but is not its definition. Option C accurately captures the essence of currency convertibility in the modern context.

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45. The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ sometimes appears in the news in the

The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ sometimes appears in the news in the context of the events related to

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Central Asia
Middle East
South-East Asia
Central Africa
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The correct option is B. The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ is located in the Middle East and is a focal point of conflict in the region.
– The Golan Heights is a plateau region in the Levant.
– It is internationally recognized as Syrian territory under Israeli occupation. Israel captured most of the area from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981, a move not widely recognized internationally.
– The region is situated at the border of Israel, Syria, and Jordan.
The status of the Golan Heights is a major point of contention in the Arab–Israeli conflict. Its strategic importance lies in its elevation, providing military advantage, and access to water resources (primarily through the Sea of Galilee).

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46. With reference to ‘Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology’, which o

With reference to ‘Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

  • 1. It is a contactless communication technology that uses electromagnetic radio fields.
  • 2. NFC is designed for use by devices which can be at a distance of even a metre from each other.
  • 3. NFC can use encryption when sending sensitive information.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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1 and 2 only
3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
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The correct option is C. Statements 1 and 3 are correct regarding Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
– Statement 1: NFC is indeed a short-range wireless communication technology that uses electromagnetic radio fields (specifically, operating at the 13.56 MHz frequency band, interacting via magnetic fields). This statement is correct.
– Statement 2: NFC is designed for extremely short distances, typically a few centimeters (usually 4 cm or less), requiring devices to be tapped or brought very close together. A distance of “even a metre” is far beyond the normal operating range of NFC. This statement is incorrect.
– Statement 3: While NFC itself is a communication method, applications built on NFC can and commonly do incorporate strong encryption and other security protocols (like secure elements, tokenization for payments) to protect sensitive information during transactions. This statement is correct.
NFC technology is widely used in applications like contactless payments, public transport cards, access control systems, and simple data exchange by touching devices.

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47. The terms ‘Agreement on Agriculture’, ‘Agreement on the Application of

The terms ‘Agreement on Agriculture’, ‘Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures’ and ‘Peace Clause’ appear in the news frequently in the context of the affairs of the

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Food and Agriculture Organization
United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change
World Trade Organization
United Nations Environment Programme
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The correct option is C. The terms ‘Agreement on Agriculture’, ‘Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures’, and ‘Peace Clause’ are frequently associated with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
– The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
– The ‘Agreement on Agriculture’ (AoA) is a WTO agreement that came into effect in 1995, dealing with domestic support, market access, and export subsidies in agriculture.
– The ‘Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures’ (SPS Agreement) is another WTO agreement concerning the application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations in international trade.
– The ‘Peace Clause’ was a temporary provision within the AoA that restrained countries from challenging, through WTO dispute settlement, certain subsidies that other member states provide to their farmers, provided the subsidies comply with certain conditions.
These agreements and provisions are outcomes of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations that led to the creation of the WTO.

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48. In the context of modern scientific research, consider the following s

In the context of modern scientific research, consider the following statements about ‘IceCube’, a particle detector located at South Pole, which was recently in the news :

  • It is the world’s largest neutrino detector, encompassing a cubic kilometre of ice.
  • It is a powerful telescope to search for dark matter.
  • It is buried deep in the ice.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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1 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
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The correct option is C. Statements 1 and 3 about the IceCube particle detector are correct.
– Statement 1: IceCube is indeed the world’s largest neutrino detector. It consists of thousands of sensors embedded in a cubic kilometre of ice at the South Pole, designed to detect high-energy neutrinos.
– Statement 2: While neutrinos are fundamental particles relevant to various areas of physics, including cosmology and potential dark matter interactions, IceCube is primarily designed as a neutrino *telescope* to study astrophysical sources of high-energy neutrinos (like supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei). Searching for dark matter is not its primary or stated main purpose.
– Statement 3: The detector sensors (Digital Optical Modules or DOMs) are lowered into holes drilled deep into the Antarctic ice, at depths between 1450 and 2450 meters, making this statement correct.
By detecting the faint light (Cherenkov radiation) produced when neutrinos interact with the ice, IceCube scientists can infer the direction and energy of the neutrinos, opening a new window to observe the universe.

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49. Which of the following brings out the ‘Consumer Price Index Number for

Which of the following brings out the ‘Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers’?

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The Reserve Bank of India
The Department of Economic Affairs
The Labour Bureau
The Department of Personnel and Training
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The correct option is C. The Labour Bureau brings out the ‘Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers’ (CPI-IW).
– In India, Consumer Price Indices (CPI) measure changes over time in the retail prices of goods and services which working-class families consume.
– The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, compiles CPI for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL).
– The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), compiles the All India CPI (Rural, Urban, and Combined).
CPI-IW is particularly important as it is used for determining dearness allowance for central government employees and workers in the organised industrial sector.

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50. The Government of India Act of 1919 clearly defined

The Government of India Act of 1919 clearly defined

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the separation of power between the judiciary and the legislature
the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments
the powers of the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy
None of the above
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The correct option is B. The Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms) clearly defined the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments by dividing the subjects of administration into central and provincial lists.
– The 1919 Act introduced a scheme of ‘dyarchy’ in the provinces, dividing provincial subjects into ‘transferred’ and ‘reserved’.
– It clearly demarcated the subjects handled by the central government and those handled by the provincial governments. This division of subjects essentially defined their respective jurisdictions.
The Act did not define a clear separation of power between the judiciary and the legislature in the modern sense. While it brought about significant changes in the legislative and executive structures at the centre and provinces, its primary innovation regarding the distribution of powers was the distinction between central and provincial spheres of governance through subject lists.

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