2021

291. Caves, arches, stacks and stumps are the landscape features of which o

Caves, arches, stacks and stumps are the landscape features of which one of the following?

[amp_mcq option1=”River” option2=”Wave” option3=”Limestone” option4=”Wind” correct=”option2″]

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The correct answer is B) Wave.
Caves, arches, stacks, and stumps are sequential landforms created by the erosional action of waves along coastlines. Waves erode weak points in cliffs, forming sea caves. Over time, two caves on opposite sides of a headland may meet, or a single cave may erode through, forming a sea arch. When the roof of the arch collapses, an isolated pillar of rock, known as a sea stack, is left. Further erosion reduces the stack to a mere stump visible only at low tide.
River erosion creates features like gorges, valleys, meanders, and deltas. Limestone landscapes (karst topography) feature sinkholes, caves (formed by dissolution), and underground drainage. Wind erosion creates landforms such as sand dunes, yardangs, and deflation hollows, primarily in arid environments. The specific sequence of caves, arches, stacks, and stumps is characteristic of coastal erosion by waves.

292. The price declared by the Government every year before the sowing seas

The price declared by the Government every year before the sowing season to provide incentives to the farmers is called

[amp_mcq option1=”buffer price” option2=”issue price” option3=”minimum support price” option4=”fair sustenance price” correct=”option3″]

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The correct answer is C) minimum support price.
The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is the price set by the Government of India for certain agricultural produce, to protect the farmer against excessive falls in farm prices during bumper production years. It is announced by the government before the sowing season for certain crops, providing a price guarantee and acting as an incentive for farmers to cultivate those crops. The idea is to ensure a minimum profit for the farmers and encourage crop production.
Buffer price (A) is not a standard term in this context, although related to buffer stock operations. Issue price (B) is the price at which food grains are distributed from the government’s buffer stock (e.g., through PDS), determined after procurement. Fair sustenance price (D) is not a recognized term in this context.

293. The widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics are the characte

The widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics are the characteristics of

[amp_mcq option1=”famine” option2=”poverty” option3=”civil war” option4=”malnutrition” correct=”option1″]

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The correct answer is A) famine.
Famine is defined as a widespread scarcity of food, often accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. The conditions described – widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics – are precisely the defining characteristics and consequences of a famine event. Lack of food leads to starvation, weakening the population and making them highly susceptible to infectious diseases (epidemics), resulting in mass deaths.
While poverty (B) can contribute to food insecurity and malnutrition, widespread deaths on a large scale due to starvation and epidemics are typically associated with the more extreme conditions of famine, not just general poverty levels. Civil war (C) can often cause famine by disrupting agriculture and supply chains, but famine is the term for the resulting condition of widespread food scarcity and its consequences. Malnutrition (D) is a state of poor nutrition, a symptom and contributor to deaths during a famine, but famine is the broader crisis encompassing the starvation and epidemics leading to widespread deaths.

294. How many different words, with or without meaning, can be formed by us

How many different words, with or without meaning, can be formed by using the letters of the word COVID?

[amp_mcq option1=”60″ option2=”150″ option3=”100″ option4=”120″ correct=”option4″]

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The correct answer is D) 120.
The word COVID has 5 letters: C, O, V, I, D. All five letters are distinct. To find the number of different words that can be formed by using all the letters, we need to find the number of permutations of these 5 distinct letters. The number of permutations of ‘n’ distinct objects is given by n!.
In this case, n = 5.
Number of words = 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1.
5! = 20 × 6 × 1 = 120.
This is a basic problem involving permutations. If there were repeated letters in the word, the formula would be adjusted by dividing by the factorial of the counts of repeated letters.

295. Suppose the nth term of a series is $1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}$. If

Suppose the nth term of a series is $1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}$. If there are 20 terms in the series, then the sum of the series is equal to

[amp_mcq option1=”1360″ option2=”1450″ option3=”1500″ option4=”1560″ correct=”option4″]

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The correct answer is D) 1560.
The nth term of the series is $a_n = 1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}$. We need to find the sum of the first 20 terms, $S_{20} = \sum_{n=1}^{20} a_n$.
$S_{20} = \sum_{n=1}^{20} (1+\frac{n}{2}+\frac{n^2}{2}) = \sum_{n=1}^{20} 1 + \frac{1}{2}\sum_{n=1}^{20} n + \frac{1}{2}\sum_{n=1}^{20} n^2$
Using standard summation formulas:
$\sum_{n=1}^{N} c = Nc$
$\sum_{n=1}^{N} n = \frac{N(N+1)}{2}$
$\sum_{n=1}^{N} n^2 = \frac{N(N+1)(2N+1)}{6}$
Here, N = 20.
$\sum_{n=1}^{20} 1 = 20 \times 1 = 20$
$\sum_{n=1}^{20} n = \frac{20(20+1)}{2} = \frac{20 \times 21}{2} = 10 \times 21 = 210$
$\sum_{n=1}^{20} n^2 = \frac{20(20+1)(2 \times 20 + 1)}{6} = \frac{20 \times 21 \times 41}{6} = \frac{10 \times 7 \times 41}{1} = 2870$
Now substitute these values back into the sum expression:
$S_{20} = 20 + \frac{1}{2}(210) + \frac{1}{2}(2870)$
$S_{20} = 20 + 105 + 1435$
$S_{20} = 125 + 1435 = 1560$.
The problem requires separating the given nth term into terms based on powers of n and applying standard summation formulas for constants, linear terms, and quadratic terms. Careful calculation is needed for each part and then summing them up.

296. Which one of the following statements with regard to the Directive Pri

Which one of the following statements with regard to the Directive Principles of State Policy is not correct?

[amp_mcq option1=”They are not enforceable in a court of law.” option2=”They can override all the fundamental rights.” option3=”They can be related to social and economic justice.” option4=”They can be related to giving free legal aid.” correct=”option2″]

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The correct answer is B) They can override all the fundamental rights.
This statement is incorrect. Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) are non-justiciable and cannot ordinarily override Fundamental Rights, which are justiciable. The relationship between Fundamental Rights and DPSPs has been a subject of judicial interpretation. While Parliament has the power to amend Fundamental Rights to implement DPSPs (as provided under Article 31C, though subject to judicial review regarding the ‘basic structure’), the DPSPs cannot automatically override all Fundamental Rights. The Supreme Court has often emphasized the harmony and balance between the two parts as essential for the constitutional scheme.
Statement A is correct as DPSPs are explicitly stated in Article 37 as not enforceable by any court. Statement C is correct; DPSPs aim to achieve social and economic justice, forming the basis of India’s welfare state objectives. Statement D is correct; Article 39A, a DPSP, directs the state to provide free legal aid to ensure justice is not denied due to economic or other disabilities.

297. Which one of the following statements about ‘personal liberty’ is not

Which one of the following statements about ‘personal liberty’ is not correct?

[amp_mcq option1=”State does not have the authority to deprive any person within the territory of India of his/her personal liberty without any rational basis.” option2=”Basis of depriving a person of his/her personal liberty must be in accordance with procedures established by law.” option3=”Personal liberty can be secured by the judicial writ of Habeas Corpus.” option4=”The majority view of the Supreme Court in A. K. Gopalan vs. State of Madras case invented ‘due process of law’.” correct=”option4″]

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The correct answer is D) The majority view of the Supreme Court in A. K. Gopalan vs. State of Madras case invented ‘due process of law’.
This statement is incorrect. In the A. K. Gopalan vs. State of Madras case (1950), the Supreme Court interpreted the phrase “procedure established by law” in Article 21 narrowly. It held that this phrase meant procedure *enacted* by law, regardless of whether that procedure was fair or just. This interpretation specifically rejected the ‘due process of law’ concept prevalent in the American constitution, which includes elements of both procedural and substantive fairness. The concept of ‘due process’ in the Indian context, particularly its substantive aspect, was later introduced through subsequent landmark judgments, most notably the Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India case (1978), which held that the procedure established by law must be fair, just, and reasonable.
Statements A, B, and C are correct regarding personal liberty under Article 21. State power to deprive liberty is limited by law and rational basis (post-Maneka Gandhi). Deprivation must follow procedure established by law (explicit in Article 21). The writ of Habeas Corpus is a crucial tool for safeguarding personal liberty against unlawful detention.

298. Who among the following fixes the date of election of the Speaker of t

Who among the following fixes the date of election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha?

[amp_mcq option1=”The President of India” option2=”The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs” option3=”The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha” option4=”The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha” correct=”option1″]

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The correct answer is A) The President of India.
According to Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the election of a Speaker that takes place subsequent to a vacancy in the office is held on such date as the President may fix. While the first sitting of the newly elected Lok Sabha is presided over by a Speaker pro-tem appointed by the President, the date for the election of the regular Speaker in a new Lok Sabha is also ultimately fixed by the President. The Secretary-General then informs the members of this date.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs plays a role in coordinating the government’s legislative business, but does not fix the date for the Speaker’s election. The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha communicates the date but does not fix it. The Deputy Speaker presides over the Lok Sabha in the absence of the Speaker, but is elected *after* the Speaker and does not fix the date for the Speaker’s election.

299. Who among the following warned his colleagues that the Constituent Ass

Who among the following warned his colleagues that the Constituent Assembly was British made and was “working the British plan as the British should like it to be worked out”?

[amp_mcq option1=”Somnath Lahiri” option2=”B. R. Ambedkar” option3=”Shyama Prasad Mukherjee” option4=”B. N. Rau” correct=”option1″]

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The correct answer is A) Somnath Lahiri.
During the Constituent Assembly debates, Somnath Lahiri, a Communist member, expressed significant reservations about the nature and origins of the Assembly. He argued that the Assembly had been formed under the aegis of the British Cabinet Mission Plan and that the British government retained a significant degree of control over its functioning. He famously stated that the Assembly was “working the British plan as the British should like it to be worked out,” implying that it was not truly a sovereign body acting solely in the interests of the Indian people.
Other options are incorrect because B. R. Ambedkar was a key architect of the Constitution and Chairman of the Drafting Committee, thus unlikely to make such a fundamental critique of the Assembly’s legitimacy. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee represented a nationalist perspective but was not the source of this specific criticism regarding British influence on the Assembly’s core functioning. B. N. Rau was the Constitutional Advisor and played a technical role, not a political one involving such criticism.

300. Consider the following statements: 1. Under Akbar, the system of Zab

Consider the following statements:

  • 1. Under Akbar, the system of Zabt was established over a large area from Punjab to Awadh.
  • 2. In the seventeenth century North India, the system of Zabt lost much ground to the system of Kankut.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”Both 1 and 2″ option4=”Neither 1 nor 2″ correct=”option1″]

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The correct answer is (A) 1 only.
Statement 1 is correct. The Zabt system, also known as the Dahsala system, was a comprehensive land revenue assessment method based on measurement and average produce over the past ten years. It was implemented by Raja Todar Mal during Akbar’s reign in the core areas of the Mughal Empire, covering fertile regions from Punjab to Awadh, and parts of Malwa, Delhi, and Agra.
Statement 2 is incorrect. While other methods of assessment like Batai (crop-sharing) and Kankut (estimation of standing crop) were used alongside Zabt, especially in areas where Zabt was difficult to implement, it is not accurate to say that Zabt “lost much ground” to Kankut specifically across North India in the 17th century. Zabt remained the preferred and most systematic method in the well-administered regions, though its efficiency varied, and other methods continued to be prevalent or even gained importance in certain areas due to practical reasons or administrative challenges.
The Zabt system was a significant administrative reform of Akbar’s reign, aiming for a more rational and stable revenue collection. However, it was complex and required detailed land surveys and record-keeping, which limited its universal application throughout the vast empire.
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