T-20 14 July, 2020

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Institutions, post and bodies
Sub Concept: Constitutional bodies
Concept field : Election Commission of India

Q1 With reference to Election Commission of India (ECI), consider the

following statements:
1. While ECI is empowered to register a political party, it is not
empowered to de-register a political party on the grounds of violating
the Constitution.
2. ECI is empowered to settle disputes related to allotment of election
symbols to political parties.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act,
1951 permits ECI to register a party but does not confer any power to
deregister it on the grounds of violating the Constitution. A party can only
be de-registered if its registration was obtained by fraud; if it is declared
illegal by the Central Government; or if a party amends its internal
Constitution and notifies the ECI that it can no longer abide by the Indian
Constitution.

Statement 2 is correct: Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order,

1968 empowers the EC to recognise political parties and allot symbols. It
empowers ECI to settle disputes related to allotment of election symbols to
political parties.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Science and Technology in India
Sub Concept: Defence
Concept field :

Q2 Which of the following best describes ‘INS Vikramaditya’ ?

a) Amphibious warfare ship
b) Nuclear-powered submarine
c) Aircraft carrier
d) Torpedo launch and recovery vessel

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the flagship of
the Indian Navy, which entered into service in 2013. India currently has one
operational aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, which can host around 30
aircraft. The second, INS Vikrant, is still being built at the Cochin shipyard in
south India, and is expected to be operational only by 2022.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: India and World
Sub Concept: India and USA
Concept field :

Q3 With reference to bilateral trade between India and USA, consider the
following statements:
1. USA is India’s largest trading partner.
2. India maintains a trade surplus with the USA.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
 d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: In 2018-19, the US first surpassed China to become
India's top trading partner. The US remained India's top trading partner for
the second consecutive fiscal in 2019-20, which shows increasing economic
ties between the two countries.

Statement 2 is correct: According to the data of the commerce ministry, in

2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $88.75 billion
as against $87.96 billion in 2018-19. The US is one of the few countries with
which India has a trade surplus.

Question Type: Concept

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: National Income
Sub Concept: Basic Concept and Definition of National Income.
Concept field :

Q4 Consider the following statements:

1. Core inflation is a measure of the total inflation within an economy,
including commodities such as food and fuel, which tend to be much
more volatile and prone to inflationary spikes.
2. Headline inflation excludes the highly volatile food and fuel
components and therefore represents the underlying trend inflation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Core inflation excludes the highly volatile food and
fuel components and therefore represents the underlying trend inflation.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Headline inflation is a measure of the total inflation
within an economy, including commodities such as food and fuel, which
tend to be much more volatile and prone to inflationary spikes.

Question Type: Concept

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: New Technologies
Sub Concept: Different Types of Diseases
Concept field :

Q5 Which of the following statements is correct regarding ‘Cytokine Storm’?

a) It is a severe reaction of body’s immune system
b) It is the process of contamination of DNA samples while doing DNA
profiling
c) Frequent dust storms that occur on Mars
d) None of the above

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:
Cytokine Storm is a severe immune reaction in which the body releases too
many cytokines into the blood too quickly.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: institutions, posts and bodies
Sub Concept: Statutory bodies
Concept field :

Q6 With reference to Prasar Bharti, Consider the following statements:

1. It is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar
Bharati Act.
2. Its task is to consider and adjudicate upon complaints about
broadcasts.
3. It comprises the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: Prasar Bharti is a statutory autonomous body
established under the Prasar Bharati Act and came into existence on
23.11.1997.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Prasar Bharati is the Public Service Broadcaster of
the country. It does not adjudicate upon complaints about broadcasts.
Statement 3 is correct: Prasar Bharati comprises of All India Radio and
Doordarshan Television Network, which were previously media units of the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Government Schemes
Sub Concept:
Concept field :

Q7 With reference to PM Ujjwala Yojana, consider the following statements:

1. It is a scheme of the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
2. Under the scheme, the government aims to provide 30 crore deposit
free LPG connections to women from BPL households.
3. LPG Connection is released in the name of the adult woman of the BPL
Family.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: It is a scheme of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Gas.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Under the scheme, the government aims to

provide 8 crore deposit free LPG connections to women from BPL
households.

Statement 3 is correct: LPG Connection is released in the name of the adult

woman of the BPL Family, subject to the condition that no LPG connection
exists in the name of any family member of the household.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: world geography through maps
Sub Concept: Major Mountain Ranges of the World
Concept field :

Q8 Arrange the following mountains from west to east:

1. Mount Matterhorn
2. Mont Blanc
3. Mount Elbrus
4. Mount Aconcagua

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 4213
b) 2413
c) 2134
d) 4312

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:
Mount Aconcagua – Argentina
Mont Blanc – France, Italy
Mount Matterhorn – Switzerland
Mount Elbrus – Russia
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Current Affairs
Sub Concept:
Concept field :

Q9 Energy Transition Index is published by

a) International Energy Agency
b) International Renewable Energy Agency
c) World Economic forum Commented [1]: need tag.. International Organizations >
World Economic Forum (economy)
d) World Bank

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Energy Transition Index is a fact-based ranking intended to enable policy-
makers and businesses to plot the course for a successful energy transition.
It is published by the World Economic Forum.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Current affairs
Sub Concept:
Concept field :

Q10 Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose river project on which of the

following rivers?
a) Godavari
b) Krishna
c) Kaveri
d) Mahanadi
Correct Answer: (a)
Explanation:
Polavaram Project is an under-construction multi-purpose irrigation National
project on the Godavari River in the West Godavari District and East
Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Literary Arts
Sub Concept: Languages in India
Concept field :

Q11 Which of the following languages are part of Eighth Schedule of Indian
Constitution?
1. Urdu
2. English
3. Nepali
4. Sanskrit

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 2, 3 and 4 only
c) 1, 3 and 4 only
d) 1, 2 and 4 only

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
English is not part of the Eighth Schedule.

The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22

languages:-
(1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri,
(7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya,
(13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19)
Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Indian Constitution
Sub Concept: Union Territory and States
Concept field :

Q12 Consider the following statements:

1. A bill contemplating changes in name, area or boundary of a state can
be introduced in the Parliament only with the prior recommendation
of the President.
2. After recommending the bill, the President has to refer the same to
the state legislature concerned for expressing its views within a
specified period.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:
Article 3 lays down two conditions with regard to changes in name, area or
boundary of a state.
Statement 1 is correct: A bill contemplating the above changes can be
introduced in the Parliament only with the prior recommendation of the
President.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Before recommending the bill, the President has to

refer the same to the state legislature concerned for expressing its views
within a specified period.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Environment Conservation
Sub Concept: Protected Area Network
Concept field : World Network of Biosphere Reserve

Q13 Which of the following Biosphere reserves is NOT listed in the UNESCO
World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)?
a) Pachmarhi
b) Great Nicobar
c) Manas
d) Nokrek

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
There are 18 biosphere reserves in India out of which 11 are listed in the
UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).

Biosphere reserves that are NOT part of UNESCO WNBR – Cold Desert,
Dihang-Dibang, Rann of Kachh, Sesachilam, Dibru-Saikhowa, Panna, Manas
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: vegetation and wildflife
Sub Concept: Forest Products
Concept field :

Q14 Consider the following statements:

1. Bamboo can survive in a wide range of temperature and rainfall
conditions.
2. Bamboo is found naturally growing in almost all parts of India except
Kashmir.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: Bamboo grows naturally in a wide range of climatic
conditions from as cold as 5 degrees C to even 30 degrees C. And at sea level
to heights of about 4,000 metres. They can survive in varying rainfall
conditions too.
Statement 2 is correct: Bamboo forests constitute roughly 13% of the total
forest area in the country. They are found in almost all the states of the
country, from the tropical to the temperate regions and the alluvial plains to
the high mountains, the only exception where they do not occur naturally in
Kashmir.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Environment Conservation
Sub Concept: International Environmental Conservation
Concept field :

Q15 With reference to Emissions Gap report 2019, consider the following
statements:
1. It is published by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP).
2. India is the second largest of the emitter of greenhouse gases after
China.
3. According to the report, India is among the countries that are
projected to meet their NDC (nationally determined contributions)
targets with current policies.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Emissions gap report is published by the United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Statement 2 is incorrect: Top five emitters are China, USA, EU, India and
Russia.

Statement 3 is correct: The report said that China, the EU28, India, Mexico,
Russia and Turkey are projected to meet their unconditional NDC targets
with current policies. Among them, three countries (India, Russia and
Turkey) are projected to be more than 15 per cent lower than their NDC
target emission levels.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: New Technologies
Sub Concept: Nano technologies
Concept field :

Q16 Which of the following are possible applications of nanotechnology?

1. Targeted drug delivery
2. Wastewater treatment
3. Energy storage
4. Flexible electronics

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 and 4 only
d) 1 ,2, 3 and 4 only

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:
Nanotechnology has wide applications in many technologies and industry
sectors: information technology, security, medicine, transportation, energy,
food safety, and environmental science, among many others.
Examples include titanium dioxide and in sunscreen, cosmetics and some
food products; silver nanoparticles in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants
and household appliances. Nanotechnology is also being applied to or
developed for application to a variety of industrial and purification
processes. Purification and environmental cleanup applications include the
desalination of water, water filtration, wastewater treatment, groundwater
treatment, and other nano-remediation. In industry, applications may
include construction materials, military goods, and nano-machining of nano-
wires, nano-rods, few layers of graphene etc.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: International Relations
Sub Concept: India and its neighbours
Concept field :
Q17 With reference to Mekong Ganga Cooperation, consider the following
statements:
1. It aims to promote cooperation in irrigation technologies.
2. China is not part of Mekong Ganga Cooperation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: It seeks cooperation in tourism, culture, education,

transport and communications.
Statement 2 is correct: It comprises six member countries, namely India,
Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: World geography through maps
Sub Concept: Asia through maps
Concept field :

Q18 Consider the following pairs :

Place in news Country
1. Hajigak Uzbekistan
2. Delaram Afghanistan
3. Zahedan Iran

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Hajigak – Afghanistan
Delaram – Afghanistan
Zahedan – Iran

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Drainage system of India
Sub Concept: The Himalayan River Systems
Concept field :
Q19 Arrange the following tributaries of river Ganga from West to East:
1. Kosi
2. Ramganga
3. Son
4. Gomti

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

a) 3 2 4 1
b) 4 2 3 1
c) 2 3 1 4
d) 2 4 3 1

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:

Left tributaries from west to east: Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak,

Kosi, Mahananda, Brahmhaputra
Right tributaries from west to east: Yamuna, Tons, Son, Damodar

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Environment Conservation
Sub Concept: International Environment Conservation
Concept field : Ramsar convention on wetlands

Q20 With reference to Loktak Lake, consider the following statements:

1. It is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.
2. It is located in Mizoram.
3. It is the only Ramsar site in India which is listed in the Montreux
Record.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) None of the above

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in
Northeast India.
Statement 2 is incorrect: It is located in Manipur.
Statement 3 is incorrect: There are 2 Ramsar sites in India which are listed in
the Montreux record - Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), Loktak Lake
(Manipur)