T-20 8 July 2020

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Socio-economic Development
Sub Concept: Institutional Measures for Welfare of Vulnerable Sections
Concept field :

Q1 With reference to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016,

consider the following statements:
1. The Act replaced the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995
2. The Act provides for reservation in higher education, government jobs
and poverty alleviation schemes for persons with benchmark
disabilities.
3. The Act recognises persons with blood disorders - Thalassemia,
Hemophilia and Sickle Cell Disease as 'persons with disabilities' under
the Act.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The Act replaced the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It fulfils
the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory.
Statement 2 is correct: Additional benefits such as reservation in higher
education (not less than 5%), government jobs (not less than 4 %),
reservation in the allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes (5%
allotment) etc. have been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities.

Statement 3 is correct: The types of disabilities have been increased from

existing 7 to 21 and the Central Government will have the power to add
more types of disabilities. The 21 disabilities are given below:- Blindness,
Low-vision, Leprosy Cured persons, Hearing Impairment (deaf and hard of
hearing), Locomotor Disability, Dwarfism, Intellectual Disability, Mental
Illness, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy,
Chronic Neurological Conditions, Specific Learning Disabilities, Multiple
Sclerosis, Speech and Language disability, Thalassemia, Hemophilia, Sickle
Cell Disease, Multiple Disabilities including deaf-blindness, Acid Attack
victim, Parkinson's disease.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: International Organisations Commented [1]: dont have relevant subconcept

Sub Concept:
Concept field :

Q2 With reference to Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), consider

the following statements:
1. AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve
social and economic outcomes in Asia.
2. It was formerly called the BRICS Bank.
3. India is the second-largest shareholder in AIIB after China.

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: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a
multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and
economic outcomes in Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, it began operations in
January 2016 and have now grown to 102 approved members worldwide.
Statement 2 is incorrect: New Development Bank (formerly called the BRICS
Bank) is different.

Statement 3 is correct: AIIB members with the largest share of voting power
are China (26.5%), India (7.6%) and Russia (6.0%).
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Taxation
Sub Concept: Types of Taxes
Concept field :

Q3 Consider the following statements:

1. Finance Act 2016 introduced equalization levy of 6% which applied only
on business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
2. Finance Act 2020 amended the Finance Act 2016, to reduce
equalisation levy from 6 % to 2%.

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:
Statement 1 is correct: In 2016, India introduced an Equalisation Levy of 6%
on revenue earned by non-residents from online advertising and related
services. It applied only on business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Finance Act 2020 amended the Finance Act
2016, introducing a new Equalisation Levy at 2% on the consideration
received/receivable by an e-commerce operator from the following
transactions (e-commerce supply or services):
● Online sale of goods owned by the e-commerce operator;
● Online provision of services provided by e-commerce;
● Online sale of goods or provision of services or both, facilitated by the
e-commerce operator;
● Any combination of the above-mentioned activities
While the levy was initially imposed on B2B transactions, the present
amendment attempts to cover even B2C transactions in its ambit.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Agriculture
Sub Concept: Issues of Buffer Stocks and Food Security
Concept field :

Q4 Shanta Kumar Committee, sometimes seen in the news is related to

a) strengthening digital payments ecosystem
b) restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI)
c) review the use of pesticides in India
d) banking reforms

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:
The government, in 2014, had constituted a high-level committee chaired by
Shanta Kumar, who had given several recommendations as how to make the
entire foodgrain management system more efficient. The committee
suggested the reorienting of the role of FCI in MSP operations,
procurement, storage and distribution of grains under Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS).

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 :

Q5 China shares land borders with which of the following countries?

1. Vietnam
2. North Korea
3. Myanmar
 4. Thailand

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:

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: Potential Impact of US Sanctions Towards Russia, Iran Using CAATSA on US-
India relation

Q6 CAATSA is a US federal law that imposes sanctions on which of the

following countries?
1. Russia
2. North Korea
3. Iran

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA is a
United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and
Russia.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: International Relations
Sub Concept: Prominent issues
Concept field: biological warfare

Q7 With reference to Biological Weapons Convention, consider the

following statements:
1. It is the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production
of an entire category of weapons.
2. India has signed and ratified the convention.

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: Biological Weapons Convention was the first
multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire
category of weapons.
Statement 2 is correct: India signed and ratified the convention in 1973.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: institutions, Posts and Bodies
Sub Concept: Constitutional Bodies
Concept field :

Q8 Which of the following are Constitutional bodies?

1. GST Council
2. Central Vigilance Commission
3. National Commission for Backward Classes
4. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
5. GST Network

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 and 3 only
b) 3 only
c) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
d) 1, 4 and 5 only

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:
GST Council – Article 279A (1)
National Commission for Backward Classes – Article 338B
Central Vigilance Commission and the National Commission for Protection of
Child Rights are statutory bodies.
GST network is a not-for-profit company under section 8 of Companies Act.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Achievements of Indians
Sub Concept: Policies & Reports related to Science
Concept field :

Q9 With reference to ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ scheme, consider the following

statements:
1. It has been launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
2. It aims to encourage high-end scientific research and prepare scientific
manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based
economy.
3. The scheme has 2 components – ABHYAAS and SAMMOHAN.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: The scheme was launched by Science and
Engineering Research Board (SERB), under the Department of Science and
Technology, to strengthen scientific research mechanisms in the country.
Statement 2 is correct: The primary objective of the scheme is to give more
thrust on encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific
manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based
economy.
Statement 3 is correct: The scheme has 2 components:
● ABHYAAS Programme: to boost research and development in the
country by enabling and grooming potential PG/PhD students.
It has been sub-divided into: KARYASHALA, VRITIKA
● SAMMOHAN: It has been sub-divided into SAYONJIKA and
SANGOSHTI. SAYONJIKA is an open-ended program to catalogue the
capacity building activities in science and technology supported by all
government funding agencies in the country. SANGOSHTI is a pre-
existing program of SERB for the organisation of workshops.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: institution, posts and bodies
Sub Concept: regulatory bodies
Concept field :

Q10 Geological Survey of India is under which ministry?

a) Ministry of Earth Sciences
b) Ministry of Mines
c) Ministry of Science and Technology
d) None of these

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:
Geological Survey of India is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines, to
enable and facilitate the providing of objective, impartial and up-to-date
geological expertise and geoscientific information of all kinds, particularly
for decision-making for policy, commercial, economic and societal needs.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Banking and Financial Inclusion
Sub Concept: FSDC
Concept field :

Q11 With reference to Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC),

consider the following statements:
1. FSDC is responsible for macro-prudential supervision of the economy
including the functioning of large financial conglomerates.
2. It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Finance.
3. It is chaired by the Prime Minister.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: FSDC is responsible for
● macro-prudential supervision of the economy including the
functioning of large financial conglomerates
● coordinating India's international interface with financial sector
bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Financial Stability
Board (FSB) and any such body as may be decided by the Finance
Minister from time to time.
Statement 2 is incorrect: FSDC is not a statutory body.
Statement 3 is incorrect: FSDC is chaired by the Union Finance Minister.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: institution, posts and bodies
Sub Concept: Non-Constitutional Bodies
Concept field: National Human Rights Commission

Q12 Consider the following statements:

1. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a statutory body for the
protection and promotion of human rights in India.
2. NHRC is empowered to take Suo moto cognizance in cases of human
rights violations.
3. NHRC has no power to punish the violators of human rights, nor to
award any relief including monetary relief to the victim.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: National Human Rights Commission, India has been

set up by an Act of Parliament under the Protection of Human Rights Act,
1993 for the protection and promotion of human rights.

Statement 2 is correct: NHRC is empowered to inquire into any violation of

human rights or negligence in the prevention of such violation by a public
servant, either suo moto or on a petition presented to it or on an order of a
court.

Statement 3 is correct: NHRC has no power to punish the violators of human

rights, nor to award any relief including monetary relief to the victim.
Notably, its recommendations are not binding on the concerned
government or authority. But, it should be informed about the action taken
on its recommendations within one month.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Banking and Financial Inclusion
Sub Concept: Liquidity trap
Concept field :

Q13 It is a contradictory economic situation when monetary policy becomes

ineffective due to very low-interest rates combined with consumers who
prefer to save rather than invest in higher-yielding bonds or other
investments. Which of the following describes this phenomenon?
a) Skewflation
b) Liquidity Trap
c) Stagflation
d) Debt Trap

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:
A liquidity trap is a contradictory economic situation in which interest rates
are very low and savings rates are high, rendering monetary policy
ineffective. First described by economist John Maynard Keynes, during a
liquidity trap, consumers choose to avoid bonds and keep their funds in cash
savings because of the prevailing belief that interest rates could soon rise
(which would push bond prices down). Because bonds have an inverse
relationship to interest rates, many consumers do not want to hold an asset
with a price that is expected to decline. At the same time, central bank
efforts to spur economic activity are hampered as they are unable to lower
interest rates further to incentivize investors and consumers.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Representation of People's Act
Sub Concept: Provisions of RPA Act 1951
Concept field :

Q14 With reference to Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System

(ETPBS), consider the following statements:
1. Voting through ETBPS is completely online, i.e., the voter receives and
submits the ballot paper through a portal developed by Election
Commission of India.
2. Any registered voter can opt to vote through ETBPS.

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: Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System
(ETPBS) is the one-way electronic transmission of the Postal ballots to the
Service Voters. The Service Voter then cast their vote and send it to the
respective returning officer via Post. The complete process is secured by
way of multiple checks and transmission protocol to ensure safe
transmission. Upon receipt of the postal ballot at the counting centres, the
returning officer validates the receipt by a series of QR codes with that of
the transmitted system.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Currently, ETBPS is available only to service voters.

According to the provisions of subsection (8) of Section 20 of
Representation of People Act, 1950, service qualification means –
(a) Being a member of the armed forces of the Union;
(b) Being a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act, 1950 ,
have been made applicable whether with or without modification ;
(c) Being a member of an Armed Police Force of a State, and serving
outside that state;
(d) Being a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a
post outside India.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: The Earth & The Universe
Sub Concept: Solar System
Concept field :

Q15 Consider the following statements:

1. Saturn has the largest number of moons in the solar system.
2. Phobos and Deimos are the moons of planet Mars.

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: Saturn overtook Jupiter as the planet with the most
moons in 2019. A team of US researchers discovered a haul of 20 new moons
orbiting the ringed planet, bringing its total to 82; Jupiter, by contrast, has
79 natural satellites.
Statement 2 is correct: Mars has 2 moons – Phobos and Deimos.
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Science and Technology in India
Sub Concept: IT, Telecom and Electronics
Concept field :

Q16 With reference to BharatNet project, consider the following statements:

1. It aims to provide a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps to each of the
2.5 lakhs Gram Panchayats.
2. It is being implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd.
3. The entire project is being funded by the Universal Service Obligation
Fund (USOF).

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: (d)

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: BharatNet project aims to connect all the 2,50,000
Gram panchayats in the country and provide 100 Mbps connectivity to all
gram panchayats (GPs).
Statement 2 is correct: It is being implemented by Bharat Broadband
Network Ltd, a special purpose vehicle set up under the Companies Act.
Statement 3 is correct: The entire project is being funded by the Universal
Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which was set up for improving telecom
services in rural and remote areas of the country. The objective is to
facilitate the delivery of e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking,
Internet and other services to rural India.

Question Type: fact

Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: Physiography of India
Sub Concept: The Peninsular Plateau
Concept field :

Q17 Arrange the following hill ranges from north to south:

1. Palkonda Hills
2. Cardamom Hills
3. Javadi Hills
4. Nallamala Hills
5. Anaimalai Hills

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 14253
b) 41352
c) 24153
d) 41325

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:
Question Type: fact
Difficulty of Question: moderate
Expected time to solve(in seconds): 60
Concept: India & its Neighbours
Sub Concept: Indian Ocean Region
Concept field :

Q18 Consider the following countries :

1. India
2. Bangladesh
3. Australia
4. Pakistan
5. Indonesia
Which of the above countries are members of Indian Ocean Rim Association
(IORA)?
a) 1, 2 and 4 only
b) 3, 4 and 5 only
c) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:
IORA is an inter-governmental organisation aimed at strengthening regional
cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region.
The members include Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles,
Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab
Emirates, Maldives and Yemen.

Countries that are NOT members – Pakistan, Myanmar, Somalia.

Question Type: fact

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

Q19 With reference to the Blue Dot Network (BDN), consider the following
statements :
1. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative to bring together governments, the
private sector and civil society to promote high-quality, trusted
standards for global infrastructure development.
2. The initiative is led by the members of the European Union.
3. BDN would directly offer loans for the projects that are approved by
it.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The Blue Dot Network is a multi-stakeholder initiative

that will bring together governments, the private sector, and civil society
under shared standards for global infrastructure development. The network
will certify infrastructure projects that demonstrate and uphold global
infrastructure principles.
Statement 2 is incorrect: BDN is led by the US along with Japan and
Australia.
Statement 3 is incorrect: BDN would not offer public funds or loans for the
project. The projects obtain a Blue Dot certification, will be seen as adhering
to the highest level of global standards. This will ease its access to private
and public financing institutions.

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 :

Q20 Consider the following pairs:

Continent Highest Mountain

1. South America Mount Aconcagua
2. North America Mount Denali
3. Africa Mount Kilimanjaro

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

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

Correct Answer: (d)

Explanation:
Highest mountains on each continent.