answers & explanation of modern indian history + physical ... · answers & explanation of...

RAUS IAS TC19E1001 1

ANSWERS & EXPLANATION OF

Modern Indian History + Physical & World Geography

+ Current Affairs (TC19E1001)

Q.1) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Cornwallis introduced the Regulation of

1791 that defined the powers of the

Police Superintendent.

• Cornwallis had a low opinion about

Indian character, ability and integrity.

He sought to reserve all higher services

for Europeans which suggests that he

was very much prejudiced against

Indians.

Q.2) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Thomas Munro was responsible for the

introduction of the Ryotwari settlement

in 1820.

Q.3) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Lord Hastings decided to take stern

action against the Pindaris. He

concluded agreements with the Maratha

chiefs, the ruler of Bhopal and the

Rajput princes. Owing to his plan, by

the end of 1817 the Pindaris were

driven across the Chambal and by 1818

their bands were destroyed.

Q.4) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The Treaty of Salbai was signed as a

result of the First Anglo-Maratha war,

whereas the Treaty of Bassein was

concluded at the end of the Second

Anglo-Maratha war.

Q.5) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• The credit of the Suppression of Thugee

is given to William Bentinck wherein

government measures were taken

against the thugs in 1830.

Q.6) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Cataract surgery has emerged the

procedure for which the highest number

of claims have been made under

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

(PMJAY), the government’s flagship

health cover scheme. Cataract refers to

a clouding of the lens of the eye causing

gradual loss of vision. It is common in

old age but can also be triggered by

injuries to the eye. Option c is incorrect

as the genetic component is strong in

the development of cataracts. The

presence of cataracts in childhood or

early life can occasionally be due to a

particular syndrome.

Q.7) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Prarthana Samaj was started by Atma

Ram Panduranga and Govind Ranade.

• Jyotiba Phule started Satya Shodhak

Samaj for social service and spread of

education amongst women and lower

caste.

• He along with his wife started school for

children from lower caste.

• He wrote books such as Gulamgiri and

Sarvajanik Satyadharma to propagate

his ideas.

• Just like Ambedkar he worked for

complete abolition of caste system.

Q.8) Ans. (a)

Explanation:


• Deobandis welcomed the formation of

Indian National Congress in 1885.

Q.9) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Justice Party was initially known as

South Indian Liberal Foundation.

• It was organized by TM Nair and Sri P.

Theagaraya and was the first non-

Brahmanical organization.

Q.10) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Gandhi believed in the concept of

Chaturvarna because of which he was

openly criticized by Narayana Guru.

Q.11) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Dadabhai Naoroji along with J.B

Wacha, S.S. Bangali started Rahnumayi

Mazdayan Sabha in 1851 whose basic

objective was to restore Zorastrianism

and reformation of social condition of

Parsees.

• B M Malabari started Seva Sadan to

give shelter to widows and other

women.

• Women Purdah system was abolished

due to their efforts

Q.12) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Satyendra Sinha was the first Indian to

be appointed as the member of the

Viceroy’s Executive council in 1909.

Syed Hussain Bilgrami on the other

hand was one of the two Indian

members of the Secretary of State’s

India Council, along with K G Gupta in

1907.

Q.13) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Lord Canning introduced a portfolio

system in the administration based on

the provisions of this act.

Q.14) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Jawaharlal Nehru referred to the offer of

the dominion status as ‘dead as a door

nail’.

• Lord Linlithgow made August offer in

1940.

Q.15) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• According to the plan, the portfolio of

External Affairs was transferred to the

Indian members of the Council.

Q.16) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Faraizi movement was a religious

movement developed among the

peasants of East Bengal under the

leadership of Haji Shariatullah. It

sought to purify Islam but also lay its

social roots, as the rural Muslim poor of

east Bengal united under this religious

sect and revolted against British rulers,

landlords and indigo planters.

Q.17) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Bhils was a tribe local to Maharashtra

who were concentrated in the hill

regions of Khandesh.

• They revolted in 1818 against British

occupation in their territory.

Q.18) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Dinabandhu Mitra wrote a famous play

in Bengali called Neel Darpana which

depicted the atrocities of the indigo

planters. The play was translated in


English by the famous Bengali poet

Michael Madhusudan Dutt.

Q.19) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Forest department in India started in

1864 whereas Indian Forests Act of

1878 was passed to establish complete

government monopoly over Indian

forestlands.

Q.20) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Indian Officials Secrets Amendment act,

1904 was passed under Lord Curzon to

put restrictions on press.

Q.21) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The resolution of Swadeshi, boycott,

national education and Swaraj was

taken by INC at its Calcutta session in

1906.

• Anushilan Samiti was founded by

Satischandra Basu in March,1902.

• Split in the Indian National Congress -

1907 (Surat).

Q.22) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• All persons given in the question were

signatories to the Bombay Manifesto of

1936 that had expressed serious

disapprobation of Nehru’s socialist

ideas.

Q.23) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Age of Consent Bill, 1891 pushed the

age of consummation of marriage for

women from 10 to 12.

• All India Women’s Association was

brought up in Madras in 1917 started

by enlightened Europeans and Indian

ladies.

Q.24) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• The Trades Disputes act of 1929, which

virtually banned strikes was passed

without any opposition by the Congress.

Q.25) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Central Ground Water Authority has

been constituted under Section 3 (3) of

the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

to regulate and control development and

management of ground water resources

in the country.

• The Authority has been conferred with

the following powers:

(i) Exercise of powers under section 5

of the Environment (Protection)

Act, 1986 for issuing directions

and taking such measures in

respect of all the matters referred

to in sub-section(2) of section 3 of

the said Act.

(ii) To resort to penal provisions

contained in sections 15 to 21 of

the said Act.

(iii) To regulate and control,

management and development of

ground water in the country and to

issue necessary regulatory

directions for the purpose.

(iv) Exercise of powers under section 4

of the Environment (Protection)

Act, 1986 for the appointment of

officers.

• The NGT had rapped the Central

Ground Water Authority for failing to

curb illegal extraction of groundwater

and directed the Ministry to notify a

policy by December 18.

Q.26) Ans. (c)

Explanation:


• It has natural vegetation stretching in

an unbroken sequence from the tropics

to mountain tundra.

• The BR has an altitudinal range from

500 to 6000 mtr and a major factor in

determining the plant community.

• The type of vegetation found in this

biosphere reserve can be grouped as

1. Sub-tropical broad leafed forests,

2. Sub tropical pine forest,

3. Temperate broad leafed forests,

4. Temperate conifer,

5. Sub-alpine woody shrub,

6. Alpine meadow( mountain

Tundra),

7. Bamboo brakes,

8. Grassland.

• The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has

cleared the way for at least two

proposed mega hydel power projects in

Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley and

Lohit districts, one of India’s most

biodiverse landscapes.

Q.27) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• GSLV-F11 is the 13th flight of India’s

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch

Vehicle (GSLV) and its 7th flight with

indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage

(CUS).

• GSLV – F11 is ISRO’s fourth generation

launch vehicle with three stages.

• GSAT-7A with a lift-off mass of 2250 kg,

is a geostationary satellite

• ISRO has successfully launched GSAT

7A satellite

Q.28) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Nilgiri biosphere reserve includes the

Aralam, Mudumalai, Mukurthi,

Nagarhole, Bandipur and Silent Valley

national parks, as well as the Wayanad

and Sathyamangalam wildlife

sanctuaries.

• Logic - The National Tiger Conservation

Authority (NTCA) and the Karnataka

government objected to the multi-crore

project of Highway to construct elevated

highway at Bandipur and Wayanad

sanctuaries .

Q.29) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The term “microsatellite” or “microsat”;

is usually applied to the name of an

artificial satellite with a wet mass

between 10 and 100 kg (22 and 220 lb)

A microsatellite is a tract of

repetitive DNA in which certain DNA

motifs (ranging in length from 1–6 or

more base pairs) are repeated, typically

5–50 times.

• Logic - In a first for India, every one of

Kerala’s captive elephants now has a

unique DNA-based genetic ID.

Q.30) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Geophysicists call the region that exists

between 2 km and 3 km below the

ocean-floor as deep earth. This consists

of about 2-2.3 billion cubic km, which

is about twice the volume of the oceans

combined. The deep biosphere

constitutes a world that can be viewed

as a sort of “subterranean Galapagos”

and includes members of all three

domains of life: bacteria and archaea

(microbes with no membrane-bound

nucleus), and eukarya (microbes or

multicellular organisms with cells that

contain a nucleus as well as membrane-

bound organelles). Two types of

microbes — bacteria and archaea —

dominate Deep Earth. Scientists say

about 70% of earth’s bacteria and

archaea live in the subsurface.

Q.31) Ans. (d)

Explanation:


• All types of asbestos cause lung cancer,

mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx and

ovary, and asbestosis (fibrosis of the

lungs). Exposure to asbestos occurs

through inhalation of fibres in air in the

working environment, ambient air in

the vicinity of point sources such as

factories handling asbestos, or indoor

air in housing and buildings containing

friable (crumbly) asbestos materials.

• International pharmaceutical firm

Johnson & Johnson had known for

decades that its baby powder contained

asbestos, read an investigation by news

agency Reuters.

Q.32) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Soyuz is a series of spacecraft designed

for the Soviet space program by the

Korolev Design Bureau in the 1960s

that remains in service today. The

Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod

spacecraft and was originally built as

part of the Soviet manned lunar

programs.

• The Soyuz spacecraft is launched on

a Soyuz rocket, the most reliable launch

vehicle in the world to date.

• Recently using knives and shears, a

pair of Russian spacewalkers cut

samples of material around a

mysterious hole in a Soyuz spacecraft

docked on the International Space

Station that a Moscow official suggested

could have been deliberate sabotage.

Q.33) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Voyager 2 is a space probe launched

by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study

the outer planets. Part of the Voyager

program , it was launched 16 days

before its twin, Voyager 1 , on a

trajectory that took longer to

reach Jupiter and Saturn but

enabled further encounters

with Uranus and Neptune .

• For the second time in history, a

human-made object has reached the

space between the stars.

• NASA’s Voyager 2 probe now has exited

the heliosphere - the protective bubble

of particles and magnetic fields created

by the Sun.

Q.34) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Agni-V is an intercontinental ballistic

missile developed by the Defence

Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) of India.

• It has a range of 5500-5800 km.

• An intercontinental ballistic

missile (ICBM) is a guided ballistic

missile with a minimum range of

5,500 kilometres primarily designed

for nuclear weapons delivery India

successfully test-fired nuclear-capable

ballistic missile Agni-5, from Dr Abdul

Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.

Q.35) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Kaiga – Karnataka

• Kakrapar – Gujarat

• Kundankulam – Tamil Nadu

• Karnataka’s Kaiga has once again made

the country proud by creating a world

record for the longest uninterrupted

operation for 941 days, thereby

breaking the earlier record of 940 days

by the United Kingdom.

Q.36) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Hodeidah or Hudaida is the fourth-

largest city in Yemen and its principal

port on the Red Sea.

• Recently, the ceasefire between Yemen’s

Houthi rebels and forces loyal to

President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in

the port city of Hodeida came into

existence. The agreement was reached


in UN-mediated talks held in

Stockholm.

Q.37) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• A key element of the Paris Agreement is

the Global Stocktake – a five-yearly

assessment of whether countries are

collectively on track to meet the Paris

Agreement’s goals to limit global

warming.

• The Paris Rulebook, agreed at the UN

climate summit in Katowice, Poland,

gives countries a common framework

for reporting and reviewing progress

towards their climate targets.

• The new rulebook affirms that this

process will consider “equity and best

available science”.

• But it does not elaborate specifically on

how these inputs will be used, and how

the outcomes of the stocktake will

increase ambition.

• One of the aims of the Katowice talks

was to develop a common set of formats

and schedules for countries to report

their climate policy progress.

• The new rules allow a degree of

flexibility for the most vulnerable

countries, who are not compelled to

submit quantified climate pledges or

regular transparency reports. All other

countries will be bound to report on

their climate action every two years,

starting in 2024.

Note: Statement 2 is incorrect because there

is no such provision in the Paris Agreement.

Recently, the Paris Agreement Rulebook has

been formulated.

Q.38) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Blitzs are swift, vigorous attacks and

are normally a part of military parlance.

• But, BioBlitz have different connotation.

They are useful tools to understand how

tress change across seasons.

• A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on

finding and identifying as many species

as possible in a specific area over a

short period of time. A Bioblitz is also

known as a biological inventory or

biological census. The primary goal of a

BioBlitz is to get an overall count of the

plants, animals, fungi, and other

organisms that live in a place.

Q.39) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Special Mention Accounts are those

assets/accounts that shows symptoms

of bad asset quality in the first 90 days

itself.

• The classification of Special Mention

Accounts (SMA) was introduced by the

RBI in 2014, to identify those accounts

that has the potential to become an

NPA/Stressed Asset. Logic of such a

classification is because some accounts

may turn NPA soon.

Q.40) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The government has formulated

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

as a medium term national level

strategy to tackle the increasing air

pollution problem across the country in

a comprehensive manner. The overall

objective is to augment and evolve

effective ambient air quality monitoring

network across the country besides

ensuring comprehensive management

plan for prevention, control and

abatement of air pollution.

• The NCAP focuses on collaborative and

participatory approach covering all

sources of pollution and coordination

between relevant Central Ministries,

State Governments, local bodies and

other stakeholders.

• In order to ensure use of new

technologies to combat the rising

challenge of air pollution in India, a

separate component on ‘Technology


Assessment Cell’ has been envisaged

under NCAP to evaluate the

technologies for prevention, control and

abatement of air pollution.

Q.41) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The world’s leading conservation

organization, WWF is an international

non-governmental organization which

works in 100 countries and is

supported by more than one million

members in the United States and close

to five million globally.

• WWF and IUCN in 1976 create

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring

network that works to ensure trade in

wild plants and animals is not a threat

to the conservation of nature.

• The Living Planet Report documents the

state of the planet—including

biodiversity, ecosystems, and demand

for natural resources—and what it

means for humans and wildlife.

Published by WWF every two years, the

report brings together a variety of

research to provide a comprehensive

view of the health of the Earth.

• Recently, WWF warns about extinction

of kangaroo rat.

Q.42) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• A first-of-its-kind assessment by the

secretariat of the UN Framework

Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC), made at the request of the

developing countries, shows that

developed nations had reduced their

emissions by 16 per cent from their

1990 levels by the year 2016. But a rise

in emissions after that has meant that

by the year 2020, the emission levels

were expected to be only 11.4 per cent

below the 1990 levels, well short of their

collective target of 18 per cent.

• These targets for the developed

countries for the pre-2020 period are

governed by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol

and will expire in 2020, after which the

Paris Agreement will take over.

• In the Kyoto framework, only the

developed countries, responsible for the

overwhelming majority of emissions

over the last 150 years, were assigned

specific emission reduction targets.

• In the Paris architecture, however, no

country is assigned any target and

everyone decides for their own the

climate actions they want to take.

Q.43) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Question is asking for incorrect

statement. First two statements are

incorrect and the third statement is

correct.

• Water Vapour is the biggest overall

contributor to the greenhouse effect, not

Carbon Dioxide.

• CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas

emitted through human activities.

• Unlike CO2 which can persist in air for

centuries, water vapour cycles through

the atmosphere quickly.

• India, the third-highest contributor, is

projected to see emissions rise by 6.3%

from 2017.

• Although India is rapidly going in for

solar and wind power, coal usage

continues to grow strongly. Coal is

responsible for 65% of India’s CO2

emissions. Recently, there is demand to

equitably cut CO2 emissions in COP24.

Q.44) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The Royal Bengal Tiger is known to live

in a wide variety of habitats in the

Subcontinent. Its roar can be heard in

moist evergreen forests, dry and

coniferous forests, mangroves,

subtropical and temperate upland

forests and alluvial grasslands.


• The mangroves of the Sundarbans—

shared between Bangladesh and India—

are the only mangrove forests where

tigers are found.

• Since 2008, it is listed

as Endangered on the IUCN Red

List and is threatened

by poaching, loss and fragmentation of

habitat.

• There is need to renew conservation

methods to save new species of tigers.

Q.45) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Indian Star Tortoise and Olive Ridley in

the given options are under Vulnerable

category in the IUCN list whereas Saw-

Jawed Terrapin is in Critically

Endangered category.

• Recently, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

(CWS), located in Kerala, has

successfully rehabilitated Indian star

tortoises, making it the only

rehabilitation centre for star tortoises in

the country.

• Every year Olive Ridley Turtle comes to

Gahiramatha beach in Odhisa coast for

nesting. It has been awarded vulnerable

status in IUCN.

Q.46) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• An aurora, sometimes referred to as

polar lights, northern lights (aurora

borealis) or southern lights (aurora

australis), is a natural light display in

the Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in

the high-altitude regions (around the

Arctic and Antartica).

• Aurora is of two types: night side and

day side aurora.

• The dancing lights of the auroras

provide spectacular views on the

ground, but also capture the

imagination of scientists who study

incoming energy and particles from the

sun. Auroras are one effect of such

energetic particles, which can speed out

from the sun both in a steady stream

called the solar wind and due to giant

eruptions known as coronal mass

ejections or CMEs.

• Designed to capture high-resolution

images of Earth, the Advanced

Spaceborne Thermal Emission and

Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER,

instrument is one of five instruments

aboard NASA’s Terra satellite. NASA

and Japan release the ASTER Global

Digital Elevation Model, a digital

topographic map of Earth covering more

of the planet than ever before.

• NASA has launched its VISIONS-2

mission. VISIONS-2 is all about

checking whether and how the process

for the heating and energizing of oxygen

on the dayside aurora NASA to image

the leak in the Earth’s Atmosphere.

Q.47) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• All the statements are incorrect.

• The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to

strengthen the global response to the

threat of climate change by keeping a

global temperature rise this century well

below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-

industrial levels and to pursue efforts to

limit the temperature increase even

further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

• The Paris Agreement requires all Parties

to put forward their best efforts through

“nationally determined contributions”

(NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts

in the years ahead.

• The Paris Agreement entered into force

in 2016, thirty days after the date on

which at least 55 Parties to the

Convention accounting in total for at

least an estimated 55 % of the total

global greenhouse gas emissions have

deposited their instruments of

ratification, acceptance, approval or

accession with the Depositary.


Q.48) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

is the apex anti-smuggling agency of

India, working under the Central Board

of Indirect Taxes & Customs,

Ministry of Finance, Government of

India.

• It is tasked with detecting and curbing

smuggling of contraband, including

drug trafficking and illicit international

trade in wildlife and environmentally

sensitive items, as well as combating

commercial frauds related to

international trade and evasion of

Customs duty.

• There is news of rescue of exotic species

smuggled in India.

Q.49) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• It is correct that GSAT-11 will be used

to provide broadband connectivity to

gram panchayats.

• However, the name of the program is

Bharat Net Project. Statement 2 is

correct as Ka band is introduced for the

first time through GSAT-11.

Q.50) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• OSIRIS-Rex has used the Earths

Gravitation to reach Bennu asteroid and

hence, statement 1 is correct. At the

same time, statement 2 is incorrect as

OSIRIS Rex won’t land on the asteroid.

It will get close to the body, blast

nitrogen and collect sample.

Q.51) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Barren and Narcondam islands are

volcanic islands in Andaman and

Nicobar.

Q.52) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Turkey is located between Black Sea

and Mediterranean Sea

Q.53) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• They are found on western slopes of

Western Ghats

• Sal and teak are important species of

deciduous forests

• They are spread along western coast of

India and not along eastern coast.

Q.54) Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The kharif crops include rice, maize,

sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger

millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses),

soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton

etc.

• The rabi crops include wheat, barley,

oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses),

linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.

Q.55) Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Dalli-Rajhara is a town and a

municipality in Balod district in the

state of Chhattisgarh, India.

• Dalli Rajhara is home of iron ore captive

mines for Bhilai Steel Plant, the largest

integrated steel plant in India.

Q.56) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• The Sabarmati river is one of the major

west-flowing rivers in India. It originates

in the Aravalli Range of the Udaipur

District of Rajasthan and flows into the

Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea.

Q.57) Ans. (b)

Explanation:


• Alluvium is usually most extensively

developed in the lower part of the

course of a river, forming floodplains

and deltas.

• Alluvium consists of silt, sand, clay,

and gravel and often contains a good

deal of organic matter. It therefore

yields very fertile soils such as those of

the deltas of the Ganga and

Brahmaputra, and the Huang rivers.

• The proportion of nitrogen is generally

low in Alluvial soils.

Q.58) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• R C Dutt wrote The Economic History of

India which gave an account of the

economy of India under British covering

a period from Battle of Plassey till the

beginning of 20th century.

• Dadabhai Naoroji published his book

Poverty and Un-British rule in India in

1901 which put forward his drain of

wealth theory.

Q.59) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Lord Macaulay in 1835 argued in his

famous minute that Indian languages

were not sufficiently developed to serve

the purpose and that oriental learning

was completely inferior to European

learning.

• Due to paucity of funds the government

introduced Downward Filtration theory

according to which few people from

upper and middle class were educated

and further expected to educate the

masses. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Q.60) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• In 1849, Paramahansa Mandali was

formed in Maharashtra. Its founders

believed in one god and were primarily

interested in breaking caste rules. Its

branches were found in Poona and

Satara.

• The Bethune School was founded in

Calcutta in 1849 which was the fruit of

the powerful movement for women’s

education that arose in 1840’s and

1850’s.

• In 1791, Jonathan Duncan started

Sanskrit college at Varanasi for the

study of Hindu law and philosophy.

Q.61) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• The Revolt of 1857 was led by different

leaders at different places. The storm

centers of the revolt were at Delhi,

Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Jhansi and

Arrah in Bihar. Begum Hazrat Mahal

led the revolt from Lucknow, Rani

Laxmi Bai from Jhansi, Kunwar Singh

from Jagdishpur, Maulvi Ahmadullah

from Faizabad and Khan Bahadur from

Bareilly.

Q.62) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Treaty of Seringapatnam was signed in

1792 between Tipu Sultan and British.

• Treaty of Bassien was signed in 1802

between Peshwa Baji Rao II and British.

• Treaty of Salabai was signed in 1782

between British and Maratha as

agreement of peace.

• Treaty of Rajghat was signed in 1806

between Holkars and British.

Q.63) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• The Theosophical Society was founded

in the United States by Madam H.P

Blavatsky and H.S Olcott who later

came to India and founded its

headquarters near Madras in 1886.

Annie Besant was strong force of this

movement who joined it later.


• The Theosophists advocated the revival

and strengthening of the ancient

religions of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism

and Buddhism.

Q.64) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Dalhousie introduced a new system of

internal communication in India. He

was the father of Indian Railways.

• The credit of establishing Postal

Department also goes to Lord

Dalhousie. In 1854 a new Post Office

Act was passed.

• Dalhousie abolished female infanticide

which was prevalent among the Rajputs

of higher castes.

• He established and Public Works

Department and Engineering College at

Roorkee.

• During his time period, Second Anglo-

Burmese War was fought.

Q.65) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Iberian Peninsula is in Europe. It is

associated with Portugal and Spain.

Q.66) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• As a result of Swadeshi and Boycott

movement the Partition of Bengal which

took place in 1905 was annulled in

1911.

• The moderates aimed at constitutional

agitation and orderly political progress.

They did not aim at organizing a mass

movement and this owed to it’s a

narrow social base.

Q.67) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Simon Commission was appointed in

1927 by the British Conservative

government under Stanley Baldwin to

report on the working of the Indian

constitution established by the

Government of India Act of 1919. The

commission consisted of seven

members.

• Its composition met with a storm of

criticism in India because Indians were

excluded.

• Resentment and suspicion were not

confined to the Congress circles alone.

The call for boycott of the Commission

was supported by the Hindu

Mahasabha and the Muslim League.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah said,

‘Jalianwalabag was a physical butcher.

The Simon Commission is the butchery

of our soul’.

Q.68) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• The violent methods were advocated by

various leaders during the Swadeshi

Movement. However, the Gandhian

mass movements had the component of

nonviolence as the primary strategy.

Q.69) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya,

Tripura and Mizoram share their border

with Bangladesh.

Q.70) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• The main tributaries of Brahmaputra

are:

- Teesta River

- Manas River

- Dibang River

- Lohit River

- Kameng River

- Dhansiri

- Subansiri

Q.71) Ans. (c)


Explanation:

• In the bottom horizons of arid soils, a

‘kanker’ layer is formed which restricts

the infiltration of water, as such when

irrigation is made available, the soil

moisture is readily available for a

sustainable plant growth.

Q.72) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Black colour is because of the presence

of titanium magnetite.

• Black soils are deficient in nitrogen and

phosphates. They are fertile because of

high water retention capacity and self-

ploughing action.

Q.73) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric

plate) is a massive, irregularly-shaped

slab of solid rock, generally composed of

both continental and oceanic

lithospheres. Plates move horizontally

over the asthenosphere as rigid units.

The lithosphere includes the crust and

top mantle with its thickness range

varying between 5-100 km in oceanic

parts and about 200 km in the

continental areas. A plate may be

referred to as the continental plate or

oceanic plate depending on which of the

two occupy a larger portion of the plate.

Q.74) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• A list prepared by UNESCO has

mentioned about the 42 languages or

dialects in India which are endangered

and they may be heading towards

extinction.

• The languages or dialects which were

considered endangered, include 11 from

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Great

Andamanese, Jarawa, Lamongse,

Luro, Muot, Onge, Pu, Sanenyo,

Sentilese, Shompen and

Takahanyilang), seven from Manipur

(Aimol, Aka, Koiren, Lamgang,

Langrong, Purum and Tarao) and four

from Himachal Pradesh (Baghati,

Handuri, Pangvali and Sirmaudi).

• The other languages in the endangered

category are Manda, Parji and Pengo

(Odisha), Koraga and Kuruba

(Karnataka), Gadaba and Naiki

(Andhra Pradesh), Kota and Toda

(Tamil Nadu), Mra and Na (Arunachal

Pradesh), Tai Nora and Tai Rong

(Assam), Bangani (Uttarakhand),

Birhor (Jharkhand), Nihali

(Maharashtra), Ruga (Meghalaya) and

Toto (West Bengal).

Q.75) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Easterly jet stream is dynamically

introduced only during summer season

and are absent during winter season.

Q.76) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Shevaroy Hills is located in Tamil Nadu.

It is one of the major hill stations in

Tamil Nadu and in the Eastern Ghats.

Q.77) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Sabarmati and mahi drain in gulf of

khambat (Arabian Sea)

• Luni drains into runn of kutch while

west banas drains into little rann.

Q.78) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• The transformation of the Sikhs into a

militant, fighting community was begun

by Guru Hargobind Singh.

Q.79) Ans. (c)

Explanation:


• The islands north of 11 degrees are

known as Amendvi and to the south are

called cannanore island.

Q.80) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Krishna originates in Mahabaleshwar

while Narmada originates from

Amarkantak plateau.

• Godavari rises in the Western Ghats

near Thriambak Hills in the Nasik

district of Maharashtra.

Q.81) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Monsoon rainfall is seasonal in nature

and is concentrated in 4 months from

June to September

• Tamil Nadu receives heavy rainfall

during retreating monsoon and largely

remains dry during south west

monsoon.

Q.82) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The Tropic of Cancer passes through 8

Indian states – Gujarat, Rajasthan,

Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and

Mizoram.

Q.83) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• The Peninsular plateau consists of 3

major divisions

1. The Deccan plateau.

2. The Central Highlands – It

includes the Maikal hills.

3. The Northern Plateau - It includes

the Meghalaya Plateau, including

the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills.

Q.84) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• The western coastal plains are an

example of submerged coastal plain. It

is believed that the city of Dwaraka,

which was once a part of the Indian

mainland situated along the west coast

is submerged under water. Because of

this submergence it is a narrow belt and

provides natural conditions for the

development of ports and harbours.

Kandla, Mazagaon, JLN port Navha

Sheva As compared to the western

coastal plain, the eastern coastal plain

is broader and is an example of an

emergent coast. There are well

developed deltas here, formed by the

rivers flowing eastward in to the Bay of

Bengal. These include the deltas of the

Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna

and the Kaveri. Because of its emergent

nature, it has less number of ports and

harbours

Q.85) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• The Indian drainage system may be

divided on various bases. On the basis

of discharge of water (orientations to the

sea), it may be grouped into:

(i) the Arabian Sea drainage; and

(ii) the Bay of Bengal drainage.

• They are separated from each other

through the Delhi ridge, the Aravalis

and the Sahyadris.

Q.86) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• The Sutlej originates in the ‘Raksas Tal’

near Mansarovar at an altitude of 4,555

m in Tibet where it is known as

Langchen Khambab. It flows almost

parallel to the Indus for about 400 km

before entering India, and comes out of

a gorge at Rupar. It passes through the

Shipki La on the Himalayan ranges and

enters the Punjab plains. It is an

antecedent river. It is a very important

tributary, as it feeds the canal system of

the Bhakra Nangal Project.

Q.87) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• The Subarnarekha, the Baitarni, the

Brahmani, the Vamsadhara, the

Penner, the Palar and the Vaigai are


important rivers which flow directly into

the Bay of Bengal.

Q.88) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Why the Tamil Nadu coast remains dry

during this season. There are two

factors responsible for it:

(i) The Tamil Nadu coast is situated

parallel to the Bay of Bengal

branch of southwest monsoon.

(ii) It lies in the rain shadow area of

the Arabian Sea branch of the

south-west monsoon

Q.89) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Red soil develops on crystalline igneous

rocks in areas of low rainfall in the

eastern and southern part of the

Deccan Plateau. The soil develops a

reddish colour due to a wide diffusion of

iron in crystalline and metamorphic

rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in

a hydrated form. They are generally

poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and

humus.

Q.90) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• They are found in the areas of heavy

rainfall and high humidity, where there

is a good growth of vegetation. Thus,

large quantity of dead organic matter

accumulates in these areas, and this

gives a rich humus and organic content

to the soil.

• These soils are normally heavy and

black in colour. At many places, they

are alkaline also.

Q.91) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Gully erosion is common on steep

slopes. Gullies deepen with rainfall, cut

the agricultural lands into small

fragments and make them unfit for

cultivation. A region with a large

number of deep gullies or ravines is

called Bad Land Topography. Ravines

are widespread, in the Chambal basin.

Besides this, they are also found in

Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Q.92) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Recently, five Caspian Sea states

reached a breakthrough agreement on

sovereign rights to the sea, paving the

way for new oil and gas extraction --

and pipelines -- after more than two

decades of disputes.

• The treaty ends a spat over whether the

Caspian is a sea or a lake, granting it

special legal status and clarifying the

maritime boundaries of each

surrounding country. It also allows each

to lay pipelines offshore with consent

only from the neighbouring states

affected, rather than from all Caspian

Sea nations.

• Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia

and Turkmenistan have tried to define

the Caspian Sea’s legal status since the

collapse of the Soviet Union, in order to

divide up the waters and its natural

resources for new drilling and pipelines.

Q.93) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Recently, Lalitgiri, one of the earliest

Buddhist settlements in Odisha, has

been converted into a museum.

• Diamond Triangle comprises Udayagiri,

Lalitgiri and Ratnagiri. All these sites

are situated in Odisha.

Q.94) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Recently, China launched its first

communication satellite to provide

broadband internet services worldwide


in an apparent bid to rival Google and

other international firms.

• The satellite was launched from a Long

March 11 carrier rocket from the

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in

north-western China and is the first in

the Hongyun project planned by China

Aerospace Science and Industry Corp

(CASIC).

• It aims to build a space-based

communications network to provide

broadband internet connectivity to

users around the world.

Q.95) Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• The Bogibeel rail / road bridge built

across the River Brahmaputra in the

Dibrugarh district, in the state of Assam

in north-east India. The 4.94km bridge

is one of the longest river bridges in the

country.

• The rail-road bridge is being undertaken

by the Northeast Frontier Railway,

which is a part of the Indian Railways.

Q.96) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Raja Ram Mohun Roy did not believe

any scripture as ultimate authority. He

propounded that any scripture must

evolve through ages and inculcate

changes accordingly.

• Bramho Samaj movement was basically

a reformist movement that worked for

improving and refining the impurities

entered in Hinduism.

• Alexander Duff, David Hare and

Dwarkanath Tagore were amongst his

main followers.

• Whereas Derozio started his own

movement called the Young Bengal

Movement.

Q.97) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Atmiya Sabha was started by Ram

Mohun Roy but not for abolition of Sati

and widow remarriage, rather for debate

and discussion.

• Tatvabodhini Patrika was a Bengali

journal started by Debendranath Tagore

wherein he promoted systematic study

of India’s past.

Q.98) Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Vedanta College was established by

Raja Ram Mohun Roy in 1825 in

Calcutta.

• Swami Vivekananda was a follower of

Ramakrishna who started the

Ramakrishna Movement which was a

reformist movements.

• “Go back to Vedas” was the idea

proposed by Arya Samaj which was a

revivalist movement.

Q.99) Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar believed in

the ideas of both Western and Indian

Culture. He allowed western thoughts to

enter education especially as a principal

of Sanskrit College.

• He opened the gates of Sanskrit college

to non-Brahmins for he was opposed to

the monopoly of Sanskrit to only

Brahmins.

Q.100) Ans. (a)

Explanation:

• Subsidiary Alliances was originally

mooted by Dupleix, French Governor

but was actually put in practice by

Wellesley in India.

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