UPSC PRELIMS 2016
GENERAL STUDIES-I
ANSWER KEY
SERIES B
1. (c)
Atal Pension Yojana is a government-backed
pension scheme in India targeted at the
unorganised sector., launched in May 2015.
For every contribution made to the pension
fund, the Central Government would also co-
contribute 50% of the total contribution or Rs.
1,000 per annum, whichever is lower, to each
eligible subscriber account, for a period of 5
years. The Government co-cont
ribution is available for those who are not
covered by any Statutory Social Security
Schemes and is not an income tax payer.
The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years
and maximum age is 40 years. The age of exit
and start of pension would be 60 years.
This scheme will be linked to the bank
accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan
Dhan Yojana scheme and the contributions will
be deducted automatically.
It is administered by the Pension Fund
Regulatory and Development Authority
(PFRDA).
Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the
spouse for life after subscriber’s death.
2. (b)
Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade
agreement (FTA) between the ten member states
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states
with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia,
China, India, Japan, South Korea and New
Zealand). RCEP negotiations were formally
launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN
Summit in Cambodia.
3. (d)
Government of India (Bureau of Energy
Efficiency, Ministry of Power) introduced the
Standards and Labelling Program in May 2006.
Under this program the manufacturers are
required to place a label showing how much
electricity the appliance will consumer under
certain conditions.
The program is currently running for
refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions,
geysers, tubelights and fans among the
household appliances.
The scheme is mandatory for some of the
appliances while voluntary for others.
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4. (d)
ITER (International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor, and is also Latin for
"the way") is an international nuclear fusion
research and engineering megaproject,
which will be the world's largest magnetic
confinement plasma physics experiment.
It is an experimental tokamak nuclear fusion
reactor that is being built next to the
Cadarache facility in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance,
south of France.
The project is funded and run by seven
member entities—the European Union, India,
Japan, China, Russia, South Korea, and the
United States.
The EU, as host party for the ITER complex,
is contributing about 45 percent of the cost,
with the other six parties contributing
approximately 9 percent each.
5. (d)
Eripatti or tank land, was a special category of
land, known only in south India. This was land
donated by individuals, the revenue from which
was set apart for thez maintenance of the village
tank.
Taniyur: means ‘separate village’
Ghatika: An educational centre often attached to
a temple
Source: A History of India – Romila Thapar
6. (a)
International Solar Alliance was launched by
India and France at the UN Climate Change
Conference in Paris on 30 November 2015, to
boost solar energy in developing countries.
The alliance includes around 120 countries that
support the “Declaration on the occasion to
launch the international solar alliance of countries
dedicated to the promotion of solar energy”.
There are 193 United Nations (UN) member
states.
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 7. (b)
The European Stability Mechanism is the crisis
resolution mechanism for countries of the euro
area. The ESM issues debt instruments in order to
finance loans and other forms of financial
assistance to euro area Member States.
8. (c)
Advantages of Drip Irrigation:
Maximum use of available water.
No water being available to weeds.
Maximum crop yield.
High efficiency in the use of fertilizers.
Less weed growth and restricts population of
potential hosts.
Low labour and relatively low operation cost.
No soil erosion.
Improved infiltration in soil of low intake.
Ready adjustment to sophisticated automatic
control.
No runoff of fertilizers into ground water.
Less evaporation losses of water as compared
to surface irrigation.
Improves seed germination.
Decreased tillage operations.
9. (c)
DigiLocker is a "digital locker" service, one of
the key initiatives under the Digital India
Programme, launched by the Government of
India in February 2015 to provide a secure
dedicated personal electronic space for
storing the documents of resident Indian
citizens.
The storage space (maximum 10 MB at the
time of launching & now upgraded to 1GB) is
linked to the Unique Identification Authority
of India (Aadhaar number) of the user.
The space can be utilized for storing personal
documents like University certificates,
Permanent account number (PAN) cards,
voter id cards, etc., and the URIs of the e-
documents issued by various issuer
departments.
There is also an associated facility for e-
signing documents.
The service is intended to minimize the use of
physical documents and to provide
authenticity of the e-documents.
It is also intended to reduce administrative
expenses of government departments and
agencies and to make it easy for the residents
to receive services.
10. (b)
The Pattiseema (Polavaram) canal project
completed recently, will bring huge dividends to
water-starved farmers of the Krishna Delta, as the
174-km-long canal will fetch flood water from
Godavari to Krishna.
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11. (b)
India’s new Air Quality Index launched in 2015, is
centred around five chief pollutants – Particulate
Matter with a diameter less than 10 micrometres
(PM10), Particulate Matter with a diameter of less
than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), ozone (O3),
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), and Carbon Monoxide
(CO).
AQI is usually based on criteria pollutants (i.e.
PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO and O3), a new
approach to AQI which considers as many
pollutants from the list of notified pollutants as
possible is desirable.
A monitoring station shall give the concentration
of a particular pollutant at a moment in time, and
its average over a period of time – for CO and O3,
the average is taken over eight hours, while for the
other three, it is a 24-hour average.
The unit of measurement is microgram (or
milligram in the case of CO) per cubic meter.
Carbon dioxide is naturally present in air. It is not
a pollutant.
12. (d)
Astrosat is India's first dedicated multi-
wavelength space observatory. It is an IRS-class
satellite launched on a PSLV-XL on 28 September
2015 into a near-Earth, equatorial orbit. The 1,513
kg-weighing cuboid-shaped satellite would be
eventually fine-tuned into 650 km above the
Earth’s surface.
Astrosat is a proposal-driven general purpose
observatory, with main scientific focus on:
Simultaneous multi-wavelength monitoring of
intensity variations in a broad range of cosmic
sources
Monitoring the X-ray sky for new transients
Sky surveys in the hard X-ray and UV bands
Broadband spectroscopic studies of X-ray
binaries, AGN, SNRs, clusters of galaxies, and
stellar coronae
Studies of periodic and non-periodic
variability of X-ray sources
Astrosat performs multi-wavelength observations
covering spectral bands from radio, optical, IR,
UV, and X-ray wavelengths.
Though ASTROSAT may be similar to the NASA's
Hubble Space Telescope, the former is about 10
times smaller and cannot be compared to the
Hubble, which is versatile.
Besides NASA, space agencies of the European
Union, Japan and Russia have launched similar
facilities into the space.
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 13. (c)
A sakia, also called Persian wheel, is a mechanical
water lifting device which uses buckets, jars, or
scoops fastened either directly to a vertical wheel,
or to an endless belt activated by such a wheel. The
vertical wheel is itself attached by a drive shaft to a
horizontal wheel, which is traditionally set in
motion by animal power (oxen, donkeys, etc.)
It is still used in India, Egypt and other parts of the
Middle East, and in the Iberian Peninsula and the
Balearic Islands.
The sakia is, according to some, invented in India,
where the earliest reference to it is found in the
panchatantras (c. 3rd century BC) where it was 17. (b)
known as an "araghatta"; which is a combination
or the words "ara" (speedy or a spoked[wheel]) 18. (d)
and "ghattam" (pot) in Sanskrit.
The sakia was mainly used for irrigation, but not 19. (c)
exclusively, as the example of Qusayr Amra shows,
where it was used at least in part to provide water
for a royal bathhouse.
14. (d)
Śramaṇa means "seeker, one who performs acts of
austerity, ascetic". The term refers to several Indian
religious movements parallel to but separate from
the historical Vedic religion. The Śramaṇa tradition
includes Jainism of 9th-century BCE, Buddhism of
6th-century BCE, and others such as Ājīvika, Ajñana
and Cārvāka.
Parivraajaka means sanyasin, a Hindu religious
mendicant (beggar).
Agrahaarika: is one who appropriates to himself
an Agrahāra or an endowment of lands or villages
conferred upon Brāhmans.
Maagadha is a courtier, an attendant at the court of
a sovereign.
15. (d)
Maharashtra has become the first State in the
country to have a ‘State butterfly.’ The BJP-led
government has declared the Blue Mormon
(Papilio polymnestor) as the State butterfly in
June 2015.
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16. (c)
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called
Mangalyaan is a space probe orbiting Mars
since 24 September 2014.
It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
It is India's first interplanetary mission and
ISRO has become the fourth space agency to
reach Mars, after the Soviet space program,
NASA, and the European Space Agency.
It is the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit,
and the first nation in the world to do so in
its first attempt.
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of
pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple
Complex in Gaya district, Bihar.
Baghelkhand is a region and also a mountain
range in central India that covers the northeastern
regions of Madhya Pradesh and a small area of
western Uttar Pradesh.
Bundelkhand is a region and also a mountain
range in central India. The hilly region is now
divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh, with larger portion lying in M.P.
Among the well-known places of Bundelkhand is
Khajuraho, which has numerous 10th-century
sculptures devoted to fine living and eroticism.
The mines of Panna have been the source of
magnificent diamonds; a very large one dug from
the last active mine was kept for a time in the fort
of Kalinjar.
Vidarbha is the eastern region of the Indian state
of Maharashtra, comprising Nagpur Division and
Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar.
Vidarbha has Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project ,
Melghat Tiger Project, Pench Tiger Reserve, Bor
Wildlife Sanctuary, Navegaon National Park, and
Nagzira wildlife sanctuary near Gondia district.
Shirdi is a town in Ahmednagar districtin the
Marathwada region of Maharashtra. It is best
known as the late 19th century home of the
popular guru Shirdi Sai Baba.
Malwa is a natural region in west-central India
occupying a plateau of volcanic origin.
Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to
the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range.
the historical Malwa region includes districts of
western Madhya Pradesh and parts of south-
eastern Rajasthan.
Nashik lies in Maharashtra.
Tirupati is a city in Chittoor district of the Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh.
Rayalaseema is a geographic region in Andhra
Pradesh. It includes the four southern districts of
Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa and Kurnool.
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 20. (d)
21. (d)
The Rajasthan government is exploring ways to
develop an artificial inland port in Jalore by
bringing in Arabian Sea water into Rajasthan
through Gujarat. If implemented, Rajasthan will
become accessible by water transport and will be
able to shed the tag of a landlocked state.
For the pre-feasibility study of the project, the
state water resources department (SWRD) has
issued an administrative and technical (A&T)
approval in April 2015.
22. (b)
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change
Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in
Paris, France, from 30 November to 12
December 2015.
It was the 21st yearly session of the
Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th
session of the Meeting of the Parties to the
1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The conference negotiated the Paris
Agreement, a global agreement on the
reduction of climate change,
The agreement will enter into force when
joined by at least 55 countries which together
represent at least 55 percent of global
greenhouse emissions.
On 22 April 2016 (Earth Day), 174 countries
signed the agreement in New York, and began
adopting it within their own legal systems
(through ratification, acceptance, approval, or
accession).
In the Paris Agreement, the parties will also
"pursue efforts to" limit the temperature
increase to 1.5 °C.
The 1.5 °C goal will require zero emissions
sometime between 2030 and 2050, according
to some scientists.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund within the
framework of the UNFCCC founded as a mechanism
to assist developing countries in adaptation and
mitigation practices to counter climate change. It is
intended to be the centrepiece of efforts to raise
Climate Finance of $100 billion a year by 2020. This
was decided at Cancun COP of UNFCCC in 2010.
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23. (b)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
officially known as Transforming our world:
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, are an intergovernmental set
of aspiration Goals with 169 targets.
The Goals are contained in paragraph 54
United Nations Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25
September 2015.
The Resolution is a broader
intergovernmental agreement that, while
acting as the Post 2015 Development
Agenda (successor to the Millennium
Development Goals), builds on the Principles
agreed upon under Resolution A/RES/66/288,
popularly known as The Future We Want.
The history of the SDGs can be traced to
1972 when governments met under the
auspices of the United Nations Human and
Environment Conference, to consider the
rights of the human family to a healthy and
productive environment.
The Club of Rome was one of the first to use
the term ‘sustainable’ in the contemporary
sense in 1972 in its classic report on the
Limits to Growth, by an MIT research team. It
stated that in a basically closed system like the
Earth it is impossible for the population, food
production, industrialization, the exploitation
of natural resources and pollution of the
environment to continue to experience
exponential growth without sooner or later
collapsing. (The report forecast this to occur
around the second half of the twenty-first
century.) The report concluded that to prevent
this disaster, a collective commitment would
be needed to curb the indiscriminate growth
of the economy and achieve global
equilibrium. But it did not provide SDGs.
24. (a)
The Man Who Knew Infinity is a 2015 British
biographical drama film based on the 1991 book
of the same name by Robert Kanigel. The film
stars Dev Patel as the real-life Srinivasa
Ramanujan, a mathematician who after growing
up poor in Madras, India, earns admittance to
Cambridge University during World War I, where
he becomes a pioneer in mathematical theories
with the guidance of his professor, G. H. Hardy.
25. (b)
Article 243E provides that Panchayats
reconstituted after premature dissolution continue
only for the remainder term.
Article 243F provides that no person shall be
disqualified on the ground that he is less than
twenty five years of age, if he has attained the age
of twenty one years.
The Constitution does not prescribe any minimum
age.
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 26. (b)
27. (c)
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a
multidimensional statistical tool used to
describe the state of countries’ hunger
situation.
The Index was adopted and further developed
by the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI), and was first published in
2006 with the Welthungerhilfe, a German non-
profit organization (NGO).
The 2015 GHI was calculated for 117
developing countries and countries in
transition, 80 of which with alarming or
serious hunger levels.
In addition to the ranking, the Global Hunger
Index report every year focuses on a main
topic: in 2015 the thematic focus was on
armed conflict and its relation to hunger
The GHI combines 4 component indicators:
1) the proportion of the undernourished as a
percentage of the population;
2) the proportion of children under the age of
five suffering from wasting;
3) the proportion of children under the age of
five suffering from stunting;
4) the mortality rate of children under the age
of five.
The Index ranks countries on a 100-point scale,
with 0 being the best score (no hunger) and
100 being the worst, although neither of these
extremes is reached in practice.
28. (c)
29. (b)
30. (c)
Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) is a bidirectional, high-
speed and fully networked wireless
communication technology similar to Wi-Fi.
The term was coined by Harald Haas and is a
form of visible light communication and a
subset of optical wireless communications
(OWC).
It is wireless and uses visible-light
communication or infrared and near-
ultraviolet instead of radio-frequency
spectrum, part of optical wireless
communications technology, which carries
much more information, and has been
proposed as a solution to the RF-bandwidth
limitations.
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31. (b)
Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions (INDCs) is a term used under
the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) for reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions that all countries
that signed the UNFCCC were asked to publish
in the lead up to the 2015 United Nations
Climate Change Conference held in Paris,
France in December 2015.
These intended contributions were
determined without prejudice to the legal
nature of the contributions.
The term was intended as a compromise
between "quantified emissions limitation and
reduction objective" (QUELROs) and
"nationally appropriate mitigation actions"
(NAMAs) that the Kyoto Protocol used to
describe the different legal obligations of
developed and developing countries.
32. (d)
Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) is the
financial turnaround and revival package for
electricity distribution companies of India
(DISCOMs) initiated by the Government of India in
November 2015 with the intent to find a
permanent solution to the financial mess that the
power distribution is in.
The scheme comprises four initiatives –
1) improving operational efficiencies of discoms,
2) reduction of cost of power,
3) reduction in interest cost of discoms and
4) enforcing financial discipline on discoms
through alignment with state finances.
It allows state governments, which own the
discoms, to take over 75 percent of their debt as of
September 30, 2015, and pay back lenders by
selling bonds. Discoms are expected to issue bonds
for the remaining 25 percent of their debt.
33. (c)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC),
the investment arm of the World Bank, issued a Rs.
1,000 crore bond in November 2015. The purpose
of the issue was to fund infrastructure projects in
India. IFC named them ‘masala’ bonds to reflect
the Indian angle to it.
Masala bonds are rupee-denominated bonds
issued to overseas buyers.
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 34. (c)
In the Vijayanagar Empire, land was carefully
assessed. The nature of the lands, the tenure of
land, the properties of soil and the kind of crops
produced were all considered before a levy was
made. During the reign of Krishnadeva Raya, the
rate was fixed between one-third and one- sixth
depending on the quality of the land.
There was also a tax on property. Grazing and 39. (d)
house taxes were also imposed. Commercial taxes
consisted of levies, duties and customs on 40. (c)
manufactured articles of trade were also levied.
Private owners of workshops paid an industries
tax.
Source: Administrative System in India: U. B. Singh
35. (b)
Mālavikāgnimitram is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa.
The play tells the story of the love of Agnimitra, the
Shunga Emperor at Vidisha, (son of the founder of
Shunga Empire Pushyamitra Shunga) for the
beautiful hand-maiden of his chief queen. He falls in
love with the picture of an exiled servant girl
named Mālavikā. He must resort to the help of his
jester and play a game of subterfuge merely to look
at the new girl. When the queen discovers her
husband's passion for this girl, she becomes
infuriated and has Mālavikā imprisoned, but as fate
would have it, in the end she is discovered to be of
royal birth and is accepted as one of his queens.
36. (a)
37. (d)
38. (c)
The United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing 41. (c)
Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan started national wide
Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to
combat desertification and mitigate the effects of
drought through national action programs that
incorporate long-term strategies supported by
international cooperation and partnership
arrangements.
The Convention, the only convention stemming
from a direct recommendation of the Rio
Conference's Agenda 21, was adopted in Paris,
France on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in
December 1996.
It is the only internationally legally binding 42. (c)
framework set up to address the problem of
desertification.
The Convention is based on the principles of
participation, partnership and
decentralization—the backbone of Good
Governance and Sustainable Development.
It has 195 parties, making it near universal in
reach.
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On 28 March 2013, Canada became the first
country to withdraw from the convention.
To help publicise the Convention, 2006 was
declared "International Year of Deserts and
Desertification" but debates have ensued
regarding how effective the International Year was
in practice.
The IMF Board of Governors is advised by two
ministerial committees, the International
Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and
the Development Committee.
The IMFC has 24 members, drawn from the pool of
187 governors. Its structure mirrors that of the
Executive Board and its 24 constituencies. As such,
the IMFC represents all the member countries of
the Fund. The Committee discusses matters of
common concern affecting the global economy and
also advises the IMF on the direction its work. A
number of international institutions, including the
World Bank, participate as observers in the IMFC’s
meetings.
The Development Committee is a joint committee,
tasked with advising the Boards of Governors of
the IMF and the World Bank on issues related to
economic development in emerging and
developing countries. The committee has 24
members (usually ministers of finance or
development). It represents the full membership
of the IMF and the World Bank and mainly serves
as a forum for building intergovernmental
consensus on critical development issues.
march “Maila Mukti Yatra” for total eradication of
manual scavenging from 30th November 2012 from
Bhopal. The Yatra was intended to appeal with a
target of 50,000 manual scavengers to stop the
practice.
Ashif Shaikh is known for his role in the
Rashatriya Garima Abhiyan for eradication of the
practice of manual scavenging, and empowerment
of the Dalit especially Dalit-Muslim and women
through various campaigns of Jan Sahas.
The Siddhar are saints in India, mostly Shaiva, in
Tamil Nadu, who professed and practised an
unorthodox type of sādhanā (spiritual
practices) to attain liberation. A siddha obtains
yogic powers called siddhi by constant practice of
certain yogic disciplines and tapasya. They were
monotheistic and condemned idolatory.
Source: Outline of the Religious Literature of India
By J. N. Farquhar
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 Lingayat is a distinct Shaivite denomination
practiced in India.
It makes several departures from mainstream
Hinduism and propounds monotheism through
worship centered on Lord Shiva in the form of
Ishtalinga.
Like Buddhism, Jainism, Śramaṇa, Cārvāka and
Sikhism, it does not directly follow the Vedas and
the caste system.
They do not accept the hypothesis of rebirth.
Lingayatism was founded by the 12th-century
philosopher and statesman Basava and spread
by his followers, called Sharanas.
43. (d)
The import cover serves as an important
indicator of the stability of a currency.
Countries hold foreign-exchange reserves
partly to protect themselves against external
crises. But how large a stash is enough? One
common rule of thumb is that reserves that can
cover three months' worth of imports are
adequate.
By this criterion, China and Russia, whose
reserves cover more than two years' worth,
have excessively large hoards.
Other emerging countries, like India, Brazil,
Thailand and Argentina, also have reserves that
are several times the amount needed to cover a
quarter's imports.
America, the issuer of the world's reserve
currency, does not need as thick a buffer as
other countries do. Its holdings at the end of
March would not have paid for even a month's
imports.
44. (c)
The Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East,
mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning
adjacent parts of eastern and southeastern Turkey,
western Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.
The Kurds are culturally and linguistically closely
related to the Iranian people.
45. (b)
The Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an
intergovernmental organisation, located in The
Hague, Netherlands. The organisation is not an
agency of the United Nations, but cooperates
both on policy and practical issues.
The organisation promotes and verifies the
adherence to the Chemical Weapons
Convention which prohibits the use of
chemical weapons and requires their
destruction. The verification consists of
evaluation of declarations by member states
and on-site inspections.
It was awarded 2013 Nobel Peace Prize for its
extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons
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46. (b)
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (Prime
Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme) was launched
in February 2016. It envisages a uniform premium
of only 2 per cent to be paid by farmers for Kharif
crops, and 1.5 per cent for Rabi crops. The
premium for annual commercial and horticultural
crops will be 5 per cent.
It also covers the localized risks such as hailstorm,
landslide, inundation etc. Earlier schemes did not
cover inundation. It provides post harvest
coverage.
The scheme does not address the demand of
farmers to cover the risks and losses inflicted by
wild animals like elephants and wild boars.
Besides, losses from nuclear risks, riots, malicious
damage, theft, and act of enmity, are all
categorized under ‘exclusions’ in the new scheme.
47. (d)
In India, the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ are found in a
few forest areas in the Western Ghats and in the
forests along the Himalayas.
48. (a)
National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA) is a financing, planning,
implementing, monitoring and coordinating
authority for the Ganges River.
The mission of the organisation is to safeguard
the drainage basin which feeds water into the
Ganges by protecting it from pollution or
overuse.
It was established by the Government of India,
in 2009 under Section 3(3) of the
Environment Protection Act, 1986, which also
declared Ganges as the "National River" of
India.
In July 2014, the NGRBA has been transferred
from the Ministry of Environment and Forests
to the Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
The Prime Minister is the chair of the
Authority.
49. (b)
In January 2015, the government made it
mandatory to produce at least 75% of domestic
Urea as Neem coated, which has now been
increased to 100%.
The benefits are as follows:
Neem coating leads to more gradual release
of urea, helping plants gain more nutrient
and resulting in higher yields.
Lower underground water contamination
due to leaching of urea.
Neem serves as a natural insecticide.
It would check diversion of urea for
industrial use.
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 50. (d)
The office of chief secretary has been excluded
from the operation of the tenure system. There is 54. (a)
no fixed tenure for this post. The Administrative
Reforms Commission of India recommended that
the tenure of chief secretary should be of three to
four years but the recommendation was not
accepted and the old system continues.
The chief secretary is picked up by the chief
minister of the state who consults the Union
government regarding the appointment but this
consultation is not binding.
51. (c)
The “Stand up India” scheme, launched in April
2016 is aimed at providing credit to Scheduled
Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and women borrowers.
It will involve loans ranging from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs.
1 crore.
In addition, borrowers will be provided a RuPay
debit card to enable the withdrawal of the working
capital.
The government will open a refinance window
through the Small Industries Development Bank of
India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000
crore.
52. (b)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations is an agency of the United Nations
that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
Serving both developed and developing
countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all
nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and
debate policy.
FAO is also a source of knowledge and
information, and helps developing countries and
countries in transition modernize and improve
agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices,
ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.
Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates as "let there
be bread".
The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems (GIAHS) Partnership Initiative was
conceptualized and presented in 2002 during 57. (a)
World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
This UN Partnership Initiative aims to identify,
support and safeguard Globally Important
Agricultural Heritage Systems and their livelihoods,
agricultural and associated biodiversity,
landscapes, knowledge systems and cultures
around the world.
The GIAHS Partnership recognizes the crucial
importance of the well-being of family farming
communities in an integrated approach while
directing activities towards sustainable agriculture
and rural development.
(No modern technology)
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53. (d)
Core Banking Solution (CBS) is networking of
bank’s branches, which enables customers to
operate their accounts, and avail banking services
from any branch of the Bank on CBS network,
regardless of where he maintains his account.
The customer is no more the customer of a Branch.
He becomes the Bank's Customer. Thus CBS is a
step towards enhancing customer convenience
through Anywhere and Anytime Banking.
55. (c)
Annex I Countries and Certified Emissions
Reductions are also terms under the Kyoto
Protocol.
56. (b)
The transcriptome is the set of all messenger RNA
molecules in one cell or a population of cells. It
differs from the exome in that it includes only those
RNA molecules found in a specified cell population,
and usually includes the amount or concentration
of each RNA molecule in addition to the molecular
identities.
Source: The Hindu 19 Dec 2015
58. (c)
The National Mission for Green India or the
Green India Mission (GIM) is one of the eight
Missions outlined under the National Action Plan
on Climate Change (NAPCC).
It aims at protecting; restoring and enhancing
India’s diminishing forest cover and responding to
climate change by a combination of adaptation and
mitigation measures.
It envisages a holistic view of greening and focuses
on multiple ecosystem services, especially,
biodiversity, water, biomass, preserving
mangroves, wetlands, critical habitats etc. along
with carbon sequestration as a co-benefit.
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 This mission has adopted an integrated cross- 64. (b)
sectoral approach as it will be implemented on
both public as well as private lands with a key role 65. (b)
of the local communities in planning, decision
making, implementation and monitoring.
59. (c)
As per Food Safety and Standards (Packaging
and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, labels on pre-
packaged items in India cannot mention that the
product has been recommended, prescribed or
approved by any person in the medical profession
or that the product can be used for medical
purposes.
60. (b)
Project Loon is a research and development
project being developed by X (formerly Google X)
with the mission of providing Internet access to
rural and remote areas.
The project uses high-altitude balloons placed in
the stratosphere at an altitude of about 18 km (11
mi) to create an aerial wireless network with up to
4G-LTE speeds.
It was named Project Loon, since even Google itself
found the idea of providing Internet access to the
remaining 5 billion population unprecedented and
crazy.
61. (a)
Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits
solar energy system owners for the electricity they
add to the grid. For example, if a residential 66. (d)
customer has a PV system on the home's rooftop, it
may generate more electricity than the home uses
during daylight hours.
It allows consumers who generate some or all of
their own electricity to use that electricity anytime,
instead of when it is generated. This is particularly
important with wind and solar, which are non-
dispatchable.
67. (a)
62. (c)
The Ease Of Doing Business Index is an index
created by the World Bank Group since 2001.
Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate
better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses
and stronger protections of property rights.
63. (d)
The Banjara (also called Lambani, Vanjara and
Gormati) are a community usually described as
nomadic people from the Indian state of Rajasthan,
now spread out all over Indian subcontinent.
Banjaras were traditionally suppliers of bullock and
salt merchants.
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Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 was enacted for
establishment of Gram Nyayalayas or village
courts for speedy and easy access to justice
system in the rural areas of India.
The Act came into force from 2 October 2009.
The Gram Nyayalayas have both civil and
criminal jurisdiction over the offences and
nature of suits specified in the First, Second and
Third schedule of the Act. The pecuniary
jurisdiction of the Nyayalayas are fixed by the
respective High Courts.
The Court can function as a mobile court at any
place within the jurisdiction of such Gram
Nyayalaya, after giving wide publicity to that
regards
The Act allows plea bargaining in accordance
with Chapter XXIA of Code of Criminal
Procedure.
The Act also makes the judicial process
participatory and decentralised because it
allows appointment of local social activists and
lawyers as mediators/reconciliators.
The Act has not been enforced properly, with
only 152 functional Gram Nyayalayas in the
country against a target of 5000 such courts.
The major reasons behind the non-enforcement
includes financial constraints, reluctance of
lawyers, police and other government officials.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or Trans
Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a trade
agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries.
The finalized proposal was signed on 4 February
2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, concluding seven
years of negotiations.
There are around 50 Pacific Rim countries.
The India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is the
official platform for the African-Indian relations.
IAFS will be held once in every three years since
2008.
2008: First India–Africa Forum Summit - New
Delhi, India
2011: Second India–Africa Forum Summit - Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
2015: Third India–Africa Forum Summit - New
Delhi.
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 68. (c)
In April 2016, all banks in India moved to a
new lending rate regime—the marginal cost
of funds-based lending rate (MCLR).
Till March-end, new floating rate loans were
linked to base rate. The new rate regime is
likely to improve transmission of rates to the
end consumers.
Since January 2015, the Reserve Bank of India
has progressively reduced the repo rate by 150
basis points. As against this, commercial banks
have reduced their base rates only by 50–60
basis points till March this year.
While cost of funds of banks have come down
owing to lower policy rates, they could not
match their lending rates with reduced policy
rates as their average cost of borrowing still
remained high because of older fixed deposits.
To make sure that the reduced policy rates are
passed on to borrowers by banks, RBI
introduced the Marginal Cost of Funds based
Lending Rate (MCLR) methodology as an
alternative to the earlier base rate system.
MCLR is calculated on the basis of four
major components – marginal cost of funds, 70. (a)
operating cost, tenor premium and negative
carry on account of cash reserve ratio (CRR).
However, simply put, MCLR is the cost of
obtaining funds for banks that has now been
closely linked to the repo rate. Any changes in
deposit rate or repo rate impacts the lending
rates of the bank and MCLR’s monthly
reporting would mean banks would now be
compelled to pass on benefits of rate cuts to
borrowers.
If you check the current interest rates, MCLR-
linked home loans are at least 10 basis points
(bps) cheaper than base rate-linked home
loans.
One basis point is one-hundredth of a
percentage point.
While MCLR will be the benchmark rate for
new borrowers, for existing borrowers, the
base rate regime will continue. MCLR is closely
linked to the actual deposit rates.
Banks have to publish at least five MCLR rates
(overnight, one-month, three-month, six-month
and one-year). Banks are also free to set rates
for longer durations, such as two and three
years.
All floating rate loans will be linked to MCLR.
This includes home loans, loan against 71. (c)
property and many of the corporate term loans.
Those such as car and personal loans, which
are fixed rate loans, will not be linked to
MCLR.
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69. (a)
Gujarat is the only home to Kharai camels
who have adapted to the extreme climate of
Rann and shallow seas and high salinity.
National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources
(NBAGR),Karnal, Haryana has certified the
Kutch's 'swimming camels' breed as ninth
camel breed found in India, separating it from
Kutchi camel.
As the breeds having less than 10,000
population are identified as endangered, it can
get special recognition and care.
Kharai Camel can live in both coastal and dry
ecosystems. It grazes on saline / mangrove
trees and is tolerant to high saline water. It
can swim up to three kilometers into the sea in
search of mangroves, their primary food. The
camel is distinct from other camels because of
its rounded back, long and thin legs and small
feet.
It is domesticated. Breeders of Kachchhi
Kharai were felicitated by National
Biodiversity Authority in 2012.
Scientists at the Botanical Survey of India (BSI)
have discovered a new species of banana in
October 2015 from a remote tropical rain forest
on the Little Andaman islands.
The species, Musa indandamanensis, was
located about 16 km inside the Krishna Nalah
forest in the island.
The scientists who have made the discovery
describe it as a distinct global species with
unique green flowers and fruit bunch lux
(axis) thrice the size of a regular banana
species.
“The new species is about 11 metres high,
whereas as the usual banana species is about
three to four metres high.
The fruit lux of the new species is about one
metres, which is thrice the size of regular
species,”
The details of the new species were published
in Taiwania, an international journal on
taxonomy and life sciences recently.
The species was edible and very sweet. The
tribal people on the island eat it. The fruit pulp
is orange in colour, distinctive from the white
and yellow colour of regular bananas.
Indian Navy’s first totally indigenously-designed
and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel INS
Astradharani was commissioned at
Vishakapatnam in October 2015.
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 72. (a)
NASA has developed and successfully flight
tested a battery-powered plane, Greased
Lightning or GL-10, with 10 engines that can
take off and land like a helicopter and fly
efficiently like an aircraft.
“It could be used for small package delivery or
vertical take-off and landing, long endurance
surveillance for agriculture, mapping and other
applications. A scaled up version — much
larger than what we are testing now — would
make also a great one to four person size
personal air vehicle.”
The remotely piloted plane has a 3.05 meters
wingspan, eight electric motors on the wings,
two electric motors on the tail and weighs a
maximum of 28.1 kilogram at take off.
Another advantage to the GL-10 besides its
versatile vertical take off and landing ability is
its noise or lack of it.
73. (a)
Scheme on Initiative for Nutrition Security
through Intensive Millets Promotion has
been formulated to be operationalized under
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana for promotion of
millets as Nutri-cereals.
The scheme aims to demonstrate the improved
production and post-harvest technologies in an
integrated manner with visible impact to
catalyze increased production of millets in the
country.
Besides increasing production of millets, the
Scheme through processing and value addition
techniques is expected to generate consumer
demand for millet based food products.
Panchayati Raj Institutions would be
involved in the selection of village units
including the participating farmers.
Technology demonstration kits of critical
inputs of nutrients and plant protection
measures comprising of micro-nutrients,
fungicides and bio-fertilizers, DAP, urea, potash
and pesticides including weedicides at a total
cost of Rs. 3,000/- per ha for sorghum
(jowar), pearl millet (bajra) and finger
millet (ragi) and Rs. 2,000/- per ha for small
millets would be supplied to all the farmers
in the units.
The scheme does not discourage/divert
commercial crops farming.
74. (a)
75. (b)
The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Mahayana
sect of Buddhism. It is a term for anyone who,
motivated by great compassion, has generated
bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain
buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.
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76. (b)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors
Without Borders, is an international
humanitarian-aid non-governmental
organization (NGO) and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, best known for its projects in war-
torn regions and developing countries facing
endemic diseases.
It was founded in 1971 in France in response
to the Biafran War, in the aftermath of the
Biafra secession, by a small group of French
doctors and journalists who believed that all
people have the right to medical care
regardless of race, religion, creed or political
affiliation, and that the needs of these people
outweigh respect for national borders.
Biafra, was a secessionist state in eastern
Nigeria that existed from the 30th of May,
1967, to January 1970.
Nigeria was a British colony.
77. (c)
The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (TEEB) is a study led by Pavan
Sukhdev.
It is an international initiative to draw attention
to the global economic benefits of biodiversity.
Its objective is to highlight the growing cost of
biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation
and to draw together expertise from the fields
of science, economics and policy to enable
practical actions. The TEEB study was launched
by Germany and the European Commission in
response to a proposal by the G8+5
Environment Ministers in Potsdam, Germany in
2007, to develop a global study on the
economics of biodiversity loss.
TEEB aims to assess, communicate and
mainstream the urgency of actions through its
five deliverables—
0: science and economic foundations, policy
costs and costs of inaction,
D1: policy opportunities for national and
international policy-makers,
D2: decision support for local administrators,
D3: business risks, opportunities and metrics
D4: citizen and consumer ownership.
78. (a)
Pterocarpus santalinus, with the common
names red sanders, red sandalwood, and
saunderswood, is a species endemic to the
southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of
South India.
This tree is valued for the rich red color of its
wood. The wood is not aromatic.
The tree is not to be confused with the aromatic
Santalum sandalwood trees.
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 Pterocarpus santalinus is listed as an 81. (c)
Endangered species by the IUCN, because of
overexploitation for its timber in South India.
It is also listed in the appendix II of the CITES, the government of India in 2010 to set up such
which means that a certificate is required in
order to export it, that should only be granted if prudential and financial regularities in the
the trade is not detrimental to the survival of
the species.
It mostly grows in the thorny scrub/dry
deciduous forests of the central Deccan,
between 500 ft and 3000 ft.
Andhra Pradesh is the major state where it is
found.
79. (d)
Reducing emissions from deforestation and
forest degradation (REDD) is a mechanism
that has been under negotiation by the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) since 2005, with the
objective of mitigating climate change through
reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases
through enhanced forest management in
developing countries.
In the last two decades, various studies
estimate that land use change, including
deforestation and forest degradation, accounts
for 12-29% of global greenhouse gas
emissions.
At COP 13 of UNFCCC, in December 2007, the
first substantial decision on REDD+ was
adopted.
REDD originally referred to "reducing
emissions from deforestation in developing
countries".
REDD+ refers to "reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation in
developing countries, and the role of
conservation, sustainable management of
forests, and enhancement of forest carbon
stocks in developing countries"
A crucial role can be played by REDD and
REDD+ to provide positive incentives for
actions under them.
80. (a)
The ‘Greenhouse Gas Protocol’ developed by
World Resources Institute (WRI) and World
Business Council on Sustainable Development
(WBCSD), sets the global standard for how to
measure, manage, and report greenhouse gas
emissions.
Hundreds of companies and organizations around
the world are using GHG Protocol standards and
tools to manage their emissions and become more
efficient, resilient, and prosperous organizations.
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Financial Stability and Development
Council is an autonomous body constituted by
an autonomous body dealing with macro
entire financial sector of India.
The idea to create such a super regulatory
body was first mooted by the Raghuram Rajan
Committee in 2008.
The recent global economic meltdown has put
pressure on governments and institutions
across the globe to regulate their economic
assets. This council is seen as India's initiative
to be better conditioned to prevent such
incidents in future.
The new body envisages to strengthen and
institutionalise the mechanism of maintaining
financial stability, financial sector
development, inter-regulatory coordination
along with monitoring macro-prudential
regulation of economy.
Chairperson: The Union Finance Minister
Members:
• Governor Reserve Bank of India (RBl),
• Finance Secretary and/ or Secretary,
Department of Economic Affairs (DEA),
• Secretary, Department of Financial
Services (DFS),
• Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of
Finance,
• Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI),
• Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (IRDA),
• Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA),
• Chairman, Forward Markets Commission
(FMC),
Recently Forward Markets Commission (FMC)
has been merged into SEBI.
The Chairperson may invite any person whose
presence is deemed necessary for any of its
meeting(s).
82. (a)
Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily
implemented action plan of the United Nations
with regard to sustainable development.
It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN
Conference on Environment and
Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in
1992.
The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st
Century.
83. (c)
Satyashodhak Samaj was established by Jyotirao
Phule in 1873 in Maharashtra to liberate the shudra
and untouchable castes from exploitation.
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 84. (d)
A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates
only inside the living cells of other organisms.
Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from
animals and plants to microorganisms, including
bacteria and archaea.
85. (b)
Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is a
tax avoidance strategy used by multinational
companies, wherein profits are shifted from
jurisdictions that have high taxes (such as the
United States and many Western European
countries) to jurisdictions that have low (or no)
taxes (so-called tax havens).
BEPS can be achieved through the use of
"transfer mispricing" (contracting between
subsidiaries in different jurisdictions at prices
that are not arm's length).
The term is used in a project headed by the
OECD which produced o seven actions agreed
previously.
86. (a)
The Government has announced eight
Investment Regions along the Delhi Mumbai 88. (d)
Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project as National
Investment and Manufacturing Zones
(NIMZs).
The details are as under:
i) Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region,
Gujarat
ii) Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Part city near
Aurangabad, Maharashtra
iii) Manesar-Bawal Investment Region, Haryana
iv) Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment
Region, Rajasthan
v) Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Regioin, 89. (d)
Madhya Pradesh
vi) Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad investment Region, 90. (b)
Uttar Pradesh
vii) Dighi Port Industrial Area, Maharashtra, and
viii) Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar Region in Rajasthan.
Fourteen NIMZs outside the DMIC region have
also been given in-principle approval
Out of these NIMZs, the NIMZs at (i)
Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh and (ii)
Medak in Telangana have been granted final
approval, as known in March 2016.
The National Manufacturing Policy is based on
the principle of industrial growth in
partnership with the States. It is the
prerogative of the States to adopt the
instrumentalities provided by the policy.
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87. (b)
The Mines and Minerals (Development and
Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, which
enforced the auction route for issuance of
mining leases, had also mandated the setting up
of District Mineral Foundations in all districts
in the country affected by mining activities.
Existing mining lease holders would be
required to pay 30 per cent of the applicable
royalty to the DMFs while those who win the
mining leases in the auctions will be required
to pay 10 per cent of the applicable royalty.
The scheme has been launched as the Pradhan
Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana
(PMKKKY) in September 2015.
The objective of the PMKKKY scheme will be to
implement various developmental and welfare
projects in mining affected areas that
compliment existing schemes of the Central and
State Government, minimize adverse impact of
mining on environment, health and socio-
economics of the people in the districts and
ensure long term sustainable livelihood for
affected people.
SWAYAM or Study Webs of Active –Learning
for Young Aspiring Minds programme of
Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India, will bring together
professors of centrally funded institutions like
IITs, IIMs, central universities to offer online
courses to citizens of India.
All courses would be offered free of cost under
this programme however fees would be levied
in case learner requires certificate.
The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of
Maharashtra state of India are about 30 rock-
cut Buddhist cave monuments which date
from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or
650 CE.
The temples of Mahabalipuram, in
Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu portray
events described in the Mahabharata, and
were built largely during the reigns of
Narasimhavarman and his successor
Rajasimhavarman and show the movement
from rock-cut architecture to structural
building. The city of Mahabalipuram was
largely developed by the Pallava king
Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century AD.
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 91. (b)
Bitcoin is a digital asset and a payment
system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto and
released as open-source software in 2009.
The system is peer-to-peer and transactions
take place between users directly, without an
intermediary.
These transactions are verified by network
nodes and recorded in a public distributed
ledger called the blockchain, which uses
bitcoin as its unit of account.
Since the system works without a central
repository or single administrator, the U.S.
Treasury categorizes bitcoin as a
decentralized virtual currency.
Bitcoin is often called the first
cryptocurrency, although prior systems
existed and it is more correctly described as
the first decentralized digital currency.
The use of bitcoin by criminals has attracted
the attention of financial regulators,
legislative bodies, law enforcement, and
media.
Bitcoin is a pseudonymous currency,
meaning that funds are not tied to real-world
entities but rather bitcoin addresses.
Owners of bitcoin addresses are not
explicitly identified, but all transactions on
the blockchain are public.
Bitcoin is created digitally, by a community
of people that anyone can join. People use
software programs that follow
mathematical formula to produce bitcoins.
The mathematical formula is freely available,
so that anyone can check it.
Bitcoins are ‘mined’, using computing power
in a distributed network.
This network also processes transactions
made with the virtual currency, effectively
making bitcoin its own payment network.
92. (b)
The New Development Bank (NDB),
formerly referred to as the BRICS
Development Bank, is a multilateral
development bank established by the BRICS
states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa).
According to the Agreement on the NDB, "the
Bank shall support public or private projects
through loans, guarantees, equity
participation and other financial instruments."
Moreover, the NDB "shall cooperate with
international organizations and other
financial entities, and provide technical
assistance for projects to be supported by the
Bank."
The initial authorized capital of the bank is
$100 bln divided into 1 mln shares having a
par value of $100,000 each.
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The initial subscribed capital of the NDB is
$50 bln divided into paid-in shares ($10 bln)
and callable shares ($40 bln). The initial
subscribed capital of the bank was equally
distributed among the founding members.
The Agreement on the NDB specifies that the
voting power of each member will be equal
to the number of its subscribed shares in
the capital stock of the bank.
The bank is headquartered in Shanghai,
China.
The first regional office of the NDB will be
opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.
93. (d)
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel
(WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil
Commission after its chairman Madhav
Gadgil, was an environmental research
commission appointed by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests of India. The
commission submitted the report to the
Government of India on 31 August 2011.
The Gagdil Committee report was criticised
for being excessively environment-friendly
and not in tune with the ground realities.
The Kasturirangan committee report has
sought to balance the two concerns of
development and environment protection, by
watering down the environmental regulation
regime proposed by the Western Ghats
a Ecology Experts Panel’s Gadgil report in
2012.
The Kasturirangan report seeks to bring just
37% of the Western Ghats under the
Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) zones —
down from the 64% suggested by the Gadgil
report.
94. (b)
Keshab Chandra Sen was an Indian Bengali
Hindu philosopher and social reformer who
attempted to incorporate Christian theology
within the framework of Hindu thought.
Born a Hindu, he became a member of the
Brahmo Samaj in 1856 but founded his own
breakaway "Brahmo Samaj of India" in 1866
while the Brahmo Samaj remained under the
leadership of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore
(who headed the Brahmo Samaj till his death
in 1905).
In 1878 his followers abandoned him after
the underage child marriage of his daughter
which exposed his campaign against child
marriage as hollow.
Later in his life he came under the influence
of Ramakrishna and founded a syncretic
"New Dispensation" or Nôbobidhan
inspired by Christianity, and Vaishnav bhakti,
and Hindu practices.
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 In 1868, Keshub Chandra Sen laid the
foundation stone of the mandir called the
Tabernacle of New Dispensation.
The Indian Reform Association was
formed in 1870 with Keshub Chunder Sen
as president. It represented the secular side
of the Brahmo Samaj and included many
who did not belong to the Brahmo Samaj.
The objective was to put into practice some
of the ideas Sen was exposed to during his
visit to Great Britain.
The Calcutta Unitarian Committee was
established in 1823 by Rammohun Roy,
Dwarkanath Tagore, and William Adam.
95. (a)
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States
of the Gulf known as the Gulf Cooperation
Council, is a regional intergovernmental
political and economic union consisting of
all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except
for Iraq.
Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United
Arab Emirates.
All current member states are
monarchies, including three constitutional
monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain),
two absolute monarchies (Saudi Arabia and
Oman), and one federal monarchy (the
United Arab Emirates, composed of seven
member states, each with its own emir).
There have been discussions regarding the
future membership of Jordan, Morocco, and
Yemen.
A 2011 proposal to transform the GCC into a
"Gulf Union" with tighter economic, political
and military coordination has been advanced
by Saudi Arabia, a move meant to
counterbalance the Iranian influence in
the region. Objections have been raised
against the proposal by other countries.
96. (c)
In September 2015, the government
approved the Sovereign Gold Bonds
Scheme, which was announced in the Budget
2015-16.
As investors will get returns that are linked
to gold price, the scheme is expected to
reduce the demand for physical gold.
The bonds will offer same benefits as
physical gold.
They can be used as collateral for loans and
can be sold or traded on stock exchanges as
they are available in demat form.
At the same time investors need not worry
about holding physical gold.
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The Gold Monetization Scheme was
launched in November 2015 to help resident
Indians earn interest on their unused gold
lying idle in bank lockers.
It is expected that the scheme would turn
gold into a productive asset in India.
This new gold scheme is a modification of the
existing Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and Gold
Metal Loan Scheme (GML), and it would
replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme,
1999.
97. (d)
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the
21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also
known as One Belt, One Road
(abbreviated OBOR) or the Belt and Road
Initiative is a development strategy and
framework, proposed by Chinese
paramount leader Xi Jinping that focuses on
connectivity and cooperation among
countries primarily between the People's
Republic of China and the rest of Eurasia,
which consists of two main components, the
land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt"
(SREB) and oceangoing "Maritime Silk
Road" (MSR).
The strategy underlines China's push to take
a bigger role in global affairs, and its need to
export China's production capacity in areas
of overproduction such as steel
manufacturing.
It was unveiled in September and October
2013 in announcements revealing the SREB
and MSR, respectively.
98. (a)
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana under the
Micro Units Development and Refinance
Agency (MUDRA) Bank, a new institution set
up by Government of India for development
and refinancing activities relating to micro
units.
It was announced by the Finance Minister
while presenting the Union Budget for FY
2016.
The purpose of MUDRA is to provide funding
to the non-corporate, non-farm sector,
income generating activities of micro and
small enterprises whose credit needs are
below Rs. 10 Lakh.
Under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA
Yojana (PMMY), MUDRA has created three
products i.e. 'Shishu', 'Kishore' and ‘Tarun’ as
per the stage of growth and funding needs of
the beneficiary micro unit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasises
that the government wants youth to be job
creators and not job seekers.
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 99. (d) 100. (b)
Shale is a common sedimentary rock and ‘Global Financial Stability Report’ is a
extensively found across different semiannual report by the International
sedimentary basins in the country. Monetary Fund (IMF) that assesses the
Though the world always knew about its stability of global financial markets and
potential to produce fuel, shale gas became emerging market financing.
popular in the last decade. This was after the It focuses on current conditions, especially
introduction of new technologies – such as financial and structural imbalances, that
hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling – could risk an upset in global financial
by American companies, and the rise in stability and access to financing by emerging
natural gas prices which made such market countries.
extraction viable. It emphasizes the ramifications of financial
Gas is trapped in little bubbles in the near- and economic imbalances that are
impermeable thick shale formations, running highlighted in one of the IMF's other
over miles. publications, the World Economic Outlook.
The new technology uses a lot of water –
mixed with sand and large number of
chemical additives – at high pressure, to
fracture the hard rock and free the gas
bubbles.
In terms of exploration techniques and the
nature of reserves, shale gas is similar to
coal-bed-methane (CBM). Both are onshore
activities; methane is trapped inside coal
seams. However, there are some marked
differences in the case of shale gas
exploration.
The fracturing a rock is considered more
difficult than breaking open a coal seam. The
relative hardness of shale limits its
exploration potential essentially to mature
sedimentary formations, which are relatively
brittle.
Following the successful drilling of the
country’s first shale gas exploratory well
by ONGC near Jambusar about 60 km from
Vadodara, in October 2013, it has decided
to drill more wells in Cambay region of
Gujarat.
Cambay is one of the basins that have been
identified as potentially-bearing shale
resources. But apart from the Cambay basin,
the ONGC will also explore Krishna-
Godavari, Cauvery and Vindhyan
sedimentary basins for shale gas.

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