UPSC CDS 1 2021 GK Previous Year Question Paper with Detailed Answer Key

Ans. B.

• The standard meridian of India is 82.5 degrees east of the Greenwich Meridian, i.e., 82°30′ E. This meridian passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. 
• It runs through the centre of the nation. In the year 1905, this longitude was opted as the meridian to create the Indian Standard Time.
• The standard meridian is used for reckoning standard time all over the world: standard meridians are those meridians whose longitudes are exactly divisible by 15 Degree. 
• We need a standard meridian for India as there is a time lag of about 2 hours between Gujarat & Arunachal Pradesh. In order to avoid confusion of time in different states, India selected a standard meridian which is 82 degrees 30 East and it passes via Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.
• 82°30′ E has been adopted as the Standard Meridian of India as it is situated in the centre of all longitudes & latitudes in which our country is situated.

Ans. B.

• The Ten Degree Channel, a segment of the Parallel corresponding to 10 degree North Latitude, separates the Andaman &Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

Ans. C.

The Indo-Aryan is the largest linguistic group of India.

The study of languages is known as linguistic. In this process, different areas such as phonetics, phonology, morphology etc. are involved so that the method of speaking & communication can be understood.

The Indo-Aryan is considered as a language spoken by close to one billion people of India & it is derived from Indo-European language family. This particular language is a group of 219 different languages spoken in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

• Ans. C. 

Article 3 deals with the formation of new states & alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States: –

The Parliament may by law form a new State by separation of any territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or even parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;

• increase the area of any State;
• diminish the area of any State;
• alter the boundaries of any State;
• alter the name of any State;

Such a Bill can be introduced in either Houses only after the recommendation of the President .

Further, where the proposal comprised in the Bill affects the area, boundaries/name of any of the States, the Bill must be referred by the Indian President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further time as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired.

The bill can be passed by simple majority of both the Houses.

Ans. D.

There are currently 16 Navratna CPSEs as following:

• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
• Container Corporation of India Limited
• Engineers India Limited * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
• Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
• National Aluminium Company Limited
• National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited
• NMDC Limited * Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
• Oil India Limited
• Power Finance Corporation Limited
• Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
• RashtriyaIspat Nigam Limited
• Rural Electrification Corporation Limited
• Shipping Corporation of India Limited

Ans. A.

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak was an Indian freedom activist and social reformer. He was one of the prime architects of present India and probably the strongest advocates of Swaraj or Self Rule for India.
• Towards his nationalistic aims, Bal GangadharTilak published two newspapers, i.e., ‘Mahratta’ in English and ‘Kesari’ in Marathi. Both these newspapers stressed on making the Indians aware of the glorious past and also encouraged the masses to be self-reliant.
• In other words, these newspapers actively propagated the cause of national freedom.

Ans. B.

M.M Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations had made a recommendation for the disposal of a bill reserved for the consideration of the Union Executive within six months.

In the month of April 2007, a three-member commission headed by the former chief justice of India M.M. Punchhi was formed by the UPA Government to take a fresh look at relative roles & responsibilities of several levels of government and their inter-relations.

This particular commission had submitted its report in the year 2010 to the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

Ans. A.

The NCRWC (National Commission to review the working of the Constitution) also known as Justice Manepalli Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah Commission was established by a resolution of the NDA Government of India headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 22nd February 2000 for suggesting possible amendments to the Indian Constitution.

It submitted its report in the year 2002.

The eleven-member commission was led by Retired Chief Justice of India Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah.

Ans. B. 

• It was Faizi, who translated ‘Lilavati’, the celebrated Sanskrit work in Maths by Bhaskaracharya, into Persian. The celebrated work Akbarnama was accomplished by his brother Abul Fazal.
• Faizi was a Persian poet who joined Akbar’s suite during the seize of Chittor in the year 1568. In 1588 was given the status of Malik-ushShu’ara (i.e. Court Poet) of Akbar.
• He was one among the Navratnas of Akbar. He was born in Agra to a scholar in philosophy & Islamic theology, he was educated mostly by his father.
• Akbar was greatly impressed by the scholarly aptitude of Faizi and appointed him the tutor of princess Murad, Salim andDaniyal.

Ans. B.

The Shiva Sankirttan advocates that it once consisted of 100,000 verses set out in twelve Samhitas (i.e. books). The book was written by Rameshwar Bhattacharya, a disciple of Vyasa belonging to Suta class.

A flawless translation of the greatest Mangalkavya written in Bengali literature. The Chandimangal of Kavikankan Mukundaram Chakravarti is an impeccable work of epic scale that recounts the story of the Goddess Chandi’s continuous battle to establish her cult among humans.

The Chaitanya Charitamrita composed by Krishnadasa Kaviraja is written in Bengali literature with a great proportion of Sanskrit verses in its devotional, poetic construction, involving Siksastakam. It is one of the primary biographies detailing the life & teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

The Chaitanya Mangala of Brindavan Dasa is a critical hagiographical work on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, i.e., Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengali. This work of BrindavanDasa is greatly influenced by the Sanskrit Kadacha of Murari Gupta. The full text is divided into four sections: theAdiKhanda, the Sutra Khanda, the Madhya Khanda and the SheshKhanda.

Ans. B.

The growing of two or more crops in a definite row pattern is known as intercropping. About Intercropping:

• It is a crop cultivation method where two or more different kinds of crops are cultivated together within the same field but following a specific pattern, such as planting in rows.
• The seeds of these various varieties of crops are sown in rows following the particular pattern but they are not combined during sowing.
• The specific needs of each crop such as fertilizer, pesticide etc. are catered to specifically and not as a full.
• This method does not lead to competition between the crops and thus yields more production.
• In mixed cropping or mixed farming, two independent crops are mixed together and grown in an area without following any pattern.

Ans. C.

• The KLIP (Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project) is a multi-purpose irrigation project on the river Godavari in Kaleshwaram, Bhupalpally, Telangana, India.
• Presently the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, it’s farthest upstream influence is at the convergence of the Pranhita & Godavari rivers.
• The KLIP is divided into seven links and twenty-eight packages spanning a distance of approx. 500 km through 13 districts and utilizing a canal network of more than 1,800 km.
• The project targets to produce a total of 240 TMC (i.e. 195 from Medigadda Barrage, 20 from SripadaYellampalli project and 25 from groundwater), out of which 169 has been allotted for irrigation, 30 for Hyderabad municipal water, 16 for the miscellaneous industrial uses and 10 for drinking water in nearby villages, with the remainder being estimated evaporation loss.

Ans A

In the year 2020, Panna National Park of Madhya Pradesh was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. About Panna Tiger Reserve:

• The Panna tiger reserve is located in the Vindhya mountain range in Madhya Pradesh’s northern part. * The Ken river (which is a tributary of the Yamuna River) flows through the reserve.
• The region is even famous for Panna diamond mining.
• The Ken-Betwa river interlinking project will be situated within the tiger reserve.

Ans. C.

India had dispatched INS Kesari, carried medical assistance, food items to the nations in the Southern Indian Ocean as part of a ‘Mission Sagar’ initiative to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic.

The five island nations, i.e., Maldives, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros and Seychelles had requested India for medical & food assistance to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mission includes two major ministries of India, i.e., Ministry of Defence &Ministry of External Affairs– along with various other Government agencies.

Ans. C.

• The Peninsula Shield Force is the military arm of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).
• The shield force purpose is to deter and respond to, military aggression against any of the GCC member countries: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
• The Peninsula Shield Force was commanded by Saudi Major General Mutlaq bin Salem al-Azima and has around 40,000 troops& continues to have its permanent base at King Khalid Military City near Hafar al Batin.
• As per Peninsula Shield Force commander al-Azima, any intervention by the force must involve participation from all the GCC member states.

Ans B.

• Bangladesh & United States navies launched the ‘CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) Bangladesh 2020’ to expand relationships and to broaden maritime awareness between the two countries. About the Exercise:
• The exercise demonstrates the United States continuing commitment to work with the Bangladesh military to address shared maritime security concerns in the region and to strengthen partnership to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
• The sea phase of the exercise took place in the Bay of Bengal with ships from both countries.
• The events are set to enhance interoperability between the two navies. US & Bangladesh will work via the coordinated deployment of surface ships, to include tactical manoeuvres among other activities.
• The CARAT 2020 underscores the shared vision of the US & Bangladesh for a free, open, secure, inclusive, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.

Ans. A.

• The CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) chaired by Prime Minister Modi has approved the investment of Rs.1810.56 crore for 210 MW Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project situated on river Satluj which is located in Shimla & Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh. This project will generate 758.20 million units of electricity yearly.
• This project is being implemented by SJVNL (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited) on BOOM (Build-Own-Operate-Maintain) basis with active support from the Government of India & State Government.

Ans. D.

• Sir Sean Connery has died at the age of 90.
• The Scottish actor was best remembered for his portrayal of James Bond, being the first-ever to bring the role to the big screen & appearing in seven of the spy thrillers.
• His acting career spanned seven decades and he won an Oscar in 1988 for his role in The Untouchables.

Ans. C.

• The 24th edition of the MALABAR naval exercise was scheduled in two phases in November 2020.
• The Phase 1 of the Exercise MALABAR 2020 involving participation by IN (Indian Navy), USN (United States Navy), JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self Defence Force), and RAN (Royal Australian Navy) had commenced off Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal from 03rd to 06th November 2020.
• MALABAR series of maritime exercises commenced in the year 1992 as a bilateral India-USA naval exercise. The JMSDF joined MALABAR in the year 2015.
• The 2020 edition had witnessed participation of the RAN in this joint maritime exercise.

Ans. A.

• Quad group consisting of Japan, India, Australia and the United States. Quad is not an alliance but a grouping of nations which are interested in strengthening a rule-based order in the region of Indo-Pacific.
• The four countries had in the year 2017 given shape to the longpending proposal of forming up the “Quad” or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The idea behind QUAD was first conceptualised by the then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in 2007.
• QUAD has been revitaziled as a group of democracies coming together to uphold peace, freedom and rule-based order in the face of a belligerent China.