Detailed Explanation
Q1. With reference to African Swine Fever(ASF), consider the following statements:
- ASF is a threat to human health and can be transmitted from pigs to humans.
- The virus is highly resistant in the environment and can survive on clothes, boots, wheels, and other materials.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, whose mortality rate can reach 100%.
It is not a danger to human health, but it has devastating effects on pig populations and the farming economy.
Prelims 360 with one to mentorship and Test series
Q2. Consider the following statements about World Health Organization (WHO):
- It is part of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group.
- Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, WHO was established on 7 April 1948, which is commemorated as World Health Day.
- India became a party to the WHO even before becoming a Republic.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3
(b) Only 1
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct Option: (a)
Explanation:
Statement 2 is incorrect: Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO was established on 7 April 1948, which is commemorated as World Health Day.
India became part of the WHO in the year 1948 i.e, before it adopted the Constitution.
Q3. Which of the following cases deal with the discretionary powers of the Governors of the state?
- SR Bommai Case, 1994
- Rameshwar Prasad Case, 2006
- Nabam Rebia Case, 2016
Choose the correct options from the codes given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) All of the above
Correct Option: (d)
Explanation:
The Apex Court must be credited for having drawn the lakshman rekha on gubernatorial over-reach through a catena of clear decisions ranging from:
S. R. Bommai (1994): Supreme Court declared that the imposition of the President’s Rule shall be confined only to the breakdown of constitutional machinery; The governor cannot use its discretion to recommend the imposition of the President's rule without giving sufficient opportunities to all majority coalitions to form a government.
Rameshwar Prasad (Bihar Assembly Dissolution Case of 2006): The governor has no option but to invite any party or alliance, either pre-poll or post-poll, to form the government once he was satisfied that it commanded majority support in the assembly.
Nabam Rebia (Arunachal Assembly Case of 2016): On governor's power to advance assembly session: Article 163 of the Constitution requires the Governor of a State to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister ‘in the exercise of his functions,’ unless the Constitution requires him to act ‘in his discretion.’
The Court concluded that the Governor’s discretion did not extend to the powers conferred under Article 174, and hence he could not summon the House, determine its legislative agenda or address the legislative assembly without consulting the Chief Minister or the Speaker.
Q4. With reference to Scrub Typhus, consider the following statements:
- It is a vector-borne disease caused by a virus.
- It is spread to people through bites of infected chiggers.
- No vaccine is available to prevent scrub typhus.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Scrub typhus, like dengue, is a vector-borne disease, but it is caused by bacteria, not virus.
Q5. Consider the following statements about African Cheetah:-
- They have slightly brownish and golden skin, which is thicker than the Asiatic Cheetahs.
- Their IUCN Red List Status is Endangered.
Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 2 is incorrect: Their IUCN Red List Status is Vulnerable.
Q6. With reference to the Suspension of a Member of Parliament(MP), consider the following statements:
- As mentioned in the constitution, the Speaker may direct a Member of Parliament to withdraw immediately from the House.
- Unlike the Speaker, however, the Rajya Sabha Chairman does not have the power to suspend a Member.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Rule Number 373 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business says: “The Speaker, if he is of the opinion that the conduct of any Member is grossly disorderly, may direct such Member to withdraw immediately from the House, and any Member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall remain absent during the remainder of the day’s sitting.”. Thus it is not mentioned in the constitution.
Statement 2 is correct: Unlike the Speaker, however, the Rajya Sabha Chairman does not have the power to suspend a Member. The House may, by another motion, terminate the suspension.
Q7. With respect to the securities, consider the following statements.
- Securities are of two types, i.e., Equity and Debt.
- The holder of Equities receives profit/ dividend, and the holder of Debts receives interest and principal.
Choose correct statement/s only.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (c)
Self-explanatory
Q8. Consider the following statements regarding Special Drawing Rights (SDR).
- The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement its member countries’ official reserves.
- The value of the SDR is based on a basket of currencies of developed countries.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (a)
Explanation:
The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. The value of the SDR is based on a basket of five currencies—the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.
Q9. With reference to the Agricultural Census, consider the following statements:
- Agricultural Census is the main source of information on a variety of agricultural parameters, excluding cropping patterns.
- Agriculture Census is conducted every 6 years.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (d)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Agricultural Census is the main source of information on a variety of agricultural parameters at a relatively minute level, such as the number and area of operational holdings, their size, class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy and cropping pattern, etc. This is the first time that data collection for the agricultural census will be conducted on smartphones and tablets so that data is available in time.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22) was launched by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.
Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years.
Q10. Consider the following statements regarding the reforms introduced by Warren Hastings in the field of judicial administration:
- Not only separate civil and criminal courts but also appellate courts were established.
- Experts in Hindu and Muslim laws were provided to assist the judges.
Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: Warren Hastings felt the necessity of reorganising the judicial system. Each district was provided with a civil court under the Collector and a criminal court under an Indian Judge. To hear appeals from the district courts two appellate courts, one for civil cases and another for criminal cases, were established at Calcutta.
The highest civil court of appeal was called Sadar Diwani Adalat, which was to be presided over by the Governor and two judges recruited from among the members of his council. Similarly, the highest appellate criminal court was known as Sadar Nizamat Adalat, which was to function under an Indian judge appointed by the Governor-in-Council.
Statement 2 is correct: Experts in Hindu and Muslim laws were provided to assist the judges. A digest of Hindu law was prepared in Sanskrit by learned Pandits and it was translated into Persian. An English translation of it – Code of Hindu Laws – was prepared by Halhed.
CSAT Questions and Solutions
Direction for the following 3 (three) items: Q.11-Q.13
Read the following one passage & answer the items that follow. Your answer to these items should be based on the passage only
Though newspaper reports would have you believe that this is the worst-ever stock market crisis India has faced for a long time, stock market regulars will tell you it’s just one of the many that surface from time to time. Prithvi Haldea, who runs Prime Database, will tell you that India’s stock markets have had close to one scam every year in the past decade. Sure, these have not followed a neat calendar, in the sense that some scams have overlapped and there were a couple of scam-less years. But since there were 10 big scams in the past decade, it’s one and the same thing. In each case, as in the current stock market scandal, the country’s regulators have been found wanting, even squabbling over whose primary responsibility it was to check the scam. In the case of the ‘vanishing companies’ scandal that surfaced between 1992 and 1996, around 3,911 companies raised Rs 25,000 crore in the primary capital markets and then simply disappeared. Or just did not set up the projects for which the money was raised – certainly the funds vanished. So, for instance, Asian Consolidated raised Rs 115 crore from investors, promising to set up a project to make 500 million aluminium beverage cans a year, but never set up the unit. Last heard, the company was being wound up. The Asian Group, by the way, also set up a factory to produce beer, and raised funds separately to make the seals for the top of beverage cans; that firm was called Asian Tops. But neither SEBI, the Department of Company Affairs (DCA), any of the country’s various stock exchanges, or even the police, bothered to penalise the group for the loss to investors through their fraudulent behaviour. For many years, in fact, SEBI argued that this was not its jurisdiction, as did the DCA. Similarly, when plantation companies raised somewhere in the region of Rs 50,000 crore by promising huge returns to investors who put in funds into their teak plantation schemes, and then failed to deliver, there was a dispute over who was to regulate such schemes – SEBI, the DCA, or, hold your breath, the Ministry of Forests! Apart from the sleeping regulators, one of the most fascinating aspects of the current stock market scandal is that it is replete with instances of history repeating itself.
Q11. According to the passage given above:
- The Asian Group of companies is a fraudulent company.
- India’s stock markets have had only one scam every year in the past.
Which of the above statements is true?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer: (d)
Q12. According to the passage given above:
- Between 1992 – 1996, around 911 companies raised Rs 25,000 crore in the primary capital markets and then simply disappeared.
- Asian Consolidated raised Rs 500 crore from investors, promising to set up a project to make 115 million aluminium beverage cans a year.
Which of the statements given above are false?
(a) only 1
(b) only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) None
Correct answer: (c)
Q13. Which of the following best represents the main idea of the passage?
(a) Asian Group should be blamed for its vanishing companies.
(b) Exposing the wrongs in society is not an easy task.
(c) Misdeeds of prominent people can be exposed but monitoring agencies are lacking.
(d) The stock market’s history of scams is replete with instances of the sleeping regulators.
Correct answer: (d)
Q14. Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis. However, it‘s not the amount of data that‘s important. It‘s what organizations do with the data that matters. Big data can be analyzed for insights that lead to better decisions and strategic business moves. The use of Big Data is becoming common these days by companies to outperform their peers. In most industries, existing competitors and new entrants alike will use the strategies resulting from the analyzed data to compete, innovate and capture value. Big Data helps the organizations to create new growth opportunities and entirely new categories of companies that can combine and analyze industry data. These companies have ample information about the products and services, buyers and suppliers, consumer preferences that can be captured and analyzed.
Which of the following is the most logical and rational interference that can be made from the above passage?
(a) Big data is all about the quantity of the data.
(b) Big data is helping organizations in streamlining decision-making and utilizing new business opportunities.
(c) Big data includes only structured data and mostly used by new entrants to take an edge over pre- established players.
(d) None of the above
Correct answer: (b)
Q15. Changing dietary patterns have had both positive and negative impacts on human health and the environment. Based on the specific country context and prevailing consumption patterns, there is a need for policies, laws and investments to create healthier food environments and to empower consumers to pursue dietary patterns that are nutritious, healthy and safe and with a lower impact on the environment.
On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made:
- A change in dietary pattern may be associated with non-nutritious and unhealthy food.
- A change in dietary patterns is a must with time to adapt human beings to the environment.
- Unsustainable and unregulated dietary patterns may have a huge impact on the environment.
- Without laws and policies, changing dietary patterns may lead to health issues, such as malnutrition.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
(a) 3 only
(b) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 2 and 4 only
Correct answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The passage mentions, “there is a need ... to empower consumers to pursue dietary patterns that are nutritious, healthy and safe and with a lower impact on the environment.” This implies that a changed dietary pattern may be unhealthy, unsafe and non-nutritious if not regulated by the government through laws and policies and consumer empowerment. So, this statement is true.