UPSC Civil Services 2022 Prelims (General Studies) Question Paper With Answer Key

1 .

Consider the following statements :

1. High clouds primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the surface of the Earth.

2. Low clouds have a high absorption of infrared radiation emanating from the Earth’s surface and thus cause warming effect.

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 : Option (D) - Neither 1 nor 2

Note :

Statement 1 is incorrect: High clouds are often thin and do not reflect very much. They let lots of the Sun's warmth in. They radiate less energy into space than the lower, warmer clouds. Therefore, high clouds work to "trap" more energy than the low clouds.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Low clouds are often quite thick and reflect lots of sunlight back to space. Low clouds are excellent reflectors. But, they don't stop the longwave energy from escaping to space. Therefore, low clouds help to cool the Earth.

Source : nasa

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

2 .

Consider the following statements:

1. Bidibidi is a large refugee settlement in north-western Kenya.

2. Some people who fled from South Sudan civil war live in Bidibidi.

3. Some people who fled from civil war in Somalia live in Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 and 2

B)

2 only

C)

2 and 3

D)

3 only

Correct Answer : Option (C) - 2 and 3

Note :

Statement 1 is incorrect: Bidibidi Refugee Settlement is a refugee camp in northwestern Uganda.

Statement 2 is correct: Bidibidi is home to over 270,000 South Sudanese refugees

Statement 3 is correct: Dadaab camps were established 30 years ago to accommodate Somalis fleeing their country’s civil war

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

3 .

Consider the following countries

1. Armenia

2. Azerbaijan

3. Croatia

4. Romania

5. Uzbekistan

Which of the above are members of the Organization of Turkic States?

A)

1, 2 and 4

B)

1 and 3

C)

2 and 5

D)

3, 4 and 5

Correct Answer : Option (C) - 2 and 5

Note :

The Organization of Turkic States, formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Source: wikipedia

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

4 .

Consider the following statements

1. Gujarat has the largest solar park in India.

2. Kerala has a fully solar powered International Airport.

3. Goa has the largest floating solar photovoltaic project in India.

Which of the statements given below is/are correct?

A)

1 and 2

B)

2 only

C)

1 and 3

D)

3 only

Correct Answer : Option (B) - 2 only

Note :

Statement 1 is incorrect: India's Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan is the largest solar power park in the world.

Statement 2 is correct: Kerala's Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is the first airport in the world that would be running fully on solar power.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The 600 MW capacity floating solar project on Omkareshwar reservoir (in Madhya Pradesh) is not only India's but also the world's largest floating solar project so far.

Source : Saurenergy, Thehindu, Mint

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

5 .

With reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, consider the following statements:

1. A coastal state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baseline determined in accordance with the convention.

2. Ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.

3. The Exclusive Economic Zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea in measure.

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 : Option (D) - 1, 2 and 3

Note :

Statement 1 is correct: Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines determined in accordance with this Convention.

Statement 2 is correct: The innocent passage has been codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) was adopted in 1982, it is also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty. Its purpose is to establish a comprehensive set of rules governing the oceans and to replace previous U.N. Conventions on the Law of the Sea, 1958 (UNCLOS I) which was adopted in 1958 and another in 1960 (UNCLOS II), since these two conventions were believed to be inadequate. The right of innocent passage of foreign ships through the territorial waters of a coastal state is one of the oldest and most universally recognized rules of public international law.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are distinct maritime zones. The continental shelf includes only the seabed and subsoil; whereas the EEZ includes the water column. Also, while the maximum extent of the EEZ is 200 nautical miles, the continental shelf may extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline, depending on the depth, shape, and geophysical characteristics of the seabed and sub-sea floor. The ECS is, therefore, not an extension of the EEZ. Some of the sovereign rights that a coastal State may exercise in the EEZ, especially rights to the resources of the water column (e.g., pelagic fisheries), do not apply to the ECS.

Source : lawteacher, UN

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

6 .

Which one of the following statements best reflects the issue which Senkaku Islands, sometimes mentioned in the news?

A)

It is generally believed that they are artificial islands made by a country around South China Sea.

B)

China and Japan engage in maritime disputes over these islands in East China Sea

C)

A permanent American military base has been set up there to help Taiwan to increase its defence capabilities.

D)

Through International Courts of Justice declared them as no manâ€™s land, some South-East Asian countries claim them.

Correct Answer : China and Japan engage in maritime disputes over these islands in East China Sea

Note :

Senkaku/Diaoyu islands Dispute :

Japan and China claim the uninhabited islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Tiaoyu in China, as their own, but Japan has administered them since 1972. The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands were formally claimed by Japan in 1895. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the island chain was controlled by the US until 1971 before its return. Since then, Japan has administered the island chains. China began to reassert claims over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the 1970s, citing historic rights to the area. However, Japan does not recognise Chinese claims. More recently, there has been a flare up in the region. The Japanese government said on Thursday it had protested to China regarding a set of names recently assigned by Beijing to seabed zones in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.

What is the dispute about?

* The dispute is over the claim of Senkaku islands, which have been controlled by the Japanese since 1895.

* However, between 1945 to 1972, the islands were administered by the United States. In 1971, the US handed over the authority to Japan in 1971.

* The island chain, claimed by China, Taiwan and Japan, is made up of five islets and three barren rocks covering an area of 7 square kilometres

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

7 .

Consider the following pairs

Country - Important reason for being in the news recently

1. Chad - Setting up of permanent military base by Chine

2. Guinea - Suspension of Constitution and Government by military

3. Lebanon - Severe and prolonged economic depression

4. Tunisia - Suspension of Parliament by President

How many pairs given above are correcly matched?

A)

Only one pair

B)

Only two pairs

C)

Only three pairs

D)

All four Pairs

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Only three pairs

Note : Pair 1 is incorrectly matched :

Pair 2 is correctly matched : The president of Guinea was detained after a successful military coup in the West African nation. The coup was reportedly led by special task forces led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the head of Guinean Special Forces.

Pair 3 is correctly matched : Lebanon's economy collapsed after it defaulted on about $31 billion of Eurobonds in March 2020, with its currency sinking more than 90 per cent against the US dollar on the black market. Political bickering and indecision by the previous parliament forced the economy into a tailspin.

Inflation in the country has continued to surge and reached 206 per cent in April as the country elected a new parliament, which will have to put in place reforms to secure $3bn from the International Monetary Fund.

Lebanon’s economy contracted about 58 per cent between 2019 and 2021, with gross domestic product plummeting to $21.8bn in 2021, from about $52bn in 2019, said the World Bank.

The depression is among the world's worst economic collapses since the 1850s, the Washington lender said in January. It is the largest contraction on a list of 193 countries.

Pair 4 is correctly matched : Tunisia's President Kais Saied on Monday extended his months-long suspension of parliament until new elections in December 2022, while calling for a July referendum on constitutional reforms.

Source : Opindia, Thenationalnews, France24

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

8 .

Consider the following pairs :

Region often mentioned, in the news - Country

1. Anatolia - Turkey

2. Amhara - Ethiopia

3. Cabo Delgado - Spain

4. Catalonia - Italy

How many pairs given above are .correctly matched?

A)

Only one pair

B)

Only two pairs

C)

Only three pairs

D)

All four pairs

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Only two pairs

Note :

Pair 1 is correctly matched : A broad peninsula that lies between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and called Asia Minor (Lesser Asia) by the Romans, is the Asian part of modern Turkey, across Thrace. It lies across the Aegean Sea to the east of Greece and is usually known by its ancient name Anatolia.

Pair 2 is correctly matched : The Amhara are one of the two largest ethnolinguistic groups in Ethiopia.

Pair 3 is incorrectly matched : Cabo Delgado is a region in Mozambique.

Pair 4 is incorrectly matched : Catalonia is a region of Spain.

Sourec : Allaboutturkey, DW, MSF, BBC

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

9 .

With reference to Indian laws about wildlife protection, consider the following statements:

1. Wild animals are the sole property of the government.

2. When a wild animal is declared protected, such animal is entitled for equal protection whether it is found in protected areas or outside.

3. Apprehension of a protected wild animal becoming a danger to human life is sufficient ground for its capture or killing.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 and 2

B)

2 only

C)

1 and 3

D)

3 only

Correct Answer : Option (A) - 1 and 2

Note :

Statement 1 is correct: In a significant verdict, the Bombay High Court has ruled that wild animals including tiger should be treated as "government property for all purposes" and any damage caused by them should be compensated by the Government.

Statement 2 is correct: The law governing the subject of wildlife, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, does not discriminate between animals found in protected areas and outside. It provides for equal protection for wild animals irrespective of where they are found.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Only if the wild animal becomes a danger to human life or is diseased or disabled beyond recovery can it be allowed to be captured or killed by the competent authority, the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. This provision is applicable to wild animals listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which includes leopards. Mere apprehension or fear that a wild animal could endanger human life is not a ground for capture or killing.

Source : Archive, Thehindu

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies

10 .

Certain species of which one of the following organisms are well known as cultivators of fungi?

A)

Ant

B)

Cockroach

C)

Crab

D)

Spider

Correct Answer : Ant

Note : Fungi and insects are two hyperdiverse groups of organisms that have interacted for millennia. Over time, some insects have come to rely on fungi for a variety of resources, including room and board. Ants, wasps, beetles and a variety of other insects have adapted to using fungi primarily for reinforcing structures or as sources of food, with the most extreme examples resulting in cultivation of fungal crops. Chief among these examples are the mushroom-farming ants and termites, and the wood-boring beetles and wasps.

Source : Onlinelibrary

Year : 2022

Category : General Studies