UPSC Quiz

Which Article of the Indian Constitution provides for the Finance Commission?

• Article 324
• Article 280
• Article 148
• Article 312

Answer: Article 280. Article 280 sets up a Finance Commission every five years to recommend how taxes are shared between the Centre and states. Article 324 covers the Election Commission and Article 148 the CAG.

The idea of Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution was borrowed from the constitution of which country?

• United States
• Canada
• Australia
• Ireland

Answer: Ireland. The DPSPs (Part IV) were inspired by the Irish Constitution. Fundamental Rights draw on the US model, and the strong-Centre federation on Canada.

The Tropic of Cancer does NOT pass through which of these states?

• Odisha
• Gujarat
• Madhya Pradesh
• Rajasthan

Answer: Odisha. The Tropic of Cancer crosses eight states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram. Odisha lies entirely south of it.

Which of these rivers flows westward and drains into the Arabian Sea?

• Godavari
• Krishna
• Narmada
• Mahanadi

Answer: Narmada. The Narmada flows west through a rift valley into the Gulf of Khambhat. The Godavari, Krishna and Mahanadi all flow east into the Bay of Bengal.

The Battle of Plassey in 1757 was fought between the East India Company and which ruler?

• Mir Qasim
• Shuja-ud-Daula
• Siraj-ud-Daulah
• Tipu Sultan

Answer: Siraj-ud-Daulah. Robert Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, helped by Mir Jafar's betrayal. Mir Qasim and Shuja-ud-Daula fought the Company later at Buxar (1764).

Who presided over the 1929 Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress, where Purna Swaraj was adopted as the goal?

• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Motilal Nehru
• Subhas Chandra Bose
• Vallabhbhai Patel

Answer: Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru presided at Lahore in December 1929. The session led to 26 January 1930 being observed as Purna Swaraj Day, which is why the Constitution came into force on 26 January.

The languages officially recognised by the Constitution are listed in which Schedule?

• Sixth Schedule
• Seventh Schedule
• Tenth Schedule
• Eighth Schedule

Answer: Eighth Schedule. The Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages. The Sixth covers tribal-area administration in the North-East, the Seventh the Union, State and Concurrent Lists, and the Tenth anti-defection.

The Ramsar Convention of 1971 is concerned with which of these?

• Protection of the ozone layer
• Conservation of wetlands
• Conservation of migratory species
• Movement of hazardous waste

Answer: Conservation of wetlands. The Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, protects wetlands of international importance. Ozone is covered by the Montreal Protocol and hazardous waste by the Basel Convention.

In Indian monetary policy, the repo rate is the rate at which:

• The RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities
• Commercial banks lend to their most creditworthy borrowers
• The RBI borrows money from commercial banks
• Banks pay interest on savings accounts

Answer: The RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities. Repo means repurchase agreement: banks borrow from the RBI by pledging government securities. Raising the repo rate makes borrowing costlier and helps control inflation.

Silent Valley National Park, known for its untouched tropical evergreen forest, is in which state?

• Karnataka
• Tamil Nadu
• Kerala
• Goa

Answer: Kerala. Silent Valley lies in Kerala's Palakkad district in the Nilgiri Hills. A 1970s campaign against a hydroelectric dam there was one of India's first big environmental movements.

Fundamental Duties were added to the Constitution by which amendment?

• 44th Amendment
• 42nd Amendment
• 52nd Amendment
• 73rd Amendment

Answer: 42nd Amendment. The 42nd Amendment (1976), on the Swaran Singh Committee's advice, added Part IVA and Article 51A. The 86th Amendment (2002) later added the eleventh duty on education.

The Gandhara school of art, which blended Indian and Greco-Roman styles, flourished mainly under which dynasty?

• Guptas
• Mauryas
• Satavahanas
• Kushanas

Answer: Kushanas. Gandhara art peaked under the Kushanas, especially Kanishka. Its Buddha images show wavy hair and toga-like robes, unlike the indigenous Mathura school.

Black soil (regur) of the Deccan plateau is best known for growing which crop?

• Tea
• Rice
• Coffee
• Cotton

Answer: Cotton. Black soil formed from Deccan basalt holds moisture well, so it is called black cotton soil. Tea and coffee prefer well-drained hill slopes.

Which planet completes one rotation on its axis in the shortest time?

• Saturn
• Jupiter
• Mars
• Earth

Answer: Jupiter. Jupiter spins once in just under 10 hours, the shortest day in the solar system. Saturn takes about 10.5 hours, Earth about 24 and Mars about 24.6.

Which statement about the Rajya Sabha is CORRECT?

• About one-third of its members retire every second year
• It can be dissolved by the President
• Its members are directly elected by the people
• A Money Bill can be introduced in it

Answer: About one-third of its members retire every second year. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House: it is never dissolved, and a third of members retire every two years. Members are elected by state legislators, and Money Bills start only in the Lok Sabha.