MCQ Pathshala

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to regulate and control development and management of ground water resources in the country. Hence, statement 2 is correct. +India's irrigation is mostly groundwater well based. At 39 million hectares (67% of its total irrigation), India has the world's largest groundwater well equipped irrigation system (China with 19 mha is second, USA with 17 mha is third). Hence, statement 3 is correct. 313 units (5%) are ‘Critical’, where the stage of ground water extraction is between 90-100 %. There are 972 semi-critical units (14%), where the stage of ground water extraction is between 70% and 90% and 4310 assessment units (63%) have been categorized as ‘Safe‘, where the stage of Ground water extraction is less than 70 %. 8. Jet streams are relatively narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere.. Jet streams follow the boundaries between hot and cold air. Since these hot and cold air boundaries are most pronounced in winter, jet streams are the strongest for both the northern and southern hemisphere winters. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. + The “eye” of Tropical Cyclone is a roughly circular area of comparatively light winds and fair weather found at the center of a severe tropical cyclone. The eye is the region of lowest surface pressure and warmest temperatures aloft (in the upper levels) – the eye temperature may be 10°C warmer or more at an altitude of 12 km than the surrounding environment, but only 0-2°C warmer at the surface in the tropical cyclone (Hawkins and Rubsam 1968). Hence, statement 3 is not correct. + The formation of an eye is almost always an indicator of increasing tropical cyclone organisation and strength. But in Extratropical Cyclones or Temperate Cyclones, there is not a single place where winds and rains are inactive (as in case of Tropical Cyclone). Hence, statement 2 is correct.

✅DAY 25 - Last Remaining Questions of Prelims 2020 1. Scientists expect climate change to have increasingly negative consequences for society, from rising sea levels to more frequent heatwaves.There is broad agreement that initial, modest benefits – for instance, increased yields for some crops in some regions – will be outweighed by costs as temperatures rise. One way to get a handle on this question is through the social cost of carbon (SCC), which tries to add up all the quantifiable costs and benefits of emitting one additional tonne of CO2, in monetary terms. 2. Sea surface temperature (SST) is routinely used for predicting whether the total amount of rainfall that India receives during the monsoon season will be less or more than the long-term mean of 887.5 mm + OMT is analysed by measuring the ocean thermal energy during the period from January to March. Using OMT data, scientists are able to predict with 80% probability the monsoon of any year. Hence, statement 2 is correct + SST is restricted to a few millimetres of the top ocean layer, whereas OMT which is measured up to a depth of 26 degree C isotherm, is more stable and consistent, and the spatial spread is also less. The 26 degree C isotherm is seen at depths varying from 50– 100 metres. During January–March, the mean 26 degree C isotherm depth in the Southwestern Indian Ocean is 59 metres. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. 3. The Government of India subsidizes fertilizers to ensure that fertilizers are easily available to farmers and the country remains self-sufficient in agriculture.Under the NBS Policy, the Government announces a fixed rate of subsidy (in Rs. per Kg basis), on each nutrient of subsidized fertilizers, namely Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P), Potash (K) and Sulphur (S), on annual basis. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. + Ammonia, is produced from natural gas + Sulphur is a major by-product of oil refining and gas processing. Most crude oil grades contain some sulphur, most of which must be removed during the refining process to meet strict sulphur content limits in refined products.Most of the sulphur produced by refineries is sold into the petrochemicals market where it is used to make sulfuric acid. Commercial phosphoric acid is produced by applying an excess of sulphuric acid to ground rock phosphate. 4. The Desert National Park (DNP) covers an area of 3162 km² of which 1900 km² is in Jaisalmer district and remaining 1262 km² is in Barmer district of Rajasthan State. Hence, statement 1 is correct + DNP is a home to Great Indian Bustard (locally called Godawan) along with more than 100 species of birds. Hence, statement 3 is correct. + The Thar desert is the most thickly populated desert in the world with an average density of 83 persons/km² (compared to 7km² of other deserts). However, the human population within the DNP is low (4-5 persons per km²). There are 73 villages and also settlements or Dhanis existing within the Park. Hence, statement 2 is not correct. 5. Siachen Glacier is one of the world’s longest mountain glaciers, lying in the Karakoram Range system of Kashmir near the India– Pakistan border, extending for 70 km from north-northwest to south-southeast. It is the source for the 50-mi-long Nubra River, a tributary of the Shyok, which is part of the Indus River system. Siachen Glacier lies to the north of the Nubra valley. 6. Vidisha (formerly known as Bhilsa) is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India + Halebidu (which used to be called Dwarasamudra) was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. It is located in Hassan District of Karnataka. + Girnar or Girinagar is a group of mountains in the Junagadh District of Gujarat. This place is sacred to the Jains because it is the place where Lord Niminatha (22nd Jain Tirtankar) + Sthanesvara site is located at modern-day Thanesar in Kurukshetra district of Haryana. It is a historic town and an important Hindu pilgrimage centre on the banks of the Saraswati River. 7. Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under Section 3 (3) of the

✅DAY 25 - Last Remaining Questions of Prelims 2020

✅DAY 24 - History + Science + Economy (Part 2) 1. Aurang was a Persian term for a warehouse – a place where goods are collected before being sold; also refers to a workshop. + Banians (banias) were agents of the company. “A Banyan is a person…by whom the English gentlemen in general conduct all their business. + Mirasdar in Urdu means hereditary landowner, co-proprietor. In Persian, miras̱ is inheritance, estate. He was also a revenue payer to the state. 2. Buddhism is majorly divided into Mahayana and Hinayana Sects. Hinayana, also called as Theravadins.Thus, Theravada is also called Sthaviravada. They don’t belong to Mahayana Buddhism. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. + Lokottaravadins was one of the early Buddhist schools and was a branch of Mahasanghika sect. Hence, statement 2 is correct. + Mahasanghika was the early Buddhist school in India that, in its views of the nature of the Buddha, was a precursor of the Mahayana tradition. For the Mahasaṃghikas, the historical Gautama Buddha was merely one of these transformation bodies (nirmanakaya), while the essential real Buddha was equated with the Dharmakaya. Hence, statement 3 is correct. 3. Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar (1869-1912) a close associate of Sri Aurobindo. He was a Marathi Brahmin who had settled in Bengal. He published a book entitled Desher Katha describing in exhaustive detail the British commercial and industrial exploitation of India.Deuskar was the first to bring in the name of Swaraj, and Sri Aurobindo was the first to endow it with its English equivalent, 'Independence.' The Nationalists adopted this word, and Swaraj became the chief item of the fourfold Nationalist programme. 1 and 2 are Correct. + The use of Desh was not specific to Bengal Only. 4. Munda Rebellion is one of the prominent 19th century tribal rebellions in the subcontinent. Birsa Munda led this movement in the region south of Ranchi in 1899-1900.The ulgulan, meaning 'Great Tumult', sought to establish Munda Raj and independence. Therefore, the correct answer is (d). 5. Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian who gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The dates given for Panini are pure guesses. Experts give dates in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th century BC and there is also no agreement among historians. However, all these guesses are pre-Mauryan while Pushyamitra Shunga is a post-Mauryan king. Thus, statement (1) is not correct. + Amarasimha was one of the navaratnas of Gupta era. His book Amarkosh is a famous literary outcome of the Gupta era. While Harshavardhana is a post-Gupta king. Thus, statement (2) is not correct. + Although Kalidasa’s dates are also disputed by historians, according to tradition, he belonged to the court of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya who is identified as Changra Gupta II. Thus, statement (3) is correct. 6. See the Image in the end. 7. Areas of heavy traffic, gas stations, and areas near industrial sources may also have higher air levels. Cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke including wood burning are important sources of exposure to benzene. Cigarette smoke accounts for about half of the exposure to benzene in the United States.