UPSC Prelims GS Paper-I Solved Papers

Under which of the following circumstances may 'capital gains' arise?

1. When there is an increase in the sales of a product
2. When there is a natural increase in the value of the property owned
3. When you purchase a painting and there is a growth in its value due to increase in its popularity

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Which of the following measures would result in an increase in the money supply in the economy?

1. Purchase of government securities from the public by the Central Bank
2. Deposit of currency in commercial banks by the public
3. Borrowing by the government from the Central Bank
4. Sale of government securities to the public by the Central Bank

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Which of the following would include Foreign Direct Investment in India?

1. Subsidiaries of foreign companies in India
2. Majority foreign equity holding in Indian companies
3. Companies exclusively financed by foreign companies
4. Portfolio investment

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Consider the following statements:

The price of any currency in international market is decided by the

1. World Bank
2. demand for goods/services provided by the country concerned
3. stability of the government of the concerned country
4. economic potential of the country in question

Which of the statements given above are correct?

The basic aim of Lead Bank Scheme is that

Consider the following:

1. Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the quality of crops
2. Use of mobile cannons in warfare
3. Cultivation of tobacco and red chillies

Which of the above was/were introduced into India by the English?

With reference to the guilds (Shreni) of ancient India that played a very important role in the country's economy, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the king was the chief administrative authority on them.
2. The wages, rules of work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild.
3. The guild had judicial powers over its own members.

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The distribution of powers between the Centre and the States in the Indian Constitution is based on the scheme provided in the

Despite having large reserves of coal, why does India import millions of tonnes of coal?

1. It is the policy of India to save its own coal reserves for future, and import it from other countries for the present use.
2. Most of the power plants in India are coal based and they are not able to get sufficient supplies of coal from within the country.
3. Steel companies need large quantity of coking coal which has to be imported.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A person stood alone in a desert on a dark night and wanted to reach his village which was situated 5 km east of the point where he was standing. He had no instruments to find the direction but he located the polestar. The most convenient way now to reach his village is to walk in the

Recently, there has been a concern over the short supply of a group of elements called 'rare earth metals'. Why?

1. China, which is the largest producer of these elements, has imposed some restrictions on their export.
2. Other than China, Australia, Canada and Chile, these elements are not found in any country.
3. Rare earth metals are essential for the manufacture of various kinds of electronic items and there is a growing demand for these elements.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following protected areas:

1. Bandipur
2. Bhitarkanika
3. Manas
4. Sunderbans

Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?

Consider the following statements:

1. The duration of the monsoon decreases from southern India to northern India.
2. The amount of annual rainfall in the northern plains of India decreases from east to west.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following is the characteristic climate of the Tropical Savannah Region?

In which one among the following categories of protected areas in India are local people not allowed to collect and use the biomass?

Consider the following kinds of organisms:

1. Bat
2. Bee
3. Bird

Which of the above is/are pollinating agent/agents?

Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

Consider the following statements:

If there were no phenomenon of capillarity

1. it would be difficult to use a kerosene lamp
2. one would not be able to use a straw to consume a soft drink
3. the blotting paper would fail to function
4. the big trees that we see around would not have grown on the Earth

Which of the statements given above are correct?

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment describes the following major categories of ecosystem services—provisioning, supporting, regulating, preserving and cultural. Which one of the following is supporting service?

What is the difference between the antelopes Oryx and Chiru?

Which of the following can be threats to the biodiversity of a geographical area?

1. Global warming
2. Fragmentation of habitat
3. Invasion of alien species
4. Promotion of vegetarianism

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Consider the following:

1. Black necked crane
2. Cheetah
3. Flying squirrel
4. Snow leopard

Which of the above are naturally found in India?

Consider the following agricultural practices:

1. Contour bunding
2. Relay cropping
3. Zero tillage

In the context of global climate change, which of the above helps/help in carbon sequestration/storage in the soil?

What would happen if phytoplankton of an ocean is completely destroyed for some reason?

1. The ocean as a carbon sink would be adversely affected.
2. The food chains in the ocean would be adversely affected.
3. The density of ocean water would drastically decrease.

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Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to