SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY MOCK TEST - 2 - ANSWER KEY 1. Ans (b) Explanation: Primary producers Primary producers are organisms in an ecosystem that produce biomass from inorganic compounds (autotrophs). In almost all cases these are photo synthetically active organisms (plants, cyano bacteria and a number of other unicellular organisms). However, there are examples of archaea and bacteria (unicellular organisms) that produce biomass from the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds (chemo autotrophs) in hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean. 2. Ans (d) Explanation: Food chain The energy moves progressively through the various trophic levels and is no longer available to the previous trophic level. The energy captured by auto trophs does not revert back to the solar input. Thus energy flow in food chain is always unidirectional. In all living groups, the energy from one living thing is passed to another through a natural cycle called the Food Chain. The food chain is natures way of controlling overpopulation. All food chains begin with sunlight. Sunlight provides the energy a Producer, or a type of plant, needs to make it's own food. Producers are the second step in a food chain. The third step in the food chain is always a Consumer, or an animal that consumes its food. Finally a food chain ends with a Decomposer, or an organism that breaks down dead and decaying organisms. The Sun --> Producer --> Consumer --> Decomposer 3. Ans (a) Explanation: MCR-1 GENE In an ominous sign for antibiotic effectiveness, the mcr-1 gene, which is responsible for resistance against antibiotic Colistin, has been identified in India. The gene was found in a sample of E.coli bacteria by scientists in a hospital in Haryana. Mcr-1 has already been detected in China, USA and Brazil. The gene is believed to build resistance in bacteria against Colistin—a last resort antibiotic to treat infectious diseases in humans. It is often used to treat human diseases when no other antibiotic works. Colistin belongs to a group of antibiotics called polymixins which are termed “critically important” by the World Health Organization. 4. Ans (c) Explanation: Eclipse • An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. • The term eclipse is most often used to describe either a solar eclipse, when the Moon's shadow crosses the Earth's surface, or a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY 5. Ans (c) Explanation: Kewda Flower Ganjam Kewda Flower is registered under the Geographical Indications (GI) of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act by Government of India. Kewda scent is produced in Chhatrapur, Brahmapur, Gopalpur and Jagannathpur in district of Ganjam, Odisha. Although kewda plants almost distributed almost throughout India, 90% of production of kewda flower is estimated in this district of Odisha. It can also be found in some inland districts but the flowers seem to create their most exquisite floral bouquet in certain coastal localities, the most famous being the Ganjam district of Odisha. Kewra is used to flavour foods and for Ayurveda healing. 6. Ans (d) Explanation: PRASAD scheme Twelve cities namely Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Gaya(Bihar), Dwaraka(Gujarat), Amritsar(Punjab), Ajmer(Rajasthan), Kanchipuram(Tamil Nadu), Vellankani(Tamil Nadu), Puri(Odisha), Varanasi(Uttar Prasesh), Mathura(Uttar Pradesh), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) and Kamakhya (Assam) have been identified for development under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) by the Ministry of Tourism. 7. Ans (a) Explanation: NATRiP Project National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), the largest and one of the most significant initiatives in Automotive sector so far, represents a unique joining of hands between the Government of India, a number of State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a state of the art Testing, Validation and R&D infrastructure in the country. The Project aims at creating core global competencies in Automotive sector in India and facilitate seamless integration of Indian Automotive industry with the world as also to position the country prominently on the global automotive map. NATRiP aims to create a testing, validation and R&D infrastructure at seven locations across India. 8. Ans (b) Explanation: Centrally Sponsored Schemes • NREGA - 48000 crores • PMKSY - 7377 coroes • PMGSY - 19000 Crores • PMAY - 29043 crores 9. Ans (a) Explanation: LIGO India The LIGO India experiment has two long L-shaped tunnels and uses lasers (Electromagnetic waves) to measures changes in the distance between two ends. Gravitational waves transport energy as gravitational radiation and pass through matter without interacting with it. When the GW enters into LIGO, it stretches space and direction, and disperses space in another direction i.e. these waves disturb the light emitted lasers by without interacting with it. Scientists by measuring the interference (disturbances) of lasers light map the disturbed space which has been compressed or stretched. Thus, it involves in superimposing electromagnetic waves under high pressurized vacuum tube which involves in detecting the presence of gravitational waves. As these waves do not interact with matter, gravitational waves coming to Earth may be carrying undistorted information about its origin. LIGO- India will be set up at Hingoli in Maharashtra. SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY 10. Ans (d) Explanation: Protected areas and states: 11. Ans (a) Explanation: Budget: • A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) refers to a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it refers to a budget that has no budget deficit, but could possibly have a budget surplus. • Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting in which all expenses for each new period must be justified. Under zero-based budgeting, no reference was made or considered of previous years. The budget request has to be evaluated thoroughly with its commencement from the zero-base. 12. Ans (d) Explanation: Karachi Resolution The Karachi session was presided by Sardar Patel. The congress adopted a resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy which represented the Party’s Social, Economic and Political programme. It was later known as Karachi Resolution. Nehru had originally drafted it, but some Congress leaders thought it was too radical and it was redrafted. We have been told that MN Roy also played a role in drafting this resolution, but Nehru himself later said that MN Roy had nothing to do with it. In any case, the redrafted resolution made the Karachi Session memorable, because for the first time, the resolution tried to define what would be the meaning of Swaraj for common people. Some important aspects of these resolutions were: • Basic civil rights of freedom of speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, • Equality before law • Elections on the basis of Universal Adult Franchise • Free and compulsory primary education. • Substantial reduction in rent and taxes SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY • Better conditions for workers including a living wage, limited hours of work. • Protection of women and peasants • Government ownership or control of key industries, mines, and transport. • Protection of Minorities. • Neutrality of state in regard to all religions. 13. Ans (c) Explanation: Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) • The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory advisory body under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF), will now be permanently chaired by a senior MoEF official, according to a notification made public in the month of March • In its 55-year history the organisation has always been chaired by somebody outside government, such as veterinarians, animal welfare activists or retired judges. The 22-member Board’s three-year term ended February 28 and on March 1, a new Board of 18 members, chaired by Sharad Singh Negi, Special Secretary and Director-General (Forests), MoEF, came into effect. The March 3 notification specifies that for the next three years, the Board would be chaired by the Director-General (Forests) for its term. 14. Ans (c) Explanation: Nature Forever Society for India • The Nature Forever Society (NFS) has been working for the conservation of house sparrows and other common flora and fauna since 2006. Started by Mohammed Dilawar (founder and president), NFS was registered in 2008. The mission of the Nature Forever Society is to involve citizens in the conservation movement in India. To achieve this NFS has been working by launching initiatives which are simple and have far reaching conservation value. • Some of the initiatives started by Nature Forever Society are Common Bird Monitoring of India, World Sparrow Day, Project SOS, NFS Sparrow Awards and Adopt a Feeder and Nest program, among others. • Since it started NFS has spearheaded programs and projects that are making a visible difference to sparrow populations in cities. • As the countdown to the World Sparrow Day (WSD) on March 20 — a celebration of the much-cherished but fast-disappearing sparrow — begins, the Nature Forever Society (NFS) has decided to launch Project SOS: Save Our Sparrows by distributing 52,000 bird feeders to interested citizens, institutions and organisations across the country. • World Sparrow Day is a day designated to raise awareness of the house sparrow and then other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations, observed on 20 March. It is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world. • An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International.