UPSC CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION

PRELIMS 2019 SPECIAL

LECTURE 52

MCQs – CURRENT AFFAIRS

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Q. Golden Langur is found only in the state of Assam and the borders of India and Bhutan.

Which of the following status has been accorded to it by IUCN Red List?

a) Critically endangered

b) Endangered

c) Extinct in the Wild

d) Vulnerable

Answer : b

QUESTION 1

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QUESTION 1

The golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) is endemic to western Assam, India, and southernBhutan

1

The Indian population of golden langurs mainly resides in the Manas Biosphere along theBhutan border and in a number of southern isolated reserve forests north of theBrahmaputra River

2

It is listed in : Appendix I of CITES IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

3

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QUESTION 1

In 2011 , The Golden Langur Conservation Project was taken up in the state of Assam4

It is funded fully by Central Zoo Authority and aims to preserve the habitat of golden langur and increasetheir number

5

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Q. Match the following :

Which of the above are correctly matched ?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) None of the above

Answer : a

QUESTION 2

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Digital Currency Country of origin

1. Petro Venezuela

2. Aber UAE

3. Bitcoin USA

Q. Recently Corruption Perception Index for the year 2018 has been released by Transparency

International. Consider the following statements about this index :

1. India’s rank is 78 and it has improved its rank from last year.

2. Bhutan is the top ranked South Asian Country.

3. The score zero indicates the cleanest country in terms of corruption.

Identify the incorrect statements:

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) 3 only

d) None of the above

Answer : c

QUESTION 3

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a

QUESTION 3

The index by Transparency International ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of publicsector corruption according to experts and business people

1

It uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean2

The Report has found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50 on this year’s CPI, with an averagescore of just 43

3

a

QUESTION 3

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Bhutan has performed best in South Asia, scoring 68 and ranking 25th from top in the global list, followed byIndia ranked 78th scoring 41, Sri Lanka 89th scoring 38, Pakistan 117th with 33, Maldives and Nepal jointly124th with 31, and Afghanistan 172nd with 16

1

Asia-Pacific has an average score of 44 out of 100 in the region’s ongoing bid to stamp out corruption – farbehind the European Union’s 66

2

CPI relies on thirteen international surveys that provide comparison of countries by perceived prevalence ofcorruption

3

Q. Consider the following statements about NASA’s solar probe mission :

1. It is aimed at exploring the sun’s atmosphere and its corona.

2. It has already completed first orbit of the sun out of the planned two orbits.

Identify the correct statements:

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) 1 and 2 both

d) None of the above

Answer : a

QUESTION 4

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QUESTION 4

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Parker Solar Probe – NASA’s first mission to the sun , will explore the sun’s atmosphere and its outermostatmosphere, the corona

1

It will accumulate the data about its structure and magnetic and electric fields, as well as the energeticparticles cruising near and away from Earth’s star. These events can affect satellites and astronauts as wellas the Earth — including power grids and radiation exposure on airline flights

2

It will come as close as 3.8 million miles to the sun’s surface, well within the orbit of Mercury and morethan seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before

3

The Parker probe is expected to make 24 loops of the Sun over seven years , The mission is scheduled toend in June 2025

4

QUESTION 4

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The European Space Agency is also building a similar solar probe. Solar Orbiter, or SolO as it’s sometimesknown, is undergoing final assembly and testing in the UK. It is expected to launch in 2020

1

India has also planned to launch mission Aditya-L1, a satellite designed to study the solar corona, justlike the Parker Solar Probe

Set to launch in 2019, Aditya will be the Indian Space Agency’s (ISRO) second high-profile space missionsince it launched its Mars orbiter in 2013.

2

Q. India is going to boost its defence capabilities through S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile

system. It belongs to which of the following countries ?

a) USA

b) China

c) France

d) Russia

Answer : d

QUESTION 5

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a

QUESTION 5

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India will induct the first squadron of the advanced S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile systems fromRussia , starting from October 2020

1

The S-400 is a highly advanced surface-to-air missile defence system that can shoot down hostile jets andmissiles

2

In the case of India, the US has threatened to impose sanctions under Countering America's AdversariesThrough Sanctions Act (CAATSA) legislation. China has already had similar sanctions imposed

3