New MCQs

1. Friction between wind and water creates surface currents. However, wind direction doesn't directly determine current direction due to the _____? Coriolis effect 

2. Earth's Rotation: The Earth's rotation creates a deflection force called the _____? Coriolis effect. 

3. Large-Scale Circulation: Due to the Coriolis effect, prevailing winds don't generate straight-line currents. Instead, they create large-scale gyres, rotating currents that circulate ______in the Northern Hemisphere and ______ in the Southern Hemisphere?

(clockwise in Norther Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere)

4. The gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, along with the Earth's rotation, creates tides? True

5. El Niño and La Niña, together known as the ______________? El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). These are the major climate patterns that significantly impact rainfall variability around the world

6. El Niño:

i) Warmer waters: ii) Disrupted trade winds: iii) Reduced rainfall iv) All of the above

7. India: El Niño events are associated with _______ during the Indian monsoon season, impacting agricultural productivity. (below-average rainfall)

8. Droughts: El Niño is often linked to droughts in several areas, including parts of Southeast Asia, Australia, and Africa [AAA]

9. La Niña:

i) Cooler waters ii) Stronger trade winds iii) Increased rainfall iv) All of the above

10. A strong El Niño event is likely to cause a _______than a weak El Niño. [more severe drought ]

11. Degradation:

i) Human activities can degrade soils, vegetation, and wildlife

ii) This includes processes like deforestation, overgrazing, unsustainable agricultural practices, pollution, and climate change.

iii) Impacts: Degradation can lead to a number of problems, including: Reduced agricultural productivity, Increased soil erosion and desertification, Loss of biodiversity and Disruption of natural ecosystems

iv) All of the above

1. Father of the Indian Constitution:

Answer: Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar is known as the father of the Indian constitution. On 29 August 1947[2 weeks after the independence], the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee. This Drafting Committee was headed by Ambedkar. 

2. Question-related to Article 31 of the Indian Constitution:

Answer: Article 31 of the Indian Constitution deals with the right to property. It provides for the protection of the property rights of citizens. It guarantees that no person shall be deprived of their property except by authority of law.

3. Question-related to the Uniform Civil Code (Article 44):

Answer: Article 44 of the Indian Constitution says, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

4. Question-related to the Citizenship Article of the Indian Constitution:

Answer: Article 5 speaks about the citizenship of India at the commencement of the Constitution (Nov 26, 1949). Article 11 gave powers to the Parliament of India to regulate the right of citizenship by law. This provision resulted in the enactment of the Citizenship Act 1955 by the Indian Parliament.

5. Tapi Basin is located in:

Answer: The Tapi Basin is situated in the northern part of the Deccan Plateau and extends over an area of 65145 sq km which is nearly 2% of the total geographical area of the country. Nearly 80% of the basin lies in the State of Maharashtra

7. Question-related to the Blue Green Algae:

Answer: The blue-green algae also called cyanobacteria or Cyanobacteriota or Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis.

8. Article 143 of the Indian Constitution:

Answer: Article 143 confers power on the President to consult the Supreme Court and seek its opinion on the question of law or fact, which is of such nature and of such importance that it is expedient to obtain the Supreme Court's opinion.

9. Meaning of the Idiom - ‘Break a leg’:

Answer: Break a leg is a commonly used idiom that means “good luck.” It is used for wishing someone good luck, especially before a performance.

18. Kanchenjunga Belt

Answer: The goal of KTK-BELT is to create a continuous forested belt from Koshi Tappu (67 masl), Nepal’s largest aquatic bird reserve, to Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 masl), the 3rd tallest peak in the world.

19. Who was the guest at India's Republic Day in 2023?

Answer: The President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

1. By which one of the following Acts was the Governor General of Bengal designated as the Governor General of India? The Charter Act of 1833

The Charter Act of 1833 addressed the internal challenges in India and the political situation in England. It renamed the position of the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military power. Lord William Bentinck became the first governor-general of India.

2. In essence, what does ‘Due Process of Law' mean? Fair application of law

Due process refers to just, rational, fair, and fair treatment under the regular judicial proceedings, thus it means the fair application of law. It states that a person cannot be denied their life, liberty, or property without adhering to the required legal procedures and receiving the appropriate protections. The due process of law limits the power of the law and protects an individual's rights.

3. Statement-1: In India, prisons are managed State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons.

Statement-II: In India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments.

Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-1

4.  ) Which one of the following statements best reflects the Chief purpose of the 'Constitution' of a country?   It defines and limits the powers of government.

5. ) In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to overcome the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights? ) 1st Amendment

The First Amendment Act, 1951, added the fourth clause to Article 15 that empowered the government to make any law for the upliftment of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It reads, “Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.”. The added clause elucidates that in case such special provisions are introduced, they cannot be said to be breaching Article 15 and Article 29(2) of the Constitution.

The need to insert this clause was felt after the decision of the Supreme Court in the State of Madras v. Srimathi Champakam (1951). According to the facts of this case, the Madras government issued an Order that provided reservation on the grounds of religion, race, and caste. This Order was contended to be in breach of Article 15(1) of the Indian Constitution. The Court also gave a literal interpretation to the constitutional provisions and held that reserving seats in public institutions for backward classes violates Articles 15(1) and 29(2). Therefore, in order to nullify the effect of similar judicial pronouncements, Article 15 was amended. Similarly, Article 19(1)(a) grants the right to free speech and expression to Indian citizens. This right is considered an essential feature of democracy. However, Article 19(2) specifies the restrictions that can curtail this freedom. The First Amendment to the Indian Constitution altered these restrictions by widening their ambit. The second change, via the Amendment Act of 1951, was made to Clause 6 of Article 19. Need of amendment of Article 19(2) When the Constitution was adopted, the barriers to free speech and expression included ‘security of state’, ‘decency or morality’, ‘contempt of Court’, and ‘defamation’. With the First Amendment, the following three restrictions were added to Clause 2 of Article 19: • Friendly relations with foreign states- This was added to prohibit any kind of malicious propaganda against a foreign nation. This addition was an attempt to build friendly relations with foreign states. • Public Order- This barrier was constructed in response to the case of Romesh Thappar v. The State of Madras (1950). The Supreme Court observed that the ambit of Article 19(1) was so large that it can even acquit a person charged with the offence of murder. Also, the Court stated that the expression ‘security of state’ is not comprehensive enough to include the concept of ‘public order’. This decision was sufficient to introduce an amendment to Article 19(2). In the case of Babulal Parate v. State of Maharashtra and Others (1961), the Supreme Court examined the ambit of restriction ‘public order’. In this case, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908 was upheld on the ground that it was a reasonable restriction to prevent a person from carrying out certain acts if those acts were likely to disturb public tranquillity or result in a riot or an affray. • Incitement to an offence- This is a limitation on free speech in the form of opinions or agitations on the involvement of an accused in any crime. Need for amendment of Article 19(6) The alteration was made in Article 19(6) via the First Amendment, and the intention behind this was to avoid objections to the power of the state to create any monopoly. 

Article 19(6) is a reasonable restriction on the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business. Before the First Amendment, the State had the power to impose reasonable restrictions by asserting that it is in the interests of the general public. This conferred the state the power to implement any scheme of nationalisation provided it is ‘reasonable’. However, the Amendment in 1951 added the clause which said, “the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise”, thus removing any scope of ambiguity regarding the power of the government to nationalise. This modification even excluded the factor of reasonableness while creating such a monopoly. The Supreme Court in the case of Saghir Ahmad v. the State of U.P. and Others. (1954) studied the consequences of this amendment. The Court observed that after this alteration, the government can create a monopoly in its own favour, but this clause will prevent it from creating any monopoly in the favour of third parties.

7. 3 new coal mines in SCCL: July 2023 news