Daily Prelims Practise Questions (PPQs) – October 15-16 2023

Questions

• The questions below are based on PMF IAS Daily Current Affairs – October 2023.

Q1. {MIH – Reorganization} Consider the following statements with reference to Article 3 of the Indian Constitution:

1. Article 3 empowers the Parliament to form new States by separating territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by joining any territory to a part of any State.
2. Article 3 does not empower the Parliament to diminish the area of an existing State.
3. Article 3 does not cover the cession of Indian Territory to a foreign country.
4. In 2018, a city in Uttar Pradesh, “Allahabad”, was renamed “Prayagraj” under the provisions of Article 3.

How many of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

1. All
2. Only one
3. Only two
4. Only three

Q2. {IR – Groupings} Consider the following statements regarding ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)’:

1. The RCEP is a free trade agreement (FTA) among the Asia-Pacific nations that accounts for about 30% of the world’s population.
2. India is a founding member of the RCEP.
3. RCEP is the first free FTA among the largest economies in Asia-Pacific countries.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Q3. {IR-Groupings} Which of the following statements is incorrect?

1. The Mandal Commission report recommended for 27% OBC reservation in 1980.
2. In Indira Sawhney vs Union of India (1992), the Supreme Court upheld the 50% reservation cap.
3. The 103^rd Constitutional Amendment Act provided for a 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section.
4. The concept of Creamy Layer in reservation is mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

Q4. {Envi – CC Impact} Consider the following statements regarding ‘Gray Whale’:

1. They are mostly confined to the Pacific Ocean.
2. They are called devil fish because of their fighting behaviour when hunted.
3. They are the only whale species that has two blowholes on top of their heads.
4. They are deep ocean species.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 4 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1, 2 and 3 only
4. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q5. {Geo – PG – Climatology} ‘State of Global Water Resources 2022’ report was released by:

1. World Economic Forum.
2. World Meteorological Organisation.
3. Indian Meteorological Department
4. United Nations Environment Programme

Q6. {S&T – AI} Which of the following are possible by using ’Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ currently:

1. To generate texts and simple stories.
2. For Quantum simulations and calculations.
3. To predict the future events accurately.
4. To organise itinerary.
5. To improve the efficiency of the V-12 engine.

How many of the above statement(s) is/are incorrect?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. None

Q7. {S&T – Defence} The ‘Jericho Missile System’ is a unique missile programme of which country?

1. United States of America
2. Japan
3. Israel
4. Russia

Q8. {S&T} Consider the following statements regarding ‘Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)’:

1. The MTCR is an informal and voluntary association of countries seeking to control missile technology proliferation.
2. The MTCR guidelines were first agreed upon in 1987 and updated periodically.
3. The MTCR has 35 member countries, including India.
4. The MTCR guidelines restrict the export of missiles and missile technology with a range of over 3000 kilometres and a payload of over 500 kilograms.

How many of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

1. 1, 3 and 4 only
2. 1, 2 and 4 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Questions With Solution and Explanation

Q1. {MIH – Reorganization} Consider the following statements with reference to Article 3 of the Indian Constitution:

1. Article 3 empowers the Parliament to form new States by separating territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by joining any territory to a part of any State.
2. Article 3 does not empower the Parliament to diminish the area of an existing State.
3. Article 3 does not cover the cession of Indian Territory to a foreign country.
4. In 2018, a city in Uttar Pradesh, “Allahabad”, was renamed “Prayagraj” under the provisions of Article 3.

How many of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

1. All
2. Only one
3. Only two
4. Only three

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Article 3 of the Indian Constitution primarily deals with reorganising states and altering their boundaries.
• Article 3 empowers the Parliament to form new States by separating territory from any State, uniting two or more States or parts of States, or connecting any territory to a part of any State.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Article 3 empowers the Parliament to increase or decrease the area of any State.

Statement 3 is correct

• The power of Parliament to diminish the area of a State under Article 3 does not cover the cession of Indian Territory to a foreign country, which is done through a constitutional amendment act.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• Changing the names of villages or any administrative divisions typically falls under the jurisdiction of the respective state government in India, and only the approval of the central government is needed.

Answer: (c) Only two

Q2. {IR – Groupings} Consider the following statements regarding ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)’:

1. The RCEP is a free trade agreement (FTA) among the Asia-Pacific nations that accounts for about 30% of the world’s population.
2. India is a founding member of the RCEP.
3. RCEP is the first free FTA among the largest economies in Asia-Pacific countries.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The RCEP is a free trade agreement (FTA) among the Asia-Pacific nations that accounts for about 30% of the world’s population and 30% of global GDP, making it the most significant trade bloc.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• India, which took part in the initial negotiations but later decided to opt out, was invited to join the bloc at any time.

Statement 3 is correct

• RCEP is the first free FTA among the largest economies in Asia-Pacific countries.
• Member countries of RCEP are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Q3. {IR-Groupings} Which of the following statements is incorrect?

1. The Mandal Commission report recommended for 27% OBC reservation in 1980.
2. In Indira Sawhney vs Union of India (1992), the Supreme Court upheld the 50% reservation cap.
3. The 103^rd Constitutional Amendment Act provided for a 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section.
4. The concept of Creamy Layer in reservation is mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

Explanation

• The significant recommendations of the Mandal Commission report of 1980:
  1. Estimated OBCs as 52% of India’s population, excluding SCs/STs.
  2. Recommended 27% reservation for OBCs to keep the overall reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs together below the 50% ceiling set by the SC.
• Indira Sawhney vs Union of India (1992), the SC:
  1. Upheld the 50% ceiling on reservations.
  2. Established factors such as caste, social status, and income to ascertain backwardness.
  3. Introduced the concept of the ‘creamy layer’ to exclude more wealthy individuals from seeking the benefit of reservations.

Answer: (d) (incorrect statement)

Q4. {Envi – CC Impact} Consider the following statements regarding ‘Gray Whale’:

1. They are mostly confined to the Pacific Ocean.
2. They are called devil fish because of their fighting behaviour when hunted.
3. They are the only whale species that has two blowholes on top of their heads.
4. They are deep ocean species.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 4 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1, 2 and 3 only
4. 2, 3 and 4 only

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• They are also known as gray-back whale or Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale. They are mostly confined to the North Pacific Ocean continental shelves.

Statement 2 is correct

• It was called devil fish because of their fighting behaviour when hunted. It also has a life expectancy of around 55 to 70 years.

Statement 3 is correct

• They are the only whale species that has two blowholes on top of their heads.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• They mainly inhabit the continental shelves.

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3 only

Q5. {Geo – PG – Climatology} ‘State of Global Water Resources 2022’ report was released by:

1. World Economic Forum.
2. World Meteorological Organisation.
3. Indian Meteorological Department
4. United Nations Environment Programme

Explanation

Statement (b) is correct; statements (a), (c) and (d) are incorrect

• The World Meteorological Organisation released the State of Global Water Resources 2022. According to the report
  1. Nearly 4 billion people are experiencing severe water scarcity for at least a month every year.
  2. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to heavier precipitation episodes, flooding, evaporation, dry soils, and intense droughts.
  3. The Snow Cover in the Alps remained well below the 30-year average during the 2023 spring despite late snowfalls in May, feeding the four major rivers — Rhine, Rhone, Danube and Po.
  4. The number, total area and volume of glacier lakes have increased rapidly, pushing the lake’s water by approximately 16 Percent of the total volume.

Answer: (b) World Meteorological Organisation

Q6. {S&T – AI} Which of the following are possible by using ’Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ currently:

1. To generate texts and simple stories.
2. For Quantum simulations and calculations.
3. To predict the future events accurately.
4. To organise itinerary.
5. To improve the efficiency of the V-12 engine.

How many of the above statement(s) is/are incorrect?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. None

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• AI-Language models like ChatGPT, Bard, etc helps in text generation.

Statement 2 is correct

• Link: ”https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-34600-2”.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Currently, accurate prediction of the future is not possible using Artificial Intelligence, but only possibilities can be given.

Statement 4 is correct

• AI helps in text generation, including itinerary.

Statement 5 is correct

• Researchers use AI, engine simulations, and high-performance computing to enable fuel-engine co-optimization in large design spaces.

Answer: (a) Only one (incorrect)

Q7. {S&T – Defence} The ‘Jericho Missile System’ is a unique missile programme of which country?

1. United States of America
2. Japan
3. Israel
4. Russia

Explanation

Statement (c) is correct; statements (a), (b) and (d) are incorrect

• The Jericho Missile System is Israel’s inaugural ballistic missile programme launched in the 1960s.
• It has three variants as Jericho-1, Jericho-2, Jericho-3.
• Recently, An Israeli legislator’s calls for using a “doomsday” weapon against Hamas and Palestine have spotlighted nuclear weapons in West Asia, particularly the Jericho missile system.

Answer: Israel

Q8. {S&T} Consider the following statements regarding ‘Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)’:

1. The MTCR is an informal and voluntary association of countries seeking to control missile technology proliferation.
2. The MTCR guidelines were first agreed upon in 1987 and updated periodically.
3. The MTCR has 35 member countries, including India.
4. The MTCR guidelines restrict the export of missiles and missile technology with a range of over 3000 kilometres and a payload of over 500 kilograms.

How many of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

1. 1, 3 and 4 only
2. 1, 2 and 4 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanations

Statement 1 is correct

• The MTCR is an informal and voluntary association of countries seeking to control missile technology proliferation.

Statement 2 is correct

• The MTCR guidelines were first agreed upon in 1987 by the G7 countries and have been updated periodically since then.

Statement 3 is correct

• The MTCR has 35 member countries, including India.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• The MTCR guidelines restrict the export of missiles and missile technology with a range of over 300 kilometres and a payload of over 500 kilograms
• Israel possesses nuclear weapons but is neither a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty nor a Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) member

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3 only