Instructions
- Following Test contains 25 questions based on Current Affairs news in 2017, December.
- Total Time limit: 30 minutes; Total marks: 25 MCQ x 2m = 50m.
- Wrong answer Penalty: -0.67 Marks.
Economy
Q. Which of the following organization has released the World Inequality Report 2018 (in 2017-December)?
- World Bank
- UNDP
- World Economic Forum.
- None of the above.
hint: In India, the top 10% of population earns 56% of India’s national income as per this latest report prepared by World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics.
Q. Find incorrect statements about WTO’s 11th Ministerial conference which was held in 2017-December?
- It was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- It ended in a stalemate because USA withdrew from the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
- Previous ministerial conference was held in 2016 and the next will be held in 2018.
Answer Codes:
- Only 1 and 2
- Only 2 and 3
- Only 1 and 3
- None of the given statements.
hint: Ministerial conferences are held every two years so do the math accordingly. It’s true that summit ended in stalemate and no joint declaration could be released but USA did not walk out of TFA. Eliminate accordingly. For model answer on this WTO-summit,
read my previous article.
Q. To promote ‘less cash economy’, Government of India has announced to bear the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on digital transactions upto Rs.2,000/-. This ‘subsidy’ is applicable to:
- All type of debit cards
- All type of credit cards
- All type of digital wallets
Answer Codes:
- Only 1 and 2
- Only 2 and 3
- Only 1 and 3
- All of them
hint: MDR is the rate payable by the merchant to the bank for the digital payments. Often small-merchants insist on cash-payments from customer, to avoid MDR cost on their profit margin (or they markup the sale-price accordingly). Hence Government announced to subsidize it for the next two years starting from 1/1/2018. This MDR-subsidization is applicable to all debit card/BHIM UPI/ Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS). Eliminate accordingly. If you don’t understand the difference between these technologies,
watch my lecture.
Q. UIDAI has suspended the e-KYC license of which of the following banks for allegedly misappropriating the LPG subsidy of its customers in 2017?
- Yes Bank
- IDFC Bank
- ICICI Bank
- Airtel Payment Bank
hint: In the past, RBI has slapped penalty on first three banks on various occasions for KYC and loans related irregularities. But their UIDAI licenses are untouched for the moment. Deduct accordingly. While UPSC doesn’t have habit of asking MCQs about scams and crooks, but SBI/IBPS examiners might enjoy framing question on this topic!
Polity
Q. Under Section 126 of Representation of People’s Act, television channels are prohibited from displaying election ads for __ hours before the voting ends.
- 24 hours
- 36 hours
- 48 hours
- 72 hours
hint: Matter is in news because EC had lodged FIRs against Gujarati TV channels for airing Rahul Gandhi’s interview fourty-eight hours before the end of voting.
Q. What is the full form of VVPAT?
- Voter Verification Paper Application Technology
- Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Technology
- Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail
- Voter Verification Paper Audit Trail
hint: Once UPSC asked full form of NITI ayog, so a newbie should not keep arrogance (हेकड़ी) that such abbreviation-full form MCQs will come only in the lower exams. Objective of VVPAT is not to ‘verify’ whether voter is real or fake so 1 and 4 are wrong. VVPAT is meant to help voters to verify that his vote is gone to the right party. Third option has the correct fullform.
Diplomacy
Q. USA has officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and made an announcement to to open an embassy there (in 2017, December). What is India’s official stand on this matter at UN?
- We’ve appreciated USA’s stand, since Israel is our strategic ally.
- We’ve asked USA to withdraw this recognition.
- To continue our friendly relations with both Israel and Arab countries, we’ve abstained from voting over this issue.
- We’ve kept a neutral stand by saying it’s within USA’s sovereign rights and discretion.
hint: In 2017-July, PM Modi visited Israel’s Tel Aviv but didnot go to Palestine. In 2017-December India voted in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. So do reading comprehension of above statement and arrive at correct answer.
Q. In 2017-December, India hosted Bodhi Parva festival of Buddist heritage to cherish the _ _ _ anniversary of _ _ _ regional group?
- 50th Anniversary, ASEAN formation
- 25th Anniversary, ASEAN-India Dialogue formation
- 30th anniversary, SAARC
- 20th anniversary, BIMSTEC
hint: This group has Secretariat at Dhaka, Bangladesh. It has following members: India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Eliminate accordingly.
Q. Which among the following parties have won clear majority in the Nepal election conducted in 2017-December?
- Madhesi parties
- Nationalist parties
- Communist parties
- No party has won clear majority in this election.
hint: TheHindu columnists and Fidel Castro apologists subscribe to this ideology.
Geography and Environment
Q. What is Bamboo?
- Taxonomically, it’s a grass.
- Under the original Indian Forest Act 1927, it was a tree.
- Under the Forests Rights Act (FRA) 2006, it is a “non-timber forest produce”.
Answer Codes:
- Only 1 and 2
- Only 2 and 3
- Only 1 and 3
- All of them
hint: UPSC is not averse to asking legal questions related to flora-fauna. Twice already UPSC has asked about species classification in wildlife protection act. Topic in news because though taxonomically Bamboo is a grass, the colonial-era IFA Act classified it as tree / timber, hence felling and transportation of bamboo required permits from government, thereby bottlenecking the bamboo economy. Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017 aims to undo this by removing bamboo from the definition of tree. Third statement is also right.
Q. Which of the following organization has proposed the creation of “Methanol Economy Fund” for India WEF 1/1/2018?
- Ministry of environment, forest and climate change.
- Ministry of new and renewable energy
- IPCC
- NITI Ayog
hint: This fund will help setting up methanol production units in India and reduce fossil fuel consumption by 50% in next 5-8 years. Dr. Rajiv Kumar is the vice chairperson of the correct organization.
Q. Find correct properties of Methanol?
- Unlike petrol, it burns without emitting Nitrous Oxides (NOx)
- Unlike Diesel, it burns without emitting Sulfur oxide (SOx)
- It can be produced from natural gas, coal and biomass.
Answer Codes:
- Only 1 and 2
- Only 2 and 3
- Only 1 and 3
- All of them
hint: Iran and Saudi Arabia produce methanol from Natural gas, where China produced it from coal. NITI Ayog has proposed creating “Methanol Economy Fund” to help setting up ‘coal to methane’ plants in India as we also have large coal reserves just like China. Methanol emits lesser NOx and Particulate matter (PM) than petrol, and produces no SOx as there is no sulphur in methanol. Eliminate accordingly.
Q. The color of Bramhaputra river has become very dark and muddy since the later half of 2017. Newchannels have reported it, and the issue was raised even in Parliament, during Winter-2017 session. Which of the following test is most suitable to objectively measure this particular water quality?
- Fecal Coliform measurement test
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand test
- Total Dissolved Solids test
- Turbidity Test
hint: Fecal Coliform a bacteria that propagate in the digestive tracts of humans and animals, it can enter a waterway usually by animal / human waste and septic tanks. BOD is a measure of oxygen removed from an aquatic environment by aerobic microorganisms. Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. It’s measured in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). In ordinary river water, it’s usually less than 10 NTU. Bramhaputra has 290-400! Experts previously blamed it on the construction of dams and tunnels in China but now it’s revealed that earthquake and landslides in Tibet are responsible behind this mudding of water.
Science Technology & ICT
Q. Communication Ministry has launched Project “DARPAN” in 2017-December. Why?
- To Improve quality of services of Indian Post
- To Achieve “financial inclusion” of unbanked rural population
- To Modernization of the IT infrastructure of Indian Post
Answer Codes:
- Only 1 and 2
- Only 2
- Only 1 and 3
- All three objectives.
hint: 2008- Project Arrow to improve service quality in Indian Post. 2017: project DARPAN- “Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India” with Rs.1,400 crore outlay with all three objectives.
Q. Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology had setup a Committee on cybersecurity, which has given its draft report in 2017-November. Who was the chairman of this Committee?
- Narayan Murthi
- Nandan Nilekani
- Justice C.S. Karnan
- Justice BN Srikrishna
hint: Chairman is the same judge associated with Committees on (1) Financial Sector Legislative reforms (2) bifurcation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Q. Which of the following state governments has launched an app for customers to buy fish and fish items?
- Tamilnadu
- Andhra Pradesh
- Odisha
- West Bengal
hint: It’s the same government whose CM has created “Biswa Bangla logo” and given it to the state without taking any royalty over the design.
Q. Which of the following service has become the first to launch IT-enabled online testing for recruiting officers and soldiers, from January-2018?
- Indian Army
- Indian Navy
- Indian Airforce
- Fake news, no such thing has happened.
hint: This Online testing doesn’t mean you give exam from homePC. You’ve to appear at a particular exam centre -just like IBPS and CAT. From 2018, Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) for Officer’s cadre and Scheduled Test for Airmen Recruitment (STAR) for Airmen cadre will be conducted in online mode. So, guess the correct answer. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has built this platform- i’ve mentioned this because examiner could ask that well, who built this platform?
Q. Dr. Lalji Singh, who died in 2017-December, was considered the father of _ _ _ in India.
- Fingerprints for crime detection
- DNA fingerprint
- Molecular biotechnology
- Genetical engineering
hint: He had identified Rajiv Gandhi’s corpse using sample taken from Priyanka Gandhi’s nail. DNA fingerprinting was first developed in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys in the UK, he discovered that no two people could have the same DNA sequence.
Sports and Misc.GK
These MCQs are more relevant to non-UPSC exams.
- Find correct pair(s) of Game vs Venue?
- Commonwealth wrestling championship 2017: Johannesburg, S.Africa
- Commonwealth Games 2018: Gold Coast, Australia
- Commonwealth Games 2022: Birmingham, UK
- All of the above
hint: all pairs are correct. I’ve framed this question for your faster revision rather than to test your knowledge. In Commonwealth wrestling championship 2017, Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar and Sakshi Malik have won gold medals. Originally CWG-2022 were to be held at Durban, S.Africa but then changed due to financial difficulties.
Q. Find correct pair(s) of Book vs Author:
- I do what I do: Dr. Raghuram Rajan
- A World of Three Zeros- 0 Poverty, 0 Unemployment, & 0 Net Carbon Emissions: Muhammad Yunus
- The New Wealth of Nations: Surjit Bhalla
- All pairs are correct
hint: These economy books were launched Q3-2017 and all are correctly matched for faster revision. Yunus is the Bangladeshi Nobel peace winner (2006) for his Grameen Bank and its microfinance activities. Surjit Bhalla is an economist in PM’s Economic Advisory Council and Rajan Bhai is presently suffering the same bad luck as Crime-Master GOGO i.e. “हाथ आया पर मुंह न लगा” whether
Nobel Economics Prize 2017,
Chairmanship of US Federal reserve (or Rajya Sabha membership which he himself declined due to wife’ pressure.).
Q. Which of the following newspaper gives Ramnath Goenka Journalism Awards for Excellence?
- The Hindu
- Hindustan Times
- Indian Express
- Times of India
hint: This MCQ is more relevant to UGC-NET’s compulsory Paper-1 subtopic “Mass-Communication”, wherein they occasionally about ask such awards. Ramnath Goenka was the founder of Indianexpress.
Q. Which of the following companies has acquired music recognition app Shazam?
- Google
- Facebook
- Apple
- Microsoft
hint: Apple. This is more relevant to certain MBA admission tests in India, where they ask a few MCQs on bizGK.
Reading Comprehension Passage: VTOL airplanes (3MCQ)
So far I’ve framed 23 questions. So, to reach the fabled T25 target, here are three MCQs on comprehension for UPSC Prelims CSAT Paper-2
VivaColombia has proposed criminally cheap tickets in its flights to the South America. The only caveat: passengers will have to travel standing up. Aviation regulators in several countries have grounded the idea of ‘Verticle seats’ on safety considerations. Passengers have also protest that standing flights would take the romance out of flying, though it was blown away long ago by terrorism, and the only way to survive an air disaster is to take the train instead.
There is nothing romantic about standing in long queues in order to be stripped naked by X-ray machines and felt up by security, so that you can board aircraft packed like the slave galleys in Ben Hur. On short-haul flights, no one really misses the free peanuts and personal entertainment system. And only the deeply masochistic look forward to airline meals, which have always tasted like freshly microwaved tyre-tread washed down with watery industrial wastes cunningly mislabelled “tea” and “coffee”. For the majority in economy, jetliners are like cattle wagons anyway. Having to stand like cattle will not alter this reality in any manner. (~180 words. Ref:
IE)
Q1. In context of the passage, what is meant by the word “masochistic”?
- A person who finds pleasure in submissiveness.
- A person who derives sexual pleasure in humiliation.
- A person who enjoys an activity that appears to be painful or tedious.
- A person showing self-destructive behavior.
hint: While all four choices correctly describe dictionary meaning of the masochistic person but in context of passage, choice #3 is most appropriate- person who enjoys the activity of “eating” food items that tastes like tires and industrial wastes- is a masochist- whether he finds sexual pleasure in it, that we’ll to ask jailed baba-log.
Q2. Which of the following best describes author’s tone towards commercial airlines?
- Condescending
- Optimistic
- Cynical
- Euphemistic
hint: He’s not optimistic, because last line says “standing like cattle will not alter anyways.” This eliminates #2. “Euphemism” is when we call old person “senior citizen”. His tone for airlines is not respectful like that, so #4 also gone. In the 50:50 between 1 and 3, but 3 wins because Author believes that ‘airlines will continue to treat people as cattle, serve them bad tea and food etc…nothing change- this shows his ‘cynical tone’.
Q3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
- In the Roman slave galleys, people were kept chained in naked condition.
- VivaColombia is selling tickets in black market with help of criminals.
- The chances of terrorist attack in a railway is less than that in an aeroplane.
- None of the above.
hint: While #3 looks tempting but it’s not given in the passage. Hence answer is “4”.
