UPSC Prelims 2012 Question Paper

Which of the following would include Foreign Direct Investment in India?

1. Subsidiaries of companies in India
2. Majority of foreign equity holding in Indian companies
3. Companies exclusively financed by foreign companies
4. Portfolio investment

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Consider the following statements: The price of any currency in the international market is decided by the

1. World Bank
2. demand for goods/services provided by the country concerned
3. stability of the government of the concerned country
4. economic potential of the country in question

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following specific stages of demographic transition associated with economic development:

1. Low birth rate with a low death rate
2. High birth rate with a high death rate
3. High birth rate with a low death rate

Select the correct order of the above stages using the codes given below:

Despite having large reserves of coal, why does India import millions of tonnes of coal?

1. It is the policy of India to save its own coal reserves for the future, and import it from other countries for the present use.
2. Most of the power plants in India are coal-based and they are not able to get sufficient supplies of coal from within the country.
3. Steel companies need a large quantity of coking coal which has to be imported.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The balance of payments of a country is a systematic record of

Which of the following measures would result in an increase in the money supply in the economy?

1. Purchase of government securities from the public by the Central Bank
2. Deposit of currency in commercial banks by the public
3. Borrowing by the government from the Central Bank
4. Sale of government securities to the public by the Central Bank

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Under which of the following circumstances may ‘capital gains’ arise?

1. When there is an increase in the sales of a product
2. When there is a natural increase in the value of the property owned
3. When you purchase a painting and there is a growth in its value due to increase in its popularity

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Which of the following can be said to be essentially the parts of Inclusive Governance?

1. Permitting the Non-Banking Financial Companies to do banking
2. Establishing effective District Planning Committees in all the districts
3. Increasing government spending on public health
4. Strengthening the Mid-day Meal Scheme

Choose the correct answer:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) acts as a bankers’ bank. This would imply which of the following?

1. Other banks retain their deposits with the RBI.
2. The RBI lends funds to the commercial banks in times of need.
3. The RBI advises the commercial banks on monetary matters.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

What is/are the recent policy initiative(s) of Government of India to promote the growth of the manufacturing sector?

1. Setting up of National Investment and Manufacturing Zones
2. Providing the benefit of ‘single window clearance’
3. Establishing the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

In India, in the overall Index of Industrial Production, the Indices of Eight Core Industries have a combined weight of 37.90%. Which of the following is among those Eight Core Industries?

1. Cement
2. Fertilizers
3. Natural gas
4. Refinery products
5. Textiles

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The Nagara, Dravida and the Vesara are the:

Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with the hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes

With reference to the religious history of medieval India, the Sufi mystics were known to pursue which of the following practices?

1. Meditation and control of breath
2. Severe ascetic exercises in a lonely place
3. Recitation of holy songs to arouse a state of ecstasy in their audience

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

With reference to Dhrupad, one of the major traditions of India that has been kept alive for centuries, which of the following statements are correct?

1. Dhrupad originated and developed in the Rajput kingdoms during the Mughal period.
2. Dhrupad is primarily devotional and spiritual music.
3. Dhrupad Alap uses Sanskrit syllables from Mantras.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

How do you distinguish between Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dances?

1. Dancers occasionally speaking dialogues is found in Kuchipudi dance but not in Bharatanatyam.
2. Dancing on the brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is a feature of Bharatanatyam but Kuchipudi dance does not have such a form of movements.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following was/were common to both Buddhism and Jainism?

1. Avoidance of extremities of penance and enjoyment
2. Indifference to the authority of the Vedas
3. Denial of the efficacy of rituals

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily of -

With reference to the guilds (Shreni) of ancient India that played a very important role in the country’s economy, which of the following statements is /are correct?

1. Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the king was the chief administrative authority on them.
2. The wages, rules of work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild.
3. The guild had judicial powers over its own members.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

With reference to the scientific progress of ancient India, which of the statements given below are correct?

1. Different kinds of specialized surgical instruments were in common use by the 1st century AD.
2. Transplant of internal organs in the human body had begun by the beginning of 3rd century AD.
3. The concept of the sine of an angle was known in 5th century AD.
4. The concept of cyclic quadrilaterals was known in 7th century AD.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below: