UPSC Prelims 2015 Question Paper

Detailed Explanation:

❌ Pair 1 – Incorrect: Champaka (Chamba) was located in present-day Himachal Pradesh, not Central India.
✅ Pair 2 – Correct: Durgara corresponds to the present-day Jammu region.
❌ Pair 3 – Incorrect: Kuluta (Kullu) was situated in present-day Himachal Pradesh (Kullu Valley), not Malabar; Malabar refers to the southwestern coastal region of India.

Detailed Explanation:

Harihara I founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336 along with his brother Bukka I, establishing the capital Vijayanagara (Hampi) on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River (a tributary of the Krishna River).

The rulers of the Sangama dynasty ruled as agents of the deity Virupaksha (a form of Lord Shiva), who was believed to be the true owner of all land south of the Krishna River, with royal orders signed in the name of 'Shri Virupaksha'.

Detailed Explanation:

❌ Statement 1 – Incorrect: Gunpowder was already known in India by the mid-14th century during the Delhi Sultanate period; Babur introduced superior field artillery technology, not gunpowder itself.

❌ Statement 2 – Incorrect: The arch and dome were introduced to India by the Turks during the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, with examples like Alai Darwaza and Qutb Minar complex predating Babur's arrival.

✅ Statement 3 – Correct: Babur was a direct descendant of Timur and established the Timurid dynasty (Mughal Empire) in India after his victory at the First Battle of Panipat (1526) against Ibrahim Lodi.

Detailed Explanation:

The Fortaleza Declaration was adopted at the 6th BRICS Summit held in Fortaleza, Brazil in July 2014.

Key outcomes included the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), making it a landmark declaration for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) cooperation in financial and economic matters.

Detailed Explanation:

Amnesty International is a global human rights movement and non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1961 with over 7 million members worldwide.

It campaigns for the protection of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, focusing on issues like freedom of expression, abolition of death penalty, refugee rights, and prevention of torture—it is not a UN agency nor specifically focused on poverty alleviation or medical emergencies.

Detailed Explanation:

Golan Heights is a 1,200 sq-km rocky plateau located in the Middle East, strategically positioned between Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Originally Syrian territory, it was occupied by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War and later annexed in 1981 (not internationally recognized).

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Statement 2 – Correct: Cambodia is a founding member of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) launched in 2000.

✅ Statement 4 – Correct: Myanmar is one of the five ASEAN countries participating in MGC alongside India.

✅ Statement 5 – Correct: Thailand is a member country of MGC representing the Mekong basin region.

❌ Statement 1 – Incorrect: Bangladesh is NOT a member of MGC; the initiative includes only India and five ASEAN nations (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam).

❌ Statement 3 – Incorrect: China is NOT a participant in MGC, despite the Mekong River originating in the Tibetan Plateau.

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Statement 1 – Correct: China is recognized as a Nuclear Weapon State (NWS) under the NPT, having tested nuclear weapons before January 1, 1967.

✅ Statement 2 – Correct: France is recognized as a Nuclear Weapon State (NWS) under the NPT.

❌ Statement 3 – Incorrect: India has never signed the NPT and is not recognized as an NWS under the treaty, despite possessing nuclear weapons.

❌ Statement 4 – Incorrect: Israel has never signed the NPT and is not recognized as an NWS under the treaty.

❌ Statement 5 – Incorrect: Pakistan has never signed the NPT and is not recognized as an NWS under the treaty.

Only five states are recognized as NWS under the NPT: USA, Russia, UK, France, and China (the P5 members of the UN Security Council).

Detailed Explanation:

❌ Statement 1 – Incorrect: IOR-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association) was established in March 1997 in Mauritius, not recently, to promote economic and technical cooperation among Indian Ocean rim countries, not in response to piracy or oil spills.

❌ Statement 2 – Incorrect: IOR-ARC is a multi-sectoral regional cooperation platform covering trade, investment, tourism, fisheries, and cultural cooperation, not limited to maritime security only.

Detailed Explanation:

Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), and Peace Clause are all key agreements/provisions under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

AoA regulates international agricultural trade and subsidies; SPS Agreement sets standards for food safety and plant/animal health in trade; Peace Clause protects developing countries from legal challenges on certain agricultural subsidies provided they meet specified conditions.

Detailed Explanation:

❌ Statement 1 – Incorrect: India is not a member of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation); it has sought membership but faces opposition from some existing members.
❌ Statement 2 – Incorrect: India is not a member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), though it is a Sectoral Dialogue Partner (1992) and Full Dialogue Partner (1995).
✅ Statement 3 – Correct: India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit (EAS) since its inception in 2005, a key platform for regional strategic dialogue.

Detailed Explanation:

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is a comprehensive agenda for women's empowerment adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995.

It was convened by the United Nations and identified 12 critical areas of concern including women and poverty, violence against women, women in power and decision-making, and education and training of women.

Detailed Explanation:

The provision "To uphold and protect the Sovereignty, Unity and Integrity of India" is enshrined in Article 51A(c) of the Constitution.

This is one of the 11 Fundamental Duties added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.

Detailed Explanation:

The Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV, Articles 36-51) embody the ideal of a Welfare State by laying down socio-economic goals for the government to achieve, such as securing social order for public welfare (Article 38), ensuring adequate means of livelihood (Article 39), and promoting public health and nutrition (Article 47).

While the Preamble declares India as a socialist republic and Fundamental Rights protect individual freedoms, it is the DPSP that specifically provides the comprehensive framework and guidelines for establishing a welfare state through positive state action.

Detailed Explanation:

Parliamentary System is characterized by the fusion of executive and legislature, where the executive (Council of Ministers) is drawn from and remains collectively responsible to the legislature.

Article 75(3) mandates that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha — meaning the government must maintain the confidence of the lower house to remain in power. This accountability to the legislature is the defining feature that distinguishes a Parliamentary system from a Presidential system (where the executive is independent of legislative confidence).

Direct election of Lok Sabha, power to amend Constitution, and permanent nature of Rajya Sabha are features found in various democratic systems and do not define the Parliamentary character of government.

Detailed Explanation:

Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule both provide special provisions for the administration and protection of Scheduled Tribes in India.

Fifth Schedule applies to Scheduled Areas in states (except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram) and provides for Tribes Advisory Councils (TACs) to advise Governors on tribal welfare, land rights, and customary practices.

Sixth Schedule applies to tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram and creates Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with legislative and administrative powers to preserve tribal customs, land ownership, and self-governance.

Detailed Explanation:

The Supreme Court of India is the Custodian of the Constitution, safeguarding Fundamental Rights under Article 32, exercising Judicial Review under Article 13, and ensuring all laws conform to constitutional provisions.

The Court settles Centre-State disputes (Article 131), declares binding law (Article 141), enforces decrees (Article 142), and advises the President (Article 143), making it the ultimate guardian of constitutional supremacy.

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Statement 1 – Correct: Under Article 109, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a Money Bill; it can only return it with recommendations within 14 days, which the Lok Sabha may accept or reject.

✅ Statement 2 – Correct: The Rajya Sabha cannot vote on Demands for Grants as per Article 113; this is the exclusive privilege of the Lok Sabha.

❌ Statement 3 – Incorrect: The Rajya Sabha can discuss the Annual Financial Statement (Budget) under Article 112, though it cannot vote on the demands for grants.

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Statement 1 – Correct: People's participation in development is a fundamental objective of the Panchayati Raj system, enabling grassroots involvement in local planning and development as envisaged in Article 40 and operationalized through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992.

❌ Statement 2 – Incorrect: While political accountability emerges as a consequence, it is not among the fundamental objectives; the primary aim is to create institutions for self-governance, not to establish accountability mechanisms per se.

✅ Statement 3 – Correct: Democratic decentralization is the core principle of Panchayati Raj, transferring power from centralized structures to local self-government institutions to ensure governance at the grassroots level.

❌ Statement 4 – Incorrect: Financial mobilization is an operational aspect and a means to achieve development goals, but not a fundamental object of the system; the focus is on democratic participation and decentralization.

Detailed Explanation:

❌ Statement 1 – Incorrect: The Department of Economic Affairs (under Ministry of Finance), not the Department of Revenue, prepares the Union Budget presented to Parliament.

✅ Statement 2 – Correct: Article 114 of the Constitution mandates that no money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India without parliamentary authorization through the Appropriation Act.

❌ Statement 3 – Incorrect: Public Account transactions (provident funds, judicial deposits, remittances) are operated by executive action and do not require parliamentary appropriation, functioning like banking transactions.