The 2015 Codex
Questions 61 to 70 (Set A)
Who/Which of the following is the custodian of the Constitution of India?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) The Supreme Court of India
This is a foundational concept of Indian Polity. While the President takes an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" (Article 60), the ultimate custodian, guardian, and final interpreter of the Constitution is the Supreme Court of India.
Through its power of Judicial Review, the Supreme Court ensures that no legislative act or executive order violates the basic structure or the provisions of the Constitution, thereby safeguarding the fundamental rights of the citizens.
Route: [REALM 82: The Supreme Court & Judicial Review]The Guardian's Shield
The Water Grid
Consider the following statements:
1. The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme was launched during 1996-97 to provide loan assistance to poor farmers.
2. The Command Area Development Programme was launched in 1974-75 for the development of water-use efficiency.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) 2 only
This tests the core objectives of massive legacy infrastructure programs.
Statement 1 is False: The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) was indeed launched in 1996-97, but its objective was NOT to provide small loans to poor farmers. Its massive macroeconomic goal was to provide Central Loan Assistance (CLA) directly to State Governments so they could finally complete their massive, long-pending, and expensive major/medium irrigation projects.
Statement 2 is True: The Command Area Development Programme (CADP) was launched in 1974-75. Even after dams were built, water wasn't reaching the fields effectively. CADP was created to construct field channels and land leveling to bridge the gap between "irrigation potential created" and "potential utilized", directly developing water-use efficiency.
Route: [REALM 63: Irrigation Schemes & Infrastructure]The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is constituted under the
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex statutory body in India responsible for approving the commercial release and large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and genetically engineered organisms (like Bt Cotton or GM Mustard).
Because releasing altered genes into the wild poses a massive potential threat to native ecology and biodiversity, it is not placed under agricultural or food acts. It is constituted directly under the Rules for the Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells, 1989, which itself was framed under the overarching umbrella of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Route: [REALM 194: Environment (Protection) Act & GEAC]The Gene Gatekeeper
The Two Rivers
In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/participants?
1. Bangladesh
2. Cambodia
3. China
4. Myanmar
5. Thailand
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 1 and 3
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established in the year 2000 to foster tourism, culture, education, and transport linkages between India and the Mekong region.
It consists of exactly 6 member countries: India (representing the Ganga) and 5 ASEAN countries through which the Mekong flows: Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
The traps: Although the Mekong river physically originates in China, China is NOT a member of the MGC. Similarly, although the Ganga physically flows into Bangladesh, Bangladesh is NOT a member. Therefore, 1 and 3 are not participants.
Route: [REALM 89: Regional Groupings (MGC)]'Basel III Accord' or simply 'Basel III', often seen in the news, seeks to
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) improve banking sector's ability to deal with financial and economic stress and improve risk management
The Basel Accords (issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in Basel, Switzerland) are the global gold standard for banking regulations.
Basel III was specifically developed in direct response to the deficiencies exposed by the 2008 global financial crisis. It mandates much stricter capital requirements (Capital Adequacy Ratios), tighter leverage ratios, and stringent liquidity buffers to ensure that massive commercial banks can absorb shocks and survive severe economic stress without needing taxpayer bailouts.
Note: Options A, C, and D are descriptions of the CBD, Kyoto Protocol, and Montreal Protocol, respectively.
Route: [REALM 121: Banking Sector Reforms (Basel Norms)]The Three Pillars
The Wind Belts
Consider the following statements:
1. The winds which blow between 30° N and 60° S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
2. The moist air masses that cause winter rains in North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) 2 only
This question contains one of the sneakiest geographical traps in UPSC history.
Statement 1 is False: Read it carefully: "between 30° N and 60° S". This massive band covers the entire equatorial and tropical region where the Trade Winds (Easterlies) blow. Westerlies only blow in the mid-latitudes, specifically between 30°N and 60°N, and between 30°S and 60°S. They do not cross the equator.
Statement 2 is True: The winter rains in North-Western India (Punjab, Haryana) are caused by Western Disturbances. These are extra-tropical storms originating in the Mediterranean Sea that are carried to India by the Sub-Tropical Westerly Jet Stream.
Route: [REALM 11: Global Wind Systems] & [REALM 14: Western Disturbances]With reference to 'Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)', consider the following statements:
1. It was established very recently in response to incidents of piracy and accidents of oil spills.
2. It is an alliance meant for maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
The Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)—now simply called the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)—is a major regional forum.
Statement 1 is False: It was not established "very recently". It was founded in 1997 under the initiative of Nelson Mandela and India. It was also not formed as a reactionary military response to piracy or oil spills.
Statement 2 is False: "Maritime security only" is an absolute trap. While maritime security is one component, IORA's primary mandate is broad regional economic cooperation, focusing on trade facilitation, investment, academic exchanges, disaster risk management, and fisheries.
Route: [REALM 89: Regional Groupings (IORA)]The Ocean Cooperative
The Surat Fracture
Which one of the following movements has contributed to a split in the Indian National Congress resulting in the emergence of 'moderates' and 'extremists'?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) Swadeshi Movement
The historic Surat Split of 1907, which formally fractured the Indian National Congress into Moderates and Extremists, was the direct political fallout of the Swadeshi Movement (which began in 1905 to protest the Partition of Bengal).
The core disagreement was over the scope of the movement: The Extremists (Tilak, Aurobindo) wanted to take the boycott of British goods outside Bengal to the rest of India and launch a full-scale political mass struggle. The Moderates (Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta) wanted to strictly confine the movement to Bengal and rely solely on constitutional methods and petitions.
Route: [REALM 26: Swadeshi Movement & Surat Split]The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) Meghalaya
This beautifully describes the Jingkieng Jri (Living Root Bridges). Found in the dense, rain-soaked tropical forests of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, these bridges are hand-woven by the indigenous Khasi and Jaintia tribes.
They use the aerial roots of the Indian Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica) and train them across fast-flowing rivers using hollowed-out betel nut trunks. Because the roots are alive and continuously growing, the bridges actually become stronger and thicker with every passing decade, capable of holding up to 50 people at once.
Route: [REALM 14: Indigenous Architecture & Biodiversity (North East)]The Bio-Engineering Marvel
The Celestial Pull
Tides occur in the oceans and seas due to which among the following?
1. Gravitational force of the Sun
2. Gravitational force of the Moon
3. Centrifugal force of the Earth
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Tides are the rhythmic rise and fall of ocean water twice a day. They are caused by a complex interplay of three distinct forces:
- 2. Lunar Gravity: The Moon's gravitational pull is the primary driver, pulling water toward it to create the primary high tide bulge on the side of Earth facing the Moon.
- 1. Solar Gravity: The Sun's gravity also pulls on the Earth's oceans. When aligned with the Moon (syzygy), it amplifies the tides (Spring Tides). When at right angles, it diminishes them (Neap Tides).
- 3. Centrifugal Force: This is the secret ingredient. As the Earth-Moon system spins around its common center of mass (barycenter), the resulting centrifugal force flings water outward on the opposite side of the Earth, creating the second, counter-balancing high tide bulge.