The 2015 Codex
Questions 81 to 90 (Set A)
With reference to Indian economy, consider the following statements:
1. The rate of growth of Real Gross Domestic Product has steadily increased in the last decade.
2. The Gross Domestic Product at market prices (in rupees) has steadily increased in the last decade.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
UPSC heavily tests the word "steadily" in economics questions. "Steadily" mathematically implies a monotonic increase without a single dip.
Statement 1 is False: The rate of growth of Real GDP in India fluctuates significantly due to global crises (like 2008), monsoon failures, and policy changes. It has absolutely not "steadily increased" over any given decade; it rises and falls cyclically.
Statement 2 is False: While the absolute nominal GDP generally trends upward due to inflation, the UPSC key considered it false because even the absolute GDP at market prices saw minor fluctuations or the growth trajectory was not perfectly "steady" in the context of dollar depreciation or specific economic shocks during that specific decade (2005-2015).
Route: [REALM 97: National Income Accounting & GDP Trends]The Volatility Trap
The Upper Chamber
Consider the following statements:
1. The Legislative Council of a State in India can be larger in size than half of the Legislative Assembly of that particular State.
2. The Governor of a State nominates the Chairman of Legislative Council of that particular State.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
This tests the constitutional composition of State Legislatures under Article 171.
Statement 1 is False: The total number of members in the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) of a State having such a Council shall not exceed one-third (1/3rd) of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that State. It absolutely cannot be "half".
Statement 2 is False: The Chairman of the Legislative Council is not nominated by the Governor. Just like the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman of the Legislative Council is elected by the members of the Council from amongst themselves.
Route: [REALM 78: State Legislature (Art. 171)]"To uphold and protect the Sovereignty, Unity and Integrity of India" is a provision made in the
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) Fundamental Duties
This is a classic UPSC verbatim quote trap. Many students blindly guess "Preamble" because the words "Sovereign" and "Unity and Integrity" appear there.
However, the exact phrase "To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India" is explicitly listed under Article 51A (c) as one of the Fundamental Duties of every citizen of India. (Added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee).
Route: [REALM 48: Fundamental Duties (Art 51A)]The Citizen's Duty
The Living Network
Which one of the following is the best description of the term 'ecosystem'?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) A community of organisms together with the environment in which they live
This tests foundational definitions in ecology.
- Community (Option A): Only refers to the living (biotic) organisms interacting.
- Biosphere (Option B): Refers to the entire part of the Earth where life exists.
- Ecosystem (Option C): Coined by A.G. Tansley, it is the fundamental functional unit of ecology. It MUST include both the living community (biotic factors) AND their physical, non-living surroundings (abiotic environment) interacting as a system.
- Biodiversity/Biome (Option D): Just listing flora and fauna doesn't capture the dynamic interaction with the physical environment.
The fundamental object of Panchayati Raj system is to ensure which among the following?
1. People's participation in development
2. Political accountability
3. Democratic decentralization
4. Financial mobilization
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 1 and 3 only
The philosophy of the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) was primarily established by the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957).
The committee explicitly stated that the fundamental objective of PRI is "Democratic Decentralization" (3)—shifting power away from the capital down to the village level—to ensure direct "People's participation in development" (1) programs.
While "Political accountability" (2) is a byproduct of any election, it is not the *fundamental object* of the system. "Financial mobilization" (4) (tax collection) is actually the weakest point of PRIs and certainly not their primary philosophical goal.
Route: [REALM 143: Panchayati Raj Institutions (Objectives)]The Grassroots Power
The Dual Levers
With reference to Indian economy, consider the following:
1. Bank rate
2. Open market operations
3. Public debt
4. Public revenue
Which of the above is/are component/components of Monetary Policy?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 1 and 2
This perfectly tests the difference between the RBI's job and the Finance Ministry's job.
- Monetary Policy: Handled entirely by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to manage money supply and interest rates. Its tools include Bank Rate (1), Repo Rate, CRR, SLR, and Open Market Operations (2) (buying/selling government bonds).
- Fiscal Policy: Handled entirely by the Government of India (Ministry of Finance). It deals with the budget, taxation (Public Revenue - 4), spending, and borrowing (Public Debt - 3).
With reference to inflation in India, which of the following statements is correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) Decreased money circulation helps in controlling the inflation
Inflation is classically defined as "too much money chasing too few goods" (Demand-pull inflation).
To control inflation, the central bank (RBI) absorbs excess liquidity from the market (via tools like increasing the Repo Rate or CRR). Decreasing money circulation (c) lowers purchasing power, which drops demand, thereby stabilizing or lowering prices.
Why others are wrong: Options (a) and (b) are absurd absolutes. Controlling inflation is a joint responsibility. The RBI formally targets inflation via Monetary Policy, while the Government controls supply-side bottlenecks and fiscal deficits.
Route: [REALM 119: Inflation Dynamics]The Money Valve
The NPT Club
Consider the following countries:
1. China
2. France
3. India
4. Israel
5. Pakistan
Which among the above are Nuclear Weapons States as recognized by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) 1 and 2 only
The NPT (opened for signature in 1968) contains a highly discriminatory, iron-clad definition of a "Nuclear-Weapon State" (NWS).
Article IX of the NPT legally defines an NWS exclusively as a country that manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon prior to January 1, 1967. There are only exactly five countries that meet this strict historical criterion: USA, Russia, UK, France (2), and China (1)—the "P5".
Although India, Pakistan, and Israel possess nuclear weapons today, they tested them after 1967. They have never signed the NPT and are absolutely not recognized as nuclear-weapon states under the treaty.
Route: [REALM 191: Nuclear Treaties (NPT)]The ideal of 'Welfare State' in the Indian Constitution is enshrined in its
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) Directive Principles of State Policy
While the Preamble outlines the goal of justice (social, economic, and political), the actual operative blueprint for establishing a Welfare State in India is comprehensively detailed in Part IV: the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
Article 38 explicitly mandates the State to secure a social order for the promotion of the welfare of the people. Unlike Fundamental Rights (which are negative injunctions establishing a police/political state), DPSPs are positive obligations on the government to actively provide health, education, equal pay, and livelihood—the very definition of a Welfare State.
Route: [REALM 49: DPSP: Philosophy & Welfare State]The Dual Democracy
The Capital Upgrade
The substitution of steel for wooden ploughs in agricultural production is an example of
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b) capital-augmenting technological progress
In economic theory, the factors of production are primarily Land, Labor, and Capital. "Capital" refers to tools, machinery, and equipment used to produce goods.
A wooden plough is a basic piece of capital. Replacing it with a highly durable, efficient steel plough means you are upgrading the physical machinery. This technological progress directly increases the efficiency and productivity of the capital employed in farming without necessarily changing the labor input. Therefore, it is definitively a capital-augmenting technological progress.
Route: [REALM 97: Core Economics (Factors of Production)]