The 2018 Codex
Questions 51 to 60 (Set A)
After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what was/were the measure/measures taken by the colonial government?
1. The territories called 'Santhal Paraganas' were created.
2. It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) Both 1 and 2
The Santhal Rebellion (Hul) of 1855-56, led by the brothers Sido and Kanhu, violently shook the British East India Company. The Santhals rebelled against oppressive zamindars, moneylenders (dikus), and British officials. After brutally suppressing the uprising, the British realized they had to conciliate the tribals to prevent future revolts.
Statement 1 is True: They carved out a new, specially administered district called the Santhal Parganas from parts of Bhagalpur and Birbhum, applying special paternalistic laws there.
Statement 2 is True: To protect the Santhals from the predatory moneylenders (who caused the revolt by seizing their lands for debt), the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act made the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals strictly illegal.
Route: [REALM 49: Tribal Movements]The Hul's Legacy
The Forced Harvest
Economically, one of the results of the British rule in India in the 19th century was the
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) commercialization of Indian agriculture
The 19th century under British rule was defined by the systematic extraction of wealth to fuel the Industrial Revolution in England.
A is False: British policies actively destroyed Indian handicrafts (deindustrialization) by flooding India with cheap machine-made textiles and slapping massive tariffs on Indian exports.
B and D are False: Since traditional artisan industries collapsed and modern Indian-owned factories were discouraged, urban artisans lost their jobs and moved *back* to the villages, causing "de-urbanization" and overcrowding in agriculture.
C is True: To feed the factories in Manchester, the British forced the commercialization of agriculture. Indian farmers were forced/incentivized to stop growing food crops and instead grow cash crops like raw cotton, jute, indigo, and opium for export.
Route: [REALM 13: Economic Transformation]If the President of India exercises his power as provided under Article 356 of the Constitution in respect of a particular State, then
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (b)
Article 356 deals with the imposition of "President's Rule" due to the failure of constitutional machinery in a State.
A is False: The State Assembly is NOT automatically dissolved. It is usually kept in "suspended animation" until Parliament approves the proclamation.
C is False: Fundamental Rights (like Article 19) are suspended only under a National Emergency (Article 352), not under President's Rule.
D is False: The President takes over the executive powers. The President does not make laws directly; the legislative power shifts to Parliament (which can then delegate it to the President).
B is True: Article 356 explicitly states that the powers of the State Legislature shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament.
Route: [REALM 88: Article 356 (President's Rule)]The Federal Shift
The Threads of Geography
Consider the following pairs:
| Craft | Heritage of |
|---|---|
| 1. Puthukkuli shawls | Tamil Nadu |
| 2. Sujni embroidery | Maharashtra |
| 3. Uppada Jamdani saris | Karnataka |
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (a) 1 only
Pair 1 is Correct: Puthukkuli (Poothkuli) shawls are the distinct, beautifully embroidered traditional shawls made by the Toda tribal community in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Pair 2 is False: Sujni (or Sujani) is a traditional form of embroidery craft originating from the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, not Maharashtra. (It holds a GI tag for Bihar).
Pair 3 is False: Uppada Jamdani saris are famous handloom silk saris intricately woven in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, not Karnataka.
Route: [REALM 95: Indian Handicrafts]In which of the following areas can GPS technology be used?
1. Mobile phone operations
2. Banking operations
3. Controlling the power grids
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d) 1, 2 and 3
GPS (Global Positioning System) provides three critical services: Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). Most people only think of the "Location" aspect, but the "Timing" aspect is the invisible backbone of modern infrastructure.
1. Mobile Phones: Uses GPS for mapping, location tracking, and tower synchronization.
2. Banking: High-frequency trading, ATM networks, and international wire transfers rely on the ultra-precise atomic clocks onboard GPS satellites to timestamp transactions accurately to the microsecond, preventing fraud and system collisions.
3. Power Grids: Modern power grids use Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) spread across thousands of miles. They use GPS timing to synchronize alternating current (AC) phases precisely, preventing catastrophic blackouts.
Route: [REALM 362: Navigation & Telemetry Tracking] & [REALM 391: Agri, Disaster & Gov Space Apps]The Invisible Metronome
The Debt Manager
Consider the following statements:
1. The Reserve Bank of India manages and services Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities.
2. Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments.
3. Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 2 and 3 only
Statement 1 is False: The RBI acts as the debt manager for both the Central Government and the State Governments. It manages the issuance and servicing of State Development Loans (SDLs), which are State Government Securities.
Statement 2 is True: Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are short-term debt instruments (up to 364 days). Only the Central Government has the authority to issue T-Bills. State governments borrow via long-term bonds (SDLs), but they cannot issue T-Bills.
Statement 3 is True: T-Bills are "zero-coupon bonds." They do not pay regular interest. Instead, they are issued at a discount to their face value (e.g., you buy it for ₹95) and are redeemed at par value at maturity (you get ₹100). The ₹5 difference is the profit/interest.
Route: [REALM 122: Financial Markets] & [REALM 129: Reserve Bank of India]Consider the following statements:
1. The Earth's magnetic field has reversed every few hundred thousand years.
2. When the Earth was created more than 4000 million years ago, there was 54% oxygen and no carbon dioxide.
3. When living organisms originated, they modified the early atmosphere of the Earth.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statement 1 is True: Paleomagnetism confirms that Earth's magnetic poles flip (geomagnetic reversal) roughly every 200,000 to 300,000 years, leaving magnetic "stripes" recorded in cooling magma on the ocean floor.
Statement 2 is False: This is a massive inversion. The early Earth's atmosphere (4.5 billion years ago) was a toxic soup of Hydrogen, Helium, Water Vapor, Methane, Ammonia, and abundant Carbon Dioxide. There was absolutely zero free Oxygen.
Statement 3 is True: About 2.4 billion years ago, early living organisms (cyanobacteria) evolved the ability to photosynthesize. They consumed CO₂ and pumped out massive amounts of Oxygen, completely transforming the Earth's atmosphere (The Great Oxidation Event).
Route: [REALM 03: Evolution of Earth] & [REALM 22: Continental Drift Theory]The Breath of Life
The Digital Hostage
The terms 'WannaCry, Petya and EternalBlue' sometimes mentioned in the news recently are related to
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) Cyber attacks
In May 2017, a massive global cyberattack crippled hospitals, banks, and corporations worldwide. WannaCry and Petya/NotPetya were devastating strains of ransomware (malware that encrypts a user's files and demands Bitcoin payment to unlock them). They spread globally with unprecedented speed by exploiting a Windows vulnerability known as EternalBlue (a hacking tool originally developed by the US NSA and later leaked by hackers).
Route: [REALM 93: Ransomware] & [REALM 91: Cyber Threat Landscape]With reference to the circumstances in Indian agriculture, the concept of "Conservation Agriculture" assumes significance. Which of the following fall under the Conservation Agriculture?
1. Avoiding the monoculture practices
2. Adopting minimum tillage
3. Avoiding the cultivation of plantation crops
4. Using crop residues to cover soil surface
5. Adopting spatial and temporal crop sequencing/crop rotations
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (c) 2, 4 and 5
This is a highly precise definition trap. The UN FAO defines "Conservation Agriculture" strictly by three core interconnected principles:
- Minimum mechanical soil disturbance: i.e., Zero or Minimum Tillage (Statement 2).
- Permanent organic soil cover: using crop residues/mulch to protect the soil (Statement 4).
- Species diversification: specifically through crop rotations and sequencing (Statement 5).
While "avoiding monoculture" (1) is generally good, it is vague and subsumed under the specific scientific practice of crop rotation (5). "Avoiding plantation crops" (3) is entirely irrelevant. Thus, the exact FAO pillars are 2, 4, and 5.
Route: [REALM 328: Conservation Agriculture]The Three Pillars of CA
The Anthropocene Era
The term "sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction" is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
The Secret Whisper
Official Key: (d)
Earth has undergone five major mass extinction events in its history (the most famous being the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction 65 million years ago that killed the dinosaurs, caused by an asteroid).
The "Sixth Mass Extinction" (or Holocene Extinction) is the ongoing, catastrophic rate of species loss currently happening across the globe. Unlike the previous five, which were caused by geological or astronomical anomalies, this one is driven entirely by human activity—habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, ocean acidification, and anthropogenic climate change.
Route: [REALM 79: Mass Extinctions] & [REALM 78: Species Extinction]