UPSC 2023: Nexus 51—60

Unearthing the structural logic of the paper. [Set A]

Question 51

Welfare Schemes

Consider the following statements in relation to Janani Suraksha Yojana:

It is a safe motherhood intervention of the State Health Departments.
Its objective is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality among poor pregnant women.
It aims to promote institutional delivery among poor pregnant women.
Its objective includes providing public health facilities to sick infants up to one year of age.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) Only two

The Core Concept: Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the National Health Mission (NHM), not a State Health Department intervention (Statement 1 is false). Its core mandate is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality (2) by promoting institutional deliveries (3). Providing health facilities to sick infants up to one year of age (4) falls under a different scheme: the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK). Thus, only 2 and 3 are correct.

Tethered to: REALM 11: Women & Child Schemes

Question 52

Public Health

Consider the following statements in the context of interventions being undertaken under Anaemia Mukt Bharat Strategy:

It provides prophylactic calcium supplementation for pre-school children, adolescents and pregnant women.
It runs a campaign for delayed cord clamping at the time of childbirth.
It provides for periodic deworming to children and adolescents.
It addresses non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic pockets...

How many of the statements given above are correct?

Official Verdict: (c) Only three

The Core Concept: Anaemia is a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin, primarily caused by iron deficiency. The AMB strategy provides Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation, not Calcium, making Statement 1 incorrect. It actively promotes delayed cord clamping (to allow more blood transfer to the newborn), periodic deworming (parasites cause blood loss), and treats non-nutritional causes like malaria and fluorosis.

Tethered to: REALM 185: Malnutrition

Question 53

Materials Science

Consider the following statements:

1: Carbon fibres are used in the manufacture of components used in automobiles and aircrafts.
2: Carbon fibres once used cannot be recycled.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (a) 1 only

The Core Concept: Carbon fibre is renowned for its high stiffness, high tensile strength, and low weight, making it the premier choice for modern aerospace and performance automotive engineering (1 is correct). The trap is Statement 2: while notoriously difficult to recycle because the fibers are bound in hardened thermoset resins, they can absolutely be recycled using advanced thermal (pyrolysis) or chemical (solvolysis) processes.

Tethered to: REALM 14: Alloys & Ind. Materials

Question 54

Sensor Technology

Consider the following actions:

Detection of car crash/collision which results in the deployment of airbags almost instantaneously.
Detection of accidental free fall of a laptop towards the ground which results in the immediate turning off of the hard drive.
Detection of the tilt of the smartphone which results in the rotation of display between portrait and landscape mode.

In how many of the above actions is the function of accelerometer required?

Official Verdict: (c) All three

The Core Concept: An accelerometer is an electromechanical device (often a MEMS chip) that measures proper acceleration. It detects the massive sudden deceleration of a car crash (triggering airbags), the zero-G state of a falling laptop (triggering the read-write head to park to prevent data loss), and the constant pull of Earth's gravity to know which way a phone is tilted.

Tethered to: REALM 525: Robotics Foundations & Sensors

Question 55

Agricultural Tech

With reference to the role of biofilters in Recirculating Aquaculture System, consider the following statements:

Biofilters provide waste treatment by removing uneaten fish feed.
Biofilters convert ammonia present in fish waste to nitrate.
Biofilters increase phosphorus as nutrient for fish in water.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) Only two

The Core Concept: In an RAS, fish excrete highly toxic ammonia. The primary, critical role of a biofilter is to host nitrifying bacteria that convert this ammonia into nitrite, and then into relatively harmless nitrate (Statement 2 is true). While mechanical filters usually remove solid waste, biofilters also trap and biologically degrade dissolved organic solids and uneaten feed (making Statement 1 broadly acceptable in system contexts). However, biofilters do not increase phosphorus; they actually consume it slightly or require its removal. Thus, 1 and 2 are accepted.

Tethered to: REALM 308: Fisheries & Aquaculture

Question 56

Astrophysics

Consider the following pairs:

Cepheids: Giant clouds of dust and gas in space
Nebulae: Stars which brighten and dim periodically
Pulsars: Neutron stars that are formed when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Official Verdict: (a) Only one

The Core Concept: The examiner swapped the first two definitions. Nebulae are the giant clouds of dust and gas (star nurseries). Cepheids (Cepheid variables) are stars that brighten and dim periodically, used by astronomers as cosmic yardsticks to measure galactic distances. Only the definition of Pulsars (highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation) is correct.

Tethered to: REALM 106: Stars & Stellar Evolution

Question 57

Space Technology

Which one of the following countries has its own Satellite Navigation System?

(a) Australia
(b) Canada
(c) Israel
(d) Japan

Official Verdict: (d) Japan

The Core Concept: Building a sovereign satellite navigation system is incredibly expensive and strategically restricted. Global systems include GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), and BeiDou (China). Regional systems include NavIC (India) and the QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) built by Japan. Australia, Canada, and Israel rely on allied systems (primarily US GPS).

Tethered to: REALM 381: Starlink, GPS, NavIC, Galileo

Question 58

Defence Technology

Consider the following statements:

1: Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their flights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of flight.
2: Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

The Core Concept: Both statements are completely inverted. Cruise missiles (like BrahMos) are jet-propelled and fly low within the atmosphere. Ballistic missiles are rocket-powered, exiting the atmosphere in a parabolic trajectory before free-falling to the target. Furthermore, Agni-V is an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile), whereas BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile.

Tethered to: REALM 407: Ballistic & Cruise Missiles

Question 59

Toxicology

Consider the following statements regarding mercury pollution:

Gold mining activity is a source of mercury pollution in the world.
Coal-based thermal power plants cause mercury pollution.
There is no known safe level of exposure to mercury.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Official Verdict: (c) All three

The Core Concept: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest global source of anthropogenic mercury emissions, as liquid mercury is used to amalgamate gold from ore. Coal naturally contains trace amounts of mercury, which is vaporized and released when burned in thermal power plants. Finally, the WHO states unequivocally that mercury is highly toxic to human health, and there is no known safe level of exposure.

Tethered to: REALM 167: Toxicology

Question 60

Emerging Tech

With reference to green hydrogen, consider the following statements:

It can be used directly as a fuel for internal combustion.
It can be blended with natural gas and used as fuel for heat or power generation.
It can be used in the hydrogen fuel cell to run vehicles.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Official Verdict: (c) All three

The Core Concept: Green Hydrogen is incredibly versatile. It is already used to power specially modified Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). NTPC and other utilities are actively blending H2 with Piped Natural Gas (H-CNG) to reduce emissions in cooking and heating. Finally, its most famous application is generating electricity in a fuel cell (combining with Oxygen to release water) to drive electric motors in FCVs (Fuel Cell Vehicles).

Tethered to: REALM 349: Hydrogen Energy & Green Future