Since the worldwide inoculation process is going strong, vaccine diplomacy has become a hot topic. In their quest for ensuring
vaccine security, a report by The New York Times, based on the data on vaccine contracts compiled by Duke University,
shows that the advance purchase contracts made by some advanced countries for potential vaccines would vaccinate their
population many times: the European Union, two times, the United States and the United Kingdom, four times, and Canada,
six times. The expectation that an early vaccination will bring back normalcy and a required push to economic growth fuelled
many advanced countries to engage in vaccine battles. The arguments of public good and global cooperation have gone out of
the window now. While advanced countries have turned their back on the need of poor countries to access COVID-19 vaccines,
India has displayed empathy to their needs. India has taken a position that a significant percentage of the approved doses will
be permitted for exports. While its exports to neighbouring countries will be under grant mode, initial shipment of vaccines to
least developed countries will be free of cost. And, shipments of vaccines from India have already started reaching different
parts of the developing world. While India is in its first phase of vaccination to cover health-care workers, exports from India are
helping other countries also in initiating phase one of their vaccination programme, a gesture well appreciated globally. In a
democracy, one can expect the backlash of sending vaccines abroad without vaccinating its population. Nevertheless, India’s
approach only reinforces the need of having coordinated global efforts in bringing COVID-19 under control. This response
manifests India’s unstinted commitment to global development and has consolidated its name as the world’s pharmacy. The
attitude of India towards vaccinating the populations in the poorer countries has generated discussion in the richer countries
about the necessity for more proactive measures to roll out vaccines to the developing nations.
Q. 1 Which of the following best describes the purpose of this passage?
Q. 5 Among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the third goal reads, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for
all at all ages”. Which of the following sentences from the passage reflects the reversal of this SDG?
Read an extract from A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle: “I rang the door-bell and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own.”
With hardly a word spoken, Sherlock Holmes waved me to an armchair. Then he stood before the fire and looked me
over in his singular introspective fashion.
“Watson, you did not tell me that you intended to go into harness. ”
“Then, how do you know?”
“I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most
clumsy and careless servant girl?”
“My dear Holmes,” said I, “this is too much. It is true that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a
dreadful mess, but as I have changed my clothes, I can’t imagine how you deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is
incorrigible, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it out. ”
‘It is simplicity itself,” said he; “my eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it,
the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously, they have been caused by someone who has very
carelessly scared round the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence, you see, my double
deduction that you had been out in vile weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot- slitting specimen of the
London slavey.”
In fiction, detectives like Holmes are usually portrayed as people with exceptionally brilliant minds. They possess the rare skill
to see and analyze what ordinary people can’t. They have incredible abilities to infer, deduce, induce and conclude.
Then, there is G.K. Chesterton’s fictional catholic priest, Father Brown who relies on his extraordinary power of sympathy and
empathy that enable him to imagine and feel as criminals do. He explains, “I had thought out exactly how a thing like that could
be done, and in what style or state of mind a man could really do it. And when I was quite sure that I felt exactly like the
murderer myself, of course I knew who he was.”
Sherlock finds the criminal by starting from the outside. He relies on science, experimental methods and deduction. On the
contrary, Father Brown uses varied psychological experiences learned from those who make confessions of crime to him. He
relies on introspection, intuition and empathy.
There is yet another set of detectives like those created by writers like Agatha Christie. Her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot
is a story-teller who draws information from the stories that others tell. He patiently listens to numerous accounts of what
happened, where it happened and how it happened. He listens for credibility and ambiguity; he identifies why and how the
pieces of the jig-saws don’t fit together. Ultimately, he uncovers the truth.
In the domain of education, the current pandemic has made three things clear. It has proved beyond any doubt that we need
schools. Irrespective of which country one talks about, students and parents want schools to open and function in full glory,
with appropriate precautions. Secondly, it has shown that technology may prove to be useful in education if it is employed
thoughtfully. Random surfing of the Internet may lead to a collection of pieces of information that do not add up to any meaning.
As Noam Chomsky says, “You cannot pursue any kind of inquiry without a relatively clear framework that is directing your
search and helping you choose what is significant and what is not.” Moreover, there cannot be any hegemonic technomanagerial
solutions to the linguistic and cultural heterogeneity of students; technology must help us to respect individual,
peer group and community needs and aspirations. Thirdly, a convergence of the efforts of the public, civil society and private
enterprise will have to take place if we wish technology to meaningfully mediate between school and home, particularly among
underprivileged groups.
The concept, structure and functioning of a school/college should not be trivialised in any way. This institution has survived
since ancient times in spite of proposals for “de-schooling” of various kinds. It is true that schools to a great extent perpetuate
the status quo and, as Ivan Illich observed, encourage “consumerism” and “obedience to authority”; but it is also true that those
who produced some of the most revolutionary moments in history, including quantum jumps in knowledge, also went to school.
The kind of web of learners Illich imagines may in fact have its roots in schools. There are also people who trivialise schools for
the kind of investments they demand in terms of space, buildings, teachers, libraries and labs and other infrastructure.
One thing you never forget is the school you went to, friends you made there and the kind of teachers who taught you; the kind
of teachers you loved, the kind you mocked at with friends. You recollect nostalgically the sports and other co-curricular
activities you took part in. Some of you may still have preserved your school blazer, trophies and photographs with a sense of
joy. It is important to see school holistically; it is not a set of atomic items of rooms, library, assembly halls, canteen and
playgrounds; it is all of these but in symbiotic relationship with each other, the contours of which are often far too obvious and
often simply mysterious.
Q. 11 Which one of the following is the author trying to suggest by quoting Noam Chomsky?
Since long, we have witnessed unimaginable levels of success and failure of various projects, businesses, scientific missions
and even wars. From such triumphs and defeats emerges the much debatable thought: Is planning and strategy more important
than execution?
Some project leaders and their teams are of the view that planning leads to clarity of objectives; it helps to set the timeline and
the budget. Consequently, when the planning is haphazard and unstructured, the very aims of the projects become hazy. This
further leads to unprecedented budget collapses and poor time-management. In some cases, teams have worked relentlessly
to complete assignments, but poor planning has invariably led to customer dissatisfaction and at times a complete collapse of
the entire project. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
Numerous entrepreneurs have the faith that strategies help to enhance not only speed and quality of production, but also
consumer satisfaction. If there are no strategies to tackle unplanned events or unexpected interruptions, there is a possibility
of entire projects coming to a grinding halt.
Some of the world’s best airports, bridges and astronomical missions are the result of careful planning and excellent strategies.
However, there are some architects, artists and entrepreneurs who prefer to dive straight from the board of ideas into the pool
of execution. They believe that suitable strategies are best shaped during the process of execution; great plans and strategies
can fail while encountering unexpected situations.
Steve Jobs says, “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.”
According to Bill Gates, unhappy customers are the greatest source of learning. Fickle- minded consumers and wavering
market trends can mar projects that stand on fixed plans. It is the need-based, flexible and innovative strategies that help to
withstand the impact of these vacillating desires and trends.
After rigorous planning and testing a new recipe on two lakh consumers, in 1985, the company Coke brought out the New
Coke. Much to the company’s dismay, the product did not take off as expected and the financial loss was enormous. The
company realized that during the process of data collection, it had not considered the product-loyalty and old-fashioned habits
of the consumers.
Hence, a balance of pragmatic planning, effective strategies and efficient execution is likely to ensure the accomplishment of
tasks at each stage of a project. Successful execution is not an easy journey. The road is winding and bumpy. It may require
tweaking or at times abandoning the original plan and re-designing it.
Often, we turn to nature for inspiration. Think plans and strategies are the seed; execution is the nourishment; consumer is the
capricious weather.
A new report forecasting that India can create millions more jobs over the coming years in the gig economy underscores a
fundamental shift in the nature of work. While automation swept through factory floors and BPOs reduced manpower requirements,
e-commerce, ride hailing and food delivery apps, streaming media and fintech have created lakhs of temporary jobs in the
services sector. Although the jury is still out on the quality of life accorded by such gigs and the social security benefits they
accord, recall that informalisation of jobs started much earlier. The report by Boston Consulting Group and Michael & Susan
Dell Foundation predicts 90 million flexi and gig jobs in a decade from 8 million now, contributing transactions valued at more
than $250 billion and an additional 1.25% to India’s GDP. Obviously, technological evolutions are hard to predict. A decade ago,
few, if any, had divined these new jobs. Accepting change as the sole constant, it is equally critical to create the socioeconomic
framework that can support such jobs.
Expecting startups fuelled by venture capital and presently unprofitable to treat gig workers as regular employees isn’t practical.
Such moves could impede innovation and investment. But if central and state governments could deliver in areas like public
health, education, insurance and food security, anxieties generated by unsteady, irregular unemployment can be managed
better. Last year’s nationwide lockdown when the suddenly unemployed migrant workers panicked and bolted, untrusting the
promises of governments to care for them, served out this lesson in poignant detail. The gig economy does promise flexibility
and improved choices for many women and part time workers. Every technological revolution till date has effaced some jobs
and created plentiful others. There is room for optimism in the rapidly emerging tech-mediated world, but only upon strengthening
the support of educational and health infrastructure.
Q. 21 The report by Boston Consulting Group and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Following the transition to democracy, with the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president in 1994, South Africa was faced
with the task of dealing with its past, as well as undertaking some action to deal with structural social injustice. The Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC), heralded as the most ambitious and organised attempt to deal with crimes of a past regime
through a concept of truth, came into force on 19th July 1995 in South Africa. Emerging as a political strategy to acknowledge
past suffering whilst promoting a future based on the concerns of social justice, the rule of law and reconciliation, the Commission
has struggled to fulfil its objectives. Although the TRC incorporated these broader concerns into the mandate of its three subcommittees,
they were disregarded in practice. These sub-committees, which reflected concerns for ‘human rights violations’,
‘amnesty’ and ‘reparation and rehabilitation’, were not ‘coupled with some form of social transformation’. The public transition
from apartheid, established through a negotiated settlement rather than a revolutionary process, framed the Commission’s
powers. Shaped by the historical context of this particular transition, the TRC was careful not to ‘rock the structural boat’.
Rather than pursuing truth and justice, as an integrated feature of social transformation, the Commissioners and, to a greater
extent, the government of South Africa, maintained an agenda that avoided a challenge to the status quo. A focus on restorative
justice was taken by the Commission with an emphasis placed on mechanisms to restore victims and survivors, through
reparations policy, state- led acknowledgement of suffering, and a condemnation, together with the transformation, of the
system that implemented such widespread forms of abuse. The priority of changing the apartheid conditions of gross inequality
and oppression provided a backdrop to the approval of the TRC by those who had suffered. More difficult to accept was the
provision of amnesty to those who had undertaken violations of human rights. The process placed amnesty of violations as a
carrot to perpetrators in exchange for a full story, with the stick of prosecutions for those who did not come forward.
Q. 26 The status quo’ as used in the passage means
India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site, which is a second one in the Union Territory (UT)
of Ladakh. Expressing happiness, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar shared this
information in a tweet message. The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies,
Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares
to the north, situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh, India. It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white
salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water. The Tso Kar Basin is an Al Category
Important Bird Area (IBA) as per Bird Life International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway. The site is also one
of the most important breeding areas of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India. This IBA is also the major breeding
area for Great Crested Grebe (Podicepscristatus), Bar-headed Geese (Anserindicus), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadornaferruginea),
Brown-headed Gull (Larusbrunnicephalus), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadriusmongolus) and many other species.
Q. 31 Which of the following sites in India is not included in the Ramsar Wetland List?
Q. 35 On the occasion of the World Wetland Day, 2021 and as a part of commitment towards conservation, restoration and
management of India’s wetlands, establishment of a centre was announced by the name of
The search for efficient trade routes and better connectivity has been one of the powerful driving forces of history. It has
determined the prospects of many nations, regions and civilizations over time. Today, as the world goes through a fundamental
re-balancing, correcting many of the distortions of the past, it is only natural that connectivity should be central to that
exercise. Growth in trade, commerce, industrial development and technological advancement has gone hand in hand with
ease of connecting. Maritime connectivity, in particular, has played a significant role in creating regional corridors for trade and
economic linkages, as indeed for cultural and intellectual exchanges over the centuries. The shift in the fulcrum of global
economic growth towards Asia is creating unprecedented opportunities for connectivity in the region. The Government of India,
recognising the importance of regional connectivity, made a landmark decision to undertake an overseas port investment in
Chabahar.
Q. 36 The Chabahar Day was commemorated by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in which of the following
Summit?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Bangladesh, congratulated the neighbouring country for its 50th year of
Independence and said that he too had gone to jail while protesting for Bangladesh’s liberation. “I was about 20-22 years old
when along with some friends I had protested in favour of Bangladesh during its struggle. I even went to jail. Pakistan’s
atrocities in Bangladesh are well known... the pictures didn’t allow me to sleep”, PM Modi said. He also paid respect to the
Indian Army who fought for the freedom of Bangladesh and also paid respect to Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation, ‘Bangabandhu’
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and conferred upon him the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020. “I pay my respects to Bangabandhu. He gave
his life for the people of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman was a ray of hope. He made sure that no country could
enslave Bangladesh.” PM Modi said.
Starting in April 2020, China amassed a large number of troops and armaments along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC)
in eastern Ladakh and other areas along the LAC, leading to stand-offs and skirmishes at certain points. The People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) moved into Indian territory and built fortified structures and defences, changing the status quo on the
ground. While there are differences in perception on the alignment of the LAC, over the years both sides concluded a series of
agreements to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border, while talks continued to resolve the dispute. Since then, several
friction points emerged in eastern Ladakh and both sides initiated diplomatic and military talks aimed at disengagement and
de-escalation, with India pushing for the restoration of status quo ante of pre-April. India and China earlier reached an understanding
for phased disengagement from all friction points followed by de-escalation from the depth areas along the LAC.
Q. 46 Violent clashes between Indian and Chinese army which resulted in death of around 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown
number of Chinese soldiers occurred on
UNESCO New Delhi, along with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and other partners, organised a hybrid event
with school children and teachers to celebrate World Water Day 2021’. The event included felicitating the winners of a water
conservation awareness programme, and screening of their winning animation short films, according to an official release.
UNESCO launched this nation-wide programme for school children in India, in partnership with the National Mission for Clean
Ganga, the United Schools Organization (USO), Water Digest and India based global animation major Toonz Media Group.
Entitled ‘H2Ooooh!-Waterwise program for children of India’, this innovative initiative encouraged school students between the
age of 6-14 years to submit story ideas for animated short films to raise awareness on water conservation and its sustainable
use.
Q. 54 The National Water Mission (NWM) has been constituted under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC)
launched by the Prime Minister of India in 2009. Which of the following is not a goal of the NWM?
There is really nothing new, not already anticipated in a distressed planet since the emergence of human species life nearly
two million years ago. So, a long prehistory of inter-faith dialogue entailing the reciprocal relation between religious traditions
and the robustness of the very idea of being human and having rights, precedes the recent UN movement of faith for rights
(F4R). The F4R framework has finally been affirmed by the United Nations system. The Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OCHR) promoted the Rabat plan of action in 2012. Note that this happened after the end of the Cold War, during
globalisation, and soon after 9/11. The plan was a result of a series of expert workshops on the prohibition of incitement to
national, racial or religious hatred, underlying ‘legislative patterns, judicial practices and policies”. The UN Human Rights
Council is shortly going to discuss further the prohibition of the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes
incitement to “discrimination, hostility or violence”.
Q. 56 When was the first human rights declaration adopted by the United Nations?
Q. 58 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its two Optional Protocols have been
adopted under the auspices of the United Nations and are collectively referred to as
Q. 59 The objective of the ‘Faith for Rights’ (F4R) is to provide space for a cross-disciplinary reflection and action on the deep,
and mutually enriching, connections between religions and human rights. Which of the following is not one of the
commitments on Faith for Rights (F4R)?
As soon as the coronavirus hit the world, India emphasised the imperative of collaboration to overcome the inimical health and
economic impact of the virus. It was with this objective that the Indian government organised a virtual meeting of SAARC
leaders on March 15, 2020. In the initial months of the pandemic, India, by virtue of the fact that it is the ‘pharmacy of the
world’, ramped up production of essential medicines like hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol etc. as well as Personal Protection
Equipment (PPE) kits, ventilators and masks. In the rapidly evolving global geo-political landscape, the healing and supportive
actions by India through supply of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines will have a huge impact in promoting peace, security, cooperation and prosperity in the region and the world. This is all the more commendable when there are only few countries in
the world who have thus far been able to successfully manufacture COVID-19 vaccines.
Q. 61 The Minister of Health and Family Welfare is
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 does not define ‘consent’ in positive terms, but what cannot be regarded as ‘consent’ under the
Code is explained by Section 90. Section 90 reads as follows:
“90. Consent known to be given under fear or misconception - A consent is not such a consent as is intended by any section
of this Code, if the consent is given by a person under fear of injury, or under a misconception of fact, and if the person doing
the act knows, or has reason to believe, that the consent was given in consequence of such fear or misconception;...” Consent
given firstly under fear of injury and secondly under a misconception of fact is not ‘consent’ at all. That is what is enjoined by
the first part of Section 90. These two grounds specified in Section 90 are analogous to coercion and mistake of fact which are
the familiar grounds that can vitiate a transaction under the jurisprudence of our country as well as other countries. The factors
set out in the first part of Section 90 are from the point of view of the victim. The second part of Section 90 enacts the
corresponding provision from the point of view of the accused. It envisages that the accused too has knowledge or has reason
to believe that the consent was given by the victim in consequence of fear of injury or misconception of fact. Thus, the second
part lays emphasis on the knowledge or reasonable belief of the person who obtains the tainted consent. The requirements of
both the parts should be cumulatively satisfied. In other words, the court has to see whether the person giving the consent had
given it under fear of injury or misconception of fact and the court should also be satisfied that the person doing the act i.e. the
alleged offender, is conscious of the fact or should have reason to think that but for the fear or misconception, the consent
would not have been given. This is the scheme of Section 90 which is couched in negative terminology. Section 90 cannot,
however, be construed as an exhaustive definition of consent for the purposes of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The normal
connotation and concept of ‘consent’ is not intended to be excluded. Various decisions of the High Court and of Supreme Court
have not merely gone by the language of Section 90, but travelled a wider field, guided by the etymology of the word ‘consent’.
Q. 66 ‘A’, a man, promises ‘B’, a woman that he will marry her if she has sexual intercourse with him. ‘B’ agrees, but after
having sexual intercourse, ‘A’ flees and never contacts ‘B’ again. In the given situation, which statement is true?
Q. 69 ‘X’, a man, promises ‘Y’, a woman that he will marry her if she has sexual intercourse with him. ‘Y’ agrees and they have
sexual intercourse. Thereafter, ‘X’ assures ‘Y’ that they will get married, but X’s family is opposed to the marriage even
after X’s attempts to convince them. Therefore, ‘X’ refuses to marry ‘Y’. In the given situation, which statement is true?
Compassionate appointment is an exception to the general rule of appointment which is a way of providing employment to the
family of the deceased employee on compassionate grounds. The objective is only to provide solace and succour to the family
in difficult times and, thus, its relevancy is at that stage of time when the employee passes away. The mere death of an
employee in harness does not entitle his family to such source of livelihood. The authority concerned has to examine the
financial condition of the family of the deceased, and it is only if it is satisfied that, but for the provision of employment, the
family will not be able to meet the crisis that the job is offered to the eligible member of the family. It was further asseverated
in the said judgment that compassionate employment cannot be granted after a lapse of reasonable period as the consideration
of such employment is not a vested right which can be exercised at any time in the future. It was further held that the object of
compassionate appointment is to enable the family to get over the financial crisis that it faces at the time of the death of sole
breadwinner. Thus, compassionate appointment cannot be claimed or offered after a significant lapse of time and after the
crisis is over.
Q. 71 Which of the following correctly states the intent behind the application of compassionate appointment?
Q. 73 Mr. Y, son of Mr. X, made a representation before ABC Government company on January 4, 2018 that he should be given
appointment on compassionate grounds as his father died during his employment in the company in 2000. Consider the
given facts and decide whether Mr. Y is entitled to get compassionate appointment.
Q. 74 The Government of ‘N’ formulated a scheme for providing compassionate appointment to the dependants of Government
Servants who retired on medical invalidation. By a further notification, the benefit of the scheme was restricted to cases
where the Government Servants retired on medical invalidation, at least five years before attaining the age of
superannuation. Consider the given facts, and decide which of the following is correct in relation to the validity of this rule
of compassionate appointment?
It is a well settled principle of Contract Law that parties cannot by contract exclude the jurisdiction of all courts. Such a
contract would constitute an agreement in restraint of legal proceedings and contravene Section 28 of the Indian Contract Act,
1872. However, where parties to a contract confer jurisdiction on one amongst multiple courts having proper jurisdiction, to the
exclusion of all other courts, the parties cannot be said to have ousted the jurisdiction of all courts. Such a contract is valid and
will bind the parties to a civil action.
Section 28. Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings, void-Every agreement, -
(a) by which any party thereto is restricted absolutely from enforcing his rights under or in respect of any contract, by the
usual legal proceedings in the ordinary tribunals, or which limits the time within which he may thus enforce his rights;
or
(b) which extinguishes the rights of any party thereto, or discharges any party thereto, from any liability, under or in respect
of any contract on the expiry of a specified period so as to restrict any party from enforcing his rights, is void to the
extent.
Parties cannot by agreement confer jurisdiction on a court which lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate. But where several courts
would have jurisdiction to try the subject matter of the dispute, they can stipulate that a suit be brought exclusively before one
of the several courts, to the exclusion of the others.
Q. 76 ‘A’, a resident of Mumbai, and ‘B’, a resident of Delhi, enter into an agreement for sale and supply of goods. The
transaction takes place partly in Mumbai and partly in Delhi. There is a clause in the agreement which stipulates that
in the event of a dispute between ‘A’ and ‘B’, the courts in Kolkata would have exclusive jurisdiction to decide the
dispute. ‘A’ and ‘B’ agreed to the said clause in order to avoid dispute over choice between the two proper places of
jurisdiction- Mumbai and Delhi. In the given situation, which of the following statements is true?
Q. 77 ‘A’, a resident of Chennai, and ‘B’, a resident of Bengaluru, enter into an agreement for sale and supply of goods. The
transaction takes place partly in Chennai and partly in Bengaluru.There is a clause in the agreement which stipulates
that in the event of a dispute between ‘A’ and ‘B’, the courts in Chennai would have exclusive jurisdiction to decide the
dispute. ‘A’ and ‘B’ agreed to the said clause in order to avoid dispute over choice between the two proper places of
jurisdiction- Chennai and Bengaluru. In the given situation, which of the following statements is true?
Q. 78 ‘A’, a resident of Agra, and ‘B’, a resident of Bhubaneswar, enter into an agreement for sale and supply of goods. The
transaction takes place partly in Agra and partly in Bhubaneswar. There is a clause in the agreement which stipulates
that in the event of a dispute between ‘A’ and ‘B’, neither of them can approach the court of law or take recourse to any
alternative dispute resolution mechanism to settle the dispute. In the given situation, which of the following statements
is true?
Q. 79 ‘A’, a resident of Ahmedabad, and ‘B’, a resident of Ranchi, enter into an agreement for sale and supply of goods. The
transaction takes place partly in Ahmedabad and partly in Ranchi. Clause 6 of the agreement stipulates that in the event
of a dispute arising between ‘A’ and ‘B’ within six months of the entering into contract, they can approach a court in
either Ahmedabad or Ranchi (as both are proper places of jurisdiction), or take recourse to any alternative dispute
resolution mechanism to settle the dispute. Clause 7 of the agreement stipulates that in the event of a dispute arising
between ‘A’ and ‘B’ after the expiry of six months of entering into contract, the courts in Chennai would have exclusive
jurisdiction to decide the dispute. In the given situation, which of the following statements is true?
Section 4 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 reads as follows :
Communication when complete - The communication of a proposal is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the person
to whom it is made.
The communication of an acceptance is complete, - as against the proposer, when it is put in a course of transmission to him
so as to be out of the power of the acceptor; as against the acceptor, when it comes to the knowledge of the proposer.
Thus, the provision makes no difference in the position of the offeror. The offeror becomes bound when a properly addressed
and adequately stamped letter of acceptance is posted. The acceptor does not become bound by merely posting his acceptance.
He becomes bound only when his acceptance comes to the knowledge of the proposer. The contract is concluded at the place
from where the proposal is accepted and communication of acceptance is dispatched, i.e., the address at which the proposal
was sent. The court at that place would have jurisdiction to entertain a cause of action under the contract. This rule, that the
communication of an acceptance is complete as against the proposer when the letter is posted, is probably intended to apply
only when the parties are at a distance and they communicate by post. “Where, however, the parties are in each other’s
presence or, though separated in space”, they are in direct communication, as, for example, by telephone, no contract will
arise until the offeror receives the notification of acceptance.
Q. 81 ‘S’ wanted to purchase shares of a company and communicated his offer to buy shares on March 1, 2021. A letter of
allotment of shares addressed to ‘S’, which is an acceptance of the offer to purchase shares, was posted by the
company on March 10, 2021, but the letter never reached ‘S’ and was lost in transit. In the given situation, which of the
following statements is true?
Q. 82 ‘A’, who is in Mumbai, makes an offer for supply of goods to ‘B’, who is in Delhi, via a mobile phone call. During the same
call, A’s offer is absolutely and unconditionally accepted by ‘B’. According to the terms agreed between ‘A’ and ‘B’,
goods are to be supplied at Pune and payment is to be made electronically. In the given situation, where is the contract
concluded?
Q. 83 ‘X’, who is in Gandhinagar, makes an offer for sale of second-hand luxury car to ‘Y’, who is in Jammu, via an e-mail sent
on January 15, 2021 at 2:03 p.m. X’s offer is absolutely and unconditionally accepted by ‘Y’ via an e-mail sent on
January 15, 2021 at 4:04 p.m. The e-mail communicating acceptance is read by ‘X’ on January 15, 2021 at 7:05 p.m. In
the given situation, when is the contract concluded?
Q. 84 ‘X’, who is in Agra, makes an offer for sale of second-hand luxury car to ‘Y’, who is in Jammu, via an e-mail sent on
January 15, 2021 at 2:03 p.m. However, the e-mail did not reach ‘Y’ due to some technical error at the server which is
located in Delhi. Thereafter, ‘X’ makes a mobile phone call to ‘Y’ on January 15, 2021 at 4:04 p.m. and makes him the
same offer as was made in the e-mail. In the same mobile phone call, the offer is absolutely and unconditionally
accepted by ‘Y’ at 4:10 p.m. In the given situation, where is the contract concluded?
Q. 85 “When the words of acceptance are spoken into the telephone, they are put into the course of transmission to the offerer
so as to be beyond the power of the acceptor. The acceptor cannot recall them.” In light of the given proposition, which
of the following statements is/are true?
I. The communication being instantaneous, the contract immediately arises.
II. The communication being instantaneous, the communication of acceptance is immediately complete as against
the proposer as well as the acceptor.
III. The communication being non-instantaneous, the communication of acceptance is complete as against the acceptor
when the words of acceptance are spoken into the telephone.
IV. The communication being non-instantaneous, the communication of acceptance is complete as against the proposer
when the words of acceptance are spoken into the telephone.
Marriage is necessarily the basis of social organisation and the foundation of important legal rights and obligations. The
importance and imperative character of the institution of marriage needs no comment. In Hindu Law, marriage is treated as a
Samskara or a sacrament. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 introduced monogamy as a law of marriage among Hindus by virtue
of Section 5 clause (i) which is essentially the voluntary union for life of one man with one woman to the exclusion of all others.
It enacts, “neither party must have a spouse living at the time of marriage”. The expression ‘spouse’ here used, means a
lawfully married husband or wife. Before a valid marriage can be solemnised, both parties to such marriage must be either
single or divorced or a widow or a widower and only then they are competent to enter into a valid marriage. If at the time of
performance of the marriage rites and ceremonies, one or other of the parties had a spouse living and the earlier marriage had
not already been set aside, the later marriage is no marriage at all. The Supreme Court in Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande v. State
of Maharashtra, [AIR 1965 SC 1564] held, “Prima facie, the expression ‘whoever marries’ in Section 494 of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860 (which defines the offence of bigamy) must mean ‘whoever marries validly’ or ‘whoever marries and whose marriage
is a valid one’. If marriage is not valid according to the law applicable to the parties, no question arises of its being void by
reason of its taking place during the life of the husband or wife of the person marrying. One of the conditions of a valid marriage
under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is that it must be ‘solemnised’. Further, Section 13 (2) of the Act provides for grounds of
divorce to wife and states, “A wife may also present a petition for the dissolution of her marriage by a decree of divorce on the
ground that in the case of any marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act, that the husband had married again
before such commencement or that any other wife of the husband married before such commencement was alive at the time
of the solemnization of the marriage of the petitioner: Provided that in either case the other wife is alive at the time of the
presentation of the petition”.
Q. 86 Mr. A, a 40-year old male Hindu, was married to Ms. B, a 36-year old female Hindu. Mr. A fell in love with his colleague-
Ms. C, a 22-year old female Christian. On April 8, 2020, Mr. A declared Ms. C as his wife in front of all his colleagues,
family members and relatives. Based on the given facts, decide the liability of Mr. A as per Hindu Law.
Q. 90 Mr. P, a 28-year old male Hindu was legally married to Ms. Q, a 26-year old female Hindu. Mr. P converts to Islam to
marry Ms. N, a 30-year old Sunni female Muslim. Consider the statement and decide whether Ms. Q has the remedy to
file a complaint for the offence of bigamy against Mr. P.
It is essential to the creation of a contract that both parties should agree to the same thing in the same sense. Mutual consent,
which should also be a free consent, is the sine qua non of a valid agreement and one of its essential elements is that a thing
is understood in the same sense by a party as is understood by the other. Not only consent, but free consent is provided in
Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 to be necessary to the complete validity of a contract. Consent is free when it
works without obstacles to impede its exercise. Where there is no consent or no real and certain object of consent, there can
be no contract at all. Where there is consent, but not free consent, there is generally a contract voidable at the option of the
party whose consent was not free. A general averment that consent was not freely obtained is not enough, and it is necessary
to set up one of the vitiating elements such as fraud which includes, false assertion, active concealment, promise without
intention of performing it, any other deceptive act, or any act declared as fraudulent. In order to constitute fraud, the act should
have been done by the party to the contract, or by any other person with his connivance, or by his agent and with intent to
deceive the other party thereto or his agent, or to induce him to enter into the contract. There is no duty upon parties to speak
about facts likely to affect the other party’s consent to the contract and mere silence does not amount to fraud, unless the
circumstances of the case show that there is duty to speak, or silence is, in itself equivalent to speech. On the other hand,
misrepresentation falls into three categories : (i) a statement of fact, which if false, would be misrepresentation if the maker
believes it to be true, but which is not justified by the information he possesses; (ii) any breach of duty which gains an
advantage to the person committing it by misleading another to his prejudice, there being no intention to deceive; and (iii)
causing a party to an agreement to make a mistake as to the substance of the thing which is the subject of the agreement,
even though done innocently.
Q. 91 Which of the following statements correctly depicts the essentials of misrepresentation?
Q. 92 Consider the statements given below and answer which one correctly describes a fraudulent act?
I. The expression fraud means an intention to deceive, whether it is from any expectation of advantage to the party
himself or from ill wall towards the other is immaterial.
II. A fraud is an act of deliberate deception with the design of securing something by taking an unfair advantage of
another. It is a deception to gain from another’s loss.
III. Fraud arises out of deliberate active role of representator about a fact.
Q. 94 Mr. A sells a car to Mr. Y, his childhood friend with a knowledge that the car is defective. Before buying the car, Mr. Y
says to Mr. A, “If you do not deny it, I shall assume that the car is perfect.” Mr. A says nothing. In light of the statement,
decide the liability of Mr. A.
The doctrine of res judicata requires that a party should not be allowed to file same matter repeatedly against the other party
either in the same court or in other competent court and that the decision given by one court should be accepted as final
subject to any appeal, revision or review. The doctrine is founded on the principle that it is in the interest of the public at large
that a finality should be attached to the binding decisions pronounced by courts of competent jurisdiction, and it is also in the
public interest that individuals should not be vexed twice over with the same kind of litigation. This apart, the object of the
doctrine is to ensure that ultimately there should be an end to litigation. Doctrine of res judicata is embodied in Section 11 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 which governs the procedure to be followed in civil matters. Section 11 is inapplicable to writ
jurisdictions. The Supreme Court has observed that though the rule is technical in nature yet the general doctrine of res
judicata is based on public policy and therefore, it cannot be treated as irrelevant or inadmissible even in dealing with fundamental
rights in petitions filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. The court observed that if a writ petition filed by a party under
Article 226 of the Constitution of India is considered on merits as a contested matter and is dismissed, the decision thus
pronounced would continue to bind the parties unless it is otherwise modified or reversed in appeal or other appropriate
proceedings permissible under the Constitution of India. It would not be open to a party to ignore the judgment of the High Court
and move Supreme Court under Article 32 by an original petition made on the same facts and for obtaining the same or similar
orders or writs. If the petition filed in the High Court under Article 226 is dismissed but not on the merits, then the dismissal of
the writ petition would not constitute a bar to a subsequent petition under Article 32, however if the petition is dismissed without
passing a speaking order, then such dismissal cannot be treated as creating a bar of res judicata.
Q. 96 Which of the following is res judicata applicable to?
Q. 100 Mr. X was dismissed from service by his employer after a proper enquiry. Mr. X challenged his dismissal in High Court
by a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. However, the High Court dismissed the petition citing that Mr.
X has an alternative remedy available. Mr. X took recourse to the alternative remedy before the appropriate forum, but Mr.
X’s legal action is opposed by the employer on the basis of res judicata. Based on these facts, which of the following is
the most appropriate?
Harm suffered voluntarily does not constitute a legal injury and is not actionable. This principle is embodied in the maxim
volenti non fit injuria. A person cannot complain of harm to the chances of which he has exposed himself with his free consent
and free will. The maxim volenti non fit injuria is founded on good sense and justice. A person who has invited or assented to
an act being done towards him cannot, when he suffers from it, complain of it as a wrong. The maxim presupposes a tortious
act by the defendant. The maxim applies, in the first place, to intentional acts which would otherwise be tortious. There are
certain limitations to the application of this maxim:
(i) It is no answer to a claim made by a workman against his employer for injury caused through a breach by the employer
of a duty imposed upon him by a statute. But where the negligence or breach of statutory duty is on the part of an
employee of the plaintiff who knowingly accepts the risk flowing from such breach and the employer-defendant is not
guilty of negligence or breach of statutory duty, the defence of volenti non fit injuria is available to the defendant.
(ii) Under an exigency caused by the defendant’s wrongful misconduct, consciously and deliberately faced a risk, even of
death, whether the person endangered is one to whom he owes a duty of protection, as a member of his family, or is a
mere stranger to whom he owes no such special duty. The rescuer will not be deprived of his remedy merely because
the risk which he runs is not the same as that run by the person whom he rescues. But where there is no need to take
any risk, the person suffering harm in doing so cannot recover.
(iii) To cover a case of negligence the defence on the basis of the maxim must be based on implied agreement whether
amounting to contract or not. The defence is available only when the plaintiff freely and voluntarily, with full knowledge of
the nature and extent of the risk impliedly agreed to incur it and to waive any claim for injury. But when the plaintiff has
no choice or when the notice is given at a stage when it is beyond the ability of the plaintiff to make a choice there can
be no implied agreement and the defence on the basis of the maxim must fail.
(iv) The maxim will also not apply when the act relied upon is done because of the psychological condition which the
defendant’s breach of duty had induced.
Q. 101 Mr. A was the owner of a car and he had a driver- Mr. D. On January 19, 2021, Mr. A and Mr. D were travelling in their car
wherein Mr. A got down at a restaurant and told Mr. D to take the car back to Mr. A’s bungalow. Mr. D was filling the petrol
tank of the car, and two strangers- Mr. B and Mr. C took a lift from Mr. D in his car. The car went ahead and the right-side
front wheel of the car flew away, the car toppled and Mr. D and Mr. C were thrown out. Mr. C sustained severe injuries
and ultimately died due to those injuries on January 20, 2021. Mr. B and legal representatives of Mr. C claimed
compensation from Mr. A and Mr. D.
Q. 102 Rama was a spectator at a motor car race being held on a track owned by the defendant company. During the race,
there was a collision between two cars, one of the cars was thrown among the spectators, thereby injuring Rama
severely. Which of the following statements is correct?
Q. 104 Lily had placed spring guns in a wood on her ground for the protection of the garden. Karan, with full knowledge that
there were spring guns somewhere in the wood, trespassed on the land of Lily and was injured. Which of the following
statements is correct?
The critique of school as an institution has developed and grown in the past half a century. Education theorist Everett Reimer
wrote School is Dead in the 1960s. Most schools are caged jails, where an alien curriculum designed by some ‘experts’ is
thrust down a child’s gullet. Today, many schools are gargantuan corporate enterprises with thousands of children on their
rolls, and for all practical purposes they are run like factories, or better still like mini-armies. The website of a private school in
Lucknow boasts of 56,000 students, for instance. But progressive thinkers have always envisioned ‘free schools’ for children.
The great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, founded a school for the children of poor peasants at his home, Yasnaya Polyana,
without any strict schedule, homework or physical punishment. Maria Montessori was the first Italian woman to become a
doctor; she went on to work out the ‘stages of development’ in children which became the basis for her educational philosophy,
which too emphasised children’s freedom and choice. Tagore’s critique of rote learning is articulated in the classic tale ‘The
Parrot’s Training’ (Totaakahini). Perhaps, the longest lasting libertarian school in the world is Summer hill. It was founded in
1921, a hundred years ago in England, by A.S. Neill with the belief that school should be made to fit the child rather than the
other way round. The 1966 Kothari Education Commission’s recommendation for a common school system was never
implemented. Today, which school a child goes to depends on her socio-economic status. The pandemic has furthered and
exacerbated this divide. COVID-19 hit parents economically. The digital divide between the rich and poor has also widened.
The poor do not have access to mobiles, laptops and internet connectivity. In such a scenario, one can try and conceive of
neighbourhood learning spaces.
Q. 106 What has the author conveyed regarding the school system in India?
Q. 108 As per the above passage, which of the following does not correctly represent the author’s view regarding imparting of
education during the pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic and the unmatched mental health challenges have made it more crucial than ever that we continue
to make strides towards understanding the concept of mental health stigma and how we might tackle it around the world.
Graham Thornicroft, a practising psychiatrist, who is extensively and deeply involved in mental health stigma research at the
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences at King’s College London has divided stigma into three componentsknowledge,
attitude and behaviour. The last behaviour emerges from social isolation, such as what we are experiencing during
the pandemic, as well as exclusion from mainstream activities and citizenship. In higher- income countries, stigma rates may
be greater than other countries, perhaps because of the pressure to excel. In low-income countries, one can be unwell and still
play an active social and productive role somewhere as there are many such roles to play within the family and in society.
Enhancing contact with people who have experienced mental health problems is the best way to reduce stigma. To date, most
people with mental illness remain silent about their condition, avoiding discussing their problems for fear of losing face,
damaging their reputation or jeopardising their family status. Having a space where they may be welcomed and listened to,
rather than judged, will go a long way towards enabling them to share their experiences. In a small part of rural Andhra
Pradesh, researchers used posters, pictures, drums, and a short street play, as an intervention technique to reduce mental
health stigma.
An actor portrayed a person’s journey through mental health crises and setbacks before receiving support and showing hope,
improvement and recovery. People assembled around the stage, willing to talk about and discuss what they saw, even two to
three years after the event.
Q. 111 What is the central idea in the passage as conveyed by the author?
Q. 114 "In low-income countries, one can be unwell and still play an active social and productive role somewhere as there are
many such roles to play within the family and in society".
Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above statement?
COVID-19 infections are once again on the rise with daily infections crossing 60,000 per day last week. This is considerably
higher compared to the reported infections during the same period last year when the numbers were less than 500 per day.
What is obvious is that the pandemic is far from over despite the availability of vaccines. However, unlike last year, the
response this time has been muted with no nationwide lockdown. One of the reasons for the differing responses is the lesson
from the unintended consequences on the economy of the strict lockdown last year. While aggregate estimates on the growth
rate of GDP showed a sharp contraction in economic activity (the economy shrunk by 24 per cent in the April-June quarter of
2020) the impact on lives and livelihoods is still unfolding even though the sharp contractionary phase seems behind us. The
extent of the loss of lives and livelihoods is becoming clear only now, with detailed data from the Periodic Labour Force Surveys
(PLFS) - the latest round of which is for the April-June quarter of 2020. This is the first official report on the estimates for the
quarter, which witnessed the worst impact with the lockdown in force until the middle of May. Visuals of thousands of migrants
walking back to their villages are still fresh in the mind. While many have returned to urban areas in the absence of jobs in rural
areas, many did not. The PLFS, which captures the employment- unemployment situation in urban areas, provides some
clues to what happened. The estimates from PLFS are broadly in line with estimates available from other privately conducted
surveys, notably the unemployment surveys of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). According to the PLFS April-
June 2020 round, the urban unemployment rate for the population above the age of 15 was 20.8 per cent, which is close to the
monthly average for the same quarter from CMIE at 19.9 per cent. The CMIE data, however, does suggest a sharp decline in
June compared to April and May. Similar to the CMIE data, the PLFS data also shows a sharp rise in the unemployment rate
which more than doubled compared to the unemployment rate in the preceding quarter of January-March 2020 at 9.1 per cent
and 8.8 per cent in the same quarter (April-June) of 2019. While one in five persons above the age of 15 was unemployed during
April-June 2020, the unemployment rate among the 15-29-year- olds was 34.7 per cent - every third person in the 15-29 age
group was unemployed during the same period. These are staggering numbers, but not surprising. While the lockdown
certainly contributed to the worsening of the employment situation, particularly in urban areas, the fact that the economy was
already going through severe distress as far as jobs are concerned is no longer surprising. Between 2016-17 and 2019-20,
growth decelerated to 4 per cent, less than half the 8.3 per cent rate in 2016-17. The fact that the economy has not been
creating jobs predates the economic shocks of demonetisation and the hasty roll-out of GST. The PLFS data from earlier
rounds have already shown the extent of the rise in unemployment compared to the employment-unemployment surveys of
2011-12. The unemployment rates in urban areas for all categories increased by almost three times between 2011-12 and
2017-18. On an internationally comparable basis, the unemployment rate among the 15-24-year-olds in 2017-18 was 28.5 per
cent, which makes the youth unemployment rate in India amongst the highest in the world, excluding small countries and
conflict-ridden countries. Since then, it has only worsened or remained at that level.
Q. 116 According to the author, which of the following is a plausible explanation for India’s prevalent crisis of unemployment?
Q. 119 Which of the following strengthens the author’s argument that the decline in economic growth and rise in unemployment
precedes the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic?
One of the most important challenges for Indian diplomacy in the subcontinent is to persuade its neighbours that India is an
opportunity, not a threat. Far from feeling in any way besieged by India, they should be able to see it as offering access to a
vast market and to a dynamic, growing economy which would provide their own economies with far greater opportunities than
more distant partners (or even their own domestic markets) could provide. This would go beyond economic benefits: as David
Malone argues, “Economic cooperation represents the easiest ‘sell’ to various constituencies within the countries of the
region. Were this to prove successful, cooperation on more divisive and sensitive issues, such as terrorism, separatism,
insurgency, religious fundamentalism, and ethnic strife, could be attempted with greater chances of success.” Winds of
change are blowing in South Asia. There is a definite consolidation of democracy in all the countries of the region, every one of
which has held elections within the last three years. Some of our neighbours have made significant strides in surmounting
internal conflict and others are in the process of doing so. If India has to fulfil its potential in the world, we have no choice but
to live in peace with our neighbours, in mutual security, harmony and cooperation. Just as Nehru left Robert Frost’s immortal
lines “Miles to go before I sleep” on his bedside table when he died, Shastri kept some lines of the founder of the Sikh faith,
Guru Nanak, on his desk. When translated into English they read: “O Nanak! Be tiny like the grass, for other plants will wither
away, but grass will remain ever green.” Shastri was seen by many Indians of exalted ambition as a tiny man, but he had the
mind and heart of a giant. His vision of peaceful coexistence with our neighbours, through adopting the demeanour, the
modesty and the freshness of grass, may well be the best way for India to ensure that its dreams remain evergreen in its own
backyard.
Q. 121 As per the passage, which of the following is a challenge for India?
Q. 122 “If India has to fulfil its potential in the world, we have no choice but to live in peace with our neighbours, in mutual
security, harmony and cooperation.” In the context of the statement, which of the following strengthens the author’s
opinion?
On the day of writing this, India had reported 116 deaths from COVID-19. In contrast, the US, with around one-fourth the
population of India, reported 1,897 deaths, or 16 times the daily deaths as India. The UK, which has one-twentieth the
population of India, reported 592 deaths, or 5 times the daily deaths as India. On other metrics too-new cases, active casesthe
Indian curve has flattened. If and when the UK and the US achieve what we have, there will be major celebrations. Such low
death rates would be seen as a victory of the government, citizens and science over the dreaded coronavirus. However,
because we are India, we don’t get as much credit. We are considered poor, third-world and untrustworthy, incapable of
achieving something like this on our own. Instead of learning from India’s experience, the first instinct is to doubt Indian data.
We aren’t counting the cases right, we aren’t doing enough tests, we don’t classify the deaths properly-the list of doubts goes
on and on. This, even as the tests have only increased, positivity rate has dropped and almost all Indian hospitals are seeing
a drop in COVID-19 admissions and fatalities. To think that the Deep Indian State is capable of fudging data at the level of every
district and every state, and sustaining this fagade for months is giving it way too much credit. Conspiracies require enormous
co-ordination and effort and it isn’t quite how things work in India. Given that you can check corona data at every ward level, it
is also impossible to fudge data, not to mention create a downwards curve that is moving in the same direction in virtually every
comer of India. In terms of testing, while a case might be made for a lot of Indians not getting tested, it is also true that random
testing has increased in the last few months. Domestic flyers into Maharashtra from many states for instance, have to get a
COVID-19 test done irrespective of symptoms. If there was rampant corona, we would see a spike in cases from just these
flyers. It may be hard for people to accept this reality but almost all evidence points to the fact India has flattened the corona
curve, while the US, UK and most of Europe still haven’t. What is even more remarkable about India’s achievement is that it
has managed to do this without draconian lockdowns (apart from the two months in April-May 2020). In fact, cases have
dropped even as India opened up more.
Q. 126 Which of the following strengthens the author’s argument that India has tackled the COVID-19 pandemic better than
most advanced nations?
Q. 128 "To think that the Deep Indian State is capable of fudging data at the level of every district and every state, and
sustaining this facade for months is giving it way too much credit." In this statement, the author indicates that
Asia is at the front line of climate change. Extreme heat in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, wildfires in Australia, typhoons in
Japan, are real and present dangers and likely to become more frequent as climate change intensifies. McKinsey’s report on
‘Climate risk and response in Asia’, finds that, without adaptation and mitigation, Asia is expected to experience more severe
socioeconomic impacts of climate change than other parts of the world. Large cities in the Indian Subcontinent could be
among the first places in the world to experience heat waves that exceed the survivability threshold. Just as information
systems and cyber security have become integrated into corporate and public-sector decision making, climate change will
also need to feature as a major factor in decisions. Climate science tells us that some amount of warming over the next decade
is already locked in due to past emissions, and temperatures will continue to rise. India anticipates a significant infrastructure
build out over the next decades with projects worth $1.77 trillion across 34 sub sectors, according to the National Infrastructure
Pipeline. Robust regulations around outdoor work could significantly reduce the economic risk of lost hours as well as the toll
on life from heat waves. The good news is that we have started to see some Indian states and cities pursuing such policies.
Ahmedabad City Corporation introduced a heat action plan- the first of its kind in India in response to the 2010 heat wave that
killed 300 people in a single day. The city now has a heat-wave early warning system, a citywide programme of roof reflectivity
to keep buildings cool, and teams to distribute cool water and rehydration tablets during heat waves. Renewable energy has
grown rapidly in India and can contribute 30 per cent of gross electricity generation by 2030, according to the Central Electricity
Authority.
Q. 131 Which of the following cannot be inferred from the above passage?
Q. 132 Consider the following statements:
I. The impact of increasing heat is more on the ones who are economically poor and engaged in outdoor employment.
II. Risk to environment is directly related to change in climate.
III. A localised understanding of climate risk is essential to mitigate the risk.
As per the above passage, which of these statements is implicit?
Q. 135 Consider the following statement - “Just as information systems and cybersecurity have become integrated into corporate
and public-sector decision making, climate change will also need to feature as a major factor in decisions.”
Which of the following is the most appropriate explanation for the above statement?
COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside-down for many families across the World. Mr. Abhishek was working as a sale executive
in a famous Marketing Company. Due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions, Mr. Abhishek was not able to achieve
his monthly targets which resulted in the reduction of his salary. So far, he spent his income lavishly without any planning and
prior calculations. However, the prevailing situation compelled him to plan his expenditure to adjust his life to the present
income. Therefore, he analysed his spendings of last year i.e., 2019, so that he can plan his present year 2020 spendings.
Through his brief analysis, he found that in the year 2019, he spent 23 per cent of his income on food, 15 per cent on Housing,
and 12 per cent on his child’s education. For his transport, he spent 10 per cent, and for clothing of his family he spent 10 per
cent. In the meanwhile, Mr. Abishek also saved 15 per cent of his income in the year 2019, and the remaining 20 per cent of
expenditure he kept as other spendings. Answer the following questions to provide deeper insight to Mr. Abhishek.
Q. 136 If the total amount spent during the year 2019 was Rs. 56,000, the amount spent on other spendings and clothing
together was higher than
Two renowned International Software companies, namely Pollaris and Contigent, started their business in the year 2007 and both
the companies were in competition with each other in profit making. Pollaris earned 30 per cent profit in the year 2007 and 2008,
and further increased it to 40 per cent in 2009. However, its profit percentage decreased to 20 per cent in the year 2010. On the
other hand, Contigent opened with 40 per cent profit in 2007, but slowly decreased to 35 per cent in 2008 and 30 per cent in 2009.
Interestingly, both the companies increased their profit percentage in the later year considerably. Pollaris increased its profit
percentage to 35 per cent in 2011 and 50 per cent in 2012; simultaneously, Contigent increased its profit percentage to 45 per
cent in 2010, 50 per cent in 2011 and reached 60 per cent in the year 2012. As there is a need to understand the income and
expenditure for the better performance of both companies in the future, answer the following questions.
Q. 141 What is the percentage increase in profit of Pollaris Company from year 2010 to 2011?
Q. 143 What percentage of the total profit making of Pollaris Company in 2011 and 2012 is the total profit making of Contigent
Company in 2007 and 2008?
Q. 145 What is the difference between the company with highest annual average profit percentage and that of the company with
lowest annual average profit percentage?
A newly formed State Government wants to bring more development in the State. Therefore, the Government proposed to
launch various welfare programmes. Before bringing up any welfare programme, the State Government intended to understand
the population percentage of the State by age groups, so that the Government could plan the welfare programmes accordingly.
The State Government found that the State’s 30 percent of the population were children between the age group of 0-15. Next to
child population, 17.75 percent of the population were adolescents between the age group of 16 and 25. The early adult
population, i.e., the age groups 26 to 35 were 17.25 percent, 36 to 45 were 14.50 percent, respectively. The population who are
between the age group of 46 to 55 constitute 14.25 percent and the elderly population of the State, i.e., 56 to 65 (5.12%) and
66 above (1.13%) was comparatively less than the other age groups. To get a better clarity, the State Government concerned
is seeking the answers to following questions :
Q. 146 Which age group accounts for the maximum population in the state?
Q. 147 If there are 20 million people in the age group 56 to 65, what is the difference between the number of people in the age
groups 16-25 and 46-55?
Q. 150 If the difference between the number of people in the age groups 46-55 and 26-35 is 15.75 million, then total population of the state is approximately