UPSC Prelims 2020 Question Paper (GS Paper I) with Answers

Under Article 164(4) a non-member can be a state minister for six months, but he or she must be qualified to be a member of the legislature, which requires being at least 25 years old (30 for the Council), not merely being eligible to vote; so statement 1 is incorrect. Under section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, a person sentenced to two years or more is disqualified for the term plus six years after release, not permanently; so statement 2 is incorrect.

Under Article 85 the President summons each House at such time and place as he thinks fit (statement 1), subject only to the rule that six months must not elapse between sessions; the Constitution does not prescribe three sessions (statement 2 incorrect) or any minimum number of sitting days (statement 3 correct). Hence 1 and 3.

A Constitution Amendment Bill must be passed by each House separately with a special majority, so the Rajya Sabha has equal powers with the Lok Sabha in amending the Constitution. Creation of All India Services is an exclusive Rajya Sabha power (Article 312), while no-confidence motions and cut motions belong only to the Lok Sabha.

Article 17, which abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form, is part of the Right to Equality (Articles 14-18). The Right against Exploitation covers forced labour and child labour.

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 requires the Finance Minister to lay with the Budget the Medium-term Fiscal Policy Statement, the Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement and the Macro-economic Framework Statement. The Constitution (Article 112) mandates only the Annual Financial Statement.

MPLADS funds are for durable community assets (statement 1); at least 15 per cent must benefit SC areas and 7.5 per cent ST areas (statement 2); and the district authority must inspect at least 10 per cent of works each year (statement 4). Unspent balances are carried forward to the next year, and the scheme is non-lapsable, so statement 3 is incorrect. Hence 1, 2 and 4.

Article 50, a Directive Principle of State Policy, directs the State to take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services. This was given effect through the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which separated judicial magistrates from executive magistrates.

A constitutional government is by definition a limited government: its powers are defined and restrained by a constitution so that it cannot act arbitrarily. A government may be popular, multi-party or legislature-based without being limited.

The Preamble (justice, liberty, equality, dignity), the Directive Principles (right to work, education, living wage, health) and the Fundamental Duties (respect for the dignity of women, humanism, scientific temper) all echo principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, besides the Fundamental Rights. Hence 1, 2 and 3.

In a parliamentary system the executive (the Council of Ministers) is drawn from and collectively responsible to the legislature, which can remove it through a vote of no confidence. This responsibility to Parliament distinguishes it from a presidential system with a fixed-term executive.

The Directive Principles of State Policy, especially Article 38 (social, economic and political justice) and Article 39, set out the ideal of a welfare state by directing the State to secure the welfare of the people. The Preamble states ideals but the specific welfare programme is in Part IV.

Scheduled commercial banks now provide the largest share of short-term agricultural credit, well ahead of cooperatives and RRBs, so statement 1 is incorrect. District Central Cooperative Banks refinance the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies at the village level, which is one of their main functions, so statement 2 is correct.

Both Gandhism and Marxism regard the state as an instrument of coercion and envisage a stateless society as the final goal: Gandhi's 'enlightened anarchy' of self-governing villages and Marx's withering away of the state after communism. They differ on class struggle, private property and economic determinism.

In India the bureaucracy, the permanent civil service, is primarily an agency for implementing the public policies decided by the political executive and the legislature, besides advising ministers. It is not meant to be a political agency for widening democracy or strengthening federalism.

Article 37 says the Directive Principles in Part IV shall not be enforceable by any court, but they are fundamental in the governance of the country and it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws. So statement 1 is incorrect and statements 2 and 3 are correct. Hence 2 and 3.

The Supreme Court held in Kesavananda Bharati (1973) that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and reflects its basic structure, reversing Berubari (1960). It is not, however, a source of power or prohibition by itself; it is used to interpret the other provisions and has no independent legal effect.

An expansionary monetary policy makes credit cheaper and more plentiful: the RBI would cut the SLR, the repo rate and the bank rate. Raising the Marginal Standing Facility rate would make emergency borrowing dearer and tighten money, so it is the step the RBI would not take. Hence 2 only.

Public Key Infrastructure is the system of digital certificates, certifying authorities and public-private key pairs that enables secure digital signatures and encrypted communication; in India the Controller of Certifying Authorities under the IT Act, 2000 runs it. It is therefore part of digital security infrastructure.

In the decades after 1991 the share of rural areas in the workforce fell as workers moved to towns, and worker productivity rose in both rural and urban areas, so statements 1 and 2 are incorrect. Rural non-farm activities such as construction, trade and services grew rapidly (statement 3), while the growth rate of rural employment slowed (statement 4). Hence 3 and 4.

India escaped the worst of the 2008 crisis because it had little short-term foreign debt and limited capital-account convertibility. Not depending on short-term foreign borrowings therefore gives immunity, whereas opening up to more foreign banks or full capital-account convertibility would increase exposure to sudden capital flight. Hence 1 only.

The reserve tranche, formerly the gold tranche, is the portion of a member country's IMF quota (originally paid in gold, now in reserve assets) that it can draw at any time without conditions. It is thus a credit facility of the IMF for its members.

Money supply (M1) consists of currency with the public plus demand deposits. Withdrawing cash converts a demand deposit into currency held by the public: one component falls and the other rises by the same amount, so the immediate effect on aggregate money supply is nil.

The interest coverage ratio (earnings before interest and tax divided by interest expense) shows how easily a firm can service its debt, helping a bank judge both the present risk and the emerging risk of a borrower. A higher ratio means a better, not worse, ability to pay interest, so statement 3 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 2.

Food has a weight of about 46 per cent in the CPI (combined) against roughly 24 per cent for food articles in the WPI (statement 1), and the WPI covers only goods while the CPI includes services such as housing, transport and health (statement 2). Since 2014 the RBI targets CPI inflation, not WPI, so statement 3 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 2.

The price of rice in India is shaped by the Minimum Support Price at which the government procures, by the government's trading through the FCI and export policies, by its stockpiling of buffer stocks that are released into the market, and by consumer subsidies under the public distribution system. All four factors apply.

Textiles and textile articles are a major item of India-Bangladesh trade (statement 2). India-Sri Lanka trade has fluctuated rather than risen consistently (statement 1 incorrect), and Bangladesh, not Nepal, has been India's largest trading partner in South Asia (statement 3 incorrect). Hence 2 only.

Commercial paper is a short-term unsecured promissory note issued by corporates (statement 1), and call money is overnight interbank lending (statement 3). A certificate of deposit is a short-term instrument issued by banks, not the RBI (statement 2 incorrect), and zero-coupon bonds pay no interest and are issued at a discount, mainly by the government (statement 4 incorrect). Hence 1 and 3.

The Constitution nowhere defines a 'basic structure'; the doctrine was evolved by the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati (1973), so statement 1 is incorrect. The Constitution does not expressly provide for judicial review as a named power either; it is implied from Articles 13, 32, 226 and others. The key treats both statements as incorrect.

MSP procurement is open-ended only for wheat and rice in surplus states; for pulses and oilseeds it is limited to a share of production under PM-AASHA, so statement 1 is incorrect. The MSP is a floor price, and market prices often rise above it, so statement 2 is incorrect. Hence neither.

FDI is investment through equity and other capital instruments that gives the investor a lasting interest in an enterprise. Unlike external borrowings it creates no debt to be serviced, so its defining characteristic is that it is largely a non-debt-creating capital flow. FPI in government securities is a separate category.

West Texas Intermediate is a light, sweet grade of crude oil produced in the United States and used, along with Brent, as a global benchmark for oil prices.

Non-financial debt is the debt of households, non-financial corporations and governments, as distinct from the debt of financial institutions. Housing loans and credit-card dues of households, and treasury bills issued by the government, are all non-financial debt. Hence 1, 2 and 3.

The TRIMs agreement prohibits investment measures that violate national treatment or impose quantitative restrictions, such as local-content requirements or import limits on foreign investors (statement 1). It applies only to trade in goods, not services (statement 2 incorrect), and it does not regulate foreign investment as such, only trade-distorting measures (statement 3). Hence 1 and 3.

Cotton is a subtropical crop killed by hard frost, needing about 210 frost-free days, 50-100 cm of rain and light, well-drained but moisture-retaining soils such as the black soils of the Deccan. Jute and sugarcane need much more water and tea needs heavy rainfall on hill slopes.

Black gram (urad) is grown in both kharif and rabi seasons (statement 1). Chickpea (gram), not green gram, accounts for nearly half of India's pulse output (statement 2 incorrect), and rabi pulse production has risen, not fallen, in recent decades (statement 3 incorrect). Hence 1 only.

Jet streams occur in both hemispheres (statement 1 incorrect). Only mature, intense tropical cyclones develop a clear eye (statement 2 correct). The eye is a region of warm, sinking air and is warmer, not cooler, than its surroundings (statement 3 incorrect). Hence 2 only.

Steel slag, a by-product of steel-making, is used as aggregate in road base construction, as a soil conditioner that supplies calcium and silicon and corrects acidity, and as a raw material in cement manufacture. Hence 1, 2 and 3.

The Volga drains into the Caspian Sea and the Zambezi into the Indian Ocean (Mozambique Channel), so pairs 3 and 4 are correct. The Mekong empties into the South China Sea and the Thames into the North Sea. Hence 3 and 4.

Public investment in agriculture means government spending that creates productive assets or capacity: computerising cooperative credit societies, building social capital and setting up cold storages qualify. MSP, free electricity and loan waivers are subsidies or transfers, not investment. Hence 2, 3 and 6.

Raising settlings from bud chips in a nursery saves a large quantity of seed cane (statement 1), and settlings from tissue culture are also used for planting (statement 4). Setts with more buds germinate and survive bad weather better than single-budded setts, so statements 2 and 3 are incorrect. Hence 1 and 4.

Crop diversification, intensifying legumes that fix nitrogen, and using tensiometers to irrigate only when the soil needs water are recognised eco-friendly practices that conserve soil and water. Vertical farming is an energy-intensive urban technology, not an eco-friendly agricultural practice in the Indian context. Hence 1, 2 and 3.

Zero tillage lets wheat be sown directly into rice stubble with a Happy Seeder, avoiding stubble burning (statement 1); it allows direct seeding of rice without a nursery (statement 2); and undisturbed soil retains organic carbon, aiding sequestration (statement 3). All three are advantages.

The CGWA was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (statement 2), and India has the largest groundwater-irrigated area in the world (statement 3). About 17 per cent of assessment units, not 36 per cent of districts, are over-exploited or critical, so statement 1 is incorrect. Hence 2 and 3.

Ocean Mean Temperature is measured down to the depth of the 26 degree C isotherm, which is about 59 metres in the south-western Indian Ocean during January-March, not 129 metres, so statement 1 is incorrect. OMT for January-March has been found to predict whether the monsoon will be above or below the long-term mean better than sea-surface temperature, so statement 2 is correct.

Fertigation, the application of fertiliser through drip irrigation, lets acids be injected to control the alkalinity of water (statement 1), increases nutrient availability to roots (statement 3) and cuts leaching losses (statement 4). Rock phosphate and other insoluble phosphatic fertilisers cannot be applied through drip lines, so statement 2 is incorrect. Hence 1, 3 and 4.

Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, chromite, kyanite and sillimanite are major minerals, while bentonite is listed as a minor mineral whose regulation is left to the states. Hence 2, 3 and 4.

The Siachen Glacier in the eastern Karakoram lies north of the Nubra valley of Ladakh, with the Nubra river fed by its melt. It is west of Aksai Chin and north-east of Leh, not north of Gilgit.

Fertiliser prices are not fully market-driven: urea's retail price is fixed by the government and other fertilisers receive nutrient-based subsidy, so statement 1 is incorrect. Ammonia for urea is made from natural gas (statement 2), and sulphur for phosphoric acid is largely a by-product of oil refining (statement 3). Hence 2 and 3.

Evolved LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), a European Space Agency mission planned for the 2030s, will fly three spacecraft in a triangle with sides about 2.5 million km (originally planned at one million km), linked by lasers, to detect gravitational waves. LISA Pathfinder (2015) was a single test spacecraft.

The social cost of carbon is an estimate, in money, of the long-term damage caused by emitting one additional tonne of carbon dioxide in a given year, covering effects on agriculture, health, property and ecosystems. It is used to value the benefits of emission cuts in policy appraisal.

Drones are used for precision spraying of pesticides, for flying into and photographing the craters of active volcanoes where humans cannot go, and for collecting the spray from whales' blowholes for DNA and health analysis. All three activities are carried out with drones.

Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar's Marathi-Bengali work 'Desher Katha' (1904) exposed the economic and psychological domination of colonial rule, warning against the colonial state's hypnotic conquest of the mind (statement 1), and it inspired swadeshi plays and songs during the Swadeshi movement (statement 2). Deuskar used 'desh' for India as a whole, not just Bengal, so statement 3 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 2.

Nagarhole National Park, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary all lie in the Cauvery basin, drained by its tributaries the Kabini, Bhavani and Moyar. Papikonda National Park is on the Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. Hence 1, 3 and 4.

The Alma-Ata Declaration (1978) concerns primary health care for all, and the Talanoa Dialogue (2018) was a facilitative dialogue under the UNFCCC on climate action; pairs 1 and 3 are correct. The Hague Conventions deal with the laws of war, not biological and chemical weapons specifically, and the Under2 Coalition is a group of sub-national governments committed to climate action, not child rights. Hence 1 and 3.

Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh is famous for saving the hard-ground barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi), a sub-species of swamp deer adapted to dry grassland and feeding only on grasses, from near extinction in the 1970s.

A parivrajaka was a wandering renunciant and an upasaka was a lay follower of the Buddha, so pairs 1 and 3 are correct. Shramanas were ascetic seekers of the Buddhist, Jaina and Ajivika traditions who rejected Vedic ritual; they were not high-status priests (that would be Brahmanas). Hence 1 and 3.

Benzene is released by vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke and the burning of wood and other fuels, which are the main sources of exposure. Varnished furniture and polyurethane products emit other volatile compounds such as formaldehyde and isocyanates, not benzene. Hence 1, 2 and 3.

Visible light communication (Li-Fi) uses visible wavelengths of 375-780 nm (statement 1), can transmit data far faster than Bluetooth (statement 3) and, being optical, causes no electromagnetic interference, so it can be used in hospitals and aircraft (statement 4). It is a short-range technology, since light does not pass through walls, so statement 2 is incorrect. Hence 1, 3 and 4.

Artificial intelligence already optimises energy use in factories, diagnoses diseases from scans and converts text to speech, so statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. The key, set in 2020, treats the creation of meaningful stories and songs as beyond AI at that time, and wireless transmission of electrical energy is an engineering problem unrelated to AI. Hence 1, 3 and 4.

Biochar, the charcoal left when biomass is heated without oxygen, is a porous, carbon-rich material that can be mixed into the growing medium, including in vertical farms; its pores provide habitat for beneficial microbes, including nitrogen-fixers; and it holds water for longer. All three statements are correct.

A blockchain is a distributed public ledger that anyone can inspect but no single user controls (statement 1), and permissionless blockchains such as Ethereum let anyone build applications on them (statement 3). Blockchains record any kind of data, from land records to supply chains, not only cryptocurrency, so statement 2 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 3.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines protect against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis (statement 1), and by preventing infection they reduce antibiotic use and so the growth of drug resistance (statement 2). Like all vaccines they can cause mild side effects and rare allergic reactions, so statement 3 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 2.

Ghantasala and Kadura on the Andhra coast and Chaul on the Konkan coast were ports that handled India's flourishing foreign trade with South-East Asia, the Roman world and the Persian Gulf in the Gupta period.

Mahendravarman I established Pallava power in the early 7th century; Gopala founded the Pala dynasty in about 750 AD; Mihira Bhoja raised the Pratiharas to their height in the mid-9th century; and Parantaka I consolidated Chola power in the early 10th century. The order is 2-4-1-3.

The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (with the African Union added in 2023). Only option (a) lists four members; Malaysia, New Zealand, Iran, Vietnam and Singapore are not members.

Individual cyber-insurance policies in India cover the cost of restoring data and systems after a malware attack, the cost of consultants to handle cyber-extortion, and legal defence costs if a third party sues; they do not pay for a new computer physically damaged by a miscreant, which is a property-insurance matter. Hence 1, 3 and 4.

The Ceylon frogmouth of the Western Ghats, the coppersmith barbet common across India, the grey-chinned minivet of the Himalayan foothills and the white-throated redstart of the high Himalaya are all birds.

Indigo cultivation collapsed after the German chemical industry developed synthetic indigo in 1897, which was cheaper and more uniform; natural indigo became unprofitable in the world market and planters abandoned it, though peasant resistance in Champaran lingered until 1917.

In the Rakhmabai case (1884-88) a Bombay court was asked to enforce restitution of conjugal rights against Rakhmabai, who had been married as a child and refused to live with her husband; the controversy fed the debate on the age of consent that led to the Age of Consent Act, 1891. It was not about women's education. Hence 2 and 3.

Desert National Park in Rajasthan spreads over Jaisalmer and Barmer districts (statement 1) and is one of the last natural habitats of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (statement 3). Several villages lie within the park, so statement 2 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 3.

Germline editing can alter the cells that produce eggs or sperm (statement 1); embryos can be edited at an early stage, as in the controversial 2018 Chinese experiment (statement 2); and human induced pluripotent stem cells have been injected into pig embryos to create human-pig chimeras for organ research (statement 3). All three are correct.

Cheap machine-made textiles from Britain flooded India after the Industrial Revolution, while discriminatory duties kept Indian goods out of Britain; Indian handicrafts, above all handloom weaving, were ruined. Machines and railways came to India mainly after 1850, and duties were imposed on Indian exports, not British imports.

The Kisan Credit Card provides short-term credit for crop cultivation, post-harvest expenses, the working capital needed to maintain farm assets and the consumption needs of the farm household. Purchase of tractors or construction of houses and cold storages are long-term investments financed by term loans. Hence 1, 3 and 4.

Coal ash contains toxic heavy metals including arsenic, lead and mercury (statement 1); coal-fired plants emit sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides (statement 2); and Indian coal is notable for its high ash content of 30-45 per cent (statement 3). All three statements are correct.

The passage is from Ashoka's Major Rock Edict XII, which preaches toleration and the growth of the essentials of all sects, warning that one who glorifies his own sect by disparaging others harms his own sect. It reflects Ashoka's policy of dhamma.

Using copper slag as a substitute for sand, cold-mix asphalt that needs no heating, and geotextiles that strengthen the road and reduce material use all lower the carbon footprint of rural roads under PMGSY's green technology initiative. Hot-mix asphalt and Portland cement are energy-intensive. Hence 1, 2 and 3.

Kulyavapa and dronavapa were units of land measurement used in the Gupta-period land grants of Bengal and Bihar: the area that could be sown with a kulya or a drona of seed. Adhavapa was a smaller unit.

Ulgulan ('the Great Tumult') is the name given to Birsa Munda's uprising of 1899-1900 in the Chota Nagpur region against the dikus (outsiders), landlords and missionaries who had dispossessed the Munda tribals of their khuntkatti land rights.

A hundi in post-Harsha sources was a bill of exchange, a written order by which merchants and bankers (shreshthis) transferred money and credit across long distances, avoiding the carriage of coins and facilitating trade.

Pronuclear transfer is a mitochondrial replacement technique: after fertilisation, the pronuclei of the parents' egg are transferred into a donor egg whose own nucleus has been removed but whose mitochondria are healthy, so the child does not inherit the mother's mitochondrial disease.

Kalidasa adorned the court of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (statement 3). Panini, the grammarian of the Ashtadhyayi, lived around the 5th-4th century BC, long before Pushyamitra Shunga (statement 1 incorrect), and Amarasimha, author of the Amarakosha, was one of the nine gems of Chandragupta II's court, not Harsha's (statement 2 incorrect). Hence 3 only.

Bhilsa (Vidisha) is in Madhya Pradesh and Girinagar (Girnar, Junagadh) is in Gujarat, so pairs 1 and 3 are correct. Dwarasamudra (Halebidu), the Hoysala capital, is in Karnataka, not Maharashtra, and Sthanesvara (Thanesar), Harsha's capital, is in Haryana, not Uttar Pradesh. Hence 1 and 3.

Plant cells have cellulose cell walls, which animal cells lack (statement 1), and a mature plant cell has one large central vacuole while animal cells have several small ones (statement 3). Both plant and animal cells have a plasma membrane, so statement 2 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 3.

After 1991 the rural non-farm economy, including construction, trade and services, grew strongly (statement 3) while the growth rate of rural employment slowed (statement 4). Worker productivity rose in both rural and urban areas (statement 1 incorrect) and the rural share of the workforce declined as people moved to towns (statement 2 incorrect). Hence 3 and 4.

Gopal Baba Walangkar, a pioneer of the Dalit movement in Maharashtra and a follower of Jyotiba Phule, started 'Vital-Vidhvansak' (destroyer of Brahmanical hypocrisy) in 1888, the first periodical addressed to the untouchable communities.

Lord Wellesley founded the College of Fort William at Calcutta in 1800 to train young civil servants of the Company in Indian languages, laws and customs so that they could administer India; the Court of Directors disapproved and later set up Haileybury College in England instead.

Raising settlings from bud chips in a nursery saves a large quantity of seed cane (statement 1), and settlings from tissue culture are used for planting disease-free cane (statement 4). Setts with more buds germinate better and survive bad weather better than single-budded setts, so statements 2 and 3 are incorrect. Hence 1 and 4.

Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 free legal aid is available to women, children, SC/ST members, industrial workmen, victims of disasters and trafficking, persons with disabilities, persons in custody, and persons with an annual income below Rs 1 lakh (Rs 5 lakh for the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee); transgender persons were made eligible subject to the income limit. OBC status and senior-citizen status are not by themselves grounds. Hence 1 and 2.

Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is India's largest tiger reserve, with a critical tiger habitat (core) of about 2,500 sq km, larger than the cores of Corbett, Ranthambore or the Sundarbans.

Under the 2005 Indo-US nuclear deal and India's separation plan, reactors designated as civilian are placed under IAEA safeguards; these include the reactors that use imported uranium and foreign-built units such as Kudankulam, while reactors reserved for the strategic programme and run on domestic fuel remain outside safeguards.

The Lokottaravadins were a branch of the Mahasanghikas (statement 2), and the Mahasanghikas' view of the Buddha as a transcendent, supramundane being prepared the ground for Mahayana (statement 3). The Sthaviravadins (Theravadins) were the conservative school from which the Mahasanghikas split, not a Mahayana school, so statement 1 is incorrect. Hence 2 and 3.

In Mahayana Buddhism the paramitas are the six (later ten) perfections, such as generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation and wisdom, that a bodhisattva must cultivate on the path to Buddhahood.

The Himalayan musk deer lives in the high-altitude forests and alpine scrub of the Himalaya, and Askot Wildlife Sanctuary (created for it) and Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand are its habitats. Kishanpur in the Terai and Manas in Assam are lowland sanctuaries. Hence 1 and 2.

In the Puttaswamy (Aadhaar) judgment of 2018 the Supreme Court barred the State from sharing Aadhaar data with private corporations under contract (statement 2) and upheld section 7, making Aadhaar mandatory for subsidies and benefits paid from the Consolidated Fund (statement 4). It limited metadata storage to six months, not three (statement 1 incorrect), and struck down the requirement for bank accounts, mobile connections and similar private services, so Aadhaar is not mandatory for insurance (statement 3 incorrect). Hence 2 and 4.

Elephant herds are matriarchal, led by the oldest female (statement 1), and the gestation period is the longest of any mammal, up to about 22 months (statement 2). Cows can calve into their fifties, not only till 40 (statement 3 incorrect), and Karnataka, not Kerala, has the largest elephant population (statement 4 incorrect). Hence 1 and 2.

The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 allows ethanol to be made from sugar-containing materials such as sugar beet and sweet sorghum, starch-containing materials such as cassava and corn, and damaged food grains such as wheat and broken rice and rotten potatoes unfit for human consumption. Edible oilseeds such as groundnut and pulses such as horse gram are excluded. Hence 1, 2, 5 and 6.

Solar power can run both surface and submersible pumps, and both centrifugal and positive-displacement (piston or helical rotor) pumps are available in solar versions. Both statements are therefore incorrect.

Schedule VI of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 lists specially protected plants such as the pitcher plant, blue vanda and red vanda. Their cultivation, collection or trade requires a licence from the Chief Wildlife Warden; it does not mean they cannot be grown at all.