UPSC Prelims 2023 Question Paper with Answers & Explanations

In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?

With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements:

1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.

2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics.

3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to ancient South India, Korkai, Poompuhar and Muchiri were well known as

Which one of the following explains the practice of 'Vattakirutal' as mentioned in Sangam poems?

Consider the following dynasties:

1. Hoysala

2. Gahadavala

3. Kakatiya

4. Yadava

How many of the above dynasties established their kingdoms in early eighth century AD?

With reference to ancient Indian History, consider the following pairs:

Literary work – Author

1. Devichandragupta : Bilhana

2. Hammira-Mahakavya : Nayachandra Suri

3. Milinda-panha : Nagarjuna

4. Nitivakyamrita : Somadeva Suri

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

"Souls are not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of rocks, running water and many other natural objects not looked on as living by other religious sects."

The above statement reflects one of the core beliefs of which one of the following religious sects of ancient India?

Who among the following rulers of Vijayanagara Empire constructed a large dam across Tungabhadra River and a canal-cum-aqueduct several kilometres long from the river to the capital city?

Who among the following rulers of medieval Gujarat surrendered Diu to Portuguese?

By which one of the following Acts was the Governor General of Bengal designated as the Governor General of India?

In essence, what does 'Due Process of Law' mean?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
In India, prisons are managed by State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons.

Statement-II:
In India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the chief purpose of the 'Constitution' of a country?

In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to overcome the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights?

Consider the following organizations/bodies in India:

1. The National Commission for Backward Classes
2. The National Human Rights Commission
3. The National Law Commission
4. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

How many of the above are constitutional bodies?

Consider the following statements:

1. If the election of the President of India is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, all acts done by him/her in the performance of duties of his/her office of President before the date of decision become invalid.

2. Election for the post of the President of India can be postponed on the ground that some Legislative Assemblies have been dissolved and elections are yet to take place.

3. When a Bill is presented to the President of India, the Constitution prescribes time limits within which he/she has to declare his/her assent.

How many of the above statements are correct?

With reference to Finance Bill and Money Bill in the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements:

1. When the Lok Sabha transmits Finance Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it can amend or reject the Bill.
2. When the Lok Sabha transmits Money Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it cannot amend or reject the Bill, it can only make recommendations.
3. In the case of disagreement between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, there is no joint sitting for Money Bill, but a joint sitting becomes necessary for Finance Bill.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Once the Central Government notifies an area as a 'Community Reserve':

1. The Chief Wildlife Warden of the State becomes the governing authority of such forest.
2. Hunting is not allowed in such area.
3. People of such area are allowed to collect non-timber forest produce.
4. People of such area are allowed traditional agricultural practices.

How many of the above statements are correct?

With reference to 'Scheduled Areas' in India, consider the following statements:

1. Within a State, the notification of an area as Scheduled Area takes place through an Order of the President.
2. The largest administrative unit forming the Scheduled Area is the District and the lowest is the cluster of villages in the Block.
3. The Chief Ministers of the concerned States are required to submit annual reports to the Union Home Ministry on the administration of Scheduled Areas in the States.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgements that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India would be limited by Article 335 for maintenance of efficiency of the administration.

Statement-II:
Article 335 of the Constitution of India defines the term 'efficiency of administration'.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
India, despite having uranium deposits, depends on coal for most of its electricity production.

Statement-II:
Uranium, enriched to the extent of at least 60%, is required for the production of electricity.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
Marsupials are not naturally found in India.

Statement-II:
Marsupials can thrive only in montane grasslands with no predators.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Invasive species Specialist Group' (that develops Global Invasive Species Database) belongs to which one of the following organizations?

Consider the following fauna:

1. Lion-tailed Macaque
2. Malabar Civet
3. Sambar Deer

How many of the above are generally nocturnal or most active after sunset?

Which of the following organisms perform waggle dance for others of their kin to indicate the direction and the distance to a source of their food?

Consider the following statements:

1. Some mushrooms have medicinal properties.

2. Some mushrooms have psychoactive properties.

3. Some mushrooms have insecticidal properties.

4. Some mushrooms have bioluminescent properties.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements regarding the Indian squirrels:

1. They build nests by making burrows in the ground.

2. They store their food materials like nuts and seeds in the ground.

3. They are omnivorous.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. Some microorganisms can grow in environments with temperature above the boiling point of water.

2. Some microorganisms can grow in environments with temperature below the freezing point of water.

3. Some microorganisms can grow in highly acidic environment with a pH below 3.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Which one of the following makes a tool with a stick to scrape insects from a hole in a tree or a log of wood?

Consider the following:

1. Aerosols
2. Foam agents
3. Fire retardants
4. Lubricants

In the making of how many of the above are hydrofluorocarbons used?

Consider the following statements:

1. Jhelum River passes through Wular Lake.

2. Krishna River directly feeds Kolleru Lake.

3. Meandering of Gandak River formed Kanwar Lake.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following pairs:

Port — Well known as
1. Kamarajar Port : First major port in India registered as a company
2. Mundra Port : Largest privately owned port in India
3. Visakhapatnam : Largest container port in India

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Consider the following trees:

1. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
2. Mahua (Madhuca indica)
3. Teak (Tectona grandis)

How many of the above are deciduous trees?

Consider the following statements:

1. India has more arable area than China.

2. The proportion of irrigated area is more in India as compared to China.

3. The average productivity per hectare in Indian agriculture is higher than that in China.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Which one of the following is the best example of repeated falls in sea level, giving rise to present-day extensive marshland?

Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?

About three-fourths of world's cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by

Which one of the following is a part of the Congo Basin?

Consider the following statements:

1. Amarkantak Hills are at the confluence of Vindhya and Sahyadri Ranges.

2. Biligirirangan Hills constitute the easternmost part of Satpura Range.

3. Seshachalam Hills constitute the southernmost part of Western Ghats.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to India's projects on connectivity, consider the following statements:

1. East-West Corridor under Golden Quadrilateral Project connects Dibrugarh and Surat.

2. Trilateral Highway connects Moreh in Manipur and Chiang Mai in Thailand via Myanmar.

3. Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor connects Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh with Kunming in China.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
Interest income from the deposits in Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) distributed to their investors is exempted from tax, but the dividend is taxable.

Statement-II:
InvITs are recognized as borrowers under the 'Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002'.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
In the post-pandemic recent past, many Central Banks worldwide had carried out interest rate hikes.

Statement-II:
Central Banks generally assume that they have the ability to counteract the rising consumer prices via monetary policy means.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
Carbon markets are likely to be one of the most widespread tools in the fight against climate change.

Statement-II:
Carbon markets transfer resources from the private sector to the State.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Which one of the following activities of the Reserve Bank of India is considered to be part of 'sterilization'?

Consider the following markets:

1. Government Bond Market
2. Call Money Market
3. Treasury Bill Market
4. Stock Market

How many of the above are included in capital markets?

Which one of the following best describes the concept of 'Small Farmer Large Field'?

Consider the following statements:

1. The Government of India provides Minimum Support Price for niger (Guizotia abyssinica) seeds.
2. Niger is cultivated as a Kharif crop.
3. Some tribal people in India use niger seed oil for cooking.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the investments in the following assets:

1. Brand recognition
2. Inventory
3. Intellectual property
4. Mailing list of clients

How many of the above are considered intangible investments?

Consider the following:

1. Demographic performance
2. Forest and ecology
3. Governance reforms
4. Stable government
5. Tax and fiscal efforts

For the horizontal tax devolution, the Fifteenth Finance Commission used how many of the above as criteria other than population area and income distance?

Consider the following infrastructure sectors:

1. Affordable housing
2. Mass rapid transport
3. Health care
4. Renewable energy

On how many of the above does UNOPS Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and Innovation (S3i) initiative focus for its investments?

With reference to Home Guards, consider the following statements:

1. Home Guards are raised under the Home Guards act and Rules of the Central Government.
2. The role of the Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary force to the police in maintenance of internal security.
3. To prevent infiltration on the international border/coastal areas, the Border Wing Home Guards Battalions have been raised in some States.

How many of the above statements are correct?

With reference to India, consider the following pairs:

Action — The Act under Which it is covered
1. Unauthorized wearing of police or military uniforms : The Official Secrets Act, 1923
2. Knowingly misleading or otherwise interfering with a police officer or military officer when engaged in their duties : The Indian Evidence Act, 1872
3. Celebratory gunfire which can endanger the personal safety of others : The Arms (Amendment) Act, 2019

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Consider the following pairs:

Regions often in the news — Reason for being in news
1. North Kivu and Ituri : War between Armenia and Azerbaijan
2. Nagorno-Karabakh : Insurgency in Mozambique
3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia : Dispute between Israel and Lebanon

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:
Israel has established diplomatic relations with some Arab States.

Statement-II:
The 'Arab Peace Initiative' mediated by Saudi Arabia was signed by Israel and Arab League.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following pairs:

Area of conflict mentioned in news — Country where it is located
1. Donbas : Syria
2. Kachin : Ethiopia
3. Tigray : North Yemen

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

In the recent years Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan caught the international attention for which one of the following reasons common to all of them?

Consider the following heavy industries:

1. Fertilizer plants
2. Oil refineries
3. Steel plants

Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?

Consider the following statements about G-20:

1. The G-20 group was originally established as a platform for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss the international economic and financial issues.
2. Digital public infrastructure is one of India's G-20 priorities.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to the Indian History, Alexander Rea, A. H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Walter Elliot were associated with

Consider the following pairs:

Site — Well known for
1. Besnagar : Shaivite cave shrine
2. Bhaja : Buddhist cave shrine
3. Sittanavasal : Jain cave shrine

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?