QUESTION 1 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Comparing Rigvedic Aryans with the Indus Valley people: (1) Aryans used coats of mail and helmets in war, with no such IVC evidence; (2) Aryans knew gold, silver and copper while IVC people knew only copper and iron; (3) Aryans had domesticated the horse, with no evidence IVC people did. Which is/are correct?
Explanation: Statement 2 is wrong because the IVC people, being pre-Iron Age, did not know iron; statements 1 and 3 correctly capture genuine cultural contrasts between the two groups.
QUESTION 2 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Which port served as a very important seaport of the Kakatiya kingdom?
Explanation: Motupalli on the Andhra coast was a key Kakatiya-era trading port, noted for its trade-protection regulations recorded in an inscription of Ganapati Deva.
QUESTION 3 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Who is/are associated with introducing the Ryotwari Settlement in British India: Lord Cornwallis, Alexander Read, Thomas Munro?
Explanation: Alexander Read and Thomas Munro pioneered and implemented the Ryotwari system in the Madras Presidency; Cornwallis is instead associated with the Permanent (Zamindari) Settlement in Bengal.
QUESTION 4 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Match pairs: Radhakanta Deb - first President of the British Indian Association; Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty - founder of the Madras Mahajana Sabha; Surendranath Banerjee - founder of the Indian Association. Which are correctly matched?
Explanation: Radhakanta Deb's and Surendranath Banerjee's associations are correct, but Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty actually founded the Madras Native Association, not the Madras Mahajana Sabha.
QUESTION 5 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] What was the object of the 1927 Butler Committee?
Explanation: The Butler Committee (Indian States Committee) examined and sought to improve relations between British India's government and the princely states.
QUESTION 6 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Arrange chronologically: mutiny in the Royal Indian Navy; launch of the Quit India Movement; the Second Round Table Conference.
Explanation: The Second Round Table Conference (1931) came first, followed by the Quit India Movement (1942), and finally the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (1946).
QUESTION 7 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] One implication of equality in society is the absence of:
Explanation: True social equality implies the absence of special privileges accorded to particular groups or individuals over others.
QUESTION 8 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Do the Directive Principles of State Policy constitute limitations on legislative function, executive function, or both?
Explanation: DPSPs are non-justiciable guiding principles meant to inform policy-making, not binding legal limitations restricting legislative or executive action.
QUESTION 9 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Regarding private members' bills: (1) such a bill is one presented by an MP who is nominated rather than elected; (2) a private member's bill has, for the first time in Parliament's history, recently been passed. Which is/are correct?
Explanation: A private member's bill is simply one introduced by any MP who is not a minister, regardless of whether elected or nominated, and such bills have been passed on rare occasions before, not for the first time recently.
QUESTION 10 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Through which of these does Parliament exercise control over the functions of the Council of Ministers: adjournment motion, question hour, supplementary questions?
Explanation: Adjournment motions, question hour, and supplementary questions are all genuine parliamentary devices for holding ministers accountable.
QUESTION 11 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Where is the 'mind of the makers' of the Indian Constitution best reflected?
Explanation: The Preamble is widely regarded as encapsulating the founding vision and core values the Constitution's framers intended to embody.
QUESTION 12 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] What is the chief advantage of a parliamentary system of government?
Explanation: The parliamentary system's core strength lies in continuous executive accountability to the elected legislature.
QUESTION 13 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] In the Indian context, which is the correct relationship between Rights and Duties?
Explanation: Rights and Duties are understood as correlative - enjoying a right typically corresponds with certain duties toward others and society.
QUESTION 14 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Democracy's superior virtue lies in the fact that it calls into activity:
Explanation: Democracy's core strength lies in drawing on the collective judgment and participation of ordinary citizens rather than relying on a single leader or elite group.
QUESTION 15 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Which of these is NOT a feature of Indian federalism?
Explanation: Unlike classic federations formed by voluntary agreement among pre-existing sovereign units, the Indian Union was created through a constitution-making process, not a federating agreement.
QUESTION 16 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Which statement best captures the underlying principle of Cabinet government?
Explanation: The Cabinet system exists fundamentally to ensure that the executive functions with collective responsibility to the legislature and, through it, the people.
QUESTION 17 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] Regarding Fundamental Duties of an Indian citizen: (1) a legislative process has been provided to enforce these duties; (2) they are correlative to legal duties. Which is/are true?
Explanation: Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) are non-justiciable moral obligations with no direct legislative enforcement mechanism, and are not framed as strict legal duties correlative to enforceable rights.
QUESTION 18 OF 18
[UPSC Prelims 2017] What is envisaged under the Right against Exploitation in the Constitution: prohibition of human trafficking/forced labour; abolition of untouchability; protection of minority interests; prohibition of employing children in factories/mines?
Explanation: Prohibition of trafficking/forced labour and child labour fall under the Right against Exploitation (Articles 23-24); abolition of untouchability is part of the Right to Equality, and minority protection is a separate Cultural/Educational Right, not part of this particular right.
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