DAY – 65 (InstaTest-65): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2022: Topic – MODERN INDIA, PREVIOUS YEAR UPSC PAPER 2013, February 2022 CA – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: D

Ayagar System

It was a Socio-economic system which originated first in the Karnataka region in ancient period and then spread to Tamil and Andhra regions in the medieval period. It meant that the requirements of the rural population in certain goods and social services were met by a staff of professionals, who were remunerated not with the payment for work done, but summarily with a fraction of gross agricultural produce, called Ayam. All village artisans and menials together with the community administrative staff were therefore known by the common name of ayagars (receivers of the ayam).

Solution: C

The Charter Act of 1813

In England, the business interests were pressing for an end to the Company’s monopoly over trade in India because of a spirit of laissez-faire and the continental system by Napoleon by which the European ports were closed for Britain. The 1813 Act sought to redress these grievances—

• The Company’s monopoly over trade in India ended, but the Company retained the trade with China and the trade in tea.
• The Company’s shareholders were given a 10.5 per cent dividend on the revenue of India.
• The Company was to retain the possession of territories and the revenue for 20 years more, without prejudice to the sovereignty of the Crown. (Thus, the constitutional position of the British territories in India was defined explicitly for the first time.)
• Powers of the Board of Control were further enlarged.
• A sum of one lakh rupees was to be set aside for the revival, promotion and encouragement of literature, learning and science among the natives of India, every year. (This was an important statement from the point of State’s responsibility for education.)
• The regulations made by the Councils of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were now required to be laid before the British Parliament. The constitutional position of the British territories in India was thus explicitly defined for the first time.
• Separate accounts were to be kept regarding commercial transactions and territorial revenues. The power of superintendence and direction of the Board of Control was not only defined but also enlarged considerably.
• Christian missionaries were also permitted to come to India and preach their religion.

Solution: B

The Charter Act of 1793

• The Act renewed the Company’s commercial privileges for next 20 years.
• The Company, after paying the necessary expenses, interest, dividends, salaries, etc., from the Indian revenues, was to pay 5 lakh pounds annually to the British government.
• The royal approval was mandated for the appointment of the governor-general, the governors, and the commander-in- chief.
• Senior officials of the Company were debarred from leaving India without permission—doing so was treated as resignation.
• The Company was empowered to give licences to individuals as well as the Company’s employees to trade in India. The licences, known as ‘privilege’ or ‘country trade’, paved the way for shipments of opium to China.
• The revenue administration was separated from the judiciary functions and this led to disappearing of the Maal Adalats.

● The Home Government members were to be paid out of Indian revenues which continued up to 1919.

Solution: D

Indian Civil Service Act, 1861

This Act reserved certain offices for convenanted civil servants but the examination was held in England in English language, based on classical learning of Greek and Latin. The maximum permissible age was gradually reduced from 23 (in 1859) to 22 (in 1860) to 21 (in 1866) and to 19 (1878). In 1863, Satyendra Nath Tagore became the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service.

Statutory Civil Service

In 1878-79, Lytton introduced the Statutory Civil Service consisting of one-sixth of covenanted posts to be filled by Indians of high families through nominations by local governments subject to approval by the secretary of State and the viceroy. But the system failed and was abolished.

Government of India Act, 1935

The 1935 Act recommended the establishment of a Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial Public Service Commission under their spheres. But the positions of control and authority remained in British hands and the process of Indianisation of the civil service did not put effective political power in Indian hands since the Indian bureaucrats acted as the agents of colonial rule.

Solution: D

Akbar II (1806-37) He gave the title of Raja to Rammohan Rai. In 1835, the coins bearing the names of Mughal emperors were stopped.

Solution: D

Basholi School

The paintings created in the Pahari School in the 17th century were called the Basholi School. This was the early phase and expressive faces with a receding hairline and big eyes that are shaped like lotus petals characterise it. These paintings use a lot of primary colours, i.e. red, yellow and green. They used the Mughal technique of painting on clothing but developed their own styles and techniques. The first patron of this school was Raja Kirpal Singh who ordered the illustration of Bhanudatta’s Rasamajari, Gita Govinda and the Ramayana drawings. The most famous painter of this school was Devi Das who was famous for his depiction of Radha Krishna and the portrait of kings in their livery and in white garments. The contrast of colours is associated with this school and they are borrowed from the Malwa paintings.

Solution: B

The British efforts to establish friendly and commercial relations with Tibet had not yielded any result in the past and a deadlock had been reached by the time of Curzon’s arrival in India. The Chinese suzerainty over Tibet was ineffective and Russian influence at Lhasa was increasing. There were reports of Russian arms and ammunition coming into Tibet. Curzon felt alarmed and sent a small Gorkha contingent under Colonel Younghusband on a special mission to Tibet to oblige the Tibetans to come to an agreement. The Tibetans refused to negotiate and offered non-violent resistance. Younghusband pushed his way into Lhasa (August 1904) while the Dalai Lama fled.

Treaty of Lhasa (1904) Younghusband dictated terms to the Tibetan officials.

Solution: D

Anglo-Nepalese Relations

The Gorkhas wrested control of Nepal from the successors of Ranjit Malla of Bhatgaon in 1760. They began to expand their dominion beyond the mountains. They found it easier to expand in the southern direction, as the north was well defended by the Chinese. In 1801, the English annexed Gorakhpur which brought the Gorkhas’ boundary and the Company’s boundary together. The conflict started due to the Gorkhas’ capture of Butwal and Sheoraj in the period of Lord Hastings (1813-23). The war, ended in the Treaty of Sagauli, 1816 which was in favour of the British.

First Burma War (1824-26)

The first war with Burma was fought when the Burmese expansion westwards and occupation of Arakan and Manipur, and the threat to Assam and the Brahmaputra Valley led to continuous friction along the ill-defined border between Bengal and Burma, in the opening decades of the nineteenth century. The British expeditionary forces occupied Rangoon in May 1824 and reached within 72 km of the capital at Ava. Peace was established in 1826 with the Treaty of Yandabo.

Anglo-Afghan war

The Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879) was signed with Yakub Khan, the eldest son of Sher Ali. Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879) The treaty signed after the Second-Anglo Afghan War.

Solution: D

John Lawrence (1864-1869) started a policy of masterly inactivity which was a reaction to the disasters of the First Afghan War and an outcome of practical common sense and an intimate knowledge of the frontier problem and of Afghan passion for independence. Even when Dost Mohammed died

in 1863, there was no interference in the war of succession. Lawrence’s policy rested on the fulfilment of two conditions—(i) that the peace at the frontier was not disturbed, and (ii) that no candidate in civil war sought foreign help. And as Sher Ali established himself on the throne, Lawrence tried to cultivate friendship with him.

Solution: D

Civil Disobedience Movement (1930–34)

Demands and Launching

Before starting the movement, Gandhi served on the British government an ‘Eleven Point Ultimatum’, which, though did not include the demand for complete independence, represented the specific grievances of the Indians.

The ultimatum included the following demands:

• 50% reduction in land revenue.
• Abolition of the salt tax and government salt monopoly.
• Reservation of coastal shipping for Indians.
• Lowering of the rupee-sterling exchange ratio.
• Protection of indigenous textile industry.
• 50% cut in military expenditure.
• 50% reduction in expenditure on civil administration.
• Total prohibition of intoxicants.
• Release of all political prisoners.
• Changes in the Central Intelligence Department.
• Changes in the Arms Act enabling citizens to bear arms for self-protection.

Of the demands the first two were essentially peasant demands, three to five were bourgeois in nature, while the last six represented the common grievances of the Indian people. After waiting in vain for the government response to his ultimatum for 41 days, Gandhi started the movement with his famous Dandi March (March 12 to April 6, 1930) from the Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on the Gujarat coast.

Solution: A

The Santhal Rebellion (1855-56)

Continued oppression of the Santhals, an agricultural people, who had fled to settle in the plains of the Rajmahal hills (Bihar) led to the Santhal rebellion against the zamindars.

The money-lenders who had the support of the police among others had joined the zamindars to subject the peasants to oppressive exactions and dispossession of lands.

The rebellion turned into an anti-British movement. Under Sidhu and Kanhu, two brothers, the Santhals proclaimed an end to Company rule, and declared the area between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal as autonomous. The rebellion was suppressed by 1856.

The Kols rebellion in 1831 was under the leadership of Buddho Bhagat.

Solution: C

Wellesley was also thoroughly convinced that only a strong British power in India could reduce and control the existing tyranny and corruption in Indian states. Therefore, he reversed the nonintervention policy of his predecessor and formulated his master plan namely the ‘Subsidiary Alliance’.

The Subsidiary System

The predecessors of Wellesley concluded alliances with Indian princes like the Nawab of Oudh and the Nizam of Hyderabad. They received subsidies from the Indian rulers for the maintenance of British troops, which were used for the protection of respective Indian states. Wellesley enlarged and consolidated the already existing system. However, his originality was revealed in its application.

Main Features of Subsidiary Alliance

1. Any Indian ruler who entered into the subsidiary alliance with the British had to maintain a contingent of British troops in his territory. It was commanded by a British officer. The Indian state was called ‘the protected state’ and the British hereinafter were referred to as ‘the paramount power’. It was the duty of the British to safeguard that state from external aggression and to help its ruler maintain internal peace. The protected state should give some money or give part of its territory to the British to support the subsidiary force.
2. The protected state should cut off its connection with European powers other than the English and with the French in particular. The state was also forbidden to have any political contact even with other Indian powers without the permission of the British.
3. The ruler of the protected state should keep a British Resident at his court and disband his own army. He should not employ Europeans in his service without the sanction of the paramount power.
4. The paramount power should not interfere in the internal affairs of the protected state.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad was the first state which was brought under Wellesley’s Subsidiary System in 1798.

Solution: C

August (1917) declaration

On August 20, 1917, Montague, then secretary of state for India, made a momentous declaration in the House of Commons on the British policy towards future political reforms in India. Growing pressure from Indian militant nationalists and the advocates of Home Rule made the British government to consider some political concessions for India.

According to the declaration, the policy of the British government was that of the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of ‘responsible government’ in India as an integral part of the British empire. The declaration, in effect, signified the transformation of the empire into a commonwealth of nations.

Solution: A

Jahandar Shah (March 1712-February 1713) With the help of Zulfikar Khan, Jahandar Shah became the emperor. Zulfikar Khan was appointed prime minister; he introduced izara system to improve the financial condition of the empire. Jahandar Shah abolished Jaziya.

Muhammad Shah (1719-48) After the death of Rafiud-Daula, Raushan Akhtar became the choice of the Sayyid Brothers. Muhammad Shah, as he came to be known in history, was given the title of ‘Rangeela’ due to his luxurious life-style.

Muhammad Shah, with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk, killed the Sayyid Brothers. In 1724, Nizam-ul-Mulk became the wazir and founded the independent state of Hyderabad.

In 1737, Baji Rao I, the Maratha Peshwa invaded Delhi with a small army of 500 horsemen. In 1739, Nadir Shah defeated the Mughals in the Battle of Karnal and later imprisoned Muhammad Shah and annexed areas west of the Indus into the Persian empire.

Solution: C

Akbar

Akbar was responsible for establishment of an entire department devoted to the paintings and scribing of his documents. He established a formal artistic studio called Tasvir Khana where the artists were hired on salary and they developed their own styles.

Shah Jahan

The tenor of the Mughal paintings changed rapidly in the period of Shah Jahan. Unlike his father and grandfather who liked naturalistic depictions, Shah Jahan liked to create artificial elements in the paintings. It is said that he tried to reduce the liveliness of the paintings and bring in unnatural stillness as he was inspired by the European influence.

He brought a change in the technique of drawing and painting from the earlier period. He eschewed the use of charcoal to draw and encouraged the artists to draw and sketch using a pencil. He also ordered to increase the use of gold and silver in the paintings.

Solution: A

Solution:

• One way of forging black holes is the deaths of massive stars in Gamma Ray Bursts explosions so powerful that they have been called mini big-bangs. They send intense jets of light and high-energy radiation shooting across the universe.

• Another way to create Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) is the collision of two neutron stars, the kind of events that generate gravitational waves. Astronomers study the Gamma-rays and X-rays from such bursts to better understand explosion and black hole formation.

Solution:D

Solution:

• The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world’s six geographic regions:Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The award is given by the Goldman Environmental Foundation headquartered in San Francisco, California.It is also called the Green Nobel.

Solution: D

Solution:

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 32 countries  where its use has been licensed. It aims for global coverage.Starlink started launching satellites in 2019. As of May 2022 Starlink consists of over 2,400 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), which communicate with designated ground transceivers.

Solution: C

Solution:

• Japan and India engage in bilateral exercises- Dharma Guardian (Army), Shinyuu- Maitri (Airforce), JIMEX (Navy).

Solution: B

Solution:

About Kafala System

• Many Middle East Countries, including Qatar, follow Kafala System- a sponsorship system which defines the relationship between migrant workers and their local sponsor or Kafeel.
• Under it, local sponsors get almost total control over migrant workers’ employment and immigration status.
• g. sponsor permission is required to leave or change jobs, enter or exit the host country etc.

Answer C

Recently, NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India have launched the Shoonya Campaign. RMI is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1982. 

 About the Campaign: 

It is an initiative to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and industry. 

The campaign will promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the urban deliveries segment and create consumer awareness about the health, environmental and economic benefits of electric vehicles. 

As part of the campaign, a corporate branding and certification programme is being launched to recognise and promote the industry’s efforts towards transitioning to EVs for final-mile deliveries. 

Answer C

The project “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services” (NCAVES) was launched in 2017 with an aim to advance both the knowledge agenda and the development of policy-applications of environmental-economic accounting, and in particular for ecosystem accounting. The project initiated pilot testing SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) in five participating partner countries, namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, with a view to

• Improving the measurement of ecosystems and their services (both in physical and monetary terms) at the (sub)national level;
• Mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystems at (sub)national level policy planning and implementation;
• Contribute to the development of internationally agreed methodology and its use in partner countries.

ANswer B

The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI).

It is a specialised body set up under the National Green Tribunal Act (2010) for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources

Answer D

Depending upon the source and composition of the coal being burned, the components of fly ash vary considerably, but all fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO), the main mineral compounds in coal-bearing rock strata.

Minor constituents include: arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent chromium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium, along with very small concentrations of dioxins and PAH compounds. It also has unburnt carbon.

Answer C

Global Methane Initiative (GMI) brings together state and non-state actors in a collaborative public-private partnership.

Global Methane Initiative (GMI) is a voluntary Government and an informal international partnership having members from 45 countries including the United States and Canada.

India is a partner country.

Answer : B

A is wrong as the court case has shown that genetic discrimination has had reasonable

restriction imposed on it. C is wrong as the passage focuses on the need for debate on usage of

this tool. B is correct as the passage highlights that the issue is complicated and needs wider

debate and formulation of guidelines to avoid controversy.

Answer : D

l * b = 22/7 * 21 * 21 = 1386

l = 14x, b = 11x

so, 14x * 11x = 1386

solve, we get x = 3

therefore, l = 14*3 = 42, b = 11*3 = 33

perimeter = 2(42+33)

=2(75)

=150

Answer : B

110% of SP = 616 (Rate of sales tax = 10%)

SP = 616*100/110 = 560

CP = 100*SP/100 + gain%

CP = 100*560/100+12 = 500

Answer  C

Since the all the options given are divisible by 11, the given number should be divisible by 11.

To check the divisibility of 11, we have to mark the alternative digits as odd placed digits and

even placed digits.

Sum of the odd placed digits = 1+2+9+4 = 16.

Sum of the even placed digits = 3+3+6+4 = 16.

The difference between the sums = 16-16 = 0.

Hence, the given number is divisible by 11.

The other factors can be (44/11) = 4, (66/11) = 6, (88/11) = 8 or (99/11) = 9.

Among them, 9 is the greatest.

To check the divisibility of 9, add all the digits.

Sum of all the digits = 3+1+3+2+6+9+4+4 = 32; 3+2 = 5; 5 is not divisible by 9.

To check the divisibility of 8, check if the number formed by last 3 digits i.e. 944 is divisible by

8.

Hence, the given number is divisible by both 11 and 8.

Thus, 31326944 is divisible by 88.

Answer C

In this case we have to find the minimum number of tiles of maximum possible size to furnish

the floor.

Since we are looking for square sized tiles the length and breadth are equal.

Hence, we have to find HCF of 7.2 and 4.62.

When we multiply 100 to both the numbers, we get 720 and 462

HCF of 720 and 462 is 6.

Hence, the size of the tile is 6cm × 6cm or 0.06m × 0.06m.

The number of tiles required along the length = 7.2/0.06 = 120

The number of tiles required along the breadth = 4.32/0.06 = 77

Hence, the total number of tiles required = 120 × 77 = 9240.