DAY – 61 (InstaTest-61): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2022: Topic – ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL INDIA, PREVIOUS YEAR UPSC PAPER 2008, December 2021 CA – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: A

Shiva is associated with the end of the cosmic world with which this dancing Position of Nataraja is associated.

In this Chola period bronze sculpture he has been shown balancing himself on his right leg and suppressing the apasmara, the demon of ignorance or forgetfulness, with the foot of the same leg. At the same time he raises his

left leg in bhujangatrasita stance, which represents tirobhava, that is kicking away the veil of maya or illusion from the devotee’s mind. His four arms are outstretched and the main right hand is posed in abhaya hasta. The upper right holds the damaru his favourite musical instrument to keep on the beat tala. The upper left hand carries a flame while the main left hand is held in dola hasta and connects with the abhaya hasta of the right hand.

His hair locks fly on both the sides touching the circular jvala mala or the garland of flames which surrounds the entire dancing figuration.

Solution: C

The Yoga school literally means the union of two major entities. They argue that human being can achieve salvation by combining meditation and physical application of yogic techniques.

It is argued that these techniques lead to the release of the Purusha from the Prakriti and would eventually lead to salvation. This origin of Yoga and the school have been expounded in the Yogasutra of Patanjali that is attributed tentatively to the 2^nd century BCE.

The physical aspect of this school deals primarily with exercises in various postures that are also called asanas. There are several types of breathing exercises that are called pranayams.

Solution: C

The Four Noble Truths of Buddha are:

– The world is full of suffering.

– The cause of suffering is desire.

– If desires are gotten rid off, suffering can be removed.

– This can be done by following the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path consists of right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Buddha neither accepts god nor rejects the existence of god.

He laid great emphasis on the law of karma. He argued that the condition of man in this life depends upon his own deeds. He taught that the soul does not exist. However, he emphasized Ahimsa. By his love for human beings and all living creatures, he endeared himself to all.

Solution: C

The first talking film was Alam Ara, which was produced by the Imperial Film Company and directed by Ardeshir Irani. It was screened at Majestic Cinema in Bombay in 1931.

All films have to get a Censor Board certificate. Even the foreign films that are imported to India have to get a CBFC certification. All the films that are dubbed from one language to another have to get a fresh certificate to ensure that the language change is not offensive in any manner.

Although the certification of films is a subject under the Central Government, the enforcement of the censorship in their respective domains lies with the State governments.

Solution: A

Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar (Malla Mahajanapada) in Uttar Pradesh at the age of 80 in 483 BC. He is said to be contemporary for major part of his life to King Bimbisara and for last few years to Ajatashatru of Haryanka Dynasty.

Buddha is known in various Buddhist texts also as Tathagata and Sakyamuni. The predecessor of Buddha under Buddhism was Kassapa Buddha and his successor will be Maitreya.

Solution: A

Tracing its origins from the Ras Leela of Brajbhoomi, Kathak is the traditional dance form of Uttar Pradesh. Kathak derived its name from the ‘Kathika’ or the story-tellers who recited verses from the epics, with gestures and music.

An important feature of Kathak is the development of different gharanas as it is based on Hindustani style of music:

Lucknow: Reached its peak under the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Khan. It puts more importance on expression and grace.

Jaipur: Initiated by Bhanuji, it emphasised fluency, speed and long rhythmic patterns.

Raigarh: It developed under the patronage of Raja Chakradhar Singh. It is unique in its emphasis on percussion music.

Jugalbandi is the main attraction of kathak recital which shows a competitive play between the dancer and the table player.

Padhant is a special feature in which the dancer recites complicated bols and demonstrates them.

Solution: A

Manipuri dance form finds its mythological origin to the celestial dance of Shiva and Parvati in the valleys of Manipur along with the local ‘Gandharvas’. The dance gained prominence with the advent of Vaishnavism in 15^th century. Then, Krishna became the central theme of this dance form. It is performed generally by females

Sankirtana is a ritual singing, drumming and dancing art form of Manipur. This art form is performed to mark religious occasions and various stages in the life of Manipuri Vaishnavites. Practiced at temples, the performers here narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna through songs and dances.

Bharatnatyam has Lord Shiva as principal figure.

Solution: B

Sallekhana – It is a religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing the intake of food and liquids. It is not considered as a suicide by Jain scholars because it is not an act of passion, nor does it deploy poisons or weapons. It can be performed by both Jain ascetics and householders.

In 2015, the Rajasthan High Court banned the practice, considering it suicide. Later that year, the Supreme Court of India stayed the decision of the Rajasthan High Court and lifted the ban on Sallekhana.

Pratikraman – It is a process during which Jains repent for their sins during their daily life, and remind themselves not to repeat them. The five types of Pratikaman include Devasi, Rayi, Pakhi, Chaumasi and Samvatsari.

Solution: B

The Portuguese brought with them the Iberian style of architecture.

They initially built trading posts and ware houses, which were later remodelled into fortified town along the coastlines. They also introduced the concept of ‘patio houses’ and ‘Baroque style’ developed in late-16th century in Europe to express the strength of the Church. It had elaborate, detailed and theatrical design to create adramatic effect. It involved use of contrasting colours.

French influence

The French brought the concept of urban city planning with them. The French towns of Pondicherry and Chandernagore (now Chandannagar, West Bengal) were built using the Cartesian grid plans and scientific architectural designs. They built imposing buildings as a show of power. They also introduced the concept of anonymous architecture which involves simple facade without much ornamentation or design, much like modern buildings.

Solution: B

Losar is the first day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar. It is celebrated on various dates depending on location (Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and India) tradition.

The Parsi New Year, also known as Navroz or Jamshedi Navroz, is celebrated every year to mark the beginning of the new Iranian calendar.

Hemis Festival. It is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava or popularly known as Guru Rinpoche. The Dance Festival is world famous representing the reincarnation of Buddha.

Solution: B

Kolkali-Parichakali is a popular martial dance in the areas of southern Kerala and Lakshwadeep. Kol means stick and Paricha means shield. The dancers use mock weapons made of wood and enact fight sequences.

Bihu is the popular dance of Assam, performed in group by both men and women. The dancers are dressed in colourful traditional dresses to celebrate the pomp and gaiety. The dance performance includes group formations, rapid hand movements and brisk footsteps.

Kaikottikali is a popular temple dance of Kerala. It is performed by both men and women at the time of Onam to celebrate the rich harvest. Airukali and Tattamakali are similar forms of this dance.

Solution: C

Zoroastrianism

This religion has its origin in Persia by the prophet Zarathustra around 6-7 BCE.

They are a monotheistic religion which believes in one eternal god whose name is Ahura Mazda who is the epitome of just behaviour and goodness. There is a spirit of malice and bad behaviour called Angra Mainyu. These two-keep fighting with each other and this is an eternal struggle and one day good will win over evil and that will be the last day.

They are commonly known as Parsis and are presently amongst the smallest (and rapidly shrinking) communities in India. They live mostly in Mumbai, Goa and Ahmedabad. Their fire temples called Atash Bahram are rare and only eight known temples exist in the entire country.

Their sacred text called Zend Avesta is written in Old Avestan.

They worship fire but also consider air, water and earth to be sacred elements.

Solution: D

The Mahavastu is a text of the Lokottaravada school of Early Buddhism. Mora than half of the text is composed of Jataka and Avadana tales, accounts of the earlier lives of the Buddha and other bodhisattvas.

The Mahavastu contains prose and verse written in mixed Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit.

The Lalitavistara Sutra is a Sanskrit Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park near Varanasi.

Buddhacharita is an epic poem in the Sanskrit mahakavya style on the life of Gautama Buddha by Asvaghoṣa, composed in the 2^nd century A.D.

Solution: D

Matki is performed by the women of Malwa region on the occasions of wedding and other festivities. It is mainly performed solo, while balancing a number of earthen pots on the head.

Paika is a martial folk dance performed in the southern parts of Odisha. Paika is a form of long spear. The dancers are armed with wooden spears and shields, and show off their skills and agility in infantry like formations. It has a martial art character. The word Paika signifies battle.

Gaur Maria is an important ritualistic dance form of the Bison Horn Maria tribes who live in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. The dance imitates the movements of a bison and is performed in group by both men and women.

Paika is a martial folk dance performed in the southern parts of Odisha. Paika is a form of long spear. The dancers are armed with wooden spears and shields, and show off their skills and agility in infantry like formations. It has a martial art character. The word Paika signifies battle.

Solution: B

Brahui is a Dravidian language spoken mainly by the Brahui people in the middle region of Balochistan Province, in Pakistan.

Malto is a Northern Dravidian language spoken primarily in the tribal areas of Bengal.

Kurukh is a Dravidian language spoken by nearly two million tribal people of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal in India, as well as in northern Bangladesh.

Solution:  C

Solution:

• The PM-DevINE scheme is a scheme of a special character because it focuses not on the whole geographical span of India, but rather only on the northeastern states. Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, unveiled the new scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East (PM – DevINE), when presenting the Union Budget 2022 – 2023.

Solution: D

Solution:

• The Economic survey constructs a new term – ‘refined’ core inflation, which excludes main fuel items like ‘petrol for vehicle’, ‘diesel for vehicle’ and ‘lubricants’ and other fuels for vehicles, in addition to ‘food and beverages’ and ‘fuel and light’ from the headline retail inflation. Refined core inflation is much below core inflation which shows that the impact of fuel in conventional core inflation is quite substantial.

Solution: B

Solution:

• VERITAS:NASA’s VERITAS, or Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy, will be the first NASA spacecraft to explore Venus since the 1990s. The spacecraft will launch no earlier than December 2027. It will orbit Venus, gathering data to reveal how the paths of Venus and Earth diverged, and how Venus lost its potential to be a habitable world.
• DAVINCI: NASA’s DAVINCI mission will launch in the late 2020s. After exploring the top of Venus’s atmosphere, DAVINCI will drop a probe to the surface. On its hour-long descent, the probe will take thousands of measurements and snap up-close images of the surface. The probe may not survive the landing, but if it does, it could provide several minutes of bonus science.

Solution: A

Solution:

• Released by RBI, the Business Expectations Index (BEI) is calculated as a weighted (share of GVA of different industry group) net response of nine business indicators. The nine indicators considered are: (1) overall business situation; (2) production; (3) order books; (4) inventory of raw material; (5) inventory of finished goods; (6) profit margins; (7) employment; (8) exports; and (9) capacity utilisation. BEI gives a snapshot of the business outlook in every quarter and takes values between 0 and 200, with 100 being the threshold separating expansion from contraction.

Solution: D

Solution:

• It is a secure communication technology that uses quantum physics to construct a cryptographic protocol.
• It allows two parties to generate a shared secret key that is only known to them and can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages, thus achieving a very highly secure communication.

Answer B

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Leptospira. The disease is detected in areas which have witnessed excessive rainfall or flooding. The bacteria can be transmitted to humans through cuts and abrasions of the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth with water contaminated with the urine of infected animals. 

The WHO claims that the disease can also be transmitted through drinking water or ingestion of food contaminated with urine of infected animals, often rats. However, human-to-human transmission occurs very rarely.

Answer D

CSIR initiated the Program in April 2019.

It aims to undertake whole genome sequencing of thousands of individuals representing diverse ethnic groups from India.

The objective is to enable genetic epidemiology and develop public health technologies applications using population genome data.

ANswer D

CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

It is a pan-India organisation, with a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units. CSIR is supported by over 8000 scientists across the country and was established keeping various objectives in mind.

Answer C

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) functions in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). As per Rules, 1989, it is responsible for appraisal of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle. The committee is also responsible for appraisal of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.

GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.

Answer A

The initial version of weapon system was called Mark I, which had a range of 40 km. The upgraded version or Pinaka Mark II has an extended range of 70 to 80 km.

Correct Answer : D

Solution:

From 1, the order is : E, B, C or C, B, E. From 2, the order is : E, B.

From 3, the order is : A, D, E.

Combining the above three, we get the order as : A, D, E, B, C. Clearly, E is sitting in the middle

Correct Answer : A

Solution:

Clearly, A’s new position is 15th from the left. But this is the same as B’s earlier position which is 9th from the right.

Correct Answer : A

Solution:

The series is xyxzpx/xyxzpx/xyxzpx/xyxzpx

Thus, the pattern ‘ xyxzpx’ is repeated.

Correct Answer : D

This is a tricky question. Only statement 1 will seem to be direct implication. But there is no such option. So extrapolated thinking is needed to choose any option. All options have 2 so its correct. Logically acquifiers will vanish as it is said decertification is spreading. If we go for extrapolation it is logical to consider that sandstorms may occur since desertification increases its frequency.

Correct Answer : C

Solution:

The alphabets are coded as follows :

D E L H I C A L C UT T A

7 3 5 4 1 82589662

So, in CALICUT, C is coded as 8, A as 2, L as 5, I as 1, U as 9 and T as 6. Thus, the code for CALICUT is 8251896.