UPSC 2019: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Aug 17 - Aug 23

Which of the following statements about the Indus Valley Civilisation is incorrect?

Which of the following is/are effects of the Persian invasion on ancient India?

1. Trade between India and Iran grew.
2. The Kharoshti script was brought to northwest India by the Persians.

Which of the following is/are correct regarding the empires of Magadha?

1. The first non-Kshatriya dynasty was the Nanda Dynasty.
2. The last Nanda ruler was Dhana Nanda and he was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya.
3. The kings of Magadha were the first ones to use elephants in warfare.

Which of the following ancient Indian rulers were also called Amtiraghata (Slayer of foes)?

Which of the following is/are correct about the Pallava king Mahendravarman?

1. He introduced rock-cut temple architecture.
2. He founded the city of Mahabalipuram.
3. Hiuen Tsang visited the Pallava kingdom during his reign.

Match the following?

1. Moplah Rebellion      A. Bengal
2. Santhal Rebellion      B. Malabar
3. Indigo Rebellion        C. Jharkhand

Which of the following is/are correct about the Polygar Rebellions?

1. The First Polygar War broke out in 1799 in Tirunelvelli in Tamil Nadu.
2. They were led by Veerapandi Kattabomman.
3. The Second Polygar War is also called the South Indian Rebellion.

Which of the following was/were effects of the First Carnatic War?

1. Calcutta was given back to the English in exchange for Louisburg in North America to France.
2. Dupleix understood the superiority of the European armies who used this advantage to influence Indian princes and establish French hegemony in South India.

Which of the following was/were proposals of the Rajaji Formula?

1. The Muslim League would join hands with the INC to demand independence from the British.
2. After the war, a commission would be entrusted with the task of demarcating those areas with an absolute majority of Muslims and a plebiscite to be held in those areas where all the inhabitants (Muslims and non-Muslims) would vote on the basis of adult suffrage whether to form a separate sovereign nation or not.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Vaikom Satyagraha?

1. It was a temple entry movement in Travancore.
2. Mahatma Gandhi supported it.
3. This was the first time that an organised movement was being conducted on such a massive scale for the basic rights of the untouchables and other backward castes in Kerala.

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. Methanol is cleaner and cheaper than fossil fuels.
2. Methanol can be used as transportation, cooking and energy-producing fuel.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme?

1. The programme seeks to promote the use of alternative and environment-friendly fuels and to reduce import dependency for energy requirements.
2. It aims at blending ethanol with petrol, thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels.

Which of the following is/are correct regarding the National Policy on Biofuels?

1. Basic Biofuels are first generation fuels like bioethanol and biodiesel.
2. Advanced Biofuels are second generation fuels like ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), etc.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Chiller Star Labelling Program?

1. The program envisages providing a star rating in terms of its energy performance for chiller.
2. It has been formulated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

Which of the following is/are correct about the Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan?

1. The campaign was initiated as part of the Forest Interventions in Ganga (FIG) component of the Namami Gange Programme.
2. As part of the campaign, schools, colleges and departments were requested to “Adopt a Plant” for turning this campaign into a people’s movement.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP)?

1. It is an initiative for skill development in the environment and forest region by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to develop India’s youth into employable and/or self-employment.
2. It aims to create over five lakh job opportunities by 2021.

Which of the following is/are correct about the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)?

1. It is the world’s first global environmental union.
2. It was founded in October 1948 as the International Union for the Protection of Nature (or IUPN).

Which species is also known as the ‘susu’?

Which is India’s most critically endangered bird?

In which state is the Dudhwa National Park?

Which of the following is/are correct about NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory?

1. It is a NASA telescope that looks at black holes, quasars, supernovas, etc.
2. It is named after the Indian-origin astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.

Which of the following is NASA’s mission to study the Martian atmosphere?

Which of the following is/are correct about China’s Hongyun Project?

1. It is the first communication satellite to provide broadband internet services worldwide.
2. It will offer round-the-clock communication services to users in polar regions, who now have difficulties accessing telecommunication and internet services.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Dhanush Artillery Gun?

1. It is an upgraded version of the Swedish Bofors gun.
2. It has a maximum range of 40 km in salvo mode.
3. It is indigenously upgraded.

Which of the following is/are correct about Chandrayaan 2?

1. It consists of an orbiter, lander and rover configuration.
2. The lander will perform a soft-landing on the moon’s surface; till date only Russia, the US and China have been able to do a soft-landing.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Currency Swap Arrangement?

1. This is an arrangement, between two friendly countries, which have regular, substantial or increasing trade, to basically involve in trading in their own local currencies, where both pay for import and export trade, at the pre-determined rates of exchange, without bringing in a third country currency like the US Dollar.
2. In such arrangements no third country currency is involved, thereby eliminating the need to worry about exchange variations.

Which of the following is/are correct regarding the Indus Water Treaty?

1. It was signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan.
2. As per the Treaty, the three western rivers (Jhelum, Chenab and Indus) were allocated to Pakistan while India was given control over the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej).

Which of the following is/are correct with respect to the importance of Chabahar Port?

1. With access to Chabahar Port, India can bypass Pakistan in transporting goods to Afghanistan.
2. It will also help India to counter Chinese presence in the Arabian Sea.

The Maitri Irrigation Project is between India and

Which organisation publishes The Future of Rail Report?

Which of the following is/are correct about Mission Indradhanush?

1. The ultimate goal of the mission is to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines for children up to two years of age and pregnant women
   against seven vaccine-preventable diseases.
2. It has been selected as one of the 12 best practices globally.

What is the SPARC program?

Which of the following is/are correct about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme?

1. It was launched in Haryana.
2. It is not a Direct Benefit Transfer scheme.

Which of the following is/are correct about the SHe-Box?

1. It is an online complaint management system for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.
2. This is available for all working women, under both government and private employment.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Krishna Kutir, inaugurated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development?

1. It is a special home for 1000 widows set under Swadhar Greh scheme.
2. It is located at Vrindavan in Mathura.

Which of the following is/are correct about the Law Commission of India?

1. It is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India.
2. It works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.

An MLA or MP can be disqualified for which of the following?

1. Holding an office of profit under the government of India or state government
2. Being of unsound mind
3. Being an undischarged insolvent
4. Not being an Indian citizen or for acquiring citizenship of another country

Which of the following is/are correct statements?

1. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha enjoy all powers, privileges and immunities available to an elected member of Parliament.
2. They are not entitled to vote in the election of the President of India.

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”.
2. When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. The Rajya Sabha Chairman has the power to suspend a member.
2. While the Speaker is empowered to place a member under suspension, the authority for revocation of this order is not vested in him/her.

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. The rock shelters and caves of Bhimbetka host paintings of geometric patterns.
2. Bagh caves are renowned for mural paintings.

The term ‘Satyameva Jayate’ is taken from which scripture?

Which of the following is/are correct about Sufism?

1. It is also called Tasawwuf.
2. In Sufism, self-discipline was considered an essential condition to gain knowledge of God by a sense of perception.

Match the following styles of paintings with their states:

1. Madhubani            A. Odisha
2. Warli                       B. Bihar
3. Pattachitra             C. Maharashtra

Which of the following are tools used under monetary policy?

1. Repo rate
2. Open market operations
3. Rationing of credit

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. Government has allowed FDI in all segments of the Railways.
2. Government provides cross-subsidies in the railways and the power sectors.

Which of the following is/are measures used by MNCs to shift profits?

1. Transfer Pricing Practice (TPP)
2. Treaty Shopping
3. Artificial Avoidance of PE Status

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. The MLI (Multi-lateral Instrument) related to BEPS (Base erosion and profit shifting) will come into force in India from October 1, 2019.
2.  The BEPS Project is an initiative of the World Bank.

Which of the following rivers flows between the Satpura and the Vindhya ranges?

Which of the following is/are correct regarding winter solstice?

1. The North Pole experiences 24 hours of darkness.
2. The Sun is at aphelion.