Political Science Mock Test - 4

The correct answer is to Option 2.

Key Points

• The Army in 1998 undertook a unique human initiative in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to address the aspirations of people affected by terrorism. . Launched in an extremely challenging operation environment, Operation Sadhbavna is a part of the Counter-Terrorist strategy to wrest the initiative and re-integrate the ‘Awaam’ with the national mainstream. The aim of Operation Sadbhavna is also to supplement the efforts of the government in restoring public services, rebuilding infrastructure and creating a conducive environment for development by restoring public services, rebuilding infrastructure, and creating a conducive environment for development in the region.

Additional Information 

• The key result areas under Operation Sadbhavana are:
  •  Primary education,
  •  Comprehensive health care, 
  •  Adult literacy and vocational training, 
  •  Enhancement of agricultural output,
  •  Assistance in electrification and establishment of communication networks, 
  •  Adoption of villages for integrated development, 
  •  Empowerment of women, and
  •  Employment generation.
• The Ladakh region is characterized by rugged mountains and narrow valleys, with poor communication links and long periods of isolation, especially in winter. The villages are scattered in pockets and located in inaccessible areas. Given the inadequacies of the existing governmental infrastructure in the region, the military medical units use their excess capacity to fill the gap in essential services for the civilian populace.

The correct answer is E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker.

Key Points

• Self-Respect Movement
  • It was a spirited social movement aimed at decimating the contemporary Hindu social order in its totality and creating a new, rational society without caste, religion, and god.
  • It was an egalitarian principles agitation that broadcasted the ideologies of breaking down the Brahminical hegemony, equal rights for the backward classes and women in the society, and revitalization of the Dravidian languages like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.
  • The Self-Respect movement was started by Ramaswamy Naicker in 1925 with S. Ramanathan. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
  • E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker is commonly known as Periyar. He was a highly influential person in Tamil Nadu.
  • This is also called the Dravidian Movement, the self-respect movement was basically demanding equal rights for the backward cast, and the main focus of this movement was women's rights.
  • Many present-day political parties in Tamil Nadu, such as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) owe their origins to the Self-respect movement.

The correct answer is option 2 i.e Operation Polo.

• Operation Polo annexed Hyderabad to the Indian union.
  • Operation Polo was conducted in 1948.
  • British offered the various princely states in the sub-continent the option of acceding to either India or Pakistan or staying on as an independent state before they departed from the Indian subcontinent in 1947.
  • Hyderabad declined to join the new dominion and it leads to the operation polo.
  • Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-ruled princely state, annexing it into the Indian Union by Operation Polo.
  • The operation polo led to massive violence on communal lines.
  • Sunderlal Committee is related to Operation Polo.
• Operation Blue Star was to eliminate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple complex and regain control over Harmandir Sahib.
• Operation Vijay (1961) was the operation by the Military of India that led to the capture of Goa, Daman, and Diu and Anjediva Islands.
• Operation Meghdoot was to capture the Siachen Glacier in the Kashmir region, precipitating the Siachen Conflict.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

• Mr. Sharad Joshi hailed from Satara district in western Maharashtra. 
• He founded the pan-Maharashtra farmer’s organization ‘Shetkari Sanghatana’ in 1979 with the catchy slogan ‘Freedom of access to markets and to Technology.’
• The organization served as a template for future farmer's outfits in challenging the ruling classes and bargaining for higher remunerative prices.
• Mr. Joshi’s movement took up the cause of thousands of onion, cotton, and sugarcane farmers across Maharashtra.
• At the same time, his training as an economist led him to controversially endorse technologies like Bt Cotton.

Additional Information

• Sir Chottu Ram was a co-founder of the National Unionist Party(a cross-communal alliance of Hindu and Muslim agriculturists) which ruled the United Punjab Province in pre-independent India and kept Congress and the Muslim League at bay.
• He joined Indian National Congress in 1916. Chhotu Ram worked as the President of the Rohtak District Congress Committee from 1916 to 1920. 
• He was knighted in 1937  and was popularly known as Deen Bandhu
• Mahendra Singh Tikait was an Indian farmer leader from the state of Uttar Pradesh and also the President of Bharatiya Kisan Union.
• Tikait first became a significant figure in 1987 when he organised a campaign in Muzaffarnagar demanding the waiving of electricity bills for farmers.
• Raju Shetti is the leader of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) 

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

• Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, (MKSS) is a People’s Organisation and part of the growing Non-party political process in India.
• The MKSS works with workers and peasants in the villages of Central Rajasthan. It was set up by the people of the area in 1990 to strengthen participatory democratic processes, so that ordinary citizens could live their lives with dignity and justice.
• The organisation was born out of a struggle for community land held illegally by a feudal landlord. 
• The MKSS played a pioneering role in getting the Right to Information (RTI) law passed in India.
• One of the first issues that MKSS took up was that of wages in drought relief works, which eventually, over many years, led to the advocacy and passing of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Additional Information

The correct answer is Option 3.

Key Points

• While imprisoned at Andaman V.D.Savarkar wrote Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu? (1923), coining the term Hindutva (“Hinduness”), which sought to define Indian culture as a manifestation of Hindu values; this concept grew to become a major tenet of Hindu nationalist ideology.
• Hindutva (“Hindu-ness”), an ideology that sought to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values, and it was highly critical of the secular policies and practices of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party).
• VD Savarkar wrote that Hindutva is more expansive than the religious aspects of Hinduism, encompassing the cultural, linguistic, political, and social aspect of the Hindu people — which he thought of as those people living within the historical boundaries of India, not strictly those who we’d describe as Hindus today.
• The BJP has advocated in favour of Hindutva and has adopted it as its political philosophy. hence the correct answer is option 3.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

• The year 1990 witnessed a form of aggressive campaign for a Ram temple in Ayodhya at the site of the Babri Masjid. Though the campaign for a Ram temple in Ayodhya was underway since a 1986 resolution of the RSS Pratinidhi Sabha, it gathered momentum after then BJP president LK Advani decided to lead a nation-wide rath yatra.
• The RSS-BJP had viewed the VP Singh government's Mandal Commission move - that gave caste-based reservation to OBCs in jobs - as an attempt to divide Hindu society and they had declared Hindu unity as their social objective. Mandal Commission report was implemented in August and Ram temple campaign accelerated in October that year.
• LK Advani could not enter Ayodhya as he was arrested in Bihar by Lalu Prasad government of the Janata Dal. But the Ayodhya campaign had seen a huge gathering of karsevaks (volunteers) in the Ayodhya.
• October 30 was the "D-Day of the karseva". The organisers -- the VHP, the RSS and the BJP - wanted a Ram temple at the site of Babri Masjid but it was not yet clear what the karsevaks would do to the mosque. Eventually this led to leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992.

The correct answer is Option 4.

Key Points

• Jan Lokpal Bill – Anti Corruption Movement (India against Corruption) was led by Anna Hazare in 2011.
• The entire nation came together and stayed by him when anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare launched a hunger strike in New Delhi, Jantar Mantar, on 5 April 2011.
• The Movement resulted in the resignation from the group of ministers responsible for reviewing the draft Jan Lokpal Province of Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar.
• The program brings together many people and in many decades it has been a one-of-a-kind event. It was also one of these extraordinary incidents that showed what is possible when the biggest democracy in the world wakes up and takes power.

The correct answer is Nepal.

Key Points

• The dispute over Kalapani, which lies on the easternmost corner of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district is between Nepal and India.
• It was recently ratcheted up in November 2019 when India published a revised political map showing the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. 
• Both India and Nepal lay claim to Kalapani. The map showed Kalapani as part of the Pithoragarh district. Nepal protested immediately and drew attention to the lingering issue. 
• Kalapani is a region located in the easternmost corner of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. It shares a border on the north with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal in the east and south.
• The region resembles a slice of cake wedged in between Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani. The area is in India’s control but Nepal claims the region because of historical and cartographic reasons.
• The area is the largest territorial dispute between Nepal and India consisting of at least 37,000 hectares of land in the High Himalayas.

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

• Telangana Rashtra Samithi, popularly known as TRS party, was founded on 27th April 2001 by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
• The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, famously known as the TRS, is a regional political party, as approved by the Election Commission of India. It has its mass base primarily in the state of Andhra Pradesh, a southern state of India.
• The political position of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is Centre-Right and it operates on the political ideologies of Regionalism and Conservatism.

• ​The TRS has the creation of the separate state of Telangana as its revolutionary war cry. The party demands to restore regional harmony and exclusiveness, along with the regional autonomy, in the region, thre way it was prior to the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956.
• The TRS was formed in the year 2001 by K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who was initially a member of the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party. However, Rao soon quit the TDP owing to political differences with the party supremo.
• He independently contested in local body elections and won impressively, due to his ideological and political resolutions. Soon the Telangana Rashtra Samithi was formed and it won the local institutional bodies such as the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies and the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies.
• The chief claim to fame of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is in its uncompromising spirit to make the dream and aspirations for Telangana a reality.
• The party had been emboldening its appeal to the people of united Andhra Pradesh on the grounds that it will redress the oppression and burden of the minority communities in the Telangana regions of AP.

CAATSA is a United States federal law.

• It imposed sanctions on North Korea, Iran, and Russia.
• It also engages in sanctions against the country that engage in any kind of a transaction with Russia vis-a-vis defence deals and intelligence sharing.
• Under CAATSA, the US President can impose up to 5 of the listed 12 sanctions on anyone who engages in any type of significant transaction with Russia.

The corrcet answer is Option 2.

Key Points

• The aim of the Montreal protocol was to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances responsible for ozone depletion. It came into effect on January 1, 1989.

The correct answer is the United States of America.

Key Points

• The United States of America, in June 2017, announced that it will withdraw from the Paris climate change accord.
• It formally withdrew from the accord in November 2020.
  • The then US President Donald Trump cited the reason that the agreement undermines the economy of the US and puts the US at a permanent disadvantage.

Important Points ​

• Paris Agreement
  • It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
  • It was adopted by 196 countries in Paris in December 2015.
  • It aims to limit global warming to below 2° Celsius, and if possible limit it to 1.5° Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.​
  • The Climate Ambition Summit of the Paris climate accord was held in Glasgow, Scotland on 12^th December 2020.
    • It provided a platform for government and non-governmental leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the Paris Agreement and the multilateral process. 

​ 

The correct answer is Green-peace.

Key Points

• Green-peace was the international movement with its motto to save the world by involving itself with environmental problems.
• Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organization that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace by:
  • Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing our planet.
  • Climate change.
• Greenfield is a term from the construction industry that refers to undeveloped land.

The correct answer is Arab Spring.

Key Points

• The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Middle east in the early 2010s. Hence Option 4 is correct.
• It began in response to corruption and economic stagnation and was first started in Tunisia.
• Because most of these uprisings were in the spring of 2011, the name ‘Arab Spring’ was coined.
• The Arab Spring was a beries of loosely related group of protests that led to changes in government in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
• The reason was that the end goal was increase in democracy and freedom, the period following the Arab Spring was marked by increased instability and oppression
• In December 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest the arbitrary seizing of his vegetables by the police. They did so as Mohammed had failed to obtain a permit.
• This act served as a catalyst for the now famous Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia
• From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, where either the ruler was deposed or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies.
• Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan,[citation needed] Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Sudan.
• Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
• The participants in these grassroots movements sought increased social freedoms and greater participation in the political process.
• The aftermath of the Arab Spring in various nations led to waves of violence and instability now known as the Arab Winter.
• It was characterized by extensive civil wars, regional instability and demographic decline of the Arab League.

The correct answer is 1998-99.

Key Points

• Electronic Voting Machine
  • In the year 1989-90, the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) was first introduced in elections on an experimental basis in India.
  • EVMs were used on an experimental basis for the first time in elections to 16 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh (5), Rajasthan (5) and Delhi (6) held in November 1998. 
  • The 2004 Lok Sabha election was conducted entirely on EVMs.
  • EVMs can record a maximum of 3,840 votes and can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. 
  • The Commission in December 1977 mooted the idea of EVM to overcome certain problems associated with the use of ballot papers and taking advantage of the development of technology so that voters cast their votes correctly without any resultant ambiguity and removing the possibilities of invalid votes totally.
  • MB Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine in 1980.
  • It was first used in 1981 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency of Kerala in 50 polling stations.
  • The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by the Election Commission of India in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
  • The law was amended by the Parliament in December 1988 and a new section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 empowering the Commission to use voting machines. The amended provision came into force with effect from 15th March 1989.

Important Points

• EVMs are electronic voting machines that enable the voter with a button for each choice of candidate. It is attached by a cable to an electronic ballot box. 
• It comprises two units – the control unit and the balloting unit. They are connected by a 5-meter cable. 
• The EVM runs on a 6-volt single alkaline battery fixed in the control unit. 
• It can even be used in areas that have no electricity.
• The control unit is with the Election Commission selected polling officer. 
• The Balloting Unit is in the voting section into which the voter enters to cast their vote in secret by pressing the button against the name and sign of the candidate of their choice.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

• The challenge for the newly decolonised countries was to become more developed economically and to lift their people out of poverty.
• The idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO) originated with this realisation.
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought out a report in 1972 entitled ‘Towards a New Trade Policy for Development’.
• The nature of Non-Alignment changed to give greater importance to economic issues.
• As a result, NAM became an economic pressure group.
• The UN responded to the call of LDCs for such a change by issuing the Declaration and Programme of Action on the Establishment of a NIEO in 1974, which laid down the principles and measures designed to improve the relative position of the LDCs.
• New international economic order (NIEO) which is an economic and political concept that advocates the needs for fundamental changes in the conduct of international trade and economic development to redress the economic imbalance between the developed countries and their less developed counterpart. Hence Option 1 is corrcet.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

• Viet Cong (VC), in full Viet Nam Cong San, English Vietnamese Communists, the guerrilla force that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South Vietnam (late 1950s–1975) and the United States (early 1960s–1973).  Hence Option 2 is correct.
• The name is said to have first been used by South Vietnamese Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem to belittle the rebels.
• The Viet Cong officially known as the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was an armed communist political revolutionary organization in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
• Its military force, the Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV), fought under the direction of North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese and United States governments during the Vietnam War.
• In 1969 the NLF joined other groups in the areas of South Vietnam that were controlled by the Viet Cong to form the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG).
• The movement’s principal objectives were the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government and the reunification of Vietnam.

The correct answer is 

Key Points

• The Yom Kippur War, also known as the 1973 Arab Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973.
• It was a coordinated assault launched by Egypt, Syria and their allies against Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish Calendar.
• It was fought between Israel and Arab countries led by Egypt and Syria in October 1973, inspired by Arab desires to win back territories taken by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Hence Option 2 is correct.
• Factors that are responsible for the war are as follows:
  • The failure of all international initiatives for the resolution of the Arab-Israeli dispute.
  •  The emergence of an Arab coalition which was able and willing to do battle with Israel.
  • The steady flow of arms from the superpowers to their regional clients.
• Effects of war:
  • Syria was unable to capitalize on its (brief) gains in the war.
  • The primary effect of the Egyptian-Israeli war was the fact that, in giving Israel a bloody nose, Egypt was able to achieve a sense of quid-pro-quo (a favor or advantage granted in return for something) – posts the 1967 debacle, in a way to achieve a “victory”.
  • The primary Israeli effect of the war was to kick off the final crumbling of the hegemony of the Israeli Labour party leadership and the rise of the Likud on the other hand.
  • Militarily, the war gave a positive proof of the efficacy of the anti-tank missile and, to a lesser degree, the surface-to-air missile (this latter had a great test in Vietnam too).

The correct answer is America.

Key Points

• The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is an intergovernmental organisation created in 1991 amongst the former countries of the Soviet Union.
• The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 leading to the foundation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). 
• The founding states of the CIS include Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. 
• The remaining republics of the Soviet Union joined the Commonwealth of Independent States after signing the Alma-Ata Protocol. 
• The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has the 12 countries as its members— Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) meets periodically on a rotating basis at the capitals of the Member Countries.
• The Council of Heads of State, Council of Prime Ministers and Council of Foreign Ministers are included in the forums. 
• This Charter incorporates the rights and obligations of the member countries along with the goals and principles of the Commonwealth.
• It also mentions that the Commonwealth of Independent States shall serve in developing and strengthening trust, mutual understanding, friendship, Inter-ethnic accord and cooperation between the member states.
• The CIS’s functions are to coordinate its members’ policies regarding their economies, foreign relations, defense, immigration policies, environmental protection, and law enforcement.
• The Commonwealth of Independent States has its headquarters located in Minsk, Belarus.
• Another important department of CIS i.e., CIS Executive Committee which looks after the economic affairs is situated in Moscow, Russia.

The correct answer is Cold war.

Key Points

• The reforms of Perestroika and Glasnost are some of the most significant events of the history of the Cold War. 
• The Cold War was a major world event that took place from approximately 1945 until 1990. 
• In general, the Cold War was a period of increased tensions and hostility between the superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). 
• Perestroika and Glasnost were reforms first introduced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s.  
• The two reforms are significant because they eventually led to the end of the Cold War.
• Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Communist Party in the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1985.   
• He believed in communism but also knew their government system could only survive by ending the Cold War. 
• Glasnost was the official Soviet governmental policy of openness and transparency implemented in the mid-1980s.
• Perestroika was viewed as a political movement for the purpose of rebuilding the ruling Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1980's.
• Perestroika is also believed to be the cause of the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989 and the beginning of revolutions in many other countries in Eastern Europe including East Germany, Romania and Czechoslovakia. 

The correct answer is Option 3.

Key Points

• The country having hegemonic position will possess unchallenged military power. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• The state that comes under this control is known as Hegemon.
• The hegemon position is not fixed because, as the power structure has been reshaped, nothing seemed to have been fixed and it was tentative.
• Hegemony means may not actually taking control of other groups, but has the power to greatly influence what they do.
• The word hegemony has been used in this case because Athens was dominant economic power over the other cities in Greek.
• A country which was in hegemonic position would have an unchallengeable military over other countries. 

Additional Information

• Bipolarity is viewed both as an empirical condition and as a central explanatory concept, albeit contested, during the Cold War (1945–1989), when two superpowers dominated the international system. 
  • ​It is the system of world order, in which the majority of economic, cultural and military influence is held between two countries on the global level. 
• Unipolarity is the distribution of power in which one state exercises the cultural, economic and military influence on the international politics.
  • It is not an empire but it is an interstate system.
• Multipolarity is defined as the distribution of power in which the involvement of more than two nation states are there in terms of military, economic and cultural influence

The correct answer is USA.

Key Points

• September 11 attacks, also called 9/11 attacks, series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed in 2001 by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda against targets in the United States, the deadliest terrorist attacks on American. Hence Option 2 is correct.
• The attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., caused extensive death and destruction and triggered an enormous U.S. effort to combat terrorism.
• Some 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania (where one of the hijacked planes crashed after the passengers attempted to retake the plane); all 19 terrorists died.
• An Islamist extremist network called al-Qaeda planned the attacks from Afghanistan.
• Led by Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda blamed the US and its allies for conflicts in the Muslim world.
• Nineteen people carried out the hijackings, working in three teams of five and one of four (on the plane which crashed in Pennsylvania).
• Each group included someone who had received pilot training. This was carried out at flying schools in the US itself.
• Reconstruction at the Pentagon took just under a year, with staff back in their offices by August 2002.

The correct answer is Iraq war.

Key Points

• The term coalition of the willing refers to the US-led Multi-National Force – Iraq, the military command during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and much of the ensuing Iraq War. Hence Option 1 is correct.
• The coalition was led by the United States.
• In November 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush, visiting Europe for a NATO summit, declared that "should Iraqi President Saddam Hussein choose not to disarm, the United States will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him.
• The Bush administration briefly used "coalition of the willing" to refer to the countries who supported, militarily or politically, the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• The list of coalition members provided by the White House included several nations that did not intend to participate in actual military operations.
• By August 2009, all non-U.S./UK coalition members had withdrawn from Iraq.
• As a result, the Multinational Force – Iraq was renamed and bas of January 1, 2010.
• Thus the Coalition of the Willing came to an official end.

The correct answer is Tamil Civil war.

Key Points

• The war in Sri Lanka between the separatist Tamil forces and the government was a heavy one with a death toll of over 150000 from both sides including civilians. 
• The civil wars come end in May 18th 2009.
• In Sri Lanka, Tamils who are minorities continually claim self-determination from independent Ceylon.
• In August 1987, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the ancillary Provincial Councils Act. 
• 13th Amendment to Sri Lankan Constitution
  • It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an effort to bring the Sri Lankan civil war ( Tamil Civil War) to an end. Hence Option 2 is correct.
  • The 13th Amendment, which led to the creation of Provincial Councils, assured a power sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
  • Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
  • But because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
  • In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.
  • Initially, the north and eastern provinces were merged and had a North-Eastern Provincial Council, but the two were de-merged in 2007 following a Supreme Court verdict.
• The 13th Amendment carries considerable baggage from the country’s civil war years. 
• Till date, the 13th Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
• In addition to assuring a measure of devolution, it is considered part of the few significant gains since the 1980s, in the face of growing Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism from the time Sri Lanka became independent in 1948.

The correct answer is Pakistan.

Key Points

• ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence)
  • It was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hence Option 3 is correct.
  • The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan has established itself as an effective agency, whose work has a definitive impact on a range of issues spanning regional politics/international relations, guerilla warfare as well as sub-conventional mechanisms, including the fuelling of uprisings and armed rebellions.
  • The ISI is also involved in trying to counter terrorism within and outside Pakistan. 
  • Controlled and headed by the Pakistan Army, it has an important say in most matters pertaining to the country, be they domestic or international.

The correct answer is First.

Key Points

• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad served as the first Minister of Education of independent India from 1947 to 1958.
• Since 2008, we celebrate National Education Day on November 11, the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to honor his contributions to education in India.
• Azad was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1992 for his contributions towards the field of education.
• He was also a pioneer for the establishing of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and the foundation of the University Grants Commission (UGC).​

The correct answer is option 1. 

Key Points

• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is an agreement with five annexes reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on July 14, 2015.
• The nuclear deal was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015. Iran’s compliance with the nuclear-related provisions of the JCPOA is verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to certain requirements set forth in the agreement. 
• It came after years of tension over Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran insisted that its nuclear programme was entirely peaceful, but the international community did not believe that.
• Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

The correct asnwer is India-Russia.

Key Points

• The BrahMos is a ramjet supersonic cruise missile of a short-range.
• It is developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),India and the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• BrahMos was named after two major rivers of India and Russia: Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• The technology used in this joint venture is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and similar sea-skimming cruise missiles from Russia.
• BrahMos is a medium-range 2 stage missile. The propulsion of BrahMos can be explained as follows:
  • Stage 1:
    • Solid Propellant Booster Engine
    • Is separated after it reaches MACH-1 or Supersonic speed
  • Stage 2
    • Liquid Ramjet Engine
    • Takes the missile close to MACH 3 in cruise phase
• It is the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.
• The BrahMos can attain a speed of MACH 2.8 to MACH 3.
• It can be upgraded to speeds of MACH 5 (Hypersonic).
• With a carrying capacity of 250-300 kgs, the BrahMos missile is capable of carrying a regular warhead as well as a nuclear warhead.

The correct answer is Reforming the existing institutions.

Key Points

• A political party
  • It is a group of people who share similar political views, come together to contest elections, and try to hold power in the government.
  • The members of the political parties agree on some policies and programs for the society intending to promote the collective good.
  • Political parties that wish to contest local, state, or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India (EC).
  • Currently, there are 6 national parties in India.
  • A political party has three components: the leaders, the active members, and the followers.
• In a modern political system, there are four types of political parties:
  • Reactionary political parties, which believe in old political and socio-economic systems.
  • Conservative political parties believe in maintaining the status quo.
  • Liberal parties believe in reforming the existing system gradually. Hence, Option 1 is correct.
  • Radical parties believe in changing the system very quickly and drastically, sometimes, even by overthrowing the existing institutions. Radical parties are called leftist, liberal as a centrist, and conservative and reactionaries as rightists.
• The Liberal Party seeks to advance its aims at every level of decision-making.
• It works outside as well as inside existing political structures and encourages people and communities to take and use power.
• The Liberal Party strives to translate its beliefs and aims into policies and programs which are kept under review to ensure that they meet changing circumstances. To this end, it fosters debate and discussion, both inside and outside the Party.
• To put its policies into effect, the Liberal Party seeks to identify suitable candidates from among its membership to stand for public office. It supports these candidates with briefings and training and by improving political campaigning methods.
• From time to time the Liberal Party campaigns on specific issues, and in doing so it may make common cause with other groups and organizations whose aims are compatible.
• The Liberal Party is an open and outward-looking organization, always seeking new members and encouraging the growth of Local Associations.

The correct answer is the Directive Principles.

Key Points

• Directive Principles of State Policy
  • ​In the Constitution of India, the promotion of international peace and security is included in the "Directive Principles of State Policy". Hence, Option 1 is correct.
  • Article 51 says to promote international peace and security and maintain just and honourable relations between nations. It is to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations and to encourage settlement of the international dispute by arbitration.
  • These provisions are contained in Part IV (Article 36–51) of the Constitution of India. However, these are not enforceable by any court.
  • It is the duty of the states to consider Directive Principles while making laws for the welfare of the people.
  • It is taken from the Constitution of Ireland.
  • The Preamble of the Indian Constitution was adopted i.e. November 26, 1949. 
  • The objectives are to secure justice, liberty, and equality for all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation.

Additional Information

• The Fundamental Rights
  • It is enshrined in Part III of the Constitution (Articles 12-35).
  • Part III of the Constitution is described as the Magna Carta of India.
  • ‘Magna Carta’, the Charter of Rights issued by King John of England in 1215 was the first written document relating to the Fundamental Rights of citizens.
  • The Fundamental Rights: The Constitution of India provides for six Fundamental Rights:
    • Right to equality (Articles 14–18)
    • Right to freedom (Articles 19–22)
    • Right against exploitation (Articles 23–24)
    • Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25–28)
    • Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30)
    • Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32)
  • Originally the constitution also included the Right to property (Article 31). However, it was deleted from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44^th Amendment Act, 1978.
  • It is made a legal right under Article 300-A in Part XII of the Constitution.
  • Fundamental Duties are specified under Article 51A (Part IVA) of the Constitution, they strive to uphold the country’s ideals and contribute to its growth and betterment.
• Fundamental Duties
  • The idea of Fundamental Duties is inspired by the Constitution of Russia (erstwhile Soviet Union).
  • These were incorporated in Part IV-A of the Constitution by the 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee.
  • Originally 10 in number, one more duty was added through the 86^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.
  • Like the Directive Principles of State Policy, the Fundamental duties are also non-justiciable in nature.
• National Emergency
  • A national emergency can be declared on the basis of war, external aggression, or armed rebellion. The Constitution employs the expression ‘proclamation of emergency’ to denote an emergency of this type.
  • Under Article 352, the president can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression, or armed rebellion.
  • The President can declare a national emergency even before the actual occurrence of war or armed rebellion or external aggression
  • When a national emergency is declared on the grounds of ‘war’ or ‘external aggression’, it is known as an ‘External Emergency’. On the other hand, when it is declared on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’, it is known as an ‘Internal Emergency’.
  • The term ‘armed rebellion is inserted from the 44^th amendment. Before this term, it was known as an internal disturbance.

The correct answer is Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Key Points

• The poem ‘Dawn of Freedom’ is basically written in Urdu by Faiz Ahmad Faiz and translated only in one language that is English by two translators. Hence Option 1 is correct.
• One is Agha Shahid and second one is V.G Kiernan.
• The translation by Agha Shahid Ali first published in Annual of Urdu Studies in 1996.
• Here Agha Shahid Ali’s translation of the poem dawn freedom is discussed and analyzed in detail.
• Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem Subh-e-Azadi is about the independence of subcontinent.
• This melancholic touch in it about the fruits of their struggle.
• The poem begins with a sorrow sense of disillusionment on the nature of freedom.
• It is one of best poems are masterpiece of Faiz’s poetry.
• It was written shortly after the partition of sub-continent.
• The poem shows the melancholic tone and contains the bitter lamentation on crisis and miserable condition of the people of both sides. 
• The poem of Faiz Dawn of Freedom deals with the following them:
  • Disillusionment of freedom.
  • It is so called physical freedom, mentally we are still alive.
  • Both the nations are still bound and dependent.
  • We have to do more struggle for real independence.

The correct answer is Naokhali.

Key Points

• On 10 October 1946, riots engulfed the Noakhali and Tipperah Districts of Bengal (in present-day Bangladesh) where the Hindu community was targeted. Hence Option 2 is correct.
• This is an important event in the modern history of the subcontinent, which ultimately led to the partition of India. 
• Background of Noakhali Riots
  • The British had promised to grant independence to its prized colony but there was no concrete decision on how to go about the transfer of power.
  • The Muslim League (founded on December 30, 1906) was demanding a separate Muslim state of Pakistan.
  • This was not agreed upon by the Indian National Congress.
  • The Muslim League called for ‘Direct Action’ and August 16, 1946, was announced as the ‘Direct Action Day’  to show their strength.
  • The League leaders called for ‘action’ in order to get their demand for Pakistan fulfilled.
  • Many provocative speeches were made and this resulted in one of the worst communal riots in history – the Great Calcutta Killings.
• As a result of the riots, around 50,000 people were rendered homeless.
• Many fled to other areas due to the massacre and forced conversions. Refugees were sent to Calcutta.
• There were riots in Bihar and the United Provinces towards the end of 1946 which were seen as a reaction to the Noakhali riots.
• The events of Noakhali would pale in comparison to the carnage during the partition of India.

The correct answer is Partition of India.

Key Points

• Garm Hawa is a 1973 Indian drama film directed by M. S. Sathyu, with Balraj Sahni as the lead.
• It was written by Kaifi Azmi and Shama Zaidi, based on an unpublished short story by noted Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai.
• The film score was given by the classical musician Ustad Bahadur Khan, with lyrics by Kaifi Azmi.
• It also featured a qawwali composed and performed by Aziz Ahmed Khan Warsi and his Warsi Brothers troupe.
• Set in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, the film deals with the plight of a North Indian Muslim businessman and his family, in the period after the 1947 partition of India. Hence Option 2 is correct.
• The film details the slow disintegration of his family, and is one of the most poignant films made on India's partition.
• It remains one of the few serious films dealing with the post-Partition plight of Muslims in India.
• It was India's official entry to the Academy Award's Best Foreign Film category, nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, won a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards.
• In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.

The correct asnwer is J.C.Kumarappa.

Key Points

• The Idea of 'Economy of Permanence' was propounded by J.C.Kumarappa.Hence Option 1 is correct.
• According to Kumarappa, the entire edifice of colonialism and imperialism was based on violence, where empires thrived at the cost of their colonies and subject countries.
• J.C. Kumarappa was a stalwart of India’s freedom movement, Gandhian economic philosopher, pioneer in the development of village and cottage industries and advocate of a decentralised, localised economy of permanence and freedom.
• Peaceful co-existence among humans and between nations is possible only on the basis of an economy of permanence.
• In an economy of permanence the relationship and interaction between humans and Nature is of paramount importance.
• Animate life is able to maintain its continuity, thus permanence, because of the cooperation of the various elements of Nature, both animate and inanimate.
• It is in the interest of humans-as part of Nature and dependent on it-to submit to the ways of Nature for the sake of survival and self-preservation.
• In Nature nothing exists solely for itself; it is each unit working for itself and in the process helping other units to get along.
• Cooperation is the essence for harmony, where there is no scope for violence.

The correct answer is 1966-67.

Key Points

• The literal meaning of famine is “extreme inadequacy and the scarcity of food.”
• Famine is the phenomenon which occurs in a vast terrestrial area due to various environmental and biological reasons.
• Some of the prime reasons are population imbalance, scarcity of water or lack of rainfall, population imbalance, crop failure, government policies.
• The Bihar famine of 1966–1967 was a famine in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Hence Option 1 is correct.
• The official death toll from starvation in the Bihar drought was 2353, roughly half of which occurred in the state of Bihar.
• The annual production of food grains had dropped in Bihar from 7.5 million tonnes in 1965–1966 to 7.2 million tonnes in 1966–1967 during the Bihar drought.
• There was an even sharper drop in 1966–1967 to 4.3 million tonnes. 
• The rise in prices of food grains caused migration and starvation, but the public distribution system, relief measures by the government, and voluntary organizations limited the impact.
• On a number of occasions, the Indian-government sought food and grain from the United States to provide replacement for damaged crops, however US food aid was limited by Lyndon B. Johnson in retaliation for Indian criticism on the US's role in the Vietnam War.
• The Bihar Famine of 1966–1967 illustrates the importance of rhetoric and political definitions in distinguishing crises from “normal” situations and in defining the quantity, timing, and recipients of relief.

The correct answer is India-China.

Key Points

• Doklam is located at the tri-junction of India (Sikkim), Bhutan and China (Tibet).
• Doklam is recognised as a Bhutanese territory by India and Bhutan. But, China claims some parts of the Doklam Plateau as part of its “ancient” frontier.
• From 1984, Bhutan and China have conducted nearly 24 rounds of dialogue to delineate the border between them and the process is still going on.
• India and China were engaged in standoff at Doklam since June 16, 2017. Hence Option 1 is correct.
• The reason behind the stand-off was the Chinese attempt to build a road in the strategically located Doklam.
• On June 16, China attempted to build a road construction by bringing in earthmovers and construction machines in the Doklam area of Bhutan.
• The Royal Bhutan Army objected to these construction activities in its territory but was outnumbered and pushed back to its post by the China’s PLA following which Bhutan called for the help of Indian Army. 
• India’s strategy gave China only two plausible options.
  • ​ The first option was the use of force. But that would set a bad precedent for other countries as they could also respond in force to China’s land grabs in future.
  • Secondly, the use of force could have destroyed several fundamentals of nuclear deterrence.
  • The second option made available was to maintain Status Quo Ante.
• The recent handling of the Doklam crisis is undoubtedly a testimonial to India’s stature as a mature and responsible status quo power.
• In addition, India also gave China a face saving exit and has found out the best way to deal with China.
• In fact, the strategy adopted by India has resulted in the creation of a template for other countries to follow.
• The successful resolution of Doklam crisis has reinforced India’s image as a reliable and sober status quo power.
• The diplomatic victory of India will no doubt enhance its regional status and its standing among South Asian neighbours like Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The correct answer is Jawaharlal Nehru.

Key Points

• India’s foreign policy was conducted under the guidance of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India.
• The shaping of India’s foreign policy was largely influenced by the international development after the Second World War, the weakening of the forces of imperialism and growth of the forces of democracy and progress.
• Forward policy with respect to India refers to political and military decisions taken in the early 1950s onwards, but it usually specifically refers to the policy adopted in late 1961 in the context of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Sino India border relations and the 1962 war. Hence Option 4 is correct.
• The forward policy adopted on 2 November 1961 and has been used to explain and justify the Sino-Indian War, which was launched by China in October 1962.
• The term "forward policy" was also been used in government documents but was a misnomer or seen in the incorrect context of Indian expansionism.
• The policy did not imply expansionism but was a defensive policy based on perceived external aggression by pushing back an external aggressor from one's own territory
• Nehru's forward policy was an attempt to break the deadlock that Chinese-Indian relations had reached in 1961.
• A deadlocked created by events in Tibet causes border clashes, which resulted in fatalities, India's perceived helplessness against Chinese border developments was exacerbated by international and mounting domestic pressure
• The forward policy had Nehru identify a set of strategies designed with the ultimate goal of effectively forcing the Chinese from territory that the Indian government claimed.
• The doctrine was based on a theory that China would not likely launch an all-out war if India began to occupy territory that China considered to be its own.
• Nehru's forward policy did not achieve what he had wanted. Contrary to his predictions, China attacked Indian outposts north of the McMahon Line.
• Thus began the Sino-Indian War, which lasted 30 days as China eventually pushed Indian forces back miles south of the McMahon line.

The correct answer is Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Key Points

• The "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" slogan was given to India by the country's second Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, in 1965. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• In English, the slogan can be translated as "Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer!"
• Soon after Shastri took over the prime ministership of India after Nehru's death, India was attacked by Pakistan.
• At the same time, there was a scarcity of food grains in the country.
• Shastri gave the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan to enthuse the soldiers to defend India and simultaneously cheering farmers to do their best to increase the production of food grains to reduce dependence on imports.
• It became a very popular slogan afterwards.

The correct answer is India and Pakistan.

Key Points

• It is a water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan signed on September 19,1960, to divide the waters of the Indus and its five tributaries between the countries. Hence Option 1 is correct.
• The IWT was signed by the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Pakistani President Ayub Khan.
• Brokered by the World Bank (then known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), the negotiations for the agreement went on for nine years.
• The Treaty allocates the Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan and the Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India.
• At the same time, the Treaty allows each country certain uses on the rivers allocated to the respective other country.
• The treaty spells out conditions for water-sharing of the River Indus and its five tributaries.
• All the waters of the Eastern Rivers shall be available for the unrestricted use of India until the arise of any unwanted situation.

The correct answer is South Korea.

Key Points

• The Samsung Company is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• It is headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea.
• It was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company.
• The Samsung company was founded on March 1, 1938. 
• It is one of the world’s largest producers of electronic devices.
• Samsung Electronics is a multinational electronics and information technology company under the flagship company of the Samsung Group.
• It specializes in the production of a wide variety of consumer and industry electronics, including appliances, digital media devices, semiconductors, memory chips, and integrated systems.
• It has become one of the most-recognizable names in technology and produces about a fifth of South Korea’s total exports.

• Over the next three decades, the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, and retail.

The correct answer is Advanced Countries.

Key Points

• ​The G7 or the Group of Seven is a group of the seven most advanced economies as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Hence Option 2 is correct.
• The seven countries are Canada, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Italy.
• The Group of Seven is an informal bloc of advanced/developed nations which meets annually to discuss matters such as global economic policy, international security, and energy policy, among others.
• There are no G7 members from Africa, Latin America, or the southern hemisphere.
• The G7 also accounts for 46% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculated at market exchange rates and also for 32% of the global PPP GDP.
• All the 7 are top-ranked advanced economies with the current largest GDP and with the highest national wealth (United States, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada).
• The G7 are among the 15 top-ranked countries with the highest net wealth per capita (United States, France, Japan, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Germany).
• All the 7 are leaders when it comes to export
• 5 members of the G-7 have the largest proven reserves of gold (United States, Germany, Italy, France, Japan).
• All 5 of the members of the NATO Quint ( The Quint is the informal decision making body of NATO consisting of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy) and Canada is also a member of Five Eyes intelligence gathering body with the U.S. and U.K.
• 6 of the 9 largest nuclear energy producers (United States, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, UK), although Germany announced in 2011 that it will close all of its nuclear power plants by 2022.

The correct answer is ​Maastricht Treaty.

Key Points

• The term Maastricht Treaty refers to the international agreement that was responsible for the creation of the European Union (EU). Hence Option 4 is correct.
• The agreement was signed in 1992 in the Dutch city of Maastricht and became effective in 1993.
• It led to greater cooperation between the 12 member nations that signed the treaty by promoting unified citizenship, along with economic, social, and progress.
• The treaty also laid down the foundation for a single currency, the euro.
•  This was a measure to ensure that countries joining the euro were stable in inflation, levels of public debt, interest rates, and exchange rates.
• It was amended several times since it was signed.
• As of October 2021, 27 member states were part of the European Union.
• The goal of the treaty was to increase cooperation by establishing common European citizenship to allow residents to move, live, and work freely between member states.
• It also created a shared economic, foreign policy, and security policy system. Member nations also agreed to cooperate on security and legal affairs.
• The treaty established a timeline for the creation and implementation of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
• The EMU was to include a common economic and monetary union, a central banking system, and a common currency.

Additional Information

• The Treaty of Tordesillas, between Portugal and Spain (technically its component Kingdom of Castile), was negotiated by the Papacy and divided newly discovered lands outside of Europe between the two countries along a line of longitude through what is now eastern Brazil.
• The Treaty of Paris (1783), which is the oldest treaty signed by the United States still in effect, ended the American Revolution and established the United States.
•  The Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Western allies and Germany at the end of World War I.

The correct asnwer is 15.

Key Points

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
• It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. Hence Option 2 is correct.
• It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ.
• Its official languages are English and French.

The correct asnwer is UNESCO.

Key Points

•  UNESCO
  • UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
  • Although officially founded as UNESCO in 1945, the organisation had its origins in the League of Nations itself.
  • The Constitution of UNESCO came into force in 1946.
  • It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture.
  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is an important programme under the United Nations.
  • Through its programmes, it strives to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • UNESCO develops educational tools so as to help humanity live in a world free of intolerance and hate.
  • It works in preserving the cultural heritage of the world’s many cultures and also promotes the equal dignity of all cultures.
  • It also engages in advancing scientific programmes and policies as platforms for cooperation and development.
  • UNESCO is also known for advocating the freedom of expression and stands up against the killing of journalists.
  • Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO is also a member of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site recognized by UNESCO as having a distinctive cultural or physical significance, and which is considered of outstanding value to humanity. There are more than 1000 heritage sites across 167 nations. Hence Option 2 is correct.

Additional Information

•  The IUCN is an international organization that works in the field of conservation of the world’s flora and fauna.
  • ​This is an important international body, especially in light of the IUCN Red List. 
• World Economic Forum (WEF) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in January 1971.
  • WEF is based in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland, and was formed with an initiative to improve the states of the world.
  • This organisation was formerly known as the European Management Forum. 
• The United Nations Children’s Fund, popularly known as UNICEF, is a United Nations agency that provides developmental and humanitarian aid to children worldwide. ​

The correct answer is Option 3.

Key Points

• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, previously known as the Organization of The Islamic Conference is an international organisation of Muslim countries. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• It is the second-largest intergovernmental body next to the United Nations.
• The OIC was officially founded in 1972.
• It is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The organisation states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony”.
• Its official languages are Arabic, English and French.
• The organisation was set up to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslims in the world and also to promote international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
• There are OIC permanent delegations to the UN and the EU.
• The OIC has many organs and universities under its wing.

Additional Information

•  Al-Qaeda
  •  Founded by Abdullah Azzam, Osama Bin Laden, as well as other militants.
  • The Al-Qaeda is a Wahhabi organization whose objective is to unite all the Muslims around the world in a global jihad and a harsh interpretation of Sharia law.
  • The al-Qaeda played a role in the US embassy bombings in 1998, the September 11 attacks, and the Bali bombings in 2002. 
•  ISIS
  • Known officially as ISIS or ISIL which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (the Levant/Syria), the group controls part of northern Iraq and parts of Western Syria.
  • It has fashioned a form of brutal government that enacts and enforces sharia law.
  • The Islamic State, which was founded by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has perpetrated acts of terrorism and barbarism that are so cruel that it was condemned by even Al-Qaeda.
• Boko Haram
  • ​It  is an Islamist based militant group in Nigeria, and is affiliated to and receives funding from Al-Qaeda.
  • They are exceedingly vocal concerning their intolerance of Western education and made the news for their abduction of over 250 Nigerian school girls.
  • Boko Haram literally means that western education is anathema.
  • The group was originally established as a Sunni Islamic group and advocates for the proliferation of the very intolerant Sharia law in places where they have seized power. 
  • In June of 2011, they successfully carried out the bombing of the UN headquarters located in Abuja.

The correct answer is Option 3.

Key Points

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency dealing with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all. Hence Option 3 is correct.
• The ILO was established as an agency for the League of Nations following World War I. 
• It was established by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
• Its founders had made great strides in social thought and action before the establishment of the organization itself.
• It became the first specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) in the year 1946.
• The ILO has played a significant role in promoting labour and human rights.
• It had held a significant position during the Great Depression (1930s) for ensuring labour rights.
• It played a key role in the decolonization process and in the victory over apartheid in South Africa.
• The organization got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969, for its efforts to improve peace amongst the classes, and for promoting justice and fair work for the workers.
• The ILO’s mission is to promote decent work for all workers.
• This is accomplished by promoting social dialogue, protection, and employment generation.
• The ILO provides technical support along with the support of development partners to multiple countries in order to achieve this mission.
• India is a founding member of the ILO.
  • It became a permanent member of the ILO Governing Body in 1922.
  • The first ILO Office in India was inaugurated in 1928.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

• Samyukta Vidhayak Dal was coalition of parties formed in several north Indian states after the 1967 assembly elections.
• It was made up of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal, the Samyukta Socialist Party, the Praja Socialist Party, the Jana Sangh. This coalition opposed the Congress party that historically single-handedly dominated Indian politics.

The correct answer is Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is not a national party.

Key Points

The list of National Parties of India:

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Indian National Congress (INC)
• Communist Party of India (CPI)
• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
• National People's Party (NPP)
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
• Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)

Important Points

8 Political Parties in India are recognized as National Party by the Election Commission of India. 

• National Parties in India are the political parties that are eligible to participate in the elections in India.
• A national party is a registered party that can have a reserved party symbol, free broadcast time on state-run television and radio related to the party activities or in favour of the party.
• Election Commission of India, the total number of parties registered was 2598, with 8 national parties, 52 state parties, and 2538 unrecognized parties.

Additional Information

• India has a multi-party system with recognition accorded to national and state and district-level parties.
  • A registered party is recognized as a national party only if it fulfills any one of the three conditions listed below:
    1. A party should win 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states.
    2. At a general election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, the party polls 6% of votes in any four or more states, and in addition, it wins four Lok Sabha seats.
    3. A party gets recognition as a state party in four states. 
  • A party recognized as a National party can be derecognized if it fails to maintain the criteria.
    • For example, RJD received the status of the recognized national level party in 2008 but was derecognized in 2010.

The correct answer is Bahujan Samaj Party - 1990.

Key Points

• Bahujan Samaj party (BSP)
  • It is a national-level political party in India
  • Formation: 1984
  • Founder: Kanshi Ram
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Ideology: Social Equality, Social Justice, Secularism, Human rights, Self-respect
  • ECI Status: National party
• Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
  • It is the Indian Socialist Party, work in the area of Bihar and Jharkhand
  • Formation: 1997
  • Founder: Lalu Prasad Yadav, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Kanti Singh 
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Ideology: Socialism
  • ECI Status: State party
• Samajwadi Party (SP)
  • It is Social Democratic Party based in Uttar Pradesh
  • Formation: 1992
  • Founder: Mulayam Singh Yadav
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Ideology: Social Democracy, Social Conservatism
  • ECI Status: State party
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
  • It is one of the eight national parties in India
  • Founded: 1999
  • Founder: Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangama, Tariq Anwar
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Ideology: Liberalism, Gandhism
  • ECI Status: National Party