Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Key Points

• India first adopted a "No First Use" Policy after its second nuclear test, Pokhran-II, in 1998.
• In August 1999, the Indian government released a draft of the doctrine which asserts that nuclear weapons are solely for deterrence and that India will pursue a policy of "retaliation only".
• The Prime minister of India during the Pokhran-II nuclear tests held in 1998 was Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• He was an Indian Statesman who served three terms as the Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, followed by a full term from 1999 to 2004.

Additional Information 

• India had made its Nuclear Doctrine in 2003.
• The characteristics of India's Nuclear Doctrine are the following:
• According to this policy, nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on the Indian Territory or on Indian forces anywhere.
• India needs nuclear capabilities to build and maintain a Credible Minimum Deterrent.
• If a country invades India by a nuclear missile, the retaliation will be much massive and terrible that the enemy would not be able to recover easily.
• The right to take nuclear action against the enemy will only be taken by the elected representatives of the people.
• Nuclear weapons will not be used against non-nuclear states.
• In case of any chemical or biological attack against India or Indian security forces, then India will keep the option of nuclear attack open in its response.
• A continuance of strict controls on the export of nuclear and missile-related materials and technologies.
• India will continue to support the global initiative to create a nuclear-free world and will push forward the idea of discrimination-free nuclear disarmament.

Nuclear Command Authority:

• It comprises an Executive Council and a Political Council.
• The Chairman of the Political Council is the Prime Minister.
• It is the sole body that can authorise the use of nuclear weapons.
• The Executive Council is headed by the National Security Advisor (NSA).
• The Executive Council provides the inputs for the decision taken by the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) and executes the instructions given to it by the Political Council.

The correct answer is April 21.

Key Points

• National Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21 every year.
• The Government of India celebrates ‘Civil Services day’ as an occasion for civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizens and renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work.
• This date is chosen to commemorate the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi.
• He referred to civil servants as the ‘Steel Frame of India’.
• The first such function was held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi -21 April 2006.

 Additional Information

Awards on National Civil Services day:

• On National Civil Services day,'Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration' is awarded.
• A large number of districts across the country participate in this award program.
• On National Civil Services day, the officers of central and state governments are awarded by the Prime Minister of India for their extraordinary services in the field of public administration.
• The 'Prime Minister Award for Excellence in Public Administration 'is awarded in three categories:
• Category 1: It comprises eight northeastern states and the three hill states namely Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Category 2: It consists of seven Union Territories
• Category 3: It consists of the rest of the eighteen states of India.

The correct answer is 2005.

Key Points 

Central Information Commission:

Established:

• ​The Central Information Commission was established by the Central Government in 2005, under the provisions of the Right to Information Act (2005).
• It is a Statutory Body.

Members:

• The Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than Ten Information Commissioners.

Appointment:

• They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

Tenure:

• ​The Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Additional Information

Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019

• It provided that the Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner (of Centre as well as States) shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government.
• Before this amendment, their term was fixed for 5 years.
• It provided that the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner (of Centre as well as States) shall be such as prescribed by the Central Government.
• It removed the provisions regarding deductions in salary of the Chief Information Commissioner, an Information Commissioner, the State Chief Information Commissioner and a State Information Commissioner due to pension or any other retirement benefits received by them for their previous government service.
• The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 was criticized on grounds of diluting the law and giving more powers to the central government.

The correct answer is 1981.

Key Points

Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981:

• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted on May 16, 1981, and amended in 1987 to provide for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution in India.
• It was passed under Article 253 of the Constitution of India, in accordance with the decisions of the Stockholm Conference.
• Aim: To provide means for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution and preserve the quality of air.
• It demarcated high pollution areas as air pollution control areas and no industrial plant shall be operated in these areas without prior consent of the State Pollution Control Board.
• The Central and State Water Boards have been entrusted with the task of controlling and preventing air pollution.
• It laid guidelines regarding emission control and empowered the State Government and the respective Board(s) to give instructions to ensure emission standards for automobiles.

Important Points 

• Initially, noise pollution was not included in the act.
• Later, in 1988, by an amendment, noise pollution was considered a form of environmental pollution and thus included.

The correct answer is 1977.

Key Points

• Representation of women members in Lok Sabha and their participation in general elections as contestants are increasing.
• The freshly elected 17^th Lok Sabha has 78 women Members of Parliament (MPs), highest ever since independence. Out of the 716 women candidates who contested elections, 78 have been elected, which is 14% of the house. This is higher than 2014 where there were 62 women MPs in the house.
• 15^th Lok Sabha had 10.86% of women membership with 13^th Lok Sabha too being close to it in having 9.02% of women members.
• Since 1996, the Lower House always had at least 40 women elects.
• The lowest number of women elected to the Lok Sabha was in 1977 when only 19 women reached the Lower House, which was only 3.50% of the total Lok Sabha seats (542 at that time).
• As far as women contestants is concerned, the highest number of women aspirants, 599, were in fray in 1996, followed by 556 women candidates in 2009 and 355 in 2004.
• It was in 1980 for the 7^th Lok Sabha when the women contestants crossed the mark of 100 as prior to that the number of women contestants was always below 100.

The correct answer is Attorney General of India.

Key Points

 ​Attorney General of India:

• According to Article 76(1), the President shall appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed  Judge of the Supreme Court to be Attorney-General for India.
• **The Attorney General has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament **or their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which he may be named a member but without a right to vote.
• He enjoys all the privileges and immunities that are available to a Member of Parliament.
• According to Article 76(4), the Attorney-General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President and shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine. Hence, Attorney General can be removed by the president at any time.

The correct answer is 2006. 

Key Points

• The Uttaranchal (Change of Name) Act, came into existence in 2006.
• In August 2006, Union Council of Ministers assented to the demands of the Uttaranchal Legislative Assembly and leading members of the Uttarakhand statehood movement to rename Uttaranchal state as Uttarakhand.
• Legislation to that effect was passed by the Uttaranchal Legislative Assembly in October 2006, and the Union Council of Ministers brought in the bill in the winter session of Parliament.
• The bill was passed by Parliament and signed into law by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in December 2006, and since 1 January 2007 the state has been known as Uttarakhand.

Additional Information

• Uttarakhand's name is derived from the Sanskrit words Uttara (उत्तर) meaning 'north', and khaṇḍa (खण्ड) meaning 'land', altogether simply meaning 'Northern Land'.
• The name finds mention in early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of "Kedarkhand" (present day Garhwal) and "Manaskhand" (present day Kumaon). Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic term for the central stretch of the Indian Himalayas.

The correct answer is 9-11-2000.

Key Points 

Uttarakhand 

• It came into existence after being separated from Uttar Pradesh. On November 9, 2000, the state of Uttaranchal—the 27^th state of India—was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, and in January 2007 the new state changed its name to Uttarakhand, meaning “northern region,” which was the traditional name for the area.
• Lack of development in the geographically unique area( 93% of the area in the state is hill region and 64% of the total area of the forest) area rising unemployment gave impetus to the age-old demand for a separate state.
• Three things which actually became Reasons for Strong Resentment among the masses was poor development of the hill, increasing unemployment and time taking distance from hills to Lucknow in case one has to approach officials in the state capital.

Additional Information 

• Capital: Dehradun
• State Animal: Alpine musk deer

The correct answer is Trivendra Singh Rawat.

Key Points

• On 4 March 2020, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat announced in the Legislative Assembly of the state during budget session that Bhararisain (14 km from Gairsain) would be declared the summer Capital of the state.
• Official notification to this effect was issued on 8 June 2020 by the government after the then governor, Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent to the move.
• The Gairsain division was announced in March 2021.
• It was proposed to be the third administrative division of the state after Garhwal and Kumaon, and would include the districts of Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli and Rudraprayag.
• However, the status was put on 'hold' by Uttarakhand Cabinet in April 2021.

The correct answer is George William Traill.

Key Points

• George William Traill, the second British Commissioner of Kumaon (serving from 1815 to 1835), is credited with introducing the Revenue Police system in the region around 1830. Under this unique system, revenue officials such as Patwaris and Kanungos were vested with policing powers, including the authority to investigate crimes and maintain law and order, in addition to their revenue collection duties. This was primarily due to the low crime rate and the difficult geographical terrain of the hilly areas, which made maintaining a regular police force expensive and impractical.
• Why other options are incorrect
• Lt. Col. Gardiner: Edward Gardner was the first Commissioner of Kumaon (1815) and is known for implementing the first revenue settlement, but he did not establish the long-term revenue police framework.
• Sir Henry Ramsay: Known as the "King of Kumaon," Ramsay served as Commissioner much later (1856–1884). While the system was formalized and expanded during the later British era (e.g., the Scheduled Districts Act of 1874), its origin lies with Traill.
• Daniel Ibbotson: He was a later administrator and did not introduce the system in the early colonial period of Kumaon and Garhwal.