UPSC CSE (Preliminary) Exam 2024 Paper I (GS) – 16 June 2024 (Answer Key)

Explanation –   

• Under the GFA policy, Government of India has accorded ‘In-Principle’ approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports namely, Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh across the country.
• Out of these, 11 Greenfield airports viz. Durgapur, Shirdi, Kannur, Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Orvakal (Kurnool), Sindhudurg, Kushinagar, Itanagar (Donyi Polo Airport), Mopa and Shivamogga have been operationalised.
  
• Government of India has also granted the first stage clearance i.e. site clearance for construction of three Greenfield airports namely Alwar in Rajasthan, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

Explanation –

• Statement 1 is correct: Water vapour is a gas, the amount of which decreases with altitude.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Its percentage is maximum at tropics.

Explanation – 

Marine West coast climate:

• Annual temperature ranges are rather small (10–15 °C or [50–59 °F]), about half those encountered farther to the east in the continental interior at the same latitude. Mean annual temperatures are usually 7–13 °C (45–55 °F) in lowland areas, the winters are mild, and the summers are relatively moderate, rarely having monthly temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F).
• Precipitation totals vary somewhat throughout the year in response to the changing location and intensity of these storm systems, but annual accumulations generally range from 50 to 250 cm (20 to 98 inches), with local totals exceeding 500 cm (197 inches) where onshore winds encounter mountain ranges.

Explanation –

• Statement 1 is correct: It increases with increase in wind velocity
• Statement 2 is correct: It is maximum at poles and is absent at the equator.

Explanation –

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Equator
• Statement 2 is correct: Tropic of Cancer
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Tropic of Capricorn
• Statement 4 is correct: Arctic Circle

Explanation –

• The Congo Basin is one of the world’s last regions that absorbs more carbon than it emits, the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Head of Biodiversity and Land.
• The peat swamp forest of the Congo Basin stores around 29 billion tons of carbon – approximately equivalent to three years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions – while the Basin as a whole absorbs nearly 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year .

Explanation –

• Statement 1 is correct: PFAS are found to be widespread in drinking water, food and packaging materials.
  
• Statement 2 is correct: PFAS are not easily degraded in the environment.
• Statement 3 is correct: Persistent exposure to PFAS can lead to bioaccumulation in animal bodies.

Explanation –

• Option 1 is correct: Carabid beetles : Coleoptera (Parasitoid)
• Option 2 is incorrect: Centipedes : Arthropodes
• Option 3 is correct: Flies : Parasitoid
• Option 4 is incorrect: Termites: Detritophagous
• Option 5 is correct: Wasps: Parasitoid

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) belongs to the Fabaceae family.
• Statement 2 is correct: Horse-gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) belongs to the Fabaceae family.
• Statement 3 is correct: Soybean (Glycine max) also belongs to the Fabaceae family.

Explanation –

• Statement I is correct: The Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus giganteus) was listed under the vermin category in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Statement II is incorrect: The Indian Flying Fox is a frugivore, meaning it primarily feeds on fruits, nectar, and flowers, not on the blood of other animals.