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

Explanation – 

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The provisions of Nari Sakti Vandan Adhiniyam will come into effect from the time of official notification after delimitation.
• Statement 2 is correct: The duration of the Act is mentions reservation to be for 15 years.
• Statement 3 is correct: There are provisions for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes Women within the quota reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
• The Nari Sakti Vandan Adhiniyam is a legislative initiative aimed at enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies. It includes provisions for reservations within existing quotas to ensure inclusive participation.

Explanation – 

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Exercise Mitra Shakti-2023 is a joint military exercise between India and Sri Lanka, not Bangladesh.
• Statement 2 is correct: The exercise commenced in Aundh, Pune.
• Statement 3 is correct: Joint response during counter-terrorism operations was a goal of this exercise.
• Statement 4 is correct: The Indian Air Force was a part of this exercise.

Explanation – 

• Option (a) is incorrect: A writ of prohibition is not issued to a government officer.
• Option (b) is incorrect: A writ of prohibition is not issued to the Parliament or Legislative Assembly.
• Option (c) is correct: A writ of prohibition is an order issued by the Supreme Court or High Courts to a lower court prohibiting the continuation of proceedings in a case that is beyond its jurisdiction.
  
• Option (d) is incorrect: A writ of prohibition is not issued to the government.
• A writ of prohibition is a judicial order restraining a lower court from exceeding its jurisdiction or from acting contrary to the rules of natural justice. It is a preventive measure to ensure legal proceedings remain within the bounds of the law.

Explanation – 

• Statement 1 is incorrect: It is the President of India who recognizes and declares any community as a Scheduled Tribe, based on the recommendations of the respective state governments.
• Statement 2 is correct: A community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in one state need not be so in another state.
• The recognition of Scheduled Tribes is a process involving both state and central government recommendations. A community recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in one state may not be recognized as such in another state.

Explanation –

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Union Finance Minister presents the Annual Financial Statement, not on behalf of the Prime Minister but on their own behalf.
• Statement 2 is correct: At the Union level, no demand for a grant can be made except on the recommendation of the President of India.
• The Union Budget process in India involves the presentation of the Annual Financial Statement by the Finance Minister. The President’s recommendation is necessary for the introduction of money bills and demands for grants in Parliament.

Explanation – The India Way and Why Bharat Matters? are the books written by S. Jaishankar.

Explanation –

• Pair 1 is correct. Argentina is facing its worst economic crises.
• Pair 2 is correct. Sudan is in the midst of a Civil War due to battles between country’s army and paramilitary forces.
• Pair 3 is incorrect. No country has been rescinded from NATO’s membership.
• Argentina is facing its worst economic crisis, Sudan is in a civil war between the army and paramilitary forces, and no country has been rescinded from NATO membership.

Explanation – 

• Statement 1 is correct: The Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline are strategic routes for Persian Gulf crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Europe and North America.
• Statement 2 is correct: Located in Egypt, the Suez Canal connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, and it is a critical chokepoint because of the large volumes of energy commodities that flow through it.
• The Sumed Pipeline is an oil pipeline in Egypt, running from the Ain Sokhna terminal in the Gulf of Suez, the northernmost terminus of the Red Sea, to offshore Sidi Kerir port, Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea.

Explanation –

• Statement 1 is correct. Red Sea receives very little precipitation in any form.
• Statement 2 is correct. No significant river or stream enters red sea.
• The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez.

Explanation –

• Power plants using fossile fuels relase most Sulphur Dioxide.
• The largest sources of SO2 emissions are from fossil fuel combustion at power plants andother industrial facilities.