UPSC Prelims Answer Key With Explanation 2019 – Paper 1 (General Studies)

• Statement 1 is correct- Agricultural soils contributed to over 70% of N₂O emissions from India in 2010, followed by waste water (12%) and residential and commercial activities (6%).
• Statement 2 is correct- Cattle account for 80% of the ammonia production, though their annual growth rate is 1%, due to a stable population. India is globally the biggest source of ammonia emission, nearly double that of NOx emissions.
• Statement 3 is correct- The poultry industry, on the other hand, with an annual growth rate of 6%, recorded an excretion of reactive nitrogen compounds of 0.415 tonnes in 2016.
• Thus Option D is correct.

Recently, The Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors storage position of 70 major and important reservoirs spread all over the country of which 26 reservoirs have significant hydro-power benefit with installed capacities of more than 60 MW.

• Water Reservoirs surveyed by CWC-
• NagarjunaSagar (22%), SriramSagar (14%) and Somasila (24%) in Andhra Pradesh; Tenughat (28%) and Tilaiya (6%) in Jharkhand; GobindSagar (20%) and Pong Dam (19%) in Himachal Pradesh; Krishna Sagar (44%), Tungabhadra (32%), Ghataprabha (23%), Malaprapha (3%), Harangi (16%) and Supa (47%) in Karnataka; Kallada (49%) and Idamalayar (48%) in Kerala; Jayakwadi (29%), Bhima (9%), Mula (33%), Yeldari (24%), Girna (10%) and Khadkwasla (20%) in Maharashtra; Lower Bhawani (10%), Aliyar (20%) and Sholayar (6%) in Tamil Nadu; Matatila (13%) in Uttar Pradesh and Mayurakshi (32%), Kangsabati (14%) in West Bengal are also very low.

Option D is Correct.

• Statement 1 is Incorrect- Compared to conventional CNG, use of H-CNG can reduce not eliminate emission of carbon monoxide up to 70%, besides enabling up to 5% savings in fuel, tests by the Automotive Research Association of India and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) have found.
• Statement 2 is correct- H-CNG as fuel reduces carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon emissions.
• Statement 3 is correct- H-CNG is a blend of hydrogen and CNG, the ideal hydrogen concentration being 18%.
• Statement 4 is Incorrect- For consumers who pay Rs 42 per kg for CNG, the cost of H-CNG would not be more than Rs 43 per kg.
• Thus, Option B is correct.

Dew formation needs a specific low temperature with humidy and a clear sky but on a cloudy night, the clouds send the heat back to the ground so the ground never gets cold enough for the dew to be formed.

So correct option is B

Statement 1 is incorrect: In Indira Gandhi vs Raj Narain the Allahabad High Court invalidates Ms. Indira Gandhi’s election on grounds of corrupt practices, the 39th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1975 was enacted to exclude judicial review in election disputes involving the Prime Minister. The Apex court held that power of judicial review cannot be taken away as it is key to democracy.

Statement 2 is correct: In 2014, Parliament enacted the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 to replace the collegium with an independent commission, the NJAC . Subsequently the Supreme Court struck down the two laws as unconstitutional, and reinstated the collegium process.The court held that the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014 violates the basic structure of the Constitution because it does not secure primacy of the Judiciary in judicial appointments.

Thus, Option B is correct

Statement 1 is incorrect: The procedure for removal of judges is elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. The
Speaker or Chairman may consult individuals and examine relevant material related to the notice. Based on this, he or she may decide to either admit the motion or refuse to admit it.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The process of impeachment is described in Article 124(4) of the Constitution and the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968. A judge can be removed on the grounds of “proved misbehaviour or incapacity”. Neither misbehaviour nor incapacity are defined, but would include any criminal activity or other judicial impropriety.

Statement 3 is correct: The process of impeachment is described in Article 124(4) of the Constitution and the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968.

Statement 4 is correct: The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each House of Parliament by:
(i) a majority of the total membership of that House; and
(ii) a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting. If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other House for adoption. Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge.

Thus, Option C is correct.

The Constitution (9th Amendment ) Act 1960 was done under the premiership of Jawahar Lal Nehru. The amendment intended to settle boundary disputes between Pakistan and India.

Thus, Option A is correct. 

• Statement 1 is correct- The Indira Gandhi administration nationalized coal mining in phases – coking coal mines in 1971–72 and non-coking coal mines in 1973. With the enactment of the Coal Mines (Nationalization)
  Act, 1973, all coal mines in India were nationalized on 1 May 1973.
• Statement 2 is incorrect- The coal ministry used the reverse bidding route to allocate coal blocks to private players.
• Statement 3 is incorrect- India is still an importer of coal as the domestic players are not able to meet the
  demands.
• Thus, Option A is correct.

• Statement 1 is Correct- Under the provisions of Article 102 (1) and Article 191 (1) of the Constitution, an MP or an MLA (or an MLC) is barred from holding any office of profit under the central or state government. Provisions of Articles 102 and 191 also protect a legislator occupying a government position if the office in question has been made immune to disqualification by law. Parliament has also enacted the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, which has been amended several times to expand the exempted list.
• Statement 2 is correct.
• Statement 3 is Incorrect – The word ‘office’ has not been defined in the Constitution or the Representation of the People Act of 1951. But different courts have interpreted it (Kanta Kathuria v. Manak Chand Surana) to mean a position with certain duties that are more or less of public character. However, a legislator cannot be disqualified from either the Parliament or state Assembly for holding any office. It can be done for holding:
  a) An office;
  b) An office of profit;
  c) An office under the union or state government;
  d) An office exempt by law from purview of disqualificatory provisions. All four conditions have to be satisfied before an MP and MLA can be disqualified.
  
• Thus, Option A is correct.

The Constitution provides autonomy to tribal areas in matters of governance under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, which was further fortified by the Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) judgment where the Supreme Court declared that the transfer of tribal land to private parties for mining was null and void under the Fifth Schedule.

Thus, Option B is Correct.

• Himalayan nettle, a fibre-yielding plant, has become an important livelihood option for people living in the remote mountainous villages of the Hindu Kush Himalaya.  
• The fiber, made from the stem bark of Himalayan nettles, is used to make goods like carpets, fabrics, bags, and clothing. Also, the roots and leaves are used as traditional medicine and are said to be effective for skin diseases (e.g., atopy), headache, arthritis, stomachache, and fever, as well as having insect deterrent and antibacterial effects.
• Option D is Correct.

• Normalized Area Vegetation Index (NAVI) is proposed for estimating chlorophyll content (Chl) from remote sensing data.
• From space, the amount of atmospheric trace gases can only be measured by interpreting spectral features of light emitted or reflected by the Earth atmosphere. On its way through the atmosphere, at certain wavelengths light gets absorbed by atmospheric trace gases and the depth of the absorption lines in the reflected spectrum provides information about its atmospheric abundance. This technique is called atmospheric remote sensing. 
• India is facing crucial problem as the other world, by the impact of Global warming which is resulting from climate change. Global warming is an increase in Earth’s average surface temperature, land surface temperature (LST) plays a critical role in Global climate change and is used in a range of hydrological, meteorological, and climatological applications. As needed for most modelling and climate analysis applications. Remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) have found wide application areas in climate change analyses also this can be used for LST calculation. There are various sensor whose data is useful in generating LST such as: advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR), moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), Landsat-8, and many more. LST can be estimated by using many algorithms i.e. split-window (SW), dual-angle (DA), single-channel (SC).
• https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/8/974
• https://www.sron.nl/remote-sensing-greenhouse-gases
• https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/special_issues/rs_lst

Agricultural crop residue burning contribute towards the emission of greenhouse gases (CO₂, N₂O, CH₄), air pollutants (CO, NH₃, NO_x, SO₂, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), ozone, volatile organic compounds), particulates matter and smoke thereby posing threat to human health.

Thus, Option D is correct 

• Carbofuran is a broad spectrum N-methyl carbamate insecticide widely used in agriculture .
• Methyl parathion is an insecticide and acaricide used to control boll weevils and many biting or sucking insect pests of agricultural crops . It kills insects by contact, stomach and respiratory action. Methyl parathion is available in dust, emulsifiable concentrate, ULV liquid, microencapsules and wettable powder formulations.
• Phorate is a Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) and is among the most poisonous chemicals commonly used for pest control.
• Triazophos is an organic thiophosphate and an organothiophosphate insecticide.
• Thus, Option D is correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Ramsar convention mandates protection of only those sites that are enlisted under RAMSAR criteria.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Based on the directives of the 2006 National Environment Policy and the recommendations made by the National Forest Commission, the Central Government notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules in 2010.

Statement 3 is correct: As per THE WETLANDS (CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT) RULES, 2010 wetland” means an area or of marsh, fen, peatland or water; natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres and includes all inland waters such as lakes, reservoir, tanks, backwaters, lagoon, creeks, estuaries and manmade wetland and the zone of direct influence on wetlands that is to say the drainage area or catchment region of the wetlands as determined by the authority but does not include main river channels, paddy fields and the coastal wetland covered under the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Thus, Option C is correct.