(Prelims) IAS General Studies – 2011 (Part 4)

31. Consider the following :

1. Right to education.

2. Right to equal access to public service.

3. Right to food.

Which of the above is/are human right/human rights under “universal declaration of human rights’’? 

(a) 1 only.

(b) 1 and 2 only.

(c) 3 only.

(d) 1,2,and 3.

Answer: d

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. The adoption of the Universal Declaration is a significant international commemoration marked each year on 10 December, and is known as International Human Rights Day.
• The Declaration consists of thirty articles. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. In 1966, the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights. In 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law.
• Article 25 says Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
• Article 21(2) says Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
• Article 26(1) says Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
  

32. There is a concern over the increase in harmful algal blooms in the seawater of India. What could be the causative factors for this phenomenon ?

1. Discharge of nutrients from the estuaries.

2. Run-off from the land during the monsoon.’

3. Upwelling in the seas.

Select the correct answer from the codes given below :

(a) 1 only.

(b) 1 and 2 only.

(c) 2 and 3 only.

(d) 1,2,and 3.

Answer: d

• An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae (typically microscopic) in a water system. Cyanobacteria blooms are often called blue-green algae. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration of the water resulting from the high density of pigmented cells.
• Algal blooms are the result of an excess of nutrients, particularly some phosphates.The excess of nutrients may originate from fertilizers that are applied to land for agricultural or recreational purposes. They may also originate from household cleaning products containing phosphorus.These nutrients can then enter watersheds through water runoff. Excess carbon and nitrogen have also been suspected as causes. Presence of residual sodium carbonate acts as catalyst for the algae to bloom by providing dissolved carbon dioxide for enhanced photo synthesis in the presence of nutrients.
• When phosphates are introduced into water systems, higher concentrations cause increased growth of algae and plants. Algae tend to grow very quickly under high nutrient availability, but each alga is short-lived, and the result is a high concentration of dead organic matter which starts to decay. The decay process consumes dissolved oxygen in the water, resulting in hypoxic conditions. Without sufficient dissolved oxygen in the water, animals and plants may die off in large numbers.
• Blooms may be observed in freshwater aquariums when fish are overfed and excess nutrients are not absorbed by plants. These are generally harmful for fish, and the situation can be corrected by changing the water in the tank and then reducing the amount of food given.
• A harmful algal bloom (HAB) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms via production of natural toxins, (or otherwise harmful phytoplankton such as dinoflagellates ) mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. Such blooms often take on a red or brown hue and are known as red tides. HABs are often associated with large-scale marine mortality events and have been associated with various types of shellfish poisonings.
• The frequency and severity of HABs in some parts of the world have been linked to increased nutrient loading from human activities. In other areas, HABs are a predictable seasonal occurrence resulting from coastal upwelling. The growth of marine phytoplankton (both non-toxic and toxic) is generally limited by the availability of nitrates and phosphates, which can be abundant in coastal upwelling zones as well as in agricultural run-off. The type of nitrates and phosphates available in the system are also a factor, since phytoplankton can grow at different rates depending on the relative abundance of these substances (e.g. ammonia, urea, nitrate ion).
• A variety of other nutrient sources can also play an important role in affecting algal bloom formation, including iron, silica or carbon. Coastal water pollution produced by humans (including iron fertilization) and systematic increase in sea water temperature have also been suggested as possible contributing factors in HABs. Other factors such as iron-rich dust influx from large desert areas such as the Sahara are thought to play a role in causing HABs.

How Climate Change can cause Algal Boom?

• Coastal upwelling is the process by which winds push surface water offshore and deep water moves towards the coast, bringing nutrients from the ocean floor to the surface. Climate change is expected to alter the timing and intensity of coastal upwelling. Along the west coast of the United States, excess nutrients delivered by upwelling might lead to more algal blooms.
• Some algal blooms on the Pacific coast have also been linked to natural occurrences of large-scale climatic oscillations such as El Niño events.
• Climate change might lead to more droughts, which make freshwater saltier. This can cause marine algae to invade freshwater ecosystems.
• Algae need carbon dioxide to survive. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air and water can lead to rapid growth of algae, especially toxic blue-green algae that can float to the surface of the water.
• Climate change might affect rainfall patterns, leading to alternating periods of drought and intense storms. This can cause more nutrient runoff into waterbodies, feeding more algal blooms.
• Scientists predict that sea level could rise up to one meter by the year 2100. This would create more shallow and stable coastal water, conditions that are perfect for the growth of algae.
• Warmer water due to climate change might favor harmful algae in a number of ways:
  • Toxic blue-green algae prefer warmer water.
  • Warmer temperatures prevent water from mixing, allowing algae to grow thicker and faster.
  • Warmer water is easier for small organisms to move through and allows algae to float to the surface faster.
  • Algal blooms absorb sunlight, making water even warmer and promoting more blooms.

33. Consider the following :

1. Photosynthesis.

2. Respiration.

3. Decay of organic matter.

4. Volcanic action.

Which of the above add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on earth ?

(a) 1 and 4 only .

(b) 2 and 3 only .

(c) 2, 3 and 4 only.

(d) 1,2,3 and 4 .

Answer: c

• Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy, normally from the Sun, into chemical energy that can be later released to fuel the organisms’ activities. This chemical energy is stored in carbohydrate molecules, such as sugars, which are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water

  

  

• Respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction.
• When plant residues are returned to the soil, various organic compounds undergo decomposition. Decomposition is a biological process that includes the physical breakdown and biochemical transformation of complex organic molecules of dead material into simpler organic and inorganic molecules. Decay of organic matter or putrefaction, process whereby heterotrophic organisms, including some bacteria, fungi, saprophytic plants, and lower animals, utilize the remains of once-living tissue as a source of nutrition. The polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins of dead tissue are broken down into smaller organic molecules, often by enzymes that are secreted into the external environment by the bacteria and fungi that are involved; the breakdown products are then readily absorbed by the heterotrophs and are used both as a source of building blocks for the synthesis of their own polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins, and as a source of chemical energy, obtained either by fermentation (in an anaerobic environment) or respiration (in the presence of oxygen). Often during the process of putrefaction, trace elements and nitrogen are released into the environment in forms suitable for uptake by higher plants; this is the basis for the use of decayed organic matter as fertilizer.

34. Recently, the USA decided to support India’s membership in multilateral export control regimes called the “Australia group” and the “Wassenaar arrangement. What is the difference between them ?

1. The Australia group is an informal arrangement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapons proliferation, whereas the wassenaar arrangement is a formal group under the OECD holding identical objectives.

2. The Australia group comprises predominantly of Asian, African and north American countries, whereas the member countries of Wassenaar arrangement are predominantly from the European union and American continents.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1 only. (b) 2 only.

(c) Both 1 and 2.

(d) Neither 1 nor 2.

Answer: d

• The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilising accumulations. It is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 41 participating states including many former COMECON (Warsaw Pact) countries. It is the successor to the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM), and was established on 12 July 1996, in Wassenaar, the Netherlands, which is near The Hague. Today, members of the group maintain export controls on a uniform list of 54 compounds, including several that are not prohibited for export under the Chemical Weapons Convention, but can be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons. Delegations representing the members meet every year in Paris, France. (Wassenar agreement has South Africa, Japan, from Asia )
• The Australia Group (AG) is an informal forum of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984), which, through the harmonisation of export controls, seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons. Coordination of national export control measures assists Australia Group participants to fulfill their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to the fullest extent possible. The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in September 1989. (As member, Only asian country is Japan and NOT a single african country is there.) With the incorporation of Mexico on August 12, 2013, it now has 42 members,including all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members, the European Commission, all 28 member states of the European Union, Ukraine, and Argentina. The name comes from Australia’s initiative to create the group. Australia manages the secretariat.

35. The surface of a lake is frozen in severe winter, but the water at its bottom is still liquid. What is the reason ?

(a) Ice is a bad conductor of heat.

(b) Since the surface of the lake is at the same temperature as the air, no heat is lost.

(c) The density of water is maximum at 4°c.

(d) None of the statements (a), (b) and (c) given is correct.

Answer: a

• Ice that forms in cold weather forms at the top of the water. But after that it acts as an insulating barrier, preventing the water underneath from getting much colder . Hence, Frozen lake surface acts like a insulator preventing heat from the water from escaping and thus keeping the heats of the water trapped.
  

36. A sandy and saline area is the natural habitat of an Indian animal species. The animal has no predators in that area but its existence is threatened due to the destruction of its habitat. Which one of the following could be that animal ?

(a) Indian wild buffalo.

(b) Indian wild ass.

(c) Indian wild boar.

(d) Indian gazelle.

Answer: b

• The Indian wild ass’s range once extended from western India, southern Pakistan (i.e. provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan), Afghanistan, and south-eastern Iran. Today, its last refuge lies in the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch and its surrounding areas of the Great Rann of Kutch in the Gujarat province of India. The animal was never a hunting target of Indian Maharajas and colonial British officials of the British Raj.
• Area in Kutch, Gujarat is drought-prone due to erratic monsoons,the wild ass population could decline suddenly as a result of a massive die-off.

37. La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from EI Nino ?

1. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in equatorial Indian ocean whereas EI Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperature in the equatorial pacific ocean.

2. EI Nino has adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1 only.

(b) 2 only.

(c) Both 1 and 2.

(d) Neither 1 nor 2.

Answer: d

• El Niño and La Niña events are a natural part of the global climate system. They occur when the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above it change from their neutral (‘normal’) state for several seasons. El Niño events are associated with a warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, while La Niña events are the reverse, with a sustained cooling of these same areas. (La nina is cold event in the pacific ocean while the el nino is warm event.)
• These changes in the Pacific Ocean and its overlying atmosphere occur in a cycle known as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The atmosphere and ocean interact, reinforcing each other and creating a ‘feedback loop’ which amplifies small changes in the state of the ocean into an ENSO event. When it is clear that the ocean and atmosphere are fully coupled an ENSO event is considered established.
• ENSO-induced warm zones in the Pacific cause the warm air over them to rise and initiate circulation cells. Such cells along northern Australia, Indonesia and the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean could have their downdraft sides over a nascent monsoon circulation cell in the Indian Ocean, which would disrupt its formation, causing poor monsoon rains over the subcontinent. This implies that El Nino years should generally coincide with deficient monsoon rains.
• In case of La Niña, monsoon should genrally more than normal.

38. The tendency for increased litigation was visible after the introduction of the land settlement system of lord Cornwallis in 1793. The reason for this is normally traced to which of the following provisions ?

(a) Making zamindar’s position stronger vis-à-vis the ryot.

(b) Making east India company an overlord of zamindars.

(c) Making judicial system more efficient.

(d) None of the (a), (b) and (c) above.

Answer: b

• Please note that the reforms of Cornwallis had increased the litigation and the reasons for this was
• the Court Fee was removed and now every body could drag anybody to courts.
• The extension to right of appeal .
• Inhuman punishments such as cutting limbs, cutting nose and ears were abolished.
• Zamindars had to face sunset law in which in case of nonpayment of revenue, their land used to be confiscated. Hence due to availability of judicial system, they used to appeal in court of law.
• These are some of the reasons that led to increased litigation.
  

39. Which one of the following observation is not true about the quit India movement of 1942 ?

(a) It was a non-violent movement.

(b) It was led by mahatma Gandhi.

(c) It was a spontaneous movements.

(d) It did not attract the labour class in general.

Answer: a

• On August 8, 1942 the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee and here Gandhi made a call to participate people in non-violent way. The communists had opposed this movement hence movement did not attract the labours.
• The Quit India Movement was not a non-violent. There were various events in which Police station, Railway Stations, Railway Lines and Post-Offices were burnt and destroyed.
  

40. Which amongst the following provided a common factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century ?

(a) Introduction of a new system of land revenue and taxation of tribal products.

(b) Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal areas.

(c) Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders and revenue farmers as middlemen in tribal areas.

(d) The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities.

Answer: c

• All options looks correct but c looks more promising

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