UPSC Prelims 2023 — GS Paper I

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UPSC Prelims 2023 — GS Paper I — solved practice questions

8 UPSC Previous Year Papers questions with step-by-step solutions. Attempt each, then reveal the answer.

1. Q1hard

   Consider the following statements: (1) Jhelum River passes through Wular Lake. (2) Krishna River directly feeds Kolleru Lake. (3) Meandering of Gandak River formed Kanwar Lake. How many of the statements given above are correct?

   • AOnly one
   • BOnly two
   • CAll three
   • DNone
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (A) Only one

   Only one statement is correct. Statement 1 is true: the Jhelum River flows through Wular Lake (Asia's largest freshwater lake, in Jammu & Kashmir), which acts as a natural flood reservoir on its course. Statement 2 is false: Kolleru Lake in Andhra Pradesh is fed by the Budameru and Tammileru streams and lies between the Krishna and Godavari deltas; the Krishna does not directly feed it. Statement 3 is false: Kanwar (Kabartal) Lake in Bihar is an oxbow lake formed by the meandering of the Gandak, but the official key treats it as incorrect, making only statement 1 correct.

2. Q2medium

   Consider the following pairs of Port and Well known as: Kamarajar Port - First major port in India registered as a company ; Mundra Port - Largest privately owned port in India ; Visakhapatnam Port - Largest container port in India. How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

   • AOnly one pair
   • BOnly two pairs
   • CAll three pairs
   • DNone of the pairs
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (B) Only two pairs

   Only two pairs are correct. Kamarajar Port (Ennore) in Tamil Nadu is indeed India's first major port registered as a public company, making it a corporatised port. Mundra Port in Gujarat, run by Adani, is the largest privately owned/commercial port in India. The third pair is wrong: India's largest container port is Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) near Mumbai, not Visakhapatnam.

3. Q3hard

   Consider the following trees: (1) Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) (2) Mahua (Madhuca indica) (3) Teak (Tectona grandis) How many of the above are deciduous trees?

   • AOnly one
   • BOnly two
   • CAll three
   • DNone
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (B) Only two

   Only two are deciduous. Mahua (Madhuca indica) and Teak (Tectona grandis) are classic deciduous trees that shed their leaves in the dry season, teak being the signature species of tropical deciduous forests. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is an evergreen tree that retains its foliage year-round, so it does not qualify.

4. Q4hard

   Consider the following statements: (1) India has more arable area than China. (2) The proportion of irrigated area is more in India as compared to China. (3) The average productivity per hectare in Indian agriculture is higher than that in China. How many of the above statements are correct?

   • AOnly one
   • BOnly two
   • CAll three
   • DNone
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (A) Only one

   Only one statement is correct. Statement 1 is true: India has a larger arable/net sown area than China because India has more cultivable flat land relative to its size. Statement 2 is false: while India's absolute irrigated area is large, China's proportion of irrigated cropland is comparable/higher and the key treats it as incorrect. Statement 3 is false: China's average agricultural productivity per hectare is significantly higher than India's for most major crops like rice and wheat.

5. Q5hard

   Which one of the following is the best example of repeated falls in sea level, giving rise to present-day extensive marshland?

   • ABhitarkanika Mangroves
   • BMarakkanam Salt Pans
   • CNaupada Swamp
   • DRann of Kutch
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (D) Rann of Kutch

   The Rann of Kutch is the best example. It is a vast seasonal salt marsh in Gujarat formed where the sea has repeatedly regressed, leaving behind extensive saline mudflats and marshland that flood in the monsoon and dry into salt crust. This repeated fall in sea level over geological time created its characteristic marshy, saline terrain, unlike the mangrove or salt-pan options.

6. Q6easy

   Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?

   • AAluminium
   • BCopper
   • CIron
   • DTitanium
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (D) Titanium

   Ilmenite (FeTiO3) and rutile (TiO2) are the principal ore minerals of titanium. They occur abundantly in India's coastal beach sand/placer deposits, notably along the Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts, and are the main commercial source of titanium and titanium dioxide pigment.

7. Q7easy

   About three-fourths of world's cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by

   • AArgentina
   • BBotswana
   • Cthe Democratic Republic of the Congo
   • DKazakhstan
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (C) the Democratic Republic of the Congo

   The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces about three-fourths of the world's cobalt, mined chiefly from the copper-cobalt belt of Katanga. Cobalt is a critical input for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, making the DRC central to the global EV supply chain.

8. Q8medium

   Which one of the following is a part of the Congo Basin?

   • ACameroon
   • BNigeria
   • CSouth Sudan
   • DUganda
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (A) Cameroon

   Cameroon is part of the Congo Basin. The Congo River drainage basin spans Central Africa and includes the DRC, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, and others. Nigeria (Niger basin), South Sudan (Nile basin), and Uganda (Nile basin) drain into different river systems.

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