KPSC FDA 2021 — Paper 3 - General Studies (GS)

The subsidiary alliance was imposed in chronological order on Hyderabad (1798), Mysore (1799), Awadh (1801), and finally the Marathas (across 1802-1818).

The title 'Vikramaditya' is associated with Chandragupta II, not Chandragupta I, making that statement about Chandragupta I incorrect.

India's procedure for impeachment of the President was adopted from the United States Constitution.

The Attorney General of India, though not an MP or minister, has the right to speak in and attend proceedings of either House of Parliament or any Parliamentary Committee.

Nicotine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in tobacco plants.

Political equality means every citizen is granted equal rights to vote and to contest elections, regardless of birth, wealth or status.

Mahatma Gandhi is credited with first floating the idea of a Constituent Assembly for India, in 1922.

The Prime Minister chairs the National Development Council.

Indian ambassadors/high commissioners are formally appointed by the President of India.

In a parliamentary system, there are two executives — the nominal (titular) head of state and the real (functional) executive, the Council of Ministers led by the PM.

The High Court of a State exercises supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts within that state.

The Constituent Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to draft the Constitution of India.

The Narmada flows westward mainly because it runs through a linear rift valley (between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges), unlike most peninsular rivers that follow the general eastward slope of the peninsula.

Yanam, a former French enclave, is correctly identified as part of the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Seasonal reversal of wind direction is the defining characteristic of monsoon climates.

Hasan Nizami authored 'Tajul-Ma'asir', an early Persian chronicle of the Delhi Sultanate.

Molkalmuru (Karnataka) and Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu) are both renowned for their traditional handwoven silk sarees.

Seasonal variation in day/night length results from the Earth's revolution around the Sun combined with its axial tilt.

The Panama Canal cuts through the isthmus separating North America and South America.

Per the source's answer key, the statement 'They are rich fishing areas' is marked as the incorrect statement about continental shelves.

Turkey is situated between the Black Sea to its north and the Mediterranean Sea to its south.

Both statements are independently true (the Earth does receive energy via solar electromagnetic radiation, and it does radiate energy back to balance its heat budget), but the second does not explain the first — they describe two separate legs of the heat budget.

A Karst plain is the landform associated with limestone topography shaped by dissolution processes.

Kanha is in Madhya Pradesh, Kaziranga is in Assam, Nagarahole is in Karnataka, and Chandra Prabha is in Uttar Pradesh.

Regur (black cotton) soil, rich in iron and moisture-retentive, is best suited for cotton cultivation.

Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve is correctly located in Uttarakhand.

The mean Earth-Sun distance is defined as one Astronomical Unit (AU), about 150 million km.

'Project Elephant' was launched by the Government of India in 1991-92 for elephant conservation.

The brilliant colours seen in a thin oil film on water arise from interference of light reflected from the film's top and bottom surfaces.

Since the period of a simple pendulum is proportional to the square root of its length, doubling the period requires the length to be quadrupled.

Optical fibre communication works on the principle of total internal reflection of light within the fibre's core.

Among common materials, steel is considered the most elastic, as it returns most completely to its original shape after deforming stress is removed.

Kepler's Third Law (Law of Periods) relates a planet's orbital period to its mean distance from the Sun, explaining the periodic motion of planets.

During cyclones, high wind velocity over a roof lowers air pressure above it (Bernoulli's principle), while pressure below remains high, and this pressure difference blows the roof off.

Electrical conductivity in metals arises from the presence of free (delocalised) electrons that can move and carry charge.

Milk is an emulsion — fat droplets are dispersed throughout a water-based liquid.

Vulcanisation (heating rubber with sulphur) is used in tyre manufacturing to improve rubber's strength and elasticity.

Mountstuart Elphinstone served as the Governor of Bombay Presidency.

Calcium carbide is the chemical most commonly (and illegally) used for artificially ripening mangoes in India, due to the acetylene gas it releases.

Urea has the highest nitrogen content (about 46%) among common nitrogenous fertilisers.

Collagen is the main structural protein present in cartilage.

Aflatoxins are toxic compounds produced by certain fungi, notably Aspergillus species.

Bog moss (Sphagnum) is a bryophyte, a group of simple, non-vascular land plants.

Gymnosperms produce naked seeds and lack fruit because their ovules are not enclosed within an ovary.

Spirogyra, a filamentous green alga forming silky mats in ponds, is commonly known as 'pond silk'.

Shoot tip (meristem) culture is the preferred technique to raise virus-free plants, since the actively dividing meristem is usually free of viral infection.

DNA contains deoxyribose sugar (as opposed to ribose in RNA).

The Deccan Sabha, promoting moderate political reform, was organised by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is located in the United Arab Emirates.

Iodine deficiency leads to goitre, an enlargement of the thyroid gland.

Desmosomes are cell-junction structures that mechanically link and interconnect animal cells.

The enzyme Rennin curdles milk proteins in the stomach, aiding digestion, especially in infants.

Alzheimer's disease is linked to a deficiency of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain.

Penicillin prevents bacterial growth by inhibiting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls.

Frederick Sanger was the first to determine the complete amino acid sequence of a protein — insulin.

During an overnight fast, blood glucose is maintained mainly through hepatic glycogenolysis (breakdown of liver glycogen).

Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve pain and fever chiefly by reducing the production of prostaglandins.

The polarity of a water molecule arises from the difference in electronegativity between oxygen and hydrogen atoms, giving the O-H bonds a dipole.

The melting temperature of DNA is the temperature at which the native double helix denatures (strands separate).

Lead chromate is a common yellow pigment used to adulterate turmeric powder.

The synthesis (copying) of DNA is known as replication.

The SATH (Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital) programme was launched by NITI Aayog to improve education and health outcomes in select states.

'MAPE' (Maximum Allowable Post-manufacturing Expenses) is a term used in India's pharmaceutical price-control policy.

Home pregnancy tests detect Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) hormone in urine.

The Services sector attracts the highest share of FDI equity inflows into India.

The RBI releases its Financial Stability Report (FSR) twice a year.

The Global Risks Report 2021 was released by the World Economic Forum.

'Project Kirana' is aimed at enabling and supporting women entrepreneurs, particularly in the retail/kirana sector.

The Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a pension scheme for senior citizens, is administered by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

Invest India was conferred the United Nations Investment Promotion Award, 2020.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020, which brought cooperative banks under stricter RBI oversight, does not apply to certain categories such as primary agricultural credit societies/cooperative societies whose primary object is long-term agricultural finance.

'Utkarsh 2022' is the RBI's medium-term strategy framework for navigating the evolving macroeconomic and regulatory environment.

Kerala launched the 'I am also Digital' programme to promote digital literacy.

Shifting cultivation is associated with the Rengmas, pastoralism with the Kirghiz, hunting-and-gathering with the Pygmies, and hunting with the Eskimos (A-iv, B-iii, C-i, D-ii).

The Attorney General argues on behalf of the Government of India in both the Supreme Court and High Courts, and has the right of audience in any court in India; however, the office is not meant to be a full-time private legal advisor role.

Oxygen is the major atmospheric by-product released during photosynthesis.

Aspartame, sweeter than sucrose, is chemically a dipeptide (of aspartic acid and phenylalanine).

Polypeptides are linear chains (polymers) built from amino acid monomers.

The Agra-Lucknow Expressway was, at the time, cited as the longest expressway in India.

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH/vasopressin) regulates water balance in the body by controlling water reabsorption in the kidneys.

The 'CHAMPIONS' portal was launched to help resolve grievances and support the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector.

The Atal Tunnel is built under the Rohtang La pass in Himachal Pradesh.

Yusuf Jameel, a Kashmiri journalist, was chosen for the 2019-20 PEN Gauri Lankesh Award.

Excessive polishing and washing of rice removes much of its Thiamine (Vitamin B1) content.

Rancidity of oils and fats is caused by both oxidation and hydrolysis of the fat molecules over time.

Buddhism, which drew much of its early support from merchants and urban centres, is considered to have given greater importance to urban life.

Roman exports to India through Indo-Roman trade primarily included wine, glassware and gold/silver coins; dry fruits were not a defining Roman export.

The famous traveller Ibn Battuta was appointed as a Qazi (judge) at Delhi by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

'Jharoka-i-Darshan', the practice of the emperor appearing at a balcony each morning for public viewing, was instituted by Akbar.

After Kabir's death, his tomb (samadhi) was built at Maghar.

Tyrosine is an amino acid containing a benzene (phenol) ring in its side chain.

The British East India Company set up its first factory in Eastern India at Orissa (near Hariharpur/Balasore).

Sahodaran Ayyappan, a Kerala social reformer, declared his motto as 'No religion, no caste, no God for mankind'.

'Vijayanagara: Origin of the City and the Empire' was authored by N. Venkataramanayya.

Lord Wellesley was the British Governor-General during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799).

Dettol's active antiseptic ingredient is chemically known as Chloroxylenol.

The Praja Pratinidhi Sabha was set up by Diwan Rangacharlu, the Mysore Civil Service exam was introduced by Diwan K. Seshadri Iyer, the Cement and Paper Factory at Bhadravati is linked to Sir M. Visvesvaraya, and the Government Soap Factory in Bengaluru is associated with Diwan Mirza Ismail (A-iii, B-ii, C-i, D-iv).

The North Pacific's deepest trench is the Mariana Trench, the Atlantic's is the Puerto Rico Trench, the Indian Ocean's is the Java Trench, and the South Pacific's is the Tonga Trench (A-iii, B-iv, C-ii, D-i).

Rani Chennabhairadevi of Gersoppa was called 'The Queen of Pepper' by the Portuguese, owing to the pepper trade in her territory.