1. Banking Finance
  2. Schemes
  3. Industries and Infrastructure
  4. Yearbook Type
  5. Agro related Summits and days
  6. Microeconomics
  7. Sports

Banking Finance

Q. Which one of the following events is not correctly matched with the year in which it happened? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Inauguration of the SWIFT system of electronic interbank fund transfer worldwide-1985
  2. Conclusion of Uruguay Round of GATT-1994
  3. Inauguration of the World Trade Organization-1995
  4. Establishment of the first wholly electronic stock exchange (Nasdaq) — 1971

HINT: SWIFT was in news during Jan-2018 due to PNB-NIRAV-MODI scam. And UPSC asked this in CDS conducted in Feb-2018, which shows that examiner is regularly updating the question bank. [SWIFT or NASDAQ inauguration is not otherwise “grand” theory topics, that he’d have asked had this scam not happened. इसलिए भले ये थियरी का प्रश्न है लेकिन पूछा तो करंट-अफेर्स के कारण ही है.] Anyways, SWIFT was designed by Society for worldwide Interbank financial telecommunication in 1973 so first statement is wrong. To know more about SWIFT messaging system, read my article here.

Q. Which one of the following statements about Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is not correct? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. It is a marketable security.
  2. It experiences price changes throughout the day.
  3. It typically has lower daily liquidity and higher fees than mutual fund shares.
  4. An ETF does not have its net asset value calculated once at the end of every day.

HINT: ETF have lower fees than MF. For more, watch my lecture on financial instruments.

Q. Which one of the following is the maximum age of joining National Pension System (NPS) under the NPS-Private Sector? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. 55 years
  2. 60 years
  3. 65 years
  4. 70 years

HINT: National Pension System (NPS) was introduced. It has been made mandatory for all new recruits to the Government (except armed forces) with effect from January 1, 2004 and has also been rolled out for all citizens with effect from May 1, 2009 on a voluntary basis. Subscribers (any Indian citizen) in the age group of 18 to 55 can join NPS and contribute till the age of 60. (Ref: India Yearbook 2018). BUT, on 1st November 2017, PFRDA made some changes: Now, any Indian Citizen, resident or non-resident, upto maximum 65 years, can also join NPS and continue up to the age of 70 years in NPS.

Q. The Reserve Bank of India has recently constituted a high-level task force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) to suggest a road map for developing a transparent, comprehensive and near-real-time PCR for India. The task force is headed by (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Sekar Karnam
  2. Vishakha Mulye
  3. Sriram Kalyanaraman
  4. Y. M. Deosthalee

HINT: Y. M. Deosthalee. For more on what is PCR, read my article on Contemporary Loan Issues.

Q. Which of the following statements about the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is/are correct? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. It has been incorporated as a Public Limited Company.
  2. It started its operation by establishing two pilot branches at Hyderabad and Varanasi.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

HINT: As per India Yearbook 2018, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) was incorporated as a Public Limited Company in 2016. In January 2017, IPPB launched two branches in Raipur and Ranchi.

Schemes

Q. Correct statement(s) about Saubhagya Yojana objectives and features?

  1. Compulsory electrification of all households in rural areas.
  2. Completion deadline is 2nd October, 2019- the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.
  3. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) under the Rural Development Ministry will implement this scheme.

Answer Codes:

  1. Only 1 and 2
  2. Only 2
  3. Only 1 and 3
  4. None of them

HINT: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana “Saubhagya” launched on 25th September 2017 (DD’s b’day), aims for electrification of all willing households in the rural and urban areas by 31/12/2018 using REC under Power ministry as nodal agency. There is no ‘compulsion’ on a poorman to obtain light-connection, unlike right to education act where he must send child to school. [Curiously, even Satya Pal Singh Committee’s report in 2018 said that RTE Act 2009 need to be amended because there is no penal provision for parents who do not send their children to school!]

Q. The Ministry of Communication has recently launched a Pan India scholarship programme for school-children called ‘Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana’. The objective of the scheme is to increase the reach of (CDS-2018-i)

  1. sports
  2. philately
  3. music
  4. web designing

HINT: In November 2017, Ministry of Communications launched a Pan India scholarship program for school children called Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana to increase the reach of Philately. Under the scheme of SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby), scholarship of Rs. 500/- per month x 12 months = Rs.6,000 will be given to a students of class six to nine.

Q. Find incorrect statement(s) about Niryat Bandhu Scheme?

  1. It’s run by the MSME ministry in collaboration with MUDRA Bank.
  2. Only first generation entrepreneurs interested in international trade are eligible under this scheme.
  3. Under this scheme, exporters earn credit-scripts which can be used for paying custom duty while importing raw material.

Answer Codes:

  1. Only 1 and 2
  2. Only 2 and 3
  3. Only 1 and 3
  4. All of them

HINT: Under this scheme, an Officer (Niryat Bandhu) would mentor first generation entrepreneurs interested in the international business. This scheme is implemented by DGFT under DIPP under Commerce Ministry. While GuessmastersTM would point out that second statement ought to be wrong as it contains extreme words “first” and “only”- but they’re wrong here.

Q. Which one of the following statements about the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) is not correct? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. It is a placement-linked skill training programme exclusively for rural girls.
  2. It aims to convert India’s demographic surplus into a demographic dividend.
  3. The scheme aims to benefit more than 55 million poor rural folk.
  4. It is a generational poverty alleviation programme.

HINT: focus of this programmes is on the rural youth from poor families, in the age group of 15 to 35 years. So first statement is wrong. (Ref: India Yearbook 2017) In this case, GuessmastersTM strategy proves beneficial because first statement has extreme word “exclusively”, so it ought to be wrong, and it’s indeed wrong.

Industries and Infrastructure

Q. In 2018-February, The Statistics Ministry proposed certain changes in the base years. Find correct pairs

  1. GDP’s base year will be changed from 2011 to 2017
  2. IIP’s base year will be changed from 2011 to 2017
  3. CPI’s base year will be changed from 2012 to 2018.
  4. all of the above

Hint For faster revision, all are correct. Critiques say Modi is doing this so that these numbers don’t look bad, as the base years are post-demonetization, post-GST. Anyways, you can learn more about GDP, IIP, CPI, WPI and other indicators in my lecture video here.

Q. Which one of the following statements about India is not correct? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. India has 12 major ports and about 200 non-major ports.
  2. 95 Percent of India’s trade by volume and 68 Percent by value are moved through maritime transport.
  3. India has a coastline or about 7500 km.
  4. In the Maritime Agenda, 2010-2020, a target or 300 MT Port capacity has been set for the year 2020.

HINT: Maritime Agenda 2010-2020 has target of 3,130MT so fourth option is wrong (Ref: India Yearbook 2017, Chapter 26: Transport.) Alternatively, if you knew that first three statements are right, then also you could eliminate.
Q120. Growth in production (in percent) of which one of the following core industries in India during the period 2015-2016 was negative?: (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Natural gas
  2. Refinery products
  3. Fertilizer
  4. Coal

HINT: Observe the following table given in Economy survey 2016-17 volume2. Among the given option, Natural gas had negative growth for the given year.

IIP Core Industries Growth MCQ in UPSC CDS

Yearbook Type

Q. Which one of the following States will host the Nobel Prize Series-India 2018 (Science Impacts Life) Exhibition? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Gujarat
  2. Rajasthan
  3. Goa
  4. Madhya Pradesh

HINT: This program started from 2017- It was held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Then, 2018- February, it was held at Panaji, Goa with the theme “Education and the role of teachers.”
Which of the following portals / projects are designed by the Infosys company?

  1. eBiz portal for Commerce Ministry.
  2. GSTN portal
  3. Project Insight for the Income Tax Department.

Answer Codes:

  1. Only 1 and 2
  2. Only 2 and 3
  3. Only 1 and 3
  4. All of them

HINT: Project Insight is for datamining to track tax evaders. IT department gave this project to L & T Infotech Ltd. GSTN portal is managed by the a non-Government, private limited company where Government of India has 24.5% share holding but the actual technology is provided by Infosys.

Q. Find Correct Pairs

  1. India’s first ever “Institute of Skills of India”: Kanpur
  2. India’s first international stock exchange: Gandhinagar, Gujarat
  3. India’s longest highway tunnel: Chenani-Nashri tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir
  4. All of the above

HINT: For faster revision, all pairs are rightly matched. These factoids have been in news during 2017-18, and also asked in CDS.

Q. What is the objective behind Cyber Swachhta Kendra setup in 2017?

  1. Shutting down of pornographic and terrorist-propaganda websites that are poisoning the minds of Indian youth.
  2. Removal of google /facebook ads that sell sex-determination kits.
  3. Collection, processing and recycling of the electronic waste.
  4. Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis

HINT: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) runs this centre under provisions of Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Cyber Swachhta Kendra ” (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) is a part of the Government of India’s Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to create a secure cyber space by detecting botnet infections in India and to notify, enable cleaning and securing systems of end users so as to prevent further infections.

Q. The Ministry of Power, Government of India has recently constituted a Committee to investigate the causes of the accident that occurred on 1st November, 2017 at Feroze Gandhi Thermal Power Plant Ltd., Unchahar, in Uttar Pradesh. Who among the following is the Chairman of the Committee? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Dr. L. D. Papney
  2. Shri Dhawal Prakash Antapurkar
  3. Shri Subir Chakraborty
  4. Shri P. D. Siwal

HINT: This was asked in UPSC’s CDS but I don’t think such trivial GK will appear in CSE (Civil services exam). P.D. Siwal was the chairman. Power ministry gets the ‘power’ to form Committee under Electricity Act. When solving mock MCQ, you should cultivate the habit of reading the introductory part of the question as well – “Feroz Gandhi plant is located in UP’s Cnchahar.” that way you get to learn new GK.

Q. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists : (CDS-2018-i) List-I  (Railway Zone)  A. North Central  B. North Eastern  C. West Central D. South Central  List-II (Headquarters)

  1. Secunderabad
  2. Jabalpur
  3. Gorakhpur
  4. Allahabad

Code :

  1. A B C D- 4 3 2 1
  2. A B C D- 4 2 3 1
  3. A B C D- 1 2 3 4
  4. A B C D- 1 3 2 4

HINT: Answer is available in the Ch.26 (Tranport) of the Indian Yearbook. North Central = Allahabad; South Central=Secundarabad; West Central = Jabalpur. So match accordingly. Asked in CDS but unlikely in CSE.

Agro related Summits and days

Agro related MCQs are more frequent in Civil services prelims, because UPSC has combined both IAS and IFoS prelim exams. But curiously even in CDS-2018, UPSC asked two distinct questions about Agro related summits / days.

Q. Which one of the following was a focus country of the ‘World Food India’, a mega food event held in November 2017 in New Delhi? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Germany
  2. Japan
  3. Denmark
  4. Italy
    HINT: It was organized first time in India, by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (2017). Italy & Netherlands were the Focus Countries, so out of the given options, the correct answer is Rahul Gandhi’s maternal country. Here also, you should cultivate the habit of reading the full question- so you can gain one more addl. GK that it was held in New Delhi.

Q. Which one of the following is the theme of the World Soil Day, 2017? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Soils and pulses, a symbol for life
  2. Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground
  3. Soils, a solid ground for life
  4. Soils, foundation for family farming

HINT: In 2013, UN general assembly decided to celebrate 5th December as World Soil Day [upon request of FAO], because Soil holds three times as much carbon as the atmosphere and provides 95% of our food requirement. 2017’s theme was ‘Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground’.

Microeconomics

Microeconomics questions are more frequent in UPSC’s CDS exam than Civil services exam.

Q. Consider the following statements about Impact of tax (CDS-2018-i)

  1. A tax is shifted forward to Consumer if the demand is inelastic relative to supply.
  2. A tax is shifted backward to producers if the supply is relatively more inelastic than demand.

Answer Codes:

  1. Only 1 and 2
  2. Only 2 and 3
  3. Only 1 and 3
  4. All of them

HINT: If demand is inelastic, a higher tax will cause only a small fall in demand. Most of the tax will be passed onto consumers because industrialist knows that consumer has no other alternative. So, first statement is right. If demand is elastic, then an increase in price will lead to a bigger percentage fall in demand so the burden of tax will shift to producer, since he can’t adjust the supply. So, second statement is also right.

Q. According to the law of diminishing marginal utility, as the amount of a good consumed increases, the marginal utility of that good tends to (CDS-2018-i)

  1. improve
  2. diminish
  3. remain constant
  4. first diminish and then improve

HINT: begins to diminish. Watch my lecture for rapid revision of Microeconomics.

Sports

Following questions were asked in UPSC’s CDS-2018. As such sports recieves special attention in the recruitment exams for CDS/CAPF. Otherwise for Civil services, UPSC has almost stopped asking sports since 2011.

Q. Which One of the following teams was defeated by India to win the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup title, 2017? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Japan
  2. China
  3. South Korea
  4. Pakistan

HINT: Tournament was held in 2017-November, at Kakamigahara (Japan). India team under Captain Rani Rampal defeated China in a penalty shootout. By winning this cup, India also qualified for the Hockey World Cup 2018, as Continental champion.

Q. In November 2017, India’s MC Mary Kom won the gold medal at the Asian Boxing Championship, 2017 held at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. In which one of the following categories was she declared winner? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. 48 kg
  2. 51 kg
  3. 54 kg
  4. 57 kg

HINT: She won it on 48 kg category by beating Korea’s Hyang Mi Kim. It was her fifth medal in this tournament. She hails from Manipur.

Q. Who among the following is the winner of the National Badminton Championship (Men), 2017? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Kidambi Srikanth
  2. H. S. Prannoy
  3. Ajay Jayararn
  4. Sai Praneeth

HINT: It was held at Nagpur. H.S Prannoy defeated Kidambi Srikanth.

Q. In November 2017, an Indian short film, The School Bag won the Best Short Film Award at the South Asian Film Festival held at Montreal. Who among the following is the Director of the film? (CDS-2018-i)

  1. Anurag Kashyap
  2. Dheeraj Jindal
  3. Sujoy Ghosh
  4. Samvida Nanda

HINT: The movie’s plot is based in Peshawar and tells a story about the relationship between a mother and her seven-year-old son who wants a new iphone-x school bag on his birthday, but fate has something else in store for him. Director is Dheeraj Jindal.