Combined Defense Services Exam Question Papers - Fully Solved

UPSC Combined Defence Services Exam, 2012

(Held on September 2012)

General Knowledge Solved Question Paper

(Questions No. 1-60)

61. Farmers are requested to mix lime with soil while farming their fields. This is because –
(A) lime is very helpful in maintaining the water content in the soil
(B) lime decreases the acidity of soil
(C) lime decreases the basicity of soil
(D) high concentration of lime is necessary for the plant growth
Ans : (B)

62. Surface water resources are highest in –
(A) Ganga plains (B) North–Eastern India
(C) Peninsular India (D) Indus plains
Ans : (A)

63. Which one among the following cities is called the ‘zero mile centre’ or India ?
(A) Kanpur (B) Allahabad
(C) Nagpur (D) New Delhi
Ans : (C)

64. Which one among the following statements about ‘Revolution’ is not correct?
(A) Revolution implies change of the system itself
(B) Revolution implies change within the system’s rules
(C) Attempts at revolution often produce violence
(D) No type of political system is immune to revolution
Ans : (C)

65. The ‘Instrument of Instructions’ contained in the Government of India Act, 1935 has been incorporated in the Constitution of India in the year 1950 as –
(A) Fundamental Rights
(B) Directive Principles of State Policy
(C) Extent of Executive Power of State
(D) Conduct of Business of the Government of India
Ans : (B)

66. Silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre–modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world. Which one among the following is not true of silk routes ?
(A) Historians have identified several silk routes over land and by sea
(B) Silk routes have linked Asia with Europe and Northern Africa
(C) Silk routes existed before the Christian era and thrived almost up to the fifteenth century
(D) As a result of silk route trade, precious metals like gold and silver, flowed from Asia to Europe
Ans : (D)

67. Which one among the following correctly describes Gandhiji’s attitude towards the Swarajist leaders?
(A) He was not opposed to their entry into Council
(B) He had full trust in their bona fides and considered them most valued and respected leaders
(C) He was not in favour of maintaining warm personal relations with them
(D) He was neutral to Government’s offensive against the Swarajists and did not defend them
Ans : (B)

68. The main aim of watershed management strategy of India is ?
(A) promoting silviculture (B) hillslope management
(C) arid land management (D) soil conservation
Ans : (C)

69. In absorption of insolation, the most significant part is played by –
(A) carbon dioxide (B) ozone
(C) oxygen (D) haze
Ans : (D)

70. Which among the following cities of India will have mid–day Sun exactly overhead only once a year?
(A) Delhi and Chennai (B) Srinagar and Darjeeling
(C) Hyderabad and Kohima (D) Nagpur and Kolkata
Ans : (*) None of the mentioned cities

71. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha may be removed from office by –
(A) the majority party in the House adopting a no–confidence motion
(B) a resolution passed by not less than half of the total membership of the House
(C) a resolution passed by at least two thirds of the total membership of the House
(D) a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the House
Ans : (D)

72. In the Rajya Sabha, the States have been given seats –
(A) in accordance with their population
(B) equally
(C) on the basis of population and economic position
(D) on the basis of present economic status
Ans : (A)

73. The Preamble is useful in constitutional interpretation because it –
(A) uses value–loaded words
(B) contains the real objective and philosophy of the Constitution makers
(C) is a source of power and limitation
(D) gives an exhaustive list of basic features of the Constitution
Ans : (B)

74. Which one among the following is not an attribute of sustainability of Indian democratic model ?
(A) Unity in diversity in socio–cultural patterns
(B) Sustained economic growth specially after the 1990s
(C) Regular elections in the Centre and States since 1950s
(D) A strong industrial base with a vibrant federal structure
Ans : (C)

75. Which one among the following was the immediate cause of attack by Nawab Siraj–ud–daullah on Calcutta in 1756?
(A) Refusal of the English Company to pay the overdue trade tax
(B) The English conspired against the Nawab with a view to deposing him from the Throne
(C) Siraj–ud–daullah wanted to drive out the English from Bengal
(D) Refusal of the English to demolish the fortification of Calcutta
Ans : (D)

76. Which among the following materials were used for minting coins during the rule of the Mauryas ?
(A) Gold and Silver (B) Silver and Copper
(C) Copper and Bronze (D) Gold and Copper
Ans : (B)

77. What was the Kutagarashala–literally, a hut with a pointed roof?
(A) A place where animals were kept
(B) A place where intellectual debates among Buddhist mendicants took place
(C) A place where weapons were stored
(D) A place to sleep
Ans : (B)

78. The ‘Dhamma’, propagated by Ashoka, was –
(A) the tenets of Buddhism
(B) a mixture of the philosophies of Ajivikas and Charvakas
(C) a system of morals consistent with the tenets of most of the sects of the time
(D) the religious policy of the State
Ans : (C)

79. Which one among the following pairs is not properly matched ?
(A) Megasthenes : Indica
(B) Ashvaghosa : Buddhacharita
(C) Panini : Mahabhashya
(D) Vishakhadatta : Mudra rakshasa
Ans : (C)

80. In an atomic explosion, release of large amount of energy is due to conversion of –
(A) chemical energy into nuclear energy
(B) nuclear energy into heat
(C) mass into energy
(D) chemical energy into heat
Ans : (C)

81. Soaps cannot be used in acidic condition because they lose their cleansing effect due to formation of insoluble –
(A) esters (B) alcohols
(C) hydrocarbons (D) long–chain fatty acids
Ans : (D)

82. Which one among the following was the theme of World Environment Day, 2012?
(A) Your Planet Needs You–Unite to Combat
(B) Many species one Planet, One Future
(C) Forest–Nature at Your Service
(D) Green Economy : Does it Include You?
Ans : (C)

83. Which one among the following popular cartoon characters has recently completed 50 years of creation?
(A) Chota Bheem (B) Mowgli
(C) ‘Utterly Butterly’ Amul Girl (D) The Common Man
Ans : (C)

84. Industrial Revolution, in its early phase from C. 1760 to C. 1850, was largely dependent for its success on –
(A) machine power that replaced the labour on a large scale
(B) elaborate road network for transportation of industrial products
(C) network of electric power stations
(D) organisation of labour under factory system
Ans : (A)

85. Dalhousie has been regarded as the maker of modern India because he brought about reforms and made a beginning in many fields. Which one among the following was not one of his schemes of reforms ?
(A) Educational reforms
(B) Construction of railways and introduction of telegraph and postal services
(C) Establishment of a public works department
(D) Factories Act to improve the condition of Indian labour
Ans : (D)

86. The suppression of Indian language newspapers under the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was caused by the criticism of –
(A) lavish lifestyle of the English officials
(B) ill–treatment given to indigo workers by their English masters
(C) inhuman approach of English officials towards the victims of the famine of 1876–77
(D) misuse of religious places of India by English officials
Ans : (C)

87. A ‘rectifier’ is an electronic device used to convert –
(A) AC voltage into DC voltage
(B) DC voltage into AC voltage
(C) sinusoidal pulse into square pulse
(D) None of the these
Ans : (A)

88. In step down transformer, the AC output gives the –
(A) current more than the input current
(B) current less than the input current
(C) current equal to the input current
(D) voltage more than the input voltage
Ans : (A)

89. When ice melts, its –
(A) volume decreases
(B) volume increases
(C) volume and mass decrease both
(D) volume decreases while mass increases
Ans : (A)

90. The riverbank is weakest where the river turns. This is because water –
(A) gets concentrated on the inner bank of the turn, making it denser
(B) effectively bounces off the outer bank as it turns, exerting an extra pressure on the bank
(C) flows faster as it turns
(D) reacts more effectively with the bank at a turn
Ans : (B)

91. Why do we have a leap year every four years ?
(A) The Earth gets shifted out of orbit every four years
(B) The revolution slows down a little once every four years
(C) The length of a year is not an integer number of days
(D) It is a convention
Ans : (C)

92. Rain–bearing clouds look black because –
(A) all light is scattered by them
(B) the large number of water droplets in them absorb all the sunlight
(C) they reflect the sunlight back into the atmosphere
(D) there is a lot of dust condensed on the water vapour in such clouds
Ans : (A)

93. Which one among the following sequences of water bodies, from lower to higher salinity concentration, is correct ?
(A) Gulf of California–Baltic Sea–Red Sea–Arctic Sea
(B) Baltic Sea–Arctic Sea–Gulf of California–Red Sea
(C) Red Sea–Gulf of California–Arctic Sea–Baltic Sea
(D) Arctic Sea–Gulf of California–Baltic Sea–Red Sea
Ans : (B)

(Questions No. 1-60)