UPSC Prelims 2020 GS Paper I: answer key and question paper

Answer: (d) Provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003

Section 3 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 requires the Central Government to lay before both Houses of Parliament, along with the annual financial statement, the Macro-economic Framework Statement together with the fiscal policy statements (since the 2018 amendment, a single Medium-term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement). The Macro-economic Framework Statement assesses growth prospects, the fiscal balance and the external sector. Article 112 requires only the annual financial statement (the Budget) and Article 110(1) defines a Money Bill; Article 113 deals with the procedure for estimates and demands for grants. Presentation of this document is a statutory requirement, not merely a long-standing convention. Hence (d).

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Asian elephant herds are matriarchal: a family group of related females and their young is led by the oldest female, while adult males live alone or in loose bachelor groups, so statement 1 is correct. Elephants have the longest gestation of any land mammal, about 18 to 22 months, so a maximum of 22 months is correct (statement 2). Females can breed from their mid-teens until about 60 years of age, so calving is not limited to 40 years; statement 3 is incorrect. The 2017 synchronised elephant population estimation found the highest number in Karnataka (about 6,049), followed by Assam and Kerala, so statement 4 is incorrect. Hence 1 and 2 only. What changed since 2020: the DNA-based all-India estimation (SAIEE 2021-25) put India's wild elephants at about 22,446, with Karnataka still the highest at 6,013 (Wildlife Institute of India, SAIEE 2021-25 report, 2025).

Answer: (a) Indian handicrafts were ruined.

The Industrial Revolution enabled Britain to produce cheap machine-made textiles and other goods on a large scale. After the Charter Act of 1813 ended the East India Company's trade monopoly, British manufactures entered India with only nominal duties, while Indian goods faced high duties in Britain; together with the loss of court patronage, this led to the decline of Indian handicrafts, often called deindustrialisation. Option (b) is incorrect: the first cotton mill came up in Bombay only in 1854, and machinery spread in the second half of the century. Option (c) is incorrect: the first railway line (Bombay to Thane) opened in 1853. Option (d) is the opposite of what happened, since British imports faced low duties. Hence (a).