2025

Statement I is correct: During the Northern Hemisphere winter (January), isotherms (lines of equal temperature) do not run parallel to latitudes. Instead, they deviate significantly: they bend toward the equator over land and toward the poles over water.

Statement II is correct: Land has a lower specific heat than water, meaning it loses heat much faster. Consequently, in January, the large landmasses of North America and Eurasia are significantly colder than the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at the same latitude.

The Relationship: Statement II explains Statement I: Because the land is colder than the ocean, a line of constant temperature (isotherm) leaving the warm ocean must "dip" south toward the warmer tropical latitudes to find the same temperature once it hits the cold land. When that same line leaves the cold land and enters the warm ocean, it must "climb" north toward the colder polar latitudes to maintain that same temperature value. Thus, the temperature difference is the direct cause of the bending pattern.

Papaya, pineapple, and guava are all non-native fruits to India, originally from the Americas, and were introduced during European colonial expansion, particularly by the Portuguese.

I. Papaya – Correct * Native to Central America, introduced to India by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

II. Pineapple – Correct * Originates from South America, brought to India by Portuguese explorers.

III. Guava – Correct * Native to Central America, introduced to India by the Portuguese in the 17th century.

Income from agriculture is tax-exempt in India, but only core agricultural activities like cultivation qualify. Allied activities such as poultry or dairy are taxable. Also, certain types of land are excluded from capital asset classification under tax law.

Statement I: Incorrect Allied agricultural activities like poultry farming and wool rearing are not tax-exempt under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Statement II: Correct Rural agricultural land is not treated as a capital asset under Section 2(14), so capital gains tax does not apply on its sale.

Ashokan inscriptions mention 'Pradesika', 'Rajuka', and 'Yukta' as important officers at the district (Pradesa) level.

* 'Pradesika' managed the district administration. * 'Rajuka' handled revenue and judicial matters. * 'Yukta' was a subordinate official involved in administration and record-keeping.

Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins that target specific antigens and can be used to treat viral infections like Nipah virus.

* I. Man-made proteins – Created by cloning a single immune cell type. * II. Bind to specific antigens – Help stimulate or guide immune response. * III. Used in viral infections – Applied in treating infections like Nipah virus.

All three statements are correct.

A. The European Union: The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is an EU legislative initiative adopted in 2024. It sets binding targets to restore ecosystems, fight climate change, and protect biodiversity across EU member states.

B. The World Bank: An international financial institution providing loans and grants; it does not enact laws like the NRL.

C. OECD: An organization promoting economic cooperation and policy coordination; it does not enact binding environmental laws such as the NRL.

D. FAO: A UN agency focused on hunger and agriculture; it does not enact regional laws like the NRL.

The Constitution outlines specific roles where the Governor can act at his/her own discretion, but it does not allow the President to unilaterally intervene in State legislation without the Governor's involvement.

Statement I: Correct * The Governor can act in discretion in certain cases (e.g., reserving a bill for the President under Article 200, or appointing a CM in a hung assembly). * Article 163(2) makes the Governor's discretion final in such matters.

Statement II: Incorrect * The President cannot suo motu reserve a State bill. Only the Governor can do this under Article 200.

Mahatma Gandhi made the famous statement "Sedition has become my religion" during the Salt Satyagraha in 1930.

In his writings in *Young India* (specifically in March 1930) and his speeches surrounding the Dandi March, Gandhi articulated that when a government becomes exploitative and unjust—exemplified by the salt tax—non-violent defiance or "sedition" against such a regime becomes a moral and religious duty. He used this phrase to emphasize that his commitment to overthrowing British rule through non-violent civil disobedience was not just a political strategy but a spiritual necessity. While he had spoken about the "passion" for sedition during his 1922 trial, the specific declaration of it being his "religion" is most prominently associated with the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement and the violation of the Salt Law.

Statement I is Incorrect: The 45th Chess Olympiad (2024) is a team-based tournament played in a Swiss-system format, not an individual knockout competition with a "final" match. While India won the gold medal and Gukesh Dommaraju won individual gold on Board 1, he did not defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi in a final; Russian teams were suspended from the 2024 Olympiad by FIDE.

Statement II is Correct: Abhimanyu Mishra, an American chess player, became the world's youngest Grandmaster in June 2021 at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days, breaking the previous record held by Sergey Karjakin.

Majorana 1 chip is linked to quantum computing and deep learning is part of machine learning, but AWS did not introduce the Majorana 1 chip.

* I. Majorana 1 chip – Expected to advance quantum computing. * II. AWS introducing Majorana 1 – Incorrect, it's a Microsoft project. * III. Deep learning – A subset of machine learning.

Only statements I and III are correct.

India's CO₂ emissions come mainly from fuel combustion, especially electricity generation, and per capita emissions are higher than 0.5 tonnes.

Statement I is incorrect: * India's per capita CO₂ emissions are around 1.9-2.0 tonnes, higher than 0.5 t CO₂/capita.

Statement II is correct: * India ranks second in the Asia-Pacific for total CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion, after China.

Statement III is correct: * Electricity and heat production (mainly coal-based) is the largest source of India's CO₂ emissions.

So, the correct answer is: C

Statement I: Correct *RGM aims to conserve indigenous breeds, benefiting small farmers and landless labourers by improving animal productivity.*

Statement II: Correct *Launched in December 2014, the mission promotes scientific breeding, genetic upgradation, and conservation of indigenous breeds.*

Correct Answer: (C) Both Statements I and II are correct.

Statement I: Correct India produces about 80% of the world's turmeric and exports around 65% globally.

Statement II: Correct India grows over 30 turmeric varieties like Alleppey Finger, Erode, Sangli, Salem, Nizamabad, and Rajapore.

Statement III: Correct Major producing states include Telangana (largest), Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Correct Answer: (D) All statements are correct.

Based on the distribution of official time zones including overseas territories, we can determine:

United Kingdom – More than four (Total 9 Time Zones) Denmark – More than four (At least 5 Time Zones) New Zealand – More than four (Total 5 Time Zones) Australia – More than four (Total 8-9 Time Zones) Brazil – Exactly four

Therefore, four out of the five countries have more than four time zones.

Statement I: Incorrect The National Rail Plan targets 2030 for a future-ready railway, not 2028.

Statement II: Incorrect Kavach is an indigenous Automatic Train Protection system developed under 'Make in India', not with Germany.

Statement III: Correct Kavach uses RFID tags on tracks in station sections to track train location and speed continuously.

Therefore, Statements I and II are incorrect, and Statement III is correct.

Statement I: Incorrect *Intermediate-level Panchayats are not mandatory in all states; states with population under 20 lakhs may skip this tier.*

Statement II: Incorrect *Minimum age to be a Panchayat member is 21 years, not 30.*

Statement III: Incorrect *State Finance Commission is constituted by the Governor, not the Chief Minister.*

Correct Answer: All three statements are incorrect.

Statement I: Correct Chalk is permeable (water passes easily); clay is impermeable (water passes poorly).

Statement II: Correct Chalk is porous, with many small holes that hold water, making it permeable.

Statement III: Incorrect Clay is porous but with very tiny pores that restrict water flow; it is impermeable but not non-porous.

Correct Answer: Only Statements I and II are correct; Statement II explains Statement I.

The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was established in Lahore in 1901 by Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, a pioneer of Hindustani classical music. His aim was to democratize music education, taking it out of the gharana tradition (restricted to hereditary families) and making it accessible to the general public through institutional training. Later, branches were opened in other cities like Bombay and Delhi, greatly influencing the spread of classical music in modern India.

Row 1 is Incorrect: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is responsible for investigating offences of money laundering and enforcing the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. However, it functions under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Row 2 is Correct: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is the apex anti-smuggling agency of India. It is responsible for the enforcement of the Customs Act, 1962, and functions under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Row 3 is Incorrect: While the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management operates under the Department of Revenue, its primary role is the implementation and maintenance of IT systems for the CBIC. The specific function of carrying out big data analytics to assist tax officers in policy formulation and nabbing tax evaders is the mandate of the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM), which was specifically established for this analytical purpose.

Note: After the release of the UPSC ANSWER KEY 2025, we have updated it to A.

Statement I is Correct: The RBI earns a significant portion of its income from interest on Government Securities (G-Secs) held in its portfolio and through Open Market Operations (OMO).

Statement II is Correct: Income is generated from the deployment of foreign exchange reserves in foreign sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and deposits with other central banks, as well as from foreign exchange trading.

Statement III is Incorrect: The RBI is not a pension fund manager. Pension funds are regulated by PFRDA and managed by specific fund managers.

Statement IV is Incorrect: The RBI is the "Banker to Banks." It does not lend directly to private individuals or corporate entities; it provides liquidity to commercial banks and the government.

Statement V is Incorrect: While "Seigniorage" is an economic concept of profit, in accounting terms, currency notes are liabilities. The actual income recorded in the RBI's profit and loss account comes from the interest earned on the assets (G-Secs/Gold) held to back that currency, not the printing process itself.

Note: After the release of the UPSC ANSWER KEY 2025, we have updated the correct answer to A.

Fiscal Deficit represents the government's total borrowing requirement, while the Primary Deficit shows how much the government is borrowing excluding interest payments on past debt.

Formula: Primary Deficit = Fiscal Deficit − Interest Payments

Given:

* Fiscal Deficit = ₹50,000 crores * Interest Liabilities = ₹1,500 crores * Non-debt capital receipts are already factored into the fiscal deficit, so no need to adjust further.

Calculation: Primary Deficit = ₹50,000 − ₹1,500 = ₹48,500 crores

Anadyr (Russia) and Nome (Alaska, USA) lie close to each other geographically but are separated by the International Date Line, leading to a significant difference in calendar dates despite similar times of day.

Statement I: Correct Due to the International Date Line, Anadyr and Nome can have the same time of day but different dates.

Statement II: Incorrect When it's Monday in Anadyr, it is still Sunday in Nome, not Tuesday—Anadyr is ahead of Nome by almost 21 hours.

The question tests knowledge of European geography, particularly the correct country associations of famous regions.

I. Mallorca : Italy * Mallorca is part of Spain, not Italy.

II. Normandy : Spain * Normandy is a region in France, not Spain.

III. Sardinia : France * Sardinia belongs to Italy, not France.

Activated carbon is widely used to clean pollutants because of its unique properties and sustainable production methods.

Statement I: Correct. Activated carbon effectively removes pollutants from industrial effluents due to its high adsorption capacity. It's commonly used in water treatment and pollution control. Statement II: Correct. This is because activated carbon has an extremely large surface area, created by its porous structure, allowing it to trap heavy metals and other contaminants efficiently. Statement III: Correct. Moreover, activated carbon can be produced easily and cost-effectively from carbon-rich wastes like coconut shells, rice husks, and other agricultural residues, making it an eco-friendly option.

Thus, both Statement II and Statement III are correct, and together they explain why Statement I is true.

The 15th Finance Commission made recommendations to promote better fiscal discipline, education, and agriculture reforms, while adjusting tax devolution among states.

Statement I: Correct 4,800 crores were recommended (2022–23 to 2025–26) to incentivize states for improving educational outcomes.

Statement II: Incorrect The Commission recommended 41% of Union taxes to be shared with states, not 45%.

Statement III: Correct It proposed a ₹45,000 crore performance-based incentive for states to implement agricultural reforms.

Statement IV: Correct It reintroduced the 'tax effort' criterion, rewarding states that better mobilize revenue in relation to their GSDP.

After the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922, many people were arrested and faced severe punishment, including death sentences. Legal intervention helped reduce this.

B. Madan Mohan Malaviya and Krishna Kant – Correct

* Madan Mohan Malaviya and his son Krishna Kant provided legal defence to the accused. * Their efforts led to major sentence reductions, saving many from execution.

Each of these constitutional provisions is accurately linked to its correct part within the Constitution of India.

Pair I: Directive Principles of State Policy – Correct * Article 50 mandates the separation of the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.

Pair II: Fundamental Duties – Correct * Article 51A(f) states that citizens must value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Pair III: Fundamental Rights – Correct * Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in hazardous work such as factories or mines.

Statement I: Incorrect Regulation of minor minerals is mainly a State subject under the MMDR Act, 1957. States have the authority to make rules for extraction concessions.

Statement II: Correct The Central Government notifies which minerals are classified as 'minor minerals' under the MMDR Act.

Therefore, Statement I is incorrect, and Statement II is correct.

Statement I: Correct The Speaker of Lok Sabha continues in office even after dissolution until just before the new House meets, ensuring continuity (Article 94).

Statement II: Incorrect No constitutional mandate requires the Speaker to resign from their political party; this is only a convention for impartiality.

Statement III: Correct The Speaker can be removed by a majority resolution with at least 14 days' prior notice (Article 94).

Therefore, statements I and III are correct.

A. silver iodide and potassium iodide: True Both are used in cloud seeding because their crystalline structures help form ice nuclei, inducing rainfall.

B. silver nitrate and potassium iodide: False Silver nitrate is not used for artificial rainmaking.

C. silver iodide and potassium nitrate: False Potassium nitrate is not used in cloud seeding.

D. silver nitrate and potassium chloride: False Neither chemical is used in artificial rainmaking.

Therefore, option A is correct.