UPSC Prelims 2027 CGS Test-17

Notes:
Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh and Sucheta Kripalani were members of the Constituent Assembly. Mehta was a freedom fighter and educationist who advocated women’s rights. Deshmukh was a freedom fighter and social reformer who founded the Andhra Mahila Sabha. Kripalani later became the first woman Chief Minister of an Indian state, Uttar Pradesh. Aruna Asaf Ali, known for hoisting the tricolour at Bombay’s Gowalia Tank Maidan on 9 August 1942, during the Quit India Movement, was not a member of the Constituent Assembly. Therefore, statements 2, 3 and 4 are correct.

Notes:
PM Vishwakarma is implemented by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to support artisans and craftspeople in traditional trades. SFURTI, which develops traditional industries through cluster-based support, is also a Ministry of MSME scheme, not a Ministry of Commerce scheme. The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) provides credit-linked subsidies for setting up new non-farm micro-enterprises and is implemented by the Ministry of MSME, not the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. PM VIKAS (Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan) is a Ministry of Minority Affairs scheme supporting skill development, entrepreneurship and education among minority communities. Therefore, pairs 1 and 4 are correctly matched: two pairs.

Notes:
FASAL combines satellite observations, agrometeorological information and ground observations to forecast crop production before harvest. CHAMAN uses remote sensing and geoinformatics for horticultural crop assessment, production forecasting and development planning. NADAMS, the National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System, uses space-based observations to assess agricultural drought and support relief-related decisions. SUFALAM, or Space Technology Utilization for Food Security, Agricultural Assessment and Monitoring, supports crop forecasting, precision agriculture and drought assessment. Therefore, all four initiatives use space technology for agricultural assessment or monitoring in India.

Notes:
All four initiatives involve citizen participation in biodiversity research. The Asian Waterbird Census engages volunteers in counting waterbirds and assessing wetlands as part of the International Waterbird Census. The Great Backyard Bird Count invites participants to observe birds and submit checklists through eBird. In the Kerala Bird Atlas, volunteers systematically survey bird distribution and relative abundance across the state. Big Butterfly Month encourages people nationwide to conduct butterfly walks, identify butterflies, and submit sightings to citizen-science platforms. These initiatives collect observations from members of the public that contribute to biodiversity documentation, research, and conservation.

Notes:
The Permian, Cambrian, and Devonian periods belong to the Paleozoic Era. The Cambrian is its first period, and the Permian is its last. The Jurassic period belongs to the Mesozoic Era, not the Paleozoic. Therefore, three of the four listed periods are part of the Paleozoic Era, making “Only three” the correct answer.