DAY – 39 (InstaTest-39): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2023: Topic – MODERN INDIA, Subject-wise Test – 3, 4 Text Book based Test – 23 February & March 2023 CA

Solution: B

The most important traveler of the mid-17th century was a Frenchman, Francois Bernier (1656–58). His book is called Travels in the Mughal Empire. He extensively traveled round the length and the breadth of the empire and mentioned the life of the peasantry, their poor conditions, towns, industries, life in the countryside and the urban culture and, above all, the major manufactures of India. It forms the most comprehensive history of the period.

Tavernier was another French traveller who visited India between 1640 and 1667. Being a diamond merchant, he was particularly interested in diamonds and visited various diamond mines in India, especially those of the Deccan. His book is called Travels in India and is written in two volumes.

Solution: A

Muhammad Shah (1719–48)

After the death of Rati, Muhammad Shah ascended the Mughal throne with the help of the Sayyid brothers. In 1720 some of the nobles conspired against the Sayyid brothers and murdered them. Muhammad’s reign saw the foundation of the autonomous state of Hyderabad by Nizam-ul-Mulk in 1720.

Ahmad Shah (1748–54)

His reign saw the first invasion of India by Ahmad Shah Abdali (ruler of Afghanistan and former general of Nadir Shah) in 1748.

Shah Alam II (1759–1806)

He was defeated in the battle of Buxar in 1764.

Solution: A

Life of Sawai Jai Singh II

• Maharaja Jai Singh (1699–1743) was born in 1688. He ascended the throne in 1699 when he was still a minor. He founded, after his name, the new city of Jaipur in 1728. From this time the town of Amber, the old capital of Kachhawas, lost its importance and the history of the subsequent rulers of Dhundar is associated with the new capital. He was undoubtedly one of the most remarkable men of his time and a man of science.
• So deep and perfect was his knowledge in Astronomy that he discovered errors in the tables of De La Hire sent to him by the king of Portugal. The instruments of Ulug Beg, the Royal Astronomer of Sumarkand and those used by the Turkey Astronomers failed to answer his requirements.

• Jai Singh built his observatories at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Banaras.
• In 1723 Jai Singh published his tables, the Zeech Mohammed Shahi (Movements of heavenly bodies). Samrath Jaggannath Bhatt, a Maratha and an eminent astronomer, was associated with Jai Singh in his astronomical pursuits, and Dala Ram, who designed and planned the city of Jaipur, was Jai Singh’s Chief Architect.
• The Jantar Mantar or “House of Instruments” at Jaipur is the largest of the observatories and contains eighteen instruments. The largest instrument is the Samrat Yantra or equatorial sundial.

Solution: D

1717 Emperor Farukh Siyar’s firman to East India Co.

1744-48 First Carnatic (Anglo-French)

1757 battle of Plassey (23 June),

1761 Third battle of Panipat (14 January)

Solution: C

Solution: C

ILBERT BILL (1884)

Officially called the Criminal Procedure Amendment Code Bill, the Ilbert Bill (popularly known so after Sir Ilbert, then Law member in the Governor-General’s Executive Council) was introduced in February 1883. Its aim was to give Indian district magistrates and sessions judges the right to try European and British offenders. Further, it also aimed at authorizing the local governments to appoint Justices of the Peace from among the Indian civil servants on the basis of merit alone. The concurrence of even the secretary of state was obtained for the proposed changes.

Solution: B

Organization: Founder(s)

• Landholders’ Society: Dwarakanath Tagore
• British India Association: Devendranath Tagore

• East India Association: Dadabhai Naoroji
• Indian Association: Anandmohan Bose and S N Banerji

Solution: D

The associations organised various campaigns before the Indian National Congress appeared on the scene. These campaigns were—

(i) for imposition of import duty on cotton (1875)

(ii) for Indianisation of government service (1878-79)

(iii) against Lytton’s Afghan adventure

(iv) against Arms Act (1878)

(v) against Vernacular Press Act (1878)

(vi) for right to join volunteer corps

(vii) against plantation labour and against Inland Emigration Act

(viii) in support of Ilbert Bill

(ix) for an All India Fund for Political Agitation

(x) campaign in Britain to vote for pro-India party

(xi) against reduction in maximum age for appearing in Indian Civil Service; the Indian Association took up this question and organised an all-India agitation against it, popularly known as the Indian Civil Service agitation.

Solution: B

Historians have observed that the idea of finding an ocean route to India had become an obsession for Prince Henry of Portugal, who was nicknamed the ‘Navigator’; also, he was keen to find a way to circumvent the Muslim domination of the eastern Mediterranean and all the routes that connected India to Europe. Pope Nicholas V gave Prince Henry a bull in 1454, conferring on him the right to navigate the “sea to the distant shores of the Orient”, more specifically “as far as India” in an attempt to fight Islamic influence and spread the Christian faith. However, Prince Henry died before his dream became a reality.

In 1497, under the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the rulers of Portugal and Spain divided the non-Christian world between them by an imaginary line in the Atlantic, some 1,300 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. Under the treaty, Portugal could claim and occupy everything to the east of the line while Spain could claim everything to the west. The situation was thus prepared for the Portuguese incursions into the waters around India.

Solution: C

Francisco De Almeida

His policy was known as the Blue Water Policy (cartaze system).

Alfonso de Albuquerque

Albuquerque acquired Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510 with ease; the principal port of the Sultan of Bijapur became “the first bit of Indian territory to be under the Europeans since the time of Alexander the Great”. An interesting feature of his rule was the  Banning of sati.

Nino da Cunha

Nino da Cunha assumed office of the governor of Portuguese interests in India in November 1529 and almost one year later shifted the headquarters of the Portuguese government in India from Cochin to Goa.

Solution: C

Decline of the Dutch in India

The Dutch got drawn into the trade of the Malay Archipelago. Further, in the third Anglo Dutch War (1672-74), communications between Surat and the new English settlement of Bombay got cut due to which three homebound English ships were captured in the Bay of Bengal by the Dutch forces.

The retaliation by the English resulted in the defeat of the Dutch, in the battle of Hooghly (November 1759), which dealt a crushing blow to Dutch ambitions in India.

Solution: D

 Causes of 1857 revolt

Revolt—a product of character and policies of colonial rule.

Economic causes—heavy taxation under new revenue settlement, summary evictions, discriminatory tariff policy against Indian products, destruction of traditional handicrafts industry, and absence of concomitant industrialization on modern lines that hit peasants, artisans and small zamindars.

Political causes—greedy policy of aggrandisement, absentee sovereigntyship character of British rule, British interference in socio-religious affairs of Indian public.

Military causes—discontent among sepoys for economic, psychological and religious reasons, coupled with a long history of revolts.

Solution: D

Factors for Decline of the Portuguese in India

(a) Emergence of powerful dynasties in Egypt, Persia and north India and the appearance of the Marathas as neighbours;

(b) political fears aroused by the activities of Jesuit missionaries, and hatred of persecution (such as inquisition) that caused reaction against Portuguese spiritual pressure;

(c) rise of the English and Dutch commercial ambitions challenging the Portuguese supremacy;

(d) rampant corruption, greed and selfishness along with piracy and clandestine trade practices of the Portuguese administration in India;

(e) diversion of Portuguese colonising ambitions towards the West due to the discovery of Brazil.

Solution: D

Socio-Economic Conditions

Trade and Industry Trade flourished. Cotton textiles, raw silk, silk fabrics, hardware, indigo, saltpetre, opium, rice, wheat, sugar, pepper, spices, precious stones, and drugs were exported.

Gold, musk, woollen cloth, copper, iron, lead, paper, porcelain, pearls, dates, dried fruits, coffee, tea, ivory, rose water, etc., were imported.

The textile industry was famous for its produce. The shipbuilding industry flourished. The metal industry was also well developed.

Solution: D

The Sikhs consolidated in misls which were military brotherhoods with a democratic set-up. Misl is an Arabic word which means equal or alike. Another meaning of Misl is State. During the period, 1763 to 1773, many misls started to rule the Punjab region under Sikh chieftains, from Saharanpur in the east to Attock in the west, from the mountaineous regions of the north to Multan in the south.

Sukarchakiya Misl and Ranjit Singh

At the time of the birth of Ranjit Singh (November 2, 1780), there were 12 important misls—Ahluwaliya, Bhangi, Dallewalia, Faizullapuria, Kanhaiya, Krorasinghia, Nakkai, Nishaniya, Phulakiya, Ramgarhiya Sukharchakiya, and Shaheed. The central administration of a misl was based on Gurumatta Sangh which was essentially a political, social and economic system.

Solution: D

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. POPs can be released into the environment through various sources such as industrial processes, agriculture, and waste disposal.

POPs can have a range of harmful effects on human health and the environment. Some POPs have been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, immune system damage, and other health problems in humans and animals. POPs can also have long-term effects on the environment, including damage to ecosystems and biodiversity.

Examples of POPs include DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins, and furans. Many of these chemicals have been banned or restricted in use by various countries due to their harmful effects.

Solution: D

Green manures are crops that are grown and then incorporated into the soil as a way to improve soil health and fertility. These crops are typically grown during the fallow period between main crops, or as an intercrop with the main crop.

Examples:

1. Legumes such as clover, alfalfa, and vetch
2. Grasses such as ryegrass and wheatgrass
3. Mustard plants such as oilseed radish and brassica

Solution: D

The NDP (Net Domestic Product) of a country is calculated by subtracting the depreciation of capital goods from the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On the other hand, the NNP (Net National Product) is calculated by subtracting the depreciation of capital goods and net indirect taxes from the GDP.

If the NDP of India is greater than its NNP, it means that the net earnings from abroad are negative. This is because the difference between the two measures is due to the net factor income from abroad, which is the difference between the income earned by domestic factors of production abroad and the income earned by foreign factors of production within the domestic economy.

Solution: C

Progressive taxes are those where the tax rate increases as the income of the taxpayer increases. This means that individuals with higher incomes pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes compared to those with lower incomes. The rationale behind progressive taxation is that individuals with higher incomes can afford to pay a greater share of their income in taxes without affecting their standard of living, while those with lower incomes need to spend a greater share of their income on basic necessities.

By implementing progressive taxes, the government can redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, thereby reducing income disparities. The tax revenue collected from progressive taxes can be used to fund social welfare programs such as education, healthcare, and social security, which can help uplift the standard of living of the poor.

Solution: B

The Uruguay round was the eighth round of multilateral trade negotiations conducted under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) from 1986 to 1994. The round resulted in the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 and the adoption of the Uruguay Round Agreements, which significantly expanded the scope of international trade agreements.

The Uruguay round was notable for being the first multilateral trade negotiation to include services and agriculture on the agenda. Previously, trade negotiations had focused primarily on trade in goods. However, the Uruguay round recognized that services and agriculture were important sectors for international trade and should be included in any comprehensive trade agreement.

The inclusion of services in the Uruguay round was significant because services account for a growing share of the global economy and are an important source of employment and economic growth. The Uruguay round resulted in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which created rules for the liberalization of trade in services among WTO member countries.

Similarly, the inclusion of agriculture in the Uruguay round was important because agriculture is a significant source of livelihood for millions of people around the world and is an important source of food security. The Uruguay round resulted in the Agreement on Agriculture, which aimed to reduce agricultural subsidies and protectionist measures that distort international trade in agricultural products.

Solution: B

About Monkeypox:

Monkeypox, which was named in 1970 because the virus that causes the disease was first discovered in captive monkeys in 1958, does not have much to do with monkeys. The most likely reservoir for the virus, which has circulated for several years in a few central African countries after jumping to humans through zoonosis in the bush, are rodents. Hence Statement 1 is incorrect.

The WHO said that assigning names to new and, in some cases, existing diseases is the responsibility of the global body under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the WHO Family of International Health Related Classifications through a consultative process which includes WHO Member States.

Mpox (monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.

Anyone can get mpox. It spreads from contact with infected:

• persons, through touch, kissing, or sex
• animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them
• materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles 
• pregnant persons, who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect.

If you have mpox:

• Tell anyone you have been close to recently
• Stay at home until all scabs fall off and a new layer of skin forms
• Cover lesions and wear a well-fitting mask when around other people
• Avoid physical contact.

• The disease mpox (formerly monkeypox) is caused by the monkeypox virus (commonly abbreviated as MPXV), an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus of the Orthopoxvirusgenus in the Poxviridae family, which includes variola, cowpox, vaccinia and other viruses. The two genetic clades of the virus are clades I and II.
• The monkeypox virus was discovered in Denmark (1958) in monkeys kept for research and the first reported human case of mpox was a nine-month-old boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, 1970). Mpox can spread from person to person or occasionally from animals to people. Following eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the end of smallpox vaccination worldwide, mpox steadily emerged in central, east and west Africa. A global outbreak occurred in 2022–2023. The natural reservoir of the virus is unknown – various small mammals such as squirrels and monkeys are susceptible.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox

Solution: A

Solution: D

Guru Tegh Bahadur

Source: PIB

 Context: The Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji on his Shaheedi Divas/martyrdom day.

Background: Guru Tegh Bahadur stood up against forcible conversions by the Mughals and was executed on the orders of Aurangzeb in 1675.

Guru Tegh Bahadur:

• He was born to Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, who raised an army against the Mughals and introduced the concept of warrior saints.
• He was the 9th of 10 Gurus and a fearless warrior, a learned spiritual scholar whose hymns are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the main text of Sikhism.
• On the orders of Aurangzeb, Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi and Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk now stands on his execution site.

Solution: C

Both the statements are correct.

Inclusion in the ST list

Source: TH

Context: The Save Tribal March (STM), a street agitation launched by Gujjar and Bakerwal activists in protest to the government’s move to include Paharis, a linguistic minority, in the Schedule Tribe (ST) list, was called off recently.

Background:

• Gujjar and Bakerwals are opposed to D Sharma Commission’s and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ (NCST) recommendations to include Paharis in the ST list.
• The NCST has also given a go-ahead to the inclusion of Paddari tribe, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmans in the ST list.
• Paharis, unlike Gujjars and Bakerwals who are Muslims, comprise a mixed population of both Hindus and Muslims.

Article 342 of the Indian Constitution:

• The President may, with respect to any State (after consultation with the Governor) or UT, by public notification, specify the tribes deemed to be ST in relation to that state or UT.
• The Parliament may by law include or exclude from the list of ST specified in the above notification. This means, the Presidential orders can be modified only through an Act of Parliament.
• The above Article also provides for listing of STs State/UT wise and not on an all-India basis.

Solution: C

Bluebugging

Source: TH

Context: According to some app developers, any app with access to Bluetooth can record users’ conversations when using headsets/earplugs, through a process called bluebugging.

Background: Cybersecurity experts note that apps that let users connect smartphones or laptops to wireless earplugs can record conversations, and are vulnerable to hacks. Even the most secure smartphones like iPhones are vulnerable to such attacks.

Bluebugging:

• It is a form of hacking (started out as a threat for laptops with Bluetooth capability) that lets attackers access a device through its discoverable Bluetooth connection.
• Once a device or phone is bluebugged, a hacker can listen to the calls, read and send messages and steal and modify contacts.

Prevention: Turning off Bluetooth and disconnecting paired Bluetooth devices when not in use, updating the device’s system software to the latest version, limited use of public Wi-Fi, and using VPN as an additional security measure.

Ans. C.

The answer is there in the last line of the passage where the question is raised about the lack of a great climate change novel. The passage talks about the fact that despite the large scale impact of climate change, it has not been able to inspire a popular novel or film. Hence C.

Ans. C.

The focus of the passage is on bringing out the view that there is an idea that public servants have an inherent sense of altruism, which is what inspires them to serve the public and display conduct worthy of public service ethos. The focus is not on explaining that public and private sector jobs differ. Hence C.

Correct Answer:D

We need to know the S.I, principal and time to find the rate.

Since the principal is not given, data is inadequate.

Now, (6/5*6/5*6/5*6/5) > 2

So, N = 4 years.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

SI for first year = Rs.720
CI-SI = 72
Interest on Rs.720 for 1 year =Rs.72
then R =10%
1440 = (P*2*10)/100
P =7200
7200*R*R/100 =2592
R =6

Solution: a

Justification:

Since compound interest rate is 50%, then the principle will earn half of it every year.

So, simple interest or compound for the first year = 50% of Rs.1000 = Rs.500

Principle for the second year = Rs.1000 + Rs.500 = Rs.1500

Compound interest for the second year = 50% of Rs.1500 = Rs.750

Principle for the third year = Rs.1500 + Rs.750 = Rs.2250

Compound interest for the third year = 50% of Rs.2250 = Rs.1125.