Statements 1 and 2 are correct because Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920 following the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and Khilafat issue, and called it off in February 1922 following violent police killings at Chauri Chaura. Statement 3 is incorrect because the movement sought redressal of the Punjab and Khilafat wrongs and attainment of Swaraj within the British Empire; Purna Swaraj was adopted later at the 1929 Lahore Congress.

All three pairs are correctly matched. Lala Lajpat Rai founded the Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal) in Lahore in 1921. Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in Pune in 1905 to train national missionaries for India's service. Annie Besant launched the All India Home Rule League in September 1916 at Madras to advocate self-government for India.

Statement 1 is correct because James Prinsep, an officer of the Calcutta Mint and secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, deciphered the Ashokan Brahmi script in 1837. Statement 2 is incorrect because Ashoka's edicts were composed in multiple scripts including Brahmi, Kharosthi (in the northwest, e.g., Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra), as well as Greek and Aramaic (e.g., Kandahar bilingual inscription).

1. Assertion (A) is true: Relative Humidity (RH) is the ratio of actual water vapor in the air to the maximum water vapor the air can hold at that temperature. Since warm air expands and its moisture-holding capacity increases exponentially (Clausius-Clapeyron relation), an increase in air temperature without adding moisture causes Relative Humidity to decrease.
2. Reason (R) is true, but NOT the correct explanation of (A): Absolute Humidity is the total mass of water vapor present in a given volume of air (grams/m³). With increased evaporation from water bodies or soil, more water vapor enters the atmosphere, thereby increasing absolute humidity. However, the reason for (A)'s decrease is the expansion of air capacity with temperature, not the rate of evaporation.

Therefore, both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

All three statements are correct. The southwest monsoon (June-September) delivers approximately 75% of India's total annual precipitation. The Coromandel/Tamil Nadu coast lies in the rain-shadow of the Western Ghats during the southwest monsoon and receives the bulk of its rainfall during the retreating/northeast monsoon (October-December). The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (monsoon trough) shifts northward over northern India reaching the foothills of the Himalayas by July.

Statement 2 is correct because the Mediterranean climate (Cs in Koppen classification) is confined to the western margins of continental landmasses between 30° and 45° north and south latitudes (e.g., Central Chile, California, Mediterranean basin, southwestern South Africa, and southwestern Australia). Statement 1 is incorrect because these regions experience dry, hot summers under subtropical high pressure and receive almost all their rainfall during winter from the on-shore westerly winds.

Sociological Concept of 'Rurbanization':

• In Indian sociology, the concept of 'Rurbanization' (or 'Rurban' community)—the blending and continuum of rural and urban social structures, lifestyles, and economic traits—was elaborately formulated and analyzed by the founding father of Indian sociology, Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (G.S. Ghurye).
• In his classic work 'Anatomy of a Rurban Community' (1963), Dr. Ghurye empirically investigated Haveli taluka near Pune to demonstrate that rural hinterlands and urban metropolitan centers do not exist in stark dichotomy, but evolve as an integrated rural-urban continuum ('Rurban').
• (Herbert Spencer was an English structural-functionalist; M.N. Srinivas formulated 'Sanskritization' and 'Dominant Caste'; Yogendra Singh analyzed 'Modernization of Indian Tradition').

Therefore, the idea of 'Rurbanization' was elaborated by G.S. Ghurye (Option C).

Statement 1 is correct because the Narmada originates at Amarkantak and flows west through a prominent fault/rift valley bounded by the Vindhyas to the north and the Satpuras to the south. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Kaveri rises in the Brahmagiri Range of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, not the Eastern Ghats. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Luni is an ephemeral river that originates near Ajmer in the Aravallis and dissipates in the Rann of Kutch without reaching the sea near Surat.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The six democratic freedoms in Article 19 are exclusively conferred upon citizens of India, whereas Article 21 guarantees the protection of life and personal liberty to all persons, whether citizens or foreigners. Statement 2 is incorrect because the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 repealed Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31, converting the Right to Property into a legal right under Article 300A in Part XII.

Statement 1 is correct because under Article 109 and Article 117(1), a Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha upon the prior recommendation of the President. Statement 2 is incorrect because Article 109(2) explicitly provides that the Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill; it can only return the bill with non-binding recommendations within 14 days.

Pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 added the words 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity' to the Preamble. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule, granting constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions. Pair 2 is incorrectly matched because the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 introduced the Anti-Defection Law (Tenth Schedule); the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment Act, 1988.

All three statements are correct under Part IX of the Constitution. Statement 1 is correct as the 73rd Amendment inserted the Eleventh Schedule listing 29 functional subjects under Article 243G. Statement 2 is correct as Article 243D(3) mandates reservation of not less than one-third of the total seats for women. Statement 3 is correct as Article 243E provides a fixed duration of five years from the date of the first meeting, requiring elections to be completed before the expiry of that duration.

All three statements are correct. In May 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan with a special economic and comprehensive package of ₹20 lakh crore (~10% of India's GDP) to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic shock. The package integrated fiscal relief by the Union Government with liquidity infusion and credit support measures deployed by the RBI. It articulated five pillars of self-reliance: Economy (quantum jump), Infrastructure, System (technology-driven), Vibrant Demography, and Demand.

Statement 2 is correct because the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) published by the Office of the Economic Adviser tracks only physical commodities across primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products, excluding services entirely. Statement 1 is incorrect because following the Urjit Patel Committee recommendations and the statutory Flexible Inflation Targeting framework, the RBI targets CPI headline inflation at 4% with a tolerance band of +/- 2% (2% to 6%), not 2%.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because PM-KISAN provides an unconditional income support of ₹6,000 per year in three equal four-monthly instalments of ₹2,000 each, credited directly via DBT into Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts. Statement 2 is incorrect because although originally launched in February 2019 for Small and Marginal Farmers holding up to 2 hectares, the Union Cabinet in May 2019 expanded the scheme to cover all landholding farmer families regardless of landholding size.

Statement 1 is correct because the repo rate is the key policy interest rate at which commercial banks borrow overnight liquidity from the RBI against collateral of eligible government securities under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility. Statement 2 is incorrect because the reverse repo rate is the rate at which the RBI absorbs liquidity from commercial banks and is structurally kept lower than the repo rate. Statement 3 is incorrect because CRR must be maintained strictly in cash balances with the RBI; liquid assets like government securities count towards the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), not CRR.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct according to Conservation International criteria: a hotspot must harbor at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (>0.5% of world total) as endemics and must have lost at least 70% of its primary native vegetation. Statement 3 is incorrect because India encompasses parts of four global biodiversity hotspots: the Himalayas, the Indo-Burma region, the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland (including the Nicobar Islands).

Both statements are correct. Article 2(1)(a) of the Paris Agreement (COP21, 2015) commits parties to holding the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Article 4(9) mandates that each party shall communicate or update a nationally determined contribution (NDC) every five years with progressively more ambitious mitigation targets.

Only pair 1 is correctly matched. Hemis National Park, famous for snow leopards and the largest national park in India, is situated in the Union Territory of Ladakh. Pair 2 is incorrectly matched because Silent Valley National Park, situated in the Nilgiri Hills, is located in the Palakkad district of Kerala. Pair 3 is incorrectly matched because Namdapha National Park, renowned for its all four big cat species, is located in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, not Assam.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus (+ssRNA) belonging to the Coronaviridae family. Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) works by using the enzyme reverse transcriptase to convert viral RNA into complementary DNA (cDNA), which is then amplified exponentially using thermocycling for detection. Statement 2 is incorrect because viruses are obligate intracellular parasites devoid of metabolic machinery and cannot replicate independently outside living host cells.

Statement 2 is correct because messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines (such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) deliver synthetic genetic instructions encased in lipid nanoparticles that direct host ribosomes to synthesize harmless viral surface antigens (such as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein), triggering adaptive immune memory. Statement 1 is incorrect because traditional vaccines use weakened (attenuated) or killed/inactivated whole viruses, whereas mRNA vaccines never contain any whole or infectious virus particles.

All three statements are correct. In September 2019, although the Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander crash-landed, the orbiter achieved an operational 100 km lunar orbit equipped with 8 advanced payloads and operated successfully. Gaganyaan is India's flagship human spaceflight mission aiming to demonstrate indigenous human spaceflight capability to Low Earth Orbit. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), known as ISRO's workhorse, launches payloads into Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits as well as into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits (such as Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Orbiter Mission).

Statement 1 is correct because on 15 June 2020, a violent hand-to-hand clash occurred between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan River valley in eastern Ladakh. Statement 2 is incorrect because the clash resulted in prolonged military standoffs and disengagement talks, without any formal border settlement treaty. Statement 3 is incorrect because following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Galwan Valley falls entirely within the Union Territory of Ladakh, not Jammu and Kashmir.

Statement 2 is correct because the National Education Policy 2020 reaffirms the commitment to increase public expenditure on education by the Centre and States to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest. Statement 1 is incorrect because NEP 2020 replaces the 10+2 curricular structure with a 5+3+3+4 design covering ages 3-18 (Foundational: 5 years, Preparatory: 3 years, Middle: 3 years, and Secondary: 4 years), not a 4+3+3+5 structure.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because the WHO Director-General declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and subsequently characterised COVID-19 as a global pandemic on 11 March 2020. Statement 2 is incorrect because the 2020 G20 Riyadh Summit was hosted virtually by Saudi Arabia under its presidency; India hosted the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi in September 2023.

Statement 2 is correct because Lothal, located in Gujarat along the Bhogava River, possessed a massive tidal dockyard and served as a flourishing port. Statements 1 and 3 are incorrect because the Great Bath was unearthed at Mohenjo-daro (not Harappa), and the Indus script remains undeciphered despite various linguistic hypotheses.

All three statements are correct. Kabir was a prominent 15th-century Nirguna Bhakti saint historically considered a disciple of Swami Ramananda in Varanasi. Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) laid the foundation of Sikhism in 15th-century Punjab preaching devotion to one formless God (Ik Onkar). Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) popularized Krishna-bhakti through ecstatic Sankirtana and was the central figure of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition in Bengal.

All three statements are correct. Mangal Pandey of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry revolted at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857 against the greased cartridges. Rani Lakshmibai valiantly led the rebellion in Jhansi and sacrificed her life fighting General Hugh Rose's forces. Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was captured after the fall of Delhi in September 1857, tried by a British military commission, and exiled to Rangoon in Burma where he died in 1862.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because Champaran Satyagraha (1917) challenged the European planters' tinkathia system forcing farmers to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of land, and Kheda Satyagraha (1918) demanded remission of land revenue under the revenue code due to severe crop failure. Statement 3 is incorrect because Gandhi undertook his first hunger strike in India in March 1918 during the Ahmedabad Mill Strike to support mill workers' demand for a 35% wage hike, not during the Kheda Satyagraha.

Lord William Bentinck promulgated Regulation XVII in 1829 abolishing the practice of Sati. Lord Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of Lapse to annex Indian states like Satara, Sambalpur, and Jhansi. Lord Canning read Queen Victoria's Proclamation at the Allahabad Durbar on 1 November 1858 transferring power to the British Crown. Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal in 1905 triggering the Swadeshi Movement.

Statement 1 is correct because Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt hurled low-intensity bombs and leaflets into the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi on 8 April 1929 to protest the repressive Public Safety and Trade Disputes bills. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Chittagong Armoury Raid of April 1930 was planned and led by Surya Sen (Masterda); Khudiram Bose was executed in 1908 following the Muzaffarpur bomb incident.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. Under Article 123, an ordinance ceases to operate six weeks after the reassembly of Parliament unless approved earlier by both Houses, and the President's ordinance-making power has the same limits as Parliament's legislative power. Statement 1 is incorrect because an ordinance can be issued when either of the two Houses is not in session.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because Akbar instituted the Mansabdari system to structure civil and military bureaucracy with dual ranks of Zat and Sawar, and his finance minister Raja Todar Mal designed the Zabt/Ain-i-Dahsala land assessment system based on 10-year crop yields and prices. Statement 3 is incorrect because Din-i-Ilahi (Tauhid-i-Ilahi), a syncretic ethical code promoting Sulh-i-Kul, was propounded by Akbar in 1582, not Shah Jahan.

All three statements are correct. The Indian National Congress held its inaugural session in Bombay in December 1885 presided over by Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee with 72 delegates. The ideological fracture between the Moderates and the Extremists led to the Surat Split in 1907 under Rash Behari Ghosh's presidency. The Lucknow Pact was signed in 1916 between the INC and the All India Muslim League under Ambica Charan Mazumdar's presidency, uniting moderates, extremists, and the League on constitutional demands.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Mediterranean climate (Cs in Köppen classification) experiences prominent dry summers dominated by subtropical high-pressure cells and rainy winters brought by on-shore westerlies, and this distinct seasonality fosters specialized horticulture, especially olives, citrus fruits, and commercial viticulture (wine production). Statement 2 is incorrect because Mediterranean climatic belts occur strictly on the western margins of continents between 30° and 45° north and south latitudes (such as central Chile, California, Cape Province, and south-western Australia).

All three statements are correct. Samudragupta's conquests and diplomatic achievements are inscribed on the Prayag Prashasti (Allahabad Pillar) composed in elegant Sanskrit kavya by his court poet Harisena. Chinese Buddhist monk Fa-Hien travelled through India between 399-414 CE during the reign of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya. Aryabhata, author of Aryabhatiya and Surya Siddhanta who proposed that the Earth rotates on its axis, flourished at Kusumapura (Pataliputra) during the Gupta golden age.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because Mahatma Gandhi delivered the historic 'Do or Die' mantra at the Gowalia Tank Maidan on 8 August 1942, and Chittu Pandey established a parallel national government (Jatiya Sarkar) in Ballia in August 1942. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Muslim League, under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, boycotted the Quit India Movement and demanded the partition of India with the slogan 'Divide and Quit'.

The Tropical Savanna Region (Sudan-type climate) is renowned as the 'Land of Big Games' due to its vast expanse of tall elephant grasses and scattered parkland trees that sustain massive herds of herbivorous ungulates (zebras, antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes) and dense populations of large carnivores (lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas). Historically, these rich wildlife concentrations made it the world's premier big-game hunting and safari belt.

Statement 2 is correct because the retreating northeast monsoon picks up moisture while traversing the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal and causes heavy precipitation along the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu between October and December. Statement 1 is incorrect because the southwest monsoon (June-September), not the northeast monsoon, provides nearly 75% of India's total annual rainfall.

Zoji La is a strategic high mountain pass in the Greater Himalayas connecting Srinagar with Leh in Ladakh. Nathu La connects Sikkim with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Shipki La connects Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh with Tibet through the Sutlej river gorge. Bomdi La connects Arunachal Pradesh with Lhasa in Tibet.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because alluvial soils are fertile, moisture-retentive loams rich in potash that support intensive paddy and wheat cropping, while black regur soils of the Deccan plateau are rich in clay, expand upon wetting, and provide optimal conditions for cotton cultivation. Statement 3 is incorrect because laterite soils form under high temperatures and heavy rainfall where intense leaching strips bases and silica, leaving iron and aluminium oxides while bacteria rapidly deplete humus, making them inherently poor in organic matter.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because India's longest land border is shared with Bangladesh extending 4,096.7 km, and the McMahon Line, negotiated at the 1914 Simla Convention, demarcates the eastern sector boundary between India (Arunachal Pradesh) and Tibet/China. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Durand Line, drawn in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand, serves as the international boundary separating Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because tropical wet evergreen forests flourish in high rainfall areas exceeding 200 cm along the windward slopes of the Western Ghats and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the world's largest mangrove forest spans the Sundarbans delta of West Bengal. Statement 3 is incorrect because Alpine vegetation (junipers, rhododendrons, alpine pastures) is found only at elevations above 3,500 metres in the Himalayas, whereas the Nilgiri hills host temperate montane grasslands and stunted wet temperate evergreen forests called Sholas.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because the Suez Canal provides a direct artificial sea-level waterway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz is the strategic choke point connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Panama Canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic Ocean (via Caribbean Sea) directly with the Pacific Ocean, not the Indian Ocean.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Alluvial soil covers over 40% of India's total geographical area across the northern plains and river valleys and is highly fertile, while Black (Regur) soil formed from Deccan trap basalt possesses high moisture retention capacity making it ideal for cotton cultivation. Statement 3 is incorrect because Laterite soils develop under conditions of high temperature and alternating wet and dry seasons with intense leaching, which removes silica and results in severe deficiency of humus, nitrogen, and phosphate.

Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka was one of India's deepest gold mines. Bailadila in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh is famous for world-class high-grade haematite iron ore deposits exported via Visakhapatnam. Digboi in Assam is India's oldest operational oil refinery and petroleum field dating to 1901. Jharia in Jharkhand is India's largest and most famous coking coal reserve in the Damodar Valley basin.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Gulf Stream is an intense, warm western boundary current flowing poleward in the North Atlantic, while the Labrador Current brings cold Arctic waters southward past Newfoundland. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Peru (Humboldt) Current is a cold, nutrient-rich eastern boundary current flowing equatorward along the western coast of South America.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because the Tropic of Cancer (23°30' N) traverses eight Indian states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, and Mizoram. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Tropic of Cancer passes south of Assam, traversing only Tripura and Mizoram in the northeastern region.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because Chilika Lake in Odisha is the largest brackish water coastal lagoon in India and Asia, and Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir is one of the largest natural freshwater lakes in Asia formed by tectonic activity and fed by the Jhelum River. Statement 3 is incorrect because Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan is India's largest inland hypersaline lake, producing a major portion of Rajasthan's salt.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because Article 21 guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law, and Article 32 empowers the Supreme Court to issue prerogative writs (Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Quo Warranto, and Certiorari) for their enforcement. Statement 2 is incorrect because the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under Article 19 (including freedom of speech and expression) are strictly restricted to Indian citizens and are not available to foreign nationals.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Article 54, the President is elected by an electoral college comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States (and UTs of Delhi and Puducherry), and Article 61 provides that the President may be impeached for 'violation of the Constitution'. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 61(1) clearly specifies that the impeachment charge may be initiated in either House of Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha).

Both statements are historically correct. Akbar continued and formalized the tri-metallic currency reforms initiated by Sher Shah Suri, introducing standardized weights and purity across imperial mints, with the copper Dam weighing about 323 grains acting as the chief fractional unit (40 Dams = 1 silver Rupaya). However, the specific usage of the Dam was merely a technical feature of the coinage and does not explain the broader administrative motivation for regulating the imperial currency, so (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Article 83(1), the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is a permanent chamber not subject to dissolution, with one-third of its members retiring every second year for a six-year term. Statement 3 is incorrect because under Article 109(1), a Money Bill can be introduced only in the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and never in the Rajya Sabha.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Article 131, the Supreme Court has exclusive original jurisdiction in federal disputes between the Union and States, and under Article 124(2), Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President of India (via the collegium system). Statement 3 is incorrect because the advisory opinion rendered by the Supreme Court under Article 143 is purely advisory in nature and not binding on the President.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Article 324, the Election Commission superintendents and conducts elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President, and under Article 148, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is appointed by the President by warrant under hand and seal. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 88 gives the Attorney General the right to speak and take part in parliamentary proceedings, but explicitly denies the right to vote.

All three statements are correct. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 amended the Preamble by adding the words 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity'. The Preamble was crafted from the historic 'Objectives Resolution' moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946 and adopted on 22 January 1947. In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court reversed its earlier Berubari Union (1960) stance and ruled that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution subject to amendment under Article 368 without altering basic structure.

Sources of functions of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC):

As detailed in standard administrative law and constitutional treatises (e.g., M. Laxmikanth, Chapter on UPSC):

1. The Constitution: Articles 315 to 323 in Part XIV, particularly Article 320, lay down the constitutional functions of the UPSC—including conducting examinations for appointments to Union services, consulting on recruitment rules, promotions, transfers, and disciplinary actions.
2. Parliamentary Laws: Under Article 321, Parliament is empowered to enact laws extending the functions and jurisdiction of the UPSC regarding the services of the Union, local authorities, corporate bodies, or public institutions.
3. Executive Rules and Orders: The President makes regulations (e.g., UPSC Exemption from Consultation Regulations, 1958 under Article 320(3) proviso) and executive rules governing recruitment and conditions of service (Article 318).
4. Conventions: By well-established constitutional conventions, the advice tendered by the UPSC on quasi-judicial disciplinary matters is almost invariably accepted by the Union Government.

Therefore, the UPSC derives its functions and authority from all four sources: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Article 155, the Governor of a State is appointed by the President by warrant under hand and seal, and under Article 200, the Governor may reserve a state legislative bill for the consideration of the President. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 157 prescribes only two constitutional qualifications: being a citizen of India and having completed 35 years of age; non-residency in the appointed state is merely a healthy political convention recommended by the Sarkaria Commission, not a constitutional mandate.

Mahanadi (1) and Godavari (3) are major east-flowing peninsular rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal forming expansive deltas. In contrast, Narmada (2) and Tapi (4) flow westward through structural rift valleys between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges and discharge into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Khambhat.

All three statements are correct. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IXA ('The Municipalities') into the Constitution. Article 243Q mandates a three-tier municipal structure: Nagar Panchayat for transitional areas, Municipal Council for smaller urban areas, and Municipal Corporation for larger urban areas. The amendment also introduced the Twelfth Schedule containing 18 functional items under Article 243W.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Article 226, High Courts can issue prerogative writs not only for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights but also 'for any other purpose' (ordinary legal rights), making their writ jurisdiction broader than the Supreme Court's under Article 32 (strictly limited to Fundamental Rights). Statement 3 is incorrect because under Article 217(1), a High Court judge holds office until attaining the age of 62 years (whereas Supreme Court judges retire at 65 years).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because WPI, published by the Office of the Economic Adviser (Ministry of Commerce and Industry), captures price movements at first wholesale transactions, and headline CPI (Combined), published by NSO, serves as the statutory nominal anchor for the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee. Statement 3 is incorrect because core (underlying) inflation is specifically calculated by stripping out the highly volatile food and fuel/energy components from headline inflation.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Reserve Bank of India was nationalised on 1 January 1949 under the RBI (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi enacted the nationalisation of 14 major commercial banks on 19 July 1969. Statement 3 is incorrect because the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was established on 12 July 1982 on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee (Act 61 of 1981); 1975 marked the establishment of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

Statement 2 is correct because the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was enacted by Parliament in September 2005 and rolled out in phases starting February 2006. Statement 1 is incorrect because the statutory mandate guarantees at least 100 days (not 200 days) of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

All three statements are correct. The nationwide Goods and Services Tax regime was rolled out on 1 July 2017 following the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016. Article 279A established the GST Council as a federal constitutional body chaired by the Union Finance Minister with state finance ministers as members. Under Article 279A(5), five specified petroleum goods (crude oil, high-speed diesel, petrol, natural gas, and aviation turbine fuel) are currently outside GST, subject to future notification upon the Council's recommendation.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct because GDP at Market Prices equals GDP at Factor Cost plus Net Product Taxes (Product Taxes minus Product Subsidies), and the Central Statistics Office revised the national accounting base year to 2011-12 in January 2015. Statement 2 is incorrect because Gross National Product equals GDP plus Net Factor Income from Abroad (NFIA); since India consistently runs a negative NFIA (outflows of investment income exceed inflows), India's GNP is typically smaller than its GDP.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because fiscal deficit reflects total government borrowing requirement, defined as total budgetary expenditure minus non-debt creating receipts, and the FRBM Act was enacted in August 2003 to enforce fiscal discipline and reduce deficits. Statement 3 is incorrect because fiscal deficit comprises revenue deficit plus capital expenditures net of non-debt capital receipts, which means fiscal deficit is inherently larger than revenue deficit under standard budgetary conditions.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because India's maiden lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 was successfully launched on 22 October 2008 aboard the PSLV-C11, and data collected by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) payload carried on Chandrayaan-1 confirmed the widespread distribution of hydroxyl (OH) and water (H2O) molecules across lunar regolith. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) was launched on 5 November 2013 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25 in XL configuration), not the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk III).

All three statements are correct. In September 2020, Parliament enacted three contentious agriculture reform laws: the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 (which deregulated foodstuffs like cereals, pulses, potato, and onion). Following widespread protests, Parliament passed the Farm Laws Repeal Act in December 2021, formally repealing all three statutes.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Union Government announced the ₹20.97 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat package (~10% of GDP) in May 2020, integrating social welfare measures including 5 kg additional free foodgrains under PMGKAY. Statement 3 is incorrect because the stimulus package was multi-sectoral and comprehensive, spanning MSMEs (collateral-free loans), agriculture infrastructure, NBFC liquidity, street vendors (PM SVANidhi), tax relief, and health infrastructure rather than being restricted to agriculture.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Suresh Tendulkar Committee (2009) instituted the consumption expenditure methodology based on a mixed reference period (estimating 21.9% poverty in 2011-12), and the C. Rangarajan Committee (2014) revised the consumption baskets and thresholds upward to ₹32/day in rural areas and ₹47/day in urban areas (estimating 29.5% poverty). Statement 3 is incorrect because India's official poverty lines are income/consumption-based expenditure thresholds; the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI) published by NITI Aayog is a complementary non-monetary policy metric, not the official poverty line.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Ministry of MSME notified a composite criterion of plant investment and turnover effective 1 July 2020, eliminating the historical divergence between manufacturing and services enterprises. Statement 3 is incorrect because the ceiling for a Micro enterprise was set at an investment up to ₹1 crore and annual turnover up to ₹5 crore; the investment limit of ₹10 crore applies to Small enterprises (with turnover up to ₹50 crore).

All three statements are correct. In response to the economic disruption of COVID-19, the RBI reduced the repo rate by a cumulative 115 basis points down to 4.0% in early 2020. The central bank also granted commercial lenders regulatory permission to offer a six-month moratorium on term loan EMI payments running from 1 March to 31 August 2020. In May 2020, the Central Government launched the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) providing 100% government guarantee for collateral-free pre-approved operational loans to MSMEs.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because under Section 35 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, National Parks possess stricter conservation boundaries where private rights, human habitation, and livestock grazing are strictly prohibited, whereas limited grazing may be regulated by the Chief Wildlife Warden in Sanctuaries under Section 29. Statement 3 is incorrect because Biosphere Reserves are not statutory designations under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; they are designated administratively by executive orders aligned with the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Baking soda is the chemical compound sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) widely used as a leavening agent in cooking, and table vinegar is an aqueous solution containing typically 5% to 8% acetic acid (CH3COOH). Statement 3 is incorrect because dry ice is the solid crystalline state of carbon dioxide (solid CO2) which sublimates directly from solid to gas at -78.5°C under atmospheric pressure, not solid nitrogen.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because India encompasses parts of four internationally recognized biodiversity hotspots (Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, and Sundaland), and Parliament enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 to meet obligations under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Statement 3 is incorrect because the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), established under Section 8 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, is headquartered at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, not Kolkata.

All four wetlands are designated Ramsar Sites of International Importance in India. Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) were designated together in October 1981 as India's first two Ramsar sites. Loktak Lake (Manipur) was designated in 1990 (and placed on the Montreux Record along with Keoladeo), and Wular Lake (Jammu and Kashmir) was designated in 1990.

Statement 2 is correct because the National Green Tribunal exercises civil jurisdiction over all civil cases where a substantial question relating to the environment (including enforcement of legal rights relating to environment) arises. Statement 1 is incorrect because the NGT was established on 18 October 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, not in 2005.

Statement 2 is correct because Lothal in Gujarat was a prominent Harappan coastal settlement featuring a tidal dockyard connected to the Bhogavo river. Statement 1 is incorrect because the Great Bath was excavated at Mohenjo-daro, not Harappa. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Harappan civilization was primarily not horse-centred, with undisputed horse remains absent from mainstream mature Harappan settlements.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the catastrophic 2019-20 Australian bushfire season (known as 'Black Summer') ravaged over 24 million hectares predominantly across New South Wales and Victoria, destroying vital eucalyptus habitats and causing the mortality or displacement of an estimated 3 billion native animals, including tens of thousands of koalas. Statement 3 is incorrect because the bushfires were triggered by severe positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions, record heatwaves, prolonged severe drought, and dry lightning strikes, without any involvement of volcanic activity.

All three statements are correct. Nationwide lockdowns in early 2020 abruptly curtailed vehicular traffic, industrial manufacturing, and coal combustion, causing particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) to drop sharply by 40-60% across urban centers like Delhi. Satellite observations from NASA and ESA instruments (such as TROPOMI on Sentinel-5P) confirmed a dramatic drop in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) column concentrations over major industrial corridors. Concurrently, medical response activities generated unprecedented volumes of contaminated biomedical waste, including disposable PPE kits, surgical masks, gloves, and diagnostic kits.

Match between Indian states and their rank according to capital expenditure on infrastructure during the period 2019–2023:

| List-I (State) | List-II (Rank in Infrastructure Expenditure 2019-23) |

| :--- | :--- |

| A. Maharashtra | 2. Second (₹4.39 lakh crore) |

| B. Uttar Pradesh | 1. First (₹5.31 lakh crore) |

| C. Tamil Nadu | 3. Third |

| D. Karnataka | 4. Fourth |

• Uttar Pradesh: Stood at the First position nationally in total capital outlay and infrastructure expenditure between 2019 and 2023, spending an unprecedented ₹5.31 lakh crore driven by mega-expressways (Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Ganga), metro networks, and regional airports.
• Maharashtra: Ranked Second with an expenditure of ₹4.39 lakh crore during the same four-year period.
• Tamil Nadu: Ranked Third.
• Karnataka: Ranked Fourth.

Hence, the correct matching code is 2, 1, 3, 4.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because Covishield is a chimpanzee adenovirus vectored vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) formulated by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and mass-produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune, while Covaxin (BBV152) is an indigenously developed whole-virion inactivated Vero cell vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the ICMR-National Institute of Virology. Statement 3 is incorrect because mRNA vaccines (such as BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) do not introduce attenuated live viruses; they provide synthetic mRNA transcripts encoding the spike glycoprotein to train the immune system.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) deficiency impairs collagen synthesis leading to scurvy characterized by bleeding gums and poor wound healing, and Vitamin D deficiency impedes intestinal calcium absorption resulting in bone demineralization and rickets in children (or osteomalacia in adults). Statement 3 is incorrect because night blindness (nyctalopia) is caused by a deficiency of Vitamin A (retinol, essential for rhodopsin synthesis in retinal rods), whereas Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency causes megaloblastic/pernicious anaemia and neurological dysfunction.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2 on 22 July 2019 aboard the GSLV Mk III-M1 from Sriharikota, carrying an orbiter, a lander named Vikram (after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai), and a rover named Pragyan. Statement 3 is incorrect because on 7 September 2019, during the final braking phase at an altitude of 2.1 km above the lunar surface, communications were lost and the Vikram lander hard-landed on the Moon, though the orbiter remained fully functional.

All three statements are correct. Viruses are non-cellular (acellular) biological microscopic entities lacking cytoplasmic organelles and cellular boundary membranes. They are obligate intracellular parasites that possess no independent metabolic or protein-synthesis machinery and can only replicate by hijacking the enzymatic apparatus of a living host cell. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the Coronaviridae family.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because all commercial nuclear power reactors currently in operation split heavy atomic nuclei (such as Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239) via controlled nuclear fission chains, while the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a megaproject designed to prove the feasibility of magnetic confinement nuclear fusion using a tokamak. Statement 3 is incorrect because the ITER research reactor facility is located at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance (Cadarache) in southern France, not the United States.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because insulin is a peptide hormone synthesized and secreted by beta cells of the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, and insufficient insulin secretion or cellular resistance leads to impaired glucose homeostasis and diabetes mellitus. Statement 3 is incorrect because normal baseline human body temperature is approximately 37 degrees Celsius (equivalent to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), not 37 degrees Fahrenheit (which would represent freezing temperature of ~2.8°C).

Statement 2 is correct because blockchain is fundamentally a decentralized, immutable, and cryptographically secured distributed ledger that records transactions across a peer-to-peer network without requiring a central intermediary. Statement 1 is incorrect because 5G networks deliver ultra-low latency of approximately 1 millisecond compared to typical 4G LTE latencies of 30 to 50 milliseconds.

All three statements are correct. Tuberculosis is an infectious airborne bacterial disease predominantly affecting the lungs caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Malaria is an acute protozoan parasitic infection caused by species of the genus Plasmodium (such as P. falciparum and P. vivax) transmitted through the infectious bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) is a respiratory infectious illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because INS Vikrant (IAC-1) was designed by the Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design and indigenously built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, and the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was developed through an Indo-Russian joint venture between DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Statement 3 is incorrect because Agni-V is an indigenously developed three-stage, solid-fuelled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a strike range exceeding 5,000 kilometres, not a short-range missile.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, and the Government of India ordered a 21-day nationwide lockdown under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 starting on 25 March 2020. Statement 3 is incorrect because India's first laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in Thrissur district of Kerala on 30 January 2020 in a medical student who had returned from Wuhan University, China.

Statement 2 is correct because the violent engagement on the night of 15-16 June 2020 resulted in 20 Indian Army fatalities (including Col. B. Santosh Babu), representing the first combat fatalities along the Line of Actual Control between India and China since the October 1975 Tulung La ambush. Statement 1 is incorrect because the clash occurred in the Galwan River valley in eastern Ladakh, not in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because NEP 2020 restructured school curriculum from the 10+2 system into a pedagogical 5+3+3+4 design covering ages 3 to 18, and set an explicit policy target of increasing combined public education spending to 6% of GDP. Statement 3 is incorrect because while NEP 2020 promotes Sanskrit as an important classical language option at all levels of school and higher education under the three-language formula, it is explicitly non-mandatory and not made compulsory for any student.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct as the RTI Act was enacted in 2005 and Section 7(1) mandates the Public Information Officer to provide requested information within 30 days. Statement 2 is incorrect because Section 1(2) as originally enacted explicitly stated that the Act extended to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 US presidential election with 306 electoral votes defeating incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, making Kamala Harris the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian American Vice President of the United States. Statement 3 is incorrect because the 59th quadrennial presidential election took place on 3 November 2020, not in November 2019.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Government of India launched the Aarogya Setu mobile application on 2 April 2020 to augment pandemic management, employing Bluetooth signal strength to detect proximity to other users and GPS location tracking to pinpoint infected clusters. Statement 3 is incorrect because Aarogya Setu was conceptualised and developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), not by the Ministry of Defence.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Lord Cornwallis enacted the Permanent Settlement in 1793 across Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, recognizing zamindars as proprietary owners of the land subject to paying a fixed revenue (10/11th to the British East India Company and 1/11th retained by the zamindar). Statement 3 is incorrect because the land revenue assessment was declared permanent and unalterable in perpetuity, not subject to revision every five years.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because PMGKAY was rolled out in March 2020 as part of the COVID-19 relief package, providing 5 kg of free foodgrains (rice/wheat) per person per month over and above regular NFSA quotas, along with 1 kg of free pulses per household per month. Statement 3 is incorrect because the scheme covered all beneficiaries recognized under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (both Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Households), reaching approximately 80 crore people rather than being restricted to old BPL cardholders.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct because in June 2020, following border tensions in Ladakh, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology banned 59 Chinese applications (including TikTok, WeChat, and UC Browser) invoking emergency powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 in the interest of India's sovereignty, defense, and public order. Statement 3 is incorrect because India did not sign any free trade agreement with China; in fact, India had already opted out of the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November 2019 and tightened scrutiny on Chinese investments under Press Note 3 of 2020.