Explanation :

Bijapur was the capital of Adil Shah Dynasty (1490-1686), the seventh ruler. Muhammad Adil Shah commissioned this structure. This has a unique place where sound echoes and has Naqqar Khana (Drum house), followed by mosque. This structure has the distinction of being the largest space covered by single dome in the world. This is made of dark grey basalt.

Why the Question?

It becomes quite difficult for students to go through each and every monuments and important architecture, so the better way is to cover the important architectures which are in the news. In UPSC 2018, the question on Rumi Darwaza was directly picked up from the newspaper, so we thought of covering the architectures which are in news.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

FSSAI has launched this initiative after World Biofuel Day, as the cooking oil used in eateries like KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc. don’t use the oil after its Total Polar Compound limit of 25%, and hence, they waste it. Instead of wasting it, FSSAI has planned to collect those cooking oil and convert it to Biodiesel. This initiative can help us in curbing the import of the fuels as it can be blended with diesel/petrol.

Source Name : PIB

Explanation :

The main clue available in this question is “Highest Density of Tiger”. As the option is set in such a manner that if you don’t know this information you will fail to infer. Kaziranga is known for “One- horned Rhinoceros”, but this has to be kept in mind that it has the highest density of tigers too.

Source Name : The Hindu​

Explanation :

The two significant properties of superconductor are that it expels the magnetic field and its resistance drops to zero. So, if a material is superconductor or not is to be tested, scientists use these two properties.

Why the Question?

Recent trend suggests that only those portions of S&T are being asked which are in the news, so we thought that this physics part of our syllabus shall be brought to the notice of the students.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

UPI is developed by NPCI, but is not regulated by NPCI. Its regulation falls in the domain of RBI.

Why the Question?

These questions are simple, but the main purpose of asking this question is to make the students understand the difference between the developer and regulator. In upsc 2018, a question on who regulates the ATM was asked, so such questions should be covered too.

Explanation :

Turkey is passing through a phase of crisis, because its previous growth was completely based upon borrowing from foreign institutions. It also failed to diversify its business; hence the situation reached to a level where its companies started defaulting. Turkey did not focus on economic fundamentals too, as its forex reserve is also low; so, it can provide cushion to a limited extent only.

What could be the Solutions?

It should increase its rate, so that money circulation decreases. This will reduce pressure on its currency, as people will have less money to spend and thus Inflation can be checked. Other way is to ask the friendly countries to invest and the last resort is to ask the help from IMF.

Why the Question?

The main purpose of asking this question is to make the students understand and link various economic dimensions.

Source Name : The Economist

Explanation :

Stealth technology has two components: One is material stealth-where material used in aircraft will absorb the Radio waves thus it will evade the Radar system, other technique is Geometric Stealth-where shape is designed in such a manner that it deflects away the radar waves and becomes difficult to be tracked.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

If the cost of oil increases, it will lead to widening of our CAD (as we import oil a lot). If the cost of oil increases, the cost of products dependent on oil will increase and this is for sure, will lead to inflation. On the other hand, increase in Service Export will reduce the CAD, as we are pioneer in the field of Services Export, which will earn dollar for us, thus it will plug the CAD gap.

Why the Question?

We are trying to interlink the concepts of Economics vis-à-vis India, as it is always preferable to look the things in more analytical way. This will widen understanding of economics concepts for students.

Source Name : The Hindu, IE​

Explanation :

“Helina” is an Anti-Tank Guided Missile developed by DRDO. This Missile is guided by an Infrared Imaging Seeker (IIR) operating in the Lock-on- Before-Launch mode. It is one of the most advanced Anti-Tank weapons in the world.

Source Name : PIB

Explanation :

TBS means Stressed Balance Sheet of Corporate which leads to defaulting of loans that leads to squeezing the balance sheet of Banks and they stop giving loans. This creates a vicious cycle leading to stagnation of the economy. So, TBS means balance sheet of Banks and Corporate both are in trouble. To cope with this problem, the Govt. of India has recently decided to make the banks healthy by recapitalization.

Why the Question?

The problems of banking sector are frequently in news; so the terms dealing with this crisis must be well known to the students.

Source Name : The Hindu, IE

Explanation :

Mandovi River originates from Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary which is present in Belagavi district of Karnataka, not Goa. After that, it traverses west to Goa and finally joins the Arabian Sea. The main dispute between Karnataka and Goa is about the construction of Kalasa-Bhanduri Nala project to transfer the water to Malaprabha River which is a tributary of Krishna, to use it for drinking and irrigation in northern Karnataka. The water allocated by the Tribunal is 13.4 tmcft to Karnataka, 24 tmcft to Goa and 1.33 tmcft to Maharashtra.

Why the Question?

The main purpose of asking this question is to see whether students have seen the map of the river or not. By asking such questions and putting the options in such a manner is to inculcate the habit of seeing the map of the things which are in news.

Source Name : IE

Explanation :

Before disintegration of USSR, it was shared between the USSR and Iran as Azerbaijan was the part of ussr. After the disintegration of USSR, it is now shared by five littoral states namely- Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Iran wanted to consider it as lake because, if it is considered as a lake, it will get equally divided among all the 5 countries (i.e. 20% each), but if it is considered as a Sea, then Exclusive Economic Zone, etc. concepts will come into play and Iran will have a lesser share of benefits as it has very less coastline bordering Caspian Sea. Also, the portion of Caspian Sea along Iran coast is more saltier and less resource rich.

Why the Question?

The main purpose of asking this question is to make the students aware about the countries surrounding this Sea at present and the issue related to this Sea. This is also important as India is a part of Ashgabat agreement.

Source Name : The Diplomat

Explanation :

SDRF corpus has contribution of Central Government to the tune of 75% and State Government has contribution of 25%. The Finance Commission is the nodal agency dealing with the financial distribution of the same. When a calamity is declared as “calamity of severe nature” as in the case of Kerala, then additional help is provided from the NDRF (National Disaster Response Fund) corpus, else SDRF corpus is used.

Source Name : TH

Explanation :

It is the outcome of Y. M. Deosthalle Committee. Bank Board Bureau is the outcome of P. J Nayak Committee. The main purpose of setting up this agency is to help the banks with properly assessing the credit record of the borrower and hence they can take an informed decision. This will help the banks cope with their NPAs, as they will not give loans to blacklisted people and the right person can get the loans easily. So, it is a drive to cleanse the system.

Why the Question?

The main purpose of this question is to bring to the notice of students about the important committees along with their recommendations.

Source Name : The Hindu, Livemint

Explanation :

This is a project between India and Bhutan especially to make roads in the border areas by the Border Road Organization (BRO). This is in the news as the road made by BRO in Bhutan has come under serious criticism as the signboards were painted in the Indian tricolor, to which Bhutanese people considered as an assault on their sovereignty.

Why the Question?

We have framed this question keeping in mind the ‘Doklam’ crisis. As this region is in news, so we thought that it is always preferable to bring to the notice of students about some important events/projects to which India is a part.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

Election to the RS is done by the proportional representation through single transferable vote i.e. Members give preferences for each candidate (1, 2, 3…), so we conclude that election to the RS is of Indirect type.

How to calculate the magic number for winning the seat?

Number to win the seat = {Total value of votes/ (Number of seats+1)} +1

i.e. {160/ (4+1)} +1= 32+1 =33

Hence the number required is 33.

Why the question?

Since election to the RS was in news recently, so we thought of framing the question that can relate to our static syllabus.

Explanation :

The revolt against the Vedic rituals and system was best manifested in the Buddha and his Path, which is, the Eight-fold Path in Pali language called ‘Aṭṭhangiko Maggo’. Therefore, ‘Buddha Path’ on one hand refers to the extraordinary teachings of the Buddha which is also called the ‘Middle Path’. The eight places associated with Buddha are called as Atthamahathanani in Pali language.

Why the question?

Our effort is to link our static syllabus with the current events, so we have framed this question so that students can link the static syllabus with the current.

Source Name : PIB

Explanation :

Gadgil Committee was more stringent in its approach; it considered 75% areas of Western Ghats as ESZ. So, neither industry can be set up nor railway lines, etc. This was good from ecology point of view. But, there has to be trade-off between development and ecology, so Kasturirangan Committee came and it suggested that only 37% area of Western Ghats need utmost care seeing the fragile environment. So, we conclude that Gadgil Committee recommendations were more stringent in its approach.

Why the Question?

In UPSC 2016, a direct question on Gadgil Committee was asked. And, as it is again in news, it can be asked again in match the following type questions too. So, we thought of bringing this to the attention of the students.

Source Name : IE

Explanation :

HeliNa stands for “Helicopter Launched Nag”. It is the other variant of Nag missile that can be launched from helicopters like Dhruv. It is of the third generation missile of the same group as Prithvi, Agni, Akash and Trishul. Its range is 7 to 8 km.

Source Name : The Hindu, Livemint

Explanation :

It is a Statutory Body that comes under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs not the Ministry of Finance. This body acts as a regulator for the IP professionals, Information Utilities, etc. At present, M.S. Sahoo is its Chairman and it consists of 10 members, among which one member is from RBI, three members are from Central Govt. (not below the rank of Jt. Secretary) and rest five are nominated by the Central Government.

Source Name : The Hindu, Livemint

Explanation :

We must remember that cyclones are the system having low pressure at the centre. Tropical cyclones owe their origin to the warmness of ocean, so it is quite clear that it is ‘Thermal’ in nature whereas, Temperate cyclones are ‘Frontal’ in nature. If we look at the Coriolis force in Northern Hemisphere, it always tries to deflect the winds towards its right. So, it becomes quite obvious that it will rotate the system in counter-clockwise in Northern Hemisphere and vice-versa.

Why the Question?

We are trying and focusing on static syllabus which can be linked with current affairs.

Source Name : PIB

Explanation :

The TAPI pipeline is also called as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline. The hint given in this question is Fazilka in Punjab. This passes through the countries namely-Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The gas from Galkynysh field (Turkmenistan) is supplied to three countries –Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Why the Question?

TAPI pipeline is again in news as Indian government wants to renegotiate the tariff agreed earlier due to slump in the global price. So, we thought of bringing this to the notice of our students.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

There is no provision to declare any Disaster as National Calamity, so GoI has declared Kerala floods as “Calamity of Severe Nature”. When it is declared as Calamity of Severe Nature, NDRF fund can be deployed to help the people. NCCD is used to fund the NDRF. When the cess was subsumed under the GST regime, the demand was raised to get rid of NCCD, but Government still continued with NCCD in GST regime too.

Note: NCCD is levied on Tobacco, Pan Masala, etc.

Source Name : The Hindu​

Explanation :

The demand for Greater Nagalim extends to the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Myanmar. If we look at the map, Tripura is not close to Nagaland, so the option was set in a manner to check whether students are seeing the map or not for the places which are in news.

The accord was signed between NSCN-IM and 6 other groups. This accord was opposed by the Khaplang group (NSCN-K)

Why the question?

The main intention of putting the option in such a manner is to inculcate the habit of looking into the map for the places which are in news.

Source Name : IE​

Explanation :

InSight is a robotic lander to study the interior of planet Mars. It will deploy a seismometer and burrow a heat probe to understand the interior of Mars better. It will also perform the radio science experiment to get details of Mars’ internal structure. It is a mission of NASA.

Source Name : Livemint

Explanation :

This is very evident that CAG can audit those firms which share the revenue with the government. Usually, Private firms are opposed to the audit by CAG. Recently, GST Network (GSTN- a not-for-profit company set up primarily to provide IT infrastructure and services to the Centre and States, tax payers and other stakeholders for implementing the GST) too opposed its audit, but finally CAG had the upper hand. So, this has to be very clear in the mind of the students that CAG can audit private firms if it has some revenue relation with the government. Further, CAG was supposed to act as Comptroller & Auditor General, but unfortunately, in practice, it acts as Auditor General only, as it has no control over the issue and receipt of public money. In UK, their CAG acts as both.

Why the Question?

Source Name : IE

Explanation :

Zero Budget Natural Farming focuses on the ‘Input’ aspect of farming, as it talks about the use of natural stuffs like cow dung, cow urine, etc. and no use of pesticides, chemicals, etc.; whereas MSP is all about helping the farmer when they produce. Thus, this intervention is on the ‘Output’ aspect of farming. Andhra Pradesh is the first state to go for Zero Budget Natural Farming, not Sikkim.

Why the Question?

The main purpose of asking this question is to apprise the students about the state which is going to follow this trend - Zero Budget Natural Farming, as in such cases we have the general tendency that we will go with option having Sikkim.

Source Name : PIB

Explanation :

At Kushinagar, Buddha died and this is called as Mahaparinirvana. Buddha reached Rajgir (Bihar) after leaving home which is called as Mahabhinishkramana. Sravasti is a place in UP, which was the capital of Kosala during that period and Buddha spent his maximum monastic life at that place. At Sarnath, Buddha gave his sermon at Deer Park which came to be known as Dhammachakrapravartana.

Why the Question?

Government is planning to have Buddhist Circuit and wants to expand it; so students must have the idea about the places and their significance. We have observed that Buddhism is one of the favourite areas of UPSC; keeping this in mind we have framed this question.

Source Name : PIB​

Explanation :

It is called BIMSTEC after the joining of Nepal and Bhutan in 2004. Its headquarters is at Dhaka, Bangladesh. The right answer can be easily obtained if we could focus on the name itself-it says Bay of Bengal Initiative, so, it is quite evident that countries surrounding Bay of Bengal will be the member countries. Maldives is not in Bay of Bengal, so, students could have easily eliminated this option. So, we advise the students to sharpen the technique of elimination.

Source Name : The Hindu, Diplomat

Explanation :

POSHAN Abhiyaan is an initiative of the Ministry of Women & Child Development to deal with malnutrition, anemia, stunting, etc. It will focus not only children but also adolescent girls, women, etc. So, it is a revolutionary scheme vis-à-vis health of the women and children in India.

Source Name : PIB, IE

Explanation :

Creation of, or abolition of Legislative Council does not amount to Constitutional Amendment (Article 169). Our Constitution makers were of the view that every state doesn’t need the Upper House as it delays the process of legislation and also creates additional financial burden. So, to create the Legislative Council, states have to pass a resolution by 2/3 members present and voting along with majority of the strength of the House. The number of seats to be there in Legislative Council shall be greater than 40 but less than 1/3 of the strength of Legislative Assembly. The only exception to this is J&K which has 36 seats in its Legislative Council.

Why the Question?

We expect the students to focus more on the static portion of the syllabus which is in news. So, we have framed this question keeping that in mind.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

If a student sees the statements I, II and finds them correct, it becomes easy to eliminate the third one, as it contradicts the above two. So, we expect you to arrive at the answer by elimination.

Brent Crude is called as ‘Sweet Crude’ due to its less Sulphur content and is found in North Sea. Oman and Dubai Crude are called as ‘Sour Crude’ due to more Sulphur content.

Why the Question?

We are covering our static syllabus with current affairs and this is always preferable seeing the recent trends of UPSC.

Source Name : The Hindu

Explanation :

This model is generally used for the renewable source of energy like Solar, Wind, etc. as in case of ‘solar roof top’ we can supply the excess power to the grid. This model helps the government in achieving its Target for the renewable energy.

Source Name : PIB​

Explanation :

SECI does not look after solar energy only but it does look after wind, geothermal, etc. Keeping this in mind, it has been renamed as Renewable Energy Corporation of India. It is a not for profit organisation and works under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Why the Question?

Some important implementing agencies shall be kept in mind, e.g. EESL, REC, etc. as in UPSC 2017, 2018 they have asked questions related to these agencies.

Source Name : PIB, Livemint

Explanation :

Bondi Bond is world’s first public bond created and managed using only Blockchain and issued by World Bank. This is named after the world famous Bondi beach in Sydney. Bondi stands for Blockchain Operated New Debt Instrument. This move by World Bank is significant as it marks a shift towards the use and understanding of the possibilities of Blockchain systems.

Source Name : Livemint