Indian Panorama (UPSC) Part-III

Total Questions: 50

41. Among the following Presidents of India, who was also the Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement for some period? [2009]

(a) Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(b) Varahagiri Venkatagiri
(c) Giani Zail Singh
(d) Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma

Correct Answer: (c) Giani Zail Singh

Solution:Giani Zail Singh was the 7th president of India. He also became 9th Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement.
• The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
• It has been established based on the principles agreed at the Asia-Africa Conference held in Bandung (Indonesia) in 1955, (known as the “Ten Principles of Bandung”).
• It was founded in 1961, in Belgrade, Serbia, as a movement opposed to the East-West ideological confrontation of the Cold War.
• Founding fathers of the movement: Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia, and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia.
• Objective of NAM: To ensure the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries in their struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign subjugation.
• At present, the NAM consists of 120 member countries that account for about 60% of the United Nations’ overall membership.
• NAM is without any formal administrative structures and without a budget

42. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: [2009]

Famous Person	Well-known for
A. Mandakini Amte	1. Theatre direction
B. Neelam Mansingh Chowdhary	2. Social service and community leadership
C. Romila Thapar	3. Dance
D. Vanashree Rao	4. History writing

Option	A	B	C	D
(a)	2	1	4	3
(b)	2	4	1	3
(c)	3	1	4	2
(d)	3	4	1	2

Correct Answer: (a)

Solution:

Person	Field
(A) Mandakini Amte	Social service and community leadership
(B) Neelam Mansingh Chowdhary	Theatre direction
(C) Romila Thapar	History writing
(D) Vanashree Rao	Dance

43. With reference to Stree Shakti Puraskar, for which one of the following is "Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award" given [2009]

(a) Administrative skills
(b) Achievements in Scientific Research
(c) Achievements in Sports and Games
(d) Courage and valour

Correct Answer: (a) Administrative skills

Solution:Nari Shakti Puraskar (formerly Stree Shakti Puraskar), is India's highest civilian award for recognising the achievements and contributions of women. Puraskar is given in six institutional categories and two categories for individual women.

(1) Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award,

(2) Kannagi Devi Award,

(3) Mata Jijabai Award,

(4) Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award,

(5) Rani Lakshmi Bai Award,

(6) Rani Rudramma Devi Awards

Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award for best private sector organization or public sector undertaking in promoting the well-being and welfare of women.

44. In which State is the Buddhist site Tabo Monastery located? [2009]

(a) Arunachal Pradesh
(b) Himachal Pradesh
(c) Sikkim
(d) Uttrakhand

Correct Answer: (b) Himachal Pradesh

Solution:Tabo Monastery is located in the Tago village of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
Tabo Monastery is the oldest earthen Buddhist monastery in the Himalayan region to have survived unchanged and comparatively well intact. It was established over 1,000 years ago. Today, the old temple site is made up of nine temples and several stupas, in addition to cave shrines along the mountain slope.

45. Consider the following pairs: [2009]

Tradition	State
1. Gatka, a traditional martial art	Kerala
2. Madhubani, a traditional painting	Bihar
3. Singhey Khababs Sindhu Darshan Festival	Jammu & Kashmir

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

Solution:Gatka is an Indian martial arts focused primarily on weapons, especially swords and stick fighting. Gatka martial artists consider this ancient martial arts style as the "mother of all martial arts". This martial arts was developed in Punjab, India. It is often associated with Punjabi or Sikh forms of combat. Singhey Khababs Sindhu Darshan Festivalis a tourist's promotional festival in Leh, Ladakh.

46. Among the following, who are the Agaria community? [2009]

(a) A traditional toddy tappers community of Andhra Pradesh
(b) A traditional fishing community of Maharashtra
(c) A traditional silk- weaving community of Karnataka
(d) A traditional salt pan workers community of Gujarat

Correct Answer: (d) A traditional salt pan workers community of Gujarat

Solution:The Agaria are Muslim community found in Gujarat. They are salt pan workers. The Agariya community has been living here for centuries, knowing just one means of living, salt producing. Throughout their lives, members of the Agariya community work tirelessly in the fields of the Rann of Kutch.

47. Consider the following: [2012-I]

1. Hotels and restaurants

2. Motor transport undertakings

3. Newspaper establishments

4. Private medical institutions

The employees of which of the above can have the 'Social Security' coverage under Employees' State Insurance Scheme?

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Correct Answer: (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Solution:The Employees' State Insurance Scheme is an integrated measure of Social Insurance embodied in the Employees' State Insurance Act and it is designed to accomplish the task of protecting 'employees' as defined in the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 against the impact of incidences of sickness, maternity, disablement and death due to employment injury and to provide medical care to insured persons and their families. The ESI Scheme applies to factories and other establishment's viz. Road Transport, Hotels, Restaurants, Cinemas, Newspaper, Shops, and Educational/Medical Institutions wherein 10 or more persons are employed.

48. How do you distinguish between Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dances? [2012-II]

1. Dancers occasionally speaking dialogues is found in Kuchipudi dance but not in Bharatanatyam.

2. Dancing on the brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is a feature of Bharatanatyam but Kuchipudi dance does not have such a form of movements.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (a) 1 only

Solution:Dancing on the brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is a feature of Kuchipudi but Bharatanatyam dance does not have such a form of movements.

Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu)
• The Abhinaya Darpana by Nandikesvara is one of the main sources of textual material for the study of the technique and grammar of body movement in Bharatanatyam Dance.
• Bharatanatyam dance is known to be ekaharya, where one dancer takes on many roles in a single performance.
• The dance involves transitional movements of leg, hip and arm. Expressive eye movements and hand gestures are used to convey emotions.
• The accompanying orchestra consists of a vocalist, a mridangam player, violinist or veena player, a flautist and a cymbal player. The person who conducts the dance recitation is the Nattuvanar.
• In its usual form the dance is generally broken into seven main parts – Alarippu, Jatiswaran, Shabda, Varna, Pada, Thillana and Sloka.
Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh)
• Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh which has a very long tradition of dance-drama. It was known under the generic name of Yakshagaana.
• In 17th century Kuchipudi style of Yakshagaana was conceived by Siddhendra Yogi. He was steeped in the literary Yakshagaana tradition being guided by his guru Teerthanarayana Yogi who composed the Krishna-Leelatarangini, a kaavya in Sanskrit.
• It is performed as dance drama i.e. performance in groups and also as solo items.
• Costumes, ornaments and jewellery occupy an important place.
• The solo items are Manduka Shabdam (story of frog maiden), Balagopala Taranga (dance on the edges of brass plate with a pitcher full of water on head) and Tala Chitra Nritya (drawing pictures with dancing toes).
• Yamini Krishnamurthy and Raja Reddy are prominent dancers

49. Consider the following: [2012-I]

1. Black-necked crane

2. Cheetah

3. Flying squirrel

4. Snow leopard

Which of the above are naturally found in India?

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Correct Answer: (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

Solution:Cheetah is not naturally found in India. In 2022, as a part of Project Cheetah, cheetahs flown in from Namibia and South Africa were introduced to Kuno National Park in India

50. Consider the following pairs: [2013-I]

Tribe	State
1. Limboo (Limbu)	Sikkim
2. Karbi	Himachal Pradesh
3. Dongaria Kondh	Odisha
4. Bonda	Tamil Nadu

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Correct Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Solution:

Limbu tribe is from Sikkim and Dongaria Kondh tribe is from Odisha (Karbi is from Assam and Bonda is in Odisha).

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, a tribe is a collection of families bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, and occupying or professing to occupy a common territory. India is known as a Melting pot of tribes and races.

After Africa, India has the second largest concentration of tribal population in the world. As per the 2011 Census, the tribal population constitutes about 8.9% of the total population in India.