UPSC 2018 Science & Technology PYQs with Answers

Plant diseases can spread through birds, dust, rain splash and wind, depending on the pathogen and crop system.

Catalonia is in Spain and Mindanao is in the Philippines. Crimea is associated with Ukraine/Russia, not Hungary, and Oromia is in Ethiopia, not Nigeria.

Calcutta Madarsa was founded by Warren Hastings. Sanskrit College at Benaras was founded by Jonathan Duncan, not William Jones, and Fort William College by Lord Wellesley, not Arthur Wellesley.

The Charter Act of 1813, the General Committee of Public Instruction and the Orientalist-Anglicist controversy all contributed to the eventual introduction/spread of English education policy in India.

Hind Mazdoor Sabha was founded in 1948 by leaders including Ashok Mehta, T. S. Ramanujam and G. G. Mehta.

Champaran Satyagraha was significant because it linked peasant grievances/unrest with the broader Indian national movement under Gandhi's leadership.

The described network of smart appliances, sensors, car and home devices communicating and acting automatically is the Internet of Things.

General relativity predicts that gravity affects light, matter curves spacetime, and cosmological solutions allow an expanding universe. All three are associated with Einsteinian relativity.

WannaCry, Petya and EternalBlue are associated with malware/exploits and major cyber attacks.

Earth's magnetic field has reversed many times, and living organisms altered the early atmosphere, especially by oxygenic photosynthesis. The early atmosphere did not have 54% oxygen and no carbon dioxide.

GPS supports location/timing in mobile phones, time synchronization in banking/financial networks, and timing/control functions in power grids. All three areas can use GPS technology.

Puthukkuli shawls are associated with the Toda community of Tamil Nadu. Sujni embroidery is linked to Bihar, and Uppada Jamdani saris to Andhra Pradesh, not the listed States.

After the Santhal uprising, Santhal Parganas were created and legal protections restricted transfer of Santhal land to non-Santhals.

Rule of law implies limitation of arbitrary power, equality before law, and protection of liberty/civil rights. It does not mean people's responsibility to Government as a main feature.

THAAD is an American anti-ballistic missile defence system designed to intercept missiles at high altitude.

Bani Thani is the iconic painting of the Kishangarh school of Rajasthani painting.

Aleppo is in Syria and Mazar-i-Sharif is in Afghanistan. Kirkuk is in Iraq, and Mosul is also in Iraq, not Yemen/Palestine.

Digital India aims to provide digital infrastructure and connectivity, including broadband/internet access and Wi-Fi in public places. It does not specifically aim to create Indian internet companies like China or mandate foreign big-data centres as stated.

Yemen and South Sudan recently faced severe famine/acute malnutrition and starvation linked to war and conflict.

Lala Lajpat Rai wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shri Krishna, spent time in the United States, and was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly.