UPSC 2021 Geography PYQs with Answers

World Test Championship finalists were decided by percentage of points won after COVID-related changes, not simply number of matches won. New Zealand was not ranked ahead of England merely because it won more matches.

The Tokyo 2020 motto was not A New World. New sports/events included sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding, karate and baseball/softball, so only statement 2 is correct.

Tiger Woods was the first Laureus World Sportsman of the Year winner, and Roger Federer has received Laureus awards the maximum number of times. Formula One players have not received it the most.

Hyderabad was recognized as a Tree City of the World by the Arbor Day Foundation and FAO, not UNCDF. The reason concerning its commitment to urban forests is correct, so Statement 1 is wrong but Statement 2 is correct.

India has single citizenship and one domicile in the constitutional sense. Naturalized citizens can hold high office except where specific constitutional qualifications differ, and citizenship can be terminated/deprived under law.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry for implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Parole is not an absolute right even if a prisoner makes a case; it is granted under rules/discretion. States have their own parole/release rules.

Judicial custody means custody under the magistrate/court, usually in jail, not police station. Police interrogation during judicial custody needs court permission.

Adenoviruses have double-stranded DNA, while retroviruses have RNA genomes, so statement 1 is wrong. Adenoviruses can cause common cold, and HIV/AIDS is caused by a retrovirus.

Mitochondrial replacement therapy can prevent maternal transmission before/around IVF, and mitochondrial DNA is inherited almost entirely from the mother.

Recombinant vector vaccines are developed using genetic engineering, and vectors can be viruses or bacteria engineered to carry antigenic genetic material.

Rivers and lakes hold much less water than groundwater, so statement 1 is wrong. Polar ice caps and glaciers contain more water than groundwater.

Climate-Smart Villages in India are part of CCAFS; CCAFS operates under CGIAR, headquartered in France; and ICRISAT is a CGIAR research centre. All three are correct.

Trade winds pile warm water toward western tropical ocean basins, making western sections warmer. In temperate latitudes, westerlies push warm water/effects toward eastern ocean margins, making eastern sections warmer.

Sugarcane is a highly water-intensive crop and is the least water-efficient among the listed options.

Nagavali and Vamsadhara rise in the Eastern Ghats. Brahmani and Subarnarekha originate in the Chota Nagpur region.

Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are saline lakes/salt lake areas in India.

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO, not UNICEF. The demand for Bangla as a state/national language was raised in Pakistan's Constituent Assembly.

Francis Xavier was a founding Jesuit and his feast is celebrated annually in Goa. He died near China, not in Goa, though his relics are in Goa.

At Madanapalle, Rabindranath Tagore translated Jana Gana Mana from Bengali into English.

The New York Declaration on Forests was endorsed at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, set global forest-loss timelines, and was endorsed by governments, companies and indigenous/community groups. It is voluntary, not legally binding, and India was not an inception signatory.

Cyanobacteria and diatoms are photosynthetic primary producers in ocean food chains. Copepods and foraminifera are consumers/protists, not primary producers in this context.

R2 Code of Practices is a certification/standard for responsible recycling practices in the electronics recycling industry.