40. Which organisation releases the Global Competitiveness Report?
[SSC CHSL (4 March, Shift 3) — 2018]
(A) World Trade Organization
(B) World Economic Forum
(C) SAARC
(D) European Union
Answer: (B) World Economic Forum
Explanation: The World Economic Forum published the Global Competitiveness Report, ranking economies through productivity-related institutional and economic indicators. The WTO administers trade rules, while SAARC is a South Asian regional forum; neither is the publisher of this report.
39. In the conventional Indian public-finance context, deficit financing means obtaining funds from which institution?
[SSC CHSL (4 March, Shift 1) — 2018]
(A) International Monetary Fund
(B) Ministry of Finance
(C) Reserve Bank of India
(D) World Trade Organization
Answer: (C) Reserve Bank of India
Explanation: Deficit financing traditionally referred to financing a government deficit through central-bank credit or creation of high-powered money. In modern fiscal accounting, government deficits can also be financed by market borrowing. The question uses the older textbook sense.
38. Which listed state had the highest Scheduled Tribe proportion in Census 2011?
[CGPSC Civil Service Preliminary Examination — 2018]
(A) Mizoram
(B) Gujarat
(C) Madhya Pradesh
(D) Maharashtra
Answer: (A) Mizoram
Explanation: Mizoram had an extremely high Scheduled Tribe share of its population, far above Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra. The highest percentage is not the same as the greatest absolute number of tribal residents, which favours larger states.
37. India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 chiefly to meet obligations under which international organisation?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, GS Paper I — 2018]
(A) International Labour Organization
(B) International Monetary Fund
(C) UNCTAD
(D) World Trade Organization
Answer: (D) World Trade Organization
Explanation: Geographical indications protect place-linked product names and qualities. India’s 1999 legislation supported compliance with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, which obliges members to provide legal protection for geographical indications.
36. Before becoming RBI Governor in 2016, what position did Urjit Patel hold?
[NDA General Ability Test (23 April) — 2017]
(A) IMF Chief Economist
(B) RBI Deputy Governor
(C) Chief Economic Adviser
(D) Harvard economics professor
Answer: (B) RBI Deputy Governor
Explanation: Urjit Patel served as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India before assuming the governorship in September 2016. He had earlier worked with the IMF, but that did not make him the Fund’s Chief Economist immediately before appointment.
35. Approximately what proportion of India’s population was younger than 35 years?
[WBCS Executive Preliminary Examination — 2017]
(A) 50%
(B) 55%
(C) 60%
(D) 65%
Answer: (D) 65%
Explanation: India has long had a comparatively young demographic profile, with nearly two-thirds of people below 35 in the period referenced by this question. Youthful age structure offers an opportunity for a demographic dividend when adequate schooling and employment exist.
34. Regarding the National IPR Policy:
(1) it reiterates commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and TRIPS;
(2) the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion was its nodal agency.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, GS Paper I — 2017]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Explanation: The 2016 National Intellectual Property Rights Policy reaffirmed India’s international intellectual-property commitments and identified the then Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion as its nodal body. WTO-linked TRIPS rules frame protection of patents, trademarks, copyrights and other rights.
33. Which institution publishes the Ease of Doing Business Index?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, GS Paper I — 2016]
(A) OECD
(B) World Economic Forum
(C) World Bank
(D) World Trade Organization
Answer: (C) World Bank
Explanation: The World Bank published the Doing Business rankings, which measured regulatory conditions affecting firms. The project was later discontinued, so the answer refers to the report as it existed in the 2016 examination year, not a current ongoing series.
32. Concerning the New Development Bank:
(1) it was established by APEC;
(2) its headquarters are in Shanghai.
Which is correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, GS Paper I — 2016]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (B) 2 only
Explanation: The BRICS economies founded the New Development Bank, not the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Its headquarters are in Shanghai. The bank finances infrastructure and sustainable-development activities, providing an additional source of multilateral capital for emerging economies.
31. What does the term “import cover” mean?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, GS Paper I — 2016]
(A) Value of imports divided by GDP
(B) Annual value of imports
(C) Exports divided by imports
(D) Months of imports payable from official foreign-exchange reserves
Answer: (D) Months of imports payable from official foreign-exchange reserves
Explanation: Import cover measures how many months of a country’s imports could be funded by its available foreign-exchange reserves. It is calculated by dividing reserve assets by average monthly import expenditure and is a common indicator of external financial resilience.
