40. Consider the UN’s SDG monitoring process:
(1) The Secretary-General presents an annual SDG report drawing on official data.
(2) The Global Sustainable Development Report is produced once every quarter.
Which is correct?
[UPPSC PCS Prelims 2023, GS-I]
- A. Only statement 1
- B. Only statement 2
- C. Both
- D. Neither
Answer: A. Only statement 1
Explanation: The UN Secretary-General provides annual progress reports based on global and national indicator data. The Global Sustainable Development Report supports periodic high-level reviews, not a quarterly publication cycle. The claimed frequency therefore makes statement two incorrect.
39. What name is given to development that enlarges people’s choices and improves their lives?
[SSC CHSL, 15 Mar 2023, memory-based paper]
- A. Sustainable development
- B. Human development
- C. Regional development
- D. Sectoral development
Answer: B. Human development
Explanation: Human development focuses on enlarging people’s capabilities, freedoms and opportunities. Although sustainable development is related, human development specifically evaluates whether individuals can lead healthier, more knowledgeable and productive lives instead of treating rising output as an end in itself.
38. Which Madhya Pradesh city began a pioneering local SDG initiative with UN-Habitat in May 2023?
[SSC CHSL Tier-II, 02 Nov 2023, Shift 1]
- A. Ujjain
- B. Bhopal
- C. Indore
- D. Ratlam
Answer: B. Bhopal
Explanation: Bhopal adopted an initiative to localize the UN Sustainable Development Goals with support from UN-Habitat. Localization translates global targets into urban priorities and measurable municipal action involving services, resilience and inclusive planning.
37. In the passage, why is income poverty alone an incomplete measure of who is poor?
[UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT, 05 Jun 2022]
- A. It captures only one form of deprivation
- B. Other deprivations never relate to purchasing power
- C. Low income is always temporary
- D. Income affects choices only momentarily
Answer: A. It captures only one form of deprivation
Explanation: The passage treats well-being as broader than purchasing power. Social exclusion, missing opportunities and limited freedoms also damage life prospects. Counting only those who lack sufficient money can therefore overlook serious non-monetary disadvantages.
36. According to the passage, what is meant by “poverty of a life”?
[UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT, 05 Jun 2022]
- A. Deprivations arising from both low income and lack of genuine opportunities
- B. Only the condition of people in villages
- C. Only missed opportunities due to a single personal choice
- D. Exclusively permanent material deprivation
Answer: A. Deprivations arising from both low income and lack of genuine opportunities
Explanation: The passage argues that a person can be deprived not only by present resources but by limits on feasible ways of living. Social arrangements and personal circumstances restrict choice, so the broader concept of poverty includes capability deprivation.
35. Why does the passage question a poverty-counting method centred on purchasing power?
[UPSC CSE Prelims CSAT, 05 Jun 2022]
- A. It cannot distinguish rural and urban areas
- B. Every country follows the same threshold
- C. Poverty can only be measured by employment
- D. It overlooks deprivations beyond low income
Answer: D. It overlooks deprivations beyond low income
Explanation: An income-centred poverty measure asks whether a household can buy a minimum basket. The passage criticizes its narrowness, because lack of choices, resources and opportunities may persist even where simple expenditure thresholds do not reveal them.
34. Which poverty categories have been identified in UNDP’s development discussions?
[UPPSC Combined State Prelims, 12 Jun 2022]
- A. Income poverty alone
- B. Human poverty alone
- C. Both income and human poverty
- D. Neither
Answer: C. Both income and human poverty
Explanation: Income poverty concentrates on insufficient economic means, whereas human poverty concerns the deprivation of capabilities, opportunities and conditions for a dignified life. UNDP’s human-development perspective recognizes both, emphasizing that material resources alone do not describe well-being adequately.
33. Which researcher is well known for extensive empirical investigations of poverty in London?
[UPPSC Combined State Prelims, 12 Jun 2022]
- A. Henry Maine
- B. Henry George
- C. Kingsley Davis
- D. Charles Booth
Answer: D. Charles Booth
Explanation: Charles Booth investigated working-class livelihoods, occupation and deprivation in late nineteenth-century London. His systematic mapping and household studies are landmarks in empirical social research on poverty, long predating modern indices of multidimensional deprivation.
32. Which Indian poverty-alleviation programme among the choices began before 2000?
[RRB NTPC CBT-II, 15 Jun 2022, Shift 1]
- A. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
- B. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
- C. National Food for Work Programme
- D. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana
Answer: A. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
Explanation: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana started in April 1999 and focused on organizing poor rural households for self-employment. The other named programmes were introduced after 2000. The question tests programme chronology rather than the size of poverty reduction.
31. What HDI rank was attributed to India in the 2020 index in the cited examination?
[RRB Group D, 17 Aug 2022, Shift 2]
- A. 131st
- B. 161st
- C. 135th
- D. 128th
Answer: A. 131st
Explanation: The examination used the published figure of 131st associated with India’s 2020 HDI reporting context. HDI rankings are year-specific and can be revised in subsequent editions, so historical questions must be answered according to the period they cite.
