UPSC Prelims 2027 Practice MCQs – 15 UPSC Level Questions | UPSCJOURNAL

UPSC Prelims 2027 Practice

Set 3 • 15 Questions • GS Paper I

Concepts • Elimination • Application

POLITY

Q1. With reference to parliamentary committees in India, consider the following statements:

1. A person who is not a member of Parliament cannot be appointed as a member of a Parliamentary Committee.
2. Ministers are not eligible to become members of the Public Accounts Committee.
3. The Estimates Committee consists only of members of the Lok Sabha.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: B. 1, 2 and 3

Parliamentary committees are composed of members of Parliament. Ministers cannot be elected to the Public Accounts Committee. The Estimates Committee has 30 members, all drawn from the Lok Sabha.

Elimination clue: Remember the contrast: PAC has members from both Houses; Estimates Committee is Lok Sabha-only.

POLITY

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the Directive Principles of State Policy:

1. They can guide courts while interpreting constitutional and statutory provisions.
2. They are expressly declared non-enforceable by any court.
3. A law implementing any Directive Principle automatically becomes immune from challenge under all Fundamental Rights.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Article 37 makes DPSPs non-justiciable but fundamental in governance. Courts may use them as interpretive aids. There is no blanket immunity from all Fundamental Rights merely because legislation seeks to implement a DPSP.

Elimination clue: Constitutional statements containing “automatically” and “all Fundamental Rights” deserve close scrutiny.

ECONOMY

Q3. Suppose the Reserve Bank of India purchases foreign currency in the foreign-exchange market and does not sterilise the intervention. Other things remaining unchanged, which of the following is the most likely immediate effect?

Correct Answer: C

When RBI purchases foreign currency, it generally pays domestic currency in exchange. Its foreign assets rise and, without sterilisation, rupee liquidity is injected into the financial system.

Elimination clue: Follow both sides of the transaction: RBI receives foreign currency and releases rupees.

ECONOMY

Q4. Consider the following situations:

1. A domestic company imports machinery from another country.
2. A foreign investor purchases shares of an Indian company.
3. An Indian resident purchases a foreign government bond.
4. An Indian software company exports services.

How many of the above directly involve the financial account of India's Balance of Payments?

Correct Answer: C. Only two

Transactions 2 and 3 involve financial assets and enter the financial account. Merchandise imports and software-service exports are current-account transactions.

Elimination clue: Goods/services → current account; acquisition of financial assets/liabilities → financial account.

GEOGRAPHY

Q5. Consider the following conditions:

1. Strong temperature contrast between land and ocean
2. Seasonal migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone
3. Heating of the Tibetan Plateau
4. Complete absence of upper-atmospheric circulation

How many of the above can contribute to the development or behaviour of the Indian summer monsoon?

Correct Answer: B. Only three

Land-sea thermal contrast, ITCZ migration and Tibetan Plateau heating are important elements of monsoon dynamics. Upper-atmospheric circulation is not absent; jet streams and other circulation features influence the monsoon.

Elimination clue: Statement 4 is the trap. Monsoon circulation has important upper-tropospheric components.

GEOGRAPHY • MAP

Q6. Consider the following pairs:

1. Lake Titicaca — Andes
2. Lake Baikal — East African Rift Valley
3. Dead Sea — Jordan Rift Valley
4. Lake Victoria — East Africa

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Correct Answer: C. Only three

Titicaca lies in the Andes, the Dead Sea occupies the Jordan Rift system and Victoria is in East Africa. Baikal is in Siberia and is associated with the Baikal Rift Zone, not the East African Rift.

Elimination clue: “Rift lake” does not automatically mean “East African Rift”.

ENVIRONMENT

Q7. Consider the following statements about peatlands:

1. They can store large quantities of carbon in partially decomposed organic matter.
2. Draining peatlands may increase greenhouse-gas emissions.
3. Peat formation generally requires rapid and complete aerobic decomposition of plant material.
4. Peatlands can occur outside the tropical climatic zone.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: B. 1, 2 and 4 only

Waterlogged, oxygen-poor conditions slow decomposition and allow organic carbon to accumulate as peat. Drainage exposes this material to oxidation. Peatlands occur in tropical, temperate and boreal regions.

Elimination clue: Peat exists because decomposition is incomplete—not rapid and complete.

ENVIRONMENT

Q8. With reference to eutrophication of freshwater bodies, consider the following statements:

1. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus inputs may stimulate algal growth.
2. Decomposition of excessive biomass can reduce dissolved oxygen.
3. Eutrophication necessarily increases the diversity of oxygen-sensitive aquatic organisms.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Nutrient enrichment can trigger algal blooms. When biomass decomposes, microbial respiration consumes oxygen and may create hypoxic conditions, harming oxygen-sensitive species.

Elimination clue: Nutrient enrichment can increase productivity while reducing ecological quality and diversity.

AGRICULTURE

Q9. Consider the following practices:

1. Growing legumes in crop rotations
2. Incorporating crop residues into soil
3. Maintaining continuous bare fallow
4. Applying organic manure

How many of the above can potentially contribute to maintaining or improving soil fertility?

Correct Answer: D. Only three

Legume rotations can contribute biologically fixed nitrogen; crop residues and organic manure add organic matter and nutrients. Continuous bare fallow generally exposes soil to degradation and does not itself replenish fertility.

Elimination clue: Ask which practice continuously removes protective vegetation without adding nutrients or organic matter.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Q10. With reference to semiconductor devices, consider the following statements:

1. Doping can alter the electrical conductivity of a semiconductor.
2. In an n-type semiconductor, electrons are the majority charge carriers.
3. Semiconductor conductivity invariably decreases when temperature rises.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: B. 1 and 2 only

Doping introduces controlled impurities that modify carrier concentration. Electrons dominate conduction in n-type material. Unlike ordinary metals, semiconductor conductivity can increase with temperature because additional charge carriers become available.

Elimination clue: Do not apply the temperature-resistance behaviour of metals mechanically to semiconductors.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Q11. Consider the following statements regarding gravitational waves:

1. They are ripples in spacetime predicted by General Relativity.
2. Accelerating masses can generate gravitational waves under suitable conditions.
3. Their detection necessarily requires electromagnetic radiation from the same astronomical event.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: C. 1 and 2 only

Gravitational waves are propagating distortions of spacetime. They can be detected directly through their effect on spacetime without requiring an electromagnetic counterpart.

Elimination clue: Multi-messenger astronomy is useful, but an electromagnetic counterpart is not a prerequisite for gravitational-wave detection.

MODERN HISTORY

Q12. Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Formation of the Indian National Congress
2. Formation of the Indian National Association
3. Formation of the Muslim League
4. Surat Split

Correct Answer: A. 2–1–3–4

Indian National Association was founded in 1876, INC in 1885, Muslim League in 1906 and the Surat Split occurred in 1907.

Elimination clue: Remember the tight sequence 1905 Bengal partition → 1906 Muslim League → 1907 Surat Split.

ANCIENT INDIA

Q13. Consider the following pairs:

1. Uttarapatha — Important northern trade route
2. Dakshinapatha — Route connecting northern regions with the Deccan
3. Tamralipti — Important inland Himalayan centre
4. Bharukachchha — Ancient port on India's western coast

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Correct Answer: B. Only three

Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha were major routes, while Bharukachchha/Barygaza was a western port. Tamralipti was an important eastern maritime port, not a Himalayan inland centre.

Elimination clue: Tamralipti is the key trap—associate it with eastern maritime commerce.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Q14. Consider the following pairs:

1. International Court of Justice — Contentious cases between States
2. International Criminal Court — Criminal responsibility of individuals
3. Permanent Court of Arbitration — An organ of the United Nations
4. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea — Disputes relating to the law of the sea

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Correct Answer: C. Only three

Pairs 1, 2 and 4 are correct. The Permanent Court of Arbitration is an intergovernmental organisation established independently of the United Nations system; it is not a UN organ.

Elimination clue: Do not assume that every major international tribunal based at The Hague belongs to the UN.

GOVERNANCE

Q15. With reference to regulatory bodies in India, consider the following statements:

1. A regulatory body may exercise rule-making as well as adjudicatory functions if authorised by law.
2. Every regulatory body in India derives its existence directly from the Constitution.
3. Decisions of statutory regulators can, where the relevant law provides, be subject to appellate or judicial review.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: A. 1 and 3 only

Many regulators are created by statutes rather than directly by the Constitution. Depending on their enabling legislation, they may perform regulatory, quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, while their decisions remain subject to prescribed appellate or judicial mechanisms.

Elimination clue: “Every regulatory body is constitutional” is an overgeneralisation. SEBI and TRAI are obvious statutory counterexamples.