Year 2023

Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.

Explain the role of geographical factors towards the development of Ancient India. (10 marks, 150 words)

"Constitutionally guaranteed judicial independence is a prerequisite of democracy." Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)

Faster economic growth requires increased share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, particularly of MSMEs. Comment on the present policies of the government in this regard.

What do you understand by 'moral integrity' and 'professional efficiency' in the context of corporate governance in India? Illustrate with suitable examples.

Write notes on the following in about 150 words each:

(a) Scope and relevance of Social and Cultural Anthropology (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) Cultural impact of Iron Age (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) Race and Ethnicity (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) Customary laws and Environmental conservation (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) Gene expression (10 marks, 150 words)

Write short notes on the following in about 150 words each :

(a) Material culture and archaeology (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) Interface between Purushartha and Ashrama (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) Jajmani system : continuity and change (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) Prehistoric rock arts from Uttarakhand (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) Religious pluralism and social solidarity (10 marks, 150 words)

Answer the following in about 150 words each:

(a) What is “Geostrophic Wind”? Explain the relationship between barometric slope and air circulation. (10 marks, about 150 words)

(b) What is ocean ranching? How are aqua-cowboys related to such activities? (10 marks, about 150 words)

(c) Explain the natural processes of soil enrichment and its impact on food production. (10 marks, about 150 words)

(d) How is ‘Deep Ecology’ as a concept different from ‘Shallow Ecology’? Explain. (10 marks, about 150 words)

(e) What are the environmental implications of economic geology? Discuss. (10 marks, about 150 words)

(a) On the outline map of India provided to you, mark the location of all of the following. Write in your QCA Booklet the significance of these locations, whether physical/commercial/economic/ecological/environmental/cultural, in not more than 30 words for each entry : (20 marks)

(i) Nathula

(ii) Hutti

(iii) Ross Island

(iv) Moreh

(v) Ramappa

(vi) Namdapha National Park

(vii) Sela Tunnel

(viii) Ennore Port

(ix) Ramagundam

(x) Betwa River

(b) Describe the origin, distribution and economic significance of Gondwana system of rocks in India. (10 marks)

(c) Examine the role of Indian Earth Observation Satellite Technology in enhancing weather forecasting and disaster management. (10 marks)

(d) Discuss the impact of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 on forest conservation in India. (10 marks)

Identify the following places marked on the map supplied to you and write a short note of about 30 words on each of them in your Question-cum-Answer Booklet. Locational hints for each of the places marked on the map are given below seriatim: (50 marks, 30 words each)

(i) Neolithic site

(ii) Site of Mother and Child Terracotta Figure

(iii) Hoard of Gupta Coin

(iv) Site of Botanical remains

(v) Harappan site with mud-brick platform

(vi) Mauryan reservoir site

(vii) Capital of Maitraka dynasty

(viii) Dockyard

(ix) Rock shelter

(x) Stone axe factory

(xi) Satavahana inscription site

(xii) Minor rock inscription of Asoka

(xiii) Buddhist Stupa

(xiv) Mesolithic site

(xv) Iron smelting workshop

(xvi) Megalithic site

(xvii) Temple site dedicated to Surya

(xviii) Roman factory site

(xix) Site of Muvar Koil (Temple of Three)

(xx) Megalith stone site

Critically examine the following statements in about 150 words each:

(a) “Colonialism had a twisted logic of its own for commercialization. It emerges on analysis to have been often an artificial and forced process.” (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) “After 1857, “the peasants emerged as the main force in agrarian movements.”” (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) “Awakened political consciousness of Indian masses, bound with dishonourable and cowardly insults of the British led to the movement of Non-Cooperation.”” (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) “When Gandhiji launched the Civil Disobedience Movement he was “desperately in search of an effective formula.”” (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) “If abdication of British responsibility at the time of transfer of power was callous, the speed with which it was done made it worse.”” (10 marks, 150 words)

Write short answers to the following in about 150 words each: (10 marks each, 150 words each)

(a) “Precepts without concepts are blind and concepts without precepts are empty.” In the light of this statement discuss how Kant reconciles rationalism with empiricism. (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) “History is a process of dialectical change.” In the light of this statement discuss Hegel’s approach in understanding history. (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) “That thing is said to be free which exists solely from the necessity of its own nature, and is determined to action by itself alone.” Discuss Spinoza’s views on freedom and determinism in the light of the above statement. (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) How does Kierkegaard argue against Hegel’s idea of universal spirit in favour of the individual as the essence of spirit ? Critically discuss. (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) What are the main arguments offered by Kant to prove that apriori synthetic judgements are possible ? Discuss with examples. (10 marks, 150 words)

Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: (10x5=50)

(a) What is meant by justice as fairness ? Explain Rawls' theory of justice. (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) Critically examine the anarchist's view that "all States always and everywhere are illegitimate and unjust." (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) Do you agree that the rights concerning land and property have empowered women? Discuss. (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) Critically examine the challenges faced by a multicultural society with reference to India. (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) If monarchs are above politics, can monarchy be a systematic form of government? Discuss. (10 marks, 150 words)

Comment on the following in about 150 words each: (10 marks, 150 words)

(a) Normative approach in Political Science

(b) Multicultural perspective on rights

(c) State of Nature as State of War (Hobbes)

(d) Foucault's concept of power

(e) Decline of political theory

Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

(a) What are the crucial functions of empirical political theory in Comparative Politics? (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) What are the difficulties faced by a political theorist in comparing the States? (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) How does democratic politics construct citizenship? (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) What is the structure and functions of International Court of Justice? (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) Discuss the structure and functions of UN Security Council. (10 marks, 150 words)

Answer the following in about 150 words each : (10x5=50)

(a) Public administration horizons have been expanding to cater to the complex needs of the citizens in the globalized era. Explain.

(b) Efficiency, in the specialized sense, is an organization's capacity to offer effective inducements in sufficient quantity to maintain the equilibrium of the system. Analyze.

(c) "The process of decisions.....is largely technique of narrowing choices." Explain.

(d) "The judiciary is playing a more positive role in policy formulation, not just in limiting government actions, but also in mandating them." Comment.

(e) "Citizen Charter's focus is on empowering citizens concerning public service delivery." Analyze.

Answer the following in about 150 words each (10x5=50 marks)

(a) “Kautilya’s Arthashastra is a theoretical work on the State and Statecraft.” Comment. (10 marks)

(b) Critics, sometimes, argue that bureaucracy is an impediment to a nation’s development. Analyse. (10 marks)

(c) The Ninety-First Constitutional Amendment Act successfully right-sized the Council of Ministers both at Union and State levels. Comment. (10 marks)

(d) Is it true that the Finance Commission has been lending financial strength to the local bodies in India? Argue in favour of your response. (10 marks)

(e) “Parliamentary democracy in India envisages elected head as the real executive of a State.” Discuss. (10 marks)

Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: (10x5=50)

(a) What is the distinctiveness of the feminist method of social research? Comment. (150 words)

(b) Discuss the relationship between sociology and political science. (150 words)

(c) How does the dramaturgical perspective enable our understanding of everyday life? (150 words)

(d) Is reference group theory a universally applicable model? Elucidate. (150 words)

(e) Do you think that the boundary line between ethnicity and race is blurred? Justify your answer. (150 words)

Write short answers, with a sociological perspective, on the following questions in about 150 words each: (10 marks, 150 words each)

(a) Highlight the significant features of A.R. Desai's 'Dialectical Perspective' to study Indian Society. (10 marks)

(b) "The decade of 1950s was the golden period of village studies in Indian Sociology." Explain the statement. (10 marks)

(c) Analyse the differences between the attributional and interactional approach in studying the caste system. (10 marks)

(d) Are Tradition and Modernity antithetical to each other? Comment. (10 marks)

(e) Discuss the main features of Land Reforms in post-independence India. (10 marks)

In India, the segregation of municipal waste at source is rare. Recycling is mostly with the informal sector. More than three-fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation, which leaves very little for processing/resource recovery and disposal. Where does waste-to-energy fit into all this? Ideally it fits in the chain after segregation (between wet waste and rest), collection, recycling, and before getting to the landfill. Which technology is most appropriate in converting waste to energy depends on what is in the waste (that is biodegradable versus non-biodegradable component) and its calorific value. The biodegradable component of India's municipal solid waste is a little over 50 per cent, and biomethanation offers a major solution for processing this.

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Collection, processing and segregation of municipal waste should be with government agencies.

2. Resource recovery and recycling require technological inputs that can be best handled by private sector enterprises.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(C) Both 1 and 2

(D) Neither 1 nor 2

Consider the following statements:

1. Jhelum River passes through Wular Lake.

2. Krishna River directly feeds Kolleru Lake

3. Meandering of Gandak River formed Kanwar Lake.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(A) Only one

(B) Only two

(C) All three

(D) None