APSC 1998 PYQs – Complete Paper (100 MCQs)

1. Who among the following person was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998?

(a) Walter Kohn
(b) Jose Saramago
(c) David Trimble
(d) Daniel C. Sui

2. On Aug. 16, 1998 the U.S.A. struck Afghanistan with their Tomahawk cruise missiles. Their target was-

(a) Taliban militia
(b) Osama Bin Laden
(c) Communist militia
(d) Iranian build-up along the Afghan-Iran border

3. Which one of the following about the Lokpal Bill is not correct?

(a) It was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Prime Minister in November, 1998.
(b) It seeks to bring under the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act the Union Cabinet Ministers including the Prime Minister.
(c) The Bill has 32 clauses.
(d) A committee headed by the Vice President would recommend the name of a person for appointment as Lokpal chairperson by the President of India.

4. NATO was expanded on May 22, 1998, by admitting-

(a) Hungary, Czech and Slovak Republics.
(b) Turkey, Hungary and Czech Republics.
(c) Turkey, Serbia and Slovak Republics.
(d) Hungary, Poland and Czech Republics.

5. Which one of the following statements is not correct about the International Space Station?

(a) It came into reality in December, 1998.
(b) The Russian-built Zarya Module and the USA-built Unity module fitted together for the first time.
(c) It revolves round the earth at a height of about 1000 km.
(d) The Project seeks to join more than 100 space stations components.

6. The number of medals bagged by Jyotirmayee Sikdar in the 13th Asian held at Bangkok is-

(a) One gold and one silver
(b) One gold and two silver
(c) Two gold and one silver
(d) Two gold and two silver

7. The new Exim policy announced by the Commerce Ministry of India in April 1998 seeks an ambitious export growth of 20%. Which one is not of the salient features of the said policy?

(a) Speedy issue of advanced licensing.
(b) Relaxation of bank guarantee norms.
(c) Non relaxation of import curbs on listed items.
(d) Setting up of Anti-Dumping Directorate.

8. Malpa was in the news in August, 1998 because-

(a) Uranium was discovered here.
(b) A devastating earthquake destroyed many village around it.
(c) A devastating flood destroyed the village completely killing about 200 people.
(d) Heavy landslides killed more than 200 persons including some pilgrims.

9. Before Pokhran II phase of 5 nuclear tests by India on 11 May 1998 and thereafter, the N-tests conducted by P 5 (the permanent members of the UN Security Council) totalled-

(a) Over 1000
(b) Over 2000
(c) Under 700
(d) Under 500

10. The Euro seems to have thrown down a challenge to :

(a) The US dollar
(b) The Singapore dollar
(c) The Hong Kong dollar
(d) The Australian dollar

11. Which world leader commented as follows on Us-British air strikes in Iraq (“Operation Desert Fox”) : “This is a sad day for the UN and for the world”?

(a) Nelson Mandela
(b) Boris Yeltsin
(c) Jiang Zemin
(d) Kofi Annan

12. Which former Soviet Republic is moving towards “voluntary unification” with Russian even while retaining its national sovereignty?

(a) Belarus
(b) Ukraine
(c) Kazakhstan
(d) Uzbekistan

13. The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS was adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on :

(a) 10 December 1948
(b) 10 December 1945
(c) 10 December 1955
(d) 10 January 1946

14. The Olympics 2004 is to be held in-

(a) Capetown
(b) Tokyo
(c) Rome
(d) Sydney

15. Hong Kong came back into China’s fold after-

(a) 150 year
(b) 155 year
(c) 120 year
(d) 100 year

16. The latest regional economic bloc to be formed is-

(a) ASEAN
(b) COMESA
(c) APEC
(d) NAFTA

17. Bishnu Charan Hatiye, Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta shared the Nobel Peace Prize in-

(a) 1992
(b) 1994
(c) 1996
(d) 1997

18. To prevent the spreading of social cancer i.e. corruption CBI has been entrusted with the task of exposing the truth. In which year CBI Institutions was formed?

(a) 1995
(b) 1985
(c) 1963
(d) 1970

19. Recently four Indian scientist met unnatural death in a place of Antarctica. The place is meant for research and experimental purpose. It is-

(a) Indira Point
(b) Lake Priyadarshini
(c) Panganga
(d) Dakshin Gongotri

20. Which one of the following regions of Asia is experiencing the highest growth rate of population?

(a) South Asia
(b) South-East Asia
(c) Central Asia
(d) West Asia

21. The most important condition laid down by India for signing the CTBT has been stated as:

(a) India should be recognised as nuclear Power.
(b) India should be admitted as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
(c) India should be free to develop capacity for a minimum nuclear deterrence in the interests of her own national security.
(d) Pakistan should be declared a terrorist state.

22. In a recent written document to the Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan has recommended “technical liquidation” of the U.N. Peace Keeping Mission from:

(a) Lebanon
(b) Angola
(c) Cyprus
(d) El Salvador

23. The International year of the Ocean is-

(a) 1996
(b) 1997
(c) 1998
(d) 1999

24. India was represented in the G-15 Summit in Cairo by-

(a) Prime Minister A.B. Bajpayee
(b) Vice President Krishnakant
(c) Home Minister L.K. Advani
(d) Lok Sabha speaker G. M. C. Balayogi

25. The 1998 Pulitzer Prize was bagged by-

(a) New York Times
(b) Grand Fork
(c) Los Angles Time
(d) National Herald

26. The 16th World Football Tournament was inaugurated by the French President-

(a) Mitterend
(b) Clemencheau
(c) Jacques Chirac
(d) Talleyrand

27. In the 12th Lok Sabha election the number of seats bagged by Rashtriya Janata Dal was-

(a) 12
(b) 15
(c) 17
(d) 19

28. The author of the book ‘INDIA 2020’ is-

(a) APJ Abdul Kalam
(b) Arun Shourie
(c) Arundhati Roy
(d) Vikram Seth

29. One monthly Magazine published in Assam still costs 25 paise per issue. Its name is-

(a) ALOK
(b) ASOMA
(c) Prantik
(d) Yugasangkha

30. Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra is built as-

(a) a cultural achievement of the State Government.
(b) a cultural achievement of the Central government.
(c) a consequence of ‘Assam Accord’.
(d) a work based on voluntary contributions of the people of Assam.

31. The film ‘Elizabeth’ is directed by-

(a) Scarlet Pimpernel
(b) Piyush Jha
(c) Deepa Mehta
(d) Sekhar Kapoor

32. The dockyard of Indus Civilisation is found at-

(a) Lothal
(b) Kalibanga
(c) Ropar
(d) Rangpur

33. The animal known to the Indus Civilisation was-

(a) cow
(b) bull
(c) elephant
(d) horse

34. The ultimate source of the law, according to the Vedic thinkers is the-

(a) Monarch
(b) People
(c) Council of Ministers
(d) Dharma

35. Dipavamsa is written in-

(a) Sanskrit
(b) Pali
(c) Hindi
(d) None of these

36. The Empire of Chandragupta Maurya did not include-

(a) Magadha
(b) Punjab
(c) Kabul
(d) Kalinga

37. The normal form of Government during the Rig Vedic age was-

(a) Hereditary monarchy
(b) Direct democracy
(c) Oligarchy
(d) Merchant’s Guild

38. Ashoka did not ask for-

(a) reverence to all ascetics
(b) respect to parents
(c) to refrain from violence
(d) devotion to Buddhist sangha

39. The capital of Kaniska was-

(a) Sakal
(b) Jalandhar
(c) Purushapura
(d) Kaniskapura

40. Harshavardhan was defeated by a king of the-

(a) Suryas
(b) Maukheris
(c) Satavahanas
(d) Chalukyas

41. The Mughal Emperor who granted Dewānī to the East India Company was-

(a) Bahadur Shah-I
(b) Shah Alam I
(c) Shah Alam II
(d) Bahadur Shah II

42. In Bihar the Revolt of 1857 was led by-

(a) Nana Saheb
(b) Tantia Tope
(c) Khan Bahadur Khan
(d) Kunwar Singh

43. The Durand Line demarcates the borderline between India and-

(a) Nepal
(b) Bhutan
(c) Afghanistan
(d) China

44. Who said, “minority can not be allowed to veto the political progress of the majority”?

(a) Attlee
(b) A.V. Alexander
(c) Cripps
(d) President Wilson

45. Saugali Treaty was concluded between the British and-

(a) Gorkhas
(b) Afghans
(c) Pindaris
(d) Marathas

46. Who was not a member of the Cabinet Mission?

(a) Lord Pettick Lowrence
(b) Sir Stafford Cripps
(c) A. V. Alexander
(d) Lord Wavell

47. Who was not a martyr of the Quit India Movement-

(a) Kanaklata
(b) Bhogeswari Phukanani
(c) Kushal Konwar
(d) Maniram Dewan

48. The ‘Young Bengal’ was formed by-

(a) Louise Vivian Derojio
(b) Annie Besant
(c) Subhashchandra Bose
(d) Surendranath Banerjee

49. “Who did not belong the ‘Jonaki Yug’?

(a) Lakshminath Bezbaruah
(b) Chandrakumar Agarwalla
(c) Hemchandra Goswami
(d) Nidhiram Farwaria

50. United Arab Emirates is made up of-

(a) Five Sheikhdoms
(b) Six Sheikhdoms
(c) Seven Sheikhdoms
(d) Nine Sheikhdoms

51. Which one of the following pairs of countries and capitals is wrongly matched?

Country — Capital
(a) Belgium — Brussels
(b) Brazil — Rio de Janeiro
(c) North Korea — Pyong Yong
(d) Sudan — Omdurman

52. Which one of the following statements is not correct?

(a) Of all the African countries Nigeria has the highest population.
(b) The river Rio Grande is situated in North America.
(c) The only dependent territory in Europe is Gibraltar.
(d) California has temperate maritime climate.

53. Mauritius used for the original people of-

(a) Tasmania
(b) South Africa
(c) New Zealand
(d) Fiji

54. Most of the world’s wheat producing regions have-

(a) more than 1500 mm of rainfall
(b) less than 300 mm of rainfall
(c) very high rainfall
(d) less than 1000 mm rainfall

55. Identify the correct setting of islands in Japan-

(a) Hokkaido-Honshu-Kyushu-Shikoku
(b) Honshu-Hokkaido-Shikoku-Kyushu
(c) Hokkaido-Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu
(d) Honshu-Shikoku-Hokkaido-Kyushu

56. Which of the following statement is correct?

(a) Maharashtra produces iron ore
(b) Uttar Pradesh has no cement factory
(c) Punjab produces rice
(d) Andaman Island have no indigenous population.

57. The smallest state in India from the view point-

(a) Goa
(b) Sikkim
(c) Nagaland
(d) Tripura

58. Punjab in winter gets precipitation because of-

(a) Retreating monsoons.
(b) Cyclones coming from Mediterranean and Gulf of Iran.
(c) S. W. Monsoons
(d) N. E. Trade wind.

59. Which of the following does not apply to Gujarat?

(a) It is the largest producer of groundnut.
(b) It is the largest producer of tobacco.
(c) It is the largest producer of salt.
(d) It is the largest producer of milk products.

60. India is self sufficient in all of the following minerals except-

(a) Coal
(b) Copper
(c) Manganese
(d) Mica

61. The first railway line in India from Bombay to Pune passes through-

(a) Palghat
(b) Thalghat
(c) Bhorghat
(d) Sengottan Pass

62. The limestone for Bokajan Cement factory comes mainly from-

(a) Silbheta
(b) Diladli
(c) Dambuk
(d) Koilajan

63. Nameri wildlife sanctuary, which has recently been upgraded to a National Park is located in the district of-

(a) Tinsukia
(b) Dhemaji
(c) Sonitpur
(d) North Cachar Hills

64. The total area cropped in Assam now stands at about-

(a) 27 million hectares
(b) 20 million hectares
(c) 15 million hectares
(d) 12 million hectares

65. In respect of basin area coverage the rank of the Ganga among the rivers of the world is-

(a) Second among the rivers of the world
(b) Fifth
(c) Seventh
(d) Tenth

66. The call to duty to Brahmaputra is situated at the confluence of-

(a) The Dibang and the Subansiri
(b) The Dibang and the Siang
(c) The Subansiri and the Brahmaputra
(d) The Dibang and the Dihang

67. The Brahmaputra has to be considered, if the flood was not a result of a rage caused by the States to join in a federation, an act of retaliation to bring the soul of agreement. no State has the right to secede from it. The federation is Union because it is indestructible. “Who made the statement during Constituent Assembly debate?”

(a) Jawaharlal Nehru
(b) Rajendra Prasad
(c) Sardar Patel
(d) B. R. Ambedkar

68. Referring to the nature of the Indian Policy, the Preamble is-

(a) merely declaratory
(b) not justiciable
(c) mandatory
(d) part of the Constitution

69. Which article can proclaim emergency under-

(a) Article 352
(b) Article 355
(c) Article 353
(d) Article 356

70. Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) became constitutional institutions because-

(a) Art. 12 of the Constitution
(b) Art. 40 of the Constitution
(c) The 73rd Amendment Bill of 1989
(d) The Constitution (Amendment) (1992) 10 the Constitution.

71. Under Art. 243 B, district Planning Committees formulate and develop plans for the districts as a whole corresponding to and Municipalities (after consolidating their plans)-

(a) The Planning Commission
(b) Governor of the State
(c) The Government of the State
(d) Union Finance Minister

72. Which of the following is wrongly matched?

(a) Constituent Assembly meeting of the Commonwealth-1945
(b) Constituent Assembly of India convened in 1946
(c) January 24, 1950-the Constitution was finally signed by the members of the Constituent Assembly.
(d) January 26, 1950-the commencement of the Constitution.

73. The Government of India Act, 1919 was based on-

(a) decentralisation of banks
(b) decentralisation of administration
(c) emergency in the North-East
(d) insurgency in the North-East

74. Panchayats are listed in-

(a) Eleventh Schedule
(b) Seventh Schedule
(c) Twelfth Schedule
(d) Sixth Schedule

75. Which amendment provides for an authoritative version of the Constitution in Hindi?

(a) 55th amendment
(b) 56th amendment
(c) 58th amendment
(d) 61st amendment

76. The Supreme Court Parliament had no power to change the basic structure of the Constitution in-

(a) Golakhnath case
(b) Minerva Mills case
(c) Kesavananda Bharati case
(d) Gopalan case

77. Afforestation and planning has been-

(a) very easy
(b) done away with
(c) constrained by poor background
(d) combined with market economy

78. The draft Ninth Plan (1997-2002) amounting to Rs. 8,54,100 crore was-

(a) Rs. 290,000 crore
(b) Rs. 340,000 crore
(c) Rs. 854,100 crore
(d) Rs. 10,00,000 crore

79. As per Reserve Bank of India figures (3rd week of January 1999), the country’s forex (foreign exchange) reserves stood at-

(a) US dollar 30,108 million
(b) US dollar 27,000 million
(c) US dollar 29,000 million
(d) US dollar 25,000 million

80. Assertion (A): The emergence of economic globalisation and its impact on socio-economic development has led to the growth of movements, so labelled as Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R): The ideology of socialism believes in universalism and not in globalism. In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A.
(c) A is false but R is true.
(d) A is false but R is false.

81. Which one of the following Five Year Plans recognised ‘from development as the core of all developmental efforts’?

(a) Third Five Year Plan
(b) Fifth Five Year Plan
(c) Sixth Five Year Plan
(d) Eight Five Year Plan

82. ‘Self-sufficiency’ in food, in the true sense of freedom from hunger, has not been achieved in India inspite of the fact that food production since the fifties, which of the following are reasons for it?

(a) The Green Revolution has been restricted to small pockets of the country.
(b) The cost of food is too high compared to the earnings of the poor.
(c) Too much emphasis is laid on wheat & paddy compared to coarse grain crop.
(d) The gains of the Green Revolution have largely accrued to cash crop rather than food crop.
(a) a b c
(b) a b d
(c) a c d
(d) b c d

83. A major shift in the 6th Five-Year plan from its preceding one is-

(a) significant reduction in public sector outlays
(b) Concentration of public investment in irrigation so as to major exports.
(c) Major investment in agriculture so as to improve exports.
(d) Major investment in sectors in which public investment has been chronically low before.

84. Which of the following sets of economists strongly favoured market economy?

(a) Adam Smith, Keynes, Hicks
(b) Adam Smith, Hayek, Friedman
(c) Adam Smith, Hicks, Friedman
(d) Adam Smith, Ricardo, Galbraith

85. The concept of mixed economy envisages-

(a) unplanned development
(b) planned development of agriculture and industries
(c) equal importance to economic and social goals
(d) co-existence of public and private sectors.

86. The provision of communal representation in India was first introduced by-

(a) The Indian Councils Act, 1861
(b) The Indian Councils Act, 1892
(c) The Indian Councils Act, 1909
(d) The Government of India Act, 1919

87. Who was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress?

(a) Vijay Laxmi Pandit
(b) Annie Besant
(c) Kasturba Gandhi
(d) Sucheta Kripalini

88. Who edited ‘Young India’?

(a) Lala Lajpat Rai
(b) Annie Besant
(c) Mahatma Gandhi
(d) S. N. Banerjee

89. Who founded the ‘Servants of India Society’?

(a) M. G. Ranade
(b) G. K. Gokhale
(c) S. N. Banerjee
(d) Dadabhai Naoroji