UPSC CSE Prelims Exam 2022 MCQs Set 58 – Free PDF Download

 
Q) Solomon Islands is located in:

1. South China Sea
2. South Pacific Ocean
3. Indian Ocean
4. South Atlantic Ocean

Answer: 2
Explanation:

• News: The US says it will open an embassy in the Solomon Islands, laying out in unusually blunt terms a plan to increase its influence in the South Pacific nation before China becomes “strongly embedded”.
• Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
• Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.

Q) Recently India sent 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian assistance. The wheat has been as per the agreement signed between India and:

1. United Nations Peace Mission
2. United Nations Children’s Fund
3. United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
4. The Taliban

Answer: 1
Explanation:

• Recently, India signed an agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat that it has committed to sending to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian assistance.
• This financial year(2022), India is set to export around 7 million tonnes of wheat. This would be one of the highest exports of wheat by India.
• India is the world’s second biggest producer of wheat, accounting for 13.53% of global production. But it only accounts for 1% of global wheat exports.
• India exported a record 6.5 million tonnes in the financial year 2012-13. By the end of February 2022, India already exported 6.6 million tonnes of wheat.

Q) Recently Snake Island was in news. It is located in:

1. Black Sea
2. Sea of Azov
3. Sea of Marmara
4. Mediterranean Sea

Answer: 1

Explanation:

• A Ukrainian soldier on the ill-fated Snake Island was livestreaming as Russian warships opened fire and wiped out the 13 soldiers stationed there.
• Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island is an island belonging to Ukraine located in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta, with an important role in delimiting Ukrainian territorial waters.
• The island is populated, reported to have under 30 people in 2012. A village, Bile, was founded in February 2007 with the purpose of consolidating the status of the island as an inhabited place.

Q) Consider the following statements with regard to the N0-Fly Zone

1. A no-fly zone is an order to ban aircraft in a specified area
2. The modern use of no-fly zones stems from the Russian invasion of Crimea

Select the CORRECT statement(s) using the codes given below

1. 1 Only
2. 2 Only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: 1
Explanation:

• President Volodymyr Zelensky and others have called for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine to counter the threat from Russian military aircraft.
• A no-fly zone is an order to ban aircraft in a specified area. Such zones are sometimes imposed over government buildings or public places for security reasons, or over sacred sites for religious and cultural reasons. Their most contentious use is when they are used during conflicts to prevent military aircraft from engaging in hostile actions.
• The modern use of no-fly zones stems from the Persian Gulf war. After the United States and its allies repelled Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, used helicopter gunships to quash uprisings at home, killing tens of thousands.
• The coalition allied against Mr. Hussein over Kuwait was unwilling to carry out a full-scale campaign against him.
• Instead, the United States, Britain and France imposed no-fly zones over the north and south of Iraq as a limited step to protect against aerial attacks by his forces.

Q) With regard to the Malvinas Islands, consider the following statements

1. It is internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom
2. It is located in South Pacific Ocean
3. There is a dispute between Britain and Spain about Malvinas Island

Select the CORRECT statement(s) using the codes given below
a) 1 Only                b)            1 and 2
c) 2 and 3              d)            1, 2 and 3
Answer: a
Explanation:

• Recently, Britain rejected a statement from China that affirmed it’s support for Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
• Falkland Islands, also called Malvinas Islands or Spanish Islas Malvinas, internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean.
• It lies about 300 miles northeast of the southern tip of South America and a similar distance east of the Strait of Magellan.

Q) Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement with five annexes P5+1 group. Which of the following countries is not a part of this agreement?

1. Israel
2. Iran
3. China
4. USA

Answer: 1

• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a detailed, 159-page agreement with five annexes reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on July 14, 2015. The nuclear deal was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015.
• Recently, the US has restored sanctions waivers to Iran to allow international nuclear cooperation projects, as indirect American-Iranian talks on reviving the 2015international nuclear deal with Iran enter the final stretch.
• The waivers were revoked by the United States in 2019and 2020 under former President Donald Trump, who pulled out of the nuclear agreement. The agreement is formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Q) Consider the following statements with regard to the Humanitarian corridors

1. Humanitarian corridors are demilitarized zones, mainly set up to provide relief for civilians during an armed conflict
2. All sides of the conflict need to agree to set up the corridors

Select the correct statement(s) using the codes given below

1. 1 Only
2. 2 Only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: 3

• Recently, humanitarian corridors were announced in Mariupol and Volnovakha to evacuate civilians. However, the Mariupol city administration postponed the evacuation for security reasons, as Russia continued bombing.
• Humanitarian corridors are set up during the armed conflict by announcing temporary ceasefire.
• Humanitarian corridors are demilitarized zones, mainly set up to provide relief for civilians during an armed conflict. They are established in a specific area and for a specific time based on mutual agreement of both sides of an armed conflict.
• Generally humanitarian corridors are negotiated by the United Nations. Local groups also take the initiative in some cases. However, all sides of the conflict need to agree to set up the corridors.

Q) Consider the following statements with regard to the East Asia Summit (EAS)

1. It is a forum of regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the key political, security, and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region
2. It was established in 2005
3. India is one of the members of EAS

Select the CORRECTLY matched pairs using the codes given below
a) 1 Only              b)            1 and 2
c) 2 and 3            d)            1, 2 and 3
Answer: D

• Recently, the Union Minister of State for Power attended the 15th East Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting. The theme of the meeting was “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”.
• The East Asia Summit (EAS) established in 2005 is a forum of 18 regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the key political, security, and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
• Kuala Lumpur Declaration: EAS is an “open forum” for dialogue on strategic, political, and economic issues in order to promote peace, economic prosperity, and regional integration in East Asia.
• India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.

Q) Consider the following statements with regard to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

1. Recently, it has included United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its grey list
2. FATF is an inter-governmental body established by G-20 countries
3. FATF’s black list includes countries that do not cooperate with FATF in tackling issues of money laundering and terror financing

Select the CORRECT statements using the codes given below

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: 3
Explanation:

• Recently, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has included United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its grey list.
• FATF is an inter-governmental body established by the G7 countries in 1989.
• It is mainly a policy-making body and its mandate is to promote reforms in a country’s financial system to combat money-laundering and terror financing.
• FATF grey list is officially known as the list of “Other monitored jurisdictions”
• Since 2018, Pakistan is placed on the FATF grey list, mainly due to the inability to adequately investigate and arrest commanders of terror groups designated by the United Nations (UN) such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
• FATF’s black list includes countries that do not cooperate with FATF in tackling issues of money laundering and terror financing.

Q) It is a landlocked country in west Africa. The country’s name, meaning “land of the honest men”, was picked by revolutionary military officer Thomas Sankara who took power in 1983. Recently, the country’s s army announced that it had ousted President, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed the country’s borders.
Above paragraph describes which of the following countries?

1. Senegal
2. Mali
3. Burkino Faso
4. Ghana

Answer: 3

Explanation:

• Recently, Burkina Faso’s army announced that it had ousted President Roch Kabore, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed the country’s borders.
• Army has toppled governments over the past 18months in Mali and Guinea.
• The military also took over in Chad last year (2021)after President Idriss Deby died fighting rebels on the battlefield in the country’s north.
• Burkina Faso:
• A former French colony, Burkina Faso has suffer edchronic instability since gaining independence in1960, including several coups.
• The country’s name, meaning “land of the honestmen”, was picked by revolutionary military officer Thomas Sankara who took power in 1983. He wastoppled and killed in 1987.

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