UPSC Static Quiz, 28 June 2023

Correct Answer: B
Ans: B 2 and 3 are correct only
Endosulfan is an organochlorine insecticide which was introduced in the first half of the 20th
century. It is usually sprayed on crops like cotton, cashew, fruits, tea, paddy, tobacco etc for
control of white flies, aphids, beetles, worms etc. It doesn’t occur naturally in the environment.
Statement 1 is incorrect.
The pesticide is known as carcinogenic, neurotoxin and genotoxin (damages DNA).
The Supreme Court banned its manufacture, sale, use and export throughout the country, citing
its harmful effects in 2015. Thus, Statement 3 is correct.
Endosulfan is listed under both the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent and
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Thus, Statement 2 is correct.

Correct Answer: D
Ans: D
A virus is an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA),
which can only be found inside a living cell.
Viruses are smaller and simpler in construction than unicellular microorganisms, and they contain
only one type of nucleic acid—either DNA or RNA—never both. Hence both statements 1 and 2
are incorrect.
Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are viruses that infect and replicate only in bacterial cells.
Hence statement 3 is also incorrect.

Correct Answer: A
Ans: A
Himalayan Musk Deer is a solitary shy animal, lives in mountainous regions from Siberia to the
Himalayas. They can be seen in states/UTs such as J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim
and Arunachal Pradesh.
They hide in day time and move into open areas at dusk to graze till dawn. Statement 1 is correct
The musk pod is a sac which contains musk but it is found in male species and not female. Hence
the 2nd statement is incorrect.
IUCN status of Himalayan Musk deer is Endangered. Statement 3 is correct.

Correct Answer: A
Ans: a
Sea horses are tiny fishes that are named for the shape of their head which looks like the head of a
tiny horse. They are classified as fish, in the genus Hippocampus. Hence Statement 1 is correct. Sea
horses have unique reproductive habits i.e.; the male gives birth to child as the female uses an
ovipositor (egg duct) to place her eggs into a brood pouch located at the base of the male’s tail
where the eggs are later fertilised. Hence statement 2 is correct.
There are 9 out of 12 species found in the Indo-Pacific. These 9 species are distributed along the
coast of 8 states and 5 Uts from Gujrat to Odisha, apart from Lakshadweep and the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. Statement 3 is incorrect.

Correct Answer: D
Ans: D
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines Agrobiodiversity as ‘The variety and variability of
animals, plants and microorganisms that are used directly or indirectly for food and agriculture,
including crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries. It comprises the diversity of genetic resources
(Varieties, breeds) and species used for food, fodder, fibre, fuel and pharmaceuticals. It also
includes the diversity of non-harvested species that support production (soil microorganisms,
predators, pollinators), and those in the wider environment that support agro-ecosystems
(Agricultural, pastoral, forest and aquatic) as well as the diversity of the agro-ecosystems.’ As per
FAO, agrobiodiversity performs all the above functions. thus, all are correct.