UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Old bullock cart is still the best

Q1. The ASTRA cell established at IISc, Bangalore, in 1974 was conceived primarily as a 'weapon' against which one of the following?

  • A. Rural poverty
  • B. Urban industrial pollution
  • C. Food-grain inflation
  • D. Coastal soil erosion

Q2. Animal-drawn carts in rural India account for the largest share—over 80%—of the movement of which one of the following?

  • A. Farm produce
  • B. Drinking water
  • C. Construction aggregate
  • D. Chemical fertilizer

Q3. Approximately how many bullock carts are estimated to be in service in India?

  • A. About 5 million
  • B. About 14 million
  • C. About 35 million
  • D. About 65 million

Q4. The two-year project begun in April 2001 to redesign six bullock-cart variants for difficult rural terrain was funded by which one of the following?

  • A. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
  • B. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
  • C. Department of Science and Technology (DST)
  • D. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Q5. Consider the following statements about CARTMAN, the body associated with the bullock-cart redesign project. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. CARTMAN expands to Centre for Action Research and Technology for Man, Animal and Nature.
  2. It is based in Bangalore.
  3. Its bullock-cart redesign project was funded by the ICAR.
  4. It was founded by Verghese Kurien.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q6. The concept of 'intermediate technology' as a development approach is most closely associated with which one of the following economists?

  • A. E.F. Schumacher
  • B. Gunnar Myrdal
  • C. John Kenneth Galbraith
  • D. W. Arthur Lewis

Q7. Consider the following as characteristics of appropriate (intermediate) technology. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Reliance on locally available resources and materials.
  2. Low capital intensity.
  3. Maximisation of energy intensity through large-scale centralisation.
  4. Suitability to the regional size of the economy it is meant to serve.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q8. Under PMGSY-IV (2024–29), how many unconnected habitations are targeted for new all-weather road connectivity?

  • A. 25,000
  • B. 50,000
  • C. 62,500
  • D. 1,25,000