UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Archaeological dept. staff’s plea on quarters
Q1. Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, the regulated area declared in respect of every centrally protected monument extends up to how many metres beyond the outer limit of the prohibited area?
- A. 100 metres
- B. 200 metres
- C. 300 metres
- D. 500 metres
Q2. The concepts of 'prohibited area' and 'regulated area' around centrally protected monuments were introduced into Indian heritage law by which one of the following?
- A. The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India
- B. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010
- C. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, as originally enacted
- D. The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, enacted under Lord Curzon
Q3. The Archaeological Survey of India, which implements the AMASR Act, 1958, functions as an attached office under which one of the following Union Ministries?
- A. Ministry of Tourism, which also runs the Swadesh Darshan scheme for heritage circuits
- B. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which oversees urban heritage conservation under AMRUT
- C. Ministry of Culture
- D. Ministry of Education, which administers institutions of higher learning and research
Q4. In the administrative vocabulary of the Archaeological Survey of India, what exactly is a 'Circle'?
- A. A cluster of monuments falling within the prohibited area of one centrally protected monument, managed as a single conservation unit
- B. A regional field administrative unit of the ASI, headed by a Superintending Archaeologist, through which conservation of monuments in its jurisdiction is carried out
- C. A zone notified by the National Monuments Authority within which the heritage bye-laws of a monument govern construction and repair
- D. A field excavation unit constituted by the ASI for a specified season, headed by a Director of Excavations and wound up thereafter
Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the reorganisation of the field administration of the Archaeological Survey of India when seven new Circles were created:
1. The creation of the seven new Circles raised the number of ASI Circles from 29 to 36.
2. Hampi, which until then functioned as a mini-circle, was upgraded to a full-fledged Circle in the same reorganisation.
3. Every ASI Circle is headed by a Director-General deputed from the Ministry of Culture, and no Circle may extend over more than one revenue division of a State.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The creation of the seven new Circles raised the number of ASI Circles from 29 to 36.
- Hampi, which until then functioned as a mini-circle, was upgraded to a full-fledged Circle in the same reorganisation.
- Every ASI Circle is headed by a Director-General deputed from the Ministry of Culture, and no Circle may extend over more than one revenue division of a State.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q6. Which one of the following was the most recent Indian property to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the country's 44th World Heritage property?
- A. Santiniketan
- B. Dholavira: A Harappan City
- C. Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas
- D. Maratha Military Landscapes of India
Q7. In the procedure of the World Heritage Convention, what does a State Party's 'Tentative List' consist of?
- A. Inscribed properties facing serious and specific danger, for which assistance may be sought from the World Heritage Fund
- B. Nominations forwarded by the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee for a final decision at its annual session
- C. An inventory of properties in its territory that it intends to consider for nomination in the coming years, inclusion in which is a prerequisite for any nomination
- D. Properties inscribed on a provisional basis, subject to the State Party completing boundary demarcation within a fixed period
Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the order of priority followed in granting admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas:
1. Children of transferable and non-transferable Central Government employees and children of ex-servicemen constitute the first priority category, while children of State Government employees constitute the second.
2. Children of employees of Autonomous Bodies, Public Sector Undertakings and Institutes of Higher Learning of the Government of India are placed ahead of children of State Government employees.
3. A child already studying in a Kendriya Vidyalaya, whose parent is transferred from one station to another, must seek fresh admission at the new station in the last residual category.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Children of transferable and non-transferable Central Government employees and children of ex-servicemen constitute the first priority category, while children of State Government employees constitute the second.
- Children of employees of Autonomous Bodies, Public Sector Undertakings and Institutes of Higher Learning of the Government of India are placed ahead of children of State Government employees.
- A child already studying in a Kendriya Vidyalaya, whose parent is transferred from one station to another, must seek fresh admission at the new station in the last residual category.
- A. 2 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q9. Under the AMASR Act, what are 'heritage bye-laws' framed in relation to a centrally protected monument?
- A. Uniform national conservation standards issued to State archaeology departments for monuments not declared to be of national importance
- B. Rules prescribing the fees, conditions and qualifications for the grant of licences to carry out excavation at protected archaeological sites
- C. Building regulations framed by the urban local body listing structures of local heritage value within its municipal limits
- D. Monument-specific regulations prescribing heritage controls on construction and repair within the prohibited and regulated areas of that monument
Q10. According to the Ministry of Culture's reply in Parliament in 2026, how many of the protected monuments and protected areas under the Archaeological Survey of India are at present untraceable?