UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah today inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects worth ₹373 crore of the Andaman and Nicobar UT Government in Sri Vijaya Puram

Q1. The new name 'Sri Vijaya Puram', given to the erstwhile Port Blair, primarily commemorates which of the following?

  • A. The Srivijaya maritime empire of Southeast Asia, against which a Chola ruler campaigned using the islands as a naval base
  • B. A Chola port-town on the Tamil coast from which trading fleets to the islands were despatched
  • C. The Maratha admiral Kanhoji Angre's victory over European fleets in the Bay of Bengal
  • D. The 'City of Victory' proclaimed by Netaji as the capital of the Azad Hind government

Q2. The capital of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands was officially renamed 'Sri Vijaya Puram' in 2024 by which of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
  • B. The Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
  • C. The Ministry of Culture, Government of India
  • D. NITI Aayog

Q3. With reference to the 2018 renaming of islands in the Andaman & Nicobar group, consider the following pairs: 1. Ross Island — Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep 2. Havelock Island — Swaraj Dweep 3. Neil Island — Shaheed Dweep 4. Havelock Island — Shaheed Dweep Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

  1. Ross Island — Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep
  2. Havelock Island — Swaraj Dweep
  3. Neil Island — Shaheed Dweep
  4. Havelock Island — Shaheed Dweep
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q4. How many islands of the Andaman & Nicobar group were renamed on 30 December 2018, on the 75th anniversary of Netaji's hoisting of the tricolour, to shed their colonial-era names?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Twenty-one

Q5. Consider the following statements about the Cellular Jail at Port Blair: 1. It was completed in the year 1906. 2. It was originally a structure with seven wings radiating from a central watch-tower. 3. V.D. Savarkar was transported to it in 1911. 4. It was constructed on Ross Island. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was completed in the year 1906.
  2. It was originally a structure with seven wings radiating from a central watch-tower.
  3. V.D. Savarkar was transported to it in 1911.
  4. It was constructed on Ross Island.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q6. The term 'Kala Pani', associated with penal transportation to the Andamans, referred to which of the following?

  • A. Transportation overseas to the penal settlement, dreaded partly because crossing the seas was held to entail loss of caste and social exclusion
  • B. A punishment reserved exclusively for prisoners already sentenced to death
  • C. The forced extraction of salt from sea water imposed only on political prisoners
  • D. The strait that alone separated the Cellular Jail from the Indian mainland

Q7. In the Great Nicobar Holistic Development Project, the 'ICTP' proposed at Galathea Bay stands for which of the following?

  • A. International Container Transhipment Port
  • B. Integrated Coastal Tourism Park
  • C. Indian Cargo Transit Point
  • D. International Crude Terminal Project

Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the administration of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands: 1. It is a Union Territory administered by the President acting through an Administrator. 2. Its Administrator holds the designation of Lieutenant Governor. 3. It is administered under Article 239 of the Constitution. 4. Its nodal administrative Ministry at the Centre is the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It is a Union Territory administered by the President acting through an Administrator.
  2. Its Administrator holds the designation of Lieutenant Governor.
  3. It is administered under Article 239 of the Constitution.
  4. Its nodal administrative Ministry at the Centre is the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 2 only

Q9. As of 2026, how many of India's Union Territories are headed by an administrator holding the designation of Lieutenant Governor (as distinct from those headed by an 'Administrator')?

  • A. Three
  • B. Five
  • C. Seven
  • D. Eight

Q10. The Ten Degree Channel separates which of the following?

  • A. The Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands
  • B. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands from mainland Myanmar
  • C. Great Nicobar Island from the Indonesian island of Sumatra
  • D. North Andaman from Middle Andaman

Q11. The ₹373 crore development projects inaugurated at Sri Vijaya Puram in May 2026 belong to the Andaman & Nicobar UT Administration, which functions at the Centre under which of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • B. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
  • C. Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
  • D. Ministry of Panchayati Raj