UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training for Your Utility (SHATAYU)

Q1. A national eldercare directory works as follows: caregiver profiles go live only after uploaded training certificates are reviewed and approved; a family's OTP-verified callback request is sent to all listed caregivers in the district the family selects, and those caregivers contact the family directly; searching and raising requests cost the family nothing. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from these facts?

  1. The directory mainly lowers the cost of finding and screening a suitable caregiver for the family.
  2. A listed caregiver becomes an employee of the government department that runs the directory.
  3. Caregiving services obtained through the directory are provided to the family free of cost.
  4. Terms such as wages and working hours are left to be settled between the family and the caregiver.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. Suppose that over several decades a country's fertility rate falls steadily while life expectancy keeps rising. Which of the statements given below is/are likely consequences of this?

  1. The ratio of people aged 60 and above to the working-age population rises.
  2. People aged 60 and above can come to outnumber children aged 0–14 even while the total population is still growing.
  3. Demand for long-term care for the elderly grows faster than the total population.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q3. With reference to the protection of senior citizens in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Article 41 directs the State to make effective provision for public assistance in old age, within the limits of its economic capacity and development.
  2. A senior citizen can move the Supreme Court directly under Article 32 to enforce Article 41 against the State, as with a Fundamental Right.
  3. Under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, a senior citizen unable to maintain themselves can claim maintenance from children or relatives through a Tribunal.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. With reference to the care economy, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. If unpaid domestic and care work were valued and paid, it would amount to a significant share of global GDP.
  2. When a family stops caring for an elderly parent itself and hires a paid, certified caregiver for the same tasks, measured GDP stays unchanged because the service provided is the same.
  3. Most unpaid domestic and care work worldwide is performed by women and girls.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q5. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Unpaid domestic and care work, such as looking after elderly family members, has been largely invisible in official economic statistics.
  2. National accounts exclude all production carried out within households for their own use, whether of goods or of services.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q6. With reference to geriatric and palliative care, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Palliative care is appropriate only after all curative treatment for a patient has been withdrawn.
  2. Palliative care can be given alongside treatments such as chemotherapy and also addresses the needs of the patient's family.
  3. Dementia is an umbrella term for several mostly progressive diseases, of which Alzheimer disease is the most common.
  4. Alzheimer disease is a reversible condition caused mainly by nutritional deficiency in old age.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q7. Consider the following assertion: Listing only certified caregivers on a national directory helps turn eldercare from informal work into a recognised, skilled occupation. Which of the statements given below support/supports the above assertion?

  1. Certification against common standards tells families about a caregiver's competence, which they could not easily judge for themselves.
  2. Qualifications earned under a common training framework are recognised by employers who did not themselves train the caregiver.
  3. Caregivers who are certified and listed become salaried employees of the institutions that trained them.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. Which of the following is a design feature of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 that is meant to make maintenance claims cheaper and simpler for elderly applicants?

  • A. Maintenance claims must first be heard and decided by the High Court of the State concerned.
  • B. Maintenance awarded by the Tribunal is paid only from the State's funds and not by relatives.
  • C. Parties before the Maintenance Tribunal cannot be represented by legal practitioners.
  • D. Maintenance claims can be filed only after a criminal case is registered against the children.