UPSC Exam MCQs

Q1. Prahaar is
(a) a battle tank
(b) a surface-to-surface missile
(c) an aircraft carrier
(d) a submarine

ans.b
Prahar Missile:

• Prahar (“Strike”) is an Indian solid-fuel road-mobile tactical ballistic missile developed by DRDO.
• Prahar is expected to replace the Prithvi-I short-range ballistic missile in the Indian service.
• It is capable of filling the gap between the multi-barrel rocket system ‘Pinaka’ and medium-range ballistic missile ‘Prithvi’.
• The missile is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation, guidance, and electromechanical actuation systems with advanced on board computer.
• It is a quick-reaction, all-weather, all-terrain, highly accurate battlefield support tactical weapon system.
• The missile fills the short-range tactical battlefield missile role as required by the Indian Army to take out strategic and tactical targets.
• ‘Prahar’ is a contemporary weapon system capable of carrying multiple types of warheads and neutralizing a wide variety of targets.
• It can be launched from a road-mobile launch platform, which can carry six missiles at a time.
• It can be fired in all directions from the launcher. It could be used for striking both tactical and strategic targets.
  The indigenously developed Prahaar missile is expected to further strengthen the defence capabilities of the Indian Army.

Q2. Which one of the following is not an assumption in the law of demand?
(a) There are no changes in the taste and preferences of consumers.
(b) Income of consumers remains constant.
(c) Consumers are affected by demonstration effect.
(d) There are no changes in the price of substitute goods.

ans.c

• The law of demand states that other factors being constant, price and quantity demand of any good and service are inversely related to each other. When the price of a product increases, the demand for the same product will fall.
• Law of demand explains consumer choice behavior when the price changes. In the market, assuming other factors affecting demand being constant, when the price of a good rises, it leads to a fall in the demand of that good. This is the natural consumer choice behavior. This happens because a consumer hesitates to spend more for the good with the fear of going out of cash.

Q3. Whcih one of the following statements is not correct?
(a) When total utility is maximum, marginal utility is zero.
(b) When total utility is decreasing marginal utility is negative.
(c) When total utility is increasing, marginal utility is positive.
(d) When total utility is maximum, marginal and average utility are equal to each other.

ans.d
Total Utility

• The utility is the satisfaction that an individual derives from consuming a good or service.
• Similarly, total utility is the total satisfaction received from consuming a given total quantity of a good or service. In contrast, the marginal utility is the satisfaction gained from consuming an additional quantity of a good or service in question.

Characteristics of Total Utility

• Economists sometimes like to subdivide usefulness into individual units they call utils. Because the utility is subjective, however, it differs from person to person. Since it varies constantly depending on the quantity consumed, a utility cannot be measured.
• However, it is simply a device that allows economists to speak about the degree of satisfaction obtained from a product or service. Although one definition of usefulness is utility, usefulness is not a quality in economic utility.
• For example, water is very useful, but for most people, it doesn’t have much utility. On the other hand, judging by the recent market prices for gold, gold is of great use to some people, but it is not very useful.

Relationship with Marginal Utility

• One characteristic of marginal utility is that for every successive quantity of a particular good consumed, it always declines. The total utility starts declining when marginal utility becomes negative.
• If you like ice cream and eat it, the first scoop will satisfy you the most. When you eat another scoop, you’ll probably still like it, but the satisfaction will be lower than for the first one. You won’t want ice cream anymore at some point if you continue eating it continually.
• In this case, the marginal utility decreases to zero and becomes even negative. This is a daily illustration of the diminishing marginal utility law.
• Marginal utility for everything, including income, declines. While many people want to accumulate great wealth, every rupee earned is worth lesser and lesser, because of the marginal utility of what it can buy declines.

Q4. ‘Sub-prime crisis’ is a term associated with which one of the following events?
(a) Economic recession
(b) Political instability
(c) Structural adjustment programmes
(d) Growing social inequality

ans.a

Q5. Which among the following countries of South America does the Tropic of Capricorn not pass through?
(a) Chile
(b) Bolivia
(c) Paraguay
(d) Brazil

ans.b

• The South American countries that lie within the Tropic of Capricorn are Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. Brazil is the only country in the world that crosses both the Equator and either tropic.

Arise, awake, and,

stop not till the goal is reached.

Swami Vivekananda

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