राज्यसेवा पूर्व परीक्षा २०१८ - Paper 2

Read the following passage and answer the questions from 1 to 5:
Adverse Impacts of Green Revolution
           There can be no doubt that the first Green Revolution lifted the country out of a situation immediately after independence when the prospects of famine and scarcity of food commodities loomed large. The rapidly expanding population could have made matters all the more worse. It was the Green Revolution that helped tackle the food security issue with increased agricultural productivity.
However, the Green Revolution did have some adverse impacts too which are being felt in the long run. Since the emphasis was mainly on cereals like rice and wheat, there was a loss of productivity as far as pulses, fruits and vegetables were concerned. The present rate of fruit and vegetable production will not be able to cope with the future demand as the population is increasing rapidly.
              Besides, production of the same type of cereals such as rice and wheat year after year gradually decreased soil fertility making it difficult for pulses and other vegetables to grow. Monoculture (the cultivation of same crop variety for a prolonged period) also led to breakdown of the plant's resistance to pests and diseases which is an unwelcome offshoot of the first Green Revolution.
            Another criticism often directed at the first Green Revolution is the indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides that is today threatening the agri-future of the country. Excessive and inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides led to widespread environmental damage polluting waterways, poisoning agricultural workers and killing beneficial insects and other wildlife.
           The first Green Revolution also did not take care of certain areas like rainfed, hilly, coastal, dry land and arid zones which could be developed properly for production of exportable items like fruits, honey, mushroom, milk, meat, etc. Critics of the Green Revolution have also argued that owners of large farms were the main adopters of new technologies because of their better access to irrigation water, fertilizers, seeds and credit. Small farmers were either unaffected or harmed because the Green Revolution resulted in lower product prices, higher input prices and efforts by landlords to increase rent or force tenants off the land. The Green Revolution also encouraged unnecessary mechanization, thereby pushing down rural wages and employment.
             Faulty irrigation practices also led to salt build-up and eventual abandonment of some of the best farming lands. Groundwater levels have retreated in areas where more water is being pumped for irrigation than can be replenished by the rains.

Read the following passage and answer the questions from 6 to 10:
             'Communication Technology' has been the single most important economic force shaping all societies over the past half-century with geography; national borders and time zones becoming irrelevant with the new communication revolution'. In today's changing world, global electronic commerce is growing so fast and creating new opportunities for trade that no country can afford to miss it. Such explosive innovations and developments in science and technology have deeply influenced the direction and trends in international trade.
           The role of international trade in the process of economic development is widely recognized. International trade brings a variety of static and dynamic gains and thus increases the capacity for development. Larger the volume of trade, greater is the potential for development. Economic history finds success stories of various countries, which were relatively underdeveloped at one time but were converted to the category of developed countries through foreign trade.
           Trade is as old as human society itself, as no man, and more so, no society, can ever be self-sufficient. In ancient times trade was in the form of barter, but afterwards, not only did trade change from barter to money, but from a stroke of a computer keyboard, people could enter into a transaction not only in goods and services but also in stocks and bonds, financial lending and national and international currency dealing from one corner to another corner of the world.
            Export promotion being one of the main facets of fast and steady growth, considerable attention has been given to export incentives since the nineteen sixties. It has been realized that "export growth is not a luxury" for India. It is a prerequisite for adequate foreign exchange earnings, to maintain the tempo of economic development without sacrificing the country's self-reliance. However, exports can play an effective role "as an engine of economic growth" in Indian conditions.

             Export trade is a vital variable in the Indian economic situation. It plays a paramount role in Indian economic development. It is indeed exports that activate the use of unexploited natural and human resources, break the limitations of the domestic market, strengthen and organize the stagnant economy and minimize the dependence on foreign aid, which, since long is believed to accelerate the pace of economic transformation.
             Exports are a key factor in the developinent process of any economy. The logical grounds can be considered in terms of both, the direct and indirect gains of exports in a developing economy like India.

Read the following passage and answer the questions from 11 to 15:
               The wonders of light can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Mirrors and lenses are part of them. Plane mirrors are well known to us. Concave and convex mirrors are used to converge and diverge the light as per need. The focal length of the spherical mirror is half of its radius of curvature. The ratio of the product and sum of object distance and image distance is the focal length of the mirror. Convex and concave lenses are also used for the same purpose as above. The ratio of the product and difference of object distance and image distance is the focal length of the lens.
            According to new Cartesian sign convention, the measurements towards the left from the pole or centre and below the axis are taken as negative, while those towards the right and above the axis are taken as positive. The ability of lenses to converge or diverge is their power in the units of dioptre. One dioptre is the reciprocal of focal length in metres.
           In general, mirrors and lenses are used to obtain a magnified image relative to the object. Magnification is the ratio of image size to object size or image distance to object distance. Mirrors and lenses are used in torches and headlights, flood lights, projector lamps, solar devices and furnaces, cameras, spectrometers, simple microscopes, compound microscopes, telescopes, spectacles, etc. The human eye is a natural optical instrument. Light enters the thin cornea, iris, pupil of variable diameter to control and regulate light with the tendency of adaptation. Behind the pupil there is a biconvex crystalline lens having the power of accommodation. Finally a real and inverted image is formed on the retina. The distance of distinct vision is 25 cm from the normal eye.
             But various refractive defects like myopia, hypermetropia and presbyopia arise due to non-relaxation or weak action of ciliary muscles, high or low converging power of lens, increase or decrease in distance between lens and retina, lengthening or shortening of the eyeball. These defects can be corrected by using suitable concave or convex lenses. Both the defects may appear simultaneously, in such cases, bifocal lens should be used.

Read the following passage and answer the questions from 16 to 20 :
             Flowers serve as an excellent offering to God. They are an invaluable aid for personal make-up and a source of inspiration to poets.
            Flowers are the structure of sexual reproduction in plants. After seed germination, the plant grows continuously to its full maturity. At a certain point in life, the plant switches over to the reproductive phase and starts bearing flowers. The stalk of the flower is referred to as pedicel. In general, four types of organs are involved in constituting a flower. The outermost green whorl having sepals is calyx, and inner to the calyx is a whorl of brightly coloured petals, i.e. corolla. Next to it, the whorl is of stamens which is collectively called androecium; representing the male sex organs. The centre of the flower is occupied by carpels, i.e. gynoecium which is represented by the female reproductive whorl. Depending on the presence of stamens and carpels, the flower may be a male, female or hermaphrodite flower. In flowers, pollen grains are produced by stamens in the anther lobe. Then mature pollen grains are transferred to the stigma leading to successful pollination. The stigma provides required natural conditions for in-vivo germination of pollen grains.
           Various agencies are involved in the transfer of pollen grains to the stigma; they may be biotic or abiotic. The biotic agencies are bees, insects, birds, bats, ants, animals, etc. and abiotic agencies are wind and water,
           The process of pollination is very basic and important for fruit and seed setting. Likewise, it is important for the conservation of biodiversity. The pollinators and plants are co-evolved during the course of evolution. Some species need only biotic agents for pollination without which plants will become extinct. In the absence of successful pollination, the plant reproduction process will stop completely. That is why it is necessary to conserve the plants and their pollinators too. If pollination stops due to any reason, the process of seed setting will cease.