UPHESC Assistant Professor Agricultural Engineering PYQs

Concept: Dharmashastras (Manusmriti) describe eight forms of marriage.

1. Approved: Brahma, Daiva, Arsha, Prajapatya.
2. Disapproved: Gandharva, Asura, Rakshasa, Paishacha.

Short trick: 4 approved + 4 disapproved = 8.

Concept: Subhas Chandra Bose compared Gandhi's Dandi March (1930) with Napoleon's march to Paris on his return from Elba.

1. Lajpat Rai had died in 1928, before the march.
2. Bose's comparison stressed its electrifying mass effect.

Short trick: Bose – soldier's mind – military comparison (Napoleon).

Concept: Monazite is a rare-earth phosphate mineral and the chief ore of thorium.

1. Kerala (Chavara, Manavalakurichi) beach sands are rich in monazite.
2. India's 3-stage nuclear programme banks on this thorium.

Short trick: Monazite → Thorium (Kerala sands).

Concept: The Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle replaced the old 'Brown Bess' musket.

1. Its greased cartridges (believed to use cow and pig fat) had to be bitten open.
2. This became the immediate cause of the 1857 revolt.

Short trick: Old = Brown Bess, New = Enfield → greased cartridge.

Concept: In the standard textbook account of the Delhi Sultanate, Firoz Shah Tughlaq is the ruler under whom Sanskrit works (many taken from the Jwalamukhi temple library at Nagarkot) were translated into Persian, and the music work 'Ragdarpan' is listed among them.

1. The astronomy work 'Dalail-i-Firozshahi' was prepared in the same way in his reign.
2. Alauddin Khilji, Akbar and Jahangir are not linked with this translation in that account, so among the options Firoz Shah Tughlaq fits.
3. (A later Persian treatise also called 'Rag Darpan' was written by Faqirullah in Aurangzeb's time — Aurangzeb is not among the options.)

Short trick: Firoz Tughlaq = Persian translations of Nagarkot Sanskrit texts (Dalail-i-Firozshahi, Ragdarpan).

Concept: R. C. Dutt wrote 'The Economic History of India' in two volumes (1902 and 1904).

1. Vol. I – Under Early British Rule; Vol. II – In the Victorian Age.
2. Dadabhai Naoroji wrote 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' (drain theory).

Short trick: Dutt = Economic History; Naoroji = Poverty & Drain.

Concept: Part XV (Articles 324–329A) deals with elections.

1. Art. 324 – Election Commission; Art. 326 – adult suffrage.
2. Part IV – DPSP; Part VIII – Union Territories; Part IX – Panchayats.

Short trick: Part 15 = Elections (Art. 324).

Concept: The first RRB, Prathama Bank (Moradabad, UP), was set up on 2 October 1975, sponsored by Syndicate Bank.

1. RRBs were created on the Narasimham Working Group recommendation; RRB Act came in 1976.

Short trick: 2 Oct 1975 – Prathama (first) Bank, Moradabad.

Concept: A 'zombie' firm is one whose operating profit cannot even cover its interest, i.e. interest coverage ratio (ICR = EBIT ÷ interest) < 1; fresh lending to such firms is called zombie lending.

1. The ICR < 1 test is the usual working definition used in Indian policy discussion (RBI and Economic Survey analyses of stressed corporate loans).
2. 'Verge of default' (A) and 'evergreening' (C) are related ideas but not the defining test; (D) describes a group, not the lending.

Short trick: Zombie = alive on paper, dead in earnings → ICR < 1.

Concept: Article 21A (86th Amendment, 2002) makes free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 years a fundamental right.

1. Art. 21 – life and personal liberty; Arts. 23–24 – against exploitation; Arts. 29–30 – minorities.
2. RTE Act 2009 implements Art. 21A.

Short trick: 21 = life, 21A = education (6–14).

Concept: A metric chain of 30 m has 150 links; a 20 m chain has 100 links.

1. Length of one link = 30 m ÷ 150 = 0.20 m = 20 cm.
2. Both 20 m and 30 m metric chains have 20 cm links.

Short trick: Metric chain link = 20 cm always.

Concept: In plane surveying the earth is treated as flat; this is acceptable up to about 250 km².

1. Over 250 km² (large areas), curvature matters → geodetic surveying.
2. The arc–chord difference for 18.2 km is only about 1 cm.

Short trick: Plane survey ≤ 250 km²; beyond → geodetic.

Concept: Contour interval is chosen according to the nature of ground. Smaller intervals are used for flatter land.

1. Flat / almost level ground: about 0.2–0.5 m.
2. Rolling or undulating ground: about 0.5–2 m.
3. Hilly or steep ground: 1–3 m or more.

Short trick: Small interval (≤ 0.5 m) → nearly level land.

Concept: True length = (incorrect chain length ÷ true chain length) × measured length, i.e. $L_t=\frac{L^{\prime }}{L}\times l$.

1. L' = 20.03 m, L = 20 m, l = 327 m.
2. $L_t=\frac{20.03}{20}\times 327=327.49$ m.

Short trick: Too-long chain → measured is less → add the correction.

Concept: Included angle at B is the angle between the lines BA and BC.

1. Back bearing of AB (bearing of BA) = 120° + 180° = 300°.
2. Bearing of BC = 78°. The difference is 300° − 78° = 222°.
3. Interior angle = 360° − 222° = 138°. The deflection is 180° − 138° = 42°.

Short trick: Included angle = 180° − (difference of fore bearings) = 180° − 42° = 138°.

Concept: An alidade is the sighting rule used on a plane table to draw rays towards objects.

1. Plain alidade or telescopic alidade.
2. Other plane-table accessories: trough compass, spirit level, U-fork with plumb bob.

Short trick: Plane table = alidade + U-fork + trough compass.

Concept: Magnetic meridian is the direction shown by a freely suspended, balanced magnetic needle that local attraction does not disturb.

1. True meridian runs towards the geographic poles and is fixed by astronomical observation.
2. Grid meridian is a reference line on a map grid. 'True magnetic' and 'prismatic' meridians are not standard terms.

Short trick: Free needle → magnetic meridian; sun or stars → true meridian.

Concept: Deep-litter housing needs about 0.3–0.4 m² (≈3–4.5 ft²) of floor per adult hen.

1. For 100 adult hens this gives about 30–42 m².
2. Smaller areas (7–17, 17–27 m² per 100) suit chicks and growers.

Short trick: Adult hen ≈ 0.3–0.4 m² → ×100 = 30–42 m².

Concept: A storage tank must hold the shortfall that builds up when demand exceeds supply.

1. Peak deficit = (80,000 − 32,000) × 3 = 1,44,000 L.
2. In the rest of the period demand (35,000 lph) is also more than supply (32,000 lph), so the tank can never refill. With the data as printed, no balancing tank size exists.
3. None of 56,000, 24,000, 28,000 or 94,000 L follows from the given figures, so no option can be marked correct.

Short trick: Tank size = cumulative (demand − supply) during peak, and supply must exceed demand in the off-peak period to refill it.

Concept: A larger greenhouse has a smaller cover (surface) area per unit floor area, and natural ventilation works less well across a wider house.

1. Heat loss through the cover per m² of floor goes down.
2. Air exchange from side or roof vents reaches the centre less well.
3. So the air and plant temperature inside rises.

Short trick: Bigger house → less surface per floor area and poorer ventilation → warmer plants.