HPSAS (Main) – 2015

            GENERAL STUDIES

                          (Compulsory)

1. Answer the following questions serially in your answer book :
2. What is the Vedic name of the Chenab river ?
3. Which was the first foreign race to invade Himachal region ?
4. in which district of Himachal Pradesh is Bhaddal glacier ?
5. Which is the ruling deity of Malana village of Kullu district of H.P. ?
6. On which river is Pong Dam ?
7. From which place in Sirmaur district does the Ghaggar river originate ?
8. Which Raja of Kangra set out on an expedition and almost conquered Delhi around 1360 A.D. ?
9. Which Praja Mandal leader led the march to Dhami in july 1939 which culminated in firing killing two persons ?
10. Who presided over the Praja Mandal conference held at Mandi in the Mandi princely state on March 08 – 10 , 1946 ?
11.  When was Bhuri Singh Museum inaugurated at Chamba in H.P. ?
12.  Near which town of H.P. is Shilli Fauna Sanctuary ?
13.  Which temple of Mandi district of H.P. has best snake carvings ?
14. In which district of H.P. is Ambeda Watershed Project ?
15. Approximately how many bio – gas plants were proposed to be installed in H.P. during 2014 – 2015 /
16.  Where is cattle feed plant in Hamirpur district of H.P. ?
17. There are four model schools in Chamba district of H.P. – Khushnagri, Dand, Bharai-Kothi and Hillour. Which one of these is in Mehla Block ?
18. Approximately what percentage of total geographical area of H.P. is under forest.
19. Under the Mahila Shakti Bima Yojna in H.P. women of which age group belonging to the BPL families are covered ?
20. In which month of Vikram Samvat is Diwali celebrated in Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh ?
21. In which region of H.P. is Burah dance the most prominent dance ?
22. When was Himachal Pradesh Lokayukt Act passed ?
23. Under Eco- tourism policy of 2005 which hillock near Shimla town has been provided with tourist facilities by the H.P. Government ?
24. What is Himachal’s rank in India in launching the State Wide Area Network (HIMSWAN) ?
25. Who presided over the first Session of Indian National Congress in 1885 ?
26. Which Viceroy reduced the age of Civil Services Examination from 21 to 19 years around 1876 ?
27. What was the Venue of 1907 Session of Congress where the party was split ?
28. In which year were Calcutta and Bombay Universities set up by the British Government in India ?
29. When was the Province of Bengal partitioned by Lord Curzon ?
30. With which Caste Movement was C.N. Mudaliar of Tamil region associated ?
31. Which tribal young man led the tribal movement around Ranchi in Bihar in 1899- 1900 ?
32. In which year did Gandhiji undertake his Dandi Yatra ?
33. Which political party was set up by C.R. Das and Moti Lal Nehru in 1923 ?
34. On which day in 1942 was the Quit India resolution passed by the All India Congress Committee ?
35. With which field did the Hunter Commission of 1882 – 83 deal ?
36. Which Arya Samaj leader gave the slogan back to the Vedas ?
37. When did the All India Muslim Leader pass Pakistan Resolution at its Lahore session ?
38. Which Viceroy laid the foundation of Local Self- Government in India around 1881 ?
39. Which member of the States Reorganisation Commission opposed the merger of Himachal Pradesh with Punjab ?
40. Which Article of the Indian Constitution deals with special provisions relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir ?
41. Which amendment of the Indian constitution deals with Urban Local Self-Government ?
42. Which amendment of the Indian Constitution deals with Right to Education ?
43. Which Indian state has the longest coastline ?
44. How many Indian states have border with Pakistan ?
45. How many countries are land- neighbours of India ?
46. In which state of India is Zojila pass ?
47. Which is the largest island in the Lakshadweep group of islands ?
48. On the bank of which river is Badrinath ?
49. On which river is Hirakud project ?
50. Which Indian state is the beneficiary of Mahi hydro power project ?
51. In which state of India is Kaziranga Tiger Reserve ?
52. In which state of India is Chilka Lahe ?
53. According to socio – economic and caste census of 2011 which state of India has the highest percentage of landless households ?
54. Who founded the Satya-Shodhak Samaj ?
55. When was Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Launched ?
56. What was the old name of State Bank of India ?
57. When was Unit Trust of India created ?
58. When was the life Insurance Corporation of India established ?
59. Where is Currency Note Press in India ?
60. Who is the Governor of Reserve Bank of India ?
61. Who is the chairman of Fourteenth Finance Commission ?
62. Where is the headquarters of Asian Development Bank ?
63. What is measure of Frequency in Radio/ Transistor ?
64. Who gave the theory of relativity ?
65. What instrument measures the intensity of sound ?
66. Who invented the electric lamp ?
67. With what invention is percy Le Born Spencer associated ?
68. Of which two metals’ alloy is Bronze ?
69. What gas is used to extinguish fire ?
70. Deficiency of which vitamin leads to night blindness ?
71. What is the function of Hidney in the human body ?
72. What is the activity of reading of fish called ?
73. Around which month is Rabi Crop sown in India ?
74. Who is called the Father of Genetics ?
75. Which institution has taken the place of planning Commission in India ?
76. Which Articles of the Indian Constitution deal with emergency provisions ?
77. Which commission recommended reservation for the OBCs in Government Jobs ?
78. Which writ is issued by the court to order that the detained person be produced before it ?
79. By which amendment were fundamental duties added to the Constitution of India ?
80. Which Vice- President of India died in office ?
81. Which Prime Minister of India died abroad during afficial tour ?
82. Write a brief essay on the following :

Promoting Tourism in H.P. and Environmental Concerns.

• Express your views on the falling standards in Indian Politics.
• Comment on India’s changing equation with Nepal.
• Analyse the causes and consequences of Growing Violence in West Asia.
• Given below are the name of some places. Explain where are they and why have they been in news’ recently ?
• Dadri
• Ankara
• Kunduz
• Kalyan Nagar
• Bodh Gaya
• Jhabua
• Grand Mosque in Mecca
• Palmyra
• Tihra
• Rameshwaram.
• Given below are the name of some persons. Explain who are they and why have they been in news recently ?
• Khadga Prasad oil
• Alexander Lukashenko
• Abdel Fattah el-sisi
• Marlon James
• Angus Deaton
• Pele
• James Alix Michel
• Richard Verma
• Suvra Mukherjee
• Syed Akbaruddin

HPSAS (Main) – 2015

          GENERAL ENGLISH

                (Compulsory)

1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

As civilization proceeds in the direction of technology, it passes the point of supplying all the basic essentials of life – food, shelter, clothes and warmth. Then we are faced with a choice between using technology to provide and fulfil needs which have hitherto been regarded as unnecessary or, on the other hand, using technology to reduce the number of hours of work which a man must do in order to earn a given standard of living . In other words, we either raise our standard of living above that necessary for comfort and happiness of we leave in at this leval and work shorter house. I shall take it as axiomatic that mankind has by that time, chosen the latter alternative. Men will be working shorter house in their paid employment. It follows that the housewife will also expect to be able to have more leisure in her life without lowering her standard of living. It also follows that human domestic servants will have completely ceased to exist. Yet the great majority of the housewife will wish to be relieved completely from the routine operations of the home such as scrubbing the floors or the bath or the cooker, or washing the clothes or washing up , or dusting or sweeping, or making beds.

Questions :

• What are the basic essentials of life ?
• What alternatives does the man have after his basic needs have been fulfilled ?
• Why will housewives wish to be relieved of their routine work ?
• Why will the domestic servants cease to exist in the technological civilization ?
• Give a suitable title to the passage.
• Make a precis of the following passage and also suggest a suitable title :

Reading or enjoyment of books has always been regarded among the charms of a cultured life and is respected and envied by those who rarely give themselves that privilege. This is easy to understand when we compare the difference between the life of a man who does no reading and that of a man who does. The man who has not the habit of reading is imprisoned in his immediate world, in respect to time and space. His life falls into a set routine ; he is limited to contact and conversation with a few friends and acquaintances, and he sees only what happens in his immediate neighbourhood. From this prison there is no escape. But the moment he takes up a book, he immediately enters a different world, and if it is a good book, he is immediately put in touch with one of the best talkers of the world. This talker leads him on and carries him into a different country or a different age, or unburdens to him some of his personal regrets, or discusses with him some special line or aspect of life that the reader knows nothing about. An ancient author puts him in communication with a dead spirit of long ago, and as he reads along, he begins to imagine what that ancient author looked like and what type of person he was……….Now to be able to live two hours out of twelve in a different world and take one’s thoughts off the claims of the immediate present is, of course, a privilege to be envied by people shut up in their bodily prison. Such a change of environment is really similar to travel in its psychological effect.

                                                      (287 words)

• Write an essay in about 250 words on :

All men are not born egual.

                or

The country I would choose to live in other than my own.

• Distinguish between any five of the following words in pairs’ by using them in sentences :
• Right/rite
• Farther/futher
• Insight/incite
• Decease/disease
• Corps/corpse
• Lightning/lightening
• Confidant/confident
• Superfical/superfluous
• Correct the following sentences by using suitable articles wherever necessary :

There was collision between car and cyclist at crossroads near my house early in morning. Cyclist was taken to hospital with concussion. Driver of car was treated for shock. Witnesses say that car was going at ninety kilometres hour.

• Correct any five of the following sentences :
• There are clouds above the South Delhi for the last two days.
• None of the two leaders was present in the meeting on last Sunday.
• We’ll have to move upstairs if the river rose any higher.
• If you paint the wall white the room would be much brighter.
• If she had listened to my directions she would not turn down the wrong street.
• Would you mind to put your pet snake somewhere else ?
• He hates answer the phone, and very often just lets it ring.
• Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense in the letter given below :

I just (hear) that my mother isn’t very well, and I (like) to go and see her. The trouble is Ican’t take my dog Sheru with me. You (think) you (be able) possibly look after him for a week ?You (have) him for a week last year, you (remembar),and you (say) he (be) no trouple,and (get0 on well with your dog.

If you (can) have him, i (can) bring him along any time that (suit) you. He (have) his own bed and bowl, and I (bring) enough tinned dog food to last him a week.

But if you (not be) convement (not hesitate) to say so. There (be) quite good kennels near here, and they (take) him if i (ask). He (be) there once before and )seem) to get on all right.

• Put in the correct prepositions or adverbs. In some cases two words are required :
• There’s no point in doing………..the old regulations if you are going to introduce equally stupid new ones.
• I don’t think i’d like to share a flat with her. I’d find it difficult to live…………..her standards of tidiness.
• The music faded………..in the distance as the street players moved on.
• I can’t account…………the disappearance of the pictures they were all there yesterday.
• He didn’t want to go to the conema but they begged so hard that he gave……………and went with them.