2023 Prelims Paper 2 UPSC Question Paper

2023 Prelims Paper 2 UPSC Questions

41.
Directions for the following 3 (three) items:
Read the following three passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
Passage –1
In India, while the unemployment rate is a frequently used measure of poor performance of the economy, under conditions of rising school and college enrolment, it paints an inaccurate picture. The reported unemployment rate is dominated by the experience of younger Indians who face higher employment challenges and exhibit greater willingness to wait for the right job than their older peers. The unemployment challenge is greater for people with secondary or higher education, and rising education levels inflate unemployment challenges.

Which one of the following statements most likely reflects as to what the author of the passage intends to say?
A.
Enrolment in schools and colleges is high but there is no quality education.
B.
Unemployment must be seen as a function of rising education and aspirations of young Indians.
C.
There are no labour-intensive industries to accommodate the huge number of unemployed people.
D.
The education system should be properly designed so as to enable the educated people to be self-employed.
ANSWER :
B. Unemployment must be seen as a function of rising education and aspirations of young Indians.
42.
Passage –2
"Science by itself is not enough, there must be a force and discipline outside the sciences to coordinate them and point to a goal. It is not possible to run a course aright when the goal itself has not been rightly placed. What science needs is philosophy – the analysis of scientific method and the coordination of scientific purposes and results; without this, any science must be superficial. Government suffers, precisely like science, for lack of philosophy. Philosophy bears to science the same relationship which statesmanship bears to politics: movement guided by total knowledge and perspective, as against aimless and individual seeking. Just as the pursuit of knowledge becomes scholasticism when divorced from the actual needs of men and life, so the pursuit of politics becomes a destructive bedlam when divorced from science and philosophy."

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most rational, logical and practical message conveyed by the passage?
A.
Modern statesmen need to be well trained in scientific methods and philosophical thinking to enable them to have a better perspective of their roles, responsibilities and goals.
B.
It is not desirable to have Governments managed by empirical statesmen unless well mixed with others who are grounded in learning and reflect wisdom.
C.
As the statesmen/bureaucrats are the products of a society, it is desirable to have a system of education in a society that focuses on training its citizens in scientific method and philosophical thinking from a very early age.
D.
It is desirable that all scientists need to be philosophers as well to make their work goal-oriented and thus purposeful and useful to the society.
ANSWER :
B. It is not desirable to have Governments managed by empirical statesmen unless well mixed with others who are grounded in learning and reflect wisdom.
43.
Passage –3
"The last end of the state is not to dominate men, nor to restrain them by fear; rather it is so to free each man from fear that he may live and act with full security and without injury to himself or his neighbour. The end of the state, I repeat, is not to make rational beings into brute beasts and machines. It is to enable their bodies and their minds to function safely. It is to lead men to live by, and to exercise, a free reason; that they may not waste their strength in hatred, anger and guile, nor act unfairly toward one another."

Based on the above passage, which one of the following terms expresses the ultimate goal of the state?
A.
Personal safety
B.
Health of body and mind
C.
Communal harmony
D.
Liberty
ANSWER :
D. Liberty
44.

What is the remainder if 2192 is divided by 6?

A.

0

B.

1

C.

2

D.

4

ANSWER :

D. 4

45.
Consider the sequence ABC_ _ABC_DABBCD_ABCD that follows a certain pattern. Which of the following completes the sequence?
A.
DACB
B.
CDAB
C.
DCCA
D.
DDCA
ANSWER :
D. DDCA
46.
AB and CD are 2-digit numbers. Multiplying AB with CD results in a 3-digit number DEF. Adding DEF to another 3-digit number GHI results in 975. Further A, B, C, D. E, F, G, H, I are distinct digits. If E= 0, F=8, then what is A+B+C equal to?
A.
6
B.
7
C.
8
D.
9
ANSWER :
A. 6
47.
Consider the following statements in respect of five candidates P, Q, R, S, and T. Two statements are true and one statement is false.
True Statement: One of P and Q was selected for the job.
False Statement: At least one of R and S was selected for the job.
True Statement: At most two of R, S and T were selected for the job.
Which of the following conclusions can be drawn?
1. At least four were selected for the job.
2. S was selected for the job.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A.
1 only
B.
2 only
C.
Both 1 and 2
D.
Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER :
D. Neither 1 nor 2
48.
Let P, Q, R, S and T be five statements such that:
I. If P is true, then both Q and S are true.
II. If R and S are true, then T is false.
Which of the following can be concluded?
1. If T is true, then at least one of P and R must be false.
2. If Q is true, then P is true.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A.
1 Only
B.
2 Only
C.
Both 1 and 2
D.
Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER :
A. 1 Only
49.
A cuboid of dimensions 7cm × 5cm × 3cm is painted red, green and blue colour on each pair of opposite faces of dimensions 7cm × 5cm × 5cm, 5cm × 3cm, 7cm × 3cm respectively. Then the cuboid is cut and separated into various cubes each of side length 1cm. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. There are exactly 15 small cubes with no paint on any face.
2. There are exactly 6 small cubes with exactly two faces, one painted with blue and the other with green.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A.
1 Only
B.
2 Only
C.
Both 1 and 2
D.
Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER :
A. 1 Only
50.
The letters of the word "INCOMPREHENSIBILITIES" are arranged alphabetically in reverse order. How many positions of the letter/letters will remain unchanged?
A.
None
B.
One
C.
Two
D.
Three
ANSWER :
C. Two