2023 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2023 · GS Paper I

Question 38: Environment and Ecology

Consider the following statements : Once the Central Government notifies an area as a 'Community Reserve'

  1. 1.the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State becomes the governing authority of such forest
  2. 2.hunting is not allowed in such area
  3. 3.people of such area are allowed to collect non-timber forest produce
  4. 4.people of such area are allowed traditional agricultural practices

How many of the above statements are correct?

aOnly one
bOnly two
cOnly three
dAll four

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).

Community reserves are declared by the State Government under the Wildlife (Protection) Act on community or private land where people volunteer to conserve wildlife; the Central Government does not notify them. They are managed by a Community Reserve Management Committee, not the Chief Wildlife Warden, so statement 1 is wrong. Hunting is prohibited and locals' customary use, such as collecting non-timber forest produce, continues. UPSC counts exactly two statements as correct.

  • 1. A management committee, not the Chief Wildlife Warden, governs a community reserve.
  • 2. Hunting is prohibited in the reserve.
  • 3. Locals' use of non-timber forest produce continues.
  • 4. Land use cannot be changed without the committee's resolution and State approval, so an open allowance for agriculture is not accepted.

How you could have got this

No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Only one undercounts the true statements.
  • (b) Correct as per UPSC: two statements hold.
  • (c) Three overcounts; statement 1 is clearly wrong and one more is not accepted.
  • (d) Statement 1 is wrong, so not all four.

Worth knowing: Statement 1 is clearly wrong; which two of statements 2 to 4 the key treats as correct is inferred from its count of two.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2023, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.