TNPSC Group 2 Mains 2019 Question Paper with Answers – GS Paper II

• A p-n junction diode conducts only when forward biased and blocks current when reverse biased – this one-way conduction is the basis of rectification (AC → DC).
• Positive half-cycle: diode forward biased → current flows through the load resistor.
• Negative half-cycle: diode reverse biased → practically no current; output is pulsating (unidirectional) DC – half-wave rectifier.
• Two diodes with a centre-tap transformer, or four diodes in a bridge, use both half-cycles – full-wave rectifier; a capacitor filter smooths the output.
• Conclusion: used in every mobile charger and DC power supply.

Diagram / table: Circuit of a half-wave rectifier with input AC and output pulsating DC waveforms.

• Lens maker’s formula: 1/f = (n − 1)(1/R₁ − 1/R₂).
• For a plano-convex lens: R₁ = 50 cm (curved face), R₂ = ∞ (plane face), so 1/R₂ = 0.
• 1/f = (1.5 − 1)(1/50 − 0) = 0.5 × 1/50 = 1/100.
• Answer: f = 100 cm = 1 m (converging lens; power P = 1/f(m) = +1 D).

Diagram / table: Ray diagram of a plano-convex lens showing R1 = 50 cm and R2 = ∞.

• Pressure due to a liquid column: P = hρg.
• h = 74 cm = 0.74 m; density of mercury ρ = 13,600 kg/m³; g = 9.8 m/s².
• P = 0.74 × 13,600 × 9.8 = 98,627.2 N/m² ≈ 9.86 × 10⁴ Pa.
• Note: this is slightly less than standard atmospheric pressure (76 cm of Hg ≈ 1.013 × 10⁵ Pa).

Diagram / table: Simple sketch of a mercury column with h, ρ and g marked.

• Cultural control: crop rotation, deep summer ploughing, resistant varieties, timely sowing, field sanitation.
• Mechanical/physical control: hand-picking, light traps, pheromone traps, sticky traps.
• Biological control: natural enemies – Trichogramma egg parasitoids, ladybird beetles, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), NPV.
• Chemical control: judicious use of pesticides (e.g., neem-based products, recommended insecticides).
• Best practice: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) combines all these to keep pests below the economic threshold level.

• The three primary nutrients in fertilizers are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) – the ‘NPK’.
• Nitrogen (urea, ammonium sulphate): promotes leafy, green vegetative growth; part of chlorophyll and proteins.
• Phosphorus (single super phosphate, DAP): root development, flowering and seed formation; part of ATP.
• Potassium (muriate of potash): disease resistance, water regulation (stomata), grain and fruit quality.
• Conclusion: balanced NPK use guided by Soil Health Card testing avoids soil degradation.

Diagram / table: Table: nutrient – fertilizer – one use.

• Oxidation half-cell (anode, –): Zn(s) → Zn²⁺(aq) + 2e⁻.
• Reduction half-cell (cathode, +): 2H⁺(aq) + 2e⁻ → H₂(g).
• Cell notation: Zn(s) | Zn²⁺(aq) || H⁺(aq) | H₂(g, 1 atm) | Pt(s).
• Set-up: zinc rod dipped in ZnSO₄ solution; standard hydrogen electrode (Pt in 1 M H⁺, H₂ at 1 atm) as the other half; salt bridge (KCl/KNO₃ in agar) completes the circuit; electrons flow Zn → Pt through the external wire.
• E°cell = E°cathode − E°anode = 0 − (−0.76) = +0.76 V (spontaneous).

Diagram / table: Labelled galvanic cell: Zn rod in Zn²⁺ solution, Pt/H₂ electrode in H⁺ solution, salt bridge, voltmeter, electron flow.

• Pedogenesis is the process of soil formation from parent rock through weathering and the action of living organisms over time.
• Five soil-forming factors: climate, organisms, relief (topography), parent material and time.
• Key processes: weathering, humification, eluviation (washing down) and illuviation (deposition) – producing distinct soil horizons.
• Example: laterisation in hot, heavy-rainfall areas (laterite soils of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats).
• Conclusion: forming about 2.5 cm of topsoil can take centuries, so soil conservation is vital.

Diagram / table: Soil profile showing O, A, B, C horizons and bedrock.

• BMI (Body Mass Index) = body weight in kg ÷ (height in metres)².
• Example: 60 kg, 1.6 m → 60 ÷ 2.56 ≈ 23.4 kg/m².
• WHO categories: below 18.5 underweight; 18.5–24.9 normal; 25–29.9 overweight; 30 and above obese (lower cut-offs are advised for Asian Indians).
• Use: simple screening tool for malnutrition and obesity-linked non-communicable diseases (diabetes, hypertension); limitation – does not distinguish muscle from fat.

Diagram / table: Table of BMI categories.

• Fruits spoil due to respiration, ripening hormone ethylene, moisture loss and microbes; shelf-life extension slows these.
• Low-temperature storage: cold storage, pre-cooling and cold-chain transport.
• Controlled/modified atmosphere: low O₂, high CO₂ storage and modified atmosphere packaging; ethylene absorbers (potassium permanganate) or 1-MCP.
• Surface treatments: wax coating, edible coatings, approved fungicide dips; irradiation (gamma rays) for some fruits.
• Processing: canning, drying/dehydration, jams, pulp and juice with permitted preservatives.
• Conclusion: reduces post-harvest loss and raises farmers’ income.

• Lungs are internal, moist respiratory organs of air-breathing vertebrates.
• Air contains about 21% oxygen – far more than the dissolved oxygen in water – so lungs give a richer, easier oxygen supply.
• Internal location keeps the respiratory surface moist and protected, enabling life on land without drying out.
• Millions of alveoli give a huge surface area with thin walls and rich blood supply → efficient gas exchange.
• High oxygen supply supports high metabolic rate, warm-bloodedness (birds, mammals) and active life; air flow also helps sound production.
• Conclusion: lungs were a key adaptation for terrestrial life.

• Endocrine glands secrete hormones directly into blood; both deficiency (hypo) and excess (hyper) cause disorders.
• Pituitary – growth hormone: hypo → dwarfism; hyper → gigantism (children), acromegaly (adults). ADH deficiency → diabetes insipidus.
• Thyroid – thyroxine: hypo → cretinism (children), myxoedema (adults); iodine deficiency → simple goitre; hyper → Graves’ disease (exophthalmic goitre).
• Parathyroid – parathormone: hypo → tetany (low blood calcium); hyper → bone decalcification (osteoporosis-like weakening), high blood calcium.
• Adrenal cortex: hypo → Addison’s disease; hyper (cortisol) → Cushing’s syndrome.
• Pancreas (islets) – insulin: hypo → diabetes mellitus; hyper → hypoglycaemia.
• Conclusion: present as a neat table – it earns full marks.

Diagram / table: Table: gland – hormone – hyposecretion disease – hypersecretion disease.

• Occupational disease: illness caused by exposure to hazards at the workplace (dust, chemicals, noise, posture).
• Examples: silicosis (stone quarrying, sand blasting), byssinosis (cotton dust – textile mills), coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, lead poisoning, noise-induced hearing loss.
• Legal protection: Factories Act, 1948 (notifiable diseases), Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (compensation and treatment).
• My role in awareness: workplace camps on PPE (masks, ear plugs), periodic medical check-ups, safe-work posters in Tamil, linking workers to ESI benefits.
• Conclusion: prevention at the workplace is cheaper than treatment.

• Judicial review: power of the courts to examine laws and executive actions and declare them void if they violate the Constitution.
• Origin: Marbury v. Madison (USA, 1803).
• Basis in India: Articles 13, 32 (Supreme Court) and 226 (High Courts).
• Kesavananda Bharati (1973) – basic structure doctrine; L. Chandra Kumar (1997) – judicial review itself is part of the basic structure.
• Conclusion: it keeps all organs of the State within constitutional limits.

• Disaster Management Act, 2005: a disaster is a catastrophe, mishap or grave occurrence from natural or man-made causes resulting in substantial loss of life, property or environment, beyond the coping capacity of the affected community.
• Types: natural (cyclone, flood, earthquake, tsunami, drought) and man-made (industrial accident, fire, stampede).
• Tamil Nadu examples: 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2015 Chennai floods, Cyclone Vardah (2016), Cyclone Gaja (2018).
• Risk = hazard × vulnerability; managed by NDMA (national) and TNSDMA (state) through the cycle of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

• SMART governance = Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent governance.
• Concept stressed by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission’s 11th Report, ‘Promoting e-Governance – The SMART Way Forward’ (2008).
• e-Governance makes it possible: simple online forms, audit trails for accountability, time-bound service delivery, open data for transparency.
• TN example: e-Sevai centres and online certificates (community, income, nativity).
• Conclusion: technology is the tool; citizen-centric process re-engineering is the goal.

• Constituted by the Union Government in June 1983 under Justice R.S. Sarkaria (members B. Sivaraman, Dr S.R. Sen) to review Centre–State relations.
• Why: growing demands for State autonomy – Tamil Nadu’s Rajamannar Committee (1969) and autonomy resolution (1974), Anandpur Sahib Resolution, West Bengal memorandum (1977).
• Concerns over misuse of Article 356, role of Governors, centralisation of finances and concurrent subjects.
• Final report (1988) with 247 recommendations – e.g., Article 356 only as last resort, consultation on Governor appointment, permanent Inter-State Council (set up in 1990 under Article 263).
• Conclusion: favoured cooperative federalism rather than structural change.

• Public Service Commissions (UPSC and State PSCs) are constitutional bodies under Articles 315–323; functions are listed in Article 320.
• Executive (recruitment) function: conducting examinations and interviews for appointment to services.
• Advisory/regulatory function: consulted on methods of recruitment, principles for appointments, promotions and transfers (Art. 320(3)).
• Quasi-judicial function: advice on disciplinary matters affecting civil servants, claims for legal costs and injury pensions.
• Additional functions may be conferred by law (Art. 321); annual report submitted to the President/Governor (Art. 323).
• Conclusion: ensures merit, neutrality and fairness in public employment.

Diagram / table: Three-column table: executive / advisory / quasi-judicial functions.

• CKIC is Tamil Nadu’s segment of the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) – India’s first coastal economic corridor, developed with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as lead partner.
• Covers 23 of Tamil Nadu’s districts between Chennai and Kanyakumari, linking industrial clusters to ports (Chennai, Ennore/Kamarajar, Thoothukudi).
• Components: upgrading state highways, industrial nodes/parks, power and urban infrastructure, skilling and policy reforms.
• Later development (June 2021, after this exam): India and ADB signed a US$484 million loan to upgrade about 590 km of State highways in the corridor.
• Aim: attract manufacturing investment, generate jobs and reduce regional imbalance (southern districts).

Diagram / table: Outline map of Tamil Nadu showing the Chennai–Kanyakumari corridor.

• Recruitment: the process of searching for and attracting suitable candidates to apply for jobs in an organisation/government.
• Objectives: attract a large pool of qualified candidates; select on merit; ensure equal opportunity (Article 16) and social justice through reservation.
• Right person for the right job at the right time; cost-effective and transparent process that builds public trust.
• Example: TNPSC recruitment through open notifications, written tests and counselling.
• Conclusion: good recruitment is the foundation of an efficient civil service.

• Article 245 deals with the territorial extent of laws made by Parliament and State Legislatures.
• 245(1): Parliament may make laws for the whole or any part of the territory of India; a State Legislature for the whole or any part of the State.
• 245(2): No law made by Parliament shall be invalid on the ground that it has extra-territorial operation.
• It is read with Article 246 and the Seventh Schedule (Union, State and Concurrent Lists), forming the base of legislative federalism.
• Conclusion: subject to the Constitution, it defines ‘where’ laws apply.

• Black money: income or wealth on which tax is evaded, or which is earned through illegal activities, and is kept outside official records.
• The term arose because such money is kept ‘off the books’ – unaccounted, outside the formal (‘white’) economy – creating a parallel economy.
• Sources: tax evasion, bribery and corruption, real-estate under-valuation, smuggling, hawala, trade mis-invoicing.
• Official responses: Wanchoo Committee (1971), White Paper on Black Money (2012), SIT on black money (2014), Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, demonetisation (8 November 2016).
• Conclusion: digital payments and better tax compliance shrink the parallel economy.

• Rural sanitation: safe disposal of human excreta, solid and liquid waste, and hygiene practices in villages.
• Programmes: Central Rural Sanitation Programme (1986) → Total Sanitation Campaign (1999) → Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (2012) → Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), launched 2 October 2014.
• SBM-G focus: Individual Household Latrines with incentive, community sanitary complexes, Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages, behaviour change; Phase II (from 2020-21, after this exam) stresses ODF Plus (solid and liquid waste management).
• Benefits: fewer diarrhoeal diseases and stunting, dignity and safety of women, cleaner water sources.
• Conclusion: sustained usage and waste management, not just toilet construction, decide success.

• Welfare state: a state that takes responsibility for the social and economic well-being of its citizens – health, education, employment and social security – not merely law and order.
• Origin: modern idea shaped by the Beveridge Report (UK, 1942); contrasts with the ‘police state’.
• Indian Constitution: Preamble (social, economic justice) and Directive Principles (Part IV) – Articles 38, 39, 41, 42, 47.
• Tamil Nadu examples: Nutritious Noon Meal Scheme (1982), universal Public Distribution System, Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.
• Conclusion: India is a welfare state committed to reducing inequality.

• Launched on 22 January 2015 at Panipat, Haryana by the Prime Minister.
• Why: steep decline in the Child Sex Ratio (girls per 1,000 boys aged 0–6) – 927 in 2001 to 918 in 2011 (Census) – due to sex-selective abortion and gender bias.
• Objectives: prevent gender-biased sex selection, ensure survival and protection of the girl child, ensure her education and participation.
• Joint initiative of the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Education (then HRD); linked with Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
• Conclusion: shifts the focus from scheme to social mindset change.

• Constitutional base: Article 24 (no child below 14 in factories, mines, hazardous work), Article 21A (free and compulsory education 6–14), Article 39(e)(f).
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016 as the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act – complete ban on employing children below 14; adolescents (14–18) barred from hazardous occupations.
• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009; Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
• Measures: National Child Labour Project (1988) special schools, PENCIL portal (2017), rescue and rehabilitation; 12 June – World Day Against Child Labour.
• Conclusion: education and poverty reduction are the lasting cure.

• Corruption: abuse of public office or entrusted power for private gain.
• Forms: bribery, nepotism, embezzlement, kickbacks in procurement, misuse of discretion.
• Legal framework: Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018 – bribe-giving also an offence), Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Act, 2018, Central Vigilance Commission.
• Effects: loss of public trust, poor service delivery, hurts the poor most.
• Conclusion: transparency (RTI), e-governance and ethical leadership are the antidotes.

• Human rights: rights inherent to every person by virtue of being human – life, liberty, equality and dignity (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993).
• Example 1 – Custodial torture and deaths: violate Article 21 and dignity.
• Example 2 – Caste discrimination and honour killings: denial of equality (Articles 14, 15, 17) and of the right to choose a life partner.
• Example 3 – Child labour, bonded labour and manual scavenging: violate Articles 23 and 24 and human dignity.
• Redress: NHRC (1993) and Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission (1997).

• Local Government Directory (LGD): an online directory maintained by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj that gives a unique code to every local government unit.
• Covers States, districts, sub-districts, blocks, revenue villages, gram/intermediate/district panchayats, urban local bodies and their wards, with mapping between them.
• Purpose: a single authoritative master for all e-governance applications – avoids mismatched names/codes across departments; part of the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project.
• Updates (creation, merger, renaming of local bodies) are made online by States, keeping it current.
• Conclusion: standard location codes enable data integration, planning (GPDP) and fund flow tracking.

• TERI – The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi; founded in 1974 as the Tata Energy Research Institute, renamed in 2003.
• Independent, non-profit research institute on energy, environment, climate change and sustainable development.
• Initiatives: GRIHA green-building rating system (developed by TERI, adopted with MNRE), ‘Lighting a Billion Lives’ solar lighting campaign, Oilzapper (bacterial clean-up of oil spills), World Sustainable Development Summit.
• Also runs TERI School of Advanced Studies (deemed university).
• Conclusion: a leading policy think-tank for India’s clean-energy transition.

• GST launched on 1 July 2017 (101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016); GST Council under Article 279A.
• Revenue in 2018: monthly collections mostly about ₹0.85–1 lakh crore; crossed ₹1 lakh crore for the first time in April 2018 (about ₹1.03 lakh crore) and again in October 2018.
• Reforms in 2018: e-way bill for inter-State movement from 1 April 2018; rate rationalisation – many items moved out of the 28% slab (July and December 2018 Council meetings); relief for small businesses (CGST (Amendment) Act, 2018 enabled a higher composition limit of up to ₹1.5 crore).
• Problems: GSTN glitches, complex returns, delayed refunds to exporters, compliance burden on MSMEs, States’ dependence on compensation (assured for 5 years at 14% growth).
• Conclusion: 2018 was a year of stabilisation – ‘One Nation, One Tax’ moving towards a simpler ‘Good and Simple Tax’.

Diagram / table: Bar chart of monthly GST collections, 2018.

• A Tiny URL (URL shortening) converts a long web address into a short alias that redirects the user to the original page.
• Example: a long government-portal link becomes a short link of a few characters.
• Uses: sharing on SMS and social media with character limits, QR codes, easy to type and remember, click tracking.
• Risk: the real destination is hidden – can be misused for phishing; use preview features and trusted shorteners.

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): launched on 1 May 2016 at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Provides deposit-free LPG connections in the name of adult women of poor households, with financial support of ₹1,600 per connection.
• Target of 5 crore connections later raised to 8 crore. Later developments (after this exam): 8 crore reached in September 2019; Ujjwala 2.0 launched in August 2021 for migrant families.
• Benefits: clean cooking fuel, reduced indoor air pollution and respiratory illness, saves women’s time spent collecting firewood.
• Note: ‘Ujjawala’ is also the name of a Ministry of WCD scheme (2007) against trafficking of women and children.

• Overseas Manpower Corporation Ltd (OMCL): a Tamil Nadu Government undertaking established on 30 November 1978 at Chennai (Public (Rehabilitation) Department).
• Government-authorised recruiting agency registered under the Emigration Act, 1983 for placing skilled and semi-skilled workers in jobs abroad.
• Functions: recruitment for overseas employers (Gulf countries and others), pre-departure orientation, skill/language training, ethical recruitment at fair cost.
• Significance: protects Tamil migrant workers from fake agents and exploitation; promotes remittance-led development.
• Conclusion: a model of safe, legal migration.

• Seva Bhoj Yojana: Central sector scheme of the Ministry of Culture, launched in August 2018.
• Reimburses the CGST and the Central Government’s share of IGST paid on purchase of specified raw food items (ghee, edible oil, atta/flour, rice, pulses, sugar, jaggery etc.) by charitable religious institutions that serve free food.
• Eligibility (revised guidelines, August 2018): institutions in existence and serving free food for at least three years, to at least 5,000 people in a calendar month; must register on NITI Aayog’s Darpan portal and enrol on the Ministry of Culture’s CSMS portal.
• Outlay: ₹325 crore for 2018–19 and 2019–20.
• Significance: supports the tradition of annadhanam (free feeding) – in Tamil Nadu temples, gurdwara langars, mosques, churches.

• Mission Indradhanush: launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 25 December 2014.
• Aim: full immunisation of all children under two years and pregnant women, especially in pockets of low coverage.
• Initially against seven vaccine-preventable diseases – diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles, hepatitis B; later vaccines (e.g., rotavirus, pneumococcal, measles-rubella) were added.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush (October 2017) targeted 90% full immunisation; later IMI 2.0 and further rounds.
• Conclusion: ‘Indradhanush’ (rainbow) symbolises the seven original vaccines.

• Big Bang theory: the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago from an extremely hot, dense state and has been expanding and cooling ever since.
• Proposed by Georges Lemaître (1927, ‘primeval atom’); supported by Edwin Hubble’s observation (1929) that galaxies are receding – red shift; term ‘Big Bang’ coined by Fred Hoyle (1949).
• Stages: rapid inflation in a fraction of a second → formation of fundamental particles → protons and neutrons → light nuclei (hydrogen, helium) in the first few minutes → neutral atoms form at about 3,80,000 years, releasing radiation → gravity forms stars and galaxies.
• Evidence: (i) expanding universe – Hubble’s law; (ii) Cosmic Microwave Background radiation discovered by Penzias and Wilson (1965); (iii) observed abundance of hydrogen (~75%) and helium (~25%).
• Rival idea: Steady State theory (Hoyle, Bondi, Gold) – rejected after CMB discovery.
• Open questions: dark matter, dark energy and accelerating expansion (1998).
• Conclusion: the most widely accepted scientific model of the origin of the universe.

Diagram / table: Timeline: Big Bang → inflation → first nuclei (first few minutes) → atoms & CMB (~3.8 lakh years) → first stars/galaxies → present (13.8 billion years).

• Pesticides: chemicals/biological agents used to kill or control pests; classified by target organism and by mode of action.
• (a) By target, with one example each: insecticides – malathion; fungicides – Bordeaux mixture; herbicides – 2,4-D; rodenticides – zinc phosphide; nematicides – carbofuran; acaricides (miticides) – dicofol.
• By mode of action: stomach poisons, contact poisons, fumigants (aluminium phosphide, methyl bromide), systemic poisons (dimethoate).
• (b) Stomach poisons (act after being eaten – for chewing insects): lead arsenate, calcium arsenate, sodium fluoride.
• Contact poisons (kill on contact with the body): pyrethrum (pyrethrins), nicotine sulphate.
• Conclusion: excess use causes residues and resistance – follow IPM and the Insecticides Act, 1968.

Diagram / table: Classification chart of pesticides by target and by mode of action.

• Pseudo-cereals: seeds of non-grass (broad-leaved, dicot) plants that are used like cereal grains – they are not members of the grass family Poaceae.
• Examples: quinoa, amaranth (rajgira), buckwheat, chia.
• Nutrition: gluten-free; higher-quality protein rich in lysine; dietary fibre, iron, calcium, magnesium – suitable for coeliac patients and diabetics.
• Economic importance: hardy, drought-tolerant crops for dryland and hill farming; high market price in health-food and export markets; crop diversification and income for small farmers; value-added products (flakes, flour, snacks).
• 2013 was the UN International Year of Quinoa.
• Conclusion: important for nutrition security and climate-resilient agriculture.

• Hamburger’s phenomenon = chloride shift: exchange of bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) and chloride (Cl⁻) ions across the red blood cell membrane during CO₂ transport.
• In tissues, CO₂ enters RBCs: CO₂ + H₂O → H₂CO₃ (enzyme carbonic anhydrase) → H⁺ + HCO₃⁻.
• HCO₃⁻ diffuses out into plasma; to maintain electrical neutrality, Cl⁻ moves from plasma into the RBC – chloride shift.
• H⁺ is buffered by haemoglobin (forming HHb), which also helps release O₂ to tissues.
• In the lungs the process reverses (reverse chloride shift): HCO₃⁻ re-enters RBC, Cl⁻ moves out, CO₂ is released and exhaled.
• Significance: about 70% of CO₂ is carried as bicarbonate in plasma; maintains ionic balance and blood pH.

Diagram / table: Diagram of an RBC: CO₂ entering, carbonic anhydrase reaction, HCO₃⁻ moving out and Cl⁻ moving in.

• The Governor is the constitutional head of the State; financial powers are exercised on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 163).
• Annual Financial Statement (State budget) is laid before the Legislature at the Governor’s instance (Article 202); supplementary/excess grants (Article 205).
• Money Bills can be introduced only on the Governor’s recommendation (Article 207); no demand for grant can be made except on his recommendation (Article 203(3)).
• Contingency Fund of the State is at the Governor’s disposal for unforeseen expenditure, pending legislative approval (Article 267(2)).
• Constitutes the State Finance Commission every five years to review finances of panchayats and municipalities (Articles 243-I and 243-Y).
• CAG’s reports on State accounts are submitted to the Governor, who causes them to be laid before the Legislature (Article 151(2)).
• Conclusion: largely formal powers that ensure legislative control over public money.

• Background: under the East India Company, appointments to the civil service were made by nomination (patronage) of the Directors; the Charter Act of 1853 ended this and introduced open competition.
• Committee headed by Lord T.B. Macaulay submitted its report in 1854 on the Indian Civil Service.
• Recommendations: entry by open competitive examination held in London; age limit 18–23; examination to test a liberal university education (classics, mathematics, sciences, languages); probation and training after selection.
• Impact: first open competitive examination held in 1855 – the foundation of a merit-based civil service.
• Limitation: exam only in London and the low upper age limit restricted Indians (Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian ICS in 1863).
• Conclusion: the merit principle it set is still the base of UPSC/TNPSC recruitment.

• Constitutional safeguards: Article 311 – no dismissal, removal or reduction in rank except after an inquiry with reasonable opportunity of being heard; Article 320(3)(c) – the Public Service Commission must be consulted on disciplinary matters (the disciplinary authority, not the PSC, passes orders).
• In Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1955 – procedure under Rule 17(a) for minor penalties (censure, withholding increment/promotion, recovery) and under Rule 17(b) for major penalties (reduction in rank, compulsory retirement, removal, dismissal).
• Step 1: Preliminary enquiry/vigilance report → decision to proceed; suspension if necessary.
• Step 2: Charge memo with statement of allegations and list of documents/witnesses → employee submits written statement of defence.
• Step 3: Appointment of Enquiry Officer → oral inquiry, examination and cross-examination, defence assistant → enquiry report.
• Step 4: Copy of report to the employee for representation → disciplinary authority considers it → consultation with the PSC where required → final order with reasons.
• Step 5: Appeal, revision and review; principles of natural justice throughout.
• Conclusion: protects honest officers while punishing misconduct.

Diagram / table: Flowchart of the disciplinary proceeding from preliminary enquiry to appeal.

• Gandhi believed that administration and education must be in the people’s mother tongue to bring the masses into the freedom movement.
• Under his leadership the Nagpur Congress session (1920) reorganised Provincial Congress Committees on linguistic lines (e.g., Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka Congress Committees) – the organisational seed of linguistic States.
• He used regional languages in mass contact and promoted Hindustani as a link language while respecting all Indian languages.
• After Independence, the Congress promise was taken up: S.K. Dhar Commission (1948) and JVP Committee (1948–49) were cautious; Potti Sriramulu’s death after a fast (15 December 1952) led to Andhra State (1 October 1953).
• States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali, 1953) → States Reorganisation Act, 1956 – language as a major basis.
• Tamil Nadu: Madras State took its present boundaries in 1956 and was renamed Tamil Nadu on 14 January 1969.
• Conclusion: Gandhi’s 1920 decision gave linguistic identity a democratic, nationalist form that strengthened unity in diversity.

Diagram / table: Timeline: 1920 Nagpur → 1948 Dhar Commission / JVP Committee → 1953 Andhra → 1956 SR Act → 1969 ‘Tamil Nadu’.

• Honour killing: murder of a person, usually a young woman or couple, by family/community members who believe the person brought ‘dishonour’ – typically for inter-caste or inter-religious marriage.
• Social causes: rigid caste endogamy and caste pride; patriarchy and control over women’s sexuality and property; community pressure (caste panchayats/khaps); political mobilisation on caste lines; low legal awareness.
• Tamil Nadu cases: Kannagi–Murugesan (Cuddalore district, 2003), Gokulraj (2015), Shankar (Udumalaipettai, 2016) – cases that shocked the State and led to demands for a special law.
• Consequences: violation of Articles 14, 15 and 21 (right to choose a partner – Shafin Jahan, 2018); fear among youth; deepening caste divisions; trauma to families; obstacle to social reform.
• Remedies: Shakti Vahini v. Union of India (2018) – preventive, remedial and punitive guidelines; Law Commission’s 242nd Report (2012) draft law; special cells, safe houses, fast-track courts; awareness and inter-caste marriage incentives.
• Conclusion: there is no ‘honour’ in killing – constitutional morality must prevail over caste morality.

Diagram / table: Two-column table: causes vs consequences.

• Judicial roots: the right to know was read into Article 19(1)(a) – State of U.P. v. Raj Narain (1975), S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981).
• People’s movement: Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Rajasthan, in the 1990s – public hearings (jan sunwai) on wage and works records.
• State laws: Tamil Nadu and Goa enacted RTI laws in 1997, followed by other States.
• Freedom of Information Act, 2002 – passed but never brought into force.
• Right to Information Act, 2005 – enacted in June 2005, fully in force from 12 October 2005: PIOs, reply in 30 days (48 hours for life and liberty), Central and State Information Commissions, penalty up to ₹25,000.
• Conclusion: transformed citizens from subjects to stakeholders of governance.

Diagram / table: Timeline of RTI milestones 1975 → 2005.

• Approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2017, replacing the National Health Policy of 2002.
• Goal: highest possible level of health and well-being for all, through preventive and promotive care and universal access to good-quality services without financial hardship.
• Financing: raise public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025; States to spend more than 8% of their budgets on health by 2020.
• Key targets: life expectancy from 67.5 to 70 years by 2025; TFR 2.1 by 2025; IMR 28 by 2019; MMR 100 by 2020; reduce premature mortality from NCDs by 25% by 2025.
• Strategy: about two-thirds of resources to primary care; Health and Wellness Centres; free drugs and diagnostics; strategic purchasing from the private sector; AYUSH integration; digital health.
• Conclusion: shifted focus from ‘sick care’ to ‘wellness’ and paved the way for Ayushman Bharat.

Diagram / table: Table of NHP 2017 time-bound targets.

• CVC: apex vigilance institution of the Union Government, set up in February 1964 by executive resolution on the recommendation of the K. Santhanam Committee; made statutory by the CVC Act, 2003 (following Vineet Narain judgment, 1997).
• Composition: Central Vigilance Commissioner and up to two Vigilance Commissioners, appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee of the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; term 4 years or till 65 years of age.
• Functions: inquire or cause inquiry into offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by Central public servants of specified levels; superintendence over the CBI (Delhi Special Police Establishment) in corruption cases.
• Advises the Government on vigilance matters and reviews progress of prosecution sanctions; supervises vigilance administration of ministries and PSUs (Chief Vigilance Officers).
• Designated agency for whistle-blower complaints (PIDPI Resolution, 2004); chairs the committees that recommend the ED Director and senior CBI officers (SP and above) – the CBI Director himself is chosen by a PM–CJI–Leader of Opposition committee; observes Vigilance Awareness Week.
• Limitations: advisory nature, dependence on CBI, no power to register criminal cases.
• Conclusion: a key integrity institution, complemented by the Lokpal.

• Public opinion: the collective view of people on public issues; social media (Facebook, X/Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube) has become a major arena for shaping it.
• Merits: democratises voice – anyone can raise issues; rapid mobilisation (Jallikattu protest at Marina, Chennai, January 2017); disaster coordination (2015 Chennai floods volunteers); holds governments and the powerful accountable (#MeToo); direct citizen–government interaction and grievance redressal.
• Demerits: fake news and rumours (WhatsApp child-lifting rumours led to mob lynchings in 2018); echo chambers and polarisation; hate speech and trolling; paid/bot campaigns and manipulation in elections; privacy breaches (Cambridge Analytica, 2018).
• Legal angle: Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) struck down Section 66A of the IT Act – free speech protected, but reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) apply; IT intermediary rules.
• Way forward: digital and media literacy, fact-checking, platform accountability, responsible use.
• Conclusion: social media is a powerful tool – its value depends on the maturity of its users.

Diagram / table: Two-column table: merits vs demerits with one example each.

• Tamil Nadu e-Governance Policy, 2017 (Information Technology Department): vision to make government services available online, accessible anywhere through common service centres, mobile and handheld devices, ensuring transparency, accountability and efficiency.
• Services covered: G2C, G2B, G2G and G2E, with proactive online delivery and integrated, cost-effective systems.
• Core infrastructure: State Data Centre, cloud and disaster-recovery, TNSWAN, BharatNet broadband, State Resident Data Hub, e-Sign/digital signature.
• Delivery channels: State Portal and State Service Delivery Gateway, online payment gateway, m-Governance apps in Tamil and English, e-Sevai centres.
• Standards: open source and open standards, inter-operability, Tamil Unicode and Tamil computing, data owned by Government with privacy and security (security audits).
• Institutions and capacity: IT Department, ELCOT, TNeGA, district e-governance societies; ICT training for employees.
• Conclusion: aims at citizen-centric, paperless and Tamil-friendly governance.

Diagram / table: Layered diagram: infrastructure → platforms → delivery channels → citizen services.

• Bharatmala Pariyojana: umbrella highway development programme of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, approved in October 2017; Phase-I – about 34,800 km at an estimated ₹5.35 lakh crore.
• Economic corridors – about 9,000 km.
• Inter-corridor and feeder routes – about 6,000 km.
• National corridors efficiency improvement (ring roads, bypasses, elevated corridors, lane expansion at choke points) – about 5,000 km.
• Border and international connectivity roads – about 2,000 km; Coastal and port connectivity roads – about 2,000 km; Expressways (greenfield) – about 800 km.
• Balance NHDP works – about 10,000 km.
• Conclusion: aims at optimal freight movement, logistics cost reduction and regional development (e.g., Chennai–Bengaluru Expressway).

Diagram / table: Table of Bharatmala Phase-I components with length.

• Origin: US President John F. Kennedy’s address of 15 March 1962 – now World Consumer Rights Day; in India, 24 December is National Consumer Day (Consumer Protection Act, 1986).
• Six consumer rights under Indian law: (1) Right to safety; (2) Right to be informed; (3) Right to choose; (4) Right to be heard; (5) Right to seek redressal; (6) Right to consumer education.
• Redressal: three-tier consumer commissions – District, State and National.
• Later development: the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (in force from July 2020, after this exam) added the Central Consumer Protection Authority, e-commerce rules, product liability and mediation.
• Conclusion: an aware consumer is the best protection – ‘Jago Grahak Jago’.

• Blue Revolution: rapid growth in fish production through modern fisheries and aquaculture; the first phase came with the Fish Farmers Development Agencies (1970s–80s).
• India is the second-largest fish producer in the world; fisheries support the livelihood of crores of people, mostly small-scale fishers.
• New dimension 1 – integrated approach: ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries’ scheme (2015–16) covering inland, marine, infrastructure and welfare; Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (2018).
• New dimension 2 – diversification: cage culture, mariculture, seaweed cultivation, re-circulatory aquaculture, ornamental fish, shrimp exports.
• New dimension 3 – deep-sea fishing and sustainability: conversion of Palk Bay trawlers to deep-sea fishing vessels (Tamil Nadu), fishing harbours, cold chain, traceability, ban season, and space technology for potential fishing zone (PFZ) advisories.
• Institutional: separate Department of Fisheries (2019); later, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (2020, after this exam) as the next phase.
• Conclusion: Tamil Nadu’s long coastline makes it central to the Blue Economy.

• Ayushman Bharat announced in Union Budget 2018–19 with two pillars: Health and Wellness Centres (primary care) and the National Health Protection Mission – later named Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), launched on 23 September 2018 at Ranchi.
• Cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation – among the world’s largest government-funded health assurance schemes.
• Beneficiaries: about 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families identified through SECC 2011 data; no cap on family size or age.
• Cashless and paperless at empanelled public and private hospitals; portable across India; covers pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses and pre-existing conditions from day one.
• Implementation: National Health Authority (earlier National Health Agency) and State Health Agencies; Centre–State cost sharing (60:40 in most States); IT platform and e-cards.
• Tamil Nadu: implemented in convergence with the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS).
• Conclusion: moves India towards Universal Health Coverage (SDG 3.8).

Diagram / table: Diagram: Ayushman Bharat’s two pillars – Health & Wellness Centres and PM-JAY.

• IT in administration (e-governance) promises speed, transparency and citizen convenience – National e-Governance Plan (2006), Digital India (2015); but barriers remain.
• Infrastructural: digital divide between urban and rural areas, uneven broadband and power supply, cost of devices.
• Human and social: low digital literacy among citizens and employees, language barrier (content mostly in English), exclusion of elderly, disabled and poor.
• Administrative and organisational: resistance to change, hierarchical file culture, lack of process re-engineering (automating old procedures), shortage of skilled IT staff, frequent transfers.
• Technical: data silos and lack of inter-operability between departments, legacy systems, poor maintenance, vendor lock-in.
• Security and legal: cyber attacks and data breaches, privacy concerns (right to privacy – Puttaswamy, 2017), authentication failures.
• Way forward: BharatNet, Tamil-language interfaces, Common Service Centres/e-Sevai, capacity building, open standards, strong data-protection framework.
• Conclusion: technology succeeds only when people and processes change with it.

Diagram / table: Table: barrier – example – remedy.

• About 69% of India’s population (Census 2011) lives in villages; in Tamil Nadu the rural share is about 52%, with rapid urbanisation.
• Economic: dependence on rain-fed agriculture, small and fragmented holdings, low productivity, indebtedness and farmer distress, disguised unemployment, lack of non-farm jobs, distress migration.
• Social: caste discrimination and untouchability practices, gender inequality, child marriage, alcoholism, low quality of schooling and dropouts.
• Health and sanitation: shortage of doctors and specialists, malnutrition and anaemia, open defecation (now reduced), unsafe drinking water.
• Infrastructure: roads, electricity, irrigation, storage, markets and digital connectivity gaps.
• Governance: weak devolution to panchayats (funds, functions, functionaries), leakages in welfare schemes.
• Government response: MGNREGA (2005), NRLM/Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihoods Mission (Mahalir Thittam), PMGSY (2000), Jal Jeevan Mission (2019, after this exam), SBM-G, PM-KISAN; critical gap – implementation quality.
• Conclusion: ‘India lives in her villages’ (Gandhi) – rural transformation is national transformation.

Diagram / table: Mind-map of rural problems: economic, social, infrastructural, governance.

• Gaganyaan: India’s first human spaceflight programme by ISRO, announced on 15 August 2018; approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2018 (total cost within ₹10,000 crore).
• Objective (as approved in 2018): send a crew of up to three astronauts to low Earth orbit for up to seven days and return them safely; the current mission plan is an orbit of about 400 km for up to three days, with splash-down in Indian waters.
• Technology: human-rated LVM3 (GSLV Mk III) launch vehicle; crew module with life-support system, service module; crew escape system tested in the Pad Abort Test (5 July 2018); later, Test Vehicle TV-D1 flight (21 October 2023).
• Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC), Bengaluru (January 2019). Later developments (after this exam): four IAF test-pilot astronaut-designates announced in February 2024, trained in Russia and India; Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla flew to the ISS on Axiom-4 in 2025.
• Significance: national prestige, spin-off technologies (life support, materials, medicine), industry participation, youth inspiration; step towards the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
• Challenges: human-rating reliability, crew safety, cost, tight timelines.
• Conclusion: will make India the fourth nation to independently send humans to space (after the USSR/Russia, USA and China).

Diagram / table: Sketch of the Gaganyaan stack: LVM3 rocket, crew module, service module, crew escape system.

• (a) Petroleum exploration methods: (i) geological surveys – surface mapping of sedimentary basins, rock outcrops, oil seeps; (ii) geophysical surveys – seismic reflection/refraction (most widely used), gravity and magnetic surveys; (iii) geochemical surveys – soil-gas and hydrocarbon traces; (iv) remote sensing/satellite imagery; (v) exploratory (wildcat) drilling with well logging and core sampling to confirm reserves. Indian example: Cauvery basin (Tamil Nadu) explored by ONGC.
• (b) Green chemistry and energy (Anastas and Warner’s 12 principles – Principle 6, ‘design for energy efficiency’): run reactions at room temperature and pressure; use catalysts and enzymes (biocatalysis) to lower activation energy; microwave- and ultrasound-assisted synthesis; fewer steps and less purification; safer solvents (water, supercritical CO₂) that need less energy to recover; renewable feedstocks.
• (c)(i) Ionisation energy: increases across a period (rising nuclear charge, smaller atomic radius); decreases down a group (larger size, more shielding).
• (c)(ii) Acidity/basicity of oxides: across a period oxides change from basic (Na₂O) through amphoteric (Al₂O₃) to acidic (Cl₂O₇) as metallic character falls; down a group basic character increases.
• (c)(iii) Electron affinity: generally becomes more negative (higher) across a period and decreases down a group; exceptions – noble gases, Be, N; chlorine has higher electron affinity than fluorine (small size of F causes electron repulsion).
• (c)(iv) Stability of oxides: depends on electronegativity difference and size – ionic oxides of electropositive metals (e.g., MgO, CaO, Al₂O₃) are very stable; for oxides of a group, stability of the higher oxidation-state oxide decreases down groups 14–15 (inert pair effect: PbO₂ less stable than CO₂/SnO₂).
• (c)(v) Electronegativity: increases across a period and decreases down a group; fluorine is the most electronegative element (4.0 on the Pauling scale).
• Conclusion: all trends are explained by effective nuclear charge, atomic size and shielding.

Diagram / table: Table of periodic trends (across a period → / down a group ↓) for the five properties.

• Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission of India; free and fair elections are part of the basic structure (Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain, 1975).
• Electoral rolls and identity: periodic revision, EPIC (photo identity cards, 1993), linking with technology to remove duplicates; SVEEP for voter education and inclusion.
• Model Code of Conduct: enforced from announcement of polls – curbs misuse of official machinery, new schemes, hate speech; cVIGIL app (2018) for citizen complaints.
• Money and muscle power: expenditure ceiling and observers, flying squads and static surveillance teams, seizure of cash and liquor; candidates’ affidavits on criminal record, assets and education (after Union of India v. ADR, 2002); countermanding polls – e.g., R.K. Nagar by-election (2017), Aravakurichi and Thanjavur (2016) in Tamil Nadu over cash-for-votes.
• Technology: EVMs (used in all constituencies from 2004), VVPAT (first in 2013; in all booths from the 2019 Lok Sabha election, after this exam), webcasting, randomised deployment of EVMs and staff.
• Inclusion and secrecy: NOTA (2013, PUCL judgment), accessible booths, postal ballots for service voters, central forces for security.
• Limitations: limited powers to deregister parties, paid news, social-media misinformation, criminalisation.
• Conclusion: the ECI’s credibility is the bedrock of Indian democracy; further reforms – state funding, decriminalisation, transparency in party finance.

Diagram / table: Flowchart: before polls → during campaign → polling day → counting, with ECI measures at each stage.

• Juvenile delinquency: involvement of a child (below 18 years) in an act that would be an offence if committed by an adult – ‘child in conflict with law’ under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
• Causes – family: poverty, broken homes, domestic violence, neglect, lack of parental supervision.
• Causes – social and individual: peer pressure, school dropout, child labour and street life, substance abuse, exposure to violent media and online content, urban slums, mental-health issues.
• Consequences: loss of education and future employability, stigma, risk of becoming habitual adult offenders, threat to public safety, burden on the justice system.
• Legal framework: JJ Act, 2015 – Juvenile Justice Boards, observation homes and special homes; children aged 16–18 accused of heinous offences may be tried as adults after preliminary assessment; focus on reformation, not punishment.
• Remedies: strengthen families and schools (counselling, mid-day meals, retention), de-addiction centres, Child Welfare Committees and Special Juvenile Police Units, Childline 1098, ICPS (merged into Mission Vatsalya from 2021-22), skill training and after-care, community policing.
• Tamil Nadu: Government observation homes and special homes, District Child Protection Units.
• Conclusion: every delinquent child is a child in need of care – rehabilitation is the best crime prevention.

Diagram / table: Flowchart: causes → delinquency → consequences → remedies (prevention, JJ system, rehabilitation).

• Dengue: viral fever (dengue virus, four serotypes) spread by the day-biting Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in clean stored water – tanks, tyres, coconut shells, flower pots, refrigerator trays.
• Symptoms: high fever, severe body and joint pain (‘breakbone fever’), rash; severe dengue with bleeding and shock can be fatal; no specific antiviral drug – early detection and fluid management save lives.
• Tamil Nadu measures – surveillance and treatment: fever clinics and free NS1/IgM ELISA testing in government hospitals, sentinel surveillance labs, platelet and blood-bank support, daily fever surveillance.
• Vector control: Domestic Breeding Checkers going house-to-house for source reduction, larvicide (temephos) application, fogging in outbreak areas, inspection of construction sites, schools, factories; penalties under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939 for allowing breeding sources.
• Community and AYUSH: mass awareness campaigns, distribution of Nilavembu Kudineer (Siddha) – especially during the 2017 outbreak; school children and self-help groups as ‘dengue volunteers’.
• My suggestions: weekly ‘dry day’ in every home, covering water containers, tyre and plastic waste management, GIS-based hot-spot mapping and early warning with rainfall data, ward-level accountability in local bodies, trials of Wolbachia-based mosquito control, integration with Swachh Bharat and the Jal Jeevan Mission (piped water reduces storage).
• Conclusion: government action succeeds only with community participation – ‘no stagnant water, no dengue’.

Diagram / table: Life-cycle of the Aedes mosquito with ‘break the cycle’ intervention points.