UPSC CSE PRELIMS 2026 - Questions and Answers

The question asks for the basis of the palaeodrainage assertion.

Only statement 3 is correct. The presence of the same dolphin species in both the Indus and Ganga river systems is evidence of an older river connection or channel shift. Therefore, statements 1 and 2 are not correct.

Early Buddhist iconography often uses symbolic, aniconic forms instead of direct human images of the Buddha.

In that symbolic scheme, the empty seat or empty throne represents the Buddha's meditative presence. Therefore the accepted answer is the Buddha's meditation.

Parushni is correctly matched with the Ravi.

Vitasta is classically associated with the Jhelum, not the Chenab.

Asikni is associated with the Chenab, not the Jhelum.

Yavyavati is not accepted as the Beas.

So only statement 3 is correct.

Statement 2 is the trap. Amaravati was not "next only to Sanchi" in size; it was larger in scale.

Amaravati Stupa is considered one of the largest and most elaborate Buddhist stupas of ancient India. Many historians believe it surpassed Sanchi Stupa in overall scale and artistic richness during its peak.

Sanchi Stupa is the largest surviving.

so statement 2 is false.

That leaves statements 1 and 3 as the valid combination.

The question asks which pair is not correctly matched.

Senguttuvan : Chera is correctly matched.

Nedunjeliyan : Pandya is correctly matched.

Udiyanjeral : Chola is the mismatched pair, because Udiyanjeral belongs to the Chera line.

Therefore only statement 2 is not correctly matched.

Bose's political break with the Gandhian leadership is one key factor. The Congress Left is divided and unable to unite effectively behind him. Supporters of M.N. Roy and socialist figures like Jayaprakash Narayan are prioritizing Congress unity over Bose's line. Therefore, statement 3 is not correct.

The British settlement policy in Awadh is hostile to the taluqdars.

Statement 2 is accepted because the summary revenue settlement viewed taluqdars as outsiders or usurpers.

Statement 3 is accepted because the British aimed to collect revenue more directly from cultivators by weakening taluqdar control.

Statement 1 is rejected because the description about retaining arms and forts is not supported.

The reasoning treats this as a causal-structure question, not a narrow chronology test. Statement 1 supports the assertion because separate electorates were retained and extended. Statement 2 supports it because the policy was meant to weaken unified Indian nationalism through communal fragmentation. Statement 3 is accepted as part of the later behavioral effect of that design: community-based mobilization around representational incentives.

Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur is identified with the Jaipur-Atrauli tradition. Therefore the accepted gharana is Jaipur-Atrauli.

The term kshetra-patni is placed in the Atharvavedic agrarian and ritual layer. It is distinct from the Rigvedic Kshetrapati, which is a separate figure. Therefore the feminine agrarian expression is linked to the Atharvaveda, not the Rigveda, Ashtadhyayi, or Arthashastra.

The question asks for the Carnatic equivalent of Hindustani Raga Bilawal. The correct correspondence is Dheera Shankarabharanam.

The fixed rupee-sterling rate is serving British imperial financial interests. In the settled key, the accepted purpose is easing remittance flows and preserving India's creditworthiness. The other options are not the main reason behind adoption of the prescribed rate.

The question links early coin references in Pali texts with archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins. That combination is evidence both for the emergence of urban life and for transition toward a money economy. Therefore both statements 1 and 2 are accepted.

Huchimalligudi Temple at Aihole and Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh are Nagara-style examples.

Malegitti Shivalaya and Virupaksha are taken as Dravida-style examples.

On that basis, statements 2 and 3 are accepted.

The four principal forms of existence in Jain thought are deva, manushya, tiryancha, and naraki. Yaksha does not belong to that fourfold classification. Therefore Yaksha is the option not included.