Persons, awards & miscellany

Answer: (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Statement-II is right: the Flag Code fixes the length-to-height (width) ratio of the National Flag at 3:2. Statement-I is wrong: the Code lists nine standard sizes and 600 × 400 mm is not among them, even though it has the same 3:2 shape.

• ✗ Statement-I Paragraph 1.4 lists nine standard sizes, No. 1 to No. 9: 6300 × 4200, 3600 × 2400, 2700 × 1800, 1800 × 1200, 1350 × 900, 900 × 600, 450 × 300, 225 × 150 and 150 × 100 mm. There is no 600 × 400 mm size; the nearest are 900 × 600 mm (No. 6) and 450 × 300 mm (No. 7).
• ✓ Statement-II Paragraph 1.3 says the National Flag is rectangular and that the ratio of its length to its height (width) shall be 3:2. Every standard size in the table follows this ratio.

Remember · Flag Code 2002: ratio 3:2 (para 1.3); nine standard sizes, 6300 × 4200 mm down to 150 × 100 mm (para 1.4). 600 × 400 mm is not one.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Statement-I is correct: 26 November, the day the Constitution was adopted, is observed as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) to bring constitutional principles and values before citizens. Statement-II is wrong: the Drafting Committee under Dr B. R. Ambedkar was set up on 29 August 1947, over two years before the Assembly passed the finished Constitution on 26 November 1949.

• ✓ Statement-I 26 November is kept every year as Constitution Day, also called Samvidhan Divas, to mark the adoption of the Constitution in 1949. The Government of India began the observance in 2015, Dr Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary year, to highlight constitutional principles and values.
• ✗ Statement-II The Drafting Committee, chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, was set up on 29 August 1947. On 26 November 1949 the Constituent Assembly did not set up a committee; it adopted the Constitution that the committee's draft had led to.

Remember · Drafting Committee: set up 29 Aug 1947, Chairman Dr Ambedkar. Constitution adopted 26 Nov 1949 (Constitution Day), in force 26 Jan 1950 (Republic Day).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Only two

Only pairs 1 and 3 are correct. The Arjuna Award rewards good performance over the previous four years, not lifetime achievement, and the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar goes to corporate entities, sports bodies and NGOs, not to retired sportspersons.

• ✓ 1. The Khel Ratna, the highest sports honour, rewards a sportsperson whose performance has been spectacular and among the very best across the four years before the award.
• ✗ 2. The Arjuna Award rewards good performance across the previous four years, along with leadership, sportsmanship and discipline. Lifetime achievement is honoured by the Dhyan Chand Award.
• ✓ 3. The Dronacharya Award honours coaches whose consistent and meritorious work has helped their trainees perform well at international events.
• ✗ 4. The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to corporate entities, sports control boards and NGOs (including sports bodies) that have played a visible role in promoting sports. Honouring sportspersons for what they do after retirement belongs to the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement.

Remember · Khel Ratna and Arjuna: performance over the previous four years. Dronacharya: coaches. Dhyan Chand Award: lifetime achievement. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: corporates, sports bodies and NGOs.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Only two

Statements 1 and 2 are correct; statements 3 and 4 have the two trophies swapped. The open-section winner gets the Hamilton-Russell Cup and the women's-section winner gets the Vera Menchik Cup.

• ✓ 1. The 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai (28 July to 10 August 2022) was the first Olympiad hosted in India.
• ✓ 2. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister released the official logo and mascot 'Thambi' before the event.
• ✗ 3. The Vera Menchik Cup goes to the winning team in the women's section, not the open section.
• ✗ 4. The Hamilton-Russell Cup goes to the winning team in the open section, not the women's section.

Remember · Chess Olympiad trophies: Hamilton-Russell Cup for the open section, Vera Menchik Cup for the women's section. The 2022 Chennai edition was India's first, with mascot Thambi.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error