Biodiversity, plants & animals

Answer: (c) 1 and 2

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Gucchi is the morel mushroom (genus Morchella), an edible fungus that grows wild in Himalayan forests such as those of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. It is gathered from the forest; Indian research describes commercial cultivation as unsuccessful, and it is not farmed in north-eastern India.

• ✓ 1. Gucchi is a mushroom of the genus Morchella, which belongs to the fungal group Ascomycota (family Morchellaceae).
• ✓ 2. Gucchi grows on the ground in coniferous and mixed coniferous forests; in J&K and Himachal Pradesh it is collected from forests.
• ✗ 3. Gucchi is a wild-collected forest produce of the western Himalaya. ICAR's Mushroom Research journal notes that commercial cultivation of Morchella has not succeeded, and no source shows it being farmed in north-eastern India.

Remember · Gucchi = morel (Morchella), a wild Himalayan forest fungus from J&K and Himachal; hand-collected, not commercially farmed.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Golden Mahseer

Golden Mahseer is a fish, not a bird. Tor putitora is a freshwater fish of Himalayan rivers, assessed Endangered by the IUCN. The nightjar, spoonbill and ibis are all birds.

• ✓ (a) The Wildlife Institute of India lists the Golden Mahaseer (Tor putitora) in class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, and calls it a column-feeding freshwater fish.
• ✗ (b) The Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a bird; it appears in the bird checklist of an Indian Ramsar wetland.
• ✗ (c) Spoonbills, such as the Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), are wading birds of class Aves.
• ✗ (d) The White Ibis is a wading bird. Ibises belong to the same family, Threskiornithidae, as the spoonbills.

Remember · Golden Mahseer (Tor putitora) is a Himalayan freshwater fish, IUCN Endangered. Nightjar, spoonbill and ibis are birds.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct. Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, a listed animal is protected from hunting wherever it is, inside or outside protected areas. But only some wild animals become Government property, and a mere fear of danger does not justify killing or capturing one.

• ✗ 1. Section 39 makes only certain animals Government property, such as those hunted under a permit, kept or hunted against the Act, or found dead. It does not make every wild animal the sole property of the government.
• ✓ 2. Section 9 bars hunting of any animal listed in the Schedules, and the rule is not tied to protected areas. The protection applies inside or outside sanctuaries and parks.
• ✗ 3. Section 11 lets the Chief Wild Life Warden permit hunting only if satisfied that the animal has actually become dangerous to human life (or is beyond recovery), and, since 2003, that it cannot be captured, tranquilised or translocated. Fear of danger alone is not enough.

Remember · Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, hunting of scheduled animals is barred everywhere. A dangerous animal may be killed only as a last resort, on the Chief Wild Life Warden's written order.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Contemporary India – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Ant

Ants are the well-known fungus farmers among these options. The fungus-gardening (attine) ants, including leafcutter ants of the American tropics, grow fungus in their nests as their food.

• ✓ (a) Attine ants, more than 250 species, cultivate fungi as their main food. Leafcutter ants cut leaves, carry them into underground nests and use them to feed the fungus.
• ✗ (b) Cockroaches are not known as fungus cultivators.
• ✗ (c) Crabs are not known as fungus cultivators.
• ✗ (d) Spiders are not known as fungus cultivators.

Remember · Fungus-growing (attine) ants, such as leafcutter ants, farm fungus in their nests as food. This is an example of mutualism between an insect and a fungus.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 2 and 3

DNA barcoding identifies which species a sample belongs to by reading a short, standard piece of DNA. So it can tell apart look-alike (cryptic) species and can spot unwanted or undeclared species in processed food, but it does not tell the age of an organism.

• ✗ 1. A DNA barcode is a short standardised DNA marker used for detection and identification of species. It says what the organism is, not how old it is.
• ✓ 2. Barcodes can separate cryptic species, which look alike outwardly; a DNA mini-barcode with next-generation sequencing has been used to detect such species even in mixed seafood.
• ✓ 3. Processed foods are more likely to be substituted or adulterated with undeclared species, and DNA barcoding is used to check meat, poultry and fish products for such species.

Remember · DNA barcoding = species identification from a short standard DNA sequence (COI in animals). Uses: telling look-alike (cryptic) species apart and checking foods for undeclared species. Not for age.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error