TGPSC Group-I Prelims 1990

131 questions from the 1990 papers, each with the official answer and an explanation.

A question repeated across years is listed once, under one of the years it appeared.

121. Q121Number system and basic operations

     Ramesh has just enough money to buy 5 pens and 8 pencils or 3 pens and 16 pencils. How many pencils can be buy if the buys no pens?

     • a24
     • b28Answer
     • c32
     • dNone of these
     ›Explanation

     Option B is correct because equating the costs shows that 1 pen equals 4 pencils, meaning Ramesh's total budget equals the cost of 28 pencils. 5P + 8C = 3P + 16C 2P = 8C, so 1P = 4C Total budget in pencils = 5(4C) + 8C = 20C + 8C = 28C Option A: 24 underestimates the total equivalent cost by 4 pencils. Option C: 32 assumes 1 pen equals 5 pencils instead of 4. Option D: None of these is incorrect because the exact value of 28 is present in Option B.

122. Q122Number system and basic operations

     If A, B and C are consecutive integers and A is smaller than B, which in turn is snjaller than C, which of the following is true ?

     • aA + B + C is an even integer
     • bABC is an even integer
     • cA-B = C-B
     • dB = (A + C) / 2Answer
     ›Explanation

     Option D is correct because consecutive integers form an arithmetic progression with a common difference of 1, making the middle term equal to the arithmetic mean of the two surrounding terms. Let A = x, B = x + 1, and C = x + 2 A + C = x + (x + 2) = 2x + 2 (A + C) / 2 = (2x + 2) / 2 = x + 1 = B Option A: A + B + C is 3x + 3, which is odd when x is even, such as 2 + 3 + 4 = 9. Option B: Although the product of consecutive integers contains at least one even number, this property does not define the algebraic relationship among three consecutive terms. Option C: A - B equals -1 while C - B equals 1, so they are unequal in sign.

123. Q123Ratio, percentage and commercial arithmetic

     The ratio of two numbers is 5 : 8 and their sum is 91. Find the numbers.

     • a66 and 25
     • b25 and 66
     • c56 and 35
     • d35 and 56Answer
     ›Explanation

     Option D is correct because dividing 91 into two parts in the ratio 5 : 8 gives 35 and 56 respectively. Sum of ratio terms = 5 + 8 = 13 Value of one part = 91 / 13 = 7 First number = 5 * 7 = 35 Second number = 8 * 7 = 56 Option A: 66 and 25 is incorrect because their ratio 25:66 does not simplify to 5:8. Option B: 25 and 66 is incorrect because the numbers do not sum in parts corresponding to the ratio 5:8. Option C: 56 and 35 is incorrect because the ratio is given in the order 5:8, meaning the smaller number comes first.

124. Q124Data interpretation and probability

     A coin is flipped for 100 times. The numbe of times the head comes on top is

     • aexactly 50
     • b50 or more
     • c50 or less
     • dabout 50 with few more or few lessAnswer
     ›Explanation

     Option D is correct because coin tosses are independent random trials governed by binomial probability, meaning the number of heads clusters near the expected value of 50 with small random deviations. Option A: getting exactly 50 heads has a probability of only about 8 percent, making an exact outcome unlikely. Option B: the outcome is not guaranteed to be 50 or more, as fewer than 50 heads is equally probable. Option C: the outcome is not guaranteed to be 50 or less, as more than 50 heads is equally probable.

125. Q125People: appointments, honours and passings

     The Commander - in - Chief of the Indian Army is

     • aRajula Khan
     • bSaxena
     • cS. F. Rodrigues
     • dNone of the aboveAnswer
     ›Explanation

     Option D is correct because the President of India is the supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces according to the Constitution of India. Article 53(2) of the Indian Constitution vests the supreme command of the Defence Forces in the President Option A: Rajula Khan is a fictitious name in this context and has never held the supreme military command. Option B: Saxena refers to former military officers or administrators, none of whom held the constitutional supreme command. Option C: S. F. Rodrigues was the Chief of the Army Staff from 1990 to 1993, which is the operational head of the Army rather than the constitutional Commander-in-Chief.

126. Q126Events, summits and observances

     Name the two countries which were involved in organising Peace Conference on Cambodia

     • aU.S. A-China
     • bU. S. A-Cambodia
     • cIndia - Indonesia
     • dIndonesia - FranceAnswer
     ›Explanation

     Option D is correct because Indonesia and France served as the co-chairs of the Paris Peace Conference on Cambodia, which negotiated the comprehensive 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. Jakarta Informal Meetings: Initiated by Indonesia (1988) Paris Peace Conference on Cambodia: Co-chaired by France and Indonesia (1989-1991) Paris Peace Agreements signed: 23 October 1991 Option A: Neither the United States nor China acted as the formal organizers or co-chairs of the conference. Option B: Cambodia was the subject of the peace negotiations rather than a joint organizer alongside the United States. Option C: India was a participant in the negotiations but did not co-chair the conference.

127. Q127Events, summits and observances

     The recent trade talks at Brussels failed because

     • aSome countries did not attend
     • bPolitical differences among countries regarding sanctions aganist Saddam Hussein
     • cSome European countries were not willing to stop subsidies to farm produceAnswer
     • dNone of the above
     ›Explanation

     Option C is correct because the GATT Uruguay Round ministerial negotiations in Brussels broke down primarily due to an impasse over the European Community's reluctance to dismantle heavy farm export subsidies and domestic agricultural supports. Option A: Member delegations from all participating contracting parties attended the conference. Option B: The breakdown was strictly an economic and trade impasse over agriculture, not a dispute over sanctions against Iraq. Option D: It is incorrect because the agricultural subsidy deadlock provides the direct reason for the collapse.

128. Q128Events, summits and observances

     The country in news for the large scale killings by drug cartels

     • aChile
     • bGuatemala
     • cColumbiaAnswer
     • dHonduras
     ›Explanation

     Option C is correct because Colombia has faced prolonged internal armed conflict and severe violence associated with drug cartels and trafficking organizations fighting for territorial control. Option A: Chile maintains comparatively low homicide rates and is not historically recognized for large-scale cartel-driven violence. Option B: Guatemala experiences gang-related crime, but Colombia has been far more prominently recognized globally for major cartel warfare. Option D: Honduras faces intense gang violence from groups like MS-13, but the major international drug cartels and related warfare described are centered in Colombia.

129. Q129Events, summits and observances

     One of the following countries is desperately trying to enter the ECC :

     • aAustriaAnswer
     • bUSSR
     • cDenmark
     • dHolland
     ›Explanation

     Option A is correct because Austria officially submitted its application to join the European Economic Community in July 1989, seeking integration despite its Cold War neutrality status, and later joined the European Union in 1995. Option B: The USSR was a non-capitalist superpower and the leader of the Warsaw Pact, never seeking entry into the Western-aligned European Economic Community. Option C: Denmark had already joined the European Economic Community decades earlier, in 1973. Option D: Holland was one of the six original founding member states of the European Economic Community in 1957.

130. Q130Events, summits and observances

     African Fund by NAM is to

     • ahelp industrialize the African continent
     • bhelp famine situation in Africa
     • chelp the liberation struggle in AfricaAnswer
     • dpreserve the African forests
     ›Explanation

     Option C is correct because the AFRICA Fund (Action For Resisting Invasion, Colonialism and Apartheid) was created by the Non-Aligned Movement at the 1986 Harare Summit to support liberation movements and frontline states resisting the South African apartheid regime. Option A: Industrial development of Africa was not the mandate of the AFRICA Fund. Option B: Famine alleviation was handled by other multilateral relief bodies, not this fund. Option D: Forest conservation was outside the political scope of this anti-apartheid fund.

131. Q131Launches: schemes, missions and firsts

     ZARIF - E - MOMIN was very much in news

     • aWonder drug
     • bMilitants in Jammu and Kashmir
     • cPakistan's army's biggest exercise on Indian borderAnswer
     • dNone of the above
     ›Explanation

     Option C is correct because Zarb-e-Momin, often transliterated as Zarif-e-Momin, was the largest military war game and troop mobilization exercise conducted by the Pakistan Army near the border with India in 1989. Option A: It is a major military field exercise, not a medicinal formulation or wonder drug. Option B: It was an official exercise conducted by Pakistan's armed forces, not an operation by militants in Jammu and Kashmir. Option D: Option C accurately defines the nature of the event, making this choice incorrect.