UPSC Prelims 2016 Science and Technology questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2016 asked 11 science and technology questions in GS Paper I, spread over 3 topics. See the science and technology weightage for 2016 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
Science and Technology 2016: questions by topic
- Biology, health and biotechnology2
- Space technology6
- Physics and chemistry in daily life; energy and nuclear technology3
Counted from the 11 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 11 Science and Technology questions spread over 3 topics can feel overwhelming. That's exactly why the Battle IAS PYQ Book maps every question topic by topic, so you know what to study first. Download free sample
Biology, health and biotechnology 2
In the context of the developments in Bioinformatics, the term ‘transcriptome’, sometimes seen in the news, refers to
Answer (b) & explanation
The transcriptome is the full set of RNA transcripts, mainly mRNA, that an organism or cell expresses at a given time (b). Option (a) is wrong: genome-editing enzymes such as CRISPR-Cas9 are tools, not a transcriptome. Option (c) is wrong because the transcriptome is a set of molecules, not a description of how genes are expressed. Option (d) is wrong because mutations change DNA itself.
Think of the "-omes" in a row: the genome is all the DNA, the transcriptome all the RNA, and the proteome all the proteins. Notice how comparing transcriptomes of healthy and diseased cells reveals which genes are switched on, helping cancer research and crop science.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
Viruses can infect
- 1. bacteria
- 2. fungi
- 3. plants
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are correct (d). Viruses can infect every kind of cellular life. Bacteriophages infect bacteria (1). The T4 phage is the classic example, and phages are now being tested as phage therapy against antibiotic-resistant germs. Mycoviruses infect fungi (2), and some are being explored as biocontrol agents. Plant viruses infect plants (3). Tobacco mosaic virus, the first virus ever discovered (Ivanovsky, 1892), is one example, along with banana bunchy top and cotton leaf curl.
Viruses also infect archaea, and even giant viruses can be attacked by virophages. Notice why viruses sit outside the five-kingdom classification: they have no cell machinery of their own. They are inert outside a host and come alive only inside a living cell.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Space technology 6
With reference to ‘LiFi’, recently in the news, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It uses light as the medium for high-speed data transmission.
- 2. It is a wireless technology and is several times faster than ‘WiFi’.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Both are correct (c). Li-Fi sends data through LED light that flickers too fast for the eye to see (1). It is wireless, and lab tests have reached speeds many times faster than Wi-Fi (2).
The idea was popularised by Harald Haas in 2011. Because light does not pass through walls, Li-Fi is more secure but limited to one room, and it needs line of sight. It can work where radio waves cause problems, such as aircraft cabins, hospitals and underwater. Notice how the same visible light that lets us see can also carry information.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Project Loon’, sometimes seen in the news, is related to
Answer (b) & explanation
Project Loon was about wireless communication (b). Google's X lab sent solar-powered high-altitude balloons into the stratosphere, about 20 km up, to work as floating cell towers and bring internet access to remote and disaster-hit areas. It had nothing to do with waste management (a), solar power production as such (c), though the balloons used solar panels, or water conservation (d).
Loon helped restore connectivity after floods in Peru and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, but it was shut down in 2021 as too costly. Notice how the same goal of connecting remote places now drives satellite constellations such as Starlink and OneWeb.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is ‘Greased Lightning-10 (GL-10)’, recently in the news?
Answer (a) & explanation
GL-10 Greased Lightning was an electric plane tested by NASA (a). This prototype drone had ten propellers driven by battery-electric motors, and its wings and tail tilted, so it could take off vertically like a helicopter and then fly like a plane. It was not a Japanese solar aircraft (b), a Chinese space observatory (c) or an ISRO reusable rocket (d).
NASA tested it in 2015 as part of work on quieter, efficient electric flight. Notice how its idea of distributed electric propulsion now drives the new field of eVTOL air taxis, which several companies, including Indian start-ups, are developing.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Regarding ‘DigiLocker’, sometimes seen in the news, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is a digital locker system offered by the Government under Digital India Programme.
- 2. It allows you to access your e-documents irrespective of your physical location.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). DigiLocker, launched by MeitY in 2015 under the Digital India programme (1), is a cloud-based document wallet linked to Aadhaar. Agencies such as transport departments, CBSE, universities and UIDAI issue documents into it directly, and users can open them from anywhere (2). Under the IT Rules (2016 amendment), documents in DigiLocker are legally valid like physical originals. Police can accept a digital driving licence and registration certificate under the Motor Vehicles rules.
Today it has hundreds of millions of users and links to ABHA health records and the Academic Bank of Credits. Notice that it is part of India's Digital Public Infrastructure stack, alongside Aadhaar, UPI and e-Sign.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘Astrosat’, the astronomical observatory launched by India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. Other than USA and Russia, India is the only country to have launched a similar observatory into space.
- 2. Astrosat is a 2000 kg satellite placed in an orbit at 1650 km above the surface of the Earth.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). AstroSat, launched by PSLV-C30 in September 2015, is India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory. It can watch the sky in ultraviolet, visible and X-ray bands at the same time. Statement 1 is wrong because Japan, the European Space Agency and China had also launched space observatories, so India was not the third after the USA and Russia. Statement 2 is wrong because it weighs about 1,513 kg and orbits at about 650 km, not 2,000 kg at 1,650 km.
Its UVIT found extreme-UV light from a distant galaxy (AUDFs01) in 2020. Notice the later Indian science missions: Aditya-L1 (Sun, 2023) and XPoSat (X-ray polarimetry, 2024).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO
- 1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission
- 2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA
- 3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). Mangalyaan, officially the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) (1), was launched by PSLV-C25 in November 2013. It entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, making India the first country to succeed on its first attempt (3). Statement 2 is wrong because the USSR, the USA and the European Space Agency had reached Mars orbit earlier. India was the fourth space agency to do it and the first in Asia. It cost about ₹450 crore, less than many Hollywood films.
It was meant to last six months but worked for about eight years, until 2022. Notice the next step, Mangalyaan-2, a planned orbiter, and remember that China's Tianwen-1 (2021) both orbited Mars and landed a rover.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Physics and chemistry in daily life; energy and nuclear technology 3
‘Net metering’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of promoting the
Answer (a) & explanation
Net metering promotes the production and use of solar energy by households and consumers (a). A bidirectional meter records power a rooftop solar owner exports to the grid and power drawn from it, and the consumer pays only for the net amount. It has no link to piped natural gas (b), CNG kits in cars (c) or water meters (d).
Gross metering is different: all solar power is sold to the grid at a fixed tariff. Net metering is central to India's rooftop solar programme, including PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (2024). Notice how it turns consumers into "prosumers", who both produce and consume power.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
On which of the following can you find the Bureau of Energy Efficiency Star Label?
- 1. Ceiling fans
- 2. Electric geysers
- 3. Tubular fluorescent lamps
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three carry the BEE star label (d). The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (a statutory body under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, under the Ministry of Power) runs the Standards & Labelling programme from 2006. It rates appliances from 1 to 5 stars, with more stars meaning more efficient. Labels are mandatory for items like air conditioners, frost-free refrigerators, tubular fluorescent lamps (3), distribution transformers, electric geysers (2), colour TVs and LED lamps. Ceiling fans (1) were voluntary at first and became mandatory in 2023.
Notice the link with UJALA, which spread cheap LED bulbs, and with the Energy Conservation Building Code. The 2022 amendment to the Act also brought in a domestic carbon credit trading framework.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India is an important member of the ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India?
Answer (d) & explanation
India could build fusion reactors (d). ITER, being built at Cadarache, France, is testing whether a tokamak can produce net energy from fusion, aiming for ten times more energy out than goes into heating its plasma. As one of seven members (EU, India, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, USA), India gets full access to the know-how in return for its share, including the cryostat built by L&T. Thorium (a) belongs to India's separate three-stage fission programme. Satellite navigation (b) is NavIC's field. ITER does nothing for fission reactors (c).
Fusion joins light nuclei, such as deuterium and tritium, and leaves little long-lived waste. Notice India's own tokamaks, Aditya and SST-1, at the Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
All years by topic
Every question from 2011 to 2026, grouped by syllabus topic, with year-wise trends.