Q31 · UPSC Prelims 2019 · Set A · Current Affairs and GK

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Recently, there was a growing awareness in our country about the importance of Himalayan nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) because it is found to be a sustainable source of

A anti-malarial drug
B biodiesel
C pulp for paper industry
D textile fibre

Correct answer: (d) textile fibre

Explanation

  1. A

    anti-malarial drug

    (a) Anti-malarial drug. Himalayan nettle is not the artemisinin/cinchona story, so this is not the key.

  2. B

    biodiesel

    (b) Biodiesel. Jatropha and some oilseeds are biodiesel candidates; Girardinia is not framed that way, so this is not the key.

  3. C

    pulp for paper industry

    (c) Pulp for paper. Some nettles can yield fibre, but the recent Himalayan livelihood push is textile fibre, not paper pulp as the exam claim, so this is not the key.

  4. D

    textile fibre

    (d) Textile fibre. Girardinia diversifolia (Himalayan nettle, allo) yields a strong bast fibre used for yarn and cloth in Uttarakhand–Nepal hill economies, promoted as a sustainable textile. That use is the official key.

Summary. Official key is (d) textile fibre. Himalayan nettle is a wild bast fibre of the mid-Himalaya, woven into local textiles as an alternative to purely imported fibres. It is not an anti-malarial, biodiesel crop or paper-industry headline. Honour the stored letter (d).

Same topic · past papers

UPSC has asked this before

These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.

  1. 2026 · Q18 · General Studies · 2 marks

    Consider the following assertion: The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague- Chelmsford Reforms, 1919. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion? 1. Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates. 2. Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger. 3. Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates. Select the answer using the code given below:

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