UPSC Prelims 2014— Question 4

Correct answer: Option A. The Saka national calendar begins with Chaitra 1. In a normal Gregorian year, Chaitra 1 falls on 22 March; in a leap year it falls on 21 March. The calendar was adopted for official use in India in 1957 on the recommendation of the Calendar Reform Committee. Option A: Correct. This option is consistent with the governing fact or the valid combination identified in the question. The option reads: “22 March (or 21st March)” Option B: Incorrect. This option does not match the verified answer because its proposition, location, institution, sequence, or combination conflicts with the relevant fact tested in the question. The option reads: “15th May (or 16th May)” Option C: Incorrect. This option does not match the verified answer because its proposition, location, institution, sequence, or combination conflicts with the relevant fact tested in the question. The option reads: “31st March (or 30th March)” Option D: Incorrect. This option does not match the verified answer because its proposition, location, institution, sequence, or combination conflicts with the relevant fact tested in the question. The option reads: “21st April (or 20th April)” The key Prelims lesson is to test each proposition independently before selecting the combination. Where the question uses words such as 'only', 'all', 'none', 'always' or a precise institutional/geographical association, a single inaccurate component is sufficient to eliminate the option. The answer recorded here follows the official answer key for the question-paper series represented by the uploaded source and has been cross-checked against an independent published key. The explanation is intended for conceptual revision rather than as a reproduction of any third-party solution.