UPSC Prelims 2018— Question 85

**Concept and analysis:** Barren Island in the Andaman Sea is India's only confirmed active volcano and has erupted repeatedly in the modern period. It lies north-east of Great Nicobar, much farther than the approximately 140 km claimed in statement 2. It also erupted after 1991, including episodes in the 1990s and later years, so the claim that it remained inactive since 1991 is false. The question is testing precise UPSC-level identification rather than a broad association. The key is to distinguish the exact institutional, constitutional, historical, geographical, economic or scientific feature being asked. **Option-wise evaluation** **Option A:** Correct. It selects statements 1; these are the statements supported by the relevant constitutional, economic, historical, scientific or geographical facts. **Option B:** Incorrect. It selects 2 and 3, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **Option C:** Incorrect. It selects 3 only, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **Option D:** Incorrect. It selects 1 and 3, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **UPSC takeaway:** The safest way to solve this type of question is to anchor the answer in the defining feature of the concept and then test every option against that feature. Closely related institutions or terms are often used as distractors. In statement-based questions, do not judge the option as a whole before checking each statement independently. In factual questions, compare the wording of each option with the exact definition, location, institutional role, chronology or scientific property. The correct answer follows from that verification rather than from familiarity with a keyword.