List of top Questions asked in CUET (UG)

Types of feed and their importance in animal nutrition

Cattle fodder is essential for maintaining animal health, improving milk yield and enhancing the overall farm productivity. In India, animal feed is broadly classified into green fodder, dry fodder, concentrate feed, preserved fodder and tree fodder, each contributing unique nutrients necessary for balance cattle nutrition. Green fodder provides moisture, vitamins, and digestible nutrients. The examples are bajra-napier hybrids, berseem, lucerne, maize and sorghum. Leguminous fodder like berseem and lucerne are especially valued for their high protein content, which supports milk production and muscle development. Lucerne is also called as queen of fodder. The caution to be taken while using sorghum as green fodder as it contains hydrocyanic acid, especially in the young plans and when cultivated in drought stress conditions. High HCN is toxic to cattle and should be fed only after proper maturation.

Dry fodder supplies essential roughage for the animal health. It includes paddy straw, wheat straw, groundnut haulms and sorghum stover. Though they are low in protein, it provides necessary fibre and is often mixed with green fodder. Concentrate feeds are nutrient dense, which includes oil cakes, grains and bran. These are very significant for high yielding dairy cows, pregnant animals and growing calves due to their high protein and energy content. Silage made from maize and sorghum provides energy rich feed during the lean period.

Tree fodders are traditional source in many regions. Tress like subabul, banyan etc., provide protein rich leaves during dry seasons when green fodder is scarce. Tree fodders also support sustainable farming by preventing soil erosion and offering year round availability.

Goats and their importance in Indian livestock production and human health

Goats are vital part of rural India, valued for their hardiness and ability to survive in limited resources. India has a rich diversity of goat breeds each suitable for specific climates and production needs. Prominent dairy breeds include Jamunapari, Beetal, Barbari and Sirohi. The Jamunapari goat, often called as the ‘Queen of goats’, can yield more than 2 litres of milk per day. It is majestic breed of goat having convex nose line with a tuft of hair known as ‘roman nose’ or parrot mouth appearance. Angora, Saanen and Alpine are some of the important exotic breeds of goat. Goats are often referred as the ‘poor man's cow’, because they require lower investment than cattle and can survive on minimal or low quality feed, reproduce quickly, and provide continuous income through milk, meat, manure and sale of kids. Their ability to thrive in drought-prone and resource-scarce regions makes them an indispensable asset for small and marginal farmers.

A major centre for goat research and breed improvement in the country is ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats CIRG located at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, functioning under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICAR, Government of India.

The meat of mutton is called 'Chevon' and is widely consumed in the country and offers good remuneration to the goat rearing farmers. Goat's milk has seen rising demand due its digestibility and nutrition profile. They are rich in minerals like calcium, potassium, phosphorous and also vitamin-A. The easy digestibility is the strongest advantage of goat’s milk making it suitable for individuals as it supports energy metabolism, gut health and immunity.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:-

One day several months ago, my elder brother, who was ninety-five years old then, called me, on phone from Rameswaram. He started the conversation by narrating an incident about my friend’s visit to him. During the discussion, my friend asked my brother, “How old is your house?” He said, “The house was built by our father, more than a century ago. My younger brother, and my earning grandchildren have now come out with a proposal to build a new house in the same place after demolishing this one.” My friend said he would not want to see such a historical place demolished. He was willing to make an arrangement through a trust to transform the house into a museum and library, while alternative accommodation was worked out for my brother and his family. My brother, was calling me, to say he was against the friend’s proposal. “I would like to live in the house where I have grown and lived for ninety-five years. I would like to build a new house in the same place through the earnings of my kith and kin. I would not like to have any other arrangements. You thank your friend in a nice way”. It struck me—here is a man who would like to lead his life on his own terms and does not want any help, well-meant though it might be. It was a great learning for me, and I saw in my brother, a reflection of my father, who lived to 103 years and inculcated such a tradition in us.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:-

There’s a certain magic in the first chill of season… that moment when India’s forests stir back to life. The sanctuary gates creak open, migratory birds return, and air carries that unmistakable scent of damp leaves and wild earth. In western Odisha, Dibrugarh Wildlife Sanctuary, near Sambalpur, is at the heart of this quiet awakening. Now on the cusp of being declared India’s newest tiger reserve, it’s drawing attention not just for its wildlife, but for the people who have helped it thrive. Spread across forested slopes along the shimmering Hirakud reservoir, Dibrugarh is a revelation—serene, scenic, and full of small surprises. Mornings here are a melody of birdsongs echoing over still water. Spotted deer and langurs, dart through sal forests while eagles trace lazy circles in the sky. On Bot Island, thousands of bats hang like dark fruits from ancient trees. What was once an overlooked stretch of woodland is today one of eastern India’s most inspiring stories of eco-tourism and community-led conservation.

At the edge of this wilderness lies Sambalpur, a city that rests gracefully along Mahanadi River. Its past stretches from the Chauhan dynasty to colonial days, and its present hums with trade, textiles, and temple bells. The river runs through it all, shaping lives, livelihoods, and legends.

A short drive away, Hirakud Dam stands as both an engineering marvel and landscape poetry, a structure that tames Mahanadi yet adds to its splendour. Built in 1950, it remains one of world’s longest earthen dams. From Gandhi Minar viewpoint, the reservoir stretches like molten silver, dotted with fishing boats and green islets—same waters that cradle Dibrugarh’s forests. Back in the narrow lanes of Sambalpur, looms click, and threads gleam. This is where the famed Sambalpuri ikat is born, each fabric a labor of precision and patience. During festivals, the city turns into a living gallery, women draped in ikat saris, men in handwoven kurtas—each garment carrying stories of skill, soil, and heritage.

Mendelian Disorders

Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.

Genetic disorders may be grouped into two categories – Mendelian disorders and Chromosomal disorders. Mendelian disorders are mainly determined by alteration or mutation in a single gene. These disorders are transmitted to the offspring on the same lines as in the principle of inheritance. The pattern of inheritance of such Mendelian disorders can be traced in a family by pedigree analysis. Most common and prevalent Mendelian disorders are Haemophilia, Cystic fibrosis, Sickle-cell anaemia, Colour blindness, Phenylketonuria, Thalassemia, etc. The Mendelian disorders may be dominant or recessive. By pedigree analysis, one can easily understand whether the trait in question is dominant or recessive. Similarly, the trait may also be linked to the sex chromosome or an autosome.

Drugs and Drug Abuse

Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.

Use of drugs has been on the rise, especially among the youth. This is really a cause of concern as it could result in many harmful effects. Proper education and guidance would enable young people to safeguard themselves against these dangerous behaviour patterns and follow healthy lifestyles. The drugs which are commonly abused are opioids, cannabinoids and coca alkaloids. The majority of these are obtained from flowering plants. Some are obtained from fungi. Various plants, fruits and seeds having hallucinogenic properties have been used for hundreds of years in folk-medicine, religious ceremonies and rituals all over the globe. When these are taken for a purpose other than medicinal use or in amounts/frequency that impairs one’s physical, physiological or psychological functions, it constitutes drug abuse. These days, some drugs are also being abused by some sports-persons.

Growing Scarcity.

There is a biological equilibrium between male and female births. Consequently, every male should have a very good chance of obtaining a wife. In such circumstances, is it possible to speak of women as a scarce commodity requiring collective intervention for its distribution? Monogamy is not a positive institution nor a general rule, but merely incorporates the limit of polygamy in societies where, economic and sexual competition reaches an acute form. The Nambikwara, semi-nomads of western Brazil, who live by collecting and gathering, sanction polygamy for their headmen. The securing of two, three or four wives by one or two important persons in a band of less than twenty people compels their companions to be celibate. This privilege by itself is sufficient to upset the natural equilibrium of the sexes. In primitive societies, marriage is of an entirely different importance, not erotic, but economic. My experience in the field in a Brazilian native village, a young man crouching in the corner of a hut, ill-cared thin for, in complete state of dejection. I observed him for several days. He rarely went out, except to go hunting. When the family meals began, he would go hungry unless a female relative set a little food at his side. The reason for this treatment was ‘He is a bachelor.’ Denied food after bad hunting or fishing expeditions when the fruits of the women's collecting and gathering provide the only meal there is, the wretched bachelor.

Window onto a Vanishing World: Lahu texts from Thailand

My study of Lahu was carried out during three major fieldtrips in Northern Thailand. These texts, recorded well over half a century ago, reflect a vanished world. It was a time when the forests of Burma and Thailand teemed with game; when “slash-and-burn” agricultural techniques were universal in the hills of Southeast Asia; when animist villages resisted the introduction of missionary Christianity, and religious syncretism was the order of the day; a time before electricity, when people used pine-torches to light their way at night; before young men left the villages to seek work in towns; and, above all, from the linguist’s point of view, a time when the Lahu language was still vibrant in all semantic areas and still relatively free of foreign influences. I was interested in hearing and tape recording Lahu spoken in all kinds of situational contexts, the villagers would talk over various subjects building a house, the stages of cultivating, boar-hunting, crab-gathering, killing a pig for a feast, the institution of the village headman, etc. Then they would actually conduct rehearsals. When they were satisfied, they would signal me to turn on the tape recorder and would proceed with gusto to act out little playlets on the desired topic. Besides this, many items were also collected from individuals, including stories, songs, lectures, and sermons. As a result of this process, which went on for many months.