UPSC Prelims 2018— Question 43

**Concept and analysis:** THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, is an American ballistic-missile defence system designed to intercept short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during the terminal phase. It is not an Israeli system, India's indigenous programme, or a Japan–South Korea defence collaboration. 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:** Incorrect. An Israeli radar system is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **Option B:** Incorrect. India’s indigenous anti-missile programme is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **Option C:** Correct. An American anti missile system directly matches the concept or factual identification established in the analysis. **Option D:** Incorrect. A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **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.