UPSC Prelims 2018— Question 66

**Concept and analysis:** The described scenario involves interconnected household appliances, vehicles, sensors and software communicating and acting through networks with limited direct human intervention. This is the Internet of Things, in which physical objects contain sensors, connectivity and processing capabilities. Border Gateway Protocol routes traffic between autonomous systems; Internet Protocol provides addressing and packet delivery; and a VPN creates a protected logical network connection. 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. Border Gateway Protocol is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **Option B:** Correct. Internet of Things directly matches the concept or factual identification established in the analysis. **Option C:** Incorrect. Internet Protocol is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **Option D:** Incorrect. Virtual Private Network 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.