RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT 1 2024 PYQs

Concept: Venture capital (VC) firms create dedicated funds or verticals to back startups in priority sectors such as defence-tech.

1. In May 2025, Titan Capital (founded by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal) announced a new investment vertical for defence and strategic-technology startups in India.
2. It aims to back early-stage companies building drones, aerospace, security and dual-use technologies under the Atmanirbhar Bharat push.
3. Nexus, Accel and Sequoia (now Peak XV in India) did not launch this vertical.

Yaad rakhein: Titan Capital → Defence-tech vertical (May 2025).

Answer: (A) Titan Capital

Concept: Five Indian states share the border with Bangladesh: West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

1. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides (north, west and south).
2. Nagaland borders Myanmar; Arunachal Pradesh borders China, Bhutan and Myanmar.
3. Odisha has no international land border.

Yaad rakhein: Bangladesh border states: "West Assam Meets Tripura-Mizoram" – WB, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.

Answer: (D) Tripura

Concept: State governments announce large outlays for roads, bridges and expressways to improve connectivity.

1. In 2025, the Uttar Pradesh government announced an investment of about ₹6,124 crore for road connectivity and infrastructure expansion.
2. The money covers new roads, widening/strengthening of existing roads and bridges across the state.

Yaad rakhein: UP – ₹6,124 crore for roads (2025).

Answer: (A) Uttar Pradesh

Concept: Counter-drone systems detect and destroy hostile drones, including drone swarms.

1. Bhargavastra is a low-cost, multi-layered counter-drone system developed by Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL), Nagpur.
2. It uses unguided micro-rockets (and guided micro-missiles) to neutralise drone swarms; it was tested at Seaward Firing Range, Gopalpur (Odisha) in May 2025.
3. BEL, DRDO and Tata Advanced Systems were not its developers.

Yaad rakhein: Bhargavastra → SDAL (Solar group), Nagpur.

Answer: (B) Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited

Concept: Visa-free policies are used by countries to boost tourism, trade and diplomatic ties with a group of nations.

1. In May 2025, China announced a 30-day visa-free entry for citizens of all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain – effective from June 2025.
2. The GCC is a regional political–economic alliance of Arab Gulf states, headquartered in Riyadh.

Yaad rakhein: China – GCC – visa-free (May 2025); GCC HQ: Riyadh.

Answer: (C) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Concept: Integrated field exercises test the combined working of infantry, artillery, armour, aviation and other arms.

1. Teesta Prahar was conducted by the Indian Army in May 2025 in the Teesta field firing ranges of West Bengal.
2. It is named after the Teesta river, which flows through Sikkim and West Bengal in this sector (Trishakti Corps area).

Yaad rakhein: Name gives the clue – Teesta river → North Bengal.

Answer: (B) West Bengal

Concept: Gupta administration was divided into bhukti (province), vishaya (district) and grama (village).

1. The village was headed by the Gramadhyaksha (also called Gramika), the village headman.
2. Uparika was the governor of a bhukti; Amatyas were high officials; Mahattaras were village elders who assisted the headman.

Yaad rakhein: Grama + adhyaksha = head of the village.

Answer: (D) Gramadhyaksha

Concept: At independence India was in the second stage of demographic transition – high birth rate with still-high death rate.

1. Death rate and infant mortality were very high due to poor health care, famines and epidemics (IMR about 218 per thousand).
2. Life expectancy was only about 32 years, so "high life expectancy" and "aging population" are wrong; the birth rate was also high.

Yaad rakhein: In 1947: high birth rate, high death rate, high IMR, low life expectancy.

Answer: (B) High death rate and infant mortality

Concept: Fabaceae (legume/pea family) includes pulses, groundnut and fenugreek.

1. Trigonella foenum-graecum is fenugreek (methi); its seeds are used as a spice, flavouring agent and food supplement.
2. Cajanus cajan = pigeon pea (arhar), Arachis hypogaea = groundnut, Lablab = hyacinth bean – used as pulse/oilseed/vegetable, not as spice.

Yaad rakhein: Methi = Trigonella foenum-graecum.

Answer: (B) Trigonella foenum graecum

Concept: Article 340 empowers the President to appoint a commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes.

1. The First Backward Classes Commission was set up on 29 January 1953 under Kaka Kalelkar; it reported in 1955.
2. The Second (Mandal) Commission was appointed in 1979 under B P Mandal.

Yaad rakhein: Kalelkar – 1953; Mandal – 1979.

Answer: (C) 1953

Concept: The FRBM Act, 2003 brought fiscal discipline by fixing deficit targets for the Centre.

1. It required the fiscal deficit to fall to 3% of GDP by 31 March 2009 (i.e. 2008-09).
2. The revenue deficit was to be eliminated (zero) by the same year – that is the trap in option (B).

Yaad rakhein: FRBM 2003: FD → 3%, RD → 0 by 2008-09.

Answer: (D) 3% of GDP

Concept: The Brønsted–Lowry theory defines an acid as a proton (H⁺) donor and a base as a proton acceptor.

1. In 1923, Johannes N Brønsted (Denmark) and Thomas M Lowry (England) independently proposed this proton-transfer idea.
2. In the same year G N Lewis gave the electron-pair theory; Arrhenius gave the earlier H⁺/OH⁻ theory (1884); Sorensen gave the pH scale.

Yaad rakhein: Brønsted–Lowry = proton; Lewis = electron pair.

Answer: (D) JN Brønsted and Thomas M Lowry

Concept: The 102nd Amendment (2018) created Article 342A; the Supreme Court (Maratha case, 2021) read it as taking away states’ power to list SEBCs.

1. The 105th Amendment Act, 2021 amended Articles 338B, 342A and 366 to restore the power of states/UTs to identify and prepare their own list of OBCs (SEBCs).
2. Women’s reservation is the 106th Amendment (2023); GST is the 101st (2016).

Yaad rakhein: 101 – GST, 105 – OBC list power to states, 106 – women’s reservation.

Answer: (C) Powers of state governments to identify OBCs

Concept: MoSPI regularly publishes gender-disaggregated data in its "Women and Men in India" series.

1. In April 2025, MoSPI released the 26th edition of "Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data".
2. It covers population, education, health, participation in the economy and decision making, by gender.

Yaad rakhein: Women and Men in India 2024 → 26th edition.

Answer: (C) 26^th

Concept: Padma awards 2025 were announced on the eve of Republic Day 2025.

1. Ricky Kej, the three-time Grammy-winning music composer and environmentalist from Bengaluru, received the Padma Shri 2025.
2. Zakir Hussain (died 2024) already held the Padma Vibhushan (2023); A R Rahman and Shankar Mahadevan were not Padma Shri 2025 awardees.

Yaad rakhein: Ricky Kej – 3 Grammys – Padma Shri 2025.

Answer: (B) Ricky Kej

Concept: The Commonwealth Secretary-General heads the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

1. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, former Foreign Minister of Ghana, took office on 1 April 2025 as the 7th Secretary-General – the first African woman in the post.
2. She succeeded Patricia Scotland. Tansu Çiller (Turkey), Hanna Suchocka (Poland) and Sylvie Kinigi (Burundi) were heads of government, not Commonwealth SGs.

Yaad rakhein: Botchwey – Ghana – first African woman Commonwealth SG.

Answer: (D) Shirley Botchwey

Concept: Most Indian states were reorganised on linguistic lines, so each has a main language.

1. Odia is the official and main language of Odisha; it became the 6th classical language of India in 2014.
2. Punjabi – Punjab, Marathi – Maharashtra, Kannada – Karnataka.

Yaad rakhein: Odia – 6th classical language of India (2014).

Answer: (B) Odia

Concept: The Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the Constitution.

1. Under Article 32 it protects Fundamental Rights through writs, and through judicial review it can strike down unconstitutional laws.
2. Hence the Supreme Court is called the "Guardian of the Constitution". High Courts also issue writs (Art. 226) but are not the final authority.

Yaad rakhein: Supreme Court – guardian of the Constitution; Art. 32 – "heart and soul" (Ambedkar).

Answer: (C) Supreme Court

Concept: Elements are placed in s, p, d and f blocks according to the orbital receiving the last electron.

1. In transition elements the last electron enters the (n−1)d orbital, so they form the d-block (groups 3–12).
2. The f-block elements (lanthanoids and actinoids) are called inner-transition elements.

Yaad rakhein: d-block = transition; f-block = inner-transition.

Answer: (C) d-block

Concept: Character codes assign a binary number to each letter, digit and symbol.

1. EBCDIC = Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code, an 8-bit code developed by IBM for its mainframes.
2. It extended the earlier 6-bit BCD code; ASCII is the other common character code.

Yaad rakhein: Expand from BCD: Extended + BCD + Interchange Code.

Answer: (B) Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code