RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT 1 2024 PYQs

Concept: IMD divides the Indian year into four seasons.

1. Cold weather season: December–February; Hot weather season: March–May; Southwest monsoon: June–September; Retreating monsoon: October–November.
2. In the hot season the sun’s apparent northward movement raises temperatures, and local winds like the Loo blow in north India.

Yaad rakhein: Winter (D-J-F) → Summer (M-A-M) → Monsoon (J-J-A-S) → Retreat (O-N).

Answer: (B) March to May

Concept: In one time period $T$ a wave travels exactly one wavelength $\lambda$.

1. Speed $=\frac{\text{distance}}{\text{time}}=\frac{\lambda }{T}$.
2. Since frequency $f=\frac{1}{T}$, this is also written $v=f\lambda$.

Yaad rakhein: Check units: $\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}$ – only $\frac{\lambda }{T}$ gives m/s.

Answer: (B) $v=\frac{\lambda }{T}$

Concept: Kalidasa, the court poet associated with Chandragupta II, wrote three plays: Abhijnana-Shakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram and Vikramorvashiyam.

1. Abhijnana-Shakuntalam tells the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala.
2. Mudrarakshasa is by Vishakhadatta, Svapnavasavadattam by Bhasa and Mrichchhakatika by Shudraka.

Yaad rakhein: Kalidasa’s three plays: Shakuntalam, Malavika, Vikramorvashi.

Answer: (C) Abhijnana-Shakuntalam

Concept: IATA (International Air Transport Association) holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit every year in a host city.

1. The 81st IATA AGM and WATS was held on 1–3 June 2025 in New Delhi, hosted by IndiGo.
2. It was the second time India hosted the event – the previous was also in New Delhi in 1983.

Yaad rakhein: IATA AGM 2025 → New Delhi (host airline IndiGo).

Answer: (C) New Delhi

Concept: Hindoo College (Calcutta) was set up in 1817 to give Western (English) education to Indians.

1. It was founded by David Hare with support from Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Radhakanta Deb and others; it later became Presidency College (now Presidency University).
2. Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1828, Arya Samaj in 1875, and the Aligarh Movement began in the 1870s.

Yaad rakhein: 1817 Hindoo College → 1828 Brahmo Samaj → 1875 Arya Samaj.

Answer: (A) Hindoo College

Concept: Economic activities are grouped as primary (natural resources), secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services).

1. Tourism provides services – transport, hotels, guides, travel agencies – so it is a tertiary activity.
2. Quinary activities are top-level decision-making by executives and policy makers, not tourism.

Yaad rakhein: Sells a service, not a good → tertiary.

Answer: (B) Tertiary

Concept: Bal Gangadhar Tilak (“Lokmanya”) was a leading extremist of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio.

1. He turned Ganesh Chaturthi (1893) and Shivaji Jayanti (1895) into public festivals to mobilise people.
2. He edited Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English) and declared “Swaraj is my birthright”.
3. Gokhale was a moderate; Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal did not edit Kesari.

Yaad rakhein: Kesari + Ganeshotsav → Tilak.

Answer: (A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Concept: Insulin, secreted by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, lowers blood glucose.

1. When insulin is too little (Type 1) or the body does not respond to it (Type 2), glucose stays high in blood – diabetes mellitus.
2. Thyroxine controls metabolism, adrenaline the fight-or-flight response, and estrogen female sex characters.

Yaad rakhein: Insulin ↓ sugar; Glucagon ↑ sugar.

Answer: (B) Insulin

Concept: Puppetry is one of the oldest forms of entertainment in India.

1. The earliest written reference to puppetry is found in the Tamil classic Silappadikaram (around the 1st–2nd century), as noted by the Ministry of Culture / CCRT.
2. Later references appear in Sanskrit works, but they are not the earliest.

Yaad rakhein: Earliest puppet reference → Silappadikaram (Tamil).

Answer: (D) Tamil

Concept: Article 32 gives the Right to Constitutional Remedies – a citizen can directly approach the Supreme Court if a Fundamental Right is violated.

1. The Supreme Court can issue writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto.
2. Dr B.R. Ambedkar called Article 32 the “heart and soul” of the Constitution.
3. Article 30 is minority educational rights; Article 31 has been repealed; Article 33 lets Parliament modify rights of armed forces.

Yaad rakhein: 32 = SC writs; 226 = HC writs.

Answer: (B) Article 32

Concept: Raja Ram Mohan Roy, called the “Father of the Indian Renaissance”, campaigned against sati, which was banned by Lord William Bentinck in 1829.

1. He founded the Brahmo Sabha in 1828 at Calcutta, later known as the Brahmo Samaj; it preached monotheism and opposed idol worship.
2. Arya Samaj – Dayanand Saraswati (1875); Prarthana Samaj – Atmaram Pandurang (1867); Ramakrishna Mission – Swami Vivekananda (1897).

Yaad rakhein: Ram Mohan → Brahmo (1828) → Sati ban (1829).

Answer: (C) Brahmo Samaj

Concept: ‘Handball at School’ is a global grassroots programme of the International Handball Federation (IHF).

1. In 2025 it was launched in India jointly by the IHF and the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) to introduce handball to school children through teacher training and equipment.
2. The other pairs are national bodies and were not the collaborating organisations for this programme.

Yaad rakhein: ‘Handball at School’ = IHF + AHF (international bodies).

Answer: (A) International Handball Federation and Asian Handball Federation

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

1. West Bengal has the longest border with Bangladesh (about 2,217 km), and Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides.
2. Manipur borders Myanmar, Sikkim borders Nepal/Bhutan/China, Nagaland borders Myanmar and Punjab borders Pakistan.

Yaad rakhein: Bangladesh neighbours: “WAMTM” – WB, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.

Answer: (C) West Bengal and Tripura

Concept: Judicial activism means courts taking an active role to protect rights and ensure justice.

1. PIL, introduced in the late 1970s–80s by Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer, relaxed the rule of locus standi – anyone can approach the court on behalf of the poor or the public.
2. Judicial review is the power to examine the constitutionality of laws; PIL is the main tool of judicial activism.

Yaad rakhein: PIL = relaxed locus standi = judicial activism.

Answer: (B) Judicial activism

Concept: The Second Plan (1956–61), based on the Mahalanobis model, stressed heavy industry along with village and small industries.

1. Following the Karve Committee (1955) and the Industrial Policy Resolution 1956, small-scale industries got reserved products, tax concessions and cheap credit as protection.
2. These units were meant to create employment and supply consumer goods while heavy industry grew.

Yaad rakhein: Second Plan = Mahalanobis + IPR 1956 + small-scale protection.

Answer: (C) Second Plan

Concept: In 2025 the Sports Ministry revised its Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations.

1. The new norms require each NSF to spend at least 20% of its annual budget on junior and youth development programmes.
2. The aim is to build a strong junior pipeline – not to cut coach salaries, athlete assistance or foreign coaching support.

Yaad rakhein: NSF funding 2025 → minimum 20% for juniors/youth.

Answer: (A) Allocation of at least 20% of their annual budget toward junior and youth development programmes

Concept: Fibrinogen (clotting factor I) is a soluble plasma glycoprotein made by the liver.

1. During clotting, the enzyme thrombin converts fibrinogen into insoluble fibrin threads that trap blood cells to form a clot.
2. Cadherins and selectins are cell-adhesion proteins; mucins are glycoproteins of mucus.

Yaad rakhein: Prothrombin → thrombin; fibrinogen → fibrin (both made in liver, need vitamin K for prothrombin).

Answer: (A) Fibrinogen

Concept: Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram both became full states of India on 20 February 1987.

1. Arunachal Pradesh (earlier NEFA, a UT from 1972) became a state by the 55th Amendment; Mizoram by the 53rd Amendment after the 1986 Mizo Peace Accord.
2. So both celebrate their statehood day on 20 February; 2025 marked their 39th anniversary.

Yaad rakhein: 20 Feb 1987 = Arunachal + Mizoram (53rd & 55th Amendments).

Answer: (C) Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram

Concept: UNDP’s HDI has three dimensions, each with its own indicator.

1. Long and healthy life → life expectancy at birth.
2. Knowledge → mean years and expected years of schooling.
3. Decent standard of living → GNI per capita (PPP $).

Yaad rakhein: HDI = Health (life expectancy) + Education (schooling) + Income (GNI per capita).

Answer: (C) Life expectancy at birth

Concept: A bill of lading is the document a carrier issues for goods shipped by sea.

1. The Bills of Lading Bill, 2025 (passed by Lok Sabha in March 2025) replaces the colonial-era Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856.
2. It simplifies the language and modernises India’s maritime law to ease shipping business; it does not fix freight rates or mandate insurance.

Yaad rakhein: Bills of Lading Bill 2025 replaces the 1856 Act.

Answer: (C) Modernising India’s maritime laws by replacing the old law