RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT 1 2024 PYQs

Concept: In the plains a mature river flows slowly and swings in wide loops called meanders.

1. Water erodes the outer bank (faster flow) and deposits on the inner bank, so the loops keep growing.
2. The neck of a loop becomes very narrow; during a flood the river cuts straight across it.
3. The abandoned loop is left as a crescent-shaped lake – an oxbow lake.
4. Waterfalls and rapids form in the youthful (mountain) stage; rift valleys form by faulting, not by rivers.

Yaad rakhein: Meander → cut-off → oxbow lake: a typical landform of the lower course (e.g., Ganga plains).

Answer: (B) Formation of oxbow lakes

Concept: RLEGP was a centrally sponsored wage-employment programme for landless rural households.

1. It was launched on 15 August 1983 to give guaranteed employment of up to 100 days to at least one member of every landless household.
2. In 1989 RLEGP and NREP (1980) were merged into the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY).

Yaad rakhein: NREP – 1980, RLEGP – 1983, both merged into JRY – 1989.

Answer: (B) 15 August 1983

Concept: Parliament controls the executive through its own devices – questions, motions, debates and passing of bills/budget.

1. Question Hour, no-confidence motion and the need for Parliament's approval of bills are all parliamentary tools.
2. Judicial review is the power of the courts (Supreme Court and High Courts) to strike down unconstitutional executive or legislative action.
3. So it is a judicial control, not a parliamentary one.

Trick: Ask "who uses the tool?" – if it is the court, it is not parliamentary control.

Answer: (A) Judicial review of executive actions

Concept: A watershed is the land area from which all rain water drains into a common stream, river or lake.

1. It is bounded by a ridge (water divide) and is also called the catchment or drainage basin of that river.
2. Watershed management (soil and water conservation) is planned on this river-catchment unit.

Yaad rakhein: Watershed = catchment area of a river; its boundary line is the water divide.

Answer: (C) River catchment area

Concept: Microliths are very small stone blades (about 1–5 cm) – the characteristic tool of the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age.

1. They were hafted on bone or wooden handles to make composite tools such as saws, sickles and arrowheads.
2. Sites: Bagor (Rajasthan), Adamgarh (MP), Langhnaj (Gujarat).
3. Palaeolithic = large hand-axes, choppers; Neolithic = polished stone tools.

Yaad rakhein: Mesolithic = Microlithic age ("micro" = small blades).

Answer: (C) Mesolithic age

Concept: Article 53(2) vests the supreme command of the Defence Forces of the Union in the President.

1. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces – Army, Navy and Air Force.
2. BSF and police are under the Home Ministry/States; intelligence agencies are under the government, not a 'command' of the President.

Yaad rakhein: Art. 53(2): President = Supreme Commander of the three Armed Forces.

Answer: (B) Armed Forces

Concept: UNDP's Human Development Report 2025 (released May 2025) ranks countries on the Human Development Index (HDI).

1. India is ranked 130th out of 193 countries, up from 133rd in the previous report.
2. India's HDI value rose to 0.685 and it remains in the 'medium human development' category.

Yaad rakhein: HDR 2025 theme: AI – "A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI"; India 130.

Answer: (D) 130

Concept: The Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy and an all-India federation.

1. It divided powers into three lists – Federal List, Provincial List and Concurrent List.
2. The 1919 Act had only separated central and provincial subjects (no three lists); the Constitution's Seventh Schedule borrows the three-list idea from 1935.

Yaad rakhein: 1919 – dyarchy in provinces; 1935 – three lists, provincial autonomy, dyarchy at centre.

Answer: (D) Government of India Act 1935

Concept: After the mega-merger of 2020 (effective 1 April 2020), the number of public sector banks fell from 27 (2017) to 12.

1. The 12 PSBs include SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab & Sind Bank.
2. This count of 12 still held as on 1 May 2025.

Yaad rakhein: PSBs: 27 → 12 after the 2019–20 mergers; largest is SBI.

Answer: (C) 12

Concept: Tertiary activities do not produce goods; they provide services (transport, trade, banking, tourism, health…).

1. Tourism provides travel, hotel, guide and entertainment services to people.
2. Extracting natural resources is primary; production of goods is secondary; selling machinery is trade of goods, not the core of tourism.

Yaad rakhein: Primary – extract, Secondary – make, Tertiary – serve.

Answer: (D) providing services to people

Concept: A quantity is dimensionless if it is a ratio of two like quantities, so all dimensions cancel.

1. Refractive index $n=\frac{c}{v}$ = speed ÷ speed → $[M^0{L}^0{T}^0]$, no unit.
2. Velocity $[L{T}^{-1}]$, acceleration $[L{T}^{-2}]$, force $[ML{T}^{-2}]$ all have dimensions.

Trick: Ratio of the same quantity (refractive index, strain, relative density) → dimensionless.

Answer: (C) Refractive index

Concept: Maha Shivaratri falls on the Chaturdashi of the Krishna Paksha of Phalguna (Magha in the amanta calendar).

1. In 2025 it was celebrated on Wednesday, 26 February 2025.
2. The day also marked the final Amrit Snan of the Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj.

Yaad rakhein: Maha Kumbh 2025 ran from 13 January to 26 February (Maha Shivaratri).

Answer: (A) 26 February

Concept: The King Cup International Badminton Open was held at Shenzhen, China in December 2024.

1. India's Lakshya Sen lost in the semi-final and then played the match for third place.
2. He defeated France's Alex Lanier to finish third (bronze).

Yaad rakhein: King Cup 2024 (Shenzhen): Lakshya Sen – bronze, beating Alex Lanier of France.

Answer: (C) Alex Lanier

Concept: IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre) promotes private participation in space.

1. In May 2025 the Government of Karnataka signed an MoU with IN-SPACe to set up a Space Tech Manufacturing Park and a Centre of Excellence in the state.
2. Bengaluru already hosts ISRO HQ and many space start-ups, making Karnataka the natural hub.

Yaad rakhein: IN-SPACe HQ – Ahmedabad; Karnataka – MoU for Space Manufacturing Park (May 2025).

Answer: (B) Karnataka

Concept: Deserts south of the Equator lie in the southern part of the world map.

1. The Kalahari Desert is in southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa) – Southern Hemisphere.
2. Gobi (Mongolia–China), Thar (India–Pakistan) and Sonoran (USA–Mexico) are all in the Northern Hemisphere.

Yaad rakhein: Southern-hemisphere deserts: Kalahari, Namib, Atacama, Patagonian, Great Australian deserts.

Answer: (C) Kalahari Desert

Concept: In February/March 2025 six Indian sites were added to UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage.

1. The Mudumal Megalithic Menhirs are in Narayanpet district of Telangana, on the banks of the Krishna river – one of the largest menhir sites in South Asia.
2. Other additions included the Kanger Valley National Park (Chhattisgarh) and Ashokan edict sites.

Yaad rakhein: Mudumal menhirs – Narayanpet, Telangana; ~3,000 years old, some aligned to solstice sunrise.

Answer: (D) Telangana

Concept: The Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) was added by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985.

1. It lays down disqualification of MPs/MLAs on the ground of defection (voluntarily giving up party membership or defying the whip).
2. Languages – 8th Schedule; land-reform laws protection – 9th Schedule; seat allocation in Rajya Sabha – 4th Schedule.

Yaad rakhein: 52nd Amendment (1985, Rajiv Gandhi) → 10th Schedule → anti-defection.

Answer: (B) disqualification on grounds of defection

Concept: Alt + Tab is the Windows task-switcher shortcut.

1. Holding Alt and pressing Tab cycles through all open windows/applications; releasing the keys switches to the selected one.
2. Lock screen – Win + L; close window – Alt + F4; Start menu – Win key (or Ctrl + Esc).

Yaad rakhein: Alt + Tab = switch; Alt + F4 = close; Win + L = lock; Win + D = desktop.

Answer: (C) Switches between open applications

Concept: Good file management means files can be found quickly and stored safely.

1. Grouping files into folders (and sub-folders) by category, project or date keeps them organised.
2. Random names, one crowded folder or the Recycle Bin (meant for deleted files) make files hard to find or lead to loss.

Yaad rakhein: Folders + meaningful file names = efficient organisation.

Answer: (A) Create different folders based on categories of files

Concept: Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British ICS officer, conceived the idea of an all-India political body.

1. He brought leading Indian leaders together; the INC was founded on 28 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay.
2. W C Bonnerjee presided over the first session (72 delegates) – he was the president, not the originator of the idea.
3. Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose founded the Indian Association (1876).

Yaad rakhein: Idea – A O Hume; first president – W C Bonnerjee; 1885, Bombay.

Answer: (A) A O Hume