SSC CGL 2025 PYQs

Concept: A shot that drops through touching only the net is a 'swish'.

1. The name comes from the soft sound of the net.
2. Layup = close shot often off the board; slam dunk = ball forced down through the hoop; alley-oop = mid-air catch and finish.

Yaad rakhein: Basketball was invented by James Naismith (1891); a regular field goal is 2 points, beyond the arc 3 points.

Answer: (C) Swish

Concept: The Red Fort was Shah Jahan's palace-fort in his new capital Shahjahanabad.

1. Built 1638–1648 under Shah Jahan; architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori.
2. Shah Jahan also built the Taj Mahal and Jama Masjid (Delhi).

Yaad rakhein: The Red Fort became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007; the PM hoists the flag here on Independence Day.

Answer: (B) Shah Jahan

Concept: The cytoskeleton is the protein scaffold inside a eukaryotic cell.

1. Made of microtubules, microfilaments (actin) and intermediate filaments.
2. Gives shape, holds organelles, helps movement and cell division.
3. ER and Golgi deal with making and packaging molecules; nucleolus makes ribosomes.

Trick: 'Skeleton' in the name = support and shape – the word itself gives the answer.

Answer: (B) Cytoskeleton

Concept: NADA is India's national anti-doping body.

1. Set up in 2005 (registered as a society) under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
2. It implements anti-doping rules in line with the WADA code.

Yaad rakhein: The National Anti-Doping Act was passed in 2022, giving NADA statutory backing; WADA was founded in 1999.

Answer: (B) 2005

Concept: Measures meant for control and surveillance are police/intelligence reforms.

1. On the Police Commission (1902) report, Curzon reorganised the police and set up the CID.
2. This tightened British watch over people and political activity.
3. ASI revival, agriculture research and the Universities Act (1904) were cultural/administrative, not control tools.

Yaad rakhein: Curzon is best remembered for the Partition of Bengal (1905), which sparked the Swadeshi movement.

Answer: (A) The creation of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and police reorganisation

Concept: Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

1. It clearly treats electronic and digital records (emails, server logs, messages, location data) as evidence.
2. So its aim is to make modern digital evidence acceptable in courts – the other options say the opposite.

Yaad rakhein: Three new laws from 1 July 2024: BNS (replaced IPC), BNSS (replaced CrPC), BSA (replaced Evidence Act).

Answer: (B) To ensure the acceptance of modern and digital forms of evidence in courts

Concept: The Solicitor General is India's second-highest law officer after the Attorney General.

1. Tushar Mehta has held the post since 2018 and was reappointed in 2023.
2. R. Venkataramani is the Attorney General; Harish Salve and Gopal Subramanium are former SGs.

Yaad rakhein: The Attorney General is the only constitutional law officer (Article 76); the SG post is statutory/administrative.

Answer: (B) Tushar Mehta

Concept: Yakshagana is the traditional theatre of coastal Karnataka.

1. It mixes dance, music, dialogue and grand costumes with huge headgear.
2. Stories come mainly from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas.

Yaad rakhein: Match: Kathakali – Kerala, Therukoothu – Tamil Nadu, Tamasha – Maharashtra, Yakshagana – Karnataka.

Answer: (C) Karnataka

Concept: Jainism has 24 Tirthankaras; the first is Rishabhadev (Adinath).

1. Rishabhadev's emblem is the bull.
2. Ajitanath was 2nd, Neminath 22nd, Parshvanath 23rd and Mahavira 24th.

Yaad rakhein: Parshvanath's symbol is the snake and Mahavira's is the lion.

Answer: (B) Rishabhadev

Concept: Road density = road length per 100 km² of area; it is high in plains and developed regions.

1. A is correct: terrain and economic development shape road networks.
2. C is correct: Kerala's road density is among the highest, well above the national average.
3. B is wrong: hilly, forested North-East has lower density than the southern states.

Trick: Hills + forests = fewer roads; any statement giving the North-East 'higher' density is the odd one.

Answer: (D) B only

Concept: Census 2011 broad age groups: 0–14, 15–59 and 60+.

1. 0–14 years ≈ 30.76% of the population.
2. 15–59 years ≈ 60%; 60+ years ≈ 8.6%.

Yaad rakhein: Census 2011: population ≈ 121 crore, sex ratio 943, literacy 74.04%.

Answer: (C) 30.76%

Concept: The Indus is called Singi Khamban (Lion's Mouth) in Tibet.

1. It rises near Lake Mansarovar and flows north-west between the Ladakh and Zaskar ranges.
2. It cuts a gorge near Gilgit and enters Pakistan near Nanga Parbat, ending in the Arabian Sea.

Yaad rakhein: Indus Waters Treaty (1960): India controls the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, Sutlej; Pakistan the western Indus, Jhelum, Chenab.

Answer: (B) Indus River

Concept: Several books on Jinnah exist; the exact title identifies the author.

1. 'Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History' (2020) is by political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmed.
2. Jaswant Singh → 'Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence'; Stanley Wolpert → 'Jinnah of Pakistan'; Ayesha Jalal → 'The Sole Spokesman'.

Trick: Match by subtitle: 'India, Partition, Independence' = Jaswant Singh – so he is the tempting wrong choice here.

Answer: (A) Ishtiaq Ahmed

Concept: The 36th National Games (2022) were hosted by Gujarat.

1. Statement 1 true: host state Gujarat.
2. Statement 2 true: venues were Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar.
3. Both are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Services (SSCB) topped the medal table at the 36th Games; the 37th Games (2023) were held in Goa.

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2 are correct

Concept: Railways is a Union List subject, so related taxes belong to the Centre.

1. Taxes on railway fares and freight are levied under the Union's powers.
2. Municipal bodies and Zila Parishads have no role; states cannot tax it either.

Yaad rakhein: Seventh Schedule: List I – Union, List II – State, List III – Concurrent.

Answer: (C) Union Government

Concept: Gaidinliu, a Zeliangrong Naga leader, fought the British in the Naga Hills of Manipur.

1. She was born in Tamenglong (Manipur) and led the Heraka movement after Jadonang's execution (1931).
2. Arrested in 1932; Nehru called her 'Rani' (Queen of the Nagas).

Yaad rakhein: She was released only in 1947 and later received the Padma Bhushan (1982).

Answer: (B) Manipur (Naga Hills)

Concept: Two gases make up about 99% of dry air.

1. Nitrogen ≈ 78% and oxygen ≈ 21% by volume.
2. Argon ≈ 0.93%, CO₂ ≈ 0.04%; helium is only a trace.

Yaad rakhein: Order of abundance: N₂ > O₂ > Ar > CO₂.

Answer: (A) Nitrogen and Oxygen

Concept: The Sixth Plan (1980–85) targeted removal of poverty with technological self-reliance.

1. Programmes like IRDP, NREP and TRYSEM were launched/expanded in this plan.
2. Green revolution emphasis belongs to the 1960s plans; small-scale industry was a 2nd–3rd Plan theme.

Yaad rakhein: 'Garibi Hatao' slogan came with the Fifth Plan; the Sixth Plan put it into concrete poverty programmes.

Answer: (D) Poverty alleviation and modernisation of technology

Concept: 1991 reforms = Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation.

1. FDI brings foreign capital and technology, linking India's economy with the world – that is globalisation.
2. Privatisation = selling/transferring public sector units; deregulation = removing controls.

Trick: Anything 'foreign' – FDI, trade opening, rupee convertibility – goes under Globalisation.

Answer: (B) Globalisation

Concept: The Constitution has three types of emergency.

1. Article 360 – Financial Emergency (threat to financial stability or credit of India).
2. Article 352 – National Emergency; Article 356 – President's Rule in a state.

Trick: Remember 352-356-360: rising by 4 – National, State, Financial.

Answer: (B) Article 360