SSC CPO Paper I 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 PYQs

Concept: Bharatanatyam is the classical dance of Tamil Nadu.

1. It is performed to Carnatic music – vocal with mridangam, violin, flute/veena and nattuvangam (cymbals).
2. Hindustani music accompanies Kathak; Baul is Bengali folk music; Lavani is a Maharashtrian folk form.

Yaad rakhein: South Indian dances (Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi) → Carnatic; Kathak → Hindustani.

Answer: (A) Carnatic

Concept: The Imperial Cricket Conference was founded on 15 June 1909 at Lord's by England, Australia and South Africa.

1. It was renamed International Cricket Conference in 1965 and International Cricket Council in 1989.
2. Its headquarters moved from Lord's to Dubai in 2005.

Yaad rakhein: 1909 Imperial → 1965 International Conference → 1989 Council.

Answer: (C) 1909

Concept: A lake or the sea is divided into zones by depth and light.

1. The littoral zone is the shallow near-shore zone: sunlight reaches the bottom, oxygen and nutrients are plentiful, waves keep water moving and, in the intertidal part, it is alternately covered and exposed.
2. Limnetic = open sunlit water away from shore; Benthic = bottom; Lentic = still-water systems in general.

Yaad rakhein: Littoral = shore (litus = shore in Latin).

Answer: (C) The Littoral Zone

Concept: Anju Bobby George won bronze in long jump (6.70 m) at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris.

1. This made her the first Indian to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.
2. Neeraj Chopra won silver in 2022 (Eugene) and gold in 2023 (Budapest) in javelin – later, so not first.

Yaad rakhein: First World Athletics medal: Anju 2003 bronze; first gold: Neeraj 2023.

Answer: (B) Anju Bobby George

Concept: Almost all ecosystems depend on the Sun through photosynthesis.

1. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents lie in total darkness; there chemosynthetic bacteria make food by oxidising hydrogen sulphide from the vents.
2. These bacteria support tube worms, clams and crabs, so this ecosystem does not run on solar energy.
3. Phytoplankton and marine food chains are solar based; nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in sunlight-driven ecosystems.

Yaad rakhein: No sunlight → chemosynthesis (H₂S) at hydrothermal vents.

Answer: (C) Deep sea hydro-thermal ecosystem

Concept: Nauroz (Navroz, 'new day') is the Persian/Zoroastrian New Year.

1. In India it is celebrated by the Parsi community, followers of Zoroastrianism; the Shahenshahi calendar Navroz usually falls in August.
2. Parsis visit fire temples (Agiary) and prepare dishes like sali boti and falooda.

Yaad rakhein: Parsi = Zoroastrian; festivals Navroz, Jamshedi Navroz, Pateti.

Answer: (D) Parsi

Concept: Major ports of India are located on the east and west coasts in different states.

1. 1. Tuticorin (V.O. Chidambaranar) Port – Tamil Nadu → b.
2. 2. Haldia Port (part of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata) – West Bengal → a.
3. 3. New Mangalore Port – Karnataka → c. So 1-b, 2-a, 3-c.

Yaad rakhein: Kolkata–Haldia (WB), Tuticorin (TN), Mangalore (KA), Marmagao (Goa), Kandla/Deendayal (GJ).

Answer: (A) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c

Concept: Aluna Kabuini is a traditional dance of the Kabui (Rongmei Naga) community of Manipur.

1. It belongs to the dance traditions of Manipur and is associated with the Manipuri dance heritage, performed in festivals like Gaan-Ngai.
2. Mohiniyattam is from Kerala, Kathak from North India and Sattriya from Assam.

Yaad rakhein: Kabui, Lai Haraoba, Ras Lila, Pung Cholom → Manipur.

Answer: (C) Manipuri

Concept: Newton's universal law of gravitation: every two masses attract each other with force $F=\frac{G{m}_1{m}_2}{r^2}$.

1. Gravity binds us to the Earth, keeps the Moon moving around the Earth and keeps the planets moving around the Sun – A, C, D are correct.
2. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun on Earth's oceans, not by the stars (they are far too distant). So B is incorrect.

Yaad rakhein: Tides = Moon (main) + Sun; spring tide when they align.

Answer: (B) It is the force causing tides due to the stars and earth

Concept: The Interim Government was formed on 2 September 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan, with Jawaharlal Nehru as Vice-President of the Executive Council.

1. The Muslim League joined in October 1946 and Liaquat Ali Khan became Finance Member; he presented the 'Poor Man's Budget' of 1947.
2. Home was with Sardar Patel, External Affairs with Nehru, Defence with Baldev Singh.

Yaad rakhein: Liaquat = Finance (1947 budget); Patel = Home; Nehru = External Affairs.

Answer: (B) the Finance Ministry

Concept: The Ashtadhyayi ("eight chapters") is the foundational text of Sanskrit grammar.

1. It was composed by Panini, a grammarian from Shalatula near Gandhara (north-west India), around the 6th–5th century BCE.
2. It contains nearly 4,000 sutras (aphorisms) describing Sanskrit phonetics, morphology and syntax.
3. Patanjali came later and wrote the Mahabhashya, a commentary on Panini's grammar (and the Yoga Sutras) – so he is the tempting wrong option.

Yaad rakhein: Grammar trio – Panini (Ashtadhyayi) → Katyayana (Vartika) → Patanjali (Mahabhashya).

Answer: (A) Panini

Concept: Different features of the Indian Constitution were borrowed from different foreign constitutions.

1. Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 (Part IV-A, Article 51A) on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.
2. The idea was taken from the constitution of the former USSR (Soviet Union), which listed duties of citizens along with rights.
3. USA gave Fundamental Rights and judicial review; France gave Liberty, Equality, Fraternity; Canada gave a federation with a strong Centre.

Yaad rakhein: USSR → Fundamental Duties and the ideals of justice (social, economic, political) in the Preamble.

Answer: (A) the constitution of USSR

Concept: Inventory investment = change in stock (inventories) of a firm during the year = closing stock − opening stock.

1. Inventories include stocks of raw materials, semi-finished goods (work-in-progress) and finished goods.
2. Change in each of these stocks is counted as inventory investment, a part of gross investment in national income.
3. "Change in sales" is not a stock – sales are a flow that reduces inventory; they are not themselves counted as inventory investment.

Yaad rakhein: Inventory = stock: raw material + semi-finished + finished goods. Sales are not stock.

Answer: (A) Change in sales during the year

Concept: The Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is the simplest measure of fertility.

1. $\text{CBR}=\frac{\text{Live births in the year}}{\text{Mid-year population}}\times 1000$
2. It is called "crude" because it uses the whole population, without adjusting for age or sex structure.
3. Positive, negative and neutral are not names of birth-rate measures.

Yaad rakhein: Crude Birth Rate and Crude Death Rate are both expressed per 1000 mid-year population.

Answer: (A) crude

Concept: A basketball court is a flat, hard rectangular surface.

1. As per FIBA rules the court measures $28\text{m}\times 15\text{m}$ (NBA: 94 ft × 50 ft).
2. It is divided by a centre line, has a centre circle, and a basket with a three-point arc at each short end.
3. Since length ≠ breadth, it is a rectangle, not a square.

Yaad rakhein: Basketball court: $28\text{m}\times 15\text{m}$ rectangle; 5 players per side on court.

Answer: (B) rectangle

Concept: Part V, Chapter I of the Constitution deals with the Union Executive.

1. Article 53: the executive power of the Union is vested in the President, exercised directly or through subordinate officers.
2. Article 55: manner of election of the President; Article 56: term of office; Article 58: qualifications for election.
3. Article 52 says there shall be a President of India.

Yaad rakhein: 52 – President exists; 53 – executive power; 54 and 55 – election; 56 – term; 58 – qualifications.

Answer: (A) Article 53

Concept: Drugs act on receptors – proteins that receive chemical messengers (like neurotransmitters or hormones).

1. An agonist binds to the receptor and switches it on, mimicking the natural messenger.
2. An antagonist binds to the receptor but blocks it, so the natural messenger cannot act.
3. Antidepressants and depressants are therapeutic classes (by effect), not names for this mode of action.

Yaad rakhein: Agonist = Activates (mimics); Antagonist = blocks.

Answer: (B) Agonist

Concept: A plan holiday is a period when no five-year plan runs and only annual plans are made.

1. The Seventh Plan ended in 1990; the Eighth Plan could not begin due to political instability at the Centre.
2. Hence two Annual Plans were run: 1990–91 and 1991–92 – i.e. from 1990 to 1992.
3. The Eighth Plan then started in 1992 (1992–97). The earlier plan holiday was 1966–69 after the Third Plan.

Yaad rakhein: Plan holidays: 1966–69 (after 3rd Plan) and 1990–92 (after 7th Plan); 1978–80 had Rolling Plans.

Answer: (B) From 1990 to 1992

Concept: The Bahmani Sultanate (founded 1347) broke up into five Deccan Sultanates.

1. The five were: Bijapur (Adil Shahi), Ahmadnagar (Nizam Shahi), Golconda (Qutb Shahi), Bidar (Barid Shahi) and Berar (Imad Shahi).
2. Gaur (Gauda) was a capital of the Bengal Sultanate in eastern India and had nothing to do with the Bahmani kingdom.

Yaad rakhein: Deccan five – "BAGBB": Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda, Bidar, Berar.

Answer: (B) Gaur

Concept: The Uruguay Round was the 8th and last round of GATT negotiations (launched at Punta del Este, 1986).

1. Negotiations concluded and the Final Act was signed at Marrakesh, Morocco in April 1994.
2. The Marrakesh Agreement created the WTO, which came into existence on 1 January 1995 in Geneva.
3. India is a founder member of both GATT (1947) and WTO (1995).

Yaad rakhein: Uruguay Round: 1986 → 1994 (Marrakesh) → WTO on 1-1-1995.

Answer: (B) 1994