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

Concept: Pipelines carry liquids and gases (crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas) directly from source to refinery or consumer without changing vehicles.

1. There is no loading–unloading on the way, so trans-shipment losses and delays are almost nil.
2. Running cost is low and supply is continuous; e.g. Naharkatia–Barauni crude line, HVJ gas pipeline.
3. Roads, railways and waterways need tankers and repeated handling, which causes spillage and delay.

Yaad rakhein: Petroleum and gas = Pipeline: no trans-shipment, no delay.

Answer: (A) Pipeline

Concept: Article 34 of the Indian Constitution allows Parliament to restrict Fundamental Rights while martial law is in force in an area.

1. The idea of martial law (military rule in an area when civil authority breaks down) comes from British common law.
2. Indian Constitution has no clear definition of martial law; it follows the English concept.
3. The USSR gave Fundamental Duties, not martial law.

Yaad rakhein: UK gave: Parliamentary system, Rule of Law, Writs, Single citizenship – and Martial Law.

Answer: (A) The UK

Concept: Copacabana is a famous beach of about 4 km on the Atlantic coast of Rio de Janeiro.

1. Rio de Janeiro is in Brazil, so Copacabana beach is in Brazil.
2. It is known for New Year (Réveillon) celebrations and hosted beach volleyball at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
3. Bondi beach is the famous one of Australia; Peru and Mexico are wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Copacabana + Ipanema = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Answer: (D) Brazil

Concept: Refining removes impurities from a crude metal. Electrolytic refining is used for most metals such as Cu, Zn, Ni, Ag, Au, Al.

1. Impure metal is made the anode, a thin strip of pure metal the cathode, and a salt solution of the same metal the electrolyte.
2. On passing current, pure metal deposits on the cathode; impurities fall below the anode as anode mud.
3. Vapour-phase (Ni, Zr), poling (Cu oxide) and liquation (Sn, Pb) are used only for a few metals.

Yaad rakhein: Impure = Anode, Pure = Cathode; most widely used = Electrolytic.

Answer: (C) Electrolytic Refining

Concept: Work $W=F\times s$; its SI unit is $\text{N m}$ = joule (J). Energy also has unit joule; power $P=\frac{W}{t}$ has unit watt.

1. (A) Joule is the unit of work – correct.
2. (B) Watt is the unit of power, not energy – wrong.
3. (C) $\text{J/s}$ = watt, a unit of power – wrong.
4. (D) Power is $\text{J/s}$, not $\text{J/N}$ (that is metre) – wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Work and energy → joule; power → watt $=\text{J/s}$.

Answer: (A) Joule is the unit of work

Concept: Microfinance gives small loans and savings services to poor households. In India its oldest institutional form is the cooperative credit system.

1. Cooperative credit societies began with the Cooperative Credit Societies Act 1904 and were the main rural credit channel at Independence (1947).
2. SHG–Bank linkage started in 1992 (NABARD); Joint Liability Groups came around 2006.
3. The Grameen model was started by Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh (1976–83), not at India's independence.

Yaad rakhein: Order: Rural Cooperatives (1904, 1947) → SHG (1992) → JLG (2006).

Answer: (B) Rural Cooperatives

Concept: "The Race of My Life" (2013) is the autobiography of Milkha Singh, the "Flying Sikh", written with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka.

1. The film "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" (2013) is based on it.
2. PT Usha's autobiography is "Golden Girl"; Mary Kom's is "Unbreakable".
3. Sourav Ganguly's book is "A Century Is Not Enough".

Yaad rakhein: Race = runner → Milkha Singh (Flying Sikh).

Answer: (C) Milkha Singh

Concept: The Citizenship Act, 1955 lays down five ways of acquiring Indian citizenship.

1. The five ways are: birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory.
2. Buying or owning property in India gives no right to citizenship.
3. So "citizenship through acquisition of property" is the incorrect condition.

Yaad rakhein: 5 ways – B-D-R-N-I: Birth, Descent, Registration, Naturalisation, Incorporation of territory.

Answer: (C) Citizenship through acquisition of property

Concept: Holography records and reproduces a three-dimensional image using the interference of light.

1. Dennis Gabor, a Hungarian-born British physicist, invented holography in 1947 while trying to improve the resolution of the electron microscope.
2. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for it.
3. Heisenberg gave the uncertainty principle; Charles Townes is linked with the maser and laser.

Yaad rakhein: Gabor → Hologram → Nobel 1971.

Answer: (C) Dennis Gabor

Concept: The Tripartite struggle (8th–10th century) was the fight for control of Kannauj between three powers.

1. Gurjara-Pratiharas (western and north India), Palas (Bengal, eastern India) and Rashtrakutas (Deccan, south India).
2. The Rashtrakutas were founded by Dantidurga; Dhruva and Govinda III raided up to Kannauj.
3. Cholas rose later; Marathas belong to the 17th century.

Yaad rakhein: Kannauj ke liye teen: P-P-R = Pratihara, Pala, Rashtrakuta.

Answer: (B) Rashtrakutas

Concept: "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995) is a novel by Salman Rushdie, set largely in Bombay and Cochin.

1. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1995.
2. Rushdie's other works: "Midnight's Children" (Booker 1981), "The Satanic Verses", "Shame".
3. VS Naipaul wrote "A House for Mr Biswas"; John Keay is a historian.

Yaad rakhein: Rushdie: Midnight's Children, Shame, Satanic Verses, The Moor's Last Sigh.

Answer: (D) Salman Rushdie

Concept: Manipuri dance of Manipur is deeply rooted in Vaishnavism; its central theme is the Raas Leela of Radha, Krishna and the gopis.

1. Main forms: Maha Raas, Vasanta Raas, Kunja Raas, Nitya Raas.
2. Dancers wear the cylindrical skirt "Potloi"; movements are soft and graceful.
3. Sattriya (Assam) is based on Sankardev's Ankiya Naat; Mohiniyattam (Kerala) is a solo lasya dance.

Yaad rakhein: Raas Leela + Potloi costume = Manipuri.

Answer: (A) Manipuri dance

Concept: The Mauryan dynasty ended in about 185 BCE.

1. Brihadratha was the last Mauryan king.
2. He was killed during an army review by his commander-in-chief (senapati) Pushyamitra Shunga, who founded the Shunga dynasty.
3. Bindusara was Chandragupta's son; Dasharatha and Shatadhanvan were earlier later-Mauryas.

Yaad rakhein: Brihadratha (last Maurya) → killed by Pushyamitra → Shunga dynasty.

Answer: (C) Brihadratha

Concept: Writs are issued by the Supreme Court (Art. 32) and High Courts (Art. 226) to enforce rights.

1. Habeas corpus ("to have the body") orders the authority to produce a detained person before the court; if detention is unlawful, the person is freed.
2. Mandamus commands a public official to do a duty; Prohibition stops a lower court from exceeding jurisdiction.
3. Quo warranto asks "by what authority" a person holds a public office.

Yaad rakhein: Unlawful arrest/detention → Habeas corpus (bring the body).

Answer: (D) Habeas corpus

Concept: The émigré (expatriate) Communist Party of India was formed at Tashkent on 17 October 1920.

1. It was founded by M.N. Roy with Abani Mukherji, Evelyn Trent-Roy and others, with Comintern support.
2. Inside India, the CPI was formally launched at the Kanpur conference in 1925.
3. S.A. Dange and P.C. Joshi were later CPI leaders, not founders at Tashkent.

Yaad rakhein: Tashkent 1920 → M.N. Roy; Kanpur 1925 → CPI in India.

Answer: (D) MN Roy

Concept: Male gametes must reach the egg for fertilisation. In lower plants the male gametes (antherozoids) are flagellated and motile.

1. Bryophytes and pteridophytes need a film of water so that their motile male gametes can swim to the archegonium – statement (B) is correct.
2. Gymnosperms and angiosperms carry non-motile male gametes inside pollen grains, moved by wind, insects etc., and then by the pollen tube.
3. So transport through water in gymnosperms/angiosperms, or through air in bryophytes, is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Mosses and ferns are "amphibians of plants" – water needed for fertilisation.

Answer: (B) The transport of male gametes in bryophytes and pteridophytes occurs through water.

Concept: According to Census 2011, Lakshadweep had the highest literacy among Union Territories.

1. Lakshadweep: overall literacy about 91.8%, male literacy about 96.1% – highest among UTs.
2. Daman and Diu (about 91.5%), Delhi (about 91%) and Andaman and Nicobar (about 90.3%) were lower.
3. Among states, Kerala had the highest male literacy (about 96.1%).

Yaad rakhein: Highest literacy (2011): State – Kerala, UT – Lakshadweep.

Answer: (D) Lakshadweep

Concept: Pandit Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) was a sitar maestro of the Maihar gharana, disciple of Ustad Allauddin Khan.

1. He took the sitar to the world through collaborations with George Harrison (Beatles) and Yehudi Menuhin.
2. He received the Bharat Ratna in 1999 and three Grammy Awards.
3. Tabla – Zakir Hussain; Veena – S. Balachander; these are not linked to him.

Yaad rakhein: Ravi Shankar = Sitar; Zakir Hussain = Tabla; Bismillah Khan = Shehnai.

Answer: (A) Sitar

Concept: Census 2011 ranks metropolitan cities (urban agglomerations) by population.

1. Greater Mumbai UA: about 1.84 crore – the largest.
2. Delhi UA about 1.63 crore was second, Kolkata about 1.41 crore third, Chennai about 0.87 crore.
3. Patna is far smaller, so Mumbai is the answer among the options.

Yaad rakhein: Million-plus UAs 2011: Mumbai > Delhi > Kolkata > Chennai.

Answer: (A) Mumbai

Concept: Ker Puja and Garia Puja are tribal festivals of Tripura.

1. Garia Puja (April, around Bengali New Year) honours Garia, the god of wealth and livestock, by tribes like the Tripuri and Reang.
2. Ker Puja (July–August, after Kharchi Puja) worships Ker, the guardian deity of Vastu; movement is restricted during it.
3. Kharchi Puja (14 gods) is another famous festival of Tripura.

Yaad rakhein: Tripura festivals: Kharchi, Ker, Garia.

Answer: (D) Tripura