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

Concept: Article 156 deals with the term of office of the Governor.

1. Art. 156(1): the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President.
2. Art. 156(3): term is five years from entering office.
3. Art. 156(4): notwithstanding the expiry of the term, he/she continues in office until the successor enters upon office – avoiding a vacuum.

Yaad rakhein: No vacuum rule: Governor stays till successor takes charge (Art. 156).

Answer: (C) his/her successor enters his/her office

Concept: Primary deficit = Fiscal deficit − Interest payments, so $\text{FD}=\text{PD}+\text{Interest}$.

1. Primary deficit = ₹6,900 crore; interest payments = ₹400 crore.
2. $\text{FD}=6900+400=7300$ (₹ crore).

Trick: Fiscal = Primary + Interest; Primary = Fiscal − Interest.

Answer: (B) ₹7,300 crore

Concept: The Delhi Sultanate had four main departments (diwans).

1. Diwan-i-Insha – department of royal/state correspondence (letters and orders).
2. Diwan-i-Arz – military; Diwan-i-Wizarat – finance; Diwan-i-Risalat – religious affairs and appeals.
3. So Diwan-i-Insha dealt with state correspondence.

Yaad rakhein: Insha = writing (letters); Arz = army; Wizarat = finance; Risalat = religion.

Answer: (A) State correspondence

Concept: Earth moves round the Sun in an elliptical orbit, so its distance from the Sun changes.

1. Perihelion – nearest point (about 147 million km), reached around 3–4 January.
2. Aphelion – farthest point (about 152 million km), around 4 July.
3. Seasons are due to the tilt of the axis, not this distance – the northern winter occurs near perihelion.

Yaad rakhein: PeriHelion – January (near); ApHelion – July (away).

Answer: (C) January

Concept: Guru Bipin Singh (1918–2000) is called the "Father of Manipuri dance" in its modern form.

1. He researched and systematised Manipuri dance, founded Manipuri Nartanalaya, and trained the Jhaveri sisters.
2. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1966) and the Kalidas Samman.
3. Odissi – Kelucharan Mohapatra; Kuchipudi – Vempati Chinna Satyam; Kathak – Birju Maharaj.

Yaad rakhein: Bipin Singh = Manipuri; Kelucharan = Odissi; Birju Maharaj = Kathak.

Answer: (B) Manipuri

Concept: Pandit Birju Maharaj (1938–2022) of the Lucknow Kalka-Bindadin gharana was the leading Kathak exponent.

1. He received the Padma Vibhushan in his forties – the youngest dancer to receive it.
2. He also got the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Kalidas Samman, and won a National Film Award for choreography ("Vishwaroopam").
3. Rajendra Gangani and Abhimanyu Lal are younger Kathak artists who have not received it.

Yaad rakhein: Birju Maharaj = Kathak, Lucknow gharana, Padma Vibhushan.

Answer: (A) Birju Maharaj

Concept: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the national weather agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

1. It was established in 1875 (15 January) by the British Government of India, after the 1864 Calcutta cyclone and the failed monsoons of 1866 and 1871.
2. Its headquarters, first at Calcutta, are now at Mausam Bhawan, New Delhi.
3. Henry Francis Blanford was its first Meteorological Reporter.

Yaad rakhein: IMD – 1875 – HQ New Delhi.

Answer: (C) 1875

Concept: The cell membrane is mainly made of lipids (phospholipid bilayer) and proteins, as per the fluid mosaic model (Singer and Nicolson, 1972).

1. In the human RBC membrane, proteins form about 52% and lipids about 40%.
2. So proteins make up roughly $40\text{–}60\%$ of the membrane; the ratio varies with cell type.
3. Proteins act as carriers, channels, receptors and enzymes.

Yaad rakhein: RBC membrane: protein about 52%, lipid about 40% → proteins $40\text{–}60\%$.

Answer: (D) $40\text{–}60\%$

Concept: The Syed Modi International is a badminton tournament held at Lucknow (BWF World Tour Super 300).

1. It is named after Syed Modi, eight-time national badminton champion, who was shot dead in Lucknow in 1988.
2. It has been held since 1991.
3. Other badminton events: India Open (New Delhi), Odisha Masters.

Yaad rakhein: Syed Modi = Badminton = Lucknow.

Answer: (D) Badminton

Concept: Ghode Modni is a folk dance of Goa performed by men with dummy horses tied at the waist.

1. It recalls the victory of the Rane rulers (Maratha warriors) over the Portuguese, hence called the "Warrior Dance".
2. Dancers wear turbans and carry swords, moving to the beat of drums.
3. Bihu – Assam; Lavani – Maharashtra; Rauf – Jammu and Kashmir.

Yaad rakhein: Ghode (horse) + sword = Warrior dance of Goa.

Answer: (C) Ghode Modni

Concept: Organic compounds are carbon compounds (usually with C–H bonds); compounds without carbon are inorganic.

1. Nonane (C₉H₂₀) and decane (C₁₀H₂₂) are alkanes – hydrocarbons.
2. Furan (C₄H₄O) is a five-membered heterocyclic organic compound containing carbon.
3. Ammonia (NH₃) contains only nitrogen and hydrogen – no carbon, so it is inorganic.

Yaad rakhein: No carbon = not organic. Look for the formula without C.

Answer: (A) Ammonia

Concept: Lydian Nadhaswaram is a child music prodigy from Chennai.

1. In November 2020 he set the record of being the world's fastest piano player (playing a record number of notes per minute).
2. He became famous after winning the US TV talent show 'The World's Best' (2019) as a teenager.
3. He also composed music for the film 'Barroz' (Mohanlal's directorial debut).

Yaad rakhein: Lydian – piano prodigy of Chennai; Nadhaswaram is also the name of a Tamil wind instrument, but he plays piano.

Answer: (A) Lydian Nadhaswaram

Concept: Kharif crops are sown with the onset of the south-west monsoon (June–July) and harvested in September–October.

1. They need high temperature (above ${25}^{\circ }\text{C}$) and high humidity.
2. They need heavy rainfall – annual rainfall above $100\text{cm}$.
3. Examples: rice, maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, jute, groundnut.

Yaad rakhein: Kharif = monsoon crop = hot + wet: above ${25}^{\circ }\text{C}$ and above $100\text{cm}$ rain.

Answer: (B) $100$

Concept: Bhutia dance is a folk dance of the Bhutia community of Sikkim.

1. The Bhutias are a Tibetan-origin community living mainly in Sikkim; their dances (e.g. Singhi Chham, Yak Chham) are linked to Buddhist festivals like Losar.
2. Odisha is known for Odissi and Chhau, Nagaland for Chang Lo, and West Bengal for Gambhira and Chhau (Purulia).

Yaad rakhein: Bhutia, Lepcha and Limboo – the three main communities of Sikkim.

Answer: (C) Sikkim

Concept: The Ganga Water Sharing Treaty (Farakka Treaty) was signed between India and Bangladesh on 12 December 1996.

1. It was signed by PM H.D. Deve Gowda and PM Sheikh Hasina for sharing Ganga waters at the Farakka Barrage during the lean season (January–May).
2. Its validity is 30 years (up to 2026).
3. With Nepal India has the Mahakali Treaty (1996); with Pakistan the Indus Waters Treaty (1960).

Yaad rakhein: Farakka Barrage is in West Bengal, just before the Ganga enters Bangladesh.

Answer: (B) Bangladesh

Concept: The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (Chauhans) ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan.

1. Ajayaraja II (early 12th century) founded the city of Ajayameru (Ajmer) and made it the capital.
2. Arnoraja was his son and successor; Prithviraj III (Prithviraj Chauhan) was the most famous ruler, defeated by Muhammad Ghori in the Second Battle of Tarain (1192).

Yaad rakhein: Ajayaraja → Ajayameru → Ajmer (the name itself comes from the founder).

Answer: (A) Ajayaraja

Concept: Seats in the Lok Sabha are allotted to states roughly in proportion to population.

1. Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha constituencies, so 13 MPs were elected from Punjab to the 17th Lok Sabha (2019).
2. For comparison: Haryana 10, Himachal Pradesh 4, Uttar Pradesh 80 (highest).

Yaad rakhein: Punjab – 13 Lok Sabha seats, 117 Vidhan Sabha seats, 7 Rajya Sabha seats.

Answer: (C) 13

Concept: Before the 1991 reforms, the industrial sector was tightly regulated (licence-permit raj) under the Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956.

1. Industrial licensing was needed to start, expand or close a firm and to decide output.
2. Prices and distribution of selected products (cement, steel, etc.) were controlled; some goods were reserved for small-scale industries.
3. The private sector was NOT allowed in all industries – many industries were reserved for the public sector. So option (C) was not a mechanism in existence.

Yaad rakhein: Pre-1991 = licence, price control, SSI reservation, public-sector reservation. 'Private sector everywhere' came only after 1991.

Answer: (C) Private sector was allowed in all industries.

Concept: 'My Story' is the autobiography of the Malayalam and English writer Kamala Das (Madhavikutty).

1. It was first published in Malayalam as 'Ente Katha' and in English in 1976; it was famous for its candid narration.
2. Arundhati Roy – The God of Small Things; Kiran Desai – The Inheritance of Loss; Shobhaa De – Socialite Evenings, Selective Memory (her memoir).

Yaad rakhein: Kamala Das – 'My Story' (Ente Katha).

Answer: (D) Kamala Das

Concept: Methyl ethyl ketone is CH₃–CO–CH₂–CH₃: a ketone with 4 carbon atoms.

1. 4-carbon chain → 'butan'; ketone group → suffix '-one'.
2. The C=O is at carbon 2, so the IUPAC name is butan-2-one (2-butanone).
3. Propanone is acetone (dimethyl ketone); 2-butanol is an alcohol (–OH), not a ketone.

Yaad rakhein: Count carbons: methyl (1) + C=O (1) + ethyl (2) = 4 → butanone.

Answer: (A) 2-butanone