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

Concept: The Athletics World Cup was a team athletics event planned as a new international competition.

1. Its first (and only) edition was held in London at the London Stadium on 14–15 July 2018.
2. Eight national teams took part; the USA topped the table.
3. The event was discontinued after this first edition, so Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing are wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Athletics World Cup = London Stadium, 2018 – one edition only.

Answer: (A) London, 2018

Concept: Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form of Hindustani music, sung mainly in two styles (gharanas of style).

1. Poorab ang thumri (Banaras/Lucknow region) is fairly slow and staid – statement I is correct.
2. Punjab ang thumri is more mercurial (quick, lively, with fast tans) – statement II is correct.
3. Since both pairs are correctly matched, the answer is 'Both I and II'.

Yaad rakhein: Poorab = slow & staid (East, Banaras); Punjab = quick & mercurial.

Answer: (B) Both I and II

Concept: The Jnanpith Award is India's highest literary honour, given for outstanding contribution to literature in Indian languages.

1. Damodar Mauzo, a Goan novelist and short-story writer, received the 57th Jnanpith Award (2021).
2. He writes in Konkani; his famous novel is Karmelin.
3. He is the second Konkani writer to win it, after Ravindra Kelekar (2006).

Yaad rakhein: Mauzo (Goa) → Konkani; same year Nilmani Phookan got the 56th award for Assamese – don't mix them up.

Answer: (C) Konkani

Concept: Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon are a Kerala-born dancer couple known for Bharatanatyam.

1. The Navaneetham Trust (Kerala) gave them the 5th Bharat Kala Ratna award for 2020 for their service to Bharatanatyam.
2. They are trained in Bharatanatyam and perform it as a duo across India and abroad.
3. Mohiniyattam is Kerala's own dance, which makes it a tempting but wrong choice here.

Yaad rakhein: Kerala-based trust ≠ Kerala dance; the couple's art form is Bharatanatyam.

Answer: (D) Bharatanatyam

Concept: Under the Mughal land revenue system, two terms were used: Jama and Hasil.

1. Jama = the amount of revenue assessed (fixed/demanded).
2. Hasil = the amount actually collected.
3. Polaj = land cultivated every year; Banjar = land left uncultivated for five years or more – these are land categories, not amounts.

Yaad rakhein: J for Jama = J for 'Judged' (assessed); H for Hasil = 'Hath mein aaya' (collected).

Answer: (D) Jama

Concept: GDP counts income produced inside the country; GNP counts income of the country's own factors (residents), wherever they work.

1. Add the factor income earned by domestic factors working in the rest of the world (Indians abroad).
2. Subtract the factor income earned by foreign factors working in the domestic economy (foreigners in India).
3. So $\text{GNP}=\text{GDP}+\text{NFIA}$, where NFIA is net factor income from abroad – this is option C.

Trick: Ours abroad: plus; theirs here: minus.

Answer: (C) GNP = GDP + factor income earned by domestic factors employed in the rest of the world – factor income earned by factors of the rest of the world employed in the domestic economy

Concept: Matters of Discretion: An Autobiography (2011) was written by Inder Kumar Gujral, India's 12th Prime Minister (1997–98).

1. Gujral is known for the 'Gujral Doctrine' of friendly ties with neighbours.
2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not write such an autobiography; PV Narasimha Rao wrote the novel The Insider.
3. Manmohan Singh's life is the subject of other books (e.g. The Accidental Prime Minister by Sanjaya Baru), not this title.

Yaad rakhein: Gujral – 'Gujral Doctrine' and 'Matters of Discretion' (both about careful diplomacy).

Answer: (B) Inder Kumar Gujral

Concept: Productivity is the rate of biomass production, i.e. biomass formed per unit area per unit time.

1. A forest's standing biomass per unit area has accumulated over its whole age.
2. Dividing it by the age of the forest gives the average biomass produced per unit area per year.
3. That rate is the biomass productivity; 'density', 'size' and 'energy flow' are not obtained this way.

Trick: Divide by time → you get a rate → productivity.

Answer: (D) biomass productivity

Concept: $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant, the gas constant per molecule, from the ideal-gas law $PV=N{k}_{B}T$.

1. Rearranging: $k_B=\frac{PV}{NT}$.
2. Since 2019 its SI value is defined exactly as $k_B=1.380649\times {10}^{-23}{\text{J K}}^{-1}$.
3. Also $k_B=\frac{R}{N_A}=\frac{8.314}{6.022\times {10}^{23}}\approx 1.38\times {10}^{-23}{\text{J K}}^{-1}$.

Trick: $R÷N_A$ gives $k_B$: $8.314÷6.022\approx 1.38$.

Answer: (A) $1.38\times {10}^{-23}{\text{J K}}^{-1}$

Concept: Shovana Narayan is a leading Kathak dancer and guru based in Delhi.

1. She was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1992 for her contribution to Kathak.
2. She also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1999–2000).
3. She has not received the Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan.

Yaad rakhein: Shovana Narayan – Kathak – Padma Shri 1992.

Answer: (D) Padma Shri

Concept: I Am No Messiah (2020) is the autobiography of actor Sonu Sood, co-written with Meena K. Iyer.

1. Sonu Sood became famous for helping stranded migrant workers reach home during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.
2. People called him a 'messiah'; the title is his modest reply to that.
3. Salman Khan, Sonu Nigam and Aamir Khan have no autobiography of this name.

Yaad rakhein: Lockdown hero called 'messiah' → 'I Am No Messiah' → Sonu Sood.

Answer: (A) Sonu Sood

Concept: Chemical leaveners release a gas inside the dough/batter, which forms bubbles and makes it light and fluffy.

1. Baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate, ${\text{NaHCO}}_3$.
2. On heating or reacting with an acid it releases carbon dioxide: $2{\text{NaHCO}}_3\to {\text{Na}}_2{\text{CO}}_3+{\text{H}}_2\text{O}+{\text{CO}}_2$.
3. Baking powder = baking soda + a mild acid (e.g. tartaric acid), so it also gives ${\text{CO}}_2$.

Yaad rakhein: Bread, cake and idli rise because of ${\text{CO}}_2$ bubbles.

Answer: (B) Carbon dioxide

Concept: The Indus system's main tributaries are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj (the five rivers of Punjab).

1. Satluj, Ravi and Beas are all Punjab rivers that finally join the Indus.
2. The Kosi rises in Nepal/Tibet and joins the Ganga in Bihar – it belongs to the Ganga system.
3. Kosi is called the 'Sorrow of Bihar' because of its frequent floods and course changes.

Trick: Indus five: 'Jhe-Che-Ra-Bea-Sat' – Kosi is not in the list.

Answer: (A) Kosi

Concept: The Bahmani Sultanate was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan, formed by rebels against Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

1. It was founded in 1347 by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (Hasan Gangu).
2. Its capital was first Gulbarga (Hasanabad), later shifted to Bidar.
3. Mahmud Gawan was a later prime minister; Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the Delhi Sultan it broke away from.

Trick: Bahmani ← Bahman Shah (name hidden in the kingdom's name), 1347.

Answer: (B) Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah

Concept: Train to Pakistan (1956) is a historical novel by Khushwant Singh.

1. It is set in the fictional border village of Mano Majra during the Partition of 1947.
2. R.K. Narayan wrote Malgudi Days; Vikram Seth wrote A Suitable Boy; Chetan Bhagat wrote Five Point Someone.
3. Khushwant Singh also wrote Delhi and A History of the Sikhs.

Yaad rakhein: Partition train, Mano Majra → Khushwant Singh.

Answer: (B) Khushwant Singh

Concept: The word 'monsoon' comes from the Arabic word mausim, meaning 'season'.

1. It refers to the seasonal reversal of wind direction during a year – roughly south-west winds in summer and north-east winds in winter.
2. The reversal happens with the seasons, not every month, so options C and D are wrong.
3. The word is not of Tamil origin, so option B is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Mausim (Arabic) = season → seasonal reversal, twice a year.

Answer: (A) Arabic word; seasonal reversal in wind direction during a year

Concept: The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) is one of the centres of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

1. NRSC is located in Hyderabad (Balanagar, Telangana); its data reception station is at Shadnagar.
2. It acquires, processes and supplies satellite remote-sensing data and aerial survey data.
3. ISRO headquarters is in Bengaluru – a tempting but wrong option.

Yaad rakhein: Remote sensing → Hyderabad (NRSC); ISRO HQ → Bengaluru.

Answer: (A) Hyderabad

Concept: Photosynthesis needs chlorophyll; among the options only one group contains it.

1. Algae are a diverse group of mostly aquatic, chlorophyll-bearing organisms – from unicellular Chlamydomonas to giant kelps – that make their own food.
2. Yeast and other fungi are heterotrophs (no chlorophyll); they absorb food.
3. Most protozoa are heterotrophic animal-like protists.

Yaad rakhein: Algae produce about half of the Earth's oxygen through photosynthesis.

Answer: (D) Algae

Concept: The FIFA World Cup is held every four years; the 2022 edition was the 22nd.

1. The 22nd FIFA World Cup was hosted by Qatar (20 November – 18 December 2022), the first in the Arab world and the Middle East.
2. Argentina won, beating France on penalties in the final at Lusail.
3. South Africa hosted in 2010 and Brazil in 2014; Oman has never hosted.

Yaad rakhein: 2018 Russia → 2022 Qatar → 2026 USA–Canada–Mexico.

Answer: (C) Qatar

Concept: The Asiatic Society (of Bengal) was founded in Calcutta on 15 January 1784 by Sir William Jones, a judge and Orientalist scholar.

1. Its aim was to study Asian history, languages, literature and science; Warren Hastings was its patron.
2. Jones translated Kalidasa's Abhijnanashakuntalam into English.
3. Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj (1828); Derozio led the Young Bengal movement.

Yaad rakhein: 1784 Asiatic Society – Jones; 1828 Brahmo Samaj – Ram Mohan Roy.

Answer: (A) Sir William Jones