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

Concept: Sati (burning of widows on the husband's pyre) was banned by the Bengal Sati Regulation (Regulation XVII) of 4 December 1829.

1. It was passed by Governor-General Lord William Bentinck.
2. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's campaign strongly supported this reform.
3. Lord Dalhousie: Doctrine of Lapse; Lord Canning: Widow Remarriage Act 1856 was passed in his time; Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General (1773).

Trick: Bentinck – 'B' for Ban on sati (1829).

Answer: (B) Lord William Bentinck

Concept: Article 21A (Right to Education) makes free and compulsory education a fundamental right for children of 6–14 years.

1. Both Article 21A and the duty in Article 51A(k) were added by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002.
2. 51A(k): a parent or guardian shall provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between 6 and 14 years – the matching duty.
3. 51A(h) = scientific temper; 51A(i) = safeguard public property; 51A(j) = strive for excellence.

Yaad rakhein: Right (21A) and duty (51A(k)) both born in 2002, both about 6–14 year education.

Answer: (B) Article 51A (k)

Concept: Article 324 of the Constitution deals with the Election Commission of India.

1. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are appointed by the President.
2. Under the 2023 Act the President appoints them on the recommendation of a selection committee headed by the Prime Minister – the PM only recommends.
3. The Vice President and the Attorney General have no role in their appointment.

Yaad rakhein: Most constitutional heads (CEC, CAG, Governors, judges) are appointed by the President.

Answer: (D) President

Concept: The Sun is the main source of energy for the Earth's atmosphere.

1. Unequal heating of land, water and latitudes by solar radiation creates differences in temperature and air pressure.
2. These differences drive winds, evaporation, clouds, rainfall and storms – i.e. all weather changes.
3. The Moon mainly causes tides; altitude only modifies temperature locally.

Trick: Sun → heat → pressure differences → winds and rain = weather.

Answer: (C) sun

Concept: The Khajuraho group of temples (Madhya Pradesh) is a famous example of the Nagara style of temple architecture.

1. They were built by the Chandela rulers of Bundelkhand, mostly between about 950 and 1050 CE.
2. Notable temples: Kandariya Mahadeva, Lakshmana and the Jain Parshvanath temple.
3. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986). Rashtrakutas built Kailasa at Ellora; Palas ruled Bengal.

Yaad rakhein: Khajuraho – Chandela – Bundelkhand ('Ch' with 'Kh').

Answer: (D) Chandela Dynasty

Concept: All India Services (Article 312) serve both the Centre and the States; officers are recruited by the Centre and allotted to state cadres.

1. There are only three: IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (added in 1966).
2. The Indian Engineering Service is a Central Service (Group A), recruited by UPSC through the Engineering Services Examination.
3. So it is not an All India Service.

Trick: All India Services = 'A-P-F' (Administrative, Police, Forest).

Answer: (B) Indian Engineering Service

Concept: Rassundari Devi wrote Amar Jiban ('My Life', 1876), the first full-length autobiography in the Bengali language.

1. She secretly taught herself to read and write as a housewife in a rich zamindar family.
2. Smritichitre is by Lakshmibai Tilak (Marathi); Aalo Aandhari is by Baby Halder; Raseedi Ticket is by Amrita Pritam.
3. Hence only Amar Jiban matches Rassundari Devi.

Yaad rakhein: Rassundari → Amar Jiban (Bengali, 1876).

Answer: (A) Amar Jiban

Concept: GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) was signed at Geneva in October 1947 and came into force on 1 January 1948.

1. It was established with 23 founding countries (contracting parties), India being one of them.
2. It aimed to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers on a non-discriminatory basis.
3. GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995 after the Uruguay Round.

Yaad rakhein: GATT 1948 – 23 countries; WTO 1995.

Answer: (B) 23

Concept: Under Article 359 the President can suspend the enforcement of Fundamental Rights during a national emergency.

1. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 provided that Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during an emergency.
2. Article 20 = protection in respect of conviction for offences; Article 21 = protection of life and personal liberty.
3. Article 19 is suspended automatically under Article 358 during war/external aggression, so options with 19, 22 or 23 are wrong.

Trick: '20-21 never done' – these two always stay alive.

Answer: (B) Articles 20 and 21

Concept: Carbon dating (radiocarbon dating) finds the age of once-living (organic) objects using the radioactive isotope carbon-14.

1. Living things take in ${}^{14}\text{C}$ and ${}^{12}\text{C}$ in a fixed ratio; after death the ${}^{14}\text{C}$ decays and is not replaced.
2. The half-life of ${}^{14}\text{C}$ is about 5730 years, so measuring the remaining ${}^{14}\text{C}$ to ${}^{12}\text{C}$ ratio gives the age.
3. It was developed by Willard Libby (Nobel Prize 1960). It does not measure density, weight or sulphur/nitrogen.

Yaad rakhein: C-14 half-life ≈ 5730 years; useful up to about 50,000 years.

Answer: (C) a method of calculating the age of very old objects by measuring the amounts of different forms of carbon in them

Concept: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is a statutory body under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.

1. Although the Act was passed in 2005, the Commission was actually set up in March 2007.
2. It works under the Ministry of Women and Child Development and protects children up to 18 years of age.
3. So 2005 is the year of the Act – a tempting trap – while the establishment year is 2007.

Yaad rakhein: Act 2005, Commission 2007 – 'two years to start'.

Answer: (B) 2007

Concept: The National Waterways Act, 2016 declared 111 national waterways (5 existing + 106 new).

1. NW-96 is the Subarnarekha river.
2. The Subarnarekha flows through Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha before entering the Bay of Bengal near Talsari (Odisha).
3. Among the options, only Odisha lies on its course; Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh do not.

Yaad rakhein: NW-96 = Subarnarekha ('golden line') → Jharkhand–West Bengal–Odisha.

Answer: (C) Odisha

Concept: Sudha Chandran is an Indian actress and a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.

1. She lost her right leg in a road accident in 1981 and returned to the stage with a 'Jaipur foot' prosthesis.
2. Her story was told in the Telugu film Mayuri (1985), in which she played herself (Hindi remake Naache Mayuri).
3. Kathakali, Kuchipudi and Sattriya are not her dance forms.

Yaad rakhein: Sudha Chandran – Mayuri – Jaipur foot – Bharatanatyam.

Answer: (C) Bharatanatyam

Concept: Madam Bhikaji Cama was a revolutionary who worked for India's freedom from Europe.

1. On 22 August 1907 she unfurled an Indian flag at the International Socialist Congress at Stuttgart, Germany.
2. This was the first time an Indian flag was hoisted on foreign soil.
3. The flag, designed with Vinayak Savarkar and others, had green, saffron and red stripes with 'Vande Mataram' written on it.

Yaad rakhein: Cama – Stuttgart (Germany) – 1907.

Answer: (A) Germany

Concept: Mohiniyattam is a classical dance of Kerala; the name means 'dance of the enchantress' (Mohini).

1. Mohini is the female form taken by Lord Vishnu.
2. Vishnu became Mohini to lure the asuras away from the amrit during the churning of the ocean, and also to destroy Bhasmasura.
3. The dance is graceful (lasya style) and performed solo by women.

Yaad rakhein: Mohini = Vishnu's avatar → Mohiniyattam → Vishnu.

Answer: (C) Vishnu

Concept: Each Five-Year Plan had its own main objective.

1. The Fourth Plan (1969–74) aimed at 'growth with stability and progressive achievement of self-reliance'.
2. It was based on the Gadgil Formula; banks were nationalised (1969) during this plan.
3. Second Plan: rapid industrialisation (Mahalanobis model); Third Plan: self-reliant economy; Fifth Plan: Garibi Hatao (poverty removal).

Yaad rakhein: Fourth – 'stability' (after the 1966–69 plan holiday).

Answer: (C) Fourth

Concept: Hubbardia heptaneuron is a rare grass endemic to the Western Ghats, near the Jog (Gersoppa) Falls in Karnataka.

1. It grew in the spray zone of the falls and is very sensitive to changes in its habitat.
2. Reduced water spray after dam construction on the Sharavathi river pushed it to the verge of extinction (Critically Endangered).
3. The other options are common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and daisy (Bellis perennis).

Yaad rakhein: Hubbardia – Jog Falls grass – critically endangered.

Answer: (C) Hubbardia heptaneuron

Concept: Article 330 (Lok Sabha) and Article 332 (State Legislative Assemblies) provide for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

1. Seats are reserved in proportion to their population; Article 334 sets the time limit for this reservation.
2. There is no constitutional reservation of legislative seats for OBCs or the differently abled.
3. Women's reservation (one-third seats) was added later by the 106th Amendment Act, 2023 and starts only after the next delimitation, so among the given options Scheduled Tribes is the correct choice.

Yaad rakhein: Art. 330 – Lok Sabha; Art. 332 – Assemblies (SC and ST).

Answer: (A) scheduled tribes

Concept: The FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup is an international tournament organised by FIVB (the world volleyball body).

1. The first (inaugural) edition was held in 1965 in Poland; the USSR won it.
2. From 1977 onwards the tournament was hosted permanently by Japan – which is why 1977 and 1981 Japan appear as traps.
3. East Germany never hosted the first edition.

Yaad rakhein: First Men's World Cup – Poland 1965; then Japan as the regular host from 1977.

Answer: (A) 1965, Poland

Concept: Nominal GDP uses current prices; real GDP uses constant (base-year) prices.

1. The ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP is called the GDP deflator.
2. $\text{GDP deflator}=\frac{\text{Nominal GDP}}{\text{Real GDP}}\times 100$.
3. It shows how much of GDP growth is due to rise in prices, so it is a broad measure of inflation. Green GDP adjusts for environmental damage.

Trick: Nominal ÷ Real = deflator (it 'deflates' price rise).

Answer: (D) GDP deflator