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

Concept: At independence Hyderabad (ruled by the Nizam) refused to join India and was integrated by a police action.

1. The Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan wanted to stay independent.
2. Operation Polo (police action) was launched on 13 September 1948; the Nizam surrendered on 17 September 1948.
3. Hyderabad thus became part of the Indian Union in 1948; 1950 is when the Constitution came into force, not the date of merger.

Yaad rakhein: Junagadh – plebiscite (Feb 1948), Hyderabad – Operation Polo (Sept 1948), Kashmir – Instrument of Accession (Oct 1947).

Answer: (D) 1948

Concept: Adi Shankaracharya set up four cardinal maths (monasteries) in the four directions of India.

1. East – Govardhan Math, Puri (Odisha), linked with the Rigveda.
2. West – Sharada Math, Dwarka; South – Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri; North – Jyotirmath, near Badrinath.
3. So Badrinath, Dwarka and Sringeri hold the other three maths.

Trick: Go-Puri: Govardhan = Puri (East); Jyoti = North, Sharada = West and South.

Answer: (D) Puri

Concept: Agricultural branches have specific '-culture' names derived from Latin roots.

1. Viticulture (Latin vitis = vine) = cultivation of grapes.
2. Breeding of fish = pisciculture; rearing of silkworm = sericulture; growing of vegetables = olericulture.
3. Hence viticulture means growing grapes.

Trick: Vine → Viti; Pisces (fish) → Pisci; Seri (silk) → Sericulture; Olus (vegetable) → Olericulture.

Answer: (B) cultivation of grapes

Concept: Marwar (Jodhpur) was ruled by the Rathore Rajputs, while Mewar (Chittor/Udaipur) was ruled by the Sisodias.

1. Rao Chanda (Chunda) took Mandore, Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur (1459) and Maldeva was a powerful ruler – all Rathores of Marwar.
2. Rana Kumbha was the Sisodia ruler of Mewar; he built the Vijay Stambh at Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh fort.
3. So Rana Kumbha did not belong to Marwar.

Trick: 'Rana' title = Mewar (Kumbha, Sanga, Pratap); 'Rao' = Marwar Rathores (Chanda, Jodha, Maldeva).

Answer: (A) Rana Kumbha

Concept: The Hunter Commission (1882) was the first Indian Education Commission, set up to review primary education after Wood's Despatch of 1854.

1. It was appointed by Lord Ripon (Viceroy 1880–84) under Sir William Wilson Hunter.
2. It stressed state responsibility for primary education and transfer of it to local bodies.
3. Lord Lytton (1876–80) and Lord Mayo (1869–72) came earlier; Lord Minto (1905–10) later.

Yaad rakhein: Ripon = 'father of local self-government' – Local Self-Government Resolution (1882) and Hunter Commission (1882) in the same year.

Answer: (D) Lord Ripon

Concept: The Constitution is divided into Parts, each dealing with a theme.

1. Part IV (Articles 36–51) = Directive Principles of State Policy, borrowed from the Irish Constitution.
2. Part II = Citizenship (Art. 5–11); Part III = Fundamental Rights (Art. 12–35); Part XV = Elections (Art. 324–329).
3. Hence Part IV contains the DPSP.

Trick: Parts II-III-IV in order: Citizenship → Rights → Directives (then IV-A = Fundamental Duties).

Answer: (D) Directive Principles of State Policy

Concept: Velankanni is a famous Catholic pilgrim town on the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu.

1. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health (Annai Velankanni) is located there.
2. Velankanni lies in Nagapattinam district, near the Bay of Bengal coast.
3. Salem, Theni and Madurai are inland districts, so they do not fit.

Yaad rakhein: Velankanni – 'Lourdes of the East' – coastal Nagapattinam.

Answer: (A) Nagapattinam

Concept: India's Olympic medals in badminton (singles) up to 2020.

1. PV Sindhu won silver in women's singles at Rio 2016 – the only Indian shuttler with an Olympic silver.
2. Saina Nehwal won bronze at London 2012; Sindhu later added bronze at Tokyo 2020.
3. Prakash Padukone and Pulela Gopichand won All England titles, not Olympic medals.

Yaad rakhein: Saina – bronze 2012; Sindhu – silver 2016 + bronze 2020.

Answer: (C) PV Sindhu

Concept: The World Trade Organization (WTO) replaced GATT on 1 January 1995.

1. WTO headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
2. Paris hosts OECD and UNESCO; Bonn hosts the UNFCCC secretariat.
3. Hence Geneva is correct.

Yaad rakhein: Geneva hub: WTO, WHO, ILO, WIPO, Red Cross (ICRC).

Answer: (B) Geneva

Concept: The Intercontinental Cup 2019 was held in Ahmedabad (July 2019).

1. Igor Stimac (Croatia, 1998 World Cup bronze medallist) became head coach of the Indian men's team in May 2019 and led India in this tournament.
2. Stephen Constantine was the previous coach (till the 2019 Asian Cup).
3. Baichung Bhutia and Prasanta Banerjee were former players, not the coach then.

Yaad rakhein: Constantine → Stimac (2019) → Manolo Márquez (2024).

Answer: (B) Igor Stimac

Concept: The RBI numbers its Governors serially; the recent order must be remembered carefully.

1. Recent order: YV Reddy (21st), D Subbarao (22nd), Raghuram Rajan (23rd).
2. Urjit Patel (Sept 2016 – Dec 2018) is the 24th Governor; Shaktikanta Das is the 25th.
3. C Rangarajan (19th) and Bimal Jalan (20th) served much earlier.

Yaad rakhein: Rajan 23 → Patel 24 → Das 25 → Sanjay Malhotra 26.

Answer: (C) Urjit Patel

Concept: The time between two successive new moons is the synodic month.

1. Synodic month ≈ 29.5 days (29 days 12 h 44 min).
2. It is longer than the sidereal month (≈ 27.3 days) because the Earth moves along its orbit, so the Moon must travel a little extra to line up with the Sun again.
3. 14.5–15.5 days is only half the cycle (new moon to full moon).

Trick: New moon → full moon ≈ 15 days (a paksha); new moon → new moon ≈ 29.5 days.

Answer: (C) 29.5

Concept: Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) live on land but need water for fertilisation.

1. Their male gametes (antherozoids) must swim through water to reach the egg, so they grow in moist, shady places.
2. Like amphibians among animals, they live on land yet depend on water – hence 'amphibians of the plant kingdom'.
3. Liverworts are only one class of bryophytes; pteridophytes are the first vascular land plants; gymnosperms have naked seeds.

Yaad rakhein: Bryophytes = amphibians; Pteridophytes = first vascular plants (vascular cryptogams).

Answer: (C) Bryophytes

Concept: The Index of Economic Freedom is an annual ranking of countries on rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets.

1. It is published by the Heritage Foundation (a US think-tank), launched in 1995 with The Wall Street Journal.
2. The Fraser Institute (Canada) publishes a different report – 'Economic Freedom of the World'.
3. The World Bank and IMF do not release this index.

Yaad rakhein: Index of Economic Freedom → Heritage; Economic Freedom of the World → Fraser.

Answer: (D) Heritage Foundation

Concept: The UN adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) in 2015.

1. SDG 10 = Reduced Inequalities (within and among countries).
2. SDG 2 = Zero Hunger, SDG 8 = Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 13 = Climate Action.
3. Hence option D.

Yaad rakhein: 1 Poverty, 2 Hunger, 3 Health, 4 Education, 5 Gender, 6 Water … 8 Work, 10 Inequalities, 13 Climate, 17 Partnerships.

Answer: (D) Reduced inequalities

Concept: Articles 23–24 form the Right against Exploitation.

1. Article 24: no child below 14 years shall be employed in any factory, mine or other hazardous employment.
2. Article 17 abolishes untouchability; Article 21 protects life and personal liberty; Article 31 (right to property) was repealed in 1978.
3. So the answer is 24.

Yaad rakhein: 23 – no trafficking/begar; 24 – no child labour (under 14).

Answer: (D) 24

Concept: India's highest sporting honour is given by the Government of India.

1. The Khel Ratna (instituted 1991–92) is conferred annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India, along with the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards.
2. In 2021 it was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
3. It is not given by a trust, a political party or the HRD Ministry.

Yaad rakhein: Sports awards → Sports Ministry (MYAS); first recipient – Viswanathan Anand.

Answer: (B) Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India

Concept: In a pipe closed at one end there is always a node at the closed end and an antinode at the open end.

1. So the length can only be $L=\frac{\lambda }{4},\frac{3\lambda }{4},\frac{5\lambda }{4},\dots$
2. Frequencies: $f_n=\frac{nv}{4L}$ with $n=1,3,5,\dots$ – only odd harmonics.
3. Open pipe and a string (or rod) fixed at both ends have the same type of end at both sides, giving $f_n=\frac{nv}{2L}$, $n=1,2,3,\dots$ – all harmonics.

Trick: Closed = odd only ($f:3f:5f$); Open/both-ends-same = all ($f:2f:3f$).

Answer: (C) An air column in a closed organ pipe

Concept: The Rig Veda is the oldest Veda, a collection of hymns to deities like Indra, Agni and Varuna.

1. It has 10 mandalas (books) with 1028 hymns (suktas).
2. Mandalas II–VII are the oldest 'family books'; Mandala IX is devoted to Soma; Mandala X contains the Purusha Sukta and Nasadiya Sukta.
3. The Gayatri Mantra is in Mandala III.

Yaad rakhein: Rig Veda: 10 mandalas, 1028 suktas; Gayatri – 3rd mandala.

Answer: (B) 10

Concept: Calcium bicarbonate is formed from ${\text{Ca}}^{2+}$ and two bicarbonate ions ${\text{HCO}}_3^{-}$.

1. Formula: ${\text{Ca(HCO}}_3{)}_2$.
2. Each ${\text{HCO}}_3^{-}$ has 1 H atom; there are 2 such ions.
3. H atoms $=1\times 2=2$ (also Ca = 1, C = 2, O = 6).

Trick: Multiply the subscript inside the bracket by the number outside: $({\text{HCO}}_3{)}_2\Rightarrow {\text{H}}_2{\text{C}}_2{\text{O}}_6$.

Answer: (C) 2