Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Pascal's law: pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted equally and undiminished in all directions.

1. In a hydraulic lift/brake a small force on a small piston creates pressure that acts on a large piston, giving a large force ($F_2=F_1\times \frac{A_2}{A_1}$).
2. Faraday's law is about electromagnetic induction, Gay-Lussac's law about gas pressure–temperature, Coulomb's law about electric charges.

Yaad rakhein: Anything "hydraulic" (lift, brake, press, jack) → Pascal. Blood pressure instrument (sphygmomanometer) also uses it.

Answer: (C) Pascal's law

Concept: At IDEF 2025 (Istanbul, July 2025) Turkey's state firm MKE displayed "GAZAP", a 970-kg thermobaric-type bomb called its most powerful non-nuclear bomb.

1. GAZAP ("wrath" in Turkish) spreads about 10 times more fragments than a conventional bomb of its class.
2. Turkey also unveiled the bunker-buster "NEB-2 Ghost" at the same fair.

Yaad rakhein: IDEF 2025 → Turkey → GAZAP (non-nuclear bomb) and NEB-2 Ghost (bunker buster).

Answer: (C) Gazap

Concept: Article 39(d) (a Directive Principle, Part IV) directs the State to secure equal pay for equal work for both men and women.

1. Article 39 lists principles of policy: 39(a) adequate livelihood, 39(b) ownership of material resources, 39(c) no concentration of wealth, 39(d) equal pay for equal work.
2. Article 14 is equality before law and Article 15 prohibits discrimination – both Fundamental Rights, not directions about pay. There is no Article 42(b).

Yaad rakhein: 39(d) = equal pay; 39A = free legal aid; 42 = maternity relief; 43 = living wage.

Answer: (C) Article 39(d)

Concept: Under Article 239 every UT is administered by the President through an administrator; in some UTs this administrator carries the designation "Lieutenant Governor".

1. Lieutenant Governors: Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh.
2. Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep have "Administrators".

Yaad rakhein: "DJ-PAL" → Delhi, J&K, Puducherry, Andaman, Ladakh = Lieutenant Governor.

Answer: (B) Lieutenant Governor

Concept: India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai on 9 March 2025.

1. Rohit Sharma scored 76; Rachin Ravindra was Player of the Tournament. It was India's third Champions Trophy (2002 shared, 2013, 2025).
2. Counting 2 ODI World Cups, 2 T20 World Cups and 3 Champions Trophies, it was India's seventh ICC men's senior title.

Yaad rakhein: Champions Trophy 2025 – host Pakistan (hybrid model, India's matches in Dubai), winner India, runner-up New Zealand.

Answer: (C) New Zealand

Concept: The Central Administrative Tribunal was set up under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, enacted under Article 323-A of the Constitution.

1. Article 323-A was inserted by the 42nd Amendment (1976); CAT started functioning on 1 November 1985 to decide service matters of central government employees.
2. The other three Acts named in the options do not exist in this form.

Yaad rakhein: 323-A → Administrative Tribunals (Parliament only); 323-B → other tribunals (Parliament and State legislatures).

Answer: (B) The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985

Concept: The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 and the matching State FRBM Acts set limits on fiscal deficit and debt for the Centre and the states.

1. In December 2025 the Finance Minister, at the pre-Budget meeting with state finance ministers, urged states to keep borrowing and debt within their FRBM limits.
2. GST is a tax system, Monetary Policy is handled by RBI, and NITI Aayog is a think tank – none prescribes debt limits.

Yaad rakhein: Debt / fiscal deficit limits → FRBM (2003); the N.K. Singh committee (2017) reviewed it and suggested a 60% debt-to-GDP target.

Answer: (B) FRBM

Concept: MERCOSUR is the South American trade bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay). India signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with it in 2004, in force since 2009.

1. The New Delhi talks on 16 October 2025 were about expanding this PTA – more tariff lines and easier market access – to promote trade and investment.
2. A PTA is purely economic; currency, defence or education systems are outside its scope.

Yaad rakhein: Any "PTA/FTA/CEPA" question → purpose is trade and investment.

Answer: (D) To promote trade and investment

Concept: Union Budget 2025–26 (1 Feb 2025) raised the FDI limit in the insurance sector from 74% to 100% for companies that invest the entire premium in India.

1. Earlier steps: 26% → 49% (2015) → 74% (2021) → 100% (announced 2025).
2. The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill was brought to give effect to this change.

Yaad rakhein: Insurance FDI ladder 26–49–74–100; the 2025 Budget completed the ladder.

Answer: (C) 74% to 100%

Concept: India's land borders (approx.): Bangladesh 4,097 km, China 3,488 km, Pakistan 3,323 km, Nepal 1,751 km, Myanmar 1,643 km, Bhutan 699 km, Afghanistan 106 km.

1. Bangladesh + Pakistan $=4097+3323=7420$ km – more than double China's 3,488 km; these are the two longest borders after/around China.
2. Nepal + Myanmar $=3394$ km falls short of China; Bhutan + Afghanistan is only about 805 km.

Yaad rakhein: Border length order: Bangladesh > China > Pakistan > Nepal > Myanmar > Bhutan > Afghanistan ("BCP-NMBA").

Answer: (A) Bangladesh and Pakistan

Concept: Fourth generation computers (1971 onwards) are based on microprocessors – a whole CPU on a single chip (VLSI).

1. 1st gen – vacuum tubes; 2nd – transistors; 3rd – integrated circuits; 4th – microprocessors (Intel 4004, 1971); 5th – AI.
2. Personal computers and GUIs became possible in the 4th generation.

Yaad rakhein: "V-T-I-M-A" → Vacuum tube, Transistor, IC, Microprocessor, AI.

Answer: (A) Microprocessors

Concept: NITI Aayog released the policy report "Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations" in December 2025.

1. It reviews the Study in India programme, foreign campuses under NEP 2020 and suggests steps to make India a global education hub.
2. UGC and AICTE are regulators; they issue regulations, not NITI Aayog style policy reports.

Yaad rakhein: "Policy report / vision document / index" → usually NITI Aayog; "regulations / guidelines" → UGC or AICTE.

Answer: (D) NITI Aayog

Concept: Sangam literature (c. 300 BCE – 300 CE) is the earliest body of Tamil literature, composed at the Sangams (assemblies of poets) patronised by the Pandya kings at Madurai.

1. Works include Tolkappiyam (grammar), Ettutogai (eight anthologies), Pattuppattu (ten idylls) and later epics Silappadikaram and Manimekalai.
2. Pali and Prakrit were the languages of Buddhist and Jain texts in the north; Sanskrit was used for Vedic and classical literature.

Yaad rakhein: Sangam → Tamil → Pandyas → Madurai.

Answer: (C) Tamil

Concept: In logistic growth (S-shaped curve) the growth rate falls as the population nears the carrying capacity $K$: $\frac{dN}{dt}=rN(1-\frac{N}{K})$.

1. At $N=500$, $K=1000$ the population is at $\frac{K}{2}$ – the point of fastest growth – after which growth slows and levels off near 1000.
2. Unlimited exponential growth (option B) is the J-shaped model, not logistic; a crash is not predicted while $N<K$.

Yaad rakhein: Logistic = S-curve = "slows and stabilises at K"; Exponential = J-curve = no limit.

Answer: (D) The population growth will slow down and eventually stabilize near the carrying capacity.

Concept: Dalton (1808) said atoms are indivisible. The discovery of electrons (Thomson, 1897), protons and neutrons showed atoms have smaller parts.

1. So the postulate "matter consists of indivisible atoms" was disproved by subatomic particles.
2. Option A is not Dalton's postulate at all (he said all atoms of an element are identical – that part was disproved by isotopes, not by subatomic particles).

Yaad rakhein: Subatomic particles → "indivisible" wrong; Isotopes → "all atoms of an element identical" wrong; Nuclear reactions → "atoms cannot be created or destroyed" wrong.

Answer: (D) Matter consists of indivisible atoms.

Concept: Online transactions, payroll, inventory control and business data analysis are the classic computer applications of the Business and Commerce sector.

1. Manufacturing uses computers mainly for CAD/CAM and process control; research for simulation and computation; the service industry for bookings and customer service.
2. Payroll and inventory are accounting/stock functions – core business operations.

Yaad rakhein: Payroll + inventory + e-commerce = Business & Commerce.

Answer: (D) Business and Commerce

Concept: Structural change in India between 1950-51 and 1990-91 (NCERT, Indian Economic Development).

1. Share of agriculture in GDP fell sharply (about 59% to 35%), while the share of industry rose from about 13% to 24.6% — the textbook calls this a significant rise, indicating industrialisation.
2. Services also grew, but the planned push to heavy industry made industry's rising share the hallmark of the 1950–90 period.

Yaad rakhein: 1950–90: agriculture down, industry up (13% → 25%); after 1991: services became the biggest sector.

Answer: (A) Industry

Concept: Thawar Chand Gehlot took oath as Governor of Karnataka on 11 July 2021.

1. He is counted as the 19th Governor of Karnataka (succeeding Vajubhai Vala).
2. He hails from Madhya Pradesh (Ujjain), earlier Union Minister of Social Justice and Rajya Sabha leader; he is the first person from MP to hold the Karnataka Raj Bhavan.
3. Both statements are therefore correct.

Yaad rakhein: Gehlot – Karnataka (2021); Vajubhai Vala – his predecessor (2014–21).

Answer: (A) Both 1 and 2

Concept: Echinoderms (starfish, sea urchin) have a unique water vascular system of canals and tube feet.

1. Water pressure in the tube feet is used for locomotion, capturing/handling food and also helps in respiration.
2. Reproduction is by gonads; gas exchange mainly by dermal gills — so the primary role is locomotion and feeding.

Yaad rakhein: Echinodermata = spiny skin + water vascular system + tube feet (NCERT Class 11).

Answer: (C) Locomotion and feeding

Concept: Lothal (Gujarat, on the Bhogava river) had a large brick-lined dockyard — the earliest known in the world.

1. Excavated by S.R. Rao (1955–60); it was a port town trading with Mesopotamia; also known for bead-making and a rice-husk find.
2. Dholavira is known for water reservoirs and a signboard; Kalibangan for ploughed field and fire altars; Mohenjodaro for the Great Bath.

Yaad rakhein: Dockyard → Lothal; Great Bath → Mohenjodaro; Reservoirs → Dholavira.

Answer: (C) Lothal