Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Article 74(1), as amended by the 44th Amendment (1978), governs the President's power to return advice.

1. The President may require the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice only once.
2. If the advice is sent back unchanged after reconsideration, the President is bound to act on it.
3. The 42nd Amendment (1976) had made the advice binding; the 44th added this one-time reconsideration.

Yaad rakhein: 44th Amendment = 'one chance' for the President (suspensive veto over advice).

Answer: (D) Only once

Concept: The second Khelo India Para Games were held in New Delhi in March 2025.

1. Venues: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
2. Events included para-athletics, para-archery, para-shooting, para-powerlifting, para-badminton and para-table tennis.
3. Talkatora and Major Dhyan Chand Stadium were not the KIPG 2025 venues.

Yaad rakhein: Para-shooting needs a shooting range → Dr Karni Singh Range; JLN + IG Stadium complete the trio.

Answer: (D) Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, and Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range

Concept: Tribal risings around 1857 were linked to the general unrest of that period.

1. Santhal Hul (1855–56), Sambalpur rising under Surendra Sai (1857 onward) and Naikda movement of Gujarat (1858–59, revived 1868) all fall around 1857.
2. Birsa Munda's Ulgulan was in 1899–1900 in Chotanagpur — about 40 years later.
3. Hence it did not take place around the Revolt of 1857.

Yaad rakhein: Birsa Munda = end of 19th century (died 1900, Ranchi jail).

Answer: (D) Birsa Munda Revolt

Concept: Green Revolution (HYV seeds + fertilisers + irrigation + pesticides) needed costly purchased inputs.

1. HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, tube-wells and pesticides required large cash investment.
2. Small and marginal farmers had little savings and poor access to institutional credit.
3. So benefits went mainly to large farmers initially; labour scarcity or excess land were not the issue.

Yaad rakhein: Green Revolution = input-intensive → money & credit was the barrier.

Answer: (B) High input costs and credit inaccessibility

Concept: Libia Lobo Sardesai (b. 1924) is a Goan freedom fighter, awarded Padma Shri in 2025.

1. During the Goa liberation struggle against Portuguese rule she co-founded the underground radio 'Voice of Freedom' (Voz da Liberdade) in 1955.
2. The station broadcast from the forests near the Goa border to spread the freedom message.
3. She was not linked to the Emergency protests or the Bhoodan movement.

Yaad rakhein: Libia Lobo = Goa + secret radio station.

Answer: (A) Goa’s liberation movement activist

Concept: The Bills of Lading Bill, 2025 replaced the colonial-era Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856.

1. 1856 → 2025 ≈ 169 years: the Bill modernises and simplifies this old shipping law.
2. A bill of lading is the document issued by a carrier acknowledging receipt of goods for shipment.
3. It does not privatise ports or fix maritime boundaries.

Yaad rakhein: 1856 + 169 = 2025 — the number in the option is the clue.

Answer: (D) To modernise the 169 years old shipping law

Concept: PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts.

1. Ctrl + M inserts a new slide.
2. Ctrl + N opens a new presentation; Ctrl + K inserts a hyperlink; Ctrl + D duplicates the selected object/slide.

Yaad rakhein: M for 'More slides'.

Answer: (B) Ctrl + M

Concept: Metals, non-metals and metalloids occupy definite regions in the modern periodic table.

1. Metals: left side and centre; non-metals: top right.
2. A zig-zag (staircase) line separates them.
3. Metalloids (B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te) lie along this zig-zag line — not scattered randomly. So statement C is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Metalloids = 'border guards' sitting on the staircase line.

Answer: (C) Metalloids are scattered randomly throughout the table.

Concept: Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor that handles high power, high frequency and heat.

1. These properties make GaN ideal for AESA radar modules, jammers and electronic warfare (EW) systems.
2. GaN semiconductor solutions showcased at the 2025 defence expo (Aero India 2025) were aimed at radar and EW.
3. Cybersecurity is software-based, not a GaN hardware application.

Yaad rakhein: GaN = high-power RF → Radar + EW.

Answer: (A) Radar and electronic warfare systems

Concept: 'Beautiful Ugly' (2025) is a psychological thriller by British author Alice Feeney.

1. A grieving writer, Grady Green, retreats to a remote Scottish island after his wife vanishes.
2. The isolated island setting drives the eerie mystery of the novel.

Yaad rakhein: Feeney + 'Beautiful Ugly' → lonely Scottish island.

Answer: (C) A remote Scottish island

Concept: Data shared by the Ministry of Finance in Parliament on income-tax return filers.

1. In FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25), about 6.68% of India's population filed income tax returns.
2. Thus only a small fraction of Indians file ITRs; 66.8% or 36.68% are far too high.

Yaad rakhein: Roughly 1 in 15 Indians files ITR ≈ 6.68%.

Answer: (B) 6.68%

Concept: The Northern (Great) Plains are formed by alluvium of three Himalayan river systems.

1. The Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra with their tributaries deposited this alluvium.
2. Krishna, Godavari, Kaveri, Narmada, Tapi and Mahanadi are peninsular rivers; Yamuna, Sutlej and Gomti are only tributaries.

Yaad rakhein: Great Plains = Indus + Ganga + Brahmaputra (the three Himalayan systems).

Answer: (C) Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra

Concept: IMF World Economic Outlook Update, January 2025.

1. Global headline inflation was projected to fall to 4.2% in 2025 and 3.5% in 2026.
2. Global growth in the same update was projected at 3.3% for 2025 and 2026.

Yaad rakhein: Jan 2025 WEO: inflation 4.2 → 3.5; growth 3.3.

Answer: (D) 4.2%

Concept: Bullets and Numbering are paragraph-formatting tools on the Home tab.

1. They turn selected paragraphs into a list, each item starting with a symbol (•) or a number/letter.
2. Highlighting is done with Shading/Text Highlight; sections with Breaks; hiding with Font → Hidden.

Yaad rakhein: Bullets = unordered list; Numbering = ordered list.

Answer: (A) It converts the selected text into a structured list with symbols or numbers for better organization.

Concept: In the classic chipset design, the Northbridge (memory controller hub) is the chip linked directly to the CPU.

1. The Northbridge connects the CPU via the front-side bus to fast components — RAM and the graphics (AGP/PCIe) slot.
2. The Southbridge handles slower I/O and connects to the CPU only through the Northbridge.
3. In many newer CPUs these Northbridge functions are built into the processor itself.

Yaad rakhein: North = near CPU & fast; South = slow I/O.

Answer: (A) Northbridge

Concept: India's largest bilateral trade deficit is with China.

1. Commerce ministry data (April 2025) showed India's trade deficit with China widened to a record $99.2 billion in FY 2024-25.
2. Imports from China (electronics, machinery, chemicals) rose to about $113.5 billion while exports fell to about $14.3 billion.
3. With the US, India has a trade surplus.

Yaad rakhein: Biggest deficit partner = China; biggest surplus partner = USA.

Answer: (B) China

Concept: Thumri is a semi-classical Hindustani vocal form, rich in romantic-devotional bhava.

1. It developed in the Lucknow and Banaras traditions and is closely linked with Kathak abhinaya.
2. Kuchipudi uses Carnatic music; Sattriya uses Borgeet; Chhau is accompanied mainly by folk instrumental music.

Yaad rakhein: Lucknow gharana: Kathak + Thumri (Wajid Ali Shah's court).

Answer: (B) Kathak

Concept: Deductions from wages for payments to co-operative societies are allowed under wage law, but the employer must pass them on promptly.

1. Amounts deducted from an employee's wages for a co-operative society must be deposited with that society within 7 days of the deduction.
2. This prevents the employer from holding the workers' money; the same 7-day limit applies regardless of how frequently wages are paid.

Yaad rakhein: Co-operative society deduction → deposit within 7 days.

Answer: (A) Within 7 days of deduction

Concept: Amaravati Stupa is in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, on the Krishna river.

1. Though its origin goes back to around the Mauryan period, it was enlarged and decorated with marble-like limestone reliefs under the Satavahanas (c. 2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE).
2. The Amaravati school of art flourished under Satavahana patronage.

Yaad rakhein: Andhra stupas (Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda) = Satavahanas & Ikshvakus.

Answer: (A) Satavahana

Concept: Narcondam is a small volcanic island of the Andaman and Nicobar group.

1. It lies in the Andaman Sea, east of the main Andaman islands.
2. It is a dormant volcano and home of the endemic Narcondam hornbill.
3. Barren Island, India's only active volcano, is also in the Andaman Sea.

Yaad rakhein: Narcondam (dormant) + Barren (active) = volcanic pair of the Andaman Sea.

Answer: (D) Andaman Sea