Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: ISRO’s Chairman is also Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of the Space Commission.

1. Dr. V. Narayanan was appointed in January 2025 and took charge on 14 January 2025.
2. He succeeded S. Somanath.
3. He was earlier Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).

Yaad rakhein: ISRO chiefs: K. Sivan → S. Somanath → V. Narayanan.

Answer: (C) Dr. V Narayanan

Concept: Alt + Tab is the Windows shortcut for task switching.

1. Holding Alt and pressing Tab cycles through open windows/applications.
2. Minimise all = Win + D (or Win + M); Task Manager = Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
3. Shut down is done from the Start menu or Alt + F4 on the desktop.

Yaad rakhein: Alt + Tab = jump between tabs/applications.

Answer: (A) Switches between open applications

Concept: The Census of India classifies towns into six classes by population.

1. Class I: 1,00,000 and above; Class II: 50,000–99,999; Class III: 20,000–49,999.
2. Class IV: 10,000–19,999; Class V: 5,000–9,999; Class VI: below 5,000.
3. So a town of 5,000–10,000 people is Class V.

Yaad rakhein: Thresholds halve/fall stepwise: 1 lakh, 50k, 20k, 10k, 5k → Classes I to VI.

Answer: (C) Class V

Concept: Wells and tube-wells draw water from below the ground; tanks, ponds and canals use surface water.

1. An open well (dug well) taps the groundwater table directly.
2. Tanks and ponds store rain/surface water.
3. River canals carry surface water from rivers.

Yaad rakhein: Groundwater = wells + tube-wells (largest share of irrigation in India).

Answer: (D) Open-well

Concept: A standard ‘remove directory’ command works only on empty directories.

1. Commands like rmdir (Linux/Windows) refuse to delete a directory that still has files.
2. The OS returns an error such as ‘Directory not empty’.
3. Recursive deletion needs an explicit option (e.g. rm -r or rmdir /s).

Yaad rakhein: No recursive flag → no deletion of contents → error.

Answer: (D) The operating system will return an error indicating that the directory is not empty.

Concept: OCI = Overseas Citizen of India, a scheme for persons of Indian origin holding foreign citizenship.

1. Introduced in 2005 by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955.
2. OCI cardholders get a lifelong multiple-entry visa but no voting rights.
3. It is not dual citizenship.

Yaad rakhein: PIO card was merged into OCI in 2015.

Answer: (C) Overseas Citizen of India

Concept: The Lahore Session (December 1929) adopted the Purna Swaraj resolution.

1. It was presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru.
2. Nehru hoisted the tricolour on the banks of the Ravi on 31 December 1929.
3. 26 January 1930 was celebrated as the first Independence Day.

Yaad rakhein: Lahore 1929 – Nehru – Ravi – Purna Swaraj; Karachi 1931 – Vallabhbhai Patel.

Answer: (B) Jawaharlal Nehru

Concept: The Arctic Circle India Forum was held in New Delhi on 3–4 May 2025.

1. It was organised by the Arctic Circle with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
2. It discussed Arctic–Himalaya (‘third pole’) linkages and climate.
3. India is an Observer in the Arctic Council and runs the Himadri research station in Svalbard.

Yaad rakhein: India’s Arctic research station: Himadri (Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway).

Answer: (D) New Delhi

Concept: The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provided only three types of municipalities.

1. Article 243Q: Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation.
2. Notified Area Committees, created by government notification for fast-growing towns, did not fit this scheme and were phased out (converted mainly into Nagar Panchayats).
3. Municipal Corporations and Councils continue to exist.

Yaad rakhein: 74th Amendment → 3 tiers: Nagar Panchayat (transitional area), Council (smaller urban), Corporation (larger urban).

Answer: (C) Notified Area Committee

Concept: A Notified Area Committee was set up for a town in transition.

1. It was created for a fast-developing town (or a newly industrial area) that did not yet meet the conditions for a municipality.
2. All members, including the chairman, were nominated by the State Government; it was notified in the Gazette.
3. It worked like a municipality until the town qualified for municipal status. Military areas are handled by Cantonment Boards, and ports by Port Trusts.

Yaad rakhein: Cantonment Board → military area; Port Trust → port; Notified Area Committee → developing town.

Answer: (D) Manage developing towns due to get a municipality status

Concept: The Wardha Scheme (1937) was Gandhiji’s plan of Basic Education.

1. It was adopted at the Wardha Educational Conference, October 1937; the Zakir Hussain Committee drafted the scheme.
2. Called Nai Talim – education through a productive handicraft, in the mother tongue.
3. It proposed free and compulsory education for children aged 7–14.

Yaad rakhein: Wardha → Gandhi → Nai Talim → learning by doing (craft-centred).

Answer: (A) Nai Talim or Basic Education

Concept: Osmosis is the movement of water through a semi-permeable membrane from lower to higher solute concentration.

1. Raw mango in strong salt solution (pickling) loses water from its cells into the salt solution – osmosis.
2. Grinding is mechanical; nitrogen flushing prevents oxidation; boiling pasta is cooking/absorption.

Yaad rakhein: Salted mango/raisins in water/shrivelled cucumber in salt → osmosis.

Answer: (A) Placing raw mango in a concentrated salt solution

Concept: AgriStack under the Digital Agriculture Mission (approved September 2024) has three foundational registries.

1. Farmers’ Registry (Kisan Pehchaan Patra / Farmer ID).
2. Geo-referenced Village Maps.
3. Crop Sown Registry (via the Digital Crop Survey). A ‘Village Panchayat Audit Database’ is not part of it.

Yaad rakhein: AgriStack = Farmer + Map + Crop registries.

Answer: (D) 1 and 3 only

Concept: RAM is volatile primary memory that holds the data and instructions currently in use.

1. Each open application keeps its active code and data in RAM so the CPU can reach it fast; switching tasks is quick.
2. Permanent storage is the hard disk/SSD; print jobs are queued by the spooler; input is handled by device drivers and the CPU.

Yaad rakhein: More RAM → more programs open without slowdown.

Answer: (B) It temporarily holds active program data and instructions to enable fast switching between tasks.

Concept: ‘One Nation, One Permit’ aims at seamless inter-state movement of goods vehicles.

1. It builds on the National Permit system for goods carriages: one permit valid across states, issued and paid online.
2. It cuts repeated state permits and border checks, reducing logistics cost and time.
3. It has nothing to do with ticketing, aviation licences or parking.

Yaad rakhein: One Nation, One Permit → trucks; One Nation, One Ration Card → PDS.

Answer: (C) Ease of transport for inter-state freight vehicles

Concept: Agrahara was a land grant made to Brahmins.

1. In the Gupta and post-Gupta period, kings granted tax-free villages (agraharas) to Brahmins.
2. The Brahmin donees enjoyed revenue rights and administered these villages, often collecting taxes themselves.
3. Grants to Buddhist monasteries (viharas) were different; feudal lords held other types of grants.

Yaad rakhein: Agrahara → Brahmadeya → Brahmins; Devadana → temples.

Answer: (B) Brahmins

Concept: The Gram Sabha is the base of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system (73rd Amendment, 1992).

1. Article 243(b) defines Gram Sabha as a body of all persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village within the area of a Panchayat.
2. So every adult voter of the village is its member – it is a deliberative general assembly, not a committee.
3. Block-level body = Panchayat Samiti; it is not judicial and not a State advisory council.

Yaad rakhein: Gram Sabha = all voters of the village; Gram Panchayat = the elected executive body.

Answer: (C) The deliberative assembly of all eligible village residents

Concept: Acids taste sour; bases taste bitter and feel soapy.

1. Lemon contains citric acid, vinegar contains acetic acid and curd/yoghurt contains lactic acid.
2. These acids release ${\text{H}}^{+}$ ions, which our taste buds sense as sourness.
3. Alkaloids and bases give a bitter taste; salts give a salty taste.

Yaad rakhein: Lemon – citric, vinegar – acetic, curd – lactic, tamarind – tartaric acid.

Answer: (D) Acids

Concept: Free legal aid is provided under Article 39A, which lies in Part IV – Directive Principles of State Policy.

1. Article 39A (equal justice and free legal aid) was added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.
2. It directs the State to ensure that no citizen is denied justice because of economic or other disabilities.
3. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (NALSA) was passed to implement it.

Trick: 39A = "A" for Aid – free legal Aid, a Directive Principle added in 1976.

Answer: (B) Directive Principles

Concept: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is appointed by the President under Article 148.

1. K. Sanjay Murthy, a 1989-batch IAS officer, was appointed CAG in November 2024 and took oath on 21 November 2024.
2. He succeeded Girish Chandra Murmu as the 15th CAG.
3. Tuhin Kanta Pandey was Finance Secretary (later SEBI chairman); Dr V. Narayanan became ISRO chairman.

Yaad rakhein: CAG 2024 → K. Sanjay Murthy; ISRO 2025 → V. Narayanan.

Answer: (C) K Sanjay Murthy