Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Elections to municipalities (Part IXA).

1. Article 243ZA (added by the 74th Amendment, 1992) vests the superintendence, direction and control of municipal elections in the State Election Commission.
2. The same SEC, created under Art 243K (73rd Amendment), also conducts panchayat elections.

Yaad rakhein: Local body polls = State Election Commission; Parliament/Assembly polls = Election Commission of India.

Answer: (C) State Election Commission

Concept: Supplementary Demands for Grants (March 2025).

1. In March 2025 the government sought Parliament's approval for additional spending through supplementary demands; a part of it was earmarked for the telecom sector to upgrade/expand networks in underserved (rural and remote) areas.
2. Telecommunications is the sector concerned with network connectivity; transport, health and education are not 'network upgrade' heads.

Yaad rakhein: 'Networks in underserved areas' → Telecom (BSNL/BharatNet type connectivity).

Answer: (A) Telecommunications

Concept: ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

1. Standard ASCII is a 7-bit code, so it can represent $2^7=128$ characters (codes 0–127).
2. Extended ASCII uses 8 bits → $2^8=256$ characters; Unicode covers far more.

Yaad rakhein: 7 bits → 128 (standard); 8 bits → 256 (extended).

Answer: (A) $128$

Concept: Dalit autobiography in Marathi.

1. 'Baluta' (1978) by Daya Pawar is regarded as the first Dalit autobiography in Marathi; it describes the life of the Mahar community.
2. Sharankumar Limbale wrote 'Akkarmashi'; Omprakash Valmiki wrote 'Joothan' (Hindi); Namdeo Dhasal was a poet ('Golpitha').

Yaad rakhein: Baluta – Daya Pawar; Akkarmashi – Limbale; Joothan – Valmiki.

Answer: (C) Daya Pawar

Concept: Components of Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I (about 34,800 km).

1. Economic corridors ~9,000 km; inter-corridor & feeder routes ~6,000 km; national corridor efficiency ~5,000 km; border & international connectivity roads ~2,000 km; coastal & port connectivity ~2,000 km; expressways ~800 km.
2. So 2,000 km is earmarked for border and international connectivity.

Yaad rakhein: 9-6-5-2-2-0.8 (thousand km): economic, feeder, efficiency, border, coastal, expressway.

Answer: (B) 2,000 km

Concept: SBI Research report (January 2025) based on HCES 2023-24.

1. SBI Research estimated India's overall poverty rate in 2024 at about 4%–4.5%, with rural poverty falling to about 4.86% and urban poverty to about 4.09%.
2. The decline was linked to rising consumption and better rural infrastructure and transfers.

Yaad rakhein: SBI 2024: national poverty 4–4.5% (rural ≈ 4.86%, urban ≈ 4.09%).

Answer: (B) 4.0% to 4.5%

Concept: Watson–Crick base pairing.

1. In DNA, A pairs only with T (2 hydrogen bonds) and G only with C (3 hydrogen bonds). So the sequence of one strand fixes the other — this specific pairing is called 'complementary'.
2. The two strands are antiparallel (not parallel) and are not identical in composition.

Yaad rakhein: Complementary = A–T, G–C pairing through hydrogen bonds.

Answer: (D) Hydrogen bonding potential based on base specificity

Concept: Neutralisation: acid + base → salt + water.

1. Excess stomach acid is hydrochloric acid (HCl). Baking soda (sodium hydrogencarbonate, ${\text{NaHCO}}_3$) is a mild base and neutralises it, giving relief from acidity.
2. Vinegar and lemon juice are acidic; spicy peppers aggravate acidity.

Yaad rakhein: Antacids are mild bases: baking soda, milk of magnesia (${\text{Mg(OH)}}_2$).

Answer: (A) Baking soda

Concept: Governor's powers in Scheduled Areas (Fifth Schedule, Para 5).

1. Para 5(2) lets the Governor make regulations for peace and good government that may prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of Scheduled Tribes, regulate allotment of land to them, and regulate money-lending.
2. Such regulations need the President's assent, after consulting the Tribes Advisory Council.

Yaad rakhein: Fifth Schedule regulations: land transfer, land allotment, money-lending.

Answer: (B) Land transfers

Concept: Backward compatibility of Office files.

1. PowerPoint 2010 and later all use the .pptx format, so a 2021 file opens in 2010; features that the older version does not support (newer transitions, 3D models, some effects) are shown as static images or cannot be edited — the file works in a limited (compatibility) way.
2. It is not converted to PDF, nor refused.

Yaad rakhein: Old version + new file → opens, but new features are limited.

Answer: (D) The file will open in Compatibility Mode with limited features.

Concept: Popular titles of Bengali poets.

1. Jibanananda Das (1899–1954), author of 'Banalata Sen' and 'Rupashi Bangla', is called Rupashi Banglar Kabi ('poet of beautiful Bengal') for his poems on the beauty of rural Bengal.
2. Kazi Nazrul Islam is 'Bidrohi Kabi' (rebel poet); Tagore is 'Kabiguru'.

Yaad rakhein: Rupashi Bangla (book) → Rupashi Banglar Kabi (title).

Answer: (B) Rupashi Banglar Kabi

Concept: Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (renamed UMEED Act).

1. The Act provides for the inclusion of non-Muslim members (and Muslim women members) in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards — the major change in their composition.
2. It did not abolish State Waqf Boards, privatise Waqf properties or exempt them from audits; it actually strengthened audit and registration.

Yaad rakhein: Waqf Act 2025 → non-Muslim members in Waqf Boards & Council; got President's assent in April 2025.

Answer: (C) Inclusion of non-Muslim members

Concept: Four phases of India's population growth (NCERT).

1. 1901–21: stagnant population; 1921–51: steady growth; 1951–81: population explosion — mortality fell sharply due to health care and development while birth rate stayed high; 1981–2001 onwards: high growth with a slowly falling birth rate.
2. High fertility + sharp fall in mortality = Phase III (1951–1981).

Yaad rakhein: Stagnant → Steady → Explosion → Slowing (1901, 1921, 1951, 1981).

Answer: (C) Phase III (1951–1981)

Concept: Protection of Human Rights Act.

1. The Protection of Human Rights Act was passed in 1993; under it the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was set up on 12 October 1993.
2. The Act also provides for State Human Rights Commissions and Human Rights Courts; it was amended in 2006 and 2019.

Yaad rakhein: 1993 = PHRA + NHRC; 2006 & 2019 = amendments.

Answer: (D) 1993

Concept: PM-STIAC meeting on cell and gene therapy (21 January 2025, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi).

1. Dr Rahul Purwar of IIT Bombay presented India's first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy (NexCAR19).
2. Dr Alok Srivastava of St. John's Hospital, Bengaluru presented the gene therapy for Hemophilia.

Yaad rakhein: CAR-T → IIT Bombay; Hemophilia gene therapy → St. John's, Bengaluru.

Answer: (C) IIT Bombay and St. John’s Hospital, Bengaluru

Concept: Separation of powers vs parliamentary government.

1. In a parliamentary system the Council of Ministers is drawn from and responsible to the legislature, and the cabinet leads both the executive and the legislative agenda — a 'fusion of powers'. This is the standard criticism that it departs from strict separation of powers.
2. The President is only a nominal head acting on ministerial advice (Art 74), so he has no 'absolute control' over the PM; and executive and legislature are not independent here.

Yaad rakhein: Parliamentary = fusion (UK, India); Presidential = separation (USA).

Answer: (C) The cabinet simultaneously leads the executive and legislature, creating fusion of powers.

Concept: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (launched 25 June 2015, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs).

1. PMAY-U aims at 'Housing for All' by providing pucca houses to eligible urban families; among the given options, the target figure asked here is 1.89 crore houses.
2. Do not confuse it with PMAY-Gramin (rural), which has a separate, larger target of 2.95 crore houses.

Yaad rakhein: PMAY-U → urban, MoHUA; PMAY-G → rural, Ministry of Rural Development.

Answer: (D) 1.89 crore

Concept: $F=ma$; uniform velocity means zero acceleration.

1. Velocity is constant at $5\text{m/s}$, so $a=0$.
2. $F=ma=10\times 0=0\text{N}$.

Trick: Uniform velocity (straight line, constant speed) ⇒ net force is always zero, whatever the mass.

Answer: (C) $0\text{N}$

Concept: $\text{Mean}=\frac{\sum fx}{\sum f}$

1. $\sum f=63+62+59+17+70=271$
2. $\sum fx=1197+2232+3540+1173+5950=14092$
3. $\text{Mean}=\frac{14092}{271}=52$

Trick: Check options: $271\times 52=14092$ exactly, so 52 fits.

Answer: (D) $52$

Concept: Find each pipe's rate in litres per hour, then $\text{Time}=\frac{\text{Volume}}{\text{Combined rate}}$.

1. A: $\frac{7800}{12}=650$ L/h; B: $\frac{7800}{10}=780$ L/h
2. Together: $650+780=1430$ L/h
3. Time $=\frac{8800}{1430}=\frac{80}{13}$ hours

Trick: $1430=11\times 130$, $8800=11\times 800$ → cancel 11 → $\frac{800}{130}=\frac{80}{13}$.

Answer: (D) $\frac{80}{13}$ hours