Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Bal Gangadhar Tilak was convicted of sedition in 1908 for his writings in Kesari.

1. He was sent to Mandalay Jail, Burma (1908–1914).
2. There he wrote Gita Rahasya, his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
3. Subhas Bose was also briefly held at Mandalay (1925), but the famous long imprisonment is Tilak's.

Yaad rakhein: Mandalay + Gita Rahasya = Tilak.

Answer: (A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Concept: The Chuar Rebellion (1766–1816, peak 1798–99) took place in the Jungle Mahals of Midnapore, Bankura and Manbhum (Bengal–Jharkhand).

1. It was led mainly by the Bhumij tribal people (called 'Chuars') against British land revenue demands.
2. Kols led the Kol uprising (1831–32) in Chotanagpur; Bhils were in Khandesh; Khasis in Meghalaya.

Yaad rakhein: Chuar = Bhumij of Jungle Mahal.

Answer: (A) Bhumji

Concept: Harshavardhana ruled from Kannauj (606–647 CE).

1. Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) visited India c. 630–645 CE and stayed at Harsha's court; he wrote Si-Yu-Ki.
2. Fa-Hien came during Chandragupta II (Gupta period); I-Tsing came after Harsha (c. 671 CE).

Yaad rakhein: Harsha – Hiuen Tsang; Chandragupta II – Fa-Hien.

Answer: (B) Hiuen Tsang

Concept: Maharashtra Assembly election results were declared on 23 November 2024 (288 seats).

1. BJP won 132 seats – statement 1 is correct.
2. Congress fell to 16 seats from 44 in 2019 – statement 2 is wrong.
3. Shiv Sena (Shinde) won 57 vs Shiv Sena (UBT) 20 – statement 3 is correct. The Mahayuti (not MVA) formed the government with Devendra Fadnavis as CM – statement 4 is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Mahayuti swept: BJP 132, Shinde Sena 57, NCP (Ajit) 41.

Answer: (C) Only 1 and 3

Concept: In a disproportionation reaction the same element is simultaneously oxidised and reduced.

1. In ${\text{Cl}}_2+{\text{H}}_2\text{O}\to \text{HCl}+\text{HOCl}$, chlorine goes from $0$ to $-1$ (in HCl, reduced) and to $+1$ (in HOCl, oxidised).
2. In the other options, one element is oxidised and a different element is reduced (e.g. Na oxidised, Cl reduced).

Trick: Look for one element appearing in two products with different oxidation states.

Answer: (D) ${\text{Cl}}_2+{\text{H}}_2\text{O}\to \text{HCl}+\text{HOCl}$

Concept: Print Preview (File → Print, Ctrl + P) shows the sheet exactly as it will be printed.

1. It lets you check page breaks, margins, orientation and scaling and adjust the layout before printing.
2. Deleting rows, editing formulas or PDF export are separate features, not the purpose of preview.

Yaad rakhein: Preview = see before print.

Answer: (A) To check how the spreadsheet will appear on paper and adjust layout/formatting

Concept: The Qutub Minar was begun by Qutb-ud-din Aibak (c. 1199) and completed by Iltutmish.

1. Both belonged to the Mamluk (Slave) dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, so it is classed under the Mamluk style of Indo-Islamic architecture.
2. Mughal style came over 300 years later; Sharqi style belongs to Jaunpur.

Yaad rakhein: Aibak + Iltutmish = Mamluk/Slave dynasty.

Answer: (B) Mamulek Style

Concept: Genome length is measured in base pairs (bp).

1. $\varphi$X174 phage: about $5386$ nucleotides – the smallest.
2. Bacteriophage $\lambda$: about $48502$ bp; E. coli: about $4.6\times {10}^6$ bp; human haploid: about $3.3\times {10}^9$ bp.

Yaad rakhein: Order: $\varphi \text{X174}<\lambda <\text{E. coli}<\text{Human}$.

Answer: (B) $\varphi$X174 phage

Concept: SKOCH Awards honour excellence in governance projects in India.

1. In December 2024 the Nagaland Forest Management Project (supported by JICA) received the SKOCH Award for excellence in forest management.
2. The project works on restoring jhum (shifting cultivation) areas with community participation.

Yaad rakhein: Nagaland + JICA + forests = SKOCH 2024.

Answer: (C) Nagaland Forest Management Project

Concept: Jharkhand has an 81-member Assembly; results came on 23 November 2024.

1. The JMM-led INDIA bloc won 56 seats (JMM 34, Congress 16, RJD 4, CPI(ML)L 2).
2. Hemant Soren became Chief Minister again. JMM is not part of the NDA, so option (A) is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Jharkhand 2024: INDIA 56, NDA 24.

Answer: (B) 56 seats, JMM-led alliance INDIA

Concept: India's coastal plains lie between the Ghats and the sea.

1. The Western Coastal Plain is a narrow strip between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea (Konkan, Kannada, Malabar coasts).
2. The Eastern Coastal Plain is wider and lies between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal.

Yaad rakhein: West = narrow, no big deltas; East = wide with deltas.

Answer: (A) Western Ghats and Arabian Sea

Concept: The Ganga basin is India's largest river basin (about 26% of the country's area).

1. Its fertile alluvial plains in UP, Bihar, West Bengal etc. support over 40% of India's population – the highest concentration.
2. Brahmaputra basin is hilly and flood-prone; Narmada and Godavari basins are smaller and less densely populated.

Yaad rakhein: Largest basin + richest alluvium = most people: Ganga.

Answer: (C) Ganga Basin

Concept: The 73rd Amendment (1992) created a three-tier Panchayati Raj: village, block (intermediate) and district.

1. The Gram Panchayat is the body elected at the village (grassroots) level, with the Gram Sabha as its base.
2. Panchayat Samiti works at the block level and Zila Parishad at the district level.

Yaad rakhein: Grassroots = village = Gram Panchayat.

Answer: (C) Gram Panchayat

Concept: Articles 25–28 form the Right to Freedom of Religion.

1. Article 25: freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion.
2. Art 26 – freedom to manage religious affairs; Art 23 – prohibition of trafficking and forced labour; Art 24 – prohibition of child labour in factories.

Yaad rakhein: 25 = profess, practise, propagate (3 Ps).

Answer: (D) Article 25

Concept: After the 1991 reforms (LPG), India's economy grew faster and attracted more foreign capital.

1. Statement 1 is wrong: FDI and foreign exchange reserves rose sharply after opening up.
2. Statement 2 is wrong: GDP grew steadily; there was no continuous decline.
3. Statement 3 is correct: GDP growth rose from about 5.6% (1980–91) to 8.2% (2007–12).

Yaad rakhein: Reform outcomes = more FDI, more reserves, higher growth.

Answer: (A) Only 3

Concept: Bhimbetka rock shelters (Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh) are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2003).

1. They hold rock paintings from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (Stone Age) periods – among the oldest in India.
2. Ajanta and Ellora are rock-cut caves of the historic period (c. 2nd century BCE onwards); Barabar caves are Mauryan.

Yaad rakhein: Stone-Age paintings = Bhimbetka.

Answer: (B) Bhimbetka caves

Concept: A new file is created from the context (right-click) menu inside a folder.

1. Open the folder → right-click on empty space → New → Text Document creates a .txt file there.
2. Ctrl + F opens search; Task Manager runs programs; Recycle Bin only restores deleted files.

Yaad rakhein: Right-click → New = create anything (folder, text file, shortcut).

Answer: (A) Open the folder and right-click → New → Text Document

Concept: DiskPart is a command-line disk-partitioning utility in Windows.

1. It manages disks, partitions, volumes and virtual hard disks (create, delete, format, extend).
2. msconfig – startup/boot configuration; regedit – Registry Editor; gpedit.msc – Group Policy Editor.

Yaad rakhein: Disk + Partition = diskpart.

Answer: (D) diskpart

Concept: A filament must glow white-hot without melting.

1. Tungsten has a very high melting point (about ${3422}^{\circ }\text{C}$) and high resistivity, so it gets very hot and emits light.
2. Copper, iron and aluminium melt at much lower temperatures (aluminium at about ${660}^{\circ }\text{C}$).

Yaad rakhein: Bulb filament = W (tungsten), highest melting point among metals.

Answer: (B) Tungsten

Concept: Mauritius celebrates its National Day on 12 March; PM Modi was chief guest in 2025.

1. Indian Navy destroyer INS Imphal visited Port Louis and took part in the 57th National Day celebrations, with an Indian contingent in the parade.

Yaad rakhein: Mauritius 2025 = INS Imphal.

Answer: (B) INS Imphal