Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The G20 presidency rotates every year.

1. The 19th G20 Summit was held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 18–19 November 2024.
2. India hosted 2023 (New Delhi); South Africa hosts 2025 (Johannesburg); Italy hosted 2021 (Rome).

Yaad rakhein: 2023 India → 2024 Brazil → 2025 South Africa.

Answer: (B) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Concept: 'Breaking Rocks and Barriers: A Geologist's Life' is a memoir.

1. It is written by Sudipta Sengupta, geologist and mountaineer, one of the first Indian women scientists to go to Antarctica (1983).
2. The book describes her field work and the barriers faced by women in science.

Yaad rakhein: Geologist breaks rocks – Sudipta Sengupta.

Answer: (C) Sudipta Sengupta

Concept: The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded in 1602.

1. Its first factory in India was at Masulipatnam (1605); the next, at Petapuli (Nizampatnam) on the north Coromandel coast, was set up in 1606.
2. Later Dutch factories included Pulicat (1610), Surat (1616) and Chinsura (1653).

Yaad rakhein: Dutch: Masulipatnam 1605 → Petapuli 1606 → Pulicat 1610.

Answer: (A) 1606

Concept: The Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation flourished about 5000 years ago in north-west India, including the Thar Desert region.

1. Harappan sites such as Kalibangan (Rajasthan, on the dried Ghaggar river) lie in the Thar region.
2. Greek, Babylonian and Egyptian civilisations developed outside India, so they cannot be linked to the Thar Desert.

Yaad rakhein: Thar + 5000 years = Harappan town Kalibangan.

Answer: (D) Indus Valley Civilisation

Concept: Dream Count (March 2025) is a novel by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

1. It is her first novel since Americanah (2013) and follows four women across Africa and America.
2. Dan Brown, Ocean Vuong and Philip Pullman did not write this book.

Yaad rakhein: Adichie: Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, Dream Count.

Answer: (A) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Concept: Design Ideas (PowerPoint Designer) looks at the content on the current slide and suggests professional layouts and designs.

1. When you add a title, picture or list, the Designer pane opens with layout options for that slide.
2. It does not write content, translate slides or provide co-authoring – those are separate features (Copilot, Translate, Share).

Yaad rakhein: Design Ideas = Design tab → Designer → layout suggestions.

Answer: (C) To suggest various pre-designed templates and layouts based on the content on the current slide

Concept: In the Reuse Slides pane, ticking/clicking Keep Source Formatting inserts slides with their original theme and formatting.

1. Without it, the inserted slides take the destination presentation's theme.
2. Applying the destination theme does the opposite; inserting as images makes slides non-editable; plain copy-paste uses destination theme by default.

Yaad rakhein: Keep Source Formatting = original look stays; Use Destination Theme = new look.

Answer: (D) Click 'Keep Source Formatting' in the Reuse Slides pane

Concept: The Shunga dynasty (founded by Pushyamitra Shunga) was ended by Vasudeva Kanva around 73 BCE, who founded the Kanva dynasty in Magadha.

1. The last Shunga ruler Devabhuti was killed by his minister Vasudeva Kanva.
2. The Kanvas were later overthrown by the Satavahanas; Guptas and Kushanas came in other periods/regions.

Yaad rakhein: Magadha order: Maurya → Shunga → Kanva.

Answer: (A) Kanvas

Concept: In April 2025 Vandana Katariya announced her retirement from international hockey.

1. She played 320 international matches – the most by any Indian woman hockey player – and scored 158 goals.
2. She was the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics (Tokyo 2020).

Yaad rakhein: Vandana Katariya: Haridwar, Padma Shri 2022, retired April 2025.

Answer: (A) Her retirement from international hockey

Concept: Startup India (launched 16 January 2016) is run by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

1. DPIIT recognises start-ups and manages the Fund of Funds and Seed Fund schemes.
2. Ministry of MSME and Skill Development run other schemes (e.g. Udyam, Skill India).

Yaad rakhein: Startup India → DPIIT → Commerce and Industry.

Answer: (C) Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Concept: Betla National Park in Latehar district, Jharkhand, forms the core of Palamu Tiger Reserve.

1. PTR sought a trained sniffer dog from TRAFFIC (a WWF–IUCN wildlife-trade monitoring network) to fight poaching in Betla.
2. Periyar is in Kerala, Gir in Gujarat and Kanha in Madhya Pradesh – not part of PTR.

Yaad rakhein: Palamu Tiger Reserve (Jharkhand) = Betla National Park.

Answer: (B) Betla National Park

Concept: As per Census 2011, no Scheduled Tribe population was notified in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.

1. Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala all have notified ST communities (Odisha has 62 tribes).

Yaad rakhein: Zero ST: Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Puducherry (PHCDP).

Answer: (C) Punjab

Concept: Article 11 empowers Parliament to make any law on acquisition, termination and all other matters of citizenship.

1. Using it, Parliament passed the Citizenship Act, 1955.
2. Article 5 deals with citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution, Article 10 with continuance of citizenship, and Article 14 with equality before law.

Yaad rakhein: Part II = Articles 5–11; the last one (11) gives Parliament the power.

Answer: (C) Article 11

Concept: INIOCHOS-25 is a multinational air exercise hosted by the Hellenic (Greek) Air Force at Andravida air base, Greece (March–April 2025).

1. The IAF contingent included Su-30 MKI fighters, IL-78 mid-air refuellers and C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft.
2. So the 'only one type' options are incomplete.

Yaad rakhein: INIOCHOS = Greece; IAF went with Su-30 MKI + IL-78 + C-17.

Answer: (A) Su-30 MKI fighters, IL-78 aerial refuelers and C-17 transport aircraft

Concept: The Panchayat Secretary is a government employee appointed by the State, not elected by voters.

1. Sarpanch/Pradhan heads the Gram Panchayat and is elected.
2. Zila Pramukh (Zila Parishad chairperson) is elected from among the elected members.

Yaad rakhein: Elected = people's representatives; Secretary = appointed official (administrative staff).

Answer: (C) Panchayat Secretary

Concept: Article 323 requires the UPSC to present an annual report of its work to the President, who places it before both Houses of Parliament.

1. State PSCs report to the Governor under the same Article.
2. Article 321 – power to extend functions of PSCs; Article 322 – expenses of PSCs; Article 324 – Election Commission.

Yaad rakhein: Articles 315–323 cover Public Service Commissions; 323 = reports.

Answer: (B) Article 323

Concept: Plantation agriculture is large-estate, single-crop commercial farming; tea is its classic example in India (Assam, West Bengal, Nilgiris).

1. Other plantation crops: coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana.
2. Bajra and wheat are food grains grown in ordinary fields; cotton is a fibre crop, not an estate crop.

Yaad rakhein: Plantation = Tea, Coffee, Rubber (estate + factory + labour).

Answer: (B) Tea

Concept: The Planning Commission was set up on 15 March 1950 with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as its first Chairman.

1. The Prime Minister was always its ex-officio Chairman; Gulzarilal Nanda was the first Deputy Chairman.
2. It was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015.

Yaad rakhein: PM = Chairman (Planning Commission and NITI Aayog both).

Answer: (C) Jawaharlal Nehru

Concept: Form two equations in V (Vashnavi) and S (Sooraj).

1. $5V=7S+18$ … (1)
2. $8S=5V-17$ … (2). Put (1) in (2): $8S=7S+18-17\Rightarrow S=1$.
3. $5V=7+18=25\Rightarrow V=5$. Sum $=5+1=6$.

Trick: Both equations contain $5V$ – substitute directly.

Answer: (A) $6$

Concept: Empirical relation: $\text{Mode}=3\text{Median}-2\text{Mean}$.

1. $\text{Mode}=3\times 76-2\times 56$
2. $=228-112=116$

Yaad rakhein: '3 Median minus 2 Mean' – 3M − 2M.

Answer: (B) $116$