Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: During the 2020 lockdown, cultural bodies moved festivals online; "Nrityanjali" was an online festival screening documentaries on legendary Indian classical dancers.

1. The series presented films on classical dance exponents across styles (Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi etc.).
2. The other names are generic festival titles not linked to this 2020 documentary series.

Yaad rakhein: Nrityanjali = "offering of dance" — dance documentaries online, 2020.

Answer: (D) Nrityanjali

Concept: The Sustainable Development Report 2025 (UN SDSN) ranked India 99th out of 167 countries — India's first entry into the top 100.

1. India moved up from 109th (2024) to 99th (2025) with a score of about 67.
2. No country has achieved all SDGs; Finland topped the 2025 index.

Yaad rakhein: SDG Index 2025: India 99th — "first time in top 100".

Answer: (B) India entered the top 100 for the first time.

Concept: An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow (with ice and rock) down a mountain slope.

1. Landslide = movement of soil and rock only (no snow); tsunami = sea waves after an undersea quake; cyclone = a rotating storm system.

Yaad rakhein: Snow slides = avalanche; soil slides = landslide.

Answer: (B) Avalanche

Concept: DAJGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan) was launched by PM Modi on 2 October 2024 at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand — Gandhi Jayanti.

1. Outlay about ₹79,156 crore, covering 63,000+ tribal villages and about 5 crore tribal people through 25 interventions of 17 ministries.
2. "Dharti Aaba" is the title of Birsa Munda, whose birth anniversary (15 Nov) is Janjatiya Gaurav Divas — but the launch date was 2 Oct.

Yaad rakhein: DAJGUA — launched 2 Oct 2024, Hazaribagh (Jharkhand).

Answer: (B) Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Concept: The UN Convention against Cybercrime — the first global treaty on cybercrime — was opened for signature at a ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam (the "Hanoi Convention") on 25 October 2025, where 72 countries, including India, signed it.

1. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 24 December 2024 and enters into force 90 days after the 40th ratification.
2. 190 or 151 are far too high for signatures within weeks of opening; 72 is the signing-ceremony figure.

Yaad rakhein: Hanoi Convention on Cybercrime — 72 signatories at launch, India among them.

Answer: (C) 72

Concept: El Niño = abnormal warming of sea-surface water in the central/eastern Pacific; it weakens the Indian monsoon.

1. Warm Pacific shifts the Walker circulation, causing deficient rainfall/drought in India (e.g., 2009, 2015, 2023).
2. La Niña is the opposite (cooling, usually good monsoon); "Sa Nina", "Chi Nina", "Pro Nino" are invented names.

Yaad rakhein: El Niño = warm Pacific = weak Indian monsoon; La Niña = cool = strong monsoon.

Answer: (C) El Nino

Concept: Ctrl + Tab cycles forward through open browser tabs (to the next tab on the right).

1. Ctrl + Shift + Tab goes to the previous tab (left); Ctrl + T opens a new tab; Ctrl + W closes the current tab.

Yaad rakhein: Tab = move forward; add Shift = move backward (same as in forms).

Answer: (D) Navigates to the next tab on the right

Concept: A simple microscope (magnifying glass) is a single convex lens of short focal length; the object is kept within its focal length to get an erect, magnified virtual image.

1. Biconvex (double convex) lens converges light and magnifies.
2. Concave lenses (plano-concave, biconcave) diverge light and give diminished images; cylindrical lenses correct astigmatism.

Yaad rakhein: Magnify = convex; myopia correction = concave.

Answer: (C) Biconvex

Concept: The Environment Audit Rules, 2025 (MoEFCC) create a system of third-party environmental audits conducted by Registered Environment Auditors (REAs).

1. REAs are individuals who pass a certification exam and get registered; they carry out audits of projects/industries.
2. The Environment Audit Designated Agency (EADA) only registers, accredits and monitors the auditors — it does not conduct audits itself.

Yaad rakhein: EADA = regulator of auditors; REA = the one who audits.

Answer: (B) Registered Environment Auditor

Concept: In Windows File Explorer, "Quick Access" lists frequently used folders and recently opened files.

1. Recycle Bin holds deleted files; Control Panel holds settings; Desktop is just a folder/screen.

Yaad rakhein: Quick Access = "Recent files + Frequent folders" at the top of File Explorer (Windows 10 and 11).

Answer: (B) Quick Access

Concept: The Economic Survey 2024–25 noted that India's forex reserves (about $640 billion in Dec 2024) covered roughly 90% of the country's external debt and about 10–11 months of imports.

1. External debt was about $712 billion (Sept 2024), so the cover ratio was close to 90%.
2. Hence "about 90%", not "more than 110%" or 60%.

Yaad rakhein: Economic Survey 2024–25: forex cover ≈ 90% of external debt, ≈ 10 months of imports.

Answer: (C) About 90%

Concept: The UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), Rio de Janeiro, June 1992, made "sustainable development" a global agenda (Agenda 21, Rio Declaration, UNFCCC, CBD).

1. Montreal Protocol (1987) is about ozone; Kyoto Protocol (1997) and Paris Agreement (2015) are climate treaties.

Yaad rakhein: 1972 Stockholm → 1992 Rio (Earth Summit) → 2002 Johannesburg → 2012 Rio+20.

Answer: (C) Rio Earth Summit

Concept: Only Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir are UTs with a legislative assembly and council of ministers (Articles 239A/239AA).

1. Puducherry got its assembly under the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963.
2. Andaman & Nicobar and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu are administered directly through an Administrator.

Yaad rakhein: UTs with assembly = D-P-J (Delhi, Puducherry, J&K).

Answer: (C) Puducherry

Concept: Article 40 (a Directive Principle) directs the State to organise village panchayats; the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 gave it constitutional force by adding Part IX (Articles 243–243O) and the 11th Schedule.

1. Article 38 – social order for welfare; Article 48 – agriculture and animal husbandry; Article 56 – President's term.

Yaad rakhein: Art. 40 → 73rd Amendment (Panchayats, 1992); 74th Amendment → Municipalities.

Answer: (B) Article 40

Concept: A touchscreen displays output and accepts touch input, so it is both an input and output device.

1. Keyboard = input only; printer and speaker = output only.
2. Other dual devices: modem, network card, headset with mic, multifunction printer.

Yaad rakhein: Touchscreen = screen (output) + touch (input).

Answer: (C) Touchscreen

Concept: "Yamuna Paryatan" (1857) by Baba Padmanji is regarded as the first Marathi novel; it depicts the miserable condition of Hindu widows.

1. Through the heroine Yamuna's travels, the novel criticises customs like enforced widowhood and supports widow remarriage.
2. It is a social-reform novel, not a political or adventure story.

Yaad rakhein: Yamuna Paryatan (Marathi, 1857) – widows; Indulekha (Malayalam, 1889); Rajmohan's Wife (English, 1864).

Answer: (C) Criticized Hindu practices regarding widows

Concept: Badruddin Tyabji (Madras session, 1887) was the first Muslim President of the INC — not "Jainist", so statement (B) is incorrect.

1. W. C. Bonnerjee (1885) – first President (Hindu); Dadabhai Naoroji (1886) – first Parsi; George Yule (1888) – first non-Indian/British President.

Yaad rakhein: 1885 Bonnerjee → 1886 Naoroji → 1887 Tyabji → 1888 Yule.

Answer: (B) Badruddin Tyabji was the first Jainist President of the INC

Concept: Successive increases multiply: final $=P\times (1+\frac{a}{100})(1+\frac{b}{100})$.

1. After year 1: $2,90,000\times \frac{105}{100}=3,04,500$.
2. After year 2: $3,04,500\times \frac{130}{100}=3,95,850$.

Trick: Net single change $=a+b+\frac{ab}{100}=5+30+1.5=36.5\%$; $2,90,000\times 1.365=3,95,850$.

Answer: (A) 3,95,850

Concept: Mode $=l+\frac{f_1-f_0}{2f_1-f_0-f_2}\times h$, where $l$ = lower limit of the modal class (highest frequency), $f_1$ its frequency, $f_0$, $f_2$ the frequencies before and after, $h$ = class width.

1. Highest frequency 36 → modal class 20–30: $l=20$, $f_1=36$, $f_0=16$, $f_2=34$, $h=10$.
2. Mode $=20+\frac{36-16}{72-16-34}\times 10=20+\frac{20}{22}\times 10$.
3. $=20+9.09=29.09$.

Trick: The mode always lies inside the modal class (20–30) – options 30.15 and 31.25 are out at once.

Answer: (D) 29.09

Concept: Speed of boat in still water $=\frac{\text{downstream speed}+\text{upstream speed}}{2}$.

1. Downstream speed $=\frac{120}{6}=20\text{km/h}$; upstream speed $=\frac{120}{10}=12\text{km/h}$.
2. Boat speed $=\frac{20+12}{2}=16\text{km/h}$ (current $=\frac{20-12}{2}=4\text{km/h}$, matching the data).

Trick: Boat = average of the two speeds; current = half their difference.

Answer: (C) 16 km/hr