Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the six-member bloc of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

1. The 46th GCC Supreme Council summit was held in Manama, Bahrain, in December 2025 and ended with the 'Sakhir Declaration' (named after Bahrain's Sakhir area).
2. The declaration reaffirmed deeper political, security and economic integration among Gulf states.
3. OIC summits are far larger (57 members) and the Arab League meets in different Arab capitals – neither issued a Sakhir Declaration.

Yaad rakhein: Sakhir = Bahrain (also home of the Bahrain F1 circuit) → GCC summit in Manama.

Answer: (C) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Concept: The Insert (Ins) key toggles between insert mode and overtype (overwrite) mode in text editors.

1. In insert mode new characters push existing text to the right; in overwrite mode each typed character replaces the one under the cursor. Pressing Ins switches between the two.
2. Del deletes the character after the cursor, Tab moves to the next tab stop, and F5 is usually refresh / start slideshow.

Yaad rakhein: Ins = Insert ↔ Overwrite switch; Del = delete, not a mode toggle.

Answer: (C) Ins

Concept: Messenger RNA (mRNA) carries the genetic message from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm.

1. DNA stays in the nucleus; its instructions are transcribed into mRNA, which travels out and is translated into protein – so mRNA is DNA's 'messenger' to the rest of the cell.
2. tRNA brings amino acids during translation, rRNA forms the ribosome, and miRNA regulates gene expression – none of them carries the DNA message itself.

Yaad rakhein: m = messenger → carries the message; t = transfer → carries amino acids; r = ribosomal → builds the ribosome.

Answer: (C) mRNA

Concept: The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a union territory in the Bay of Bengal, have a total geographical area of about 8,249 sq km.

1. The UT consists of 836 islands/islets (only about 31 inhabited) spread over roughly 8,249 sq km, with Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram) as capital.
2. Lakshadweep, by contrast, is only about 32 sq km – so the Andamans are by far the larger island UT.

Yaad rakhein: A&N area ≈ 8,249 sq km – remember '8-2-4-9'; the largest island UT of India.

Answer: (B) 8,249 sq. kms

Concept: Banabhatta was the court poet (Asthana Kavi) of Harshavardhana (606–647 CE) of the Pushyabhuti/Vardhana dynasty.

1. Banabhatta wrote 'Harshacharita' (biography of Harsha) and the Sanskrit prose romance 'Kadambari'.
2. Harishena was the court poet of Samudragupta (Prayag Prashasti); Vasumitra and Kalashoka belong to the Buddhist councils' history, not Harsha's court.

Yaad rakhein: Harsha – Bana (Harshacharita, Kadambari); Samudragupta – Harishena; Chandragupta II – Kalidasa.

Answer: (A) Banabhatta

Concept: Independent India chose a mixed economy – public and private sectors coexisting under state planning.

1. The Industrial Policy Resolutions of 1948 and 1956 and the Five-Year Plans (from 1951) reserved core/heavy industries for the public sector while allowing private enterprise in others – a balance between socialism and capitalism.
2. A command economy (USSR-type) or pure socialism would exclude private enterprise; pure capitalism would exclude state planning – India adopted neither.

Yaad rakhein: Nehru–Mahalanobis model = Mixed economy: 'commanding heights' with the State, the rest with the market.

Answer: (B) Mixed economy

Concept: The Intel 4004, the world's first commercially available microprocessor, was released in November 1971.

1. It was a 4-bit chip with about 2,300 transistors, designed by Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff and Stanley Mazor for a Busicom calculator.
2. 1945 (ENIAC era) and 1960 predate integrated-circuit microprocessors; by 1985 Intel had already reached the 32-bit 80386.

Yaad rakhein: Intel 4004 → 1971; Intel 8080 → 1974; IBM PC → 1981.

Answer: (D) 1971

Concept: Union Budget 2025-26 (presented 1 February 2025 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman) set capital expenditure at ₹11.21 lakh crore.

1. This capex is about 3.1% of GDP, marginally above the ₹11.11 lakh crore budgeted for 2024-25, with a focus on infrastructure, railways and defence.
2. ₹10 lakh crore was the capex figure of 2023-24, which is why it is the tempting wrong option.

Yaad rakhein: Capex ladder: 2023-24 → ₹10 lakh cr; 2024-25 → ₹11.11 lakh cr; 2025-26 → ₹11.21 lakh cr.

Answer: (C) ₹11.21 lakh crore

Concept: Fundamental Duties are listed in Article 51A, Part IV-A of the Constitution.

1. They were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation – originally 10 duties; the 11th (education of children aged 6–14) came by the 86th Amendment, 2002.
2. Article 31A deals with saving of laws for acquisition of estates; Articles 41A and 61A do not exist.

Yaad rakhein: Part IV-A, Article 51A, 11 duties, 42nd Amendment – the four numbers of Fundamental Duties.

Answer: (A) Article 51A

Concept: IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) is the single-window agency under the Department of Space that promotes private and academic participation in space.

1. In December 2025 IN-SPACe issued a Request for Proposal to set up 'Space Labs' in universities/institutions across India, to give students hands-on exposure to space technology and build a talent pipeline for the space ecosystem.
2. ISRO builds and launches missions; DST and DRDO are not the nodal agencies for academic space-lab outreach.

Yaad rakhein: Private/academic space promotion = IN-SPACe (set up 2020, HQ Ahmedabad); missions = ISRO.

Answer: (D) Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)

Concept: Article 341 empowers the President, after consulting the Governor of the state, to notify the Scheduled Castes for each state/UT.

1. Any later inclusion or exclusion from that list can be made only by Parliament by law (Article 341(2)).
2. Article 342 is the parallel provision for Scheduled Tribes; Article 330 reserves Lok Sabha seats for SC/ST; Article 344 is about the Official Language Commission.

Yaad rakhein: 341 – SC, 342 – ST (one after the other); 330 – reserved seats in Lok Sabha.

Answer: (B) Article 341

Concept: Article 241 provides that Parliament may by law constitute a High Court for a Union territory, or declare any court there to be a High Court.

1. Under this provision Delhi got its own High Court in 1966; other UTs come under the jurisdiction of neighbouring state High Courts (e.g., Kerala HC for Lakshadweep, Punjab & Haryana HC for Chandigarh).
2. Article 239 deals with administration of UTs by the President through an Administrator; Article 240 gives the President power to make regulations for certain UTs; Article 238 was repealed in 1956.

Yaad rakhein: UT articles: 239 – administration; 240 – President's regulations; 241 – High Court for UT.

Answer: (D) Article 241

Concept: Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu (near Kanyakumari) is India's southernmost nuclear plant.

1. Built with Russian VVER-1000 reactors, it is also India's largest nuclear power station (2 units of 1,000 MW operating, more under construction).
2. Madras (Kalpakkam) APS is also in Tamil Nadu but further north near Chennai; Kakrapar is in Gujarat and Narora in Uttar Pradesh.

Yaad rakhein: Southernmost = Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu, near Kanyakumari); northernmost = Narora (UP).

Answer: (A) Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station

Concept: DHRUV64, developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) under MeitY, is India's first indigenous 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor.

1. Launched in 2025, it is based on the open RISC-V architecture and is meant for networking, IoT and strategic applications, a milestone of the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) programme.
2. VEGA is C-DAC's earlier processor family (e.g., THEJAS32 and THEJAS64 SoCs); SHAKTI is IIT Madras's processor project; 'BHARAT-Core 64' is not a real product.

Yaad rakhein: DHRUV64 = C-DAC's 64-bit dual-core, 1 GHz (2025); SHAKTI = IIT Madras; VEGA = C-DAC's earlier series.

Answer: (B) DHRUV64 microprocessor

Concept: The tropical (torrid) zone lies between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5°N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5°S).

1. Within this belt the Sun is directly overhead at noon at least once a year, giving high temperatures throughout the year.
2. Beyond 23.5° up to 66.5° are the temperate zones; the polar zones lie beyond the Arctic and Antarctic Circles (66.5°).

Yaad rakhein: Tropics at 23½°, polar circles at 66½° – their sum is 90°.

Answer: (A) 23.5°N and 23.5°S

Concept: On 13 November 2025 the Supreme Court held that mining within national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and a 1-km belt around them is inherently hazardous to wildlife and must not be permitted.

1. The Court reasoned that blasting, dust, noise and habitat destruction from mining endanger wild animals and their habitats, so such activity cannot be allowed next to protected areas.
2. Tourism, local economy and water sources are not reasons to call mining 'hazardous' – the order is about protection of wildlife.

Yaad rakhein: Protected area + mining ban = wildlife safety (not economics); 1 km eco-sensitive buffer around parks and sanctuaries.

Answer: (A) Because they are dangerous to wildlife

Concept: Inertia of direction: a moving body tends to keep moving in a straight line unless a force acts on it (Newton's first law).

1. When the car turns sharply, the car changes direction but our body tends to continue in the original straight-line direction, so we feel thrown to the opposite side of the turn.
2. Gravity acts downwards, air pressure inside the car does not change, and tyre friction is what turns the car – none of these explains the sideways push.

Yaad rakhein: Sudden start → thrown back; sudden stop → thrown forward; sharp turn → thrown outward: all three are inertia.

Answer: (A) The law of inertia causes our body to resist the change in direction.

Concept: National institutions of performing arts set up under the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

1. The National Institute of Kathak Dance, New Delhi, is popularly called Kathak Kendra; it was founded in 1964 as a constituent unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
2. Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography is a separate private institute in Bengaluru founded by Maya Rao; Kathakali is a different dance form of Kerala, so (C) is a distractor.

Yaad rakhein: Kathak Kendra (Delhi, 1964) → Kathak; Kalakshetra (Chennai) → Bharatanatyam; Kerala Kalamandalam → Kathakali.

Answer: (B) Kathak Kendra

Concept: Parliament can legislate on State List subjects only in the situations listed in Articles 249–253.

1. Art. 249 – Rajya Sabha resolution (two-thirds majority, national interest); Art. 250 – during National Emergency; Art. 252 – when two or more states request; Art. 253 – to implement international agreements. (Also Art. 356 – President's Rule.)
2. There is no provision for legislation "at the discretion of the Prime Minister", so statement 5 is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: 249 Rajya Sabha, 250 Emergency, 252 States' request, 253 International treaty – all are constitutional, none depends on the PM.

Answer: (C) 1, 2, 3, and 4 only

Concept: Nineteenth-century women's organisations founded by Indian women reformers.

1. Pandita Ramabai founded the Arya Mahila Samaj in Pune in 1882 to promote women's education and oppose child marriage; she later set up Sharada Sadan (1889) and Mukti Mission.
2. Sarla Devi Chaudhurani founded Bharat Stree Mahamandal (1910), the first all-India women's organisation – the common confusion.

Yaad rakhein: Ramabai → Arya Mahila Samaj, Sharada Sadan; Sarla Devi → Bharat Stree Mahamandal; Mehribai Tata → Child-marriage reform, NCWI.

Answer: (C) Pandita Ramabai