Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The Bundela Revolt of 1842 broke out in the Sagar–Narmada territory of the Jabalpur region (present-day Madhya Pradesh).

1. Bundela chiefs Madhukar Shah and Jawahir Singh led it against British land-revenue and tenure policies; both were later executed.
2. Ganjam and Vizianagram (Andhra–Odisha coast) saw the Paik and zamindari revolts; Saurashtra is unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Bundela 1842 → Sagar/Jabalpur; Bundelkhand lies in central India, not on the east coast.

Answer: (A) Jabalpur

Concept: Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11, deals with citizenship.

1. Articles 5–8 decide who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution (26 Jan 1950); Article 9 – voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship; Article 10 – continuance; Article 11 – Parliament’s power to regulate citizenship (Citizenship Act, 1955).
2. Articles 1–4 are about the Union and its territory; Articles 12–35 are Fundamental Rights.

Yaad rakhein: Part I: Art. 1–4 (territory); Part II: Art. 5–11 (citizenship); Part III: Art. 12–35 (rights).

Answer: (D) Articles 5 to 11

Concept: The Vikas engine powers the L110 second stage of LVM3, the launcher for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.

1. In November 2025, Godrej Aerospace (Godrej & Boyce) delivered a human-rated Vikas engine to ISRO at its Mumbai facility for the Gaganyaan programme.
2. Godrej Aerospace has been manufacturing Vikas engines for ISRO for decades; ISRO itself is the customer, not the deliverer, and BEL/HAL make avionics and structures.

Yaad rakhein: Vikas engine ↔ Godrej Aerospace (Mumbai) and MTAR (Hyderabad) are the private makers.

Answer: (C) Godrej Aerospace

Concept: Standard editing shortcuts in Windows: Ctrl + C copies the selection to the clipboard and Ctrl + V pastes it.

1. Ctrl + X = cut, Ctrl + Z = undo, Ctrl + S = save, Ctrl + F = find.
2. Ctrl + Tab switches between tabs – nothing to do with copy/paste.

Yaad rakhein: C–V–X sit side by side on the keyboard: Copy, paste (V looks like an insert mark), cut (X like scissors).

Answer: (B) Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V

Concept: The Recycle Bin is a special folder that temporarily holds deleted files so they can be restored.

1. Its icon is placed by default on the Windows Desktop.
2. The Taskbar holds the Start button and running programs; the Start Menu lists apps; Control Panel holds settings – none of them hosts the Recycle Bin.

Yaad rakhein: Recycle Bin = Desktop icon; it can be hidden/shown from Desktop icon settings.

Answer: (A) Desktop

Concept: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25 December 2000 to give all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations.

1. Better connectivity raises access to markets, schools and health care, hence poverty reduction through rural connectivity.
2. SGSY (1999) and SJSRY (1997) are self-employment schemes; Bharatmala (2017) is a highways programme.

Yaad rakhein: 25 Dec 2000 (Vajpayee’s birthday) → PMGSY launched.

Answer: (B) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

Concept: The Himalayas have three parallel ranges: Greater Himalayas (Himadri), Lesser Himalayas (Himachal) and Shiwaliks.

1. The Lesser Himalayas (Himachal) contain the famous valleys of Kashmir, Kangra and Kullu and hill stations such as Shimla and Mussoorie.
2. The Great Himalayas hold the highest peaks and glaciers, not these broad valleys; Aravalli and Vindhya are peninsular ranges.

Yaad rakhein: Valleys and hill stations → Himachal (Lesser); peaks → Himadri; Duns → Shiwalik.

Answer: (D) Lesser Himalayas

Concept: The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime – the first global treaty on cybercrime – was opened for signature in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 25 October 2025 (the “Hanoi Convention”).

1. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2024 and over 70 countries, including India, signed it in Hanoi.
2. NATO is a military alliance, UNESCO handles education/culture and the World Bank is a lender – none frames global crime treaties.

Yaad rakhein: Hanoi Convention 2025 = UN cybercrime treaty; Budapest Convention 2001 = Council of Europe’s earlier one.

Answer: (C) United Nations

Concept: Volcanoes are classified by shape and eruption style.

1. A composite volcano is built of alternate layers (strata) of lava and ash, hence the name stratovolcano – e.g. Fuji, Vesuvius, Mt. St. Helens.
2. Shield volcanoes are broad and gently sloping (Mauna Loa); cinder cones are small ash heaps; fissure volcanoes erupt from long cracks.

Yaad rakhein: Strata = layers → Composite/Stratovolcano.

Answer: (B) Composite volcano

Concept: A CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file stores tabular data as plain text, one row per line with values separated by commas.

1. Spreadsheet programs like Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc import/export .csv directly.
2. .exe is a program, .mp4 a video and .png an image – none holds structured rows and columns.

Yaad rakhein: CSV = Comma-Separated Values → spreadsheet-ready text.

Answer: (C) .csv

Concept: A Sattvic diet (from yogic tradition) is built on fresh, whole, minimally processed foods.

1. It includes whole grains such as red rice and unpolished (hand-pounded) rice, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and milk.
2. Polished white rice, refined flour and sugary cereals are refined/processed and are avoided in a sattvic diet.

Yaad rakhein: Sattvic = whole and natural; refined and processed items are out.

Answer: (D) Red rice and unpolished rice

Concept: For a concave mirror, the image depends on the object’s position; when the object lies between the pole P and the focus F, reflected rays diverge.

1. Diverging reflected rays appear to meet behind the mirror → the image is virtual.
2. The image is upright (erect) and magnified – this is how a shaving/make-up mirror works.
3. All other positions (beyond F) give a real, inverted image, so “real and inverted” is the tempting wrong option.

Yaad rakhein: Object within F → V.E.M. (Virtual, Erect, Magnified) for a concave mirror.

Answer: (C) virtual and upright

Concept: The Battle of Wandiwash (22 January 1760) was the decisive battle of the Third Carnatic War.

1. The British under Sir Eyre Coote defeated the French under Count de Lally; Pondicherry fell in 1761.
2. It ended French political ambitions in India; the Treaty of Paris (1763) returned Pondicherry only as a trading post.

Yaad rakhein: Wandiwash 1760 – British (Eyre Coote) vs French (Lally).

Answer: (C) British and French

Concept: The Rashtrakutas (8th–10th century, capital Manyakheta) are celebrated for rock-cut architecture at Ellora.

1. The Kailasa (Kailasanatha) Temple at Ellora, Cave 16, was carved out of a single rock top-down under Krishna I (c. 760 CE).
2. Sanchi Stupa is Mauryan (Ashoka), Brihadeeswara Temple is Chola (Rajaraja I), Konark Sun Temple is Eastern Ganga (Narasimhadeva I).

Yaad rakhein: Krishna I + Ellora = Kailasa; Rajaraja + Thanjavur = Brihadeeswara.

Answer: (A) Kailasa Temple at Ellora

Concept: On 21 November 2025 the Government brought the four Labour Codes into force, replacing 29 central labour laws.

1. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020 permits women to work in all establishments and in night shifts (7 pm–6 am) with their consent and required safety measures.
2. The Code on Wages covers minimum/timely wages, the Industrial Relations Code covers unions and disputes, and the Social Security Code covers PF, ESI and gig-worker benefits.

Yaad rakhein: Working conditions, safety, hours, night shifts → OSH Code; money → Wages/Social Security.

Answer: (A) The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

Concept: Mauryan princes served as viceroys (kumaras) of provinces before succession.

1. Under Bindusara, Ashoka was viceroy of Ujjain (Avanti province); earlier he had also been sent to Taxila to suppress a revolt.
2. Tosali (Kalinga) became a provincial capital only after Ashoka’s own Kalinga war; Pataliputra was the imperial capital, not a viceroyalty.

Yaad rakhein: Ashoka – Ujjain (Avanti) under Bindusara; Buddhist texts say he met Devi of Vidisha there.

Answer: (D) Ujjain

Concept: Articles 256–263 (Part XI) govern administrative relations between the Union and the States.

1. Article 256: the executive power of every State shall ensure compliance with laws made by Parliament, and the Union may give such directions to a State as it deems necessary.
2. Article 248 – residuary legislative powers; Article 262 – inter-State water disputes; Article 265 – no tax without authority of law.

Yaad rakhein: 256 – directions to States; 257 – control of Union over States (communication, railways); 262 – water disputes.

Answer: (A) Article 256

Concept: Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, but allows protective discrimination.

1. Article 15(3): nothing shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children – basis of reservation for women, maternity benefits, etc.
2. Article 16(2) bars discrimination in public employment; 19(5) allows restrictions on movement/residence for Scheduled Tribes; 23(2) permits compulsory service for public purposes.

Yaad rakhein: 15(3) women & children; 15(4) SEBC/SC/ST; 15(5) educational institutions; 15(6) EWS.

Answer: (D) Article 15(3)

Concept: Tamil was the first language to be declared a Classical Language of India.

1. The Government of India created the 'Classical Language' category in 2004 and Tamil received the status the same year (October 2004).
2. Sanskrit followed in 2005, then Kannada and Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013) and Odia (2014); in 2024 Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali were added.
3. 2005 is the tempting wrong option because that is Sanskrit's year.

Yaad rakhein: Order: Tamil 2004 → Sanskrit 2005 → Kannada/Telugu 2008 → Malayalam 2013 → Odia 2014.

Answer: (D) 2004

Concept: Manila hemp (abaca) is a hard fibre obtained from a banana-like plant native to the Philippines.

1. The name itself comes from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, the world's largest producer of abaca.
2. It is used for ropes, marine cordage, tea bags and currency paper because it is strong and salt-water resistant.
3. Malaysia and Indonesia are known for rubber and palm oil, not abaca.

Yaad rakhein: Manila = capital of Philippines → Manila hemp = Philippines.

Answer: (B) Philippines