Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: WHO's Global Summit on Traditional Medicine is held with India's Ministry of Ayush.

1. The 2nd WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit was held on 17–19 December 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
2. The first summit (2023) was in Gandhinagar, Gujarat; WHO's Global Traditional Medicine Centre is at Jamnagar.
3. Geneva is WHO's headquarters but not the summit venue.

Yaad rakhein: Traditional-medicine events of WHO = India (Gandhinagar 2023 → New Delhi 2025).

Answer: (B) New Delhi

Concept: The Prayaga (Allahabad pillar) Prashasti, composed by Harishena, eulogises Samudragupta.

1. It calls him equal to the gods Dhanada (Kubera), Varuna, Indra and Antaka (Yama).
2. Kubera is the god of wealth, so for the 'god associated with wealth' the answer is Kubera.
3. Indra is god of rain/war, Varuna of water, Yama of death.

Yaad rakhein: Dhanada = 'giver of wealth' = Kubera.

Answer: (D) Kubera

Concept: Sarojini Naidu's first poetry collection The Golden Threshold (1905) was published in London.

1. Its introduction was written by the English critic Arthur Symons, her friend and mentor.
2. Edmund Gosse wrote the introduction to her second collection The Bird of Time (1912) – the tempting wrong option.

Yaad rakhein: Golden Threshold → Symons; Bird of Time → Gosse.

Answer: (C) Arthur Symons

Concept: A joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha resolves deadlock over an ordinary bill.

1. Article 108 provides for the joint sitting, summoned by the President and presided over by the Speaker.
2. Article 94 – vacation/resignation of Speaker; Article 104 – penalty for sitting unqualified; Article 115 – supplementary grants.
3. Joint sittings held so far: Dowry Prohibition Bill (1961), Banking Service Commission Repeal Bill (1978), POTA (2002).

Yaad rakhein: 108 = joint sitting; 110 = Money Bill.

Answer: (D) Article 108

Concept: The Seventh Schedule divides subjects into Union, State and Concurrent Lists.

1. Defence, foreign affairs, citizenship, railways, banking, currency, atomic energy are Union List subjects (national importance).
2. Police, public health, agriculture, local government, markets and fairs are State List subjects.
3. Education, forests and marriage are in the Concurrent List (education and forests were moved there by the 42nd Amendment, 1976).

Yaad rakhein: Anything about the whole nation's security or identity → Union List.

Answer: (D) Defence, foreign affairs, and citizenship

Concept: 'Blue Skies' campaigns are tied to the UN International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies (7 September).

1. The Blue Skies 2025 campaign, launched in August 2025 ahead of Clean Air Day, aimed to reduce urban air pollution through public participation under the National Clean Air Programme framework.
2. Wetlands, solar energy and forest cover are not the focus of a 'blue skies' (clean air) drive.

Yaad rakhein: Blue sky = clean air; 7 September = Clean Air Day.

Answer: (B) Reduce urban air pollution

Concept: The decennial census is a statutory exercise.

1. It is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (Ministry of Home Affairs).
2. 1872 was the first non-synchronous census; 1881 the first synchronous one – these are dates of censuses, not of the Act.

Yaad rakhein: Census Act 1948 – passed just after Independence, before the first census of free India (1951).

Answer: (C) 1948

Concept: The 1991 reforms – Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation – opened the economy.

1. Benefits: growth of the private sector, inflow of technology and FDI, more international trade partnerships.
2. Liberalisation reduced trade restrictions (lower tariffs, fewer licences); a 'rise in trade restrictions' is the opposite of the reforms, so it is not an advantage.

Yaad rakhein: LPG = open up; anything that 'restricts' is against LPG.

Answer: (B) Rise in trade restrictions

Concept: The Equator ($0^{\circ }$ latitude) crosses three continents.

1. It passes through South America (Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil), Africa (Gabon, Congo, Kenya etc.) and Asia (Indonesia).
2. Europe lies wholly in the Northern Hemisphere, far north of the Equator; North America, Australia and Antarctica are also not crossed.

Yaad rakhein: Equator crosses S-A-A: South America, Africa, Asia.

Answer: (A) Europe

Concept: Computer applications are classified by the field they serve.

1. Report cards, student records and question-paper preparation are administrative tasks of schools/colleges → education administration.
2. Space research uses computers for trajectory and data analysis; marketing for customer data; automobile control for engine/sensor management – none involve student records.

Yaad rakhein: 'Student' in the task → Education application.

Answer: (B) Education administration

Concept: Planned development (1951–1991) involved choices on where to put scarce capital.

1. From the Second Plan (Mahalanobis model) heavy industry got priority; agriculture received relatively less investment, causing food crises in the 1960s.
2. This agriculture-vs-industry trade-off is cited as the reason sectoral growth stayed unbalanced.
3. Services vs manufacturing is a post-1991 debate.

Yaad rakhein: Planning era = industry first, agriculture later (Green Revolution came only in the late 1960s).

Answer: (C) Agriculture vs. industry

Concept: Characteristics of a computer: speed, accuracy, diligence, versatility, storage, automation.

1. Performing millions of complex calculations within seconds is the characteristic of speed.
2. Accuracy means error-free results; versatility means doing many kinds of tasks; automation means working without human intervention.

Yaad rakhein: 'within seconds' → Speed; 'without error' → Accuracy; 'without tiring' → Diligence.

Answer: (D) Speed

Concept: Identify the instrument with the artist.

1. Ustad Zakir Hussain (1951–2024) was the world-famous tabla maestro, known for the fusion band Shakti and collaborations with John McLaughlin, Mickey Hart and others; Padma Vibhushan 2023, four Grammys.
2. Hariprasad Chaurasia – flute; Sajjad Hussain – mandolin; E. M. Subramaniam – ghatam.

Yaad rakhein: Tabla = Zakir Hussain (son of Ustad Alla Rakha).

Answer: (C) Zakir Hussain

Concept: Under Article 200 a Governor must assent, withhold assent, reserve for the President or return a bill – he cannot sit on it indefinitely.

1. In State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu (8 April 2025) the Supreme Court held that there is no 'pocket veto' and set timelines for the Governor's decision; the ten pending Tamil Nadu bills were deemed assented.
2. Line-item veto and conditional assent were never powers of the Governor; the case was about indefinite delay.

Yaad rakhein: Pocket veto = keeping the bill in the pocket; SC 2025 said Governors cannot.

Answer: (B) Pocket Veto

Concept: Punjab has a dedicated Safe School Vehicle Policy for buses and vans carrying students.

1. In December 2025, amid dense fog, the Punjab government ordered strict enforcement of the Safe School Vehicle Policy – reflectors, working headlights/fog lights, speed limits and fitness checks on school vehicles.
2. The National Road Safety Policy and school safety guidelines are central documents, not the state-level order in question.

Yaad rakhein: Punjab + school buses = Safe School Vehicle Policy (first notified in 2012).

Answer: (B) Safe School Vehicle Policy

Concept: India has two island neighbours across the Indian Ocean in the south.

1. Sri Lanka (across the Palk Strait) and Maldives (south-west of Lakshadweep) are India's southern island neighbours.
2. Indonesia and Thailand share maritime boundaries near the Andaman & Nicobar Islands but are south-east, not the 'southern neighbour' pair; Bhutan is landlocked.

Yaad rakhein: Southern neighbours = Sri Lanka + Maldives.

Answer: (C) Maldives

Concept: Digital/online matters fall under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

1. MeitY administers the IT Act 2000, the IT Rules 2021 and the DPDP Act 2023 (which requires verifiable parental consent for children's data) – the basis of online child-safety initiatives as of December 2025.
2. MHA handles cyber-crime reporting (I4C) and Education handles schools, but policy on online platforms and child safety online rests with MeitY.

Yaad rakhein: Anything 'online/digital' → MeitY.

Answer: (B) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

Concept: Co-interior angles between parallel lines add to ${180}^{\circ }$; the angles of a triangle add to ${180}^{\circ }$.

1. At F, the angle between FD and the transversal is ${70}^{\circ }$ (vertically opposite), so $\angle EFC={180}^{\circ }-{70}^{\circ }={110}^{\circ }$.
2. AB ∥ CD, so $\angle AEF={180}^{\circ }-{110}^{\circ }={70}^{\circ }$. EG bisects it: $\angle GEF={35}^{\circ }$.
3. $\angle GFE={110}^{\circ }-{25}^{\circ }={85}^{\circ }$.
4. In △EGF: $x={180}^{\circ }-{35}^{\circ }-{85}^{\circ }={60}^{\circ }$.

Trick: Convert every given angle into an angle of the triangle EGF first, then use the angle-sum.

Answer: (C) ${60}^{\circ }$

Concept: Solve the bracket first, convert decimals to fractions, then work left to right for $÷$ and $\times$.

1. $5\frac{1}{6}=\frac{31}{6}$, $6.2=\frac{31}{5}$, $0.75=\frac{3}{4}$, bracket $=\frac{1}{5}\times 40=8$.
2. $\frac{31}{6}÷\frac{31}{5}=\frac{31}{6}\times \frac{5}{31}=\frac{5}{6}$.
3. $\frac{5}{6}\times \frac{3}{4}=\frac{15}{24}=\frac{5}{8}$.
4. $\frac{5}{8}÷8=\frac{5}{64}$.

Trick: $6.2=\frac{31}{5}$ cancels neatly with $\frac{31}{6}$ – spot such pairs before multiplying.

Answer: (B) $\frac{5}{64}$

Concept: If two quadratics have both roots common, their coefficients are proportional: $\frac{a_1}{a_2}=\frac{b_1}{b_2}=\frac{c_1}{c_2}$.

1. $\frac{a^2-7a}{240}=\frac{1}{8}=\frac{12}{a^2-4}$.
2. From $\frac{1}{8}=\frac{12}{a^2-4}$: $a^2-4=96\Rightarrow a^2=100\Rightarrow a=10$ (positive).
3. Check: $a^2-7a=100-70=30$ and $\frac{30}{240}=\frac{1}{8}$ ✓.
4. $\frac{(a+2)(a+3)}{a-4}=\frac{12\times 13}{6}=26$.

Trick: Use the ratio with the simplest pair ($\frac{1}{8}$) to find $a$, then verify with the third coefficient.

Answer: (B) 26