Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Lothal (Gujarat), on the Bhogavo river near the Gulf of Khambhat, was a major Harappan port town.

1. Lothal has a large brick-lined basin identified as the world's earliest known dockyard.
2. Dholavira is famous for its water reservoirs and signboard; Harappa for granaries; Rakhigarhi is the largest Harappan site.
3. So the elaborate dockyard is the hallmark of Lothal.

Yaad rakhein: Lothal = 'mound of the dead' + dockyard (port town in Gujarat).

Answer: (A) Lothal

Concept: Pithora is a ritual wall painting of the Rathwa and Bhil tribes of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

1. Artists mix natural pigments with milk and mahuda (liquor made from the mahua flower) to prepare the colours.
2. The paintings are made on house walls to honour the deity Baba Pithora.
3. Tamarind paste, apple cider and lime juice are not used in this tradition.

Yaad rakhein: Pithora colours = pigment + milk + mahuda.

Answer: (A) Mahuda

Concept: The 19th G20 Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 18–19 November 2024.

1. Brazil's presidency theme: 'Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet'.
2. Its priorities included fighting hunger and poverty (Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty), energy transition and global governance reform.
3. India's 2023 theme was 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'; 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability' is South Africa's 2025 theme.

Yaad rakhein: Brazil 2024 → Just World + Sustainable Planet.

Answer: (B) Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet

Concept: MS PowerPoint is the presentation program of Microsoft Office.

1. It is used to create slides with text, images, charts, animations and transitions and to present them as a slideshow.
2. Photo editing (e.g., Photoshop), browsing (web browser) and email (Outlook) are done by other software.

Yaad rakhein: Word – documents, Excel – spreadsheets, PowerPoint – presentations, Outlook – email.

Answer: (B) Creating and presenting slideshows

Concept: The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 removed the Right to Property from Part III.

1. Articles 19(1)(f) and 31 were deleted.
2. Property became a constitutional/legal right under Article 300A (Part XII).
3. 1976 is the 42nd Amendment ('mini-constitution'), not the removal of property right.

Yaad rakhein: 44th Amendment, 1978 → Property: Fundamental Right → Article 300A legal right.

Answer: (A) 1978

Concept: Tetrachloromethane (carbon tetrachloride, CCl₄) is an excellent non-polar solvent for oils and grease.

1. It was widely used to degrease metal parts in manufacturing and mechanical industries, and in dry cleaning and fire extinguishers.
2. Because it is toxic and ozone-depleting, its use is now restricted.
3. It was never a common degreaser in food processing or bottling industries.

Yaad rakhein: CCl₄ – degreasing metal parts, dry cleaning, old fire extinguishers (Pyrene).

Answer: (C) Manufacturing and mechanical industries

Concept: In MS Office programs, Ctrl + N creates a New blank file.

1. In PowerPoint, Ctrl + N opens a new blank presentation.
2. Ctrl + O opens an existing file, Ctrl + E centres text, Ctrl + B makes text bold.

Trick: N = New, O = Open, B = Bold, E = cEntre.

Answer: (B) Ctrl + N

Concept: Rann Utsav is a winter festival organised by Gujarat Tourism at Dhordo village, Kutch district.

1. Dhordo lies at the edge of the white salt desert, the Great Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
2. The 2024–25 edition ran from December 2024 to February 2025 in a tent city.
3. Dhordo was also named among the 'Best Tourism Villages' by UNWTO (2023).

Yaad rakhein: Rann Utsav – Dhordo – Kutch – Gujarat.

Answer: (D) Gujarat – Rann of Kutch

Concept: The 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention was held on 8–10 January 2025 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

1. Theme: 'Diaspora's Contribution to a Viksit Bharat'; it was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi.
2. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is observed on 9 January, the day Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa (1915).
3. The 17th edition (2023) was held in Indore.

Yaad rakhein: 17th – Indore (2023), 18th – Bhubaneswar (2025).

Answer: (D) Bhubaneswar

Concept: Disinvestment means the government selling or liquidating its equity (stake) in public sector enterprises.

1. It was adopted after the 1991 LPG reforms to raise resources and improve PSU efficiency.
2. If the government sells a majority stake and transfers control, it amounts to privatisation (e.g., Air India to Tata, 2022).
3. Buying private companies would be nationalisation – the opposite.

Yaad rakhein: Disinvestment = govt selling PSU shares; DIPAM manages it.

Answer: (C) Selling government stakes in public sector enterprises

Concept: RNA performs many roles in a cell, not just carrying information.

1. mRNA carries the message, tRNA acts as an adapter bringing amino acids, rRNA is structural (part of ribosomes) and ribozymes act as catalysts.
2. RNA is usually single-stranded and is made of ribonucleotides (not deoxyribonucleotides).
3. It is genetic material only in some viruses, so its role is not 'permanent' genetic material in cells.

Yaad rakhein: RNA = messenger + adapter + structural + catalytic ('RNA world').

Answer: (C) Their capability to act as adapter, structural and catalytic molecules

Concept: Hariman Sharma, a farmer from Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh), received the Padma Shri in 2025.

1. He developed HRMN-99, a self-pollinating apple variety that grows in low-altitude, warm regions (even at about 1,800 ft).
2. This made apple cultivation possible in plains and warm areas of many states.
3. G.S. Randhawa was a noted horticulturist of an earlier era; the others are not linked to HRMN-99.

Trick: HRMN = HaRiMaN – the variety carries his name.

Answer: (A) Hariman Sharma

Concept: Hansa-NG (New Generation) is India's indigenous two-seater trainer aircraft developed by CSIR–National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru.

1. It is powered by a Rotax 912 iSc3 Sport engine with a digitally controlled fuel-injection system.
2. It is meant for training pilots at flying clubs; production was launched in 2025.
3. Lycoming, Continental and Pratt & Whitney PT6 engines are used in other aircraft.

Yaad rakhein: Hansa-NG – CSIR-NAL – Rotax 912 iSc3.

Answer: (B) Rotax 912 iSc3 Sports engine

Concept: The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India campaign) was announced by PM Narendra Modi on 12 May 2020.

1. It came with a special economic package of about ₹20 lakh crore (around 10% of GDP) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Its five pillars: economy, infrastructure, system, vibrant demography and demand.

Yaad rakhein: COVID year 2020 → Aatmanirbhar Bharat, ₹20 lakh crore package.

Answer: (D) 2020

Concept: BCCI's constitution provides for an Ombudsman and an Ethics Officer to handle complaints and conflict-of-interest cases.

1. In January 2025, former Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra was appointed as BCCI's Ombudsman and Ethics Officer.
2. He had earlier also served as Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
3. He succeeded Justice (retd.) Vineet Saran in the role.

Yaad rakhein: BCCI Ombudsman 2025 = Justice Arun Mishra (ex-NHRC chief).

Answer: (B) Justice Arun Mishra

Concept: Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12–35) are justiciable but not absolute.

1. They are enforceable by courts – Article 32 (Supreme Court) and Article 226 (High Courts).
2. The State can impose reasonable restrictions on them, e.g., on freedom of speech under Article 19(2).
3. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30) are part of the Fundamental Rights.
4. Hence the statement 'These are absolute' is incorrect.

Yaad rakhein: Fundamental Rights = justiciable + qualified (not absolute).

Answer: (B) These are absolute.

Concept: The Coromandel Coast is the southern part of India's eastern coast, between the Krishna delta and Kanyakumari.

1. It covers coastal Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh (Chennai lies on it).
2. It faces the Bay of Bengal and receives much rain from the north-east (retreating) monsoon.
3. Northern East coast = Northern Circars; Southern West coast = Malabar; Northern West coast = Konkan.

Yaad rakhein: East: Northern Circars (north) – Coromandel (south); West: Konkan (north) – Malabar (south).

Answer: (A) Southern East coast

Concept: $\text{SP}=\text{CP}\times \frac{100+\text{Gain}\%}{100}$ and $\text{MP}=\frac{\text{SP}\times 100}{100-\text{Discount}\%}$.

1. $\text{SP}=54000\times \frac{175}{100}=94500$ (₹)
2. After 10% discount, SP = 90% of MP: $\text{MP}=\frac{94500\times 100}{90}=105000$ (₹)

Trick: One line: $\text{MP}=54000\times \frac{175}{90}=600\times 175=105000$.

Answer: (C) ₹$1,05,000$

Concept: Sum = average × number. Adding the two pair-sums counts B twice.

1. $A+B+C=45\times 3=135$
2. $A+B=37\times 2=74$, $B+C=47\times 2=94$
3. $B=(A+B)+(B+C)-(A+B+C)=74+94-135=33$

Trick: Middle person in both pairs: $B=74+94-135$.

Answer: (D) $33$ kg

Concept: In an isosceles triangle the two base angles are equal and the angle sum is ${180}^{\circ }$.

1. Let each base angle be $x$: $x+x+{124}^{\circ }={180}^{\circ }$
2. $2x={56}^{\circ }\Rightarrow x={28}^{\circ }$

Trick: Base angle $=\frac{{180}^{\circ }-\text{vertex}}{2}=\frac{{56}^{\circ }}{2}$; options with unequal angles are rejected at sight.

Answer: (B) ${28}^{\circ }$ and ${28}^{\circ }$