Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Key change of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

1. The Act mandates inclusion of Muslim women (at least two) in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards.
2. It strengthens audits and does not abolish State Waqf Boards.

Yaad rakhein: Waqf Act 2025 → women members on boards, more transparency.

Answer: (D) Added Muslim women to boards

Concept: Harappan town planning: citadel and lower town.

1. The citadel was a raised, fortified western part of the city with large public buildings (Great Bath, granary, assembly halls).
2. It was used for administrative and public/civic functions; common people lived in the lower town.

Yaad rakhein: Citadel = upper town for rulers & public buildings; lower town = residential.

Answer: (D) To organise administrative and public functions

Concept: Categories of ministers in the Union Council of Ministers.

1. A Minister of State (Independent Charge) heads a ministry/department on his own and is not under a Cabinet Minister.
2. He exercises the same powers as a Cabinet Minister for that portfolio, though he is not a member of the Cabinet.

Yaad rakhein: Independent Charge = own ministry, no Cabinet Minister above.

Answer: (C) functions as if in Cabinet rank with full independent responsibility for that portfolio

Concept: Printing is in the Backstage (File) view.

1. Click File → Print (or press Ctrl + P) to open print preview and settings.
2. The Home tab has no Print command; Ctrl + S saves the file.

Yaad rakhein: Print = File → Print or Ctrl + P.

Answer: (C) Click on the 'File' tab and choose 'Print'

Concept: Match each person to his period.

1. Aryabhata was a 5th-century CE mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta age (author of Aryabhatiya) — not a reformer of British India.
2. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Bal Gangadhar Tilak were 19th–20th century reformers/leaders under British rule.

Yaad rakhein: Aryabhata → Gupta period, zero/place-value & astronomy.

Answer: (C) Aryabhatta

Concept: Types of Buddhist architecture.

1. A stupa is a hemispherical mound built over relics (bones, ashes, objects) of the Buddha or saints, e.g. Sanchi.
2. Chaityas are prayer halls, viharas are monasteries, and edicts/pillars carry Ashoka's messages.

Yaad rakhein: Stupa = relics; Chaitya = prayer; Vihara = residence.

Answer: (D) Stupas

Concept: Deleted items in Windows go to a holding area first.

1. Recycle Bin stores deleted files/folders; right-click → Restore puts them back in the original location.
2. Task Manager handles running programs; Control Panel handles settings.

Yaad rakhein: Shift + Delete bypasses the Recycle Bin (permanent delete).

Answer: (C) Recycle Bin

Concept: Peaks of Indian ranges.

1. Amarkantak (about 1,065 m) in Madhya Pradesh is the highest point of the Maikal range; the Narmada and Son rise here.
2. Guru Shikhar – Aravalli; Kalsubai – Sahyadri (Maharashtra); Anamudi – Anaimalai (Kerala, highest in South India).

Yaad rakhein: Maikal → Amarkantak → source of Narmada & Son.

Answer: (D) Amarkantak

Concept: IIFA 2025 (25th edition, Jaipur) special honours.

1. Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan received the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award at IIFA 2025.
2. Laapataa Ladies won Best Film at the same edition.

Yaad rakhein: IIFA 2025 → Jaipur → Rakesh Roshan honoured.

Answer: (C) Rakesh Roshan

Concept: Portuguese expansion in India.

1. In 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from Yusuf Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur.
2. Goa became the headquarters of the Portuguese Estado da India and remained Portuguese until 1961.

Yaad rakhein: 1510 – Albuquerque – Goa (from Bijapur).

Answer: (A) Goa

Concept: Pecuniary jurisdiction = limit on the money value of civil suits.

1. The District Judge's court is the principal civil court of a district and has unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction.
2. Munsiff courts, Small Causes Courts and Nyaya Panchayats can try suits only up to fixed money limits.

Yaad rakhein: District Judge = highest civil court in a district, no money ceiling.

Answer: (B) Judge of District Court

Concept: The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

1. WSDS 2025 (24th edition) was held in New Delhi from 5 to 7 March 2025.
2. Theme: "Partnerships for Accelerating Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions".
3. TERI is headquartered in New Delhi, where the summit is regularly hosted.

Yaad rakhein: WSDS = TERI = New Delhi.

Answer: (B) New Delhi

Concept: Recorder's Courts were set up by the East India Company in Madras and Bombay (1798) to try cases of Europeans and others.

1. The Recorder's Court of Madras was replaced by the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras in 1801.
2. The Recorder's Court of Bombay was replaced by the Supreme Court at Bombay in 1823–24.
3. High Courts came only later (Indian High Courts Act, 1861), replacing these Supreme Courts.

Yaad rakhein: Mayor's Court → Recorder's Court → Supreme Court → High Court.

Answer: (A) Supreme Court

Concept: Shifting agriculture ("slash and burn") clears a forest patch, cultivates it for a few years and then moves to a new patch.

1. It is practised mainly by tribal communities in the North-East, Odisha, MP, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
2. Local names: Jhum (North-East), Podu (Andhra Pradesh/Odisha), Bewar (MP).
3. Plantation and commercial farming are market-oriented and capital-intensive, not tribal practices.

Yaad rakhein: Jhum = shifting cultivation of the North-East tribes.

Answer: (C) Shifting agriculture

Concept: The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram is a structural granite temple of the early 8th century.

1. It was built by Narasimhavarman II, also called Rajasimha (c. 700–728 CE).
2. He also built the Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchipuram.
3. Mahendravarman I is known for rock-cut cave temples; Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla) for the Rathas – not the Shore Temple.

Yaad rakhein: Rajasimha = structural temples (Shore + Kailasanatha).

Answer: (D) Narasimhavarman II

Concept: Khelo India supports grassroots talent through Khelo India Athletes (KIAs) and its training centres and academies.

1. As of February 2025, the government reported that 1424 athletes trained under Khelo India had set international records.
2. Khelo India was launched in 2017–18 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to build a strong sports culture.

Yaad rakhein: Khelo India record-setters (Feb 2025) = 1424.

Answer: (A) 1424

Concept: Brønsted–Lowry theory: the stronger an acid, the weaker its conjugate base, and vice versa.

1. HF ionises only partly: $\text{HF}\rightleftharpoons {\text{H}}^{+}+{\text{F}}^{-}$, so it is a weak acid.
2. Its conjugate base ${\text{F}}^{-}$ therefore accepts protons to a limited extent – it is a weak base (stronger than ${\text{Cl}}^{-}$, but still weak).
3. ${\text{F}}^{-}$ cannot be an acid or neutral; it is a proton acceptor.

Yaad rakhein: Strong acid → very weak conjugate base; weak acid → weak conjugate base.

Answer: (C) It is a weak base.

Concept: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approves capital acquisition proposals, with priority to "Buy (Indian-IDDM)".

1. In 2024, the Indian government approved defence acquisitions worth about US$17.3 billion.
2. About 99% of these were to be sourced from domestic suppliers, in line with Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence.

Yaad rakhein: 2024 defence approvals: $17.3 billion, 99% Made-in-India.

Answer: (C) 99%

Concept: Concurrent access to a shared file is controlled by file locking (a synchronisation mechanism).

1. A lock (shared/read or exclusive/write) lets only safe combinations of processes use a file at once, preventing corrupted or lost updates.
2. Paging and virtual memory manage main memory, not file consistency.
3. Scheduling decides which process gets the CPU; it does not protect file data.

Yaad rakhein: Many writers, one file → lock it.

Answer: (A) File locking mechanisms

Concept: Between the Lesser Himalaya (Himachal) and the Shiwaliks lie flat longitudinal valleys called Duns (Doons).

1. Examples: Dehradun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun.
2. Doab = land between two rivers; Khadar = new alluvium of floodplains; Meanders = river loops.

Yaad rakhein: Dehradun itself is a Dun valley.

Answer: (A) Duns