Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Maharis were temple dancers (devadasis) of Odisha, especially at the Jagannath Temple, Puri.

1. Their ritual dance is one of the roots of Odissi, along with the Gotipua tradition of boy dancers.
2. Kathakali (Kerala) was performed by men; Kathak developed in temples and Mughal courts; Kuchipudi by Brahmin male troupes of Andhra.

Yaad rakhein: Odissi roots: Maharis + Gotipuas.

Answer: (D) Odissi

Concept: In the April 2025 monetary policy, RBI allowed NPCI (with banks) to revise UPI limits for person-to-merchant (P2M) payments.

1. P2M limits at that time ranged from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh depending on the use case.
2. The person-to-person (P2P) limit stays at ₹1 lakh.

Yaad rakhein: UPI: P2P ₹1 lakh; P2M ₹2–5 lakh (by category).

Answer: (C) ₹5 lakh

Concept: Omar Abdullah of the J&K National Conference became the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of J&K in October 2024.

1. He contested from Budgam and Ganderbal, won both, and retained Ganderbal.
2. JKNC was the single largest party in the 2024 Assembly election (42 seats).

Yaad rakhein: Omar Abdullah – Ganderbal – National Conference.

Answer: (D) Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC)

Concept: NVS-02 is the second satellite of the NavIC second-generation (NVS) series.

1. It was launched on 29 January 2025 by GSLV-F15 from Sriharikota – ISRO's 100th launch from SDSC-SHAR.
2. GSLV-F16 launched NISAR (July 2025); GSLV-F12 had carried NVS-01 (2023).

Yaad rakhein: GSLV-F15 = NVS-02 = 100th Sriharikota launch.

Answer: (D) GSLV-F15

Concept: National Science Day (28 February) marks C.V. Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect (1928).

1. Raman founded the Indian Journal of Physics in 1926 at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata.
2. He also founded the Indian Academy of Sciences (1934), Bengaluru, and the Raman Research Institute (1948).

Yaad rakhein: Raman → Indian Journal of Physics (1926), Indian Academy of Sciences (1934).

Answer: (D) Indian Journal of Physics

Concept: Make in India was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 25 September 2014.

1. It aims to make India a global manufacturing hub; DPIIT is the nodal department.
2. Its logo is a lion made of gear wheels.

Yaad rakhein: 2014 – Make in India; 2015 – Digital India, Skill India, Startup India announced.

Answer: (A) 2014

Concept: The Defence Acquisition Procedure aims at Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) through Indian industry, including the private sector.

1. DAP updates seek faster procurement, higher indigenous content and partnerships of Indian firms with global OEMs.
2. Eliminating private sector participation would defeat self-reliance – the policy actively encourages private firms and MSMEs.

Yaad rakhein: In "NOT an objective" questions, pick the option that contradicts the policy's spirit.

Answer: (B) Eliminating all private sector participation in defence manufacturing

Concept: In Windows menus, Alt + the underlined letter opens that menu.

1. Alt + F opens the File menu (Alt + E Edit, Alt + V View).
2. Alt + Tab switches between open windows; Alt + Insert / Alt + Delete are not standard menu keys.

Yaad rakhein: Alt + first letter of the menu name.

Answer: (B) Alt + F

Concept: A new file in Office 2016+ is created from the Backstage view (File tab).

1. File → New → Blank Presentation opens a fresh presentation (shortcut Ctrl + N).
2. Save As saves the existing file; View → New Window duplicates the same file; Layout changes a slide layout.

Yaad rakhein: Ctrl + N = new blank presentation.

Answer: (A) File → New → Blank Presentation

Concept: Density $=\frac{\text{mass}}{\text{volume}}=\frac{[M]}{[L^3]}=[M{L}^{-3}]$.

1. Energy and work: $[M{L}^2{T}^{-2}]$
2. Pressure: $[M{L}^{-1}{T}^{-2}]$
3. Only density has $[M{L}^{-3}]$ (no time term).

Yaad rakhein: No $T$ in the dimension → no motion involved → density.

Answer: (B) Density

Concept: In Slide Master view, the top (parent) slide master controls elements shared by all its layouts.

1. Fonts, theme colours, logo or background set on the top-level master flow down to every layout master.
2. So customising it ensures consistent universal elements across all slide layouts; individual layouts can still be tweaked separately.

Yaad rakhein: Top master = global look; layout masters = layout-specific changes.

Answer: (B) Customising the top-level master ensures consistency of universal elements across all slide layouts

Concept: Malwa Plateau lies in western Madhya Pradesh and south-east Rajasthan; Chotanagpur Plateau lies mainly in Jharkhand.

1. Malwa is bounded by the Aravallis (north-west) and Vindhyas (south).
2. Chotanagpur is in eastern India (Jharkhand, parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal), so Malwa lies to its west.

Yaad rakhein: Central Highlands west → east: Malwa – Bundelkhand – Baghelkhand – Chotanagpur.

Answer: (B) West

Concept: IOS Sagar (Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR) was flagged off from Karwar on 5 April 2025 under the MAHASAGAR vision.

1. INS Sunayna sailed to the South-West IOR with crew from nine Friendly Foreign Countries – Statement 1 correct.
2. Port calls: Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria and Male – Statement 3 correct.
3. The FFC personnel trained at naval professional schools in Kochi, not Visakhapatnam – Statement 2 incorrect.

Yaad rakhein: IOS Sagar: INS Sunayna, Karwar, 9 FFCs, training at Kochi.

Answer: (B) Only 1 and 3

Concept: NAFED is the apex cooperative marketing body for agricultural produce, under the Ministry of Cooperation.

1. Deepak Agarwal, a 1996-batch IAS officer, was appointed Managing Director of NAFED in October 2024.
2. He succeeded Rohit Kumar Singh.

Yaad rakhein: NAFED MD (Oct 2024) – Deepak Agarwal.

Answer: (B) Deepak Agarwal

Concept: The Junagadh Buddhist caves (Gujarat) include the Uparkot caves, cut inside the ancient Uparkot fort.

1. The Uparkot caves lie within the high citadel (Uparkot) of Junagadh, which is why these caves are famous for it.
2. Ellora is known for the Kailasa temple, Sudama caves (Barabar hills) for Mauryan polish, Bagh caves for paintings.

Yaad rakhein: Junagadh → Uparkot (upper fort/citadel) caves.

Answer: (A) Junagadh caves

Concept: Freons are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Freon-12 is dichlorodifluoromethane, ${\text{CCl}}_2{\text{F}}_2$.

1. It is made industrially from carbon tetrachloride by the Swarts reaction – halogen exchange using a metallic fluoride such as ${\text{SbF}}_3$ (with ${\text{SbCl}}_5$ catalyst) or HF.
2. ${\text{CCl}}_4+\text{HF}\to {\text{CCl}}_2{\text{F}}_2$ (Cl replaced by F).
3. Wurtz reaction joins two alkyl halides with Na to make a higher alkane – not a fluorination.

Yaad rakhein: Swarts = "S for Substitution of Cl by F" – the classic route to alkyl fluorides and Freons.

Answer: (B) Swarts reaction

Concept: Lipulekh Pass lies in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, at the India–Nepal–Tibet trijunction.

1. It links Uttarakhand (India) with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
2. It is an old trade route and a route of the Kailash–Mansarovar Yatra; India–China border trade through it runs via Gunji–Taklakot.

Yaad rakhein: Uttarakhand passes to Tibet: Lipulekh, Mana, Niti.

Answer: (D) Tibet (China)

Concept: The World Bank's State of Social Protection Report 2025 (theme: "The 2-Billion-Person Challenge") tracks coverage of social assistance, social insurance and labour programmes.

1. Coverage in low- and middle-income countries rose from 41% (2010) to 51% (2022) – about 10 percentage points.
2. Even so, around 2 billion people in these countries still lack any social protection.

Yaad rakhein: 41% → 51%: "plus ten in twelve years".

Answer: (A) 51%

Concept: Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire (c. 321 BCE) by overthrowing Dhana Nanda of Magadha.

1. He was guided by Chanakya (Kautilya/Vishnugupta), author of the Arthashastra, who became his chief minister.
2. Megasthenes was a Greek envoy of Seleucus; Bindusara was Chandragupta's son; Bimbisara was a Haryanka king.

Yaad rakhein: Chanakya + Chandragupta → end of Nandas → Mauryas.

Answer: (B) Chanakya

Concept: Vascular bundles are classed by how xylem and phloem are placed.

1. Conjoint: xylem and phloem lie together on the same radius (usual in stems and leaves; phloem outside, xylem inside).
2. Radial: xylem and phloem lie on different, alternating radii – seen in roots (option B describes radial, not conjoint).
3. Presence or absence of cambium decides open/closed, not conjoint.

Yaad rakhein: Stem = conjoint (same radius); Root = radial (alternate radii).

Answer: (A) Xylem and phloem present on the same radius