Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: In the 1991 balance-of-payments crisis India took loans from the IMF and World Bank, which came with structural adjustment conditions.

1. India borrowed about US$ 7 billion from the IMF and World Bank in 1991.
2. In return India agreed to the Structural Adjustment Programme – liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG), de-licensing of industry, lower tariffs.
3. The WTO came only in 1995; RBI and NABARD are domestic bodies.

Trick: Crisis loan + conditions (1991) → IMF and World Bank.

Answer: (C) IMF and World Bank

Concept: The Acheulian culture belongs to the Lower Palaeolithic age.

1. Its signature tools are large bifacial, symmetrical hand-axes and cleavers.
2. Microliths belong to the Mesolithic; blades and burins are typical of the Upper Palaeolithic.
3. Indian Acheulian sites: Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu), Hunsgi (Karnataka), Bhimbetka (MP).

Trick: Acheulian = "A" for Axe → hand-axe and cleaver.

Answer: (D) Cleavers and hand-axes

Concept: The Montreal Protocol (1987) phases out ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs and halons.

1. It was adopted under the Vienna Convention (1985) for protection of the ozone layer.
2. Kyoto Protocol (1997) deals with greenhouse gases; Basel Convention (1989) with hazardous wastes.
3. The Earth Summit (Rio, 1992) was a conference, not an ozone treaty.

Trick: Ozone → Montreal; Greenhouse gases → Kyoto; Hazardous waste → Basel.

Answer: (B) Montreal Protocol

Concept: DDU-GKY (launched 2014, Ministry of Rural Development) is a placement-linked skilling scheme for poor rural youth.

1. It targets rural youth aged 15–35 from poor families.
2. Placement is guaranteed for most trainees in jobs paying regular monthly wages at or above minimum wages.
3. PMKVY is a general (not rural-poor specific) skilling scheme; PMEGP gives credit-linked subsidy for self-employment.

Trick: G-K-Y = Grameen Kaushalya → rural skill + placement.

Answer: (A) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

Concept: The Human Genome Project (1990–2003) aimed to sequence the entire human DNA.

1. The human haploid genome has about 3 billion ($3\times {10}^9$) base pairs.
2. It also identified about 20,000–25,000 genes.
3. The project was completed in 2003.

Trick: Human genome ≈ 3 billion bp ($3\times {10}^9$).

Answer: (A) 3.0 billion

Concept: Under British rule India became an exporter of primary products and an importer of finished goods.

1. India exported raw materials such as raw cotton, raw silk, jute, indigo and food grains.
2. It imported cheap manufactured goods (machine-made cloth, machinery) from Britain.
3. So colonial trade served British industry, not Indian industry.

Trick: Colony = raw material supplier + market for finished goods.

Answer: (D) Raw materials

Concept: Döbereiner (1817–1829) arranged similar elements in groups of three called triads.

1. In a triad, the atomic mass of the middle element ≈ average of the other two.
2. Example: Li (7), Na (23), K (39): $\frac{7+39}{2}=23$.
3. Other examples: Ca–Sr–Ba, Cl–Br–I.

Trick: Tri = three → Triads.

Answer: (B) Triads

Concept: Dyarchy means "double rule"; the 1919 Act (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms) introduced it in the provinces.

1. Provincial subjects were split into "reserved" (police, finance, law & order) under the Governor and his executive council.
2. "Transferred" subjects (education, health, local self-government) were run by ministers responsible to the legislature.
3. Dyarchy at the Centre came later through the Government of India Act 1935 (never implemented).

Trick: 1919 → dyarchy in provinces; 1935 → provincial autonomy + dyarchy at Centre.

Answer: (C) Dual control in provinces

Concept: The CPU has three parts: ALU, Control Unit (CU) and registers/memory unit.

1. The CU fetches and decodes instructions and directs the flow of data and instructions between the CPU, memory and I/O devices.
2. The ALU performs arithmetic and logical calculations (option A).
3. Cache/registers store frequently used data (option D).

Trick: CU = "traffic police" of the computer – it directs, it does not calculate.

Answer: (C) Directing the flow of instructions and data

Concept: Mica is a non-metallic mineral with excellent electrical insulation and heat resistance.

1. It splits into thin, transparent sheets with high dielectric strength, so it is used in electrical and electronic industries.
2. India is a major producer – Jharkhand (Koderma), Andhra Pradesh (Nellore) and Rajasthan.
3. Bauxite gives aluminium (a conductor); iron ore gives iron; limestone is used in cement.

Trick: Mica → insulator; Koderma = "Mica capital of India".

Answer: (C) Mica

Concept: Social legislation deals with social customs and practices, not with politics or the press.

1. The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 (Lord Dalhousie/Canning) legalised widow remarriage, championed by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
2. Rowlatt Act (1919) and Vernacular Press Act (1878) were repressive political laws.
3. The Indian Councils Acts were constitutional/administrative reforms.

Yaad rakhein: Social laws: Sati abolition 1829, Widow Remarriage 1856, Age of Consent 1891, Sarda Act 1929.

Answer: (D) The Widow Remarriage Act

Concept: M23 (March 23 Movement) is a Rwanda-backed rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

1. In early 2025 M23 captured Goma (capital of North Kivu) and Bukavu (capital of South Kivu).
2. Both cities lie in the eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda.
3. The "Republic of Congo" (capital Brazzaville) is a different country.

Trick: Goma, Bukavu, Kinshasa → DRC; Brazzaville → Republic of Congo.

Answer: (C) Democratic Republic of Congo

Concept: Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech and expression; the Supreme Court held that the right to know/information is part of it.

1. In State of UP v. Raj Narain (1975) the Court linked the right to information with Article 19(1)(a).
2. The RTI Act, 2005 gives statutory form to this right.
3. Article 21 is right to life; Article 32 is right to constitutional remedies.

Trick: Speech needs information → RTI rests on Art. 19(1)(a).

Answer: (D) Article 19(1)(a)

Concept: Exercise Aakraman was a large-scale IAF exercise held in April 2025 in the central sector.

1. Rafale and Su-30MKI fighters practised ground-attack and electronic-warfare missions over simulated hilly and ground targets.
2. Vayu Shakti is a firepower demonstration at Pokhran; Gagan Shakti is a pan-India IAF exercise (2018, 2024).
3. Operation Meghdoot (1984) was the Army–IAF operation to secure Siachen.

Trick: Aakraman = "attack" → strike practice on mountain and ground targets.

Answer: (C) Aakraman

Concept: Judicial review is the power of courts to strike down laws that violate the Constitution.

1. Article 13 declares that any law inconsistent with or taking away Fundamental Rights is void – the clearest textual basis of judicial review.
2. Articles 32 and 226 provide the remedy (writs) through which the courts exercise it.
3. Article 30 is minority educational rights; Article 370 was about J&K.

Trick: Art. 13 = "laws against FRs are void" → judicial review.

Answer: (D) Article 13

Concept: A 2025 research study from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, explained how a cellular "messenger" molecule works inside cells.

1. The work by IISc scientists showed how this messenger relays signals within cells.
2. Because faulty signalling is linked with diseases like Alzheimer's and diabetes, the finding may help in new treatments.
3. IISc Bengaluru is India's premier research institute for basic science.

Yaad rakhein: Basic biology research news in 2025 with "messenger" molecule → IISc Bengaluru.

Answer: (C) IISc Bengaluru

Concept: Agni-Prime (Agni-P) is a new-generation, medium-range ballistic missile developed by DRDO.

1. It is canisterised – stored and launched from a sealed canister, giving quick launch and easy transport (including from a rail-based launcher).
2. It uses lighter composite materials and improved propulsion and guidance.
3. It is a solid-fuel surface-to-surface missile, so "cryogenic engine" and "submarine-launched" are wrong.

Trick: Agni-Prime = canister launch + lighter new materials, range 1,000–2,000 km.

Answer: (B) Canister launch and new materials

Concept: Joseph François Dupleix was Governor-General of the French East India Company in India (1742–1754), based at Pondicherry.

1. He led the French during the First and Second Carnatic Wars against the British.
2. He began the policy of interfering in Indian princely successions using trained sepoys.
3. He was recalled to France in 1754; the British under Robert Clive countered him.

Yaad rakhein: Dupleix – Pondicherry – French; Clive – British.

Answer: (D) French

Concept: The magnetic force $\overrightarrow{F}=q(\overrightarrow{v}\times \overrightarrow{B})$ acts only on the velocity component perpendicular to $\overrightarrow{B}$.

1. Component $v_{⟂}$ (perpendicular to B) → uniform circular motion.
2. Component $v_{\parallel }$ (along B) → unaffected, constant drift along the field.
3. Circle + uniform drift = helical path (if $v_{\parallel }=0$, it is a circle; if $v_{⟂}=0$, a straight line).

Trick: Uniform B: angle 90° → circle, 0° → straight line, any other angle → helix.

Answer: (A) Helical path

Concept: The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 is the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

1. It reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly.
2. It inserted Articles 330A, 332A and 239AA(2)(ba); reservation starts after the next census and delimitation, for 15 years.
3. Lokpal came by the Lokpal Act, 2013; Right to Property was removed as an FR by the 44th Amendment (1978).

Yaad rakhein: 106th = Women 33% (Nari Shakti Vandan); 103rd = 10% EWS; 101st = GST.

Answer: (B) Reservation of one-third seats for women in legislatures