Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Departments (diwans) of the Delhi Sultanate had fixed functions.

1. Diwan-i-Arz – military department, headed by Ariz-i-Mumalik; set up by Balban; looked after recruitment, pay, inspection of the army.
2. Diwan-i-Insha – royal correspondence; Diwan-i-Risalat – religious matters/appeals; Diwan-i-Riyasat – market control (Alauddin Khalji).

Yaad rakhein: Arz = Army (both start with 'A'); Insha = Letters.

Answer: (D) Diwan-i-Arz

Concept: Nuclear power plants run on fission of uranium/plutonium; hydro projects use falling water.

1. Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) has the Madras Atomic Power Station and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research.
2. Koyna (Maharashtra), Tehri (Uttarakhand) and Bhakra Nangal (Punjab–HP) are hydroelectric projects.

Yaad rakhein: Nuclear plants: Tarapur, Rawatbhata, Kalpakkam, Narora, Kakrapar, Kaiga, Kudankulam.

Answer: (C) Kalpakkam

Concept: Enzymes are biological catalysts – mostly proteins – that speed up biochemical reactions without being used up.

1. They lower the activation energy; e.g., amylase, pepsin, lipase.
2. Polysaccharides store energy/form structure; nucleotides build DNA/RNA; phospholipids form cell membranes.

Yaad rakhein: Almost all enzymes are proteins (exception: ribozymes are RNA).

Answer: (B) Enzymes

Concept: On 21–22 May 2025 a delegation of foreign diplomats visited the Jenin refugee camp.

1. Jenin is in the occupied West Bank; Israeli forces fired warning shots near the group, drawing condemnation from the EU and several countries.
2. Gaza Strip is the separate coastal territory; Golan Heights is near Syria; Sinai is Egyptian.

Yaad rakhein: Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron – all West Bank cities.

Answer: (D) West Bank

Concept: Bande Mataram (English daily, 1906) was edited by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh along with Bipin Chandra Pal.

1. In its columns Aurobindo openly demanded Purna Swaraj (complete independence) – the first political leader to do so publicly.
2. He was later tried in the Alipore Bomb Case and then turned to spiritual life at Pondicherry.

Yaad rakhein: Bande Mataram newspaper → Aurobindo; Bande Mataram song → Bankim Chandra (Anandamath).

Answer: (B) Sri Aurobindo

Concept: The Governing Council of NITI Aayog is chaired by the PM and includes all CMs and LGs.

1. The 10th Governing Council meeting was held on 24 May 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
2. Theme: 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047'. The 9th meeting was held in July 2024.

Yaad rakhein: 9th – July 2024; 10th – 24 May 2025 (Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat).

Answer: (D) ${10}^{\text{th}}$

Concept: The 106th Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) reserves one-third seats for women in the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly.

1. For Lok Sabha it inserted Article 330A; for State Assemblies Article 332A.
2. For the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi it amended Article 239AA (special provisions for Delhi).
3. Article 243D deals with reservation in Panchayats (73rd Amendment).

Yaad rakhein: Delhi = 239AA; Lok Sabha = 330A; States = 332A.

Answer: (C) Article 239AA

Concept: At Independence India had very poor health indicators due to famine, epidemics and poverty.

1. Life expectancy at birth in 1947 was only about 31–32 years.
2. It has risen to about 70 years today, reflecting improved health care and nutrition.

Yaad rakhein: 1947: life expectancy ≈ 31 years, literacy ≈ 12%.

Answer: (A) 31 years

Concept: The 86th Amendment Act, 2002 made elementary education a Fundamental Right.

1. It inserted Article 21A – free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 years.
2. It changed Article 45 (early childhood care below 6) and added Article 51A(k) – parents' duty to provide education.
3. The RTE Act, 2009 implements Article 21A.

Yaad rakhein: 86th Amendment → Art. 21A + Art. 51A(k) (11th Fundamental Duty).

Answer: (C) Declared education as a Fundamental Right

Concept: On 20 May 2025 the Supreme Court (bench led by CJI B R Gavai) restored the minimum practice requirement for entry-level judicial service.

1. Law graduates must have at least 3 years of practice as an advocate to appear for Civil Judge (Junior Division) examinations.
2. Practice is counted from provisional enrolment with the Bar Council.

Yaad rakhein: SC, May 2025: Civil Judge (JD) eligibility – 3 years' Bar practice.

Answer: (B) 3 years

Concept: Endemic species are restricted to one particular geographical region and occur naturally nowhere else.

1. Examples: Nilgiri tahr (Western Ghats), Lion-tailed macaque, Asiatic lion (only Gir, Gujarat).
2. Animals brought from abroad are exotic; species found everywhere are cosmopolitan.

Yaad rakhein: Endemic = only here; Exotic = from outside; Cosmopolitan = everywhere.

Answer: (B) Species found only in a particular area and nowhere else

Concept: Friction opposes relative motion (or the tendency of it) between two surfaces in contact.

1. Static friction acts while the body is at rest and opposes impending motion; it grows with the applied force up to a limiting value.
2. Once the body slides, kinetic friction opposes actual motion and is slightly less than limiting static friction.
3. Friction does not depend on the area of contact (laws of friction).

Yaad rakhein: Static → impending motion; Kinetic → actual motion; $f_k<f_s^{max}$.

Answer: (D) Static friction opposes impending motion and kinetic friction opposes actual motion.

Concept: Articles 371 to 371J give special provisions to certain states.

1. Article 371A (13th Amendment, 1962) – Nagaland: no Act of Parliament on Naga religious/social practices, customary law and land ownership applies unless the Assembly agrees.
2. 371B – Assam; 371D – Andhra Pradesh/Telangana; Article 370 (Jammu & Kashmir) was made inoperative in 2019.

Yaad rakhein: 371A Nagaland, 371B Assam, 371C Manipur, 371F Sikkim, 371G Mizoram, 371H Arunachal.

Answer: (C) Article 371A

Concept: In April 2025 IN-SPACe invited Indian private firms to build satellite buses that can host multiple payloads.

1. The initiative is named Satellite Bus as a Service (SBaaS).
2. A satellite bus is the main platform (power, structure, propulsion) on which payloads are mounted; SBaaS aims to cut dependence on foreign buses and speed up missions.

Yaad rakhein: SBaaS – IN-SPACe, April 2025: Indian-made satellite platforms for hosting payloads.

Answer: (C) Satellite Bus as a Service (SBaaS)

Concept: Sant Dnyaneshwar (Gyaneshwar, b. 1275) began the Varkari Bhakti tradition of Maharashtra.

1. His Dnyaneshwari (Bhavartha Deepika), a Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, and Amritanubhav are early classics of Marathi literature.
2. He is regarded as the first and foremost Bhakti poet of Marathi, followed by Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram.

Yaad rakhein: Maharashtra Bhakti saints in order: Dnyaneshwar → Namdev → Eknath → Tukaram → Ramdas.

Answer: (A) the first and foremost Bhakti poet

Concept: Karakattam is an ancient folk dance of Tamil Nadu performed in honour of the rain goddess Mariamman.

1. Dancers balance a decorated pot (karagam) on the head while dancing to Naiyandi melam music.
2. Kerala – Theyyam, Kathakali; Karnataka – Yakshagana; Andhra Pradesh – Kuchipudi.

Yaad rakhein: Tamil Nadu folk dances: Karakattam, Kummi, Kolattam, Mayilattam, Oyilattam.

Answer: (A) Tamil Nadu

Concept: Sarvam AI (Bengaluru) builds Indian-language AI models.

1. In August 2024 it released Shuka 1.0, India's first open-source audio language model (Llama-3 based), supporting 10 Indian languages.
2. Niramai and Qure.ai are health-imaging AI start-ups; HealthifyMe is a fitness app.

Yaad rakhein: Sarvam AI – Shuka 1.0 (audio), Sarvam-1; also chosen under IndiaAI Mission for a sovereign LLM.

Answer: (C) Sarvam AI

Concept: Garuda Shakti is the joint special-forces exercise between India and Indonesia.

1. Its 2025 edition focused on counter-terrorism cooperation and interoperability of special forces.
2. Do not confuse with 'Garuda' – the India–France air force exercise. India–Sri Lanka: Mitra Shakti; India–Russia: INDRA.

Yaad rakhein: Garuda Shakti – Indonesia; Garuda – France (Air Force); Mitra Shakti – Sri Lanka.

Answer: (D) Indonesia

Concept: Take consecutive even numbers as $n$ and $n+2$.

1. $n^2+(n+2{)}^2=1924\Rightarrow 2n^2+4n+4=1924$
2. $n^2+2n-960=0\Rightarrow (n+32)(n-30)=0\Rightarrow n=30$
3. Numbers: $30$ and $32$; sum $=62$.

Trick: $\frac{1924}{2}=962\approx {31}^2$, so the numbers lie around $31$: ${30}^2+{32}^2=900+1024=1924$ ✓.

Answer: (C) $62$

Concept: For a regular polygon, each exterior angle $=\frac{{360}^{\circ }}{n}$ and interior angle $={180}^{\circ }-$ exterior angle.

1. Exterior angle $=\frac{{360}^{\circ }}{15}={24}^{\circ }$
2. Interior angle $={180}^{\circ }-{24}^{\circ }={156}^{\circ }$
3. Check: $\frac{(15-2)\times {180}^{\circ }}{15}=\frac{{2340}^{\circ }}{15}={156}^{\circ }$

Trick: Always go through the exterior angle – one division and one subtraction.

Answer: (B) ${156}^{\circ }$