Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya while imprisoned in Mandalay (Burma) jail, 1908–1914.

1. The book interprets the Gita as a call to selfless action (karma yoga).
2. Tilak was one of the "Lal-Bal-Pal" trio of extremist leaders; Aurobindo wrote essays on the Gita, but not Gita Rahasya.

Yaad rakhein: Tilak → Gita Rahasya, Kesari, Mahratta; "Swaraj is my birthright".

Answer: (C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Concept: Chandrayaan-5, also called LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration), is a joint ISRO–JAXA mission to the Moon's south pole.

1. JAXA provides the launch vehicle – Japan's H3 rocket (H3-24L configuration) – and the rover; ISRO builds the lander.
2. The Indian government approved the mission in March 2025; launch is targeted around 2027–28.
3. GSLV Mk III (LVM3) launched Chandrayaan-2 and 3, not this mission.

Yaad rakhein: Chandrayaan-4 → sample return (LVM3); Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX → with Japan on H3.

Answer: (B) H3-24L

Concept: CD stands for Compact Disc – an optical storage medium (about 700 MB) read by laser.

1. Variants: CD-ROM (read only), CD-R (recordable), CD-RW (rewritable).
2. The other options are made-up expansions; "cd" in a command prompt means "change directory", which is not among the options.

Yaad rakhein: CD → Compact Disc; DVD → Digital Versatile Disc.

Answer: (A) Compact Disc

Concept: In incomplete dominance neither allele is fully dominant, so the F₁ shows an intermediate (blended) phenotype.

1. Red × white → pink F₁ is the classic snapdragon (Antirrhinum) / Mirabilis example.
2. Co-dominance would show both colours together (e.g. AB blood group), not a blend; complete dominance would give all red.

Yaad rakhein: Blend (pink) → incomplete dominance; both expressed → co-dominance.

Answer: (D) Incomplete Dominance

Concept: The Railway Convention Committee is an ad hoc parliamentary committee that reviews the rate of dividend payable by Railways and related finances.

1. It has 18 members – 12 from Lok Sabha nominated by the Speaker and 6 from Rajya Sabha nominated by the Chairman; the Speaker constitutes the committee.
2. The President and Prime Minister have no role in nominating members of parliamentary committees.

Yaad rakhein: Most Lok Sabha committee members are nominated by the Speaker; Rajya Sabha members by the Chairman.

Answer: (D) The Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Concept: Black soil (regur) is clayey, rich in iron, lime and magnesia, and retains moisture for long – ideal for cotton.

1. Found in the Deccan Trap region: Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, parts of Karnataka, Telangana, AP.
2. Hence called "black cotton soil"; red and laterite soils are porous and poor in moisture retention.

Yaad rakhein: Black soil = regur = cotton soil; swells when wet, cracks when dry (self-ploughing).

Answer: (D) Black soil

Concept: Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against the Simon Commission at Lahore on 30 October 1928 and was severely lathi-charged; he died on 17 November 1928.

1. His words: "Every blow on my body will be a nail in the coffin of British rule."
2. Nehru Report (1928) was drafted by Motilal Nehru; Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) was led by Vallabhbhai Patel; the Salt March (1930) was after his death.

Yaad rakhein: Simon Commission → "Simon Go Back" → Lajpat Rai's death → Bhagat Singh's revenge (Saunders).

Answer: (B) Leading the anti-Simon Commission protests, where he suffered fatal injuries

Concept: The Faraizi Movement (founded 1818 by Haji Shariatullah in East Bengal) became a militant peasant movement against zamindars and indigo planters under his son Dudu Miyan (Muhsinuddin Ahmad).

1. Dudu Miyan organised peasants into a parallel administration and declared "land belongs to God", opposing rent demands.
2. U Kiang Nongbah led the Jaintia revolt (Meghalaya), Birsa Munda the Munda Ulgulan (1899–1900), Majnum Shah the Fakir uprising.

Yaad rakhein: Faraizi → Shariatullah & Dudu Miyan (Bengal); Wahabi → Syed Ahmad Barelvi.

Answer: (D) Dadu Mian

Concept: The CAA, 2019 fast-tracks Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.

1. Only these three Muslim-majority neighbours are covered; Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives are excluded.
2. Residence requirement for naturalisation was reduced from 11 years to 5 years for them; rules notified in March 2024.

Yaad rakhein: CAA = 3 countries (A-B-P), 6 communities, cut-off 31-12-2014.

Answer: (C) Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Concept: Harappan cities followed a grid plan – streets cut each other at right angles, dividing the Lower Town into rectangular blocks.

1. Cities had two parts: the raised Citadel (west) and the Lower Town (east), the residential area.
2. Main streets ran north–south, side lanes east–west; covered drains lined the streets – a hallmark of Harappan planning.

Yaad rakhein: Harappa = grid/chessboard pattern + baked bricks + drainage.

Answer: (B) Grid pattern intersecting at right angles

Concept: The UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm (5–16 June 1972), was the first global meeting to make environment a major international issue.

1. It produced the Stockholm Declaration (26 principles) and led to the creation of UNEP; 5 June became World Environment Day.
2. Rio 1992 (Earth Summit) and Johannesburg 2002 (Rio+10) came later, building on Stockholm.

Yaad rakhein: Stockholm 1972 → Rio 1992 → Johannesburg 2002 → Rio+20 2012.

Answer: (D) Stockholm Conference, 1972

Concept: Article 37: the Directive Principles "shall not be enforceable by any court, but ... are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country".

1. DPSPs (Part IV, Articles 36–51) are non-justiciable, unlike Fundamental Rights (Part III).
2. Yet the State has a duty to apply them in making laws; courts use them to interpret laws.

Yaad rakhein: FR = justiciable (Art. 32); DPSP = non-justiciable but fundamental in governance (Art. 37).

Answer: (C) Not enforceable by courts, but fundamental in the governance of the country

Concept: The 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) was held at UN Headquarters, New York, from 10 to 21 March 2025.

1. It marked 30 years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and adopted a Political Declaration.
2. CSW sessions are always held annually in March at UN Headquarters in New York.

Yaad rakhein: CSW → every March → New York (UN HQ).

Answer: (B) New York, USA

Concept: In ancient texts (Bharata's Natyashastra, Dattilam), Gandharva was the formal, sacred music believed to please the gods, performed by trained musicians with strict rules.

1. Gana was the lighter, secular music used in drama and entertainment.
2. Dhrupad and Prabandh are later medieval forms (Prabandh led to Dhrupad).

Yaad rakhein: Gandharva = divine/formal; Gana = popular/secular.

Answer: (C) Gandharva

Concept: The Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) was set up in 2014-15 under the Department of Agriculture to check volatility in prices of agri-horticultural commodities like onion, potato and pulses.

1. It funds buffer stocks and market interventions; in 2016 it was transferred to the Department of Consumer Affairs.
2. Pulses buffer (up to 20 lakh tonnes) is maintained under PSF.

Yaad rakhein: PSF 2014-15 → onion, potato, pulses → Consumer Affairs since 2016.

Answer: (C) 2014-15

Concept: The Society of Association Executives (SAE) India – a body for professionals who run trade and professional associations – was formally launched in Bengaluru in October 2025.

1. It aims to professionalise association management and link Indian bodies with the global ASAE network.
2. Bengaluru was chosen as the host city for the launch event.

Yaad rakhein: SAE India launch – October 2025 – Bengaluru.

Answer: (A) Bengaluru

Concept: John McFall, a British Paralympic sprinter and surgeon, is an ESA astronaut reserve member and in 2025 became the first person with a physical disability medically cleared for a long-duration ISS mission.

1. He lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident at 19 and won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
2. He joined ESA's "Fly!" feasibility study in 2022 as the first "parastronaut".

Yaad rakhein: John McFall – UK – ESA parastronaut.

Answer: (B) United Kingdom

Concept: Non-renewable resources exist in fixed amounts and cannot be replenished within a human lifetime – fossil fuels like petroleum, coal and natural gas.

1. Petroleum formed from marine organisms buried over millions of years.
2. Wind, solar and biomass are renewable – they are naturally replenished.

Yaad rakhein: Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, gas) + minerals = non-renewable.

Answer: (D) Petroleum

Concept: Proteins are polymers of amino acids; complete digestion by pepsin, trypsin and peptidases breaks them down to amino acids, absorbed in the small intestine.

1. Fats → fatty acids + glycerol (lipase); carbohydrates → glucose (amylase, maltase).

Yaad rakhein: Protein → amino acids; Fat → fatty acids + glycerol; Starch → glucose.

Answer: (A) Amino acids

Concept: Application software performs user tasks; MS Word is a word processor used to create and edit documents.

1. Windows and Linux are operating systems (system software).
2. BIOS is firmware that starts the computer – not for creating documents.

Yaad rakhein: OS/BIOS = system software; Word, Excel, browsers = application software.

Answer: (D) MS Word