Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The Kopili Hydro Electric Project is a NEEPCO project in the North-East.

1. It is built on the Kopili river in the Dima Hasao (and Karbi Anglong) area of Assam.
2. It is operated by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).
3. The Kopili river rises in Meghalaya, but the project and dam lie in Assam – the common trap.

Yaad rakhein: Kopili – Khandong – Umrangso: all hydel sites of Assam's Dima Hasao.

Answer: (A) Assam

Concept: Kullu Nati is the famous group folk dance of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu valley.

1. In October 2015, at the Kullu Dussehra, about 9,892 women performed Nati together.
2. This entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest folk dance.
3. Kiang is a dance of Ladakh/Lahaul; Kharait and Kinnauri dances are regional HP dances without this record.

Yaad rakhein: Kullu Dussehra + Nati = Guinness record (2015).

Answer: (D) Kullu Nati

Concept: Article 75 gives the Council of Ministers; in practice it has three ranks.

1. Cabinet Ministers – head major ministries, members of the Cabinet.
2. Ministers of State – independent charge or attached to Cabinet ministers.
3. Deputy Ministers – assist Cabinet/State ministers; lowest rank.

Yaad rakhein: C-S-D: Cabinet → State → Deputy (top to bottom).

Answer: (D) Cabinet Minister → Minister of State → Deputy Minister

Concept: From the Himalaya southwards the Northern Plains show Bhabar → Terai → Bhangar/Khadar.

1. Bhabar is a narrow belt (8–16 km) along the Shiwalik foothills where rivers drop pebbles.
2. Streams vanish (sink) in this porous belt and re-emerge further south in the marshy Terai.
3. So Bhabar is just north of the Terai, adjacent to the Himalayan foothills – not south of it.

Yaad rakhein: Order from mountain: Bhabar → Terai → Bhangar (B-T-B).

Answer: (D) Adjacent to the foothills of the Himalayas

Concept: Holi is celebrated on Phalguna Purnima; in 2025 it fell in mid-March.

1. Holika Dahan was on 13 March 2025 and Rangwali Holi on 14 March 2025.
2. Eid-ul-Fitr 2025 was on 31 March; Raksha Bandhan in August; Diwali in October.

Yaad rakhein: Phalguna Purnima = Holi; Holika Dahan the night before.

Answer: (D) Holi

Concept: The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2025 (20th edition) was released in January 2025.

1. Respondents ranked state-based armed conflict as the top risk for 2025 (immediate term).
2. Misinformation and disinformation topped the 2-year outlook; extreme weather topped the 10-year outlook.

Yaad rakhein: 2025 GRR: Now – armed conflict; 2 yrs – misinformation; 10 yrs – extreme weather.

Answer: (C) State-based armed conflict

Concept: Bhutan's 20 districts (dzongkhags) are grouped into four zones (dzongdey).

1. The four zones are Western, Central, Eastern and Southern.
2. There is no 'Northern' zone – the north is the high Himalaya, part of these zones.

Yaad rakhein: Bhutan zones = W, C, E, S – no N.

Answer: (B) Northern

Concept: The Parthians (Pahlavas) were an Iranian people from the region of Parthia.

1. Parthia lay in north-eastern Iran; the Arsacid dynasty founded the Parthian Empire.
2. In India, Indo-Parthian ruler Gondophernes ruled in the north-west (1st century CE).

Yaad rakhein: Pahlava = Parthian = Iranian.

Answer: (A) Iran

Concept: The ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year receives the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

1. For 2024, Jasprit Bumrah won it after taking 71 Test wickets in the year and starring in India's T20 World Cup win.
2. He was also named ICC Men's Test Cricketer of 2024.

Yaad rakhein: Bumrah 2024: Sobers Trophy + Test Cricketer of the Year.

Answer: (B) Jasprit Bumrah

Concept: SONAR = Sound Navigation And Ranging; it uses sound (ultrasonic) waves under water.

1. Sound is sent out, its echo from an object is received, and distance $d=\frac{v\times t}{2}$.
2. It locates submarines, shipwrecks and fish shoals. An echo-sounder is a simpler sonar only for depth; LiDAR uses laser light and SAR uses radio waves.

Yaad rakhein: SONAR = Sound in water; RADAR = radio in air; LiDAR = light.

Answer: (A) Sonar

Concept: In 2025 the Ministry of Mines began auctioning Exploration Licences (EL) for deep-seated and critical minerals.

1. India's first Exploration Licence auction (Tranche I) and the AI-Driven Mineral Targeting Hackathon were launched in Goa.
2. The hackathon invites AI/ML tools to predict hidden mineral deposits from geoscience data.

Yaad rakhein: First EL auction + AI mineral hackathon = Goa.

Answer: (A) Goa

Concept: AIIMS Raipur received a patent in May 2025 for a respiratory device meant to reduce the spread of airborne infections.

1. The device is named HOAC Combo.
2. It helps contain infectious aerosols around patients, protecting health workers and others.

Yaad rakhein: AIIMS Raipur → HOAC Combo (airborne-infection control).

Answer: (C) HOAC Combo

Concept: The 1991 reforms followed Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG).

1. Disinvestment = the government selling part of its equity (shares) in Public Sector Undertakings.
2. It is a tool of privatisation, raising funds and improving efficiency; it has nothing to do with subsidies, trade or taxes.

Yaad rakhein: Dis-invest = take back investment = sell PSU shares.

Answer: (A) selling government's share in public sector companies

Concept: The Government of India Act, 1935 is the single largest source of the Constitution.

1. Federal scheme, office of Governor, judiciary (Federal Court), Public Service Commissions and emergency provisions came from it.
2. Nearly 250 provisions were borrowed or adapted; the 1947 Act only transferred power.

Yaad rakhein: GoI Act 1935 = 'blueprint' of the institutional (administrative) structure.

Answer: (A) Government of India Act, 1935

Concept: Justice Bela M. Trivedi of the Supreme Court retired in June 2025.

1. She was on the 3-judge bench (2021) that set aside the Bombay High Court's 'skin-to-skin contact' view under the POCSO Act.
2. The bench held that sexual intent, not skin contact, is the key ingredient of sexual assault under Section 7 of POCSO.

Yaad rakhein: Bela Trivedi → POCSO 'skin-to-skin' verdict reversed.

Answer: (B) Ruling on POCSO Act

Concept: Pallava administration: Rashtra/Mandalam → Kottam → Nadu → Ur (village).

1. The Ur (village) was the smallest unit.
2. It was run by a local assembly also called Ur (of landholders); Sabha was for Brahmin villages and Nagaram for merchants.

Yaad rakhein: Big to small: Mandalam → Kottam → Nadu → Ur.

Answer: (C) Ur

Concept: Acids give H⁺ (H₃O⁺) ions in water; bases give OH⁻ ions.

1. Acids are sour, turn blue litmus red and neutralise bases to form salt and water – all true.
2. Releasing OH⁻ ions is a property of bases (alkalis), so it is NOT a characteristic of acids.

Yaad rakhein: Acid → H⁺, Base → OH⁻; 'BRA' – Blue to Red = Acid.

Answer: (C) They release OH⁻ ions in water.

Concept: Sree Narayana Guru (1856–1928) was born at Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

1. He founded the SNDP Yogam (1903) and gave the motto 'One caste, one religion, one God for man'.
2. He consecrated the Aruvippuram Shiva idol (1888), challenging caste restrictions on worship.

Yaad rakhein: Narayana Guru – Ezhava upliftment – Kerala.

Answer: (C) Kerala

Concept: $\text{GER}=\frac{\text{Total enrolment in a level (any age)}}{\text{Population of official age group}}\times 100$

1. The numerator counts all students, including over-age and under-age learners (repeaters, late entrants).
2. The denominator has only the official age group, so GER can go above $100\%$.
3. Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) counts only official-age students, so it never exceeds $100\%$.

Yaad rakhein: Gross = everyone counted; Net = only right-age.

Answer: (C) Due to enrollment of learners outside the official age group

Concept: Normal deletion in Windows sends a file to the Recycle Bin, from where it can be restored.

1. Delete key, right-click → Delete, or dragging to the Recycle Bin – all move the file to the Recycle Bin.
2. Shift + Delete removes the file permanently, bypassing the Recycle Bin (after a confirmation).

Yaad rakhein: Shift = 'skip the bin'.

Answer: (C) Selecting the file and pressing Shift + Delete keys