Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Tropical evergreen forests grow where annual rainfall exceeds about 200 cm and there is no long dry season.

1. The windward (western) slopes of the Western Ghats receive very heavy south-west monsoon rain, so dense evergreen forests grow there.
2. They are also found in the North-East and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
3. Sunderbans has mangrove (tidal) forests; Punjab and Rajasthan are dry regions.

Yaad rakhein: Heavy rain + no dry season = evergreen (Western Ghats, North-East, Andamans).

Answer: (C) Western Ghats

Concept: The Statue of Unity at Kevadia (Ekta Nagar), Gujarat, depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

1. Its height is 182 m (597 ft) – the tallest statue in the world.
2. It was inaugurated on 31 October 2018, Patel's birth anniversary.
3. Adiyogi (34 m) is the largest bust; Thiruvalluvar statue is 41 m (133 ft).

Yaad rakhein: 182 m Statue of Unity – twice the height of the Statue of Liberty (93 m).

Answer: (B) Statue of Unity, Gujarat

Concept: The 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988 (effective 1989) amended Article 326.

1. It lowered the voting age for Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections from 21 to 18 years.
2. Anti-defection law came by the 52nd Amendment (1985); women's reservation in Panchayats by the 73rd (1992); privy purses were abolished by the 26th (1971).

Yaad rakhein: 61st → 18 years voting age (Article 326).

Answer: (B) Reduction of voting age from 21 to 18 years

Concept: 'Sangam' means an assembly or academy of Tamil poets and scholars held under the patronage of the Pandya kings at Madurai.

1. Tradition speaks of three Sangams; the literature produced (Tolkappiyam, Ettuthogai, Pattuppattu) is called Sangam literature.
2. Chola, Chera and Pandya were dynasties – not Sangams.

Yaad rakhein: Sangam = sabha (assembly) of Tamil poets, Madurai, Pandyas.

Answer: (B) A literary assembly of Tamil scholars

Concept: The World Trade Organization (WTO), set up on 1 January 1995 (successor of GATT), frames rules for free and fair international trade.

1. It works to reduce tariffs and trade barriers – the core of globalisation and free trade.
2. WHO deals with health, UNESCO with education/culture, IMF with monetary stability and balance of payments.

Yaad rakhein: Trade → WTO (Geneva, 1995).

Answer: (B) WTO

Concept: The picture or pattern shown behind icons and windows on the desktop is the desktop background.

1. It is commonly called the wallpaper.
2. Icons are small pictures for programs/files; a menu is a list of commands; a file stores data.

Yaad rakhein: Wall of the screen → wallpaper.

Answer: (A) wallpaper

Concept: The 38th National Games were held in Uttarakhand from 28 January to 14 February 2025.

1. They were opened by PM Narendra Modi in Dehradun; it was the first time Uttarakhand hosted the Games.
2. Services Sports Control Board topped the medal table. The 37th edition was held in Goa (2023).

Yaad rakhein: 37th Goa (2023) → 38th Uttarakhand (2025).

Answer: (B) Uttarakhand

Concept: Weathering breaks rocks into smaller fragments; only these loose materials can be moved by mass movement and erosion.

1. If rocks were not weathered, there would be very little loose material (regolith) available to be carried away.
2. So erosion and mass movement would be insignificant, and soil formation would also suffer.

Yaad rakhein: No weathering → no loose debris → nothing to erode.

Answer: (C) Erosion would be insignificant

Concept: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 came into force on 1 July 2005 to prevent money laundering and confiscate property derived from it.

1. It is enforced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
2. FEMA (1999) manages foreign exchange; FCRA regulates foreign contributions; SEBI is a regulator, not an Act.

Yaad rakhein: Money Laundering → PMLA → ED.

Answer: (C) PMLA

Concept: Saccharin is the oldest artificial sweetener, discovered in 1879 by Constantin Fahlberg and Ira Remsen.

1. It is about 300–500 times sweeter than sugar and has no calories.
2. It is approved by the US FDA for use in beverages such as fruit juice drinks.
3. Aspartame (1965), sucralose (1976) and neotame are much later.

Yaad rakhein: 1879 → Saccharin, the first artificial sweetener.

Answer: (C) Saccharin

Concept: The Indian National Congress split into Moderates and Extremists at the Surat Session in December 1907.

1. Moderates (led by Pherozeshah Mehta, Gokhale) and Extremists (Lal-Bal-Pal) clashed over methods and the presidentship of Rash Behari Ghosh.
2. This Surat Split was the turning point of their struggle; the two groups reunited only at Lucknow in 1916.
3. Partition of Bengal (1905) caused the tension, but the actual split happened at Surat.

Yaad rakhein: Surat 1907 split → Lucknow 1916 reunion.

Answer: (C) Surat Split

Concept: From 1947 to 1991 India followed a mixed economy in which the state was to occupy the 'commanding heights' of the economy.

1. The Industrial Policy Resolution 1956 reserved key core and heavy industries (steel, heavy machinery, mining, power, railways) for the public sector.
2. So the public sector was dominant in core and heavy industries, while agriculture remained largely private.

Yaad rakhein: 1956 IPR – Schedule A industries only for the State (commanding heights).

Answer: (A) Dominant in core and heavy industries

Concept: Ibn Battuta described two kinds of postal system in Muhammad bin Tughluq's India.

1. Uluq – the horse post, run by royal horses stationed every four miles.
2. Dawa – the foot post, with three stations per mile where runners carried letters.
3. Mansabdari was a Mughal ranking system; Ikat is a textile technique.

Yaad rakhein: Uluq = horse (both start with a long run); Dawa = daud (foot runner).

Answer: (B) Uluq

Concept: Odisha had 26 princely states (the 'Garjat' states) besides the British-ruled Orissa province.

1. After Independence, these 26 small states were merged with Odisha, most of them on 1 January 1948, under Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon's efforts.
2. Mayurbhanj, the last of them, merged in 1949.

Yaad rakhein: Odisha – 26 Garjat states merged.

Answer: (A) 26

Concept: Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was launched on 15 August 2019 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

1. Its aim was to provide safe and adequate drinking water through a Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household by 2024.
2. Atal Bhujal Yojana is for groundwater management; PM-KUSUM is for solar pumps for farmers.

Yaad rakhein: Har Ghar Jal → Jal Jeevan Mission.

Answer: (A) Jal Jeevan Mission

Concept: India's population is spread very unevenly over its area.

1. Plains (Ganga plains), coastal areas and urban centres are densely populated because of fertile soil, water and jobs.
2. Deserts (western Rajasthan) and high hilly regions (Himalayas, North-East hills) are thinly populated.
3. Census 2011: Bihar 1,106 persons/km² vs Arunachal Pradesh 17 persons/km².

Yaad rakhein: Plains crowded, hills and deserts empty → uneven.

Answer: (D) uneven, with variations across regions

Concept: Stearic acid is a long-chain saturated fatty acid (${\text{C}}_{17}{\text{H}}_{35}\text{COOH}$).

1. In non-ionic detergents, stearic acid reacts with polyethylene glycol to form an ester-type detergent.
2. Such fatty-acid derivatives improve cleaning and act as thickeners in liquid detergents and soaps.
3. Oxalic acid is used for rust/ink removal; barbituric and propanoic acids are not detergent bases.

Yaad rakhein: Fatty acid + polyethylene glycol → non-ionic detergent (stearic acid).

Answer: (A) Stearic acid

Concept: In April 2025, the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named Smriti Mandhana among its Leading Cricketers in the World 2024 (Leading Woman Cricketer).

1. She scored 1,659 runs across formats in 2024 – the most by any woman in a calendar year in international cricket.
2. This included four ODI centuries in 2024, a record for women's cricket.

Yaad rakhein: 1659 runs, 4 ODI tons in 2024 → Smriti Mandhana.

Answer: (B) Smriti Mandhana

Concept: In February 2025, India's first ferret research facility was inaugurated at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, Haryana.

1. Ferrets are used as animal models for studying respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and for testing vaccines.
2. The facility strengthens India's preparedness for pandemics.

Yaad rakhein: Faridabad (THSTI) is in Haryana → Haryana.

Answer: (D) Haryana

Concept: Yudh Abhyas is an annual India–US Army exercise; its 20th edition was held at Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan, in September 2024.

1. The US side was represented by the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division (Alaska).
2. India was represented by the Rajputana Rifles.

Yaad rakhein: Yudh Abhyas 2024 → US 11th Airborne ('Arctic Angels').

Answer: (B) 11^th Airborne Division