Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of India; originally it had 14.

1. 15th Sindhi (21st Amendment 1967); Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali (71st Amendment 1992) → 18.
2. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali (92nd Amendment 2003) → 22.
3. No language has been added since 2003, so the count is 22 as of June 2025.

Yaad rakhein: 14 + 1 + 3 + 4 = 22.

Answer: (C) 22

Concept: Gallantry awards are presented in two phases of the Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

1. In Phase-I on 22 May 2025, President Droupadi Murmu conferred 6 Kirti Chakras (4 posthumous) and 33 Shaurya Chakras (7 posthumous).
2. Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime gallantry award, after the Ashoka Chakra.

Yaad rakhein: Phase-I 2025: 6 Kirti, 33 Shaurya.

Answer: (C) Six

Concept: Tuhin Kanta Pandey took charge as the 11th Chairman of SEBI on 1 March 2025.

1. He succeeded Madhabi Puri Buch, the first woman chief of SEBI (2022–2025).
2. Ajay Tyagi (2017–22), U.K. Sinha (2011–17) and C.B. Bhave (2008–11) were earlier chairmen.

Yaad rakhein: Order: Bhave → Sinha → Tyagi → Buch → Pandey.

Answer: (C) Madhabi Puri Buch

Concept: The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 reorganised states on a linguistic basis (14 states, 6 UTs from 1 Nov 1956).

1. Rajasthan, Mysore and Bombay were among the states formed/reorganised by this Act.
2. Goa was a Portuguese colony until 1961; it became a UT (Goa, Daman & Diu) and a full state only in 1987.

Yaad rakhein: Goa was not even part of India in 1956.

Answer: (B) Goa State

Concept: Directive Principles (Part IV, Articles 36–51) include Gandhian principles.

1. Article 43: the State shall try to secure a living wage and decent life for workers and promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.
2. Art. 41 = right to work, education and public assistance; Art. 36 = definition of “State”; Art. 55 = election of the President.

Yaad rakhein: Article 43 → cottage industries (Gandhian principle).

Answer: (D) Article 43

Concept: The International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched by India and France in 2015, is headquartered in Gurugram, India.

1. In April 2025, Mauritius became the first African country to sign a Country Partnership Framework with the ISA, to speed up its solar-energy projects.
2. Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean and a close partner of India.

Yaad rakhein: ISA → HQ Gurugram; April 2025 Africa first → Mauritius.

Answer: (C) Mauritius

Concept: The Deccan Plateau is a triangular tableland bounded by the Western Ghats on the west and the Eastern Ghats on the east.

1. Its northern edge is formed by the Satpura, Mahadeo and Maikal ranges; its southern tip is at the Nilgiris where the two Ghats meet.
2. Malwa lies north-west (between Aravalli and Vindhya), Chhota Nagpur in Jharkhand, and Meghalaya plateau in the north-east.

Yaad rakhein: Triangle between two Ghats = Deccan.

Answer: (B) Deccan Plateau

Concept: In May 2025, NITI Aayog released the report “Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises”.

1. It notes that medium enterprises are only a tiny share of MSMEs but contribute strongly to exports, and calls them the “missing middle”.
2. It suggests tailored finance, technology support and skilling to help them grow and support Viksit Bharat 2047.

Yaad rakhein: Policy-design reports for the economy → usually NITI Aayog (the government think tank).

Answer: (D) NITI Aayog

Concept: Article 246 divides law-making power through the three lists of the Seventh Schedule.

1. Union List (Parliament), State List (State legislatures), Concurrent List (both).
2. Art. 368 = amendment; Art. 240 = President’s regulations for some UTs; Art. 280 = Finance Commission.

Yaad rakhein: 246 ↔ 7th Schedule (three lists).

Answer: (D) Article 246

Concept: Anthocyanins are water-soluble flavonoid pigments in the cell sap whose colour changes with pH.

1. Acidic (low pH) → red/reddish-purple; neutral → purple; basic → blue.
2. Carotenes and lycopene are orange/red but do not change colour with pH; betalains occur in beetroot-type plants, not petunias.

Yaad rakhein: Anthocyanin = natural pH indicator (like red cabbage juice).

Answer: (A) Anthocyanins

Concept: Kutiyattam, the ancient Sanskrit theatre of Kerala, is recognised by UNESCO, but its Kendra is run in India.

1. The Kutiyattam Kendra, Thiruvananthapuram, is a constituent centre of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
2. Sangeet Natak Akademi is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, so the Ministry oversees the Kendra.
3. UNESCO only lists Kutiyattam (proclaimed 2001, inscribed 2008) as Intangible Heritage; it does not run the centre.

Yaad rakhein: Kendra → Sangeet Natak Akademi → Ministry of Culture.

Answer: (D) Ministry of Culture

Concept: Gupta inscriptions name many officials by their duties.

1. Ranabhandagarika (रण + भांडागार) = officer in charge of military stores and supply of weapons.
2. Sandhivigrahika = minister of peace and war; Kumaramatya = high-ranking officer/cadre; Mahadandanayaka = chief judicial/military officer.

Trick: Rana = war, bhandagara = storehouse → war-store officer.

Answer: (A) Ranabhandagarika

Concept: Greenfield airports are built on fresh sites, not by expanding an old airport.

1. In May 2025 the Central Government approved new greenfield airports at Kota (Rajasthan) and Puri (Odisha) to improve regional connectivity.
2. Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Navi Mumbai, Itanagar (Donyi Polo), Shirdi and Kannur were approved/built earlier.

Yaad rakhein: May 2025 → Kota (Rajasthan) + Puri (Odisha).

Answer: (C) Kota and Puri

Concept: Homebound was India’s entry in the Un Certain Regard section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival (May 2025).

1. It is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan (known for Masaan, 2015) and produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
2. Karan Johar is the producer, not the director – a common trap.

Yaad rakhein: Masaan → Homebound: both by Ghaywan at Cannes.

Answer: (A) Neeraj Ghaywan

Concept: Net sown area = land actually sown with crops; it depends on relief, soil and climate.

1. Hilly states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have steep slopes and thin, easily eroded soil, so little land can be ploughed.
2. Much land is under forests or is barren, so net sown area is below 20% there, while Punjab/Haryana have about 80%.

Yaad rakhein: Plains → high NSA; hills → low NSA (slope + thin soil).

Answer: (B) Because of steep slopes and thin soil layers

Concept: The UN adopted 17 SDGs in 2015 for the period up to 2030.

1. SDG 7 = Affordable and Clean Energy: affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
2. SDG 5 = Gender Equality; SDG 10 = Reduced Inequalities; SDG 12 = Responsible Consumption and Production.

Yaad rakhein: SDG 7 → energy, 6 → water, 13 → climate.

Answer: (C) Goal 7

Concept: In April 2025 it was reported that Madhya Pradesh, the state with the largest forest cover in India, began an AI-based real-time forest monitoring system.

1. It was launched as a pilot in sensitive forest divisions such as Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha, Raisen and Burhanpur.
2. It uses satellite imagery and AI to detect encroachment and land-use change quickly.

Yaad rakhein: Largest forest cover state → MP → first AI forest watch.

Answer: (D) Madhya Pradesh

Concept: Primary (main) memory is directly accessed by the CPU; secondary memory stores data permanently.

1. RAM (and ROM, cache) are primary memory – fast and directly used by the CPU.
2. Hard disk, CD-ROM and floppy disk are secondary (auxiliary) storage devices.

Yaad rakhein: CPU talks directly → primary (RAM); stored on a drive → secondary.

Answer: (D) RAM

Concept: Zinc is a trace mineral needed by many enzymes.

1. Insulin is stored in pancreatic β-cells as zinc–insulin crystals (granules).
2. Zinc is needed for digestive enzymes, metabolism, immunity, and the prostate gland has a very high zinc content.
3. Iron → haemoglobin; phosphorus → bones/ATP; nickel is not a key human nutrient.

Yaad rakhein: Zinc → insulin + prostate + immunity.

Answer: (B) Zinc

Concept: Red Bull India Private Limited (RBIL) is the Indian arm of the Austrian energy-drink company Red Bull GmbH.

1. RBIL has imported and sold Red Bull Energy Drink and its variants in India since 2007.
2. Red Bull itself was launched in Austria in 1987.

Yaad rakhein: Red Bull: Austria 1987 → India 2007 (20 years later).

Answer: (B) 2007