Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: 2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals were held in Doha, Qatar (May 2025).

1. China’s Wang Chuqin won the men’s singles title, beating Hugo Calderano of Brazil in the final.
2. It was Wang Chuqin’s first world singles crown.
3. Ma Long and Fan Zhendong were earlier champions.

Yaad rakhein: Doha 2025 men’s singles = Wang Chuqin.

Answer: (B) Wang Chuqin

Concept: Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam was founded in Kerala in 1903 under the guidance of Sree Narayana Guru.

1. It worked for the upliftment of the Ezhava and other backward castes through education, temple entry and social equality.
2. Guru’s motto: ‘One caste, one religion, one God for man’.
3. Singh Sabha = Punjab (Sikhs); Arya Samaj = Dayanand Saraswati; Kayastha Sabha = UP.

Yaad rakhein: Kerala + backward castes = Sree Narayana Guru = SNDP.

Answer: (D) SNDP Sabha

Concept: Oxygen is carried in blood by haemoglobin of red blood cells.

1. Each haemoglobin unit has a haem group with an iron ion that binds oxygen.
2. Iron deficiency causes anaemia – less oxygen reaches tissues, causing fatigue.
3. Calcium → bones/clotting; zinc → enzymes/immunity; magnesium → muscles/nerves.

Yaad rakhein: Haemoglobin = Haem (iron) + Globin (protein).

Answer: (C) Iron

Concept: At the state level, the Chief Minister and other ministers hold office during the pleasure of the Governor (Article 164).

1. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and, on his advice, the other ministers.
2. Hence the Governor can dismiss/dissolve the State Council of Ministers (e.g. when it loses majority).
3. The President and PM act at the Union level; the High Court has no such power.

Yaad rakhein: Union: President ↔ PM; State: Governor ↔ CM.

Answer: (D) Governor

Concept: Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) is India’s premier flying training academy at Fursatganj, Amethi (Uttar Pradesh).

1. Its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.
2. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
3. Nehru (d. 1964), Nanda and Desai were not PM in 1985.

Yaad rakhein: 1985 PM = Rajiv Gandhi (1984–89); IGRUA is in his constituency Amethi.

Answer: (A) Rajiv Gandhi

Concept: The tiger is India’s national animal and the apex predator of forest ecosystems.

1. Project Tiger was launched on 1 April 1973 (first reserve: Jim Corbett).
2. It is now run by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
3. Project Elephant began in 1992; there is no 1973 ‘Project Rhino’ of this kind.

Yaad rakhein: Tiger 1973, Elephant 1992.

Answer: (C) Project Tiger

Concept: Geo = Earth, thermal = heat: energy from the heat of the Earth’s interior is geothermal energy.

1. Temperature rises with depth; hot springs and steam are used to run turbines.
2. In India, Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh) and Puga Valley (Ladakh) are geothermal sites.
3. Biomass = organic matter; tidal = sea tides; solar = Sun.

Yaad rakhein: Geo (Earth) + thermal (heat) = geothermal.

Answer: (C) Geothermal energy

Concept: Haber process: ${\text{N}}_2+3{\text{H}}_2\rightleftharpoons 2{\text{NH}}_3$, at about ${450}^{\circ }\text{C}$ and 200 atm.

1. Finely divided iron is the catalyst, with molybdenum (or K₂O, Al₂O₃) as promoter.
2. Platinum is used in Ostwald process (nitric acid); nickel in hydrogenation of oils.
3. Copper is not used here.

Yaad rakhein: Haber – Iron; Ostwald – Platinum; Vanaspati – Nickel; Contact process – V₂O₅.

Answer: (D) Iron

Concept: Part II of the Constitution (Articles 5–11) deals with citizenship.

1. Article 5: citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January 1950) for persons domiciled in India.
2. Art. 6 – migrants from Pakistan; Art. 7 – migrants to Pakistan; Art. 10 – continuance of citizenship.
3. Art. 11 – Parliament to regulate citizenship by law (Citizenship Act, 1955).

Yaad rakhein: Citizenship = Articles 5 to 11; Article 5 = ‘at commencement’.

Answer: (D) Article 5

Concept: WAVES = World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, held at Jio World Centre, Mumbai, 1–4 May 2025.

1. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated it on 1 May 2025.
2. It was organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make India a global media and entertainment hub.
3. 4 May 2025 was the closing day.

Yaad rakhein: WAVES opened on 1 May (Maharashtra Day) in Mumbai.

Answer: (B) 1 May 2025

Concept: Article 21 = Right to life and personal liberty, widely interpreted by the Supreme Court.

1. In April 2025 (Amar Jain / Pragya Prasun case) the SC held that the right to digital access is part of Article 21.
2. It directed changes in digital KYC (e.g. liveness/blink check) so that acid-attack survivors and visually impaired persons can complete e-KYC.
3. Article 14 is equality, 25 religion, 30 minority educational rights.

Yaad rakhein: New rights read into life = Article 21 (privacy, clean air, digital access…).

Answer: (B) Article 21

Concept: Citizenship matters are governed by the Citizenship Act, 1955.

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (Foreigners Division) processes and grants citizenship by registration and naturalisation.
2. Under Section 6 of the Act, a certificate of naturalisation is granted by the Central Government through MHA.
3. MEA handles passports and visas, not grant of citizenship.

Yaad rakhein: Citizenship, census, internal security, foreigners → MHA.

Answer: (D) Ministry of Home Affairs

Concept: Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) manages defence land and cantonment boards under the Ministry of Defence.

1. Shailendra Nath Gupta, an Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officer, took charge as DGDE in June 2025.
2. DGDE is headquartered in New Delhi.

Yaad rakhein: DGDE June 2025 = S. N. Gupta.

Answer: (A) Shailendra Nath Gupta

Concept: After the Pahalgam terror attack (22 April 2025), the Cabinet Committee on Security took strong measures against Pakistan.

1. India put the Indus Waters Treaty (1960, brokered by the World Bank) ‘in abeyance’.
2. Other steps: closing Attari check-post and cancelling SAARC visa exemption for Pakistani nationals.
3. Tashkent (1966) and Simla (1972) followed wars; they were not suspended by India.

Yaad rakhein: Indus Waters Treaty 1960 – Nehru and Ayub Khan; held in abeyance in April 2025.

Answer: (A) Indus Waters Treaty

Concept: Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) are small warships for hunting submarines in coastal waters.

1. INS Arnala, first of 16 ASW-SWCs, was built by GRSE Kolkata (with L&T) and delivered to the Navy in May 2025 (commissioned June 2025).
2. It is named after Arnala fort near Vasai, Maharashtra; over 80% of its content is indigenous.
3. INS Tushil is a Russian-built frigate; INS Arighaat is a nuclear submarine.

Yaad rakhein: Arnala = first ASW shallow-water craft.

Answer: (C) INS Arnala

Concept: The Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61) followed the P. C. Mahalanobis model, stressing heavy and basic industries.

1. Public sector steel plants were set up at Bhilai (USSR aid), Rourkela (West Germany) and Durgapur (UK).
2. The First Plan had focused on agriculture.

Yaad rakhein: 2nd Plan = Mahalanobis = three steel plants (Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur).

Answer: (D) Second Plan

Concept: Elections in India are conducted by the independent Election Commission of India (Article 324), not by the President.

1. The President gives assent to bills, making them laws (Art. 111).
2. The President appoints the Prime Minister (Art. 75).
3. The President summons and prorogues Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha (Art. 85).

Yaad rakhein: President appoints the CEC, but the ECI conducts elections.

Answer: (D) Conducting elections

Concept: In May 2025, India released the world’s first two genome-edited rice varieties (using SDN-1 / CRISPR-Cas technology).

1. DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) – developed by ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad, from Samba Mahsuri; matures about 20 days earlier with higher yield.
2. Pusa DST Rice 1 – by ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, tolerant to salinity.
3. The other options are not real genome-edited releases.

Yaad rakhein: Genome-edited rice 2025: Kamala (DRR 100) + Pusa DST Rice 1.

Answer: (C) DRR Rice 100

Concept: The Sheila Bharat Ram Theatre Festival is an annual theatre festival in New Delhi named after Sheila Bharat Ram, founder of the Shri Ram Centre.

1. The 2025 edition was held at the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, Mandi House, Delhi.
2. Kamani Auditorium and NSD are also at Mandi House but are not the festival venue.

Yaad rakhein: Sheila Bharat Ram → her own Shri Ram Centre.

Answer: (D) Shri Ram Centre of Performing Arts, Delhi

Concept: In Windows File Explorer, the left pane shows folders (navigation pane) and the right pane shows the contents of the selected folder.

1. To copy/move by drag and drop: select the file in the right pane → drag it onto the target folder in the left pane → release (drop).
2. Dragging to a folder on a different drive copies; on the same drive it moves (hold Ctrl to force a copy).
3. Other options delete or do nothing useful.

Yaad rakhein: Drag + Ctrl = copy; drag + Shift = move.

Answer: (B) Select the file in the right pane → Drag it to a folder in the left pane → Drop it there