Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: DRR Dhan 100 ‘Kamala’ is India’s first genome-edited rice variety (released May 2025).

1. It was developed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Hyderabad – ‘DRR’ stands for its old name, Directorate of Rice Research.
2. The second variety, Pusa DST Rice 1, came from ICAR-IARI, New Delhi.
3. NRRI Cuttack is a rice institute too, but did not develop Kamala.

Yaad rakhein: DRR = Directorate of Rice Research = IIRR Hyderabad.

Answer: (A) ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad

Concept: Brønsted–Lowry: Acid $-{\text{H}}^{+}$ = conjugate base.

1. $\text{HCl}\to {\text{H}}^{+}+{\text{Cl}}^{-}$.
2. Removing one proton from HCl leaves ${\text{Cl}}^{-}$, its conjugate base.
3. ${\text{H}}_3{\text{O}}^{+}$ is the conjugate acid of water; ${\text{OH}}^{-}$ is the conjugate base of water.

Yaad rakhein: Conjugate base = acid minus one H⁺ (charge drops by 1).

Answer: (C) ${\text{Cl}}^{-}$

Concept: Under the Ryotwari system, revenue was settled directly with the individual cultivator (ryot), who got ownership rights.

1. Introduced by Thomas Munro and Alexander Read in Madras (1820) and later in Bombay Presidency.
2. Zamindari (Permanent Settlement, 1793) – Bengal, Bihar, Odisha.
3. Mahalwari (1822, Holt Mackenzie) – NW Provinces, Punjab, Central India.

Yaad rakhein: Ryotwari = Madras + Bombay (Munro); Zamindari = Bengal (Cornwallis); Mahalwari = North-West.

Answer: (A) Ryotwari

Concept: The Portuguese came to India after Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498.

1. Francisco de Almeida was sent in 1505 as the first Portuguese Governor (Viceroy) of India.
2. He followed the ‘Blue Water Policy’ – naval supremacy over the Indian Ocean.
3. Albuquerque (1509–15) captured Goa in 1510; Nino da Cunha shifted the capital to Goa (1530).

Yaad rakhein: Almeida – first (1505), Blue Water; Albuquerque – Goa (1510).

Answer: (D) De Almeida

Concept: The Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty was founded by Nagabhata I around 730 CE in Malwa (capital Ujjain/Avanti).

1. Nagabhata I is famous for repelling Arab invasions from Sindh in the 8th century.
2. Later rulers (Nagabhata II, Mihir Bhoja) made Kannauj their capital.
3. So the dynasty’s founding falls in the 8th century.

Yaad rakhein: Pratihara = ‘door-keeper’ of India against the Arabs, 8th century.

Answer: (D) 8^th century

Concept: Normally a deleted file goes to the Recycle Bin and can be restored.

1. Shift + Delete on a selected file deletes it permanently, bypassing the Recycle Bin (Windows asks for confirmation).
2. Plain Delete, the ‘Delete’ menu item or dragging to the Recycle Bin only sends it to the Bin.
3. Ctrl + D also sends a file to the Recycle Bin.

Yaad rakhein: Shift + Del = permanent delete.

Answer: (A) Right-click on the file and press 'Shift + Delete'

Concept: The 72nd Miss World Festival was held in Hyderabad, Telangana, in May 2025.

1. Actor Sonu Sood received the Beauty with a Purpose Humanitarian Award.
2. He was honoured for helping migrant workers and patients during the Covid-19 pandemic through the Sood Charity Foundation.

Yaad rakhein: Covid-era help to migrants = Sonu Sood.

Answer: (B) Sonu Sood

Concept: The Andaman & Nicobar Command (Port Blair, est. 2001) is India’s only tri-service theatre command.

1. Lt General Dinesh Singh Rana took over as its 18th Commander-in-Chief (CINCAN) on 1 June 2025.
2. He succeeded Air Marshal Saju Balakrishnan; the post rotates among Army, Navy and Air Force.

Yaad rakhein: ANC = only tri-service command; CINCAN June 2025 = Lt Gen D. S. Rana.

Answer: (D) Lt General Dinesh Singh Rana

Concept: Yakshagana is the traditional dance-drama of coastal Karnataka.

1. It combines music, dance, dialogue, bright costumes and large headgear, mostly on Mahabharata/Ramayana themes.
2. Bhavai – Gujarat/Rajasthan; Jatra – Bengal/Odisha; Kathakali – Kerala.

Yaad rakhein: Yakshagana – Karnataka; Kathakali – Kerala; Jatra – Bengal; Bhavai – Gujarat.

Answer: (C) Yakshagana

Concept: CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, works on herbal products.

1. In May 2025 it released PsoriaCIM, a herbal cream for treating psoriasis (a chronic autoimmune skin disease).
2. The name itself joins ‘Psoria(sis)’ + ‘CIM(AP)’.

Yaad rakhein: Psoria + CIMAP = PsoriaCIM.

Answer: (C) PsoriaCIM

Concept: The Revolt of 1857 (Sepoy Mutiny) began at Meerut on 10 May 1857 and spread across north and central India.

1. Sepoys, peasants, artisans and rulers (Bahadur Shah Zafar, Rani Lakshmibai, Nana Saheb) joined – the biggest armed resistance to British rule in the 19th century.
2. Quit India was in 1942 (20th century); Buxar (1764) and the First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82) were 18th-century wars.

Yaad rakhein: 19th century + biggest armed revolt = 1857.

Answer: (A) Sepoy Mutiny

Concept: The Tripartite Struggle (8th–9th centuries) was the contest for control of Kannauj, the symbol of supremacy in north India.

1. Palas of Bengal (Dharmapala), Gurjara-Pratiharas of western India (Vatsaraja, Nagabhata II) and Rashtrakutas of the Deccan (Dhruva, Govinda III) fought it.
2. The Pratiharas finally won Kannauj under Nagabhata II.

Yaad rakhein: PPR – Pala, Pratihara, Rashtrakuta for Kannauj.

Answer: (D) Palas, Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas

Concept: The Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Tokyo (est. 1961), promotes productivity in the Asia-Pacific; India is a founder member.

1. At its Governing Body meeting in Jakarta (2025), India took over the APO chairmanship for 2025–26.
2. The National Productivity Council (NPC) under DPIIT represents India in APO.
3. APEC does not include India; ACEG and SAAP do not exist as such.

Yaad rakhein: Productivity + Asia = APO (Tokyo); India is chair for 2025–26.

Answer: (C) Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) for the 2025–26 term

Concept: The early atmosphere formed by degassing from the Earth’s interior (volcanic outgassing).

1. It was rich in water vapour, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia.
2. Free oxygen was almost absent; it built up only later through photosynthesis by early organisms (cyanobacteria).
3. So free oxygen was the least abundant gas.

Yaad rakhein: Early air: lots of H₂O, CO₂, N₂; O₂ came later with life.

Answer: (B) Free oxygen

Concept: The 38th National Games were held in Uttarakhand (January–February 2025).

1. Their official mascot was Mauli, based on the Himalayan Monal – the state bird of Uttarakhand.
2. Services Sports Control Board topped the medal table.

Yaad rakhein: Uttarakhand state bird Monal → mascot Mauli.

Answer: (B) Mauli

Concept: Volume of shell $=\frac{4}{3}\pi (R^3-r^3)$; mass $=$ density $\times$ volume.

1. $R^3-r^3=4^3-1^3=64-1=63$
2. $V=\frac{4}{3}\times \frac{22}{7}\times 63=264{\text{cm}}^3$
3. Mass $=40\times 264=10560\text{g}$
4. $10560\text{g}=10.56\text{kg}$

Trick: $\frac{22}{7}\times 63=198$, then $198\times \frac{4}{3}=264$ – pick $R^3-r^3$ as a multiple of 7 to cancel fast.

Answer: (D) $10.56$

Concept: Share $=\frac{\text{ratio part}}{\text{sum of parts}}\times \text{total}$.

1. Sum of parts $=2+4+3=9$; 1 part $=\frac{936}{9}=104$
2. Largest share $=4\times 104=416$, smallest $=2\times 104=208$
3. Difference $=(4-2)\times 104=208$

Trick: Difference = (largest part − smallest part) × one part = $2\times 104$.

Answer: (D) $208$

Concept: $x\%$ of $N=\frac{x}{100}\times N$.

1. $65\%$ of $75=\frac{65\times 75}{100}=48.75$
2. $\frac{3}{5}$ of $15=9$
3. Difference $=48.75-9=39.75$

Trick: $65\%$ of $75$ = $75\%$ of $65$ = $\frac{3}{4}\times 65=48.75$.

Answer: (C) $39.75$

Concept: If angles of elevation from the foot of each pole to the top of the other are complementary, then $x^2=h_1\times h_2$.

1. From B to top P of pole A: $\tan \theta =\frac{25}{x}$
2. From A to top Q of pole B: $\tan ({90}^{\circ }-\theta )=\cot \theta =\frac{36}{x}$
3. Multiply: $\tan \theta ·\cot \theta =1=\frac{25\times 36}{x^2}$
4. $x^2=900\Rightarrow x=30\text{m}$

Trick: Distance $=\sqrt{h_1{h}_2}=\sqrt{25\times 36}=5\times 6=30$.

Answer: (B) $30$

Concept: Successive discounts are applied one after another: $\text{SP}=\text{MP}\times \frac{100-d_1}{100}\times \frac{100-d_2}{100}$.

1. After 20%: $5000\times \frac{80}{100}=4000$
2. After 10% on 4000: $4000\times \frac{90}{100}=3600$
3. Final price = ₹3,600

Trick: Net discount $=20+10-\frac{20\times 10}{100}=28\%$; $72\%$ of 5000 = 3600.

Answer: (D) ₹3,600