Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) replaced the Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (1985).

1. NAIS was introduced from the Rabi 1999-2000 season.
2. It covered losses due to drought, flood, hailstorm, cyclone, pests and diseases.
3. It was later replaced by the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (2016).

Yaad rakhein: CCIS 1985 → NAIS Rabi 1999-2000 → PMFBY 2016.

Answer: (A) Rabi 1999-2000

Concept: The five Fleet Support Ships for the Indian Navy are being built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. (HSL).

1. The keel of the first FSS was laid in November 2024 at HSL, Visakhapatnam.
2. FSS replenish fuel, water, ammunition and stores to warships at sea.
3. Mazagon Dock is in Mumbai (not Cochin), so option A is itself wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Fleet Support Ships → HSL Vizag.

Answer: (B) Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., Visakhapatnam

Concept: The Permanent Settlement (Zamindari system) fixed land revenue permanently with zamindars.

1. It was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
2. Zamindars became owners of land and paid a fixed amount to the Company.
3. Thomas Munro is linked with the Ryotwari system (Madras); Wellesley with Subsidiary Alliance; Dalhousie with Doctrine of Lapse.

Yaad rakhein: Cornwallis – 1793 – Permanent Settlement – Bengal.

Answer: (D) Lord Cornwallis

Concept: Kathakali is the classical dance-drama of Kerala.

1. It is known for elaborate facial make-up (green 'pacha', red 'kathi'), huge head-dresses and colourful costumes.
2. Stories come from the Ramayana and Mahabharata; traditionally performed only by men.
3. Mohiniyattam (also Kerala) is a graceful solo dance mostly by women.

Yaad rakhein: Kathakali = Kerala + painted faces + male dancers.

Answer: (B) Kathakali

Concept: In February 2025 the Ministry of Defence signed a contract worth about ₹1,220 crore for Software Defined Radios (SDRs).

1. The contract was signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Navratna defence PSU.
2. The SDRs are for the Indian Coast Guard to improve secure communication.
3. BEL is India's main defence-electronics maker; the other options are shipbuilders/engineering firms.

Yaad rakhein: Radios / radars / electronics deals → BEL.

Answer: (A) Bharat Electronics Limited

Concept: Burzahom is a Neolithic site near Srinagar in the Kashmir valley.

1. People lived in pit dwellings (dug into the ground) to escape the cold.
2. Dogs were buried along with their masters – evidence of domesticated dogs.
3. Chirand (Bihar) is known for bone tools; Koldihwa (UP) for early rice.

Yaad rakhein: Burzahom = pits + dogs buried with humans (Kashmir).

Answer: (B) Burzahom

Concept: Biodiversity Heritage Sites are notified by states under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

1. In January 2025 Gujarat declared the Inland Mangrove of Guneri as its first BHS.
2. Guneri village is in Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district.
3. It is a rare mangrove growing far from the sea, on land.

Yaad rakhein: Mangroves in Gujarat → think Kutch.

Answer: (B) Kutch

Concept: PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is a digital platform for integrated planning of infrastructure.

1. It brings 16+ ministries (railways, roads, ports, airways etc.) on one GIS platform to coordinate projects.
2. It was announced in August 2021 and formally launched on 13 October 2021.
3. Bharatmala is only a road programme; Digital India and Make in India are not infrastructure-coordination platforms.

Trick: Gati Shakti = multimodal coordination of all infrastructure ministries.

Answer: (C) PM Gati Shakti

Concept: Centres and leaders of the Revolt of 1857 should be remembered as pairs.

1. Rani Laxmibai led the revolt from Jhansi after the British annexed it under the Doctrine of Lapse.
2. Kanpur – Nana Saheb; Lucknow (Awadh) – Begum Hazrat Mahal; Faizabad – Maulvi Ahmadullah.
3. She died fighting near Gwalior in June 1858.

Yaad rakhein: Jhansi – Laxmibai; Kanpur – Nana Saheb; Lucknow – Hazrat Mahal.

Answer: (D) Jhansi

Concept: Ministers in a state are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister (Article 164).

1. The Chief Minister decides which minister gets which portfolio (department).
2. The Governor formally allocates business, but acts on the CM's advice.
3. The Prime Minister does this only for Union ministers.

Trick: Centre – PM allots portfolios; State – CM allots portfolios.

Answer: (C) Chief Minister

Concept: CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) is the specialised jungle-warfare and counter-insurgency unit of the CRPF.

1. In April 2025, CRPF decided to raise a CoBRA battalion for counter-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
2. CoBRA was raised in 2008–09, mainly against Naxalites.
3. Garud belongs to the Air Force, Para (SF) to the Army and SFF works under the Cabinet Secretariat – none is CRPF.

Yaad rakhein: CRPF's commando unit = CoBRA.

Answer: (D) CoBRA Battalion

Concept: Lok Adalats (Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987) settle disputes by compromise.

1. They can take only cases that can be settled by mutual agreement – civil, motor accident, land acquisition, matrimonial (except divorce on contested grounds), compoundable offences.
2. Non-compoundable criminal offences (serious crimes like murder) cannot be compromised, so Lok Adalat cannot take them.
3. Their award is final; no appeal lies against it.

Trick: No compromise possible → no Lok Adalat.

Answer: (A) Non-compoundable criminal offences

Concept: Edward, Prince of Wales, toured India from November 1921 to early 1922.

1. He landed at Bombay on 17 November 1921.
2. The Congress, then running the Non-Cooperation Movement, boycotted his visit with hartals across India.
3. So the visit year is 1921, during the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Yaad rakhein: Prince of Wales visit = 1921 = Non-Cooperation boycott.

Answer: (A) 1921

Concept: The OECD Global Tax Deal (Two-Pillar solution) includes a 15% global minimum corporate tax.

1. On 20 January 2025, US President Donald Trump issued a memorandum declaring that the deal has no force in the USA.
2. Thus the USA effectively withdrew from the deal.
3. India and China remain part of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework.

Yaad rakhein: Trump's first-day orders (Jan 2025) → US exits OECD tax deal.

Answer: (C) USA

Concept: DIGIPIN (Digital Postal Index Number) was developed by India Post with IIT Hyderabad and NRSC-ISRO.

1. It divides India into a grid of about 4 m × 4 m cells using latitude and longitude.
2. Each cell gets a 10-character alphanumeric code.
3. It supplements the 6-digit PIN code, which only covers a whole postal area.

Yaad rakhein: PIN = 6 digits; DIGIPIN = 10 characters.

Answer: (D) 10 characters

Concept: India depended largely on imports (mostly from China) for paracetamol's key raw material, para-aminophenol (PAP).

1. In January 2025, Satya Deeptha Pharmaceuticals was reported to begin domestic production of paracetamol/its key starting material.
2. The plant uses technology developed by CSIR-NCL, Pune.
3. This supports self-reliance (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) in essential medicines.

Yaad rakhein: Paracetamol self-reliance 2025 → Satya Deeptha + CSIR-NCL.

Answer: (B) Satya Deeptha Pharmaceuticals

Concept: HADR exercises train the Army and civil agencies to respond together to disasters.

1. The joint Indian Army–NDRF large-scale HADR simulation of May 2025 was named Raahat ('relief').
2. Mitra Shakti is an India–Sri Lanka army exercise; Shakti is an India–France army exercise.
3. Prakampana is a separate HADR exercise of the Eastern Naval Command, not this Army–NDRF drill.

Yaad rakhein: Raahat = relief → disaster-relief exercise.

Answer: (B) Raahat

Concept: The International Date Line (IDL) is where the calendar date changes by one day.

1. It runs roughly along the 180° meridian, opposite to the Prime Meridian (0°).
2. It zig-zags to avoid dividing land and island groups (e.g., around Kiribati, Fiji).
3. Crossing it westward you add a day; crossing it eastward you go back one day.

Yaad rakhein: 0° = Greenwich (time zone base); 180° = Date Line.

Answer: (B) 180°

Concept: A constitution is a set of basic rules that decides how a group is governed, how representatives are chosen and how resources/power are shared.

1. A class framing rules for choosing its representatives and sharing resources is a mini-constitution in daily life.
2. Festivals, family quarrels or shopping do not involve framing basic rules for governing a group.
3. So option D best shows why a constitution is needed.

Yaad rakhein: Constitution = agreed rules for representation, power and sharing.

Answer: (D) Class deciding rules for representation and resource sharing

Concept: Parul Chaudhary is India's leading women's 3000 m steeplechase runner.

1. At the Doha Diamond League (16 May 2025) she clocked 9:13.39, a new National Record.
2. This time was better than the qualifying mark for the World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025.
3. She is also the 2023 Asian Games gold medallist in 5000 m.

Yaad rakhein: Steeplechase women + Doha 2025 NR → Parul Chaudhary.

Answer: (A) Parul Chaudhary