Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A megaregion is a chain of large cities joined into one continuous economic zone (e.g. Boston–Washington "BosWash", Tokyo–Osaka, Pearl River Delta).

1. They arise from integrated economic corridors – shared labour markets, industry and trade – linked by dense highways, high-speed rail, ports and airports.
2. This connectivity pulls in migrants, so density comes mainly from in-migration, not from high natural growth (these regions actually have low birth rates).
3. They are not created by uniform physical geography or forced government relocation.

Trick: Megaregion = Economy + Connectivity.

Answer: (B) They develop due to integrated economic corridors and high connectivity

Concept: The Kalpa Sutra is a sacred Śvetāmbara Jain text traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu.

1. It narrates the lives of the Tīrthaṅkaras, especially Mahavira and Parshvanatha, and lists the line of pontiffs (sthaviravali).
2. Its last part, Samacari, gives the rules for monks during the rainy-season retreat.
3. It is recited publicly during the Paryuṣaṇa festival; illustrated Kalpa Sutra manuscripts are famous examples of western Indian painting.

Yaad rakhein: Paryushan + Bhadrabahu → Kalpa Sutra.

Answer: (D) Kalpa-sutra

Concept: Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922) was a Sanskrit scholar and a pioneer of women's rights in India.

1. She founded the Arya Mahila Samaj (Pune, 1882) and Sharada Sadan (Bombay, 1889), a school-home for child widows.
2. Her Mukti Mission at Kedgaon sheltered and educated destitute women; she also wrote The High-Caste Hindu Woman.
3. Her life's aim was women's education and empowerment, not religious ritual, military or purely political work.

Yaad rakhein: Ramabai = Sharada Sadan + Mukti Mission → widows' education.

Answer: (A) Women’s education and empowerment

Concept: The Asian Oceanian Congress of Radiology (AOCR) is the regional congress of the Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology.

1. The 23rd AOCR was held in Chennai in January 2025, organised together with the annual conference of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA).
2. It brought together radiologists from Asia-Oceania to discuss imaging, AI in radiology and patient safety.

Yaad rakhein: AOCR 2025 → Chennai (with IRIA).

Answer: (C) Chennai

Concept: PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is a GIS-based digital platform for multimodal connectivity planning.

1. It was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 13 October 2021.
2. It brings 16 (now more) ministries, including Railways and Roadways, onto one platform so that projects are planned and executed together, cutting logistics cost and delays.
3. The National Logistics Policy (2022) complements it.

Yaad rakhein: Gati Shakti 2021 → Logistics Policy 2022.

Answer: (B) 2021

Concept: System software manages the hardware and provides a platform for application software.

1. (i) The OS kernel runs in privileged (kernel/supervisor) mode, so it can execute any instruction and access all hardware directly – True.
2. (ii) Core system software such as BIOS/UEFI firmware, the OS and device drivers is needed to boot the computer and let it use its devices – True.
3. User applications run in restricted user mode and must ask the OS for hardware access.

Trick: Kernel mode = full power; user mode = limited power.

Answer: (D) (i) True, (ii) True

Concept: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 (in force 24 April 1993) gave constitutional status to Panchayats.

1. It added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O) and the 11th Schedule with 29 subjects.
2. The 74th Amendment added Part IX-A for municipalities; the 42nd (1976) is the "mini-constitution"; the 44th (1978) removed property as a fundamental right; the 86th (2002) made education a fundamental right (Art 21A).

Yaad rakhein: 73 → Panchayat (Part IX, Schedule 11); 74 → Nagarpalika (Part IX-A, Schedule 12).

Answer: (B) 73rd Amendment

Concept: World Mental Health Day is observed every year on 10 October.

1. In 2025 the campaign focused on mental health in humanitarian emergencies – access to mental-health and psychosocial support for people hit by conflicts, disasters and other crises.
2. Earlier themes: 2024 – Mental Health at Work; 2023 – Mental Health is a Universal Human Right; 2022 – Make Mental Health & Well-being for All a Global Priority.

Trick: 2022 Priority → 2023 Right → 2024 Work → 2025 Emergencies.

Answer: (B) Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies

Concept: Article 350-B provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, appointed by the President.

1. It was inserted by the 7th Constitutional Amendment, 1956, on the advice of the States Reorganisation Commission.
2. The officer investigates safeguards for linguistic minorities and reports to the President.
3. Art 350-A: instruction in mother tongue at primary stage; Art 338-A: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Yaad rakhein: 350-A = mother-tongue teaching, 350-B = Special Officer.

Answer: (C) Article 350-B

Concept: Malik Kafur, Alauddin Khalji's general, led a series of raids into the Deccan and South India.

1. 1307–08: Devagiri (Yadavas).
2. 1309–10: Warangal – Kakatiya kingdom of Prataparudra II, who submitted and paid tribute (Koh-i-Noor is linked to this raid by tradition).
3. 1310–11: Dwarasamudra (Hoysalas) and Madurai (Pandyas).

Trick: Order of Kafur's raids = Y-K-H-P (Yadava 1307, Kakatiya 1309, Hoysala 1310, Pandya 1311).

Answer: (C) Kakatiya Kingdom

Concept: An insoluble solid that separates out when two solutions react is called a precipitate (double displacement / precipitation reaction).

1. ${\text{BaCl}}_2(aq)+{\text{Na}}_2{\text{SO}}_4(aq)\to {\text{BaSO}}_4(s)\downarrow +2\text{NaCl}(aq)$
2. ${\text{BaSO}}_4$ is insoluble in water, so it appears as a white precipitate.
3. Isotopes = same element, different mass; isomers = same formula, different structure; emulsion = liquid dispersed in liquid.

Yaad rakhein: White ppt of ${\text{BaSO}}_4$ is the standard test for sulphate ions.

Answer: (D) Precipitate

Concept: In its monetary policy announced on 5 December 2025, the RBI revised its growth and inflation outlook.

1. Real GDP growth projection for FY 2025–26 was raised to $7.3\%$ (from $6.8\%$).
2. The repo rate was cut by 25 basis points to $5.25\%$, and the CPI inflation projection was lowered to $2.0\%$.

Yaad rakhein: Dec 2025 policy: GDP $7.3\%$, repo $5.25\%$.

Answer: (C) $7.3\%$

Concept: Raja Ram Mohan Roy, founder of the Brahmo Samaj (1828), is called the "Father of the Indian Renaissance".

1. His long campaign against Sati led Governor-General Lord William Bentinck to ban it by Regulation XVII of 1829 – his greatest social achievement.
2. He also supported English/modern education, but the Child Marriage Restraint Act came only in 1929, and the INC was founded in 1885, after his death (1833).

Yaad rakhein: Ram Mohan Roy + Bentinck → Sati ban 1829.

Answer: (B) Abolition of Sati in 1829

Concept: The Union Budget 2025-26 was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February 2025.

1. Total expenditure was estimated at ₹50.65 lakh crore.
2. Total receipts other than borrowings: ₹34.96 lakh crore; capital expenditure: ₹11.21 lakh crore.
3. Fiscal deficit target: $4.4\%$ of GDP.

Yaad rakhein: Budget 2025-26: spend ≈ ₹50 lakh crore+, deficit $4.4\%$.

Answer: (B) ₹50.65 lakh crore

Concept: Chemical properties depend mainly on the valence (outermost) electrons.

1. All members of a group have the same number of valence electrons and a similar outer configuration, e.g. Group 1: $n{s}^1$ (Li, Na, K…).
2. So they lose/gain/share electrons in the same way and show similar reactions.
3. Atomic number and atomic mass change down a group, and atomic radius increases, so these cannot explain the similarity.

Trick: Same group = same outer electrons = same chemistry.

Answer: (A) Similar valence electronic configuration

Concept: Work done = rate $\times$ time; rates of pipes add up.

1. A+B+C fill $\frac{1}{6}$ per hour; in 2 hours they fill $\frac{2}{6}=\frac{1}{3}$.
2. Remaining $\frac{2}{3}$ is filled by A+B in 7 hours, so A+B $=\frac{2}{3}÷7=\frac{2}{21}$ per hour.
3. C $=\frac{1}{6}-\frac{2}{21}=\frac{7-4}{42}=\frac{1}{14}$ per hour.
4. So C alone needs $14$ hours.

Trick: Take tank = LCM$(6,21)=42$ units: A+B+C = 7 units/h, A+B = 2 units/h, so C = 3 units/h, time $=\frac{42}{3}=14$ h.

Answer: (D) 14

Concept: A general quadrilateral needs 5 independent measurements for a unique construction; special quadrilaterals need fewer.

1. (i) True: diagonals of a rhombus bisect each other at ${90}^{\circ }$, so both diagonals fix it; a square is fixed by its diagonal.
2. (iv) True: 4 sides + 1 diagonal split it into two triangles, each fixed by SSS.
3. (ii) False: 2 adjacent sides need 3 angles (not 2). (iii) False: 3 sides need 2 included angles (not 1).

Yaad rakhein: Five valid cases (NCERT): 4 sides + 1 diagonal; 2 diagonals + 3 sides; 2 adjacent sides + 3 angles; 3 sides + 2 included angles; other special properties.

Answer: (A) ( i ) and ( iv )

Concept: Translate each condition into an equation and solve the pair.

1. Let Juhi = $J$, Mamta = $M$. Case 1: $J-30=2(M+30)\Rightarrow J=2M+90$.
2. Case 2: $J+10=4(M-10)\Rightarrow J=4M-50$.
3. $2M+90=4M-50\Rightarrow M=70,J=230$.
4. Total $=230+70=300$.

Trick: Check options fast: total stays the same in both transfers; with 300, case 1 gives $200:100=2:1$ and case 2 gives $240:60=4:1$.

Answer: (B) ₹300

Concept: Consecutive primes with sum 36 lie around $36÷2=18$.

1. Primes near 18: 17 and 19 (no prime in between).
2. $17+19=36$ ✔
3. Product $=17\times 19=323$.

Trick: $17\times 19={18}^2-1^2=324-1=323$.

Answer: (A) 323

Concept: Surface area of a sphere $=4\pi r^2$.

1. Let small radius $=r$, large radius $=5r$.
2. $4\pi r^2+4\pi (25r^2)=104\pi r^2=12584\pi$.
3. $r^2=121\Rightarrow r=11$, so $R=55\text{cm}$.
4. Diameter $=2R=110\text{cm}$.

Trick: $12584÷104=121$ — a perfect square, confirming the setup.

Answer: (A) 110 cm