Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The Henley Passport Index ranks passports by the number of destinations their holders can enter visa-free.

1. In the 2025 editions, Singapore ranked 1st, with visa-free access to over 190 destinations.
2. Japan and South Korea followed closely behind; Germany was in the top group but not first.
3. China is far lower in the ranking.

Yaad rakhein: Singapore = world's most powerful passport in 2025.

Answer: (C) Singapore

Concept: The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 capped the size of the Council of Ministers.

1. Article 75(1A): total Union ministers including the PM cannot exceed 15% of the Lok Sabha strength.
2. Article 164(1A): same 15% cap for states (minimum 12 ministers); it also tightened the anti-defection law.
3. 86th Amendment = Right to Education; 42nd = 'Mini Constitution'; 99th = NJAC.

Yaad rakhein: 91st = 15% ministers cap + anti-defection change (2003).

Answer: (C) 91st Amendment

Concept: Union Budget 2025-26 announced the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana in partnership with states.

1. It initially covers 100 districts with low productivity, moderate crop intensity and below-average credit.
2. Aim: raise farm productivity, crop diversification, post-harvest storage, irrigation and credit access.
3. It is expected to help about 1.7 crore farmers.

Yaad rakhein: Dhan-Dhaanya = 100 districts (a round 'century').

Answer: (D) 100

Concept: The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was set up in NABARD in 1995-96 to finance rural infrastructure projects of states.

1. It started with an initial corpus of ₹2,000 crore (RIDF-I).
2. Funds come from shortfall of banks in priority-sector lending, deposited with NABARD.
3. Loans go to state governments for irrigation, rural roads, bridges etc.

Yaad rakhein: RIDF-I (1995-96) = ₹2,000 crore.

Answer: (A) ₹2,000 crore

Concept: ROM stands for Read Only Memory.

1. It is non-volatile – data stays even when power is off.
2. It stores firmware such as the BIOS/boot instructions, which are normally only read, not changed.
3. RAM (Random Access Memory) is the volatile working memory.

Yaad rakhein: ROM = Read Only, permanent; RAM = Random Access, temporary.

Answer: (D) Read Only Memory

Concept: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar led the movement for widow remarriage in 19th-century Bengal.

1. His campaign led to the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856.
2. He also promoted girls' education and Bengali prose (Barna Parichay).
3. Jyotiba Phule also supported widows, but the movement and the 1856 Act are most associated with Vidyasagar.

Yaad rakhein: Widow remarriage → Vidyasagar → 1856 Act.

Answer: (A) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Concept: Only transverse waves can be polarised, so polarisation proves light is transverse.

1. A Polaroid lets through light vibrating in one plane only.
2. Turning a second Polaroid (analyser) changes the brightness and gives darkness at ${90}^{\circ }$ – this shows transverse vibration.
3. Lens, prism and mirror show refraction, dispersion and reflection, which longitudinal waves can also show.

Yaad rakhein: Polarisation ⇒ Polaroid ⇒ transverse.

Answer: (B) Polaroid

Concept: From the Early (Rig) Vedic to the Later Vedic period, society became more settled, agricultural and stratified.

1. Early Vedic society was largely pastoral with flexible social divisions.
2. In the Later Vedic period the four-fold varna system became rigid and hereditary, with Brahmins and Kshatriyas on top.
3. Agriculture grew (not declined), rituals became more elaborate and people moved to settled villages.

Yaad rakhein: Later Vedic = iron, agriculture, big sacrifices, rigid varna.

Answer: (B) Emergence of a complex varna hierarchy

Concept: The Goldman Environmental Prize honours grassroots environmental heroes from six continental regions.

1. Semia Gharbi, an environmental educator from Tunisia, won the 2025 prize for Africa.
2. She campaigned against illegal shipments of household waste from Italy to Tunisia, leading to the waste being sent back.

Yaad rakhein: Semia Gharbi → Tunisia → stopped illegal waste imports.

Answer: (A) Tunisia

Concept: In August 2025 the United States State Department released its 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in a shortened form.

1. Human Rights Watch criticised it for dropping sections on LGBT people, persons with disabilities, freedom of assembly and other issues.
2. The report is published by the US government about other countries, so the criticism was aimed at the US.

Yaad rakhein: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices = US State Department.

Answer: (D) United States

Concept: Density $=\frac{\text{mass}}{\text{volume}}$, dimensional formula $[\text{M}{\text{L}}^{-3}]$.

1. SI base unit of mass = kilogram (kg); of length = metre (m), so volume = ${\text{m}}^3$.
2. Hence SI unit of density = $\text{kg}{\text{m}}^{-3}$ (kilogram per metre cubed).
3. Gram, litre and cubic centimetre are not SI base units.

Trick: $[\text{M}{\text{L}}^{-3}]$ → ${\text{kg/m}}^3$.

Answer: (B) Kilogram per metre cubed

Concept: The Lepchas are the indigenous people of Sikkim, and Lepcha folk songs are a traditional music style of the state.

1. Bihu songs – Assam.
2. Baul – West Bengal (wandering minstrels).
3. Lavani – Maharashtra.

Yaad rakhein: Sikkim → Lepcha; Assam → Bihu; Bengal → Baul; Maharashtra → Lavani.

Answer: (C) Lepcha

Concept: The Sahyog portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs lets government agencies send content-takedown notices to online platforms.

1. In September 2025 the Karnataka High Court dismissed X Corp's petition challenging the portal.
2. The court upheld the government's takedown mechanism, saying platforms operating in India must follow Indian law.

Yaad rakhein: Sahyog portal case → X Corp vs Union → Karnataka HC (Sept 2025).

Answer: (D) Karnataka High Court

Concept: In Windows, the Taskbar is the bar at the bottom of the screen.

1. It holds the Start button, icons of open/pinned applications, and the notification area with clock.
2. Title bar = top of a window showing its name; Menu bar = File/Edit/View menus; Scroll bar = moves content up/down or sideways.

Yaad rakhein: Bottom = Taskbar; top of window = Title bar.

Answer: (D) Taskbar

Concept: The LPG reforms of 1991 (liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation) opened most industries to the private sector.

1. Licence raj was largely removed and foreign investment allowed, so private firms expanded quickly.
2. Indian companies grew globally through acquisitions, e.g. Tata Steel–Corus, Tata Motors–Jaguar Land Rover, Hindalco–Novelis.
3. Other options (relying only on subsidies, limiting or restricting growth) are the opposite of what happened.

Yaad rakhein: Post-1991 private sector = growth + global acquisitions.

Answer: (B) Aggressively pursuing global acquisitions and enhancing industrial growth

Concept: Angle of depression from the top equals the angle of elevation from the ship; use $\tan \theta =\frac{\text{height}}{\text{base}}$.

1. Nearer ship C (${45}^{\circ }$): $BC=\frac{75}{\tan {45}^{\circ }}=75$ m.
2. Farther ship D (${30}^{\circ }$): $BD=\frac{75}{\tan {30}^{\circ }}=75\sqrt{3}=75\times 1.732=129.9$ m.
3. Distance $CD=129.9-75=54.9$ m.

Trick: Same side, ${45}^{\circ }$ & ${30}^{\circ }$: gap $=h(\sqrt{3}-1)=75\times 0.732=54.9$ m.

Answer: (A) $54.9$ meters

Concept: Diagonals from one vertex split a pentagon into 3 non-overlapping triangles; pentagon area = sum of the three areas.

1. Third triangle: $\frac{1}{2}\times 12\times 38=228{\text{cm}}^2$.
2. Pentagon $=24+30+228=282{\text{cm}}^2$.

Trick: From one vertex an n-gon gives $(n-2)$ triangles – here $5-2=3$; just add them.

Answer: (A) $282$

Concept: Two successive increases $a\%$ and $b\%$ give a net increase of $a+b+\frac{ab}{100}$ %.

1. $a=9,b=13$.
2. Net $=9+13+\frac{9\times 13}{100}=22+1.17=23.17\%$.

Trick: Check: $1.09\times 1.13=1.2317$ → $23.17\%$.

Answer: (A) $23.17\%$

Concept: Express the son's and daughter's ages through the father's age 10 years ago.

1. Let father's age 10 years ago $=4k$. Then son $=2k$, daughter $=k$ (10 years ago).
2. Present: father $4k+10$, son $2k+10$, daughter $k+10$.
3. $4k+10=(2k+10)+(k+10)\Rightarrow k=10$.
4. Ages: $50,30,20$; total $=100$.

Trick: Father = son + daughter, so total $=2\times$ father $=2\times 50=100$.

Answer: (A) $100$

Concept: If N divides 228 leaving remainder 18, then N divides $228-18$ and $N>18$.

1. $228-18=210=2\times 3\times 5\times 7$.
2. Two-digit divisors of 210 greater than 18: $21,30,35,42,70$.
3. Greatest is $70$ (check: $228=3\times 70+18$).

Trick: Divisor must always be greater than the remainder.

Answer: (B) $70$