Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Japan's Prime Minister is chosen by the Diet, usually the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

1. Sanae Takaichi was elected LDP president on 4 October 2025 and confirmed by the Diet on 21 October 2025 as Japan's first woman Prime Minister, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba.
2. Yoko Kamikawa (ex-Foreign Minister) and Satsuki Katayama (Finance Minister in Takaichi's cabinet) are other LDP women leaders.

Yaad rakhein: Japan 2025: Ishiba → Sanae Takaichi (first female PM).

Answer: (A) Sanae Takaichi

Concept: Software is of two main kinds: system software (runs the machine – OS, drivers, utilities) and application software (does user tasks).

1. A web browser like Chrome performs a specific user task – browsing the internet – so it is application software.
2. It is not hardware (physical parts) and not part of the operating system.

Yaad rakhein: Browser, MS Word, WhatsApp → application; Windows, Linux, drivers → system software.

Answer: (D) Application software

Concept: The UMEED portal (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development), launched in June 2025 under the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, requires all waqf properties to be uploaded within six months.

1. West Bengal had initially opposed the amended Act and held back; in November 2025 its government directed the State Waqf Board to digitise and upload its waqf properties on the UMEED portal.
2. Bihar and Andhra Pradesh had been uploading records from the start, so they do not fit "deadlock".

Yaad rakhein: UMEED = central waqf-property portal (June 2025); late joiner in Nov 2025 = West Bengal.

Answer: (D) West Bengal

Concept: Lok Adalats are forums for amicable settlement of disputes, later given statutory status by the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

1. The first Lok Adalat in India was held on 14 March 1982 at Una, Junagadh district, Gujarat.
2. The Legal Services Authorities Act came in 1987 and was enforced from 1995 – do not confuse these later years.

Yaad rakhein: First Lok Adalat – Una (Junagadh), Gujarat, 1982; Act – 1987; in force – 1995.

Answer: (D) 1982

Concept: Part XVIII (Articles 352–360) deals with emergencies; Articles 358 and 359 cover the effect on Fundamental Rights.

1. Article 359: during a National Emergency the President may suspend the right to move courts for enforcement of Fundamental Rights – but never Articles 20 and 21 (44th Amendment, 1978).
2. Article 352 – proclamation of National Emergency; 353 – its effects on Centre–State relations; 360 – Financial Emergency.

Yaad rakhein: 358 → Article 19 suspended automatically (war/external aggression); 359 → enforcement of other rights suspended by order, except 20 & 21.

Answer: (A) Article 359

Concept: Hangul is the Kashmir stag (Cervus hanglu hanglu), the only surviving Asiatic red deer subspecies in India and the state animal of Jammu & Kashmir.

1. Project Hangul was launched in 1970 by the J&K Government with IUCN and WWF to save it; its main habitat is Dachigam National Park near Srinagar.
2. It is listed Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Yaad rakhein: Hangul = Kashmir stag = Dachigam; Musk deer → Kedarnath sanctuary; Red panda → Sikkim.

Answer: (C) Kashmir Stag

Concept: India's hot weather (summer) season runs from March to May, before the south-west monsoon.

1. "Loo" are strong, hot, dry winds blowing in the daytime over the northern plains in May–June; exposure can be fatal.
2. Retreating monsoon (Oct–Nov) brings "October heat" with humidity, not dry Loo; pre-monsoon showers (Kaal Baisakhi, mango showers) are local storms of the same summer season but not the Loo.

Yaad rakhein: Summer – Loo, Kaal Baisakhi, mango showers; Winter – western disturbances; Oct–Nov – retreating monsoon.

Answer: (A) Summer season

Concept: Adani Airport Holdings operates seven Indian airports (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangaluru) and the new Navi Mumbai airport.

1. In 2025 the Adani Group announced plans to invest about US$15 billion (₹1 lakh crore+) by 2030 to expand its airports, including Navi Mumbai (opened October 2025).
2. Tata Group's aviation presence is through Air India (airline), not airport operation.

Yaad rakhein: Airports → Adani (largest private operator); Airline → Tata (Air India).

Answer: (D) Adani Group

Concept: Structural unemployment arises when workers' skills no longer match the jobs available because of technological or structural change in the economy.

1. A textile worker replaced by automation has skills the industry no longer needs – a classic structural case.
2. Tourism off-season = seasonal; quitting to study = voluntary/frictional; temporary dip in demand = cyclical unemployment.

Yaad rakhein: Structural = skills mismatch (technology); Cyclical = recession; Frictional = between jobs; Seasonal = time of year.

Answer: (D) A textile worker loses the job due to industry automation

Concept: The 1991 reforms (LPG – Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) aimed to reduce state control and make markets, including the financial sector, more efficient.

1. On the Narasimham Committee's recommendations, interest rates were progressively deregulated, SLR/CRR reduced, private banks allowed and prudential norms introduced – stabilising and strengthening the financial sector.
2. Options A, C and D describe the opposite – more control and fixed rates – which the reforms moved away from.

Yaad rakhein: 1991 = less control, more competition: deregulated interest rates, FDI opened, Narasimham banking reforms.

Answer: (B) To stabilise the economy by liberalising interest rates and enhancing financial sector efficiency

Concept: Article 1 declares "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States" and defines the territory of India.

1. Article 1(3): the territory of India comprises (a) the territories of the States, (b) the Union Territories specified in the First Schedule, and (c) such other territories as may be acquired – three categories.
2. The number of States/UTs (28 + 8) changes, but these three categories have been constant.

Yaad rakhein: Article 1 → 3 categories: States, UTs, acquired territories.

Answer: (B) Three

Concept: Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22) was strictly non-violent; he withdrew it the moment it turned violent.

1. On 5 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura (Gorakhpur, U.P.), a mob set fire to a police station killing 22 policemen.
2. Gandhi called off the movement on 12 February 1922 (Bardoli resolution of the Congress Working Committee).

Yaad rakhein: Chauri Chaura (5 Feb 1922) → NCM withdrawn (12 Feb 1922) → Swarajists emerge.

Answer: (B) The violent attack on policemen during the Chauri Chaura incident.

Concept: Micro-irrigation delivers water directly to the plant root zone, minimising evaporation and runoff.

1. Drip irrigation achieves about 90% water-use efficiency – the highest among common methods; sprinklers are around 70–80%.
2. Flood and canal irrigation lose a large share of water to seepage and evaporation.

Yaad rakhein: Efficiency order: Drip > Sprinkler > Furrow > Flood.

Answer: (B) Drip irrigation

Concept: Tank irrigation uses small reservoirs built by bunding natural depressions; it suits undulating, hard-rock terrain where rainfall is uncertain and groundwater is scarce.

1. The Deccan plateau states – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka – account for most tank-irrigated area in India; among the options only Karnataka fits.
2. West Bengal and Haryana rely on canals/wells on flat alluvial plains; Himachal uses kuhls (hill channels).

Yaad rakhein: Tanks → peninsular (Deccan) states; canals → northern plains; wells/tube-wells → UP, Punjab.

Answer: (D) Karnataka

Concept: In football a penalty kick is a direct free kick taken from the penalty spot (12 yards / 11 m) with only the goalkeeper defending.

1. It is awarded when a defending player commits a direct-free-kick offence (foul or handball) inside their own penalty area.
2. Three goals = hat-trick (no kick); goalkeeper handling outside the area = free kick, not penalty; offside = indirect free kick.

Yaad rakhein: Foul inside the box → penalty; outside the box → free kick.

Answer: (B) A foul is committed inside the penalty area

Concept: India has two main island groups: the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea. Their origins differ.

1. Lakshadweep islands are coral atolls built up by coral polyps on submerged volcanic banks; they are low, flat and ringed by lagoons.
2. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are of tectonic/volcanic origin – they are the peaks of a submerged mountain range (extension of the Arakan Yoma); Barren Island here is India's only active volcano.
3. Diu is a small island off the Kathiawar coast, not coral.

Yaad rakhein: Arabian Sea islands = coral (Lakshadweep); Bay of Bengal islands = volcanic/tectonic (Andaman & Nicobar).

Answer: (A) Lakshadweep Islands

Concept: PDF (Portable Document Format) was designed to look exactly the same on every device, operating system and software version – it is a fixed-layout format.

1. Files like .docx, .ppt and .pptx are editable formats; their appearance depends on the version of Word/PowerPoint, installed fonts and the destination device, so layout can shift.
2. A PDF embeds fonts, images and layout, so the document is rendered identically everywhere – that is why it is used for sharing final documents, forms and e-books.

Yaad rakhein: P in PDF = Portable – "same look everywhere". Office formats (.doc/.ppt) = editable, version-dependent.

Answer: (C) .pdf

Concept: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan was set up by the Government of India as the apex body for the development and promotion of Sanskrit education.

1. It was established on 15 October 1970 under the Ministry of Education, on the recommendation of the Sanskrit Commission (1956–57).
2. It was declared a deemed university in 2002, and by the Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020 it became the Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi.

Yaad rakhein: Sanskrit Sansthan – 1970 → remember "Sanskrit–Sattar (70)".

Answer: (A) 1970

Concept: Task Manager in Windows 11 (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) is a monitoring and control utility – it shows CPU, memory, disk, network and GPU usage per process and lets you manage processes.

1. Statement (i): The Processes and App history tabs show a Network column, so you can see which app is using the most bandwidth – True.
2. Statement (ii): Besides ending unresponsive apps, Task Manager has a "Run new task" button that starts any program or process (e.g. explorer.exe) – so "only view or end" is False.

Yaad rakhein: Task Manager = monitor + end task + Run new task + Startup apps + Services. Any option saying "only" is usually wrong.

Answer: (C) (i) True, (ii) False

Concept: Bhadla Solar Park is among the world's largest solar parks with an installed capacity of about 2,245 MW.

1. It is located at Bhadla village in Phalodi tehsil of Jodhpur district, Rajasthan – a hot, dry desert area with very high solar radiation.
2. Other big parks: Pavagada (Karnataka), Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Rewa (Madhya Pradesh), Charanka (Gujarat).

Yaad rakhein: Bhadla → Jodhpur → Rajasthan (Thar desert = maximum sunshine).

Answer: (C) Rajasthan