Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Pepsin is a protease – it breaks proteins into peptides in the acidic medium of the stomach.

1. Gastric glands secrete pepsinogen, which HCl converts to active pepsin (works best at pH about 2).
2. Carbohydrates are digested by amylase (saliva, pancreas); fats by lipase; vitamins are not digested by enzymes.

Yaad rakhein: Pepsin → Protein; Lipase → Lipid (fat); Amylase → Amylum (starch).

Answer: (D) Proteins

Concept: During PM Modi's visit to France (February 2025, AI Action Summit, Paris), India and France signed a Declaration of Intent on a partnership for Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR) and Small Modular Reactors (SMR).

1. The two sides agreed to cooperate on design, development and co-production of SMRs/AMRs, along with other civil nuclear cooperation (Jaitapur project, GCNEP training).
2. Russia and the US are India's traditional nuclear partners, but this specific SMR/AMR declaration was with France.

Yaad rakhein: Feb 2025: Modi co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris with Macron – SMR/AMR partnership signed on the same visit.

Answer: (A) France

Concept: Iron ore in Maharashtra comes from the Vidarbha region – Chandrapur, Bhandara and Gadchiroli districts.

1. Important deposits: Lohara (Chandrapur), Pipalgaon–Surjagarh belt (Gadchiroli) and Bhandara–Gondia area.
2. Nagpur–Wardha is known more for coal and manganese; Aurangabad–Jalna and Pune–Thane are not iron-ore areas.

Yaad rakhein: Maharashtra iron ore → "Chandrapur–Bhandara–Gadchiroli" (eastern Vidarbha).

Answer: (A) Chandrapur and Bhandara

Concept: The Kakori train action (9 August 1925) was carried out by the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) in the United Provinces.

1. Revolutionaries Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajendra Lahiri and others looted the government treasury on the train near Kakori (Lucknow).
2. Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Roshan Singh and Lahiri were hanged in 1927.
3. HSRA (with "Socialist") was formed later, in 1928 – so option B is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: 1924 HRA → 1925 Kakori → 1928 HSRA (Bhagat Singh era).

Answer: (C) Hindustan Republican Association in United Provinces

Concept: In December 2025, Lucknow Police launched dedicated CUG numbers so that women can directly reach the Mission Shakti Centre in-charge at every police station.

1. Mission Shakti is Uttar Pradesh's flagship programme for women's safety, dignity and self-reliance; Mission Shakti Centres/desks run in police stations.
2. Chandigarh, Delhi and Patna are not in Uttar Pradesh, so they are ruled out by the question itself.

Yaad rakhein: "In Uttar Pradesh" + capital-city police initiative → Lucknow.

Answer: (C) Lucknow

Concept: The State Election Commission (Article 243K and 243ZA) conducts elections to Panchayats and Municipalities.

1. It was created by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992); the State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor.
2. Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies, President and Vice-President elections are all conducted by the Election Commission of India (Article 324).

Yaad rakhein: ECI → Parliament, Assemblies, President, VP; SEC → local bodies only.

Answer: (B) Panchayats and Municipalities

Concept: Process management is the OS function that creates, schedules and terminates processes – including allocating CPU time (CPU scheduling).

1. Scheduling algorithms like FCFS, Round Robin and Priority decide which process gets the CPU and for how long.
2. Memory management handles RAM allocation, file management handles files/directories, device management handles I/O devices.

Yaad rakhein: CPU time → Process management; RAM → Memory management; disks/printers → Device management.

Answer: (C) Process Management

Concept: Sushil Kumar is India's first individual two-time Olympic medallist (bronze 2008 Beijing, silver 2012 London) and the first Indian wrestling World Champion (2010, Moscow, 66 kg).

1. Rathore won a single Olympic medal (silver, shooting, 2004).
2. Bajrang Punia has an Olympic bronze (2020) and World Championship medals but no world title; Geeta Phogat won Commonwealth gold (2010).

Yaad rakhein: Sushil Kumar: 2008 bronze + 2010 World gold + 2012 silver.

Answer: (C) Sushil Kumar

Concept: Chandragupta I (c. 319–335 CE) married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi, which boosted the Guptas' prestige and power.

1. Special gold coins ("Chandragupta–Kumaradevi type") show the royal couple with the legend "Lichchhavayah".
2. Their son Samudragupta proudly called himself "Lichchhavi-dauhitra" (grandson of the Lichchhavis) in the Allahabad Pillar inscription.

Yaad rakhein: Chandragupta I + Kumaradevi = Lichchhavi alliance; started the Gupta Era (319–20 CE).

Answer: (D) Lichchhavi

Concept: Railways are the most suitable mode for carrying heavy and bulky goods (coal, iron ore, cement, foodgrains) over long distances in India.

1. Indian Railways earns most of its revenue from freight; bulk commodities like coal form the largest share.
2. Waterways are cheap but limited to navigable rivers/coasts; roads suit short hauls; air is costly and for light, urgent cargo.

Yaad rakhein: Long distance + heavy bulk → Rail; short distance/door-to-door → Road; light & urgent → Air.

Answer: (D) Railways

Concept: The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 added the words "Socialist", "Secular" and "Integrity" to the Preamble.

1. Passed during the Emergency, it is called the "Mini-Constitution" because of its sweeping changes.
2. 44th Amendment (1978) undid many Emergency-era changes; 86th (2002) added Right to Education (Article 21A); 38th (1975) related to Emergency proclamations.

Yaad rakhein: 42nd Amendment → "SSI" = Socialist, Secular, Integrity.

Answer: (D) 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act

Concept: The Planning Commission was set up on 15 March 1950 by a Cabinet resolution, with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first Chairman.

1. It was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015.
2. The First Five-Year Plan began in 1951; 1947 is Independence, not the Commission's founding year.

Yaad rakhein: Planning Commission 1950 → First Plan 1951 → NITI Aayog 2015.

Answer: (A) 1950

Concept: Akbar introduced the Zabti (Dahsala/Bandobast) system in 1580 with the help of Raja Todar Mal.

1. Land was measured, classified (Polaj, Parauti, Chachar, Banjar) and revenue fixed in cash on the basis of average produce and prices of the previous ten years.
2. It applied to the core provinces – Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Awadh, Malwa and parts of Gujarat.

Yaad rakhein: Zabti / Dahsala / Todar Mal → Akbar (1580).

Answer: (D) Akbar

Concept: In March 2025 ISRO successfully carried out the flight acceptance hot test of the CE20 cryogenic engine at IPRC, Mahendragiri.

1. CE20 is the indigenous cryogenic (LOX–LH2) engine that powers the upper stage of LVM3; each flight engine undergoes an acceptance hot test before being cleared.
2. The same month ISRO also completed the first hot test of the semi-cryogenic engine Power Head Test Article. Ion engines, nuclear rocket engines or solar electric propulsion were not part of this milestone.

Yaad rakhein: CE20 → cryogenic upper stage of LVM3 (Bahubali); tested at Mahendragiri (Tamil Nadu).

Answer: (B) Flight acceptance hot testing of the CE20

Concept: Human hearing range is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Frequencies above 20,000 Hz are ultrasound (ultrasonic); below 20 Hz are infrasound.

1. Bats, dolphins and dogs can hear ultrasound; it is used in sonography, SONAR and cleaning instruments.
2. "Supersonic" refers to speed greater than the speed of sound, not frequency – a common trap.

Yaad rakhein: Ultra = above (frequency); Super-sonic = above speed of sound; Infra = below.

Answer: (D) Ultrasound

Concept: In September 2025 MoSPI released the draft Indian Statistical Institute (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to update the ISI Act of 1959.

1. ISI, Kolkata, was founded by P.C. Mahalanobis in 1931 – its centenary comes in 2031, which is why the law is being modernised now.
2. The draft proposes a stronger governance structure, degree-granting clarity and greater autonomy for the institute.
3. NSSO and CSO were already merged into the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2019, and MoSPI is a ministry, not an "organization being changed by a bill".

Yaad rakhein: ISI → Mahalanobis → 1931 → ISI Act 1959 → draft amendment 2025.

Answer: (D) Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)

Concept: West Bengal, India's largest rice producer, grows three rice crops a year named by season.

1. Aus – autumn rice (sown Mar–Apr, harvested Aug–Sep).
2. Aman – winter/kharif rice, the main crop (harvested Nov–Dec).
3. Boro – summer rice grown with irrigation (harvested Apr–May). These Bengali names are used only in West Bengal, Assam and Bangladesh.

Yaad rakhein: "Aus–Aman–Boro" = Bengali words → West Bengal.

Answer: (A) West Bengal

Concept: The Revolt of 1857 had deep political, economic and social causes, but its immediate spark was the greased cartridge affair.

1. The new Enfield P-53 rifle used cartridges whose greased paper had to be bitten off; the grease was rumoured to be cow and pig fat, offending Hindus and Muslims alike.
2. Mangal Pandey attacked officers at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857; the Meerut sepoys refused the cartridges and rose on 10 May 1857.
3. The other options describe grievances that existed in some form (e.g., the General Service Enlistment Act, 1856 on overseas service) but were not the immediate trigger.

Yaad rakhein: Enfield rifle + greased cartridge = spark of 1857.

Answer: (C) Introduction of the Enfield rifle with cartridges feared to contain animal fat.

Concept: The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1992 gave constitutional status to local self-government.

1. 74th Amendment Act, 1992 → Part IX-A, Articles 243P–243ZG and the 12th Schedule → Municipalities (urban local bodies); in force from 1 June 1993.
2. 73rd Amendment → Part IX, 11th Schedule → Panchayats (rural).
3. 86th Amendment (2002) added Right to Education (Art. 21A); 42nd (1976) is the "Mini-Constitution".

Trick: 73 = villages (Panchayat), 74 = towns (Municipality) – rural comes first.

Answer: (B) 74th Amendment Act

Concept: Acid rain forms when oxides of sulphur and nitrogen dissolve in rain water to form acids.

1. Sulphur dioxide (SO₂) from burning coal and oil oxidises to SO₃, which with water gives sulphuric acid: ${\text{SO}}_3+{\text{H}}_2\text{O}\to {\text{H}}_2{\text{SO}}_4$.
2. Nitrogen oxides (NO_x) form nitric acid; together they lower rain pH below 5.6.
3. CO and ozone do not form acids in rain; ammonia is basic and actually neutralises acidity.

Yaad rakhein: Acid rain = SO₂ + NO_x; the Taj Mahal's "marble cancer" is due to SO₂ from Mathura refinery.

Answer: (D) Sulphur dioxide