Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The HDI (UNDP, 1990) combines three dimensions – a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living.

1. Indicators: life expectancy at birth; education index (mean and expected years of schooling); GNI per capita (PPP).
2. Poverty-line ratio (head-count ratio) is a separate poverty measure, not part of HDI.

Yaad rakhein: HDI = Health + Education + Income.

Answer: (A) Poverty line ratio

Concept: Vitamins A, D, E, K are fat-soluble; B-complex and C are water-soluble.

1. Vitamin D (calciferol) increases absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine, so bones mineralise properly.
2. Its deficiency causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults; the skin makes it in sunlight.
3. Vitamin A is for vision; B and C are water-soluble, so they do not fit.

Yaad rakhein: Fat-soluble = ADEK; D = "Dhoop" (sunshine) vitamin for bones.

Answer: (A) Vitamin D

Concept: The Kyoto Protocol (adopted 1997, in force 2005) under the UNFCCC set legally binding greenhouse-gas reduction targets for developed (Annex I) countries.

1. Rio Declaration (1992) gave only principles; Paris Agreement (2015) uses voluntary NDCs for all countries; Basel Convention (1989) deals with hazardous waste.
2. Hence Kyoto was the first agreement with binding emission targets for developed nations.

Yaad rakhein: Kyoto = binding, rich countries only; Paris = voluntary, everyone.

Answer: (A) Kyoto Protocol

Concept: The International Conference on "Reimagining Existence: Emerging Perspectives in World Literature and Language" was held in March 2025 in India.

1. It was an academic conference hosted by an Indian institution, bringing together scholars of world literature and languages.
2. Italy, China and Russia are distractors; the event was not held abroad.

Yaad rakhein: Literature/language conferences of 2025 asked in exams – "Reimagining Existence" (March 2025) was hosted in India.

Answer: (A) India

Concept: System software runs and manages the computer hardware; application software lets the user do specific tasks.

1. System software: operating systems (Windows, Linux), device drivers, utilities – they control memory, CPU, devices.
2. Application software: MS Word, browsers, games – they perform user tasks on top of the OS.
3. Options (A) and (D) reverse the roles; (B) is wrong because they differ.

Yaad rakhein: System software = manager of the machine; Application = tool for the user.

Answer: (C) System software manages hardware; application software performs user tasks

Concept: Part XVIII of the Constitution has three emergencies – Article 352 (national), Article 356 (failure of constitutional machinery in a state, i.e. President's Rule) and Article 360 (financial).

1. Under Article 356 the President, on the Governor's report or otherwise, can assume the functions of the state government.
2. Article 355 only places a duty on the Union to protect states; Article 249 is Rajya Sabha's power to legislate on State List; Article 350 concerns language grievances.

Yaad rakhein: 352 – National, 356 – State, 360 – Financial.

Answer: (C) Article 356

Concept: Light reflected from flat surfaces like water or roads becomes partly polarised (its vibrations lie mostly in the horizontal plane).

1. Polaroid sunglasses have a vertical transmission axis, so they block this horizontally polarised reflected light – the glare disappears.
2. Refraction is bending of light, diffraction is bending round edges, interference is superposition – none selectively removes glare.

Yaad rakhein: Glare = polarised light → cut by Polaroid glasses; also used in 3D cinema glasses.

Answer: (D) Polarization

Concept: India's vegetation types by area: Tropical Deciduous (monsoon) forests are the largest, found where rainfall is 70–200 cm.

1. They are the most widespread – across the Deccan plateau, Gangetic plain foothills, Odisha, MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand – and give sal, teak, sandalwood.
2. Thorn forests (less than 70 cm rain) occupy the dry north-west; mangroves and mountain forests cover small, specific zones.

Yaad rakhein: "Monsoon forests" = tropical deciduous = largest area in India.

Answer: (C) Tropical Deciduous vegetation

Concept: FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973) was a strict control law; it was replaced by FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) after liberalisation.

1. FEMA was passed by Parliament in December 1999 and came into force on 1 June 2000.
2. FEMA treats forex violations as civil offences (FERA treated them as criminal) and aims to facilitate external trade and payments.

Yaad rakhein: FERA 1973 → FEMA 1999 (effective 2000); "Regulation" became "Management".

Answer: (D) 1999

Concept: The Kensington Treaty is a friendship and bilateral cooperation treaty between the UK and Germany.

1. It was signed in London on 17 July 2025 by UK PM Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – the first such UK–Germany treaty since World War II.
2. It covers defence, migration, trade and mobility; the UK has long-standing treaties with France (e.g. Lancaster House, 2010), so France does not fit the "first since WWII" clue.

Yaad rakhein: Kensington Treaty (July 2025) = UK + Germany; Starmer + Merz.

Answer: (C) Germany

Concept: The Pali Tipitaka ("three baskets") = Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka.

1. Vinaya Pitaka – rules of discipline for monks and nuns of the Sangha.
2. Sutta Pitaka – Buddha's sermons and teachings; Abhidhamma Pitaka – philosophical and psychological analysis.
3. Jataka tales are stories of Buddha's previous births (part of Sutta Pitaka); "Jataka Pitaka" is not a basket.

Yaad rakhein: Vinaya = Vidhi (rules), Sutta = Sermons, Abhidhamma = Analysis.

Answer: (D) Vinaya Pitaka

Concept: Akbar divided the empire into Subas (provinces), each a replica of the central government.

1. Statement I – correct: the Suba was headed by a Subedar (Sipahsalar/Nazim) appointed directly by the Emperor; the Diwan, Bakhshi, Sadr, Qazi and Kotwal assisted him.
2. Statement II – correct: the Daroga-i-Dak Chowki managed the postal and intelligence (dak) system that kept the centre informed of the provinces.

Yaad rakhein: Subedar = governor, Diwan = revenue, Bakhshi = military, Daroga-i-Dak = post/news.

Answer: (C) Both statements I and II are correct.

Concept: Of India's 8 Union Territories, only three have Legislative Assemblies – Delhi (NCT), Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir.

1. Delhi got its Assembly under the 69th Amendment (Article 239AA, 1991).
2. Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Andaman & Nicobar are administered directly by the President through an Administrator/Lt. Governor, with no legislature.

Yaad rakhein: UTs with Assembly = D-P-J (Delhi, Puducherry, J&K).

Answer: (C) National Capital Territory of Delhi

Concept: The 42nd Amendment (1976) amended Article 31C to give all Directive Principles primacy over Fundamental Rights under Articles 14 and 19.

1. The 44th Amendment (1978), passed by the Janata government, reversed many 42nd-Amendment changes and is credited with restoring the balance in favour of Fundamental Rights (it also strengthened Articles 20–21 during Emergency).
2. In Minerva Mills (1980) the Supreme Court struck down the 42nd Amendment's expansion of Article 31C, confirming the primacy of Fundamental Rights.
3. 74th (municipalities) and 84th (delimitation freeze) are unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: 42nd = DPSP over FR; 44th = balance restored to FR.

Answer: (A) 44th Amendment

Concept: The Chittagong Armoury Raid (18 April 1930) was carried out by the Indian Republican Army led by "Masterda" Surya Sen.

1. Surya Sen's group, including Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Datta, seized the police and auxiliary armouries in Chittagong (now Bangladesh).
2. Surya Sen was captured in 1933 and hanged in January 1934.
3. Azad and Bhagat Singh belonged to HSRA in north India; Jatin Das died on hunger strike in Lahore jail (1929).

Yaad rakhein: Chittagong 1930 = Surya Sen ("Masterda").

Answer: (A) Surya Sen

Concept: Write both selling prices in terms of the cost price $x$ and compare their difference with ₹126.

1. Original: SP $=1.15x$.
2. New CP $=0.9x$, gain $20\%$ ⟹ new SP $=1.2\times 0.9x=1.08x$.
3. Difference: $1.15x-1.08x=0.07x=126$ ⟹ $x=1800$.

Trick: Successive % on CP: $0.9\times 1.2=1.08$, so the gap is $(115-108)\%=7\%$ of CP $=$ ₹126.

Answer: (B) ₹1,800

Concept: If numbers are $4k,13k,9k$ with $k$ their HCF, then LCM $=k\times \text{LCM}(4,13,9)$.

1. $\text{LCM}(4,13,9)=468$ (all co-prime).
2. $468k=6084$ ⟹ $k=13$.
3. HCF $=k=13$.

Trick: For co-prime ratio terms, HCF $={\displaystyle \frac{\text{LCM}}{\text{product of ratio terms}}}$.

Answer: (B) 13

Concept: Form linear equations with son's present age $s$.

1. Man $=2s+4$.
2. After 6 years: $(2s+4+6)+(s+6)=58$ ⟹ $3s+16=58$.
3. $s=14$ years.

Trick: Present sum $=58-12=46$; then $3s+4=46$ ⟹ $s=14$.

Answer: (C) 14 years

Concept: $SI={\displaystyle \frac{P\times R\times T}{100}}$.

1. $1320={\displaystyle \frac{P\times 20\times 3}{100}}={\displaystyle \frac{60P}{100}}$.
2. $P={\displaystyle \frac{1320\times 100}{60}}=2200$.

Trick: $20\%\times 3=60\%$ of sum $=1320$ ⟹ sum $=1320÷0.6=2200$.

Answer: (B) 2,200

Concept: For a fixed perimeter, the triangle of maximum area is equilateral.

1. Each side $={\displaystyle \frac{18}{3}}=6$ cm.
2. Area $={\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}}{a}^2={\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}}\times 36=9\sqrt{3}$ cm².

Yaad rakhein: Fixed perimeter ⟹ most "regular" shape has the greatest area (equilateral triangle, square, circle).

Answer: (C) $9\sqrt{3}$