Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Agni-Prime is the new-generation, canisterised ballistic missile of the Agni series developed by DRDO.

1. On 3 April 2024 DRDO and the Strategic Forces Command successfully flight-tested Agni-Prime from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.
2. Its range is 1,000–2,000 km; it is lighter than Agni-I/II and uses composite motor casings.
3. Surya is a proposed ICBM, Prahaar is a short-range tactical missile and Akash is a surface-to-air missile.

Yaad rakhein: Agni = ballistic (surface-to-surface); Akash = air-defence (surface-to-air).

Answer: (A) Agni Prime

Concept: After the Fourth Buddhist Council (Kundalvana, Kashmir, under Kanishka, 1st century CE) Buddhism split into two major schools.

1. Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle"/Theravada) – follows the original teachings, Buddha as a teacher, no idol worship.
2. Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle") – worships Buddha as God, believes in Bodhisattvas and idol worship.
3. Swetambara and Digambara are the branches of Jainism; Anga/Upanga are Jain texts.

Yaad rakhein: Buddhism → Hinayana–Mahayana (later Vajrayana); Jainism → Swetambara–Digambara.

Answer: (C) Hinayana and Mahayana

Concept: The NCRB "Crime in India 2022" report was released in December 2023.

1. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Maharashtra registered the highest number of corruption cases in the country (749 cases in 2022), followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka.
2. Hence Maharashtra was reported as the state with the most corruption cases.

Yaad rakhein: NCRB (est. 1986, under MHA, HQ New Delhi) publishes "Crime in India" every year.

Answer: (A) Maharashtra

Concept: Devendra Jhajharia is India's celebrated Paralympic javelin thrower from Rajasthan.

1. He won Paralympic gold in javelin (F46) at Athens 2004 and Rio 2016, and silver at Tokyo 2020.
2. He received the Padma Bhushan (2022) and the Khel Ratna (2017), and is President of the Paralympic Committee of India.

Yaad rakhein: Jhajharia (Para) and Neeraj Chopra (Olympic) – both javelin, both from north India.

Answer: (C) Javelin throw

Concept: The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) was launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2021 to lease out brownfield public assets.

1. Its estimated value is ₹6 lakh crore over four years (FY 2022–25), prepared by NITI Aayog.
2. Roads, railways and power together form the largest share; the assets are leased, not sold.

Yaad rakhein: NMP = ₹6 lakh crore, 4 years, NITI Aayog, "monetise not privatise".

Answer: (C) ₹6 lakh crore

Concept: Match each landform with the region where it is found.

1. Karewas – lacustrine (lake) deposits of the Kashmir valley, famous for saffron cultivation → II.
2. Barchans – crescent-shaped sand dunes of the Thar desert → IV.
3. Mahendragiri – peak of the Eastern Ghats in Odisha (1,501 m) → I.
4. Northern Circars – coastal plain along the Bay of Bengal between the Mahanadi and Krishna deltas → III.

Yaad rakhein: Karewa–Kashmir (both K), Barchan–desert (sand), Mahendragiri–Odisha–Eastern Ghats.

Answer: (D) A-II, B-IV, C-I, D-III

Concept: The Environment Performance Index (EPI) is published by Yale and Columbia universities; the 2024 edition was released in June 2024.

1. India ranked 176th out of 180 countries overall, and the report noted India as the world's third-largest producer of greenhouse gases, after China and the United States.
2. Estonia topped the overall EPI 2024 ranking.

Yaad rakhein: GHG emitters: China 1st, USA 2nd, India 3rd; EPI 2024 overall – India 176 of 180.

Answer: (C) 3^rd

Concept: The British fought three wars with Burma in the 19th century.

1. First Anglo-Burmese War: 1824–26 (ended by the Treaty of Yandabo, 1826).
2. Second Anglo-Burmese War: 1852, under Lord Dalhousie – Lower Burma (Pegu) was annexed.
3. Third Anglo-Burmese War: 1885 – whole of Burma annexed, King Thibaw exiled to Ratnagiri.

Yaad rakhein: 1824 – 1852 – 1885: Amherst, Dalhousie, Dufferin.

Answer: (A) 1852

Concept: The share of industry in GDP is highest in manufacturing-heavy economies and lowest in agriculture/service-dependent, less industrialised economies.

1. Approximate industry share of GDP: China ≈ 38–40%, Japan ≈ 29%, India ≈ 25–28%, Pakistan ≈ 19–20%.
2. Pakistan's economy is dominated by services (about 55%) and agriculture (about 23%), with a small industrial base.

Yaad rakhein: China – "factory of the world" (highest); Pakistan – least industrialised among the four.

Answer: (D) Pakistan

Concept: Articles 36–51 (Part IV) are the Directive Principles of State Policy.

1. Article 41: Right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
2. Article 29 – protection of interests of minorities (Fundamental Right); Article 34 – restriction of rights during martial law; Article 50 – separation of judiciary from executive.

Yaad rakhein: 41 – work/education/assistance; 42 – maternity relief; 43 – living wage; 44 – Uniform Civil Code.

Answer: (D) Article 41

Concept: Replace the letters by the given operators and apply BODMAS.

1. A = ÷, B = ×, C = +, D = −, so the expression becomes $15-12÷6+3\times 7$.
2. Division and multiplication first: $12÷6=2$ and $3\times 7=21$.
3. $15-2+21=34$.

Trick: Write the real symbols above the letters first, then solve left to right in BODMAS order – never solve in the written order.

Answer: (A) 34

Concept: Treat the letter part and the number part as two separate patterns.

1. Letters: F H I → I K L → L N O → O Q R. The first letter of each group is the last letter of the previous group, and within a group the pattern is +2, +1.
2. So the next group starts with R: R, T (+2), U (+1) = RTU.
3. Numbers: 21, 18, 15, 12 – decreasing by 3, so next is 9.

Trick: Convert letters to positions (F=6, H=8, I=9): gaps +2, +1 repeat, and each group starts where the last one ended.

Answer: (A) RTU 9

Concept: An argument strengthens a statement if it gives a logical reason that explains or supports it.

1. Statement: petrol price has been raised by ₹2 for five days in a row – we need reasons for repeated price rises.
2. Argument I: reduced fuel production abroad → less supply → higher price. It explains the rise – strengthens.
3. Argument II: higher taxes on petrol imports → higher cost → higher price. It also explains the rise – strengthens.

Trick: Ask "does this give a cause for what the statement says?" If yes → strengthens; if it gives a reason the statement should not happen → weakens.

Answer: (D) Both I and II strengthen the statement.

Concept: Number the letters 1-2-3-4 and find the position pattern used in each step.

1. SALT (1234) → LSAT = positions 3,1,2,4 → TLAS = positions 4,3,2,1 (reverse of the original).
2. Check MAID: 3,1,2,4 → IMAD ✓; reverse → DIAM ✓.
3. Apply to KITE: 3,1,2,4 → TKIE ✓; reverse → ETIK ✓. Other options break the pattern (e.g. LIFT → 3,1,2,4 gives FLIT, not LFIT).

Trick: First check the last word – it must be the exact reverse of the first word; only option C (KITE ↔ ETIK) and D (MAIN ↔ NAIM) pass, then test the middle word.

Answer: (C) KITE - TKIE - ETIK

Concept: Find the differences between consecutive terms.

1. 1232 − 1230 = 2, 1236 − 1232 = 4, 1242 − 1236 = 6, 1250 − 1242 = 8.
2. Differences 2, 4, 6, 8 increase by 2, so the next difference is 10.
3. $1250+10=1260$.

Trick: Differences forming an even-number sequence (2, 4, 6, 8…) are a very common pattern – check them first.

Answer: (D) 1260

Concept: When two coded words share a letter, the digit common to both codes is the code of that letter.

1. CARE → 6975 and RISK → 4386.
2. The only common letter is R; the only common digit is 6.
3. Hence R = 6.

Trick: Common letter ↔ common digit – no need to find the order of coding.

Answer: (A) 6

Concept: Scan the series for the pattern "number – letter – symbol" in that exact order.

1. Series: Q C 9 U @ 8 D & A D V 9 2 2 @ ^ L Y A / + K.
2. 9 U @ → U is preceded by 9 (number) and followed by @ (symbol) ✓.
3. 8 D & → D is preceded by 8 and followed by & ✓. No other letter has a number just before and a symbol just after (e.g. 2 @ has no letter between).

Trick: Mark every number first, look at the element right after it – if it is a letter, check the element after that for a symbol.

Answer: (A) Two

Concept: Draw the Venn picture of the statements and test each conclusion; a conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible diagram.

1. All roofs are sheds, and no shed is a window → the whole roof-circle lies inside sheds, which is completely separate from windows. So No roof is a window definitely follows (I ✓).
2. Doors and windows are each only separated from sheds; nothing links doors with windows. "Some doors are windows" may or may not be true → (II) does not follow.

Trick: All A are B + No B is C ⇒ No A is C (always). Two terms linked only through negatives give no conclusion.

Answer: (B) Only conclusion (I) follows.

Concept: $n(C\cup F)=n(C)+n(F)-n(C\cap F)$. Since every student plays at least one game, $n(C\cup F)=37$.

1. $37=25+16-n(C\cap F)$.
2. $n(C\cap F)=41-37=4$.
3. Check: only cricket $=21$, only football $=12$, both $=4$; $21+12+4=37$ ✓.

Trick: Both = (sum of the two groups) − (total), when nobody is outside.

Answer: (D) 4

Concept: Compare the positional gap between the first letters and between the second letters of each pair (A = 1 … Z = 26).

1. EX–OK: $E(5)\to O(15)=+10$; $X(24)\to K(11)=-13$.
2. ZS–JF: $Z(26)\to J(10)=-16$; $S(19)\to F(6)=-13$.
3. MF–WS: $M(13)\to W(23)=+10$; $F(6)\to S(19)=+13$.
4. IB–PO: $I(9)\to P(16)=+7$; $B(2)\to O(15)=+13$. Also note the inner gaps: first clusters are all $-7$ (E→X, Z→S, I→B, M→F), second clusters are $-4$ (O→K, J→F, W→S) except P→O $=-1$.

Trick: Check the gap inside each cluster too: ZS, IB, MF (and EX going round) are all "−7"; OK, JF, WS are "−4" but PO is "−1".

Answer: (C) IB-PO