Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Bijak is the collection of a Nirguna Bhakti saint's verses.

1. Bijak = compilation of Kabir's sayings (Sakhi, Sabad, Ramaini); main text of the Kabirpanth.
2. Tulsidas – Ramcharitmanas; Jayadeva – Gita Govinda; Namdev – Marathi abhangas.

Yaad rakhein: Kabir was a disciple of Ramananda; some of his verses are in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Answer: (B) Kabir Das

Concept: Where the November 2024 award was given.

1. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Global Peace Award for minority upliftment was given in the USA (Maryland) in November 2024.
2. It was conferred by an Indian-American minorities' association.

Trick: The award is named after an American civil-rights leader – link it to the USA.

Answer: (A) United States of America

Concept: Start year of the festival for persons with disabilities.

1. Purple Fest began in 2023 (first edition in Goa, January 2023).
2. It celebrates persons with disabilities through sports, culture, jobs and assistive technology.

Yaad rakhein: Purple is the global colour of the disability-rights movement.

Answer: (A) 2023

Concept: Sprints need maximum push from rest in the first strides.

1. Crouch start (from starting blocks) is used in sprints up to 400 m.
2. Standing start – middle/long distance; flying start – relay take-over; rolling start – motor racing.

Yaad rakhein: Crouch start types: bunch, medium and elongated – based on foot spacing.

Answer: (A) Crouch Start

Concept: Location of a recent tiger reserve.

1. Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve is in Bundi district, Rajasthan (notified 2022).
2. It is Rajasthan's 4th tiger reserve and links Ranthambore with Mukundra Hills.

Yaad rakhein: Rajasthan's reserves: Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundra Hills, Ramgarh Vishdhari, Dholpur-Karauli.

Answer: (A) Rajasthan

Concept: Check each statement on Similipal.

1. 1 ✔ – in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha.
2. 2 ✔ – declared India's 107th National Park (2025).
3. 3 ✔ – part of Similipal Biosphere Reserve and a Tiger Reserve. 4 ✘ – judiciary separation is a DPSP (Art. 50), irrelevant.

Trick: Statement 4 is plainly unrelated to a park – eliminate every option containing 4.

Answer: (A) 1, 2 and 3 only

Concept: Host city of the 47th Junior Boys' National Handball Championship.

1. Host city for this 47th junior boys' edition: New Delhi.
2. National body for the sport: HFI.

Yaad rakhein: International body: International Handball Federation (IHF); a team has 7 players on court.

Answer: (B) New Delhi

Concept: Which Santosh Trophy edition had its final round from December 2024.

1. The final round of the 78th Santosh Trophy began in December 2024.
2. West Bengal won the title.

Yaad rakhein: Santosh Trophy (since 1941) is India's senior national football championship for states, run by AIFF.

Answer: (D) 78th

Concept: Venue city of the 78th Santosh Trophy final round.

1. The final round was played in Hyderabad, Telangana (Dec 2024).
2. West Bengal beat Kerala in the final.

Yaad rakhein: West Bengal is the most successful team in Santosh Trophy history.

Answer: (B) Hyderabad

Concept: Author of the 1992 satire on the Bollywood film world.

1. Show Business (1992) – Shashi Tharoor.
2. Rushdie – Midnight's Children; Vikram Seth – A Suitable Boy; Arundhati Roy – The God of Small Things.

Yaad rakhein: Tharoor's other works: The Great Indian Novel, An Era of Darkness, Why I Am a Hindu.

Answer: (B) Shashi Tharoor

Concept: F = G m₁m₂ / r² acts between any two masses in the universe.

1. I ✔ – Sun's gravity gives planets the centripetal force to orbit.
2. II ✔ – tides are caused by the Moon's (and Sun's) pull on ocean water.

Yaad rakhein: It also explains the Moon's orbit around Earth and why objects fall to the ground.

Answer: (C) Both I and II

Concept: Solid CO₂ cannot form liquid at 1 atm; it sublimes.

1. Liquid CO₂ exists only above about 5.1 atm (triple point).
2. At 1 atm, dry ice turns directly into gas (≈ −78.5 °C).

Yaad rakhein: Other substances that sublime: camphor, naphthalene, iodine, ammonium chloride.

Answer: (A) It changes directly from solid to gas.

Concept: Revenue expenditure creates no asset; committed expenditure cannot be easily changed.

1. 1 ✔ – subsidies are revenue expenditure.
2. 2 ✔ – defence, interest, salaries, pensions are committed expenditure.
3. 3 ✘ – defence is non-development spending and is hard, not easy, to cut.

Trick: Statements 2 and 3 contradict each other ("committed" vs "easy to reduce") – only one can be true.

Answer: (A) 1 and 2 only

Concept: Shuja-ud-Daulah's kingdom.

1. Shuja-ud-Daulah was Nawab of Awadh (1754–1775).
2. He fought the British at Buxar (1764) with Mir Qasim and Shah Alam II.

Yaad rakhein: Awadh was founded as an autonomous state by Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk (1722).

Answer: (B) Awadh

Concept: Article 58 lists who can be elected President.

1. I ✘ – holding an office of profit is a disqualification, not a requirement.
2. II ✔ – must be qualified for election to the Lok Sabha.
3. Also: citizen of India and at least 35 years old.

Trick: "Must hold an office of profit" sounds wrong for any elected post – reject it.

Answer: (B) Only II

Concept: Article 85: the gap between two sessions cannot reach six months.

1. The President summons each House; two consecutive sessions may not be separated by six months or more.
2. So Parliament must meet at least twice a year.

Yaad rakhein: Three usual sessions: Budget, Monsoon and Winter.

Answer: (C) Six months

Concept: The six-month rule is in the Article on summoning, prorogation and dissolution.

1. Article 85: summoning, prorogation, dissolution + six-month rule.
2. Art. 83 – duration of Houses; Art. 86 – President's address/messages; Art. 87 – special address.

Trick: Remember "85 – Summons" (both have a 5/S shape): 85 = summon & the 6-month gap.

Answer: (B) Article 85

Concept: Rajya Sabha has only a recommending role on Money Bills (Article 109).

1. It must return the Money Bill within 14 days.
2. If not, the Bill is deemed passed by both Houses in the Lok Sabha form.
3. Lok Sabha may accept or reject its recommendations.

Yaad rakhein: Speaker of Lok Sabha certifies whether a Bill is a Money Bill (Article 110).

Answer: (B) 14 days

Concept: Fluid leaking from capillaries bathes cells as tissue fluid; it is collected by lymph vessels.

1. Tissue fluid entering lymphatic vessels = lymph.
2. Lymph is colourless, has lymphocytes, less protein, and drains back into blood via veins.

Yaad rakhein: Lacteals (lymph vessels in intestinal villi) absorb digested fats.

Answer: (C) Lymph

Concept: The Rathas are Pallava-era monolithic shrines.

1. Carved from single rocks in the 7th century under Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla) → monolithic, early Dravidian forms.
2. Not Chola, not brick, not Buddhist viharas, not Nagara style.

Yaad rakhein: Five main rathas are named after the Pandavas and Draupadi; Mahabalipuram is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Answer: (B) are monolithic rock-cut temples representing early Dravidian architectural forms