Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: NITI Aayog's 2025 report 'From Borrowers to Builders' (with TransUnion CIBIL) on women's credit.

1. In 2024, just 5 states – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana – had 49% of self-monitoring women borrowers.
2. Self-monitoring = a woman regularly checks her own credit score/report.

Yaad rakhein: Platform behind the report: NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP).

Answer: (A) 5

Concept: PM POSHAN (renamed mid-day meal scheme, 2021) is a school scheme.

1. It is run by the Ministry of Education (Department of School Education & Literacy).
2. It gives a hot cooked meal to children in Balvatika and Classes 1–8 of government/aided schools.
3. WCD runs Anganwadi nutrition (Poshan Abhiyaan) – the tempting wrong option.

Trick: Meal served in schools → school ministry (Education); meal in Anganwadis → WCD.

Answer: (B) Education

Concept: Judo developed from Japanese jujutsu.

1. Jigoro Kano founded judo in 1882 (Kodokan, Tokyo), removing dangerous techniques from jujutsu.
2. Judo became an Olympic sport at Tokyo 1964.
3. Kung fu – China, Taekwondo – Korea, Muay Thai – Thailand.

Yaad rakhein: 'Judo' means 'gentle way'; a full point is called 'ippon'.

Answer: (A) Japanese

Concept: Identify which sport needs a ball.

1. Golf: a small ball is hit with clubs into holes in the fewest strokes.
2. Wrestling – no equipment; Archery – bow and arrow; Chess – board and pieces.

Yaad rakhein: Golf terms: birdie (1 under par), eagle (2 under), bogey (1 over), caddie, tee.

Answer: (A) Golf

Concept: India's updated NDC (submitted to UNFCCC in 2022) sets 2030 climate targets.

1. Reduce emission intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030, compared with 2005.
2. About 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
3. The older 2015 target was 33–35%.

Trick: '45 by 30' and '50% clean power by 30'; net zero by 2070.

Answer: (A) 45%

Concept: Chillai Kalan is Kashmir's harshest 40-day winter spell.

1. Runs roughly from 21 December to 30/31 January in the Kashmir Valley (J&K).
2. Lakes such as Dal partly freeze; people use the kangri and pheran to keep warm.

Yaad rakhein: Sequence: Chillai Kalan (40 days) → Chillai Khurd (20 days) → Chillai Bachha (10 days).

Answer: (A) Jammu and Kashmir

Concept: Women's Premier League 2025 final (15 March 2025, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai).

1. Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 8 runs; captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
2. It was MI's 2nd WPL title (also won 2023).
3. RCB won the 2024 edition.

Yaad rakhein: Delhi Capitals lost the first three WPL finals (2023, 2024, 2025).

Answer: (B) Mumbai Indians

Concept: The main shrine of Puri's Jagannath Temple is a tall Kalinga-style rekha deula.

1. Its height is about 65 m (≈ 214 ft) above the raised platform.
2. Built in the 12th century under Eastern Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva.
3. The Nila Chakra (wheel) sits at the top; famous for the annual Rath Yatra.

Yaad rakhein: Kalinga style parts: deula (sanctum tower), jagamohana (hall), nata mandira, bhoga mandapa.

Answer: (A) 65

Concept: Ranapa is a stilt-based martial folk dance of Odisha.

1. Mainly performed in Ganjam district; dancers balance on bamboo stilts ('ranapa').
2. Themes come from Lord Krishna's childhood; music by dhol and mahuri.

Yaad rakhein: Other Odisha dances: Odissi, Gotipua, Ghumura, Sambalpuri, Chhau (Mayurbhanj).

Answer: (A) Odisha

Concept: Air drag decides how low a satellite can orbit.

1. Below about 180 km, the atmosphere is still dense enough to slow the satellite quickly, so its orbit decays and it burns up.
2. So satellites are normally placed above ~180 km; most LEO satellites fly at 300–800 km.
3. Geostationary orbit is about 35,786 km high.

Trick: 55 and 90 km are inside the mesosphere (meteors burn there) – too low; 10,000 km is far above the minimum.

Answer: (A) 180

Concept: Heat used to change state at constant temperature is called latent (hidden) heat.

1. Solid → liquid at melting point for 1 kg = latent heat of fusion.
2. For ice ≈ 3.34 × 10⁵ J/kg (≈ 80 cal/g); temperature stays at 0°C while melting.
3. Sensible heat changes temperature; specific heat = heat to raise 1 kg by 1°C.

Yaad rakhein: Latent heat of vaporisation of water ≈ 2.26 × 10⁶ J/kg (≈ 540 cal/g) – that is why steam burns are worse.

Answer: (A) Latent

Concept: The 1991 crisis was a balance-of-payments crisis caused mainly by external debt.

1. Heavy foreign borrowing in the 1980s; by 1991 reserves were barely enough for about two weeks of imports.
2. India pledged gold abroad and took IMF help; this led to the LPG reforms of July 1991.
3. Gulf War oil prices and lower remittances acted as triggers.

Yaad rakhein: 1991 reforms: PM P.V. Narasimha Rao, FM Manmohan Singh – Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation (LPG).

Answer: (A) External debt

Concept: Gandhi's first satyagraha in India was for indigo farmers of Champaran, Bihar.

1. Year: 1917; invited by Rajkumar Shukla.
2. Against the tinkathia system (forced indigo on 3/20 of the land).
3. 1915 – Gandhi returned from South Africa; 1919 – Rowlatt Satyagraha; 1920 – Non-Cooperation.

Trick: Order 1917-1918: Champaran (1917) → Ahmedabad mill strike (1918) → Kheda (1918) – C-A-K.

Answer: (A) 1917

Concept: Most Indian coal is Gondwana bituminous coal.

1. About 80% of reserves are bituminous, mostly non-coking (used in thermal power).
2. Main fields: Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro, Korba, Talcher (Damodar, Mahanadi, Son, Godavari valleys).
3. Anthracite – very little (J&K); Lignite – Neyveli (Tamil Nadu); Peat – lowest grade.

Yaad rakhein: Carbon content order: Anthracite > Bituminous > Lignite > Peat.

Answer: (A) Bituminous

Concept: After the plan holiday (1966–69), the Fourth Plan began in 1969.

1. Fourth Plan: 1969–74, objectives 'growth with stability' and 'self-reliance'.
2. 14 major banks were nationalised in 1969, during this plan.
3. Third Plan: 1961–66; Fifth: 1974–79; Sixth: 1980–85.

Trick: First Plan 1951 + 5 years each → 1956, 1961; add 3-year holiday → 1969 = Fourth.

Answer: (A) Fourth

Concept: The Eighth Plan (1992–97) started right after the 1991 economic crisis.

1. The economy faced a worsening balance of payments (I) and a growing debt burden (II).
2. Hence the plan focused on correcting these imbalances while moving to a market-oriented economy after the LPG reforms.

Yaad rakhein: 1990–92 had annual plans (political instability); Eighth Plan model is linked to the Rao–Manmohan reforms.

Answer: (A) Both I and II

Concept: Export Processing Zones are duty-free areas to boost exports.

1. India's first EPZ: Kandla, Gujarat – 1965 (also Asia's first).
2. Second: Santacruz (Mumbai), 1973, for electronics and gems & jewellery.
3. EPZs were converted into SEZs from 2000; SEZ Act came in 2005.

Trick: 'K for Kandla, K for Key year 1965' – Kandla is the first in Asia too.

Answer: (A) 1965

Concept: The Gender Budget Statement groups schemes by the share meant for women.

1. Part A: 100% women-specific schemes.
2. Part B: 30%–99% of allocation for women.
3. Part C (added in 2024–25): less than 30% for women.

Trick: A–B–C go down in share: 100% → 30–99% → below 30%. There is no Part D.

Answer: (C) Part C

Concept: Phytohormones are chemical messengers that control plant life processes.

1. I – True: auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin, ABA and ethylene control growth, flowering, ripening, dormancy and responses to light/gravity.
2. II – True: they are often made in one region (e.g. shoot tip) and diffuse to the area where they act.

Yaad rakhein: Ethylene = fruit ripening (gaseous); ABA = stress hormone, closes stomata; Cytokinin = cell division.

Answer: (A) Both I and II

Concept: 'Jambudvipa' = land/island of the jambu tree.

1. Jambu is the Sanskrit name of the jamun (Indian blackberry) tree.
2. In epic-Puranic geography it is the central continent with Mount Meru; Bharatavarsha is its southern part.

Yaad rakhein: Ashoka's Minor Rock Edict (Maski/Brahmagiri) also uses the word Jambudvipa for his land.

Answer: (A) Jamun