Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The Best Actor category of the National Film Awards began in 1967.

1. First winner: Uttam Kumar, for the Bengali films 'Anthony Firingee' and 'Chiriyakhana' (Satyajit Ray).
2. The award was then called the 'Bharat Award'.
3. Sanjeev Kumar won later (Dastak, Koshish); Soumitra Chatterjee much later.

Yaad rakhein: Uttam Kumar is called 'Mahanayak' of Bengali cinema; first Best Actress (Urvashi Award) went to Nargis.

Answer: (B) Uttam Kumar

Concept: Current-affairs fact on diplomatic postings (2024).

1. G. Balasubramanian (IFS, 1998 batch) was named High Commissioner to the Maldives in November 2024.
2. Before that he was India's High Commissioner to Nigeria.

Yaad rakhein: He replaced Munu Mahawar in Male.

Answer: (B) Nigeria

Concept: UDISE+ = Unified District Information System for Education Plus.

1. Run by the Ministry of Education; collects school-level data (enrolment, teachers, infrastructure) from pre-primary to Class 12.
2. The 'E' in the name itself gives away the sector – Education.

Trick: Expand the acronym – the answer is hidden in it.

Answer: (C) Education

Concept: Jal Jeevan Mission aims at a functional tap water connection for every rural household ('Har Ghar Jal').

1. Launched in 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti; original target 2024.
2. Budget 2025-26 extended it to 2028 for universal coverage.
3. PMKSY = irrigation; Namami Gange = Ganga cleaning; Amrit Sarovar = ponds.

Trick: 'Potable water at home' = Har Ghar Jal = Jal Jeevan Mission.

Answer: (B) Jal Jeevan Mission

Concept: Aquatic sports are played in or on water.

1. Surfing – riding waves on a board ✔.
2. Lawn tennis, volleyball, hockey – played on land (court/field).

Yaad rakhein: Surfing entered the Olympics at Tokyo 2020.

Answer: (B) Surfing

Concept: Decathlon (deca = 10) is a ten-event combined competition of athletics (track and field).

1. Events include 100 m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 m, 110 m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1500 m.
2. Gymnastics, triathlon and modern pentathlon have different events.

Yaad rakhein: Women's version = Heptathlon (7 events); deca = 10, hepta = 7, penta = 5.

Answer: (B) Athletics

Concept: Event-venue fact from current affairs.

1. 8th India Water Week: 17–20 September 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
2. Organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti; inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu.

Yaad rakhein: Bharat Mandapam (Pragati Maidan) also hosted the G20 Summit 2023.

Answer: (B) New Delhi

Concept: Volleyball came to the Asian Games in 1958 (men only); women's event followed at the next Games.

1. Tokyo 1958 – men's volleyball introduced.
2. Jakarta 1962 – women's volleyball debuted.

Yaad rakhein: First Asian Games: New Delhi, 1951.

Answer: (C) Jakarta (1962)

Concept: Two Rajasthan wetlands became Ramsar sites on World Environment Day 2025, taking India to 91.

1. Khichan Bird Sanctuary (Phalodi) – famous for wintering Demoiselle cranes (kurja).
2. Menar Wetland (Udaipur) – the 'bird village'.
3. Other pairs belong to earlier lists (e.g. Tampara/Ansupa – Odisha).

Yaad rakhein: Ramsar Convention: signed 1971 at Ramsar, Iran; World Wetlands Day = 2 February.

Answer: (B) Khichan Bird Sanctuary and Menar Wetland

Concept: Sports current affairs – host nation.

1. The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2025 were awarded to Australia.
2. Host city: Adelaide – Australia's first time hosting this event.

Yaad rakhein: Beach volleyball became an Olympic sport at Atlanta 1996.

Answer: (B) Australia

Concept: Manimahesh Yatra/Fair is held at Manimahesh Lake, Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh.

1. Dedicated to Lord Shiva; lake lies below Manimahesh Kailash peak.
2. Held between Janmashtami and Radhashtami (Aug–Sept); trek starts from Hadsar near Bharmaur.

Yaad rakhein: Other HP fairs: Minjar (Chamba), Kullu Dussehra, Shivratri (Mandi), Lavi (Rampur).

Answer: (B) Himachal Pradesh

Concept: Free-standing structural temples first appear in the Gupta age (c. 4th–6th century CE).

1. Early examples: Temple No. 17 (Sanchi), Dashavatara temple (Deogarh), brick temple at Bhitargaon.
2. Mauryan – polished pillars and Barabar caves; Kushan – Gandhara/Mathura sculpture; Chola – mature Dravida temples (much later).

Yaad rakhein: Deogarh's Dashavatara temple is among the earliest temples with a shikhara.

Answer: (B) Gupta Period

Concept: 'Jaago' literally means 'wake up' – a pre-wedding night procession in Punjab.

1. Women carry a decorated pot (gaggar) with lit lamps on the head, sing and dance through the streets.
2. Giddha and Sammi are women's folk dances; Kikli is a girls' spinning-clapping dance.

Trick: The question itself says 'wake up' – translate it: jaago.

Answer: (B) Jaago

Concept: A geostationary satellite moves with the Earth's rotation, so it appears fixed over one point.

1. Orbit: equatorial plane, ~35,786 km altitude, period 24 hours, west to east.
2. Zero relative velocity → continuous watch over the same region → ideal for tracking clouds/cyclones (e.g. INSAT series).
3. Polar-orbit and 'faster than Earth' options describe other satellites.

Trick: 'Geo-stationary' = stationary relative to the Earth – the answer is in the name.

Answer: (B) It has a zero relative velocity with respect to a point on the Earth's surface.

Concept: Mass is constant; weight W = mg, and g on the Moon ≈ g on Earth ÷ 6.

1. Weight on Earth = 6 × weight on Moon.
2. = 6 × 3 = 18 N.

Trick: Moon → Earth: multiply by 6; Earth → Moon: divide by 6.

Answer: (D) 18 N

Concept: To fix a foreign-exchange shortage, a country makes exports cheaper by devaluing its currency.

1. In mid-1991 forex reserves covered only about two weeks of imports.
2. RBI devalued the rupee in two steps (1 and 3 July 1991), about 18–19% in total.
3. Import substitution and currency controls were the old policies the reforms moved away from.

Yaad rakhein: 1991 reforms = LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) under PM Narasimha Rao and FM Manmohan Singh.

Answer: (B) Devaluation of national currency

Concept: Ranjit Singh captured Lahore in 1799 and made it his capital.

1. 1799 – took Lahore from the Bhangi chiefs.
2. 1801 – proclaimed Maharaja; 1802 – took Amritsar.
3. 1809 – Treaty of Amritsar with the British.

Yaad rakhein: He is called 'Sher-e-Punjab' (Lion of Punjab).

Answer: (B) 1799

Concept: FRBM requires three fiscal statements to be laid with the Annual Financial Statement.

1. Required: Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement, Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, Macroeconomic Framework Statement.
2. Monetary Policy Statement is issued by the RBI (Monetary Policy Committee), not by the government with the Budget.

Trick: 'Fiscal' = government/Budget; 'Monetary' = RBI – the odd word gives the answer.

Answer: (C) Monetary Policy Statement

Concept: A living donor may give only organs whose removal does not endanger life.

1. Liver – a part can be donated; it regenerates to near-full size.
2. Kidney – a person lives normally with one.
3. Both are permitted under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994.

Yaad rakhein: Heart, whole liver, corneas are taken only after death; the liver is the only internal organ that regrows.

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

Concept: Shishunaga ended the long Magadha–Avanti rivalry by conquering Avanti.

1. He defeated the Pradyota rulers of Avanti (capital Ujjayini) and merged it into Magadha.
2. Kalinga – Ashoka; Pataligrama fort – Ajatashatru; First Buddhist Council (Rajagriha) – under Ajatashatru.

Yaad rakhein: Magadha dynasties in order: Haryanka → Shishunaga → Nanda → Maurya.

Answer: (D) Defeat of Avanti (Malwa) and its annexation to Magadha