Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Pioneers of girls' education in the 19th century.

1. Savitribai Phule is honoured as India's first woman teacher.
2. With Jyotirao Phule she opened a girls' school at Bhide Wada, Pune, 1848.
3. Pandita Ramabai founded Sharada Sadan; Begum Rokeya worked in Bengal later.

Yaad rakhein: Her birthday, 3 January, is observed in Maharashtra as 'Balika Din'.

Answer: (B) Savitribai Phule

Concept: Indians in top posts of global bodies.

1. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan became WHO Deputy Director-General (Programmes) in 2017 – first Indian in the post.
2. She later served as WHO's first Chief Scientist.
3. Earlier she headed ICMR (DG).

Yaad rakhein: Soumya = WHO; Gita Gopinath = IMF (first woman Chief Economist).

Answer: (C) Dr.Soumya Swaminathan

Concept: Current affairs – head of the direct-tax board.

1. Ravi Agrawal (IRS-IT, 1988 batch) was re-appointed CBDT Chairman in 2025 on contract for another year (till June 2026).
2. He first took charge in July 2024.
3. CBDT works under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Yaad rakhein: CBDT (direct tax) and CBIC (indirect tax) both come from the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.

Answer: (B) Ravi Agrawal

Concept: Current affairs – Andaman cooperative bank case.

1. In July 2025 Kuldeep Rai Sharma, former Andaman & Nicobar MP and ex-chairman of ANSCBL, was arrested.
2. The case relates to alleged irregular loan sanctions by the bank.

Yaad rakhein: ANSCBL = Andaman & Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd; the accused was its former chairman.

Answer: (C) Kuldeep Sharma

Concept: Budget 2025-26 – startup financing.

1. A new (second) Fund of Funds for Startups with a new allocation of ₹10,000 crore was announced.
2. The first FFS (2016, Startup India) also had a ₹10,000 crore corpus, managed by SIDBI.

Yaad rakhein: Both FFS funds = ₹10,000 crore – easy to remember as 'same size, second round'.

Answer: (B) ₹10,000 crore

Concept: Health announcements in the Union Budget 2025-26.

1. 200 Day Care Cancer Centres to be set up in district hospitals in 2025-26.
2. Goal: such centres in all district hospitals within 3 years.

Yaad rakhein: 200 centres in year one → all districts in 3 years.

Answer: (A) 200

Concept: Index to measure infrastructure preparedness.

1. The National Infrastructure Readiness Index (NIRI) was introduced in September 2024.
2. It assesses states/UTs and ministries on readiness to plan, finance and deliver infrastructure.

Yaad rakhein: Think 'NIRI – Sept 2024' alongside the PM Gati Shakti push for planning.

Answer: (B) September 2024

Concept: Sports history – Asian Games.

1. The 1st Asian Games were held in New Delhi in 1951.
2. India hosted again in 1982 (9th Games, New Delhi).

Yaad rakhein: Delhi hosted twice: 1951 (first) and 1982 – the 1982 Games brought colour TV to India.

Answer: (C) New Delhi

Concept: Founding years of national sports bodies.

1. The National Swimming Association of India was set up in 1949.
2. It was the forerunner of today's Swimming Federation of India (SFI), the body affiliated to World Aquatics.

Yaad rakhein: Club the post-independence bodies: Swimming 1949, Gymnastics 1951.

Answer: (B) 1949

Concept: Current affairs – National Green Tribunal orders.

1. In mid-2025 the NGT imposed environmental compensation of ₹23.7 crore on Uttar Pradesh authorities over pollution of a green belt.
2. Such compensation follows the 'polluter pays' principle.

Yaad rakhein: NGT was set up in 2010 under the NGT Act; principal bench in New Delhi.

Answer: (B) Uttar Pradesh

Concept: Founding years of national sports federations.

1. The Gymnastics Federation of India came into being in 1951.
2. It governs artistic, rhythmic, trampoline and aerobic gymnastics and is affiliated to FIG.

Yaad rakhein: 1951 also saw the first Asian Games in New Delhi – same year.

Answer: (B) 1951

Concept: Geo-heritage sites of India.

1. Salkhan Fossil Park is in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh.
2. It preserves ~1.4-billion-year-old stromatolites (algal fossils).
3. It has been placed on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list.

Trick: Sonbhadra in UP's south-east – 'Son-bhadra = Salkhan'.

Answer: (B) Uttar Pradesh

Concept: Sports – host of upcoming championships.

1. The 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships are hosted by the USA – at Tallahassee, Florida (January 2026).
2. The 2024 edition was in Belgrade, Serbia.

Yaad rakhein: Tallahassee is Florida's capital – Florida ⇒ USA.

Answer: (B) United States of America

Concept: Sikh history linked to festivals.

1. On Baisakhi 1699, Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib.
2. He initiated the Panj Pyare (five beloved ones).
3. Adi Granth was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev (1604); Harmandir Sahib also built under him.

Yaad rakhein: Baisakhi = harvest festival + Khalsa (1699) – also the day of Jallianwala Bagh, 1919.

Answer: (D) Establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh

Concept: Economic reforms of 1991 = Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation.

1. Aim: end the licence-permit raj, reduce regulations and give a bigger role to the private sector.
2. Options A, B, D describe the pre-1991 controlled economy – the opposite.

Trick: LPG – every right answer will mean 'less control, more openness'.

Answer: (C) Reduce regulations and encourage private sector participation

Concept: Steps in the rise of British power.

1. Plassey (1757): Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah (with Mir Jafar's betrayal) – first decisive political gain.
2. Buxar (1764) came later and confirmed British supremacy, leading to Diwani of Bengal (1765).

Trick: Plassey = 'first break' (57); Buxar = 'final seal' (64).

Answer: (B) Battle of Plassey

Concept: Colonial laws on racial equality in courts.

1. The Ilbert Bill (1883), under Viceroy Lord Ripon, let Indian judges try Europeans.
2. Europeans protested strongly ('white mutiny') and the bill was diluted.
3. The protest made Indians see the need for an all-India body – INC formed in 1885.

Yaad rakhein: Ilbert → Ripon → 1883 → Congress 1885 (cause and effect).

Answer: (A) Ilbert Bill of 1883

Concept: Response to the 1991 balance-of-payments crisis.

1. RBI devalued the rupee in two steps in early July 1991 (about 9% and then about 11%).
2. Combined effect ≈ 18–19% against the US dollar.

Yaad rakhein: Two steps ≈ 9 + 11 → roughly 18–20%, never 25% or more.

Answer: (A) Around 18%

Concept: Only six states have a Legislative Council.

1. States with Vidhan Parishad: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh.
2. Rajasthan is not in the list – it has only a Legislative Assembly.
3. Art. 169: Parliament creates/abolishes a Council on the state assembly's resolution.

Trick: Mnemonic 'BUMK-AT': Bihar, UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP, Telangana.

Answer: (C) Rajasthan

Concept: Parliament's power to give effect to international agreements.

1. Statement 1 ✓: Art. 253 lets Parliament legislate for the whole/any part of India to implement treaties and international decisions – even on State List subjects.
2. Statement 2 ✓: Art. 253 falls in Part XI (Articles 245–263, Union–State relations).

Trick: Part XI = Articles 245–300 range starts at 245; anything 245–263 is legislative/administrative Centre–State relations.

Answer: (C) Both statements 1 and 2