Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Itimad-ud-Daulah's tomb is often called the 'Baby Taj'.

1. It was built (1622–28) by Empress Nur Jahan for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg (Itimad-ud-Daulah).
2. It stands on the bank of the Yamuna at Agra.
3. It is the first Mughal building faced in white marble with pietra dura inlay – a forerunner of the Taj Mahal.

Yaad rakhein: Baby Taj → Agra → Nur Jahan → first pietra dura; 'Bibi ka Maqbara' (Aurangabad) is the 'Taj of the Deccan'.

Answer: (B) Agra

Concept: Only one of the listed terms belongs to the circulatory system; the rest are parts of the brain.

1. The aorta is the largest artery; it arises from the left ventricle and carries oxygenated blood to the body.
2. Cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla (oblongata) are parts of the brain.
3. Hence aorta is associated with the heart.

Yaad rakhein: Brain trio: Cerebrum (thinking), Cerebellum (balance), Medulla (involuntary actions).

Answer: (B) Aorta

Concept: Horse power (hp) is a non-SI unit of power; the SI unit is the watt.

1. $1\text{hp}=746\text{W}\approx 750\text{W}$.
2. Watt $=\frac{\text{joule}}{\text{second}}$, so 1 hp is about 0.75 kW.
3. Hence the nearest option is 750.

Trick: $1\text{hp}\approx \frac{3}{4}\text{kW}$.

Answer: (C) 750

Concept: Kathasaritsagara ('Ocean of the Streams of Stories') is a famous 11th-century Sanskrit collection of tales.

1. It was written by Somadeva, a Kashmiri Brahmin, for Queen Suryamati, wife of King Ananta of Kashmir.
2. It is based on Gunadhya's lost Brihatkatha.
3. Kalidasa – Abhijnanashakuntalam; Jayadeva – Gita Govinda; Bhasa – Svapnavasavadatta.

Yaad rakhein: Katha + Sagar → Somadeva (Kashmir); Gita Govinda → Jayadeva.

Answer: (A) Somadeva

Concept: Groundnut is a kharif oilseed that grows well in sandy-loam soil with moderate rainfall.

1. Gujarat (Saurashtra region) is the largest groundnut producer in India, as reported in the 2018 groundnut crop survey.
2. Other major producers are Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
3. West Bengal, Haryana and Bihar are minor producers.

Yaad rakhein: Groundnut – Gujarat (Saurashtra); Junagadh has the Directorate of Groundnut Research.

Answer: (C) Gujarat

Concept: Natural satellites (moons) vary from planet to planet.

1. Mercury and Venus have no natural satellite.
2. Earth has 1 (the Moon) and Mars has 2 (Phobos and Deimos).
3. Hence Venus has 0 moons.

Yaad rakhein: Moonless pair = the two inner planets: Mercury & Venus.

Answer: (D) 0

Concept: SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) was formed at its first summit.

1. The first SAARC summit was held at Dhaka on 7–8 December 1985, where the Charter was signed.
2. Founding members: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives; Afghanistan joined in 2007.
3. Secretariat: Kathmandu (1987).

Yaad rakhein: SAARC: Dhaka 1985, 8 Dec = SAARC Charter Day, HQ Kathmandu.

Answer: (A) 1985

Concept: Precise voluntary movements need coordination of muscles and balance of the body.

1. The cerebellum (hind-brain) coordinates voluntary movements and maintains posture and balance – e.g. bending and picking up a pencil.
2. The cerebrum initiates the decision (thinking, voluntary control), but the precision and balance of the action come from the cerebellum.
3. The cranium is the skull bone; the hypothalamus controls hunger, thirst and temperature.

Yaad rakhein: Cerebellum = 'little brain' for balance & coordination (walking straight, riding a bicycle, picking up objects).

Answer: (D) Cerebellum

Concept: Shadow length depends on the Sun's altitude: the higher the Sun, the shorter the shadow ($\text{length}=\frac{h}{\tan \theta }$).

1. In the morning (07:00, 09:00) the Sun is low in the east, so the shadow is long and points west.
2. Around 12:00 (local noon) the Sun is highest in the sky, so the shadow is the shortest.
3. In the afternoon (15:00) the Sun is low in the west again and the shadow lengthens towards the east.

Trick: Higher Sun → shorter shadow; the Sun is highest at noon.

Answer: (D) 12:00

Concept: The ${90}^{\circ }\text{E}$ meridian runs through the north-eastern part of the subcontinent.

1. It passes through Bhutan, the western edge of Meghalaya/Assam (near Dhubri – Garo Hills) and Bangladesh, and reaches the Bay of Bengal.
2. Sikkim lies between about ${88}^{\circ }\text{E}$ and ${89}^{\circ }\text{E}$ – west of ${90}^{\circ }\text{E}$.
3. So the meridian does not pass through Sikkim.

Yaad rakhein: Sikkim ≈ ${88.5}^{\circ }\text{E}$; Bhutan–Dhubri–Garo Hills ≈ ${90}^{\circ }\text{E}$.

Answer: (A) Sikkim

Concept: The word 'electricity' comes from the Greek word for amber.

1. Thales of Miletus (about 600 BC) noticed that amber rubbed with fur attracts light objects like feathers (static electricity).
2. Greek ēlektron = amber; William Gilbert later coined 'electricus'.
3. Ebonite, charge and negative are not meanings of the word.

Yaad rakhein: Rubbed amber (elektron) attracts → electricity; the 'electron' is named after it.

Answer: (C) Amber

Concept: The Ramayana was retold in many Indian languages.

1. Kamban (12th century, Chola period) wrote Ramavataram (Kamba Ramayanam) in Tamil.
2. Telugu – Ranganatha Ramayanam; Malayalam – Adhyatma Ramayanam (Ezhuthachan); Kannada – Torave Ramayana (Narahari).
3. Bengali – Krittivas; Hindi (Awadhi) – Tulsidas.

Yaad rakhein: Kamban → Tamil; Krittivas → Bengali; Tulsidas → Awadhi.

Answer: (C) Tamil

Concept: 'Jana Gana Mana' was composed by Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali.

1. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.
2. The Constituent Assembly adopted it as the National Anthem on 24 January 1950.
3. Full version takes about 52 seconds.

Yaad rakhein: 1911 – Calcutta session – Jana Gana Mana; 1896 Calcutta session – Vande Mataram sung by Tagore.

Answer: (A) Calcutta

Concept: Larins Sahib is a play about Henry Lawrence, the British Resident in Punjab after the Anglo-Sikh wars.

1. It was the first play of Gurcharan Das (former CEO of Procter & Gamble India).
2. It won the Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Award in 1970.
3. Das is also known for 'India Unbound' and 'The Difficulty of Being Good'.

Yaad rakhein: Gurcharan Das: Larins Sahib (play) + India Unbound (economy).

Answer: (B) Gurcharan Das

Concept: Bathukamma and Bonalu are the official state festivals of Telangana.

1. Bathukamma is a floral festival celebrated by women during Navratri, honouring Goddess Gauri.
2. Bonalu is celebrated in Ashadha month in Hyderabad–Secunderabad, offering 'bonam' to Goddess Mahakali.
3. Kerala – Onam; Tamil Nadu – Pongal; Karnataka – Mysuru Dasara.

Yaad rakhein: Flowers (Bathukamma) + Bonam pots (Bonalu) → Telangana.

Answer: (B) Telangana

Concept: The RBI Act, 1934 lays down the constitution, powers and management of the Reserve Bank.

1. Section 7 (Management) allows the Central Government, after consulting the RBI Governor, to give directions to the Bank 'necessary in the public interest'; the general superintendence then vests in the Central Board.
2. It was never invoked until the government initiated consultations under it in 2018.
3. Section 3 – establishment of the RBI; Section 8 – composition of the Central Board.

Yaad rakhein: Section 7 = 'government's directions to RBI' – in the news in 2018.

Answer: (C) Section 7

Concept: 'We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World' was published in January 2019.

1. It is written by Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace laureate (2014).
2. It tells her own story of displacement and those of refugee girls she met.
3. Her earlier book is 'I Am Malala' (2013).

Yaad rakhein: Malala's books: I Am Malala (2013), Malala's Magic Pencil (2017), We Are Displaced (2019).

Answer: (B) Malala Yousafzai

Concept: Kalinjar Fort stands on a hill in the Vindhya range in Bundelkhand.

1. It is in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, near Khajuraho.
2. It was a Chandela stronghold; Mahmud of Ghazni and Qutb-ud-din Aibak attacked it, and Sher Shah Suri died during its siege (1545).
3. Hence its strategic importance in medieval times.

Yaad rakhein: Kalinjar → Banda (UP) → Chandelas → Sher Shah's death (1545).

Answer: (A) Uttar Pradesh

Concept: At Partition (1947) Pakistan had two wings – West Pakistan and East Bengal (renamed East Pakistan in 1955).

1. Discontent over language (Bhasha Andolan, 1952) and political neglect led to the Liberation War of 1971.
2. Bangladesh declared independence on 26 March 1971; Pakistani forces surrendered on 16 December 1971.
3. So Bangladesh was part of Pakistan from 1947 to 1971.

Yaad rakhein: 16 December = Vijay Diwas (India) = Victory Day (Bangladesh), 1971.

Answer: (D) 1947; 1971

Concept: TISCO was India's first large integrated private-sector iron and steel plant.

1. Founded by Jamsetji Tata's vision and set up by Dorabji Tata in 1907 at Sakchi, now Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), on the Subarnarekha–Kharkai confluence.
2. Rourkela (German help), Bhilai (Soviet help) and Durgapur (British help) are public-sector SAIL plants.
3. Hence Jamshedpur.

Yaad rakhein: Private TISCO – Jamshedpur (1907); SAIL trio: Rourkela–Germany, Bhilai–USSR, Durgapur–UK.

Answer: (D) Jamshedpur