Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General 1848–56) annexed states by the Doctrine of Lapse and on other grounds.

1. Awadh was annexed in February 1856 on the pretext of ‘misgovernance’, and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta.
2. This annexation was one of the causes of the Revolt of 1857.

Yaad rakhein: Awadh 1856 – misrule (not Doctrine of Lapse).

Answer: (C) 1856

Concept: Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, is India’s busiest airport by total passenger traffic.

1. In 2022-23 it handled over 65 million passengers, ahead of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
2. Kolkata (Netaji Subhas) and Ahmedabad (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) handle far fewer passengers.

Yaad rakhein: Busiest: Delhi (IGI) > Mumbai > Bengaluru.

Answer: (A) Indira Gandhi International Airport

Concept: The record for most runs conceded/scored in a single over in Test cricket is 35.

1. At Edgbaston in July 2022 (India vs England), Jasprit Bumrah hit Stuart Broad for 29 runs off the bat; with 6 extras the over yielded 35 runs.
2. This broke Brian Lara’s record of 28 runs in an over (off Robin Peterson, 2003).

Yaad rakhein: Bumrah – 35 runs in Broad’s over (2022) beat Lara’s 28.

Answer: (D) Jaspreet Bumrah

Concept: Banks create credit with deposits; the money multiplier $=\frac{1}{\text{reserve ratio}}$.

1. A higher reserve ratio (e.g. CRR) leaves banks less money to lend, so the multiplier and money supply fall.
2. A lower reserve ratio raises money supply. Hence the relationship is negative (inverse).

Yaad rakhein: CRR ↑ → money supply ↓ (used by RBI to control inflation).

Answer: (A) a negative

Concept: Halogens (F, Cl, Br, I, At) form Group 17 of the periodic table.

1. Their valence configuration is $n{s}^{2}n{p}^5$, i.e. 7 electrons in the outermost shell (e.g. Cl: 2, 8, 7).
2. Needing just one electron to complete an octet, they are highly reactive non-metals.

Yaad rakhein: Group 17 → 7 valence electrons; Group 1 → 1; Group 2 → 2.

Answer: (B) Seven

Concept: The Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Vivek Express is India’s longest train route.

1. It covers about 4,200 km from Dibrugarh (Assam) to Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) in roughly 75–80 hours, crossing many states.
2. Jammu Tawi–Kanyakumari (Himsagar Express) is the second longest.

Yaad rakhein: Longest route: Vivek Express (Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari).

Answer: (A) Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari

Concept: ‘Sare Jahan Se Achha’ (Tarana-e-Hind) was written by the poet Muhammad Iqbal.

1. It was first published in the weekly Ittehad on 16 August 1904 and later included in his collection Bang-e-Dara (1924).
2. Rabindranath Tagore wrote ‘Jana Gana Mana’.

Yaad rakhein: Iqbal – Tarana-e-Hind; Tagore – Jana Gana Mana; Bankim – Vande Mataram.

Answer: (A) Muhammad Iqbal

Concept: PM-SYM stands for Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan, a pension scheme launched in 2019.

1. It is for unorganised-sector workers aged 18–40 earning up to ₹15,000 per month.
2. It is a voluntary, contributory scheme with matching central contribution, giving an assured pension of ₹3,000 per month after age 60.

Yaad rakhein: Shram Yogi = unorganised worker; Maan-dhan = honour pension.

Answer: (D) Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan

Concept: Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860–1936) systematised Hindustani music.

1. He classified ragas into ten parent scales called Thatas (Bilawal, Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi, Bhairav, Kalyan, Marwa, Poorvi, Todi).
2. He also devised the Bhatkhande notation; Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (1901).

Yaad rakhein: Bhatkhande → 10 Thatas; Paluskar → Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.

Answer: (B) Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande

Concept: Recognition of parties is governed by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

1. A: a party recognised as a State party in four or more States is a National Party – true.
2. B: a party recognised in fewer than four States is a State Party in those States – true.
3. C: recognised parties need only one proposer for nomination and get two free sets of electoral rolls – true. So A, B and C are all correct.

Yaad rakhein: Symbols Order 1968 – National party: State party in 4 States (or 6% votes + 4 MPs, or 2% LS seats from 3 States).

Answer: (B) A, B and C

Concept: The Green Revolution (from mid-1960s) raised food-grain output using a package of modern inputs.

1. Key element: high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, mainly of wheat and rice, with chemical fertilisers, pesticides and assured irrigation.
2. It needed more water, used chemical (not organic) inputs and largely bypassed pulses.

Yaad rakhein: Green Revolution = HYV seeds + fertiliser + irrigation; wheat-first.

Answer: (C) It involved use of high-yielding variety of seeds

Concept: The Rig Veda Samhita is divided into 10 books called Mandalas, containing 1,028 hymns (suktas).

1. Mandalas II–VII are the oldest ‘family books’; Mandala IX is devoted to Soma.
2. Mandala X contains the Purusha Sukta (mention of four varnas) and Nasadiya Sukta.

Yaad rakhein: Rig Veda: 10 Mandalas, 1,028 hymns; Gayatri Mantra in Mandala III.

Answer: (D) 10

Concept: A hydrogen atom ($Z=1$) has one electron, located in its K shell. A hydrogen molecule ($H_2$) is formed by two such atoms sharing their electrons.

1. Each H atom contributes 1 electron, so $H_2$ has $1+1=2$ electrons.
2. Both electrons occupy the shared bond (1s/K level) of the molecule, so the molecule has 2 electrons in its K shell.
3. 1 electron is the count for a single hydrogen atom, not the molecule.

Yaad rakhein: H atom = 1 electron; $H_2$ molecule = 2 electrons (one shared pair).

Answer: (C) 2

Concept: Electric current $I=\frac{Q}{t}$ – charge flowing per unit time.

1. 1 ampere is the current when 1 coulomb of charge flows through a conductor in 1 second.
2. So $1\text{A}=\frac{1\text{C}}{1\text{s}}$, i.e. A = 1 C/s. The factors of 2 in other options are wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Ampere = Coulomb per second; Volt = Joule per coulomb.

Answer: (B) $A=1C/s$

Concept: Globalisation means integrating the domestic economy with the world economy through freer trade and capital flows.

1. Liberalisation of import licensing (removing quantitative restrictions, lowering tariffs) opens the economy to world trade – a feature of globalisation.
2. Disinvestment and limiting the public sector are features of privatisation; self-reliance is the opposite policy of the pre-1991 era.

Yaad rakhein: LPG 1991: L – licence-raj removed; P – disinvestment; G – opening to world trade.

Answer: (B) Liberalisation of import licensing

Concept: Article 175 gives the Governor the right to address and send messages to the House or Houses of the State Legislature.

1. Art. 176 – special address by the Governor at the first session after each general election and of each year.
2. Art. 172 – duration of State Legislatures; Art. 171 – composition of Legislative Councils.

Yaad rakhein: Union parallel: Art. 86 (President’s address/messages) ↔ Art. 175 (Governor).

Answer: (D) Article 175

Concept: Ambubachi Mela is held every June at the Kamakhya Temple on Nilachal Hill, Guwahati, Assam.

1. It marks the annual menstruation of the goddess Kamakhya; the temple remains closed for three days.
2. It is one of the largest Tantric/Shakti gatherings in eastern India.

Yaad rakhein: Kamakhya – Guwahati – Ambubachi (June).

Answer: (D) Assam

Concept: Pandit Bhajan Sopori (1948–2022) was a santoor maestro from Kashmir.

1. He belonged to the Sufiana gharana of Kashmir and was called the ‘Saint of the Santoor’.
2. He received the Padma Shri (2004) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Yaad rakhein: Santoor: Shivkumar Sharma, Bhajan Sopori, Rahul Sharma.

Answer: (C) santoor

Concept: Truth, Love and a Little Malice (2002) is the autobiography of writer-journalist Khushwant Singh.

1. Khushwant Singh also wrote Train to Pakistan and Delhi, and edited The Illustrated Weekly of India.
2. Phoolan Devi’s autobiography is I, Phoolan Devi; Satyajit Ray wrote My Years with Apu.

Yaad rakhein: Khushwant Singh – Truth, Love and a Little Malice; Train to Pakistan.

Answer: (A) Khushwant Singh

Concept: Freon R-22 is chlorodifluoromethane ($CHCl{F}_2$).

1. It is manufactured by reacting chloroform ($CHC{l}_3$) with hydrogen fluoride, replacing two Cl atoms by F.
2. Carbon tetrachloride is the raw material for CFC-11 and CFC-12; DDT is an insecticide; methylene chloride is a solvent.

Yaad rakhein: Chloroform → R-22; $CC{l}_4$ → CFC-11 and CFC-12.

Answer: (A) Chloroform