Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Identify the national team of a famous former cricketer.

1. Roger Binny was an Indian all-rounder, a key member of India's 1983 World Cup–winning team.
2. He took 18 wickets in that tournament – the most by any bowler.
3. In 2022 he became President of the BCCI.

Yaad rakhein: Roger Binny = first Anglo-Indian to play Test cricket for India; his son Stuart Binny also played for India.

Answer: (C) India

Concept: Locate the constituency won by a celebrity candidate in the 2024 general election.

1. Baharampur (Berhampore) is in Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
2. Yusuf Pathan won it in 2024 as a Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate.
3. He defeated Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Yaad rakhein: Do not confuse with Berhampur (Odisha) – the Bengal seat is spelt Baharampur.

Answer: (A) West Bengal

Concept: Match the instrument with the quantity it measures.

1. Pyranometer → total solar radiation (irradiance, W/m²) falling on a surface.
2. Pressure → barometer; wind speed → anemometer; cloud base height → ceilometer.

Trick: 'Pyr' = fire/heat (sun) → pyranometer measures sunlight; pyrheliometer measures direct beam radiation.

Answer: (A) solar irradiance

Concept: Recall the venue of the final of the 3rd T20 World Cup for the Blind.

1. Final held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, in December 2022.
2. India beat Bangladesh by 120 runs and won the title for the third straight time.

Yaad rakhein: India has won all three Blind T20 World Cups: 2012, 2017, 2022.

Answer: (D) M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Concept: Article 42 (DPSP) – just and humane work conditions and maternity relief.

1. Art 41: right to work, education, public help in some cases.
2. Art 42: just & humane conditions of work + maternity relief.
3. Art 46: welfare of SC/ST and weaker sections; Art 48: agriculture and animal husbandry.

Trick: 41-42-43 = work trio: 41 right to work, 42 conditions of work, 43 living wage.

Answer: (B) Article 42

Concept: The PM headed the Planning Commission by virtue of office.

1. Planning Commission (1950) was set up by a Cabinet resolution.
2. PM = ex-officio Chairman; a Deputy Chairman handled daily work.
3. Replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015 – PM is its Chairperson too.

Yaad rakhein: Planning Commission and NITI Aayog are both extra-constitutional bodies with the PM at the top.

Answer: (C) Ex-Officio chairman

Concept: Pick the body that has no legal power to probe complaints in India.

1. NHRC (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993) investigates rights violations.
2. NCW and NCSC (Art 338) also look into complaints in their areas.
3. 'International Human Rights Commission' is not an Indian statutory body → has no such role.

Trick: Indian probe bodies are all 'National …' – the 'International' option stands out.

Answer: (D) International Human Rights Commission

Concept: Date the treaty by which the Peshwa accepted Subsidiary Alliance.

1. Baji Rao II, defeated by Holkar, fled to Bassein and signed the treaty on 31 Dec 1802.
2. He accepted British subsidiary troops – this triggered the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05).
3. 1818 = end of 3rd Anglo-Maratha War, Peshwaship abolished.

Trick: Bassein 1802 → Anglo-Maratha War II 1803 – consecutive years.

Answer: (B) 1802

Concept: Dropped from rest: v = gt, so KE = ½mv² = ½mg²t² ∝ m·t².

1. KE_A ∝ 2 × 5² = 50.
2. KE_B ∝ 3 × 3² = 27.
3. Ratio = 50/27.

Trick: Heights are not needed – just multiply mass × (time)² for each body.

Answer: (C) $\frac{50}{27}$

Concept: Yeast ferments sugar and releases CO₂, which makes dough rise.

1. Baker's yeast = Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a fungus).
2. CO₂ bubbles make bread and cakes soft and spongy.
3. Smuts and rusts are plant-disease fungi; moulds spoil food.

Yaad rakhein: Bread → yeast; curd → Lactobacillus; vinegar → Acetobacter.

Answer: (A) Yeasts

Concept: A pollution-law amendment is piloted by the environment ministry.

1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024 was introduced by MoEFCC in Feb 2024.
2. It decriminalises minor offences under the 1974 Act and adds monetary penalties.

Yaad rakhein: Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981 are both administered by MoEFCC through the CPCB/SPCBs.

Answer: (C) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Concept: Coal mines were nationalised in two phases in the early 1970s.

1. Coking coal mines – 1971-72.
2. Non-coking coal mines – 1973.
3. Coal India Ltd. formed in 1975 → whole process falls in 1971-75.

Yaad rakhein: Bank nationalisation 1969, coal 1971-73 – both under Indira Gandhi.

Answer: (C) 1971-1975

Concept: The pung (barrel drum) is the soul of Manipuri dance.

1. Pung Cholom: dancers play the pung while performing acrobatic movements.
2. Kathakali uses chenda/maddalam; Kathak uses tabla/pakhawaj; Odissi uses mardala.

Trick: Pung–Manipur: both start with sounds of the North-East – 'Pung Cholom' is Manipur's drum dance.

Answer: (D) Manipuri

Concept: Dalchand Sharma is a pakhawaj player of the Nathdwara tradition.

1. Nathdwara (Rajasthan) gharana grew around the Shrinathji temple and is famous for pakhawaj.
2. Rampur-Sahaswan and Atrauli-Jaipur are vocal (khayal) gharanas; Lucknow is known for tabla/Kathak.

Trick: Eliminate vocal gharanas first – only Nathdwara is a pakhawaj school.

Answer: (B) Nathdwara

Concept: Industries that take raw materials directly from nature are extractive.

1. Examples: mining, quarrying, fishing, forestry.
2. Manufacturing converts raw materials into goods; service industry gives services; construction builds structures.

Trick: 'Extract' = take out → extractive industry takes out resources from earth/water.

Answer: (B) Extractive industry

Concept: Ummathat is a Kodava folk dance of Kodagu (Karnataka).

1. Rani Machaiah received the Padma Shri (2023) for promoting Ummathat.
2. Vani Jairam and Suman Kalyanpur are singers, not dancers.

Yaad rakhein: Kodagu (Coorg) dance – Ummathat, performed by Kodava women in a circle.

Answer: (D) Rani Machaiah

Concept: The chief guest's country also sent a marching contingent.

1. Chief guest 2023: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
2. An Egyptian Army contingent marched on Kartavya Path for the first time.
3. 2024 chief guest: French President Macron (French contingent).

Yaad rakhein: 2023 Egypt → 2024 France: remember in order.

Answer: (B) Egypt

Concept: Rigvedic people lived mainly in the Sapta-Sindhu region; the Ganga was at its eastern edge.

1. The Ganga is named only once – in the Nadistuti hymn (10th Mandala).
2. Yamuna is mentioned three times; Sindhu and Saraswati are mentioned most.

Yaad rakhein: Most mentioned Rigvedic river = Sindhu; most sacred = Saraswati (Naditama).

Answer: (D) 1

Concept: A 2020 COVID-relief campaign for returning migrant workers.

1. Launched on 20 June 2020 from Bihar.
2. It was a 125-day mission of work in 116 districts of 6 states.
3. MGNREGA, by contrast, guarantees 100 days a year.

Yaad rakhein: Don't mix: MGNREGA = 100 days; Garib Kalyan Rojgar = 125 days.

Answer: (B) 125

Concept: Trace the countries crossed by the Brahmaputra.

1. Tibet (China) as Tsangpo → India (Arunachal: Siang/Dihang; Assam: Brahmaputra) → Bangladesh as Jamuna.
2. Nepal's rivers (Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghara) join the Ganga, not the Brahmaputra.

Trick: Brahmaputra names: Tsangpo → Dihang → Brahmaputra → Jamuna (China → India → Bangladesh).

Answer: (C) Nepal