Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Government schemes to boost formal employment.

1. PMRPY was launched by the Labour Ministry in August 2016, effective from 1 April 2016.
2. Govt paid the employer's EPF/EPS share for new workers earning up to ₹15,000/month.

Yaad rakhein: Scheme was run through EPFO; new registrations closed on 31 March 2019.

Answer: (D) 2016

Concept: Host city of the inaugural Asian Games.

1. The 1st Asian Games were held in New Delhi in March 1951.
2. India hosted again in 1982 – again in New Delhi.

Yaad rakhein: Both Asian Games hosted by India (1951, 1982) were in New Delhi.

Answer: (A) New Delhi

Concept: Women judges of the Supreme Court (current affairs 2024).

1. Justice Hima Kohli retired from the Supreme Court in September 2024 (farewell in August 2024).
2. She was the first woman Chief Justice of Telangana High Court (2021) and the 9th woman judge of the SC.

Yaad rakhein: Justice Fathima Beevi (1989) was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court.

Answer: (B) Hima Kohli

Concept: When sports entered the Asian Games programme.

1. Kabaddi became a medal sport at the 11th Asian Games, Beijing 1990.
2. It was only a demonstration event at Delhi 1982; India won the 1990 men's gold.

Yaad rakhein: India's men's kabaddi team won every Asian Games gold from 1990 to 2014.

Answer: (B) Kabaddi

Concept: Orographic rainfall in the Khasi Hills.

1. Cherrapunji (Sohra) and Mawsynram in Meghalaya get over 1,080 cm rain a year.
2. Monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal rise along the funnel-shaped Khasi Hills and shed heavy rain.

Yaad rakhein: Mawsynram holds the title of the wettest place on Earth (average annual rainfall).

Answer: (C) Cherrapunji and Mawsynram

Concept: NITI Aayog's National Multidimensional Poverty Index (Progress Review 2023).

1. Among UTs, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu had the highest share of multidimensionally poor.
2. Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry recorded far lower shares.

Yaad rakhein: MPI uses 3 dimensions – Health, Education, Standard of Living – with 12 indicators; Bihar is the poorest state.

Answer: (C) Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu

Concept: Punishment for cheating/paper leaks in public exams.

1. An individual using unfair means: jail of 3 to 5 years plus fine up to ₹10 lakh.
2. The ₹1 crore fine applies to service providers, not to individuals.

Yaad rakhein: Organised paper-leak crime: 5–10 years jail and fine of at least ₹1 crore.

Answer: (D) Up to ten lakh rupees

Concept: Public Service Commissions in the Constitution.

1. Part XIV, Articles 315–323, deal with UPSC and State PSCs.
2. Art. 315: PSCs for Union and States; Art. 323: their annual reports.

Yaad rakhein: Art. 316 – appointment of members; Art. 320 – functions of PSCs.

Answer: (D) Articles 315 to 323

Concept: Sectors of the economy.

1. Green Revolution (from mid-1960s) = HYV seeds, fertilisers, irrigation → higher farm output.
2. So it belongs to agriculture (primary sector), mainly wheat in Punjab, Haryana, west UP.

Yaad rakhein: M.S. Swaminathan is called the father of India's Green Revolution; Norman Borlaug globally.

Answer: (D) Agricultural sector

Concept: Dance festivals and their states.

1. Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) is near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
2. The festival is held each Dec–Jan against the Pallava rock-cut monuments (UNESCO site).

Yaad rakhein: Other dance fests: Konark (Odisha), Khajuraho (MP), Hampi Utsav (Karnataka).

Answer: (A) Tamil Nadu

Concept: Check each statement against official data.

1. (i) Agri growth projected for FY 2022-23 was about 3.5%, not 5.5% → false.
2. (ii) Agri exports in FY 2021-22 hit a record ≈ US$ 50.2 bn → true.
3. (iii) KMS 2021-22 rice procurement ≈ 581.7 lakh MT → true.

Trick: Once (i) is false, options (A) and (C) go; (D) excludes (iii), which is correct.

Answer: (B) Only ii and iii

Concept: Classical dancers and their dance forms.

1. Lakshmi Vishwanathan of Chennai was a noted Bharatanatyam dancer and writer.
2. The Music Academy, Madras honoured her with the Natya Kalanidhi award.

Yaad rakhein: Bharatanatyam – Tamil Nadu; Kuchipudi – Andhra Pradesh; Odissi – Odisha; Kathak – North India.

Answer: (D) Bharatanatyam

Concept: Problems faced by India's early plans.

1. Third Plan (1961–66) aimed at a self-reliant economy.
2. The 1962 China war, 1965 Pakistan war and 1965-66 drought diverted funds to defence → war-time spending was the key challenge.
3. Liberalisation came only in 1991, so (A) is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Third Plan's failure led to Plan Holidays (1966–69) with three Annual Plans.

Answer: (D) War-time expenditure and resource allocation

Concept: Anniversary number = given year − birth year.

1. Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar.
2. 2022 − 1869 = 153 → 153rd birth anniversary.

Yaad rakhein: 2 October is also the UN's International Day of Non-Violence.

Answer: (A) 153rd

Concept: Pottery cultures of ancient India.

1. NBPW = Northern Black Polished Ware – glossy black, fine luxury pottery.
2. Linked with the Mahajanapada and Mauryan age (c. 700–200 BCE), Gangetic plains.

Yaad rakhein: Sequence: OCP → PGW (Vedic, Painted Grey Ware) → NBPW.

Answer: (C) Northern Black Polished Ware

Concept: Parts of the Constitution.

1. Part III (Art. 12–35) contains the Fundamental Rights.
2. DPSP – Part IV; Fundamental Duties – Part IVA; Citizenship – Part II.

Yaad rakhein: Part III is called the 'Magna Carta of India'; Art. 32 is its 'heart and soul' (Ambedkar).

Answer: (D) Fundamental Rights

Concept: Plants with weak stems need support to grow upward.

1. Pumpkin has a weak stem with tendrils – it can climb walls/trellis when given support.
2. Sunflower is an erect herb; lemon and rose are shrubs – they stand on their own.

Yaad rakhein: Climbers: money plant, grapevine, pea; creepers: watermelon, sweet potato.

Answer: (D) Pumpkin plant

Concept: Constitutional reforms of British India.

1. The 1919 Act was based on the Montagu–Chelmsford Report (1918).
2. Edwin Montagu – Secretary of State; Lord Chelmsford – Viceroy. Curzon, Irwin, Linlithgow were in other periods.

Yaad rakhein: The 1919 Act introduced dyarchy in the provinces.

Answer: (C) Lord Chelmsford and Edwin Montagu

Concept: Changing magnetic flux induces emf.

1. Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831.
2. It is the working principle of generators and transformers.
3. 1820 is Oersted's discovery (current produces magnetism) – the trap.

Trick: Faraday: magnet → electricity (1831); Oersted: electricity → magnet (1820).

Answer: (D) 1831

Concept: Famous Indian classical musicians.

1. M.S. Subbulakshmi, a Carnatic vocalist, sang at the UN General Assembly in 1966 and toured Europe and North America.
2. Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle are playback singers; Begum Akhtar sang ghazals.

Yaad rakhein: MS was the first musician to get the Bharat Ratna (1998) and got the Magsaysay Award in 1974.

Answer: (D) Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi