Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Appointments – Governors and Lieutenant Governors (2024).

1. Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan was Governor of Telangana with additional charge as LG of Puducherry.
2. She resigned in March 2024 and contested the Lok Sabha poll from Chennai South (Tamil Nadu).
3. J&K, Ladakh and Lakshadweep had different administrators/LGs.

Yaad rakhein: Puducherry, Delhi and J&K are the UTs that have their own legislature.

Answer: (A) Puducherry

Concept: KE = ½mv² depends on speed; PE = mgh depends on height. Their sum stays constant.

1. At the top the object stops for an instant → v = 0 → KE = 0.
2. Height h is greatest → PE = mgh is maximum.
3. Total energy is never zero, so (d) is wrong; KE is largest at the moment of throwing.

Trick: Top = 'all PE, no KE'; bottom = 'all KE, least PE'. The two never peak together.

Answer: (A) potential energy is maximum

Concept: Order of foreign groups entering north-west India after the Mauryas.

1. Shakas (Scythians) came from Central Asia and occupied the Taxila region in the 1st century BC; Maues (Moga) was an early Shaka king there.
2. Indo-Greeks were earlier (2nd century BC); Parthians and Kushanas came later (1st century AD onwards).

Trick: Sequence mnemonic 'I-S-P-K': Indo-Greek → Shaka → Parthian → Kushana.

Answer: (D) Shakas

Concept: Match the event's year with the plan period.

1. Emergency: June 1975; 20-Point Programme launched: July 1975.
2. 1975 falls in the Fifth Plan (1974–79), so its implementation was turned towards the 20 points.
3. Third (1961–66) and Fourth (1969–74) had ended; Sixth began in 1980.

Yaad rakhein: The Fifth Plan was ended a year early (1978) by the Janata government, which started a 'Rolling Plan'.

Answer: (A) Fifth Plan

Concept: Everyday substances and their nature/formula.

1. Citric acid → present in lemons, limes, oranges (A-3).
2. Quicklime (CaO) → basic oxide (B-1).
3. Common salt → NaCl (C-2); Bleaching powder → CaOCl₂ (D-4).

Trick: NaCl = salt is a sure pair (C-2); only (a) and (b) have it, and citric acid cannot be 'basic', so A-3 → (b).

Answer: (B) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

Concept: Current affairs – appointments in Central Armed Police Forces.

1. In August 2024, Sanjeev Raina, a cadre officer of ITBP, was made its Additional Director General.
2. ADG is the rank just below the Director General of the force.

Yaad rakhein: ITBP was raised in 1962 (after the India-China war), works under the Ministry of Home Affairs and guards the India–China border.

Answer: (A) Sanjeev Raina

Concept: Provisions of the Indian Independence Act, 1947.

1. The Act (royal assent 18 July 1947) created two independent dominions – India and Pakistan – from 15 August 1947.
2. Each got a Constituent Assembly with full power to make its own constitution.

Yaad rakhein: The Act was based on the Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947); Lord Mountbatten became the first Governor-General of independent India.

Answer: (B) Two

Concept: Article 108 (joint sitting) and Article 118 (rules of procedure).

1. The President calls a joint sitting to settle a deadlock on an ordinary bill.
2. It is presided over by the Lok Sabha Speaker and run by the Lok Sabha's rules of procedure (Art. 118(3)).

Trick: Speaker presides → Speaker's House rules apply. No joint sitting for Money Bills or Constitution Amendment Bills.

Answer: (A) Lok Sabha

Concept: Sports current affairs – medal tally.

1. Panjab University (Chandigarh) finished first at KIUG 2023 held in Uttar Pradesh.
2. Medals: 26 gold + 17 silver + 26 bronze = 69.

Yaad rakhein: The 2023 University Games were the third edition and were hosted across several cities of Uttar Pradesh.

Answer: (D) 69

Concept: Each cheque leaf has a unique serial number.

1. The 6-digit cheque number differs on every leaf, so the bank uses it to track clearing, return or stop-payment.
2. MICR code and IFSC identify the bank branch – they are the same on all leaves, so cannot identify one cheque.

Trick: Ask 'which number changes from leaf to leaf?' – only the cheque number.

Answer: (A) Cheque number

Concept: Hindustani music gharanas and their exponents.

1. Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar (1849–1926) was a khayal singer trained in the Gwalior style.
2. He spread the Gwalior gharana in Maharashtra; Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was his disciple.

Yaad rakhein: Gwalior is the oldest khayal gharana. Kirana – Abdul Karim Khan; Jaipur-Atrauli – Alladiya Khan; Patiala – Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

Answer: (D) Gwalior gharana

Concept: Folk dances of Indian states.

1. Kinnauris live in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
2. Losar Shona Chuksam is performed at Losar (new year) and depicts sowing and harvesting.

Trick: The word 'Kinnauri' itself points to Kinnaur – a district of Himachal Pradesh.

Answer: (B) Himachal Pradesh

Concept: Laws that create a legal guarantee of employment.

1. MGNREGA (2005) gives every rural household a legal right to at least 100 days of unskilled wage work a year.
2. If work is not given within 15 days of demand, an unemployment allowance is payable.
3. EPF Act is about retirement savings; IIM and Citizenship Acts are unrelated.

Trick: Look for the word 'Guarantee' in the option – the 'right to work' needs a guarantee law.

Answer: (D) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Concept: A country with high fertility has a younger population (lower median age).

1. In 2023 Pakistan's median age was about 20–21 years – lowest among the options.
2. Nepal and Bangladesh were in the mid-20s; Sri Lanka was the oldest (low birth rate, long life).

Trick: Highest birth rate ⇒ youngest population. Among these, Pakistan has the highest fertility.

Answer: (C) Pakistan

Concept: The 44th Amendment (1978) removed property from Part III.

1. Articles 19(1)(f) and 31 were deleted; property is now a legal right under Article 300A.
2. Equality (Art. 14–18), Education (Art. 21A) and Privacy (part of Art. 21, Puttaswamy 2017) are Fundamental Rights.

Trick: '300A' – a three-digit article is outside Part III (Art. 12–35), so it cannot be a Fundamental Right.

Answer: (D) Right to Property

Concept: Padma awards – artists and their states.

1. Domar Singh Kunwar got the Padma Shri 2023 (Art) for Nacha, a folk dance-drama.
2. Nacha is the traditional folk theatre of Chhattisgarh.

Trick: Link the art form to the state: Nacha / Pandvani / Panthi → Chhattisgarh.

Answer: (B) Chhattisgarh

Concept: Absorbed CO₂ makes sea water more acidic.

1. CO₂ + H₂O → H₂CO₃ (carbonic acid), which releases H⁺ ions.
2. More H⁺ means lower pH – this fall in pH is ocean acidification.
3. It harms corals and shell-forming organisms by reducing carbonate.

Trick: 'Acidification' = becoming acidic = pH going down. Options with 'neutralisation' or 'alkalinity' mean the opposite.

Answer: (C) Decrease in pH due to carbon dioxide absorption

Concept: Sports current affairs – IOC Session in India.

1. The 141st IOC Session was held in Mumbai (Jio World Centre) in October 2023, opened by PM Modi.
2. New Delhi is the trap: it hosted the 86th Session in 1983.
3. At this session cricket was approved for the LA 2028 Olympics.

Yaad rakhein: India has hosted the IOC Session twice – New Delhi (1983) and Mumbai (2023).

Answer: (C) Mumbai

Concept: Regional festivals of India.

1. Shigmo (Shigmotsav) is Goa's spring festival, held in Phalguna – Goa's version of Holi.
2. It features colourful float parades and folk dances like Ghode Modni.

Yaad rakhein: Other Goa festivals: Sao Joao (monsoon), Goa Carnival (before Lent).

Answer: (A) Goa

Concept: Why the Third Plan (1961–66) failed.

1. Two wars – China (1962) and Pakistan (1965) – diverted funds to defence.
2. Severe drought in 1965–66 hit farm output; targets were missed.
3. Result: three Annual Plans (1966–69), called the 'Plan Holiday'.

Trick: Match the dates – only the 1965 war falls inside 1961–66; the other options don't fit that era's policy.

Answer: (A) The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965