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SSC Stenographer 2026 10 September 2026 Shift 1 GK Questions – with answers & solutions

All 47 GK / GS questions asked in SSC Stenographer 2026 on 10 September 2026 Shift 1, with correct answers and short solutions, subject-wise: Ancient History, Medieval History, Modern History, Polity, Geography, Biology.

📚 47 questions🗓️ 10 September 2026⏰ Shift 1
📥 Full paper PDF
Subjects: Ancient History (1) · Medieval History (2) · Modern History (2) · Polity (11) · Geography (7) · Biology (3) · Economics (9) · Static GK (9) · Physics (1) · Current Affairs (2)

Ancient History (1)

Sources and Prehistoric India · Chalcolithic cultures

Q1. Which of the following correctly matches Chalcolithic sites with their cultural features?

  1. (a) Kayatha – Black and Red Ware; early Harappan traits
  2. (b) Navdatoli – Painted pottery; located on Narmada river
  3. (c) Jorwe – Microlith tools; evidence of urban planning
  4. (d) Nevasa – Iron tools; early Vedic settlements
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Navdatoli – Painted pottery; located on Narmada river

Answer: Option 2 — Navdatoli – Painted pottery; located on Narmada river
Navdatoli stands on the Narmada opposite Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh and is the type site of the Malwa culture, famous for the richest painted pottery of Chalcolithic India.
Each of the other pairs fails on one element — Kayatha's ware is not Black-and-Red, Jorwe was rural, and Nevasa used copper, not iron.
Revision note — Chalcolithic cultures of India
• Chalcolithic is from Greek chalkos (copper) and lithos (stone) — the Copper-Stone Age, when copper, the first metal worked by humans, was used alongside stone tools.
• Ahar-Banas culture, south-east Rajasthan — Ahar, Gilund, Balathal; known for Black-and-Red Ware. Ahar was called Tambavati, the place with copper.
• Kayatha culture, Chambal valley of Madhya Pradesh — sturdy red-slipped ware painted in chocolate and violet, copper bangles, beads of steatite and carnelian.
• Malwa culture — Navdatoli on the Narmada, with Eran and Nagda; its black-on-red painted pottery is the finest of the Chalcolithic.
• Jorwe culture of Maharashtra — Inamgaon, Nevasa, Daimabad, Chandoli; a rural, non-urban culture of round and rectangular huts.
• Daimabad, on the Pravara in Maharashtra, yielded the famous bronze chariot, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo.
• Chalcolithic people did not know iron. Iron appears only in the later Vedic period, about 1000 BCE, so no Chalcolithic site pairs with iron tools.
Do not mix these up
• Navdatoli vs Nevasa — Navdatoli is a Malwa site on the Narmada; Nevasa is a Jorwe site on the Pravara.
• Chalcolithic vs Iron Age — Chalcolithic means copper with stone; the Indian Iron Age opens with Painted Grey Ware.
Also asked from this topic: what 'Chalcolithic' literally means (Copper-Stone Age); the first metal used by early humans (copper); the Maharashtra site that yielded metal-cast sculptures (Daimabad).

Medieval History (2)

Vijayanagara and Bahmani Kingdoms · Deccan Sultanates

Q2. Which of the following correctly matches the Bahmani successor states with their respective founders?

  1. (a) Bijapur – Yusuf Adil Shah; Ahmadnagar – Malik Ambar; Golconda – Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk
  2. (b) Ahmadnagar – Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah; Golconda – Yusuf Adil Shah; Bidar – Qasim Barid I
  3. (c) Bijapur – Yusuf Adil Shah; Ahmadnagar – Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah; Golconda – Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk
  4. (d) Berar – Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk; Bidar – Yusuf Adil Shah; Golconda – Malik Ambar
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Bijapur – Yusuf Adil Shah; Ahmadnagar – Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah; Golconda – Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk

Answer: Option 3 — Bijapur – Yusuf Adil Shah; Ahmadnagar – Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah; Golconda – Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk
All three pairs are right: Yusuf Adil Shah began the Adil Shahi line at Bijapur, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah the Nizam Shahi line at Ahmadnagar, Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk the Qutb Shahi line at Golconda.
Malik Ambar, who appears in two of the other pairings, founded nothing — he was the Abyssinian regent of Ahmadnagar a century later.
Revision note — The Bahmani kingdom and its five successor states
• The Bahmani Sultanate was founded in 1347 by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (Hasan Gangu), capital Gulbarga (Ahsanabad), moved to Bidar in 1425.
• Its great minister Mahmud Gawan built the madrasa at Bidar; his execution in 1481 began the break-up of the kingdom.
• Bijapur — Adil Shahi, Yusuf Adil Shah, 1490. Ahmadnagar — Nizam Shahi, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah, 1490. Berar — Imad Shahi, Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk, 1490.
• Bidar — Barid Shahi, Qasim Barid I. Golconda — Qutb Shahi, Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, 1518.
• Four of them — Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bidar — joined to defeat Vijayanagara under Rama Raya at the Battle of Talikota, 1565.
• The Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur is the tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah; the Charminar at Hyderabad was built in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.
• Chand Bibi defended Ahmadnagar against Akbar. Mughal annexations: Berar 1600, Ahmadnagar 1636, and under Aurangzeb Bijapur 1686 and Golconda 1687.
Do not mix these up
• Malik Ambar vs Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah — Malik Ahmad founded Ahmadnagar in 1490; Malik Ambar was its regent and general, who died in 1626.
• Bidar vs Berar — Bidar is the Barid Shahi state of Qasim Barid; Berar is the Imad Shahi state of Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk.
Also asked from this topic: who beat Vijayanagara at Talikota (the Deccan Sultanates); the empire that fell after 1565 (Vijayanagara); the kingdom that split into the five sultanates (Bahmani).
Mughal Empire · Akbar's Navratnas and Din-i-Ilahi

Q3. The Ibadat Khana was established by Akbar in Fatehpur Sikri for what objective?

  1. (a) To collect taxes
  2. (b) For religious debates and interfaith dialogue
  3. (c) Royal treasury
  4. (d) Minting coins
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) For religious debates and interfaith dialogue

Answer: Option 2 — For religious debates and interfaith dialogue
Akbar built the Ibadat Khana, the House of Worship, at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575 as a hall for religious discussion.
It began with Sunni theologians and from 1578 was opened to scholars of every faith.
Revision note — Akbar's religious policy
• The Ibadat Khana (1575) later hosted Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Christians; the Jesuit fathers Aquaviva and Monserrate came from Goa to join the debates.
• These debates led Akbar to sulh-i-kul, the policy of universal peace, and in 1582 to Din-i-Ilahi, a small spiritual order — Raja Birbal was its only prominent Hindu follower.
• The Mahzar or Declaration of 1579 made Akbar the final arbiter in disputes among Muslim jurists.
• Akbar abolished the pilgrimage tax in 1563 and the jizya in 1564.
• Fatehpur Sikri was founded in 1571 in honour of the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti and served as the capital until about 1585.
• Its Buland Darwaza was raised in 1576 to mark the conquest of Gujarat; the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986).
• Abul Fazl described these years in the Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari; the orthodox historian Badauni attacked them.
Do not mix these up
• Ibadat Khana vs Din-i-Ilahi — the Ibadat Khana is the building (1575) where debates were held; Din-i-Ilahi is the faith (1582) that grew out of them.
• Sulh-i-kul vs Din-i-Ilahi — sulh-i-kul was a state policy of tolerance; Din-i-Ilahi was a personal order with very few members.
Also asked from this topic: what the Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri was (a hall for religious debates); the ruler who followed sulh-i-kul (Akbar); Akbar's revenue minister (Raja Todar Mal).

Modern History (2)

Socio-Religious Reform Movements · Social reform laws (sati, widow remarriage, child marriage)

Q4. The abolition of Sati in 1829 by Lord William Bentinck was a landmark reform in British India. Which of the following statements best explains the complex motivations behind this legislative action?

  1. (a) It was purely a humanitarian intervention by the British, motivated solely by concern for Indian women’s welfare.
  2. (b) It aimed to curb a widespread religious practice that had the unanimous support of Indian society and religious leaders
  3. (c) It combined moral reform influenced by Indian social reformers with British imperial interests in strengthening colonial authority and legitimacy.
  4. (d) It was imposed without any consultation with Indian reformers and faced no opposition from traditional elites.
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) It combined moral reform influenced by Indian social reformers with British imperial interests in strengthening colonial authority and legitimacy.

Answer: Option 3 — It combined moral reform influenced by Indian social reformers with British imperial interests in strengthening colonial authority and legitimacy.
Bentinck moved only after Raja Ram Mohan Roy had built Indian support for the ban, and the Company gained by appearing a moral, civilising power — so the motive was mixed.
The absolute words in the other options give them away: solely, unanimous, no opposition. Sati was pressed by reformers and defended by orthodox elites.
Revision note — Sati and the social reform laws of British India
• The Bengal Sati Regulation XVII of 1829, dated 4 December 1829, declared sati culpable homicide in the Bengal Presidency, extended to Madras and Bombay in 1830.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy, founder of the Brahmo Sabha (1828), argued against sati from the shastras themselves; this was his greatest social achievement.
• The orthodox Dharma Sabha under Radhakanta Deb appealed to the Privy Council, which dismissed the appeal in 1832.
• Bentinck also suppressed thuggee with Colonel William Sleeman, curbed female infanticide, and passed the English Education Act of 1835 after Macaulay's Minute.
• The Charter Act of 1833 made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India; Bentinck was the first to hold that title.
• Later laws: Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 under Lord Canning, driven by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar; Age of Consent Act, 1891 after Behramji Malabari.
• The Child Marriage Restraint (Sarda) Act, 1929 was moved by Har Bilas Sarda; the modern law is the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987.
Do not mix these up
• Sati Regulation 1829 vs Widow Remarriage Act 1856 — Bentinck banned the burning; Canning legalised remarriage.
• Ram Mohan Roy vs Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar — Roy's cause was the abolition of sati; Vidyasagar's was widow remarriage and girls' education.
Also asked from this topic: who abolished sati in 1829 (Lord William Bentinck); Ram Mohan Roy's greatest reform (abolition of sati); the Act creating the Governor-General of India (Charter Act, 1833).
Revolt of 1857 · Causes of the revolt

Q5. While the greased cartridge controversy is often seen as the immediate trigger for the 1857 Revolt, which of the following best explains how systemic discrimination against sepoys played a critical role in converting discontent into armed rebellion?

  1. (a) Sepoys were given equal promotions with British soldiers but were required to serve only within India.
  2. (b) Sepoys were subjected to religious and cultural sensitivities by the British, which strengthened loyalty to the colonial army.
  3. (c) Sepoys faced unequal pay, lack of promotional opportunities, overseas service rules violating caste norms, and racial disrespect, all of which created deep-seated resentment even before the cartridge issue.
  4. (d) Sepoys were allowed to form unions and raise complaints through official military channels, but their demands were ignored due to budget constraints.
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Sepoys faced unequal pay, lack of promotional opportunities, overseas service rules violating caste norms, and racial disrespect, all of which created deep-seated resentment even before the cartridge issue.

Answer: Option 3 — Sepoys faced unequal pay, lack of promotional opportunities, overseas service rules violating caste norms, and racial disrespect
⚠️ Note: option 2 is garbled in the paper ('subjected to religious and cultural sensitivities by the British'); on any reading it speaks of loyalty, not discrimination, so it is wrong and the key is unaffected.
The grievances were structural: an Indian sepoy drew far less than a British soldier of the same rank, could rise no higher than subedar, and was ordered overseas in breach of caste rule.
The greased cartridge only lit a fire that the pay, promotion and service rules had already laid.
Revision note — Military causes of the Revolt of 1857
• Indian sepoys made up about 87 per cent of the Company's army, yet the highest rank open to them was subedar, and their pay stayed far below a British soldier's.
• The General Service Enlistment Act, 1856 of Lord Canning required new recruits to serve overseas; crossing the sea (kala pani) meant loss of caste for the Brahmin and Rajput sepoys of the Bengal Army.
• The Post Office Act of 1854 took away the sepoys' free postage, and the batta or foreign-service allowance was withdrawn after the annexations of Sindh and Awadh.
• The Enfield P-53 rifle's cartridge had to be bitten open and was rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat, offending Hindu and Muslim sepoys alike.
• Mangal Pandey of the 34th Native Infantry attacked his officers at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857 and was hanged on 8 April 1857.
• The revolt broke out at Meerut on 10 May 1857; the sepoys reached Delhi on 11 May and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar their emperor.
• Political causes ran alongside — Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse and the annexation of Awadh in 1856, home district of much of the Bengal Army.
Do not mix these up
• Immediate cause vs underlying cause — the greased cartridge was the spark; unequal pay, blocked promotion and caste-breaking service rules were the fuel.
• Barrackpore vs Meerut — Mangal Pandey's mutiny was on 29 March 1857 at Barrackpore; the general outbreak was on 10 May 1857 at Meerut.
Also asked from this topic: whom the Meerut sepoys made their emperor (Bahadur Shah Zafar); who fought beside Rani Lakshmibai (Tatya Tope); where Zafar was exiled (Rangoon).

Polity (11)

Constitutional and Non-Constitutional Bodies · Finance Commission

Q6. Regarding Fiscal Federalism in India, which of the following statements correctly explains the constitutional framework and practical challenges related to financial relations between the Union and the States?

  1. (a) The Finance Commission’s recommendations are binding on the Union and the States, and the President is constitutionally obligated to implement them without any modifications.
  2. (b) Article 280 mandates the appointment of a Finance Commission every five years to recommend the distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States, but its recommendations are advisory and not binding.
  3. (c) Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the States have completely ceded their taxation powers to the Union, making fiscal federalism obsolete in India.
  4. (d) The Constitution grants equal financial autonomy to all States irrespective of their revenue-generating capacities or development levels, ensuring uniform fiscal federalism.
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Article 280 mandates the appointment of a Finance Commission every five years to recommend the distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States, but its recommendations are advisory and not binding.

Answer: Option 2 — Article 280 mandates the appointment of a Finance Commission every five years to recommend the distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States
Article 280 requires the President to constitute a Finance Commission every five years or earlier, and its report is advisory — it is laid before Parliament with an action-taken memorandum.
States kept their taxing powers under GST through the GST Council, and the Constitution itself recognises unequal capacity by providing grants-in-aid.
Revision note — Finance Commission and Centre-State financial relations
• Article 280 — the President constitutes the Finance Commission: a chairman and four other members, normally every five years.
• It recommends the distribution of net tax proceeds between the Union and the states and among the states, the principles of grants-in-aid, and measures to help panchayats and municipalities.
• The First Finance Commission (1951) was chaired by K. C. Neogy. The 15th, under N. K. Singh, covered 2021-26 and fixed the states' share of the divisible pool at 41 per cent.
• The 16th Finance Commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya, was constituted in December 2023 for the award period 2026-31.
• Article 275 gives statutory grants-in-aid on the Commission's recommendation; Article 282 allows discretionary grants for any public purpose.
• Article 265 — no tax without authority of law. Article 266 — Consolidated Fund; Article 267 — Contingency Fund.
• GST came through the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016, and the GST Council sits under Article 279A, chaired by the Union Finance Minister.
• In the Council the Centre holds one-third and the states together two-thirds of the votes, and every decision needs a three-fourths majority — so the states did not surrender their taxing power.
Do not mix these up
• Finance Commission vs NITI Aayog — the Finance Commission is a constitutional body under Article 280 that divides tax revenue; NITI Aayog is an executive body with no devolution role.
• Article 275 vs Article 282 — Article 275 grants are statutory and follow the Commission's advice; Article 282 grants are discretionary.
Also asked from this topic: the Article that sets up the Finance Commission (280); whether its advice binds the Union (no, it is advisory); who appoints its members (the President).
DPSP and Fundamental Duties · Important DPSP articles (39A, 40, 44, 45, 48A, 50, 51)

Q7. Which of the following statements best captures the constitutional debate and judicial stance on the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India?

  1. (a) Article 44 of the Directive Principles mandates the immediate enforcement of a Uniform Civil Code, making it legally binding on all States and citizens without exception.
  2. (b) The Supreme Court in Shah Bano (1985) and Daniel Latifi (2001) ruled that a Uniform Civil Code already exists in India and must be strictly followed in all personal law matters.
  3. (c) Article 44 in the Directive Principles of State Policy urges the State to consider enacting a Uniform Civil Code, but it is not enforceable by courts; implementation requires a parliamentary law balancing secularism and religious freedoms.
  4. (d) The Constitution explicitly prohibits the enactment of a Uniform Civil Code to protect religious minorities under Articles 25 to 28.
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Article 44 in the Directive Principles of State Policy urges the State to consider enacting a Uniform Civil Code, but it is not enforceable by courts; implementation requires a parliamentary law balancing secularism and religious freedoms.

Answer: Option 3 — Article 44 in the Directive Principles of State Policy urges the State to consider enacting a Uniform Civil Code, but it is not enforceable by courts
Article 44 sits in Part IV, the Directive Principles, and Article 37 makes every Directive Principle non-justiciable — a court cannot order the State to enact a UCC.
The courts have only urged Parliament to act, and no Article of the Constitution forbids a common civil code.
Revision note — Uniform Civil Code and Article 44
• Article 44: "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." It is a Directive Principle, not a Fundamental Right.
• Article 37 states that the Directive Principles are not enforceable by any court, yet are fundamental in the governance of the country.
• In the Constituent Assembly the clause was moved by K. M. Munshi and defended by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, against opposition from members who feared for personal laws.
• In the Shah Bano case (1985) the Supreme Court allowed maintenance under Section 125 CrPC and called for a UCC; Parliament then passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
• Sarla Mudgal (1995) and John Vallamattom (2003) again reminded the State of Article 44; Daniel Latifi (2001) upheld the 1986 Act while protecting the divorced woman's maintenance.
• Goa has followed a common civil code since the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867; Uttarakhand became the first state after independence to enact one, in force from 27 January 2025.
• A UCC would replace the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 and the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
• The Special Marriage Act, 1954 is already a secular option, open to any two citizens whatever their religion.
Do not mix these up
• Article 44 vs Article 25 — Article 44 is a non-justiciable Directive Principle; Article 25 is an enforceable Fundamental Right to freedom of religion.
• Goa vs Uttarakhand — Goa's common code is inherited from Portuguese law; Uttarakhand is the first state to legislate a UCC after independence.
Also asked from this topic: the Article providing for a UCC (Article 44); the class of principles it belongs to (Directive Principles); the laws it would replace (religious personal laws).
Amendments and Important Articles · Major constitutional amendments

Q8. The translation in Hindi of every Constitutional Amendment Act was inserted through which Amendment Act?

  1. (a) 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
  2. (b) 58th Amendment Act, 1987
  3. (c) 44th Amendment Act, 1978
  4. (d) 61st Amendment Act, 1989
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) 58th Amendment Act, 1987

Answer: Option 2 — 58th Amendment Act, 1987
The 58th Amendment Act, 1987 inserted Article 394A, which directs the President to publish an authoritative text of the Constitution in Hindi.
The same article covers the Hindi text of every amendment made to the Constitution, and gives that text the same legal force as the English original.
Revision note — Official language and the amendments in the options
• Article 394A sits in Part XXII (Articles 392–395), the closing part on short title, commencement, authoritative Hindi text and repeals.
• Article 343 declares Hindi in the Devanagari script the official language of the Union, with the international form of Indian numerals.
• Part XVII (Articles 343–351) is the part on Official Language; English continues as an associate official language.
• Article 348 keeps English as the language of the Supreme Court and the High Courts and of Bills and Acts; Article 351 directs the spread of Hindi.
• The Eighth Schedule now lists 22 languages; it began with 14.
• 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 — the Mini Constitution: added Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble and inserted Fundamental Duties (Article 51A).
• 44th Amendment Act, 1978 — took the right to property out of Fundamental Rights and made it a legal right under Article 300A.
• 61st Amendment Act, 1989 — cut the voting age from 21 to 18 years under Article 326.
Do not mix these up
• Article 343 vs Article 394A — 343 names Hindi the official language; 394A provides the authoritative Hindi text of the Constitution itself.
• 58th vs 61st Amendment — the 58th (1987) is the Hindi text; the 61st (1989) is the voting age.
Also asked from this topic: the article declaring Hindi the official language (Article 343); the Part dealing with Official Language (Part XVII); the Mini Constitution (42nd, 1976).
Polity Miscellaneous · New criminal laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA)

Q9. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, how is a "cognizable offence" defined?

  1. (a) An offence in which the accused must be released on bail immediately.
  2. (b) An offence where a complaint must be filed only by a Magistrate.
  3. (c) An offence for which a police officer can arrest without a warrant.
  4. (d) An offence that is only triable in Sessions Court.
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) An offence for which a police officer can arrest without a warrant.

Answer: Option 3 — An offence for which a police officer can arrest without a warrant.
In the BNSS, 2023 a cognizable offence is one in which a police officer may arrest without a warrant, carrying forward the old CrPC definition.
For such an offence the police may also register an FIR and begin investigation without a Magistrate's order.
Revision note — Cognizable offences and the BNSS, 2023
• The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and came into force on 1 July 2024; it has 531 sections.
• An FIR for a cognizable offence is registered under Section 173 of the BNSS, the old Section 154 of the CrPC.
• In a non-cognizable offence the police need the Magistrate's order to investigate and cannot arrest without a warrant.
• Examples — cognizable: murder, rape, dowry death, kidnapping, theft. Non-cognizable: defamation, public nuisance, simple hurt.
• The BNSS allows a Zero FIR at any police station and an e-FIR by electronic communication, signed by the informant within three days.
• Section 105 makes audio-video recording of search and seizure mandatory, with the recording sent to the Magistrate without delay.
• Under Section 187, a Magistrate may authorise detention for up to 90 days for offences punishable with death, life or 10 years or more, and 60 days otherwise; then default bail follows.
• The three new criminal laws of 2023: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (358 sections) for the IPC 1860, the BNSS for the CrPC 1973, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam for the Evidence Act 1872.
Do not mix these up
• Cognizable vs non-cognizable — arrest without a warrant against arrest with one; the first is the more serious class.
• Cognizable vs bailable — the two are separate tests; a cognizable offence decides arrest powers, while bailable decides whether bail is a matter of right.
Also asked from this topic: the BNSS reform on FIRs (e-FIRs are permitted); the section mandating video-recording of search and seizure (Section 105).
Emergency and Centre-State Relations · Legislative relations and Seventh Schedule lists

Q10. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched with regard to the subject and its respective list under the Seventh Schedule?

  1. (a) Police - Union List
  2. (b) Education- State List
  3. (c) Trade and Commerce -Concurrent List
  4. (d) Banking - State List
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Trade and Commerce -Concurrent List

Answer: Option 3 — Trade and Commerce -Concurrent List
The other three pairs are plainly mismatched — police is State List, education has been Concurrent List since the 42nd Amendment, 1976, and banking is Union List.
Trade and commerce is the only pair left standing, because Concurrent List Entry 33 covers trade and commerce in foodstuffs, cattle fodder, raw cotton, jute and the products of scheduled industries.
Revision note — The Seventh Schedule and Article 246
• The Seventh Schedule, read with Article 246, holds three lists — Union, State and Concurrent — originally with 97, 66 and 47 entries.
• Union List: defence, foreign affairs, atomic energy, railways, banking, currency, posts and telegraphs, inter-State trade and commerce.
• State List: police, public order, prisons, public health, agriculture, local government, and trade and commerce within the State (Entry 26).
• Concurrent List: criminal law and criminal procedure, marriage and divorce, education, forests, weights and measures, and protection of wild animals and birds.
• The 42nd Amendment, 1976 moved education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice from the State List to the Concurrent List.
• Under Article 254 a Union law prevails over a conflicting State law on a Concurrent subject, unless the State law was reserved for and received the President's assent under 254(2).
• Article 248 gives residuary powers — subjects in no list at all — exclusively to Parliament.
Do not mix these up
• Intra-State vs inter-State trade — trade within a State is State List Entry 26; inter-State trade and commerce is Union List Entry 42; only trade in listed goods is Concurrent (Entry 33).
• Police vs administration of justice — police stayed in the State List, but administration of justice went to the Concurrent List in 1976.
Also asked from this topic: the list education now sits in (Concurrent List); the amendment that moved it (42nd, 1976); who holds residuary powers (Parliament, under Article 248).
Emergency and Centre-State Relations · Legislative relations and Seventh Schedule lists

Q11. Which Article gives Parliament exclusive power to make laws on items in the Union List?

  1. (a) Article 245
  2. (b) Article 246
  3. (c) Article 248
  4. (d) Article 254
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Article 246

Answer: Option 2 — Article 246
Article 246(1) gives Parliament exclusive power to make laws on the Union List.
246(2) gives Parliament and the state legislatures power over the Concurrent List, and 246(3) gives the states exclusive power over the State List.
Revision note — Legislative relations, Articles 245 to 255
• Article 245 — the territorial extent of laws: Parliament legislates for the whole or any part of India and a state legislature for its own territory.
• Article 246 — the distribution of subjects across the three lists of the Seventh Schedule.
• Article 246A — inserted by the 101st Amendment, 2016, gives Parliament and the states concurrent power over the taxation of goods and services (GST).
• Article 248 — residuary powers, over subjects in no list at all, rest exclusively with Parliament, with residuary taxation under Entry 97 of the Union List.
• Article 249 — Parliament may legislate on a State List subject in the national interest if the Rajya Sabha so resolves by a two-thirds majority.
• Article 250 — Parliament may legislate on any State List subject while a National Emergency is in force.
• Article 254 — repugnancy: a Union law prevails over a conflicting state law on a Concurrent subject, unless the state law received the President's assent under 254(2).
Do not mix these up
• Article 245 vs Article 246 — 245 fixes where a law may operate; 246 fixes what subjects each legislature may legislate on.
• Article 246 vs Article 248 — 246 covers subjects listed in the Seventh Schedule; 248 covers subjects left out of all three lists.
Also asked from this topic: the list Parliament has exclusive power over under Article 246 (the Union List); who holds residuary powers under Article 248 (Parliament); what Article 246A covers (GST).
State Government · Chief Minister and State Council of Ministers

Q12. Who appoints the Chief Minister of an Indian state?

  1. (a) President
  2. (b) Prime Minister
  3. (c) Governor
  4. (d) Lok Sabha
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Governor

Answer: Option 3 — Governor
Under Article 164(1) the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, who by convention invites the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Legislative Assembly.
The other ministers are then appointed by the Governor on the Chief Minister's advice.
Revision note — The Chief Minister and the state executive
• Article 163 — there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at its head to aid and advise the Governor, except where he acts in his discretion.
• Article 164(1) — the Governor appoints the Chief Minister and, on the CM's advice, the other ministers, who hold office during the Governor's pleasure.
• Article 164(1A), inserted by the 91st Amendment, 2003 — the state Council of Ministers including the CM must not exceed 15 per cent of the Assembly's strength, subject to a minimum of 12.
• Article 164(2) — the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly, not to the Legislative Council.
• Article 167 — the Chief Minister must communicate every decision of the Council to the Governor and furnish any information he calls for.
• The Governor himself is appointed by the President under Article 155 and holds office during the President's pleasure under Article 156, the normal term being five years.
• A person who is not yet a member of the legislature may be appointed Chief Minister, but must get elected within six months.
Do not mix these up
• Who appoints whom — the President appoints the Governor; the Governor appoints the Chief Minister and the Advocate General (Article 165).
• Article 164 vs Article 75 — 164 governs the state Council of Ministers; Article 75 governs the Union Council of Ministers, which answers to the Lok Sabha.
Also asked from this topic: who appoints the Chief Minister of a state (the Governor); who appoints the Governor (the President, Article 155); who appoints the Advocate General (the Governor, Article 165).
DPSP and Fundamental Duties · Important DPSP articles (39A, 40, 44, 45, 48A, 50, 51)

Q13. As of July 28, 2025, has the Uniform Civil Code been implemented across all Indian states?

  1. (a) Yes, in all states
  2. (b) Only in Uttarakhand
  3. (c) Yes, except J&K
  4. (d) No, not nationwide
Answer & solution

Answer: (d) No, not nationwide

Answer: Option 4 — No, not nationwide
A Uniform Civil Code is only a Directive Principle under Article 44, so no such code exists for the whole country.
Uttarakhand enforced its own UCC on 27 January 2025, and Goa has had a common civil code since Portuguese rule — so "only in Uttarakhand" is not accurate either.
Revision note — Uniform Civil Code and Article 44
• Article 44 of Part IV says the State shall endeavour to secure a uniform civil code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
• It is a Directive Principle and therefore non-justiciable — no court can enforce it.
• A UCC would replace religion-based personal laws on marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance with one common law.
• Uttarakhand became the first state after independence to enact one — the Uttarakhand UCC Act, 2024, passed on 7 February 2024 and brought into force on 27 January 2025.
• Goa already follows the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, which is why it is often called the only Indian state with a common civil code.
• The Supreme Court pressed for a UCC in the Shah Bano case (1985) and again in Sarla Mudgal (1995).
• The 21st Law Commission (2018) held a UCC was "neither necessary nor desirable at this stage"; the 22nd Law Commission reopened public consultation in June 2023.
Do not mix these up
• Article 44 vs Article 40 vs Article 45 — 44 is the uniform civil code, 40 is the organisation of village panchayats, 45 is early childhood care and education below six years.
• Uttarakhand's UCC vs Goa's civil code — Uttarakhand enacted one in 2024; Goa merely inherited the Portuguese code of 1867.
Also asked from this topic: the Article providing for a Uniform Civil Code (Article 44); the category it belongs to (Directive Principles); the laws it would replace (religious personal laws).
Constitutional Development and Making · Drafting Committee and Dr B R Ambedkar

Q14. Who is regarded as the chief architect and Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution?

  1. (a) Jawaharlal Nehru
  2. (b) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
  3. (c) Rajendra Prasad
  4. (d) Sardar Patel
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Answer: Option 2 — Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Dr B. R. Ambedkar chaired the seven-member Drafting Committee set up on 29 August 1947 and piloted the draft through the Constituent Assembly.
For that work he is called the chief architect or Father of the Indian Constitution.
Revision note — Making of the Indian Constitution
• The Constituent Assembly was formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 and first met on 9 December 1946 with Dr Sachchidananda Sinha, its oldest member, as temporary president.
• Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected its permanent President on 11 December 1946; H. C. Mukherjee was Vice-President.
• The Drafting Committee had seven members, chaired by Ambedkar.
• The other six were Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K. M. Munshi, Syed Mohammad Saadulla, N. Madhava Rau and T. T. Krishnamachari.
• Sir B. N. Rau was the Constitutional Adviser and prepared the initial draft after studying other constitutions.
• The Objectives Resolution, moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946 and adopted on 22 January 1947, became the basis of the Preamble.
• The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950; the Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days.
• Ambedkar was independent India's first Law Minister and was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990.
Do not mix these up
• Ambedkar vs Rajendra Prasad — Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee; Rajendra Prasad was President of the Constituent Assembly itself.
• Ambedkar vs B. N. Rau — Rau was the paid Constitutional Adviser who wrote the first draft; Ambedkar's committee shaped and defended it.
Also asked from this topic: the Chairman of the Drafting Committee (Dr B. R. Ambedkar); the Constitutional Adviser (B. N. Rau); the Assembly's first, temporary president (Dr Sachchidananda Sinha).
Emergency and Centre-State Relations · Legislative relations and Seventh Schedule lists

Q15. What is the meaning of “residuary powers” under the Indian Constitution?

  1. (a) Powers only given to states
  2. (b) Powers only to judiciary
  3. (c) Powers not mentioned in any list, vested in Parliament
  4. (d) All powers to Union Territories
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Powers not mentioned in any list, vested in Parliament

Answer: Option 3 — Powers not mentioned in any list, vested in Parliament
Article 248 gives Parliament the exclusive power to legislate on any matter not enumerated in the Union, State or Concurrent List.
The same power appears as Entry 97 of the Union List, which covers residuary taxes as well.
Revision note — Distribution of legislative powers
• The Seventh Schedule carries three lists. Union List — 98 subjects (originally 97), State List — 59 (originally 66), Concurrent List — 52 (originally 47) — counts after the 101st Amendment (GST), 2016; older books give 100 and 61.
• Article 246 divides law-making between the Union and the states; Article 248 plus Entry 97 hand the leftovers to Parliament.
• Under Article 254, if a Union law and a state law clash on a Concurrent subject, the Union law prevails, unless the state law had the President's assent.
• The three-fold division is borrowed from the Government of India Act, 1935, but giving residuary power to the Centre follows the Canadian model.
• In the USA, Australia and Switzerland residuary powers rest with the states — one reason Indian federalism is called quasi-federal with a strong Centre.
• Whether a subject really falls in the residuary field is finally decided by the Supreme Court.
• The 42nd Amendment, 1976 moved education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice from the State List to the Concurrent List.
Do not mix these up
• Residuary powers vs Union List powers — Union List subjects are written down; residuary powers cover only what is not listed anywhere.
• India vs USA — India keeps residuary power with the Centre (Canadian model); the USA leaves it with the states.
Also asked from this topic: who may legislate on residuary subjects (Parliament); what the Seventh Schedule contains (three legislative lists); the list education moved to in 1976 (Concurrent List).
Polity Miscellaneous · New criminal laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA)

Q16. Under the BNS 2023 (from July 2024), what is the punishment for death as a result of organised crime?

  1. (a) Imprisonment up to 2 years
  2. (b) Community service
  3. (c) Death or life imprisonment
  4. (d) Deportation
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Death or life imprisonment

Answer: Option 3 — Death or life imprisonment
Section 111(2)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with an organised crime that results in the death of any person.
The punishment there is death or imprisonment for life, with a fine of not less than ten lakh rupees.
Organised crime is defined and punished as a distinct offence for the first time in general criminal law.
Revision note — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
• The BNS replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and came into force on 1 July 2024. It has 358 sections against the IPC's 511, and adds about 20 new offences.
• Section 111 covers organised crime — kidnapping, extortion, contract killing, land grabbing, cyber-crime and trafficking by a syndicate.
• Where the organised crime does not cause death, the term is 5 years to life, with a fine of at least five lakh rupees.
• Section 112 introduces petty organised crime — theft, snatching, cheating, unauthorised ticket selling, betting and sale of examination papers by a gang — punishable with 1 to 7 years and fine.
• Section 103(2) makes mob lynching, that is murder by a group of five or more on grounds of race, caste, community, sex, language or personal belief, punishable with death or life imprisonment.
• Section 113 defines a terrorist act, and Section 152 replaces the old offence of sedition with acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
• Community service appears as a punishment for the first time in Indian criminal law, for six petty offences.
• Its two companions are the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (replacing the CrPC, 1973) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (replacing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872).
Do not mix these up
• Section 111 vs Section 112 — 111 is organised crime by a syndicate; 112 is petty organised crime such as gang theft or snatching.
• BNS vs BNSS vs BSA — BNS is the substantive law of offences, BNSS the procedure, BSA the law of evidence.
Also asked from this topic: the punishment for mob lynching under the BNS (death or life imprisonment); the law that replaced the IPC (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita); a petty organised crime (theft by a gang).

Geography (7)

Lithosphere - Earth's Interior and Landforms · Continental drift and plate tectonics

Q17. Which of the following statements best explains how the Theory of Plate Tectonics provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain-building processes across the Earth’s surface?

  1. (a) Plate tectonics explains crustal deformation exclusively at convergent boundaries, with no significant tectonic activity observed along divergent or transform boundaries.
  2. (b) The movement of lithospheric plates over the asthenosphere is driven by slab pull, ridge push, and mantle convection currents, leading to varied geological phenomena like ocean trench formation, rift valleys, and fault lines.
  3. (c) The Himalayas were formed by oceanic-continental convergence, resulting in subduction and volcanic mountain formation along the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
  4. (d) Plate tectonics states that major tectonic activity is confined to oceanic crust, while continental plates are geologically stable and unaffected by internal earth processes.
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) The movement of lithospheric plates over the asthenosphere is driven by slab pull, ridge push, and mantle convection currents, leading to varied geological phenomena like ocean trench formation, rift valleys, and fault lines.

Answer: Option 2 — The movement of lithospheric plates over the asthenosphere is driven by slab pull, ridge push, and mantle convection currents
This is the theory in one sentence: rigid lithospheric plates ride on the weak, partly molten asthenosphere, pushed and pulled by mantle convection, ridge push and slab pull.
It names all three boundary types and their landforms — trenches, rift valleys and faults — which is exactly the comprehensive framework the question asks for.
Revision note — Plate tectonics
• Alfred Wegener proposed continental drift in 1912, with the single landmass Pangaea and the ocean Panthalassa; Harry Hess explained sea-floor spreading in 1960.
• The term plate tectonics was given by W. J. Morgan in 1967; the lithosphere is broken into about 7 major plates and many minor ones.
• Driving forces: mantle convection currents, ridge push at spreading centres and slab pull at subduction zones — slab pull is taken to be the strongest.
• Divergent boundary — plates move apart: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the East African Rift Valley, new crust and rift valleys.
• Convergent boundary — plates collide: the Mariana Trench, the Andes, the Himalayas; deep trenches, volcanoes and fold mountains.
• Transform boundary — plates slide past each other: the San Andreas Fault in California; earthquakes but no volcanoes.
• The Himalayas are fold mountains from the continental-continental collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates over the closing Tethys Sea — which is why they carry no volcanoes.
• About 68 per cent of the world's earthquakes occur in the Circum-Pacific belt, the Ring of Fire.
Do not mix these up
• Lithosphere vs asthenosphere — the lithosphere is the rigid plate material; the asthenosphere below it is weak and partly molten, which is what lets the plates move.
• Himalayas vs Andes — the Himalayas came from continental-continental collision and have no volcanoes; the Andes came from oceanic-continental subduction and are volcanic.
Also asked from this topic: the boundary type that raised the Himalayas (convergent); the two plates that collided (Indian and Eurasian); why the asthenosphere lets plates move (it is partially molten).
India - Minerals, Energy and Industries · Metallic minerals and mines

Q18. Which state in India is the largest producer of manganese?

  1. (a) Odisha
  2. (b) Karnataka
  3. (c) Maharashtra
  4. (d) Madhya Pradesh
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) Odisha

Answer: Option 1 — Odisha
Odisha holds the largest manganese reserves in India and leads national production, roughly two-fifths of the output.
Its ore comes from the iron-and-manganese belt of Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Rayagada and Bolangir.
Revision note — Manganese in India
• Odisha is first in both reserves and production; the order after it runs Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
• The classic manganese belt is Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh) – Bhandara and Nagpur (Maharashtra).
• Manganese is a ferrous metallic mineral; about 10 kg of it goes into every tonne of steel.
• Its main use is in smelting iron ore and in making ferro-alloys; it also goes into bleaching powder, insecticides, paints and dry cells.
• MOIL Limited, headquartered at Nagpur, is India's largest manganese ore producer.
• Goa mines both iron ore and manganese ore, long exported through Marmagao port.
• The North-Eastern Plateau Region — Chotanagpur, the Odisha plateau, West Bengal and parts of Chhattisgarh — is India's richest mineral belt, with iron ore, coal, manganese, bauxite and mica.
• South Africa is the world's largest producer of manganese ore.
Do not mix these up
• Manganese vs magnesium — manganese (Mn) is a steel-making metal; magnesium (Mg) is the light metal at the centre of chlorophyll.
• Odisha vs Madhya Pradesh — Odisha leads in manganese; Madhya Pradesh leads in diamond and copper ore reserves.
Also asked from this topic: the state with the largest manganese reserves (Odisha); the two ores Goa is famous for (iron ore and manganese ore).
India - Population and Census · Demographic concepts and transition

Q19. What does a low population doubling time indicate about a country's population growth, and where in India is this most evident?

  1. (a) Rapid urbanization in western states
  2. (b) High fertility in northern and eastern India
  3. (c) Economic development in coastal states
  4. (d) In-migration to metro cities
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) High fertility in northern and eastern India

Answer: Option 2 — High fertility in northern and eastern India
A low doubling time means the population doubles quickly, so the growth rate is high.
In India that high growth comes from high fertility in the northern and eastern states — Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
Revision note — Population growth and doubling time
• Doubling time is the number of years a population needs to double at its present growth rate.
• The working shortcut is the rule of 70: doubling time = 70 ÷ annual growth rate in per cent.
• So doubling time and growth rate move in opposite directions — short doubling time means fast growth.
• Rate of natural increase = crude birth rate − crude death rate; migration is left out of it.
• India's Total Fertility Rate fell to 2.0 in NFHS-5 (2019–21), below the replacement level of 2.1; it was about 3.8 in 1990.
• The southern and western states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra — are already below replacement, so their doubling times are long.
• Mission Parivar Vikas (November 2016) targets 146 high-fertility districts in 7 high-focus states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.
• In Census 2011 the decadal growth rate was 17.7 per cent, and Nagaland was the only state with negative decadal growth (−0.58 per cent).
Do not mix these up
• Doubling time vs growth rate — they are inversely related; a low doubling time is bad news, not good.
• Natural increase vs actual growth — natural increase ignores migration, which is what drives metro-city growth.
Also asked from this topic: India's total fertility rate in NFHS-5 (2.0); the only state with negative decadal growth in Census 2011 (Nagaland).
Environment and Protected Areas · Elephant reserves and other conservation projects

Q20. Which of the following Elephant Reserves is correctly matched with its state?

  1. (a) Agasthiyamalai ER – Andhra Pradesh
  2. (b) Singhbhum ER – Odisha
  3. (c) Anamalai ER – Tamil Nadu
  4. (d) Coimbatore ER – Karnataka
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Anamalai ER – Tamil Nadu

Answer: Option 3 — Anamalai ER – Tamil Nadu
The Anamalai Elephant Reserve lies in Tamil Nadu, around the Anamalai hills of the Western Ghats.
The other three are misplaced: Agasthiyamalai ER and Coimbatore ER are also in Tamil Nadu, while Singhbhum ER is in Jharkhand, not Odisha.
Revision note — Project Elephant and the Elephant Reserves
• Project Elephant was launched in 1992 as a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Singhbhum Elephant Reserve, Jharkhand (2001) was the first elephant reserve notified in India.
• India now has 33 Elephant Reserves; Tamil Nadu alone holds several — Nilgiri, Anamalai, Coimbatore, Srivilliputhur and Agasthiyamalai.
• The Asian elephant was declared India's National Heritage Animal in 2010; it is in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and is Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• Karnataka has the largest elephant population, followed by Assam and Kerala; the 2017 census counted about 29,964 elephants.
• Gaj Yatra, the awareness campaign for elephant corridors, was launched on World Elephant Day, 12 August 2017.
• MIKE — Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants — runs in India under CITES.
• For comparison, Project Tiger began in 1973, and the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1986), India's first, spans Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Do not mix these up
• Project Tiger (1973) vs Project Elephant (1992) — different years, both run by the MoEFCC.
• Elephant Reserve vs National Park — an Elephant Reserve has no separate legal status under the Wild Life (Protection) Act; a national park and a sanctuary do.
Also asked from this topic: the year Project Elephant was launched (1992); the year Project Tiger was launched (1973); India's first biosphere reserve (Nilgiri, 1986).
Universe and Solar System · Moons and dwarf planets

Q21. What is the most accepted explanation for the Moon's origin?

  1. (a) Capture theory
  2. (b) Co-formation theory
  3. (c) Giant impact hypothesis
  4. (d) Fission theory
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Giant impact hypothesis

Answer: Option 3 — Giant impact hypothesis
The accepted explanation is that a Mars-sized body called Theia struck the young Earth about 4.5 billion years ago.
The debris flung into orbit gathered together to form the Moon.
Revision note — The Moon and its origin
• The giant impact hypothesis (also called the Big Splash) explains why lunar rock matches the Earth's mantle in oxygen isotopes, and why the Moon has only a very small iron core.
• The older fission theory (George Darwin) said the Moon was flung out of a fast-spinning Earth.
• The capture theory said a passing body was trapped by Earth's gravity; the co-formation theory said the two condensed side by side from one cloud.
• All three older models fail on the angular momentum and composition evidence, which is why the impact model is preferred.
• The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite, about 3,474 km across and about 3,84,400 km away on average.
• It is in synchronous rotation (tidally locked) — rotation period and orbital period are both about 27.3 days, so the same face always turns towards us.
• Gravity on the Moon is about one-sixth of the Earth's, and moonlight takes about 1.3 seconds to reach us.
• Chandrayaan-1 (2008) confirmed water on the lunar surface; Chandrayaan-3 landed near the south pole on 23 August 2023.
Do not mix these up
• Giant impact vs fission theory — in the impact model the Moon forms from debris of a collision with another body; in the fission model it is thrown off the Earth itself by rapid spin.
• Capture vs co-formation — capture makes the Moon a stranger caught by Earth's gravity; co-formation makes it a twin born from the same cloud at the same time.
Also asked from this topic: why we always see one face of the Moon (its rotation period equals its orbital period); the Moon's orbital period (about 27 days); the mission that found water (Chandrayaan-1).
India - Agriculture · Cropping seasons (kharif, rabi, zaid)

Q22. Read the statements below and choose the correct option:
Statement 1: Groundnut is a rabi crop and contributes minimally to India's total oilseed production.
Statement 2: Linseed and mustard are grown mainly in the kharif season across all Indian states.

  1. (a) Only Statement 1 is correct
  2. (b) Only Statement 2 is correct
  3. (c) Both Statement 1 and 2 are correct
  4. (d) Neither Statement 1 nor 2 is correct
Answer & solution

Answer: (d) Neither Statement 1 nor 2 is correct

Answer: Option 4 — Neither Statement 1 nor 2 is correct
Groundnut is a kharif crop and India's largest oilseed by output, so Statement 1 is wrong on both counts.
Linseed and mustard are rabi crops sown in winter, so Statement 2 is wrong as well.
Revision note — Cropping seasons and oilseeds
• Kharif — sown with the onset of the south-west monsoon (June-July), harvested in September-October: rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, cotton, groundnut, soyabean.
• Rabi — sown from October-November, harvested in March-April: wheat, barley, gram, peas, mustard and linseed.
• Zaid — the short summer season between rabi and kharif: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber and fodder crops.
• India's oilseeds are groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, linseed, castor, safflower and niger.
• Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu lead in groundnut; Rajasthan leads in rapeseed-mustard; Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra lead in soyabean.
• In the south, warm weather and irrigation allow rice in both the kharif and the rabi season, unlike the mainly kharif rice of the north.
Do not mix these up
• Groundnut vs mustard — groundnut is a kharif oilseed of the monsoon; mustard is a rabi oilseed of the winter.
• Kharif vs rabi — kharif depends on monsoon rain; rabi depends on winter moisture and irrigation.
Also asked from this topic: the month the rabi season begins (October-November); an example of a kharif crop (rice); the crop of the season that begins with winter (mustard).
India - Climate, Soils and Natural Vegetation · Soil types and distribution

Q23. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched regarding crops grown in specific soil types?

  1. (a) Alluvial Soil – Cotton
  2. (b) Black Soil – Wheat
  3. (c) Red Soil – Rice
  4. (d) Laterite Soil – Cashew nuts
Answer & solution

Answer: (d) Laterite Soil – Cashew nuts

Answer: Option 4 — Laterite Soil – Cashew nuts
Laterite soil is leached, acidic and poor in nutrients, so it suits hardy plantation crops rather than food grains.
Cashew is its classic crop, on the coastal tracts of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha.
Revision note — Indian soils and their crops
• Alluvial soil — the most widespread soil of India, laid down by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra; rich in potash, poor in nitrogen and humus; grows wheat, rice, sugarcane and pulses.
• Black (regur) soil — formed from Deccan lava, rich in iron, lime, magnesia and alumina, holds moisture well and is self-ploughing; the classic cotton soil, hence "black cotton soil".
• Red soil — formed on crystalline igneous rock, red from iron oxide, poor in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus; grows millets, groundnut, pulses and potato.
• Laterite soil — formed by intense leaching under heavy rainfall and high temperature; rich in iron and aluminium, poor in nitrogen, phosphate and lime; used for tea, coffee, cashew and rubber.
• Arid (desert) soil — sandy and saline, rich in phosphate but low in humus; grows bajra and barley with irrigation.
• The pairings worth memorising: cotton — black soil, wheat — alluvial soil, rice — clayey alluvial soil, cashew, tea, coffee and rubber — laterite soil.
Do not mix these up
• Black soil vs laterite soil — black soil is the moisture-holding cotton soil of the Deccan lava region; laterite is the leached, acidic soil of heavy-rainfall areas.
• Red soil vs laterite soil — both look reddish from iron, but red soil forms by weathering of crystalline rock and laterite by leaching under alternate wet and dry spells.
Also asked from this topic: the soil most suitable for cotton (black or regur soil); the soil of the northern plains (alluvial); the soil rich in iron but deficient in nitrogen (laterite).

Biology (3)

Biotechnology and Applied Biology · Tissue culture

Q24. Which of the following statements correctly describes the principle and practical applications of plant tissue culture, along with its associated limitations?

  1. (a) Tissue culture involves the genetic modification of plants through direct DNA insertion in soil, primarily used for creating genetically modified crops resistant to pests.
  2. (b) Tissue culture is a technique of growing plant cells, tissues, or organs aseptically on a nutrient medium under controlled environmental conditions, widely used for rapid clonal propagation, but is limited by the risk of somaclonal variation and contamination.
  3. (c) Tissue culture exclusively involves the use of mature seeds to generate new plants and is primarily employed in traditional breeding programs.
  4. (d) Tissue culture requires open-air conditions and is mostly used for studying plant ecology and natural habitat restoration without any commercial applications.
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Tissue culture is a technique of growing plant cells, tissues, or organs aseptically on a nutrient medium under controlled environmental conditions, widely used for rapid clonal propagation, but is limited by the risk of somaclonal variation and contamination.

Answer: Option 2 — Tissue culture is a technique of growing plant cells, tissues, or organs aseptically on a nutrient medium under controlled environmental conditions
The definition is exact: an explant is grown aseptically on a nutrient medium in a controlled environment, giving rapid clonal propagation.
The two limits named — somaclonal variation and contamination — are the standard ones, which is why this option is complete and the others are not.
Revision note — Plant tissue culture
• The whole technique rests on totipotency, the power of a single plant cell to regenerate a complete plant, proposed by Gottlieb Haberlandt in 1902.
• A small piece of tissue called the explant is surface-sterilised and placed on a nutrient medium, most often Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium of minerals, vitamins, sucrose and agar.
• The first product is the callus, an unorganised mass of dividing cells. A higher auxin-to-cytokinin ratio gives roots; a higher cytokinin ratio gives shoots.
• Micropropagation raises thousands of genetically identical plants, or clones, from one parent in a small space and all year round — used for banana, orchid, sugarcane, potato and ornamentals.
• Meristem culture, using the shoot tip, gives virus-free planting material, because the meristem is usually free of virus.
• Somatic hybridisation fuses protoplasts of two plants — the pomato was made from potato and tomato.
• Limits: microbial contamination, somaclonal variation in the regenerated plants, high cost and skilled labour, and no genetic variation, since every plant is a clone.
Do not mix these up
• Tissue culture vs genetic engineering — tissue culture only multiplies an existing genotype; genetic engineering inserts new DNA to make a transgenic plant.
• Micropropagation vs meristem culture — micropropagation is mass cloning for numbers; meristem culture is specifically for virus-free stock.
Also asked from this topic: the power of one plant cell to form a whole plant (totipotency); who proposed it in 1902 (Haberlandt); why grafting and tissue culture are preferred (they give identical plants).
Ecology and Environment · Waste management and biodegradable substances

Q25. Which of the following best explains why pyrolysis is considered a more sustainable method for managing plastic waste compared to traditional incineration or landfilling?

  1. (a) Pyrolysis requires higher oxygen levels and generates more CO2 than incineration, thus enabling faster decomposition.
  2. (b) Pyrolysis transforms plastic waste into reusable gases, oils, and char without combustion, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  3. (c) Pyrolysis converts plastic into biodegradable polymers that can be reused directly in agriculture.
  4. (d) Pyrolysis reduces plastic volume by 90% through combustion, producing energy-intensive ash used in road construction.
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Pyrolysis transforms plastic waste into reusable gases, oils, and char without combustion, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Answer: Option 2 — Pyrolysis transforms plastic waste into reusable gases, oils, and char without combustion, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Pyrolysis heats plastic in the absence of oxygen, so the waste breaks down instead of burning.
The products — syngas, pyrolysis oil and char — are recovered as fuel and feedstock, which is why the route emits far less than open burning.
Revision note — Pyrolysis and plastic waste management
• Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of organic matter at about 300–900 degree C in the absence of oxygen — no flame, no combustion.
• Its three products are pyrolysis oil, syngas and solid char; plastic-to-fuel plants run on exactly this process.
• Incineration burns waste with excess oxygen and releases CO2, dioxins and furans.
• Gasification sits between the two — a limited, controlled supply of oxygen or steam converts the waste to syngas.
• Plastic is the commonest non-biodegradable waste because microorganisms cannot break the synthetic polymer down; no heat treatment turns it into a biodegradable polymer.
• India's Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 brought in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and identified single-use plastic items were banned from 1 July 2022.
• The theme of World Environment Day 2025 was Ending Plastic Pollution, marked by the campaign One Nation, One Mission: End Plastic Pollution.
• In the 3Rs, reduce means using less, reuse means using an item again, and recycle means reprocessing waste into new products.
Do not mix these up
• Pyrolysis vs incineration — pyrolysis needs no oxygen and recovers fuel; incineration burns the waste in excess oxygen.
• Pyrolysis vs gasification — gasification admits a small, measured amount of oxygen or steam; pyrolysis admits none.
Also asked from this topic: the commonest non-biodegradable waste (plastic); the 2025 plastic campaign (One Nation, One Mission: End Plastic Pollution).
Heredity and Evolution · Evidences of evolution (homologous and analogous organs, fossils)

Q26. Which of the following is an example of an homologous organ?

  1. (a) Wings of a bird and wings of a butterfly
  2. (b) Flippers of a whale and forelimbs of a human
  3. (c) Eyes of an octopus and eyes of a human
  4. (d) Sweet potato and potato (as storage organs)
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Flippers of a whale and forelimbs of a human

Answer: Option 2 — Flippers of a whale and forelimbs of a human
Homologous organs share the same basic structure and embryonic origin but do different jobs.
A whale's flipper and a human arm are both built on the same pentadactyl forelimb plan — humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, metacarpals and phalanges.
Revision note — Evidence of evolution
• Homologous organs — same structure and origin, different function: the forelimbs of a whale, bat, horse, cat and human.
• In plants, the thorn of Bougainvillea and the tendril of Cucurbita are homologous — both are modified stems.
• Homology points to a common ancestor and is the mark of divergent evolution.
• Analogous organs — different structure and origin, same function: the wings of a bird and of an insect, the eye of an octopus and of a human. These show convergent evolution.
• Vestigial organs are reduced, functionless remains: in humans the vermiform appendix, the nictitating membrane, wisdom teeth and the coccyx.
• Fossils give direct evidence — Archaeopteryx is the connecting link between reptiles and birds.
• Embryology (all vertebrate embryos show gill slits and a tail) and biochemistry (the shared DNA and protein code) are further lines of evidence.
Do not mix these up
• Homologous vs analogous — homologous means same structure, different function (divergent evolution); analogous means different structure, same function (convergent evolution).
• Sweet potato vs potato — the sweet potato is a modified root and the potato a modified stem, so although both store food they are analogous, not homologous.
Also asked from this topic: Darwin's “descent with modification” (populations change genetically through natural selection); what small variations over many generations produce (the evolution of biodiversity).

Economics (9)

Economics Miscellaneous · Governance and economic reform doctrines

Q27. In the context of post-liberalization economic governance in India, what does the concept of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' fundamentally imply, and how does it reflect a shift in the role of the state?

  1. (a) It advocates complete withdrawal of the government from all sectors, including regulation and welfare
  2. (b) It promotes a downsized state that focuses on facilitation, efficiency, and citizen-centric service delivery rather than direct control and ownership
  3. (c) It empowers public sector enterprises through greater subsidies and budgetary allocations
  4. (d) It mandates maximum centralization of powers for stronger decision-making and quicker implementation
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) It promotes a downsized state that focuses on facilitation, efficiency, and citizen-centric service delivery rather than direct control and ownership

Answer: Option 2 — It promotes a downsized state that focuses on facilitation, efficiency, and citizen-centric service delivery rather than direct control and ownership
The slogan means a smaller but better state — fewer controls and licences, stronger delivery.
The government stops being an owner and producer and becomes a facilitator and regulator; it does not walk out of regulation or welfare.
Revision note — Minimum Government, Maximum Governance
• Adopted as a governance doctrine by the Union Government from 2014, building on the LPG reforms of 1991.
• The 1991 reforms — Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation — were announced by Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.
• Liberalisation loosens internal controls on producers; privatisation transfers ownership; globalisation opens the economy outward to world markets.
• Measures in this spirit: self-attestation of documents, repeal of obsolete laws, the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 decriminalising minor offences, and faceless tax assessment.
• The Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015, a think-tank that advises rather than allocates funds.
• As the state left production it built independent regulators — SEBI (statutory in 1992), TRAI (1997), IRDAI (1999), CERC (1998).
• It is not a retreat from welfare: Direct Benefit Transfer, Ayushman Bharat and PM-KISAN all expanded in the same years.
Do not mix these up
• Minimum government vs no government — the state shrinks as an owner, not as a regulator or a welfare provider.
• Liberalisation vs privatisation — liberalisation removes controls; privatisation transfers ownership of public enterprises.
Also asked from this topic: the sectors liberalisation affects (primary, secondary and tertiary); the bodies whose conditions shaped the 1991 reforms (IMF and World Bank).
External Sector and International Economic Organisations · FDI, FPI and FEMA

Q28. Which of the following best explains the core philosophy and operational implications of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1973, and why it became incompatible with India's post-1991 economic reforms?

  1. (a) FERA was a liberal law that facilitated easy foreign currency inflows and allowed convertibility on capital account.
  2. (b) FERA treated foreign exchange as a scarce commodity and imposed criminal liability for even minor violations.
  3. (c) FERA primarily regulated exports and agricultural pricing to stabilize the rupee.
  4. (d) FERA was introduced to replace FEMA due to increased globalization.
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) FERA treated foreign exchange as a scarce commodity and imposed criminal liability for even minor violations.

Answer: Option 2 — FERA treated foreign exchange as a scarce commodity and imposed criminal liability for even minor violations.
FERA worked on the rule everything is prohibited unless permitted, because forex was treated as a scarce national resource.
Its offences were criminal, with the burden of proof on the accused — a stance that could not survive an economy being opened to foreign capital after 1991.
Revision note — FERA 1973 and FEMA 1999
• FERA was passed in 1973 and came into force on 1 January 1974, replacing an earlier FERA of 1947.
• Under FERA the presumption was prohibition; even small lapses were criminal offences carrying imprisonment.
• FERA is the law under which Coca-Cola and IBM wound up their Indian operations in 1977 rather than dilute their equity.
• FEMA, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, was enacted in 1999 and came into force on 1 June 2000, repealing FERA.
• Under FEMA the presumption is permission, and a breach is a civil offence punishable with a monetary penalty.
• FEMA splits dealings into current account, which are generally free, and capital account, regulated by the RBI.
• India accepted current account convertibility in 1994 under Article VIII of the IMF; capital account convertibility is still only partial.
• Both laws are enforced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), set up in 1956 under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
Do not mix these up
• FERA vs FEMA — FERA made violations criminal; FEMA makes them civil and compoundable.
• Current vs capital account convertibility — India has the first since 1994, but only partial convertibility on the capital account.
Also asked from this topic: the year FEMA replaced FERA (1999); the year FEMA came into force (1 June 2000); the shortage at the heart of the 1991 crisis (foreign exchange, barely two weeks of imports).
Government Schemes and Economic Reports · Global indices - publishers and methodology

Q29. Which of the following indexes is published by the Institute for Economics and Peace and reflects social stability and safety levels across countries?

  1. (a) Democracy Index
  2. (b) Global Peace Index
  3. (c) World Justice Index
  4. (d) Freedom in the World Index
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Global Peace Index

Answer: Option 2 — Global Peace Index
The Global Peace Index (GPI) is the flagship report of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
It scores countries on societal safety and security, ongoing conflict and militarisation — exactly the social stability the question describes.
Revision note — Global Peace Index and who publishes which index
• The GPI is published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an Australian think-tank founded by Steve Killelea; it has tracked world peacefulness since 2008.
• It ranks about 163 countries on 23 indicators grouped in three domains: Ongoing Conflict, Societal Safety and Security and Militarisation.
• Iceland has been ranked the world's most peaceful country every year since the index began.
• The IEP also publishes the Global Terrorism Index, the Positive Peace Report and the Ecological Threat Report.
• Positive Peace is the IEP's idea of the attitudes, institutions and structures that sustain peaceful societies, and it can forecast future falls in peacefulness.
• The three distractors belong elsewhere: Democracy Index — Economist Intelligence Unit; Rule of Law Index — World Justice Project; Freedom in the World — Freedom House.
• Other pairs worth memorising: Human Development Index — UNDP; Global Hunger Index — Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe; World Happiness Report — UN SDSN.
Do not mix these up
• Global Peace Index vs Global Terrorism Index — both are IEP products, but the GTI measures the impact of terrorism alone.
• Freedom in the World vs Democracy Index — Freedom House rates political rights and civil liberties; the EIU rates democratic functioning.
Also asked from this topic: the country ranked most peaceful in the GPI (Iceland); Pakistan's rank in the Global Terrorism Index 2025 (2nd).
Industry and Infrastructure · Make in India, Startup India and PLI

Q30. Which scheme is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing by offering financial incentives on incremental sales?

  1. (a) Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
  2. (b) PLI Scheme
  3. (c) Stand-Up India
  4. (d) National Skill Qualification Framework
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) PLI Scheme

Answer: Option 2 — PLI Scheme
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme pays a company an incentive calculated on its incremental sales of goods made in India over a base year.
The incentive is earned only when output actually rises, which is why it is aimed squarely at domestic manufacturing.
Revision note — Production Linked Incentive scheme
• Announced in 2020; the first PLI, for large-scale electronics manufacturing, was notified in April 2020.
• It now covers 14 sectors with a total outlay of about ₹1.97 lakh crore.
• The sectors include mobile phones and electronics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automobiles, telecom, textiles, food products, white goods, solar PV modules, ACC batteries, drones and speciality steel.
• Leather is not one of the PLI sectors — a favourite exception question.
• Line ministries run their own PLI schemes; DPIIT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry coordinates.
• Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (May 2020) is the umbrella self-reliance package, not a sales-linked incentive.
• Stand-Up India (5 April 2016) gives bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore to SC, ST and women entrepreneurs, and the NSQF (2013) is a skill-certification framework.
• Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014 to make India a global manufacturing hub.
Do not mix these up
• Stand-Up India vs Start-Up India — Stand-Up India is a bank loan scheme for SC, ST and women entrepreneurs; Start-Up India (16 January 2016) gives tax and regulatory relief to recognised start-ups.
• PLI vs Make in India — Make in India is a campaign; PLI is the cash incentive that puts money behind it.
Also asked from this topic: the primary goal of the PLI scheme (boost domestic manufacturing and attract investment); the number of sectors covered (14); the sector NOT covered under PLI (leather).
Poverty, Unemployment and Human Development · Human Development Index and UNDP

Q31. Which of the following is NOT a dimension of HDI?

  1. (a) Life expectancy
  2. (b) Educational attainment
  3. (c) Per capita income
  4. (d) Pollution levels
Answer & solution

Answer: (d) Pollution levels

Answer: Option 4 — Pollution levels
The HDI is built from only three dimensions — a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living.
Pollution belongs to environmental indices, not to the HDI.
Revision note — Human Development Index
• The HDI is published by the UNDP in its Human Development Report, first brought out in 1990.
• It was designed by the Pakistani economist Mahbub-ul-Haq with Amartya Sen, whose capability approach gave it its theoretical base.
• Health is measured by life expectancy at birth; education by mean years of schooling (adults 25+) and expected years of schooling.
• Standard of living is measured by GNI per capita at purchasing power parity.
• The value runs from 0 to 1 and is the geometric mean of the three dimension indices; the bands are very high (0.800 and above), high, medium and low (below 0.550).
• The Inequality-adjusted HDI, the Gender Inequality Index and the Multidimensional Poverty Index were all introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report.
• India's HDI value was 0.685 in the Human Development Report 2025, ranking it 130th of 193 countries; this figure changes with every report, so quote it with its year.
Do not mix these up
• HDI vs MPI — the HDI measures average achievement in health, education and income; the Multidimensional Poverty Index counts the people who are deprived on those counts.
• HDI vs PQLI — the Physical Quality of Life Index uses literacy, infant mortality and life expectancy at age one, and leaves income out altogether.
Also asked from this topic: the three components of the HDI (education, income and life expectancy); what the Education Index uses (mean and expected years of schooling); the body that publishes it (UNDP).
Industry and Infrastructure · LPG reforms of 1991

Q32. Which of the following is not a component of India's 1991 economic reforms?

  1. (a) Liberalisation
  2. (b) Privatisation
  3. (c) Socialisation
  4. (d) Globalisation
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Socialisation

Answer: Option 3 — Socialisation
The 1991 New Economic Policy rests on three pillars — Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG).
Socialisation is not one of them; it belongs to the socialist planning era the reforms moved away from.
Revision note — The LPG reforms of 1991
• Announced by Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao; the New Industrial Policy came on 24 July 1991.
• The trigger was a balance of payments crisis — reserves had fallen to about two weeks of imports, and India pledged gold abroad and borrowed from the IMF and the World Bank.
• Liberalisation loosens internal controls: industrial licensing was abolished except for a short list of industries.
• Privatisation transfers ownership of public enterprises; industries reserved for the public sector were cut from 17 to 8, and today only atomic energy and railway operations remain.
• Globalisation links India to world markets: FDI up to 51 per cent was allowed in many industries and the rupee was devalued twice in July 1991.
• The short-run stabilisation measures targeted inflation and the balance of payments; the structural measures targeted long-run efficiency.
• Outsourcing is the best-known outcome of globalisation in India, while liberalisation and privatisation are policy measures.
Do not mix these up
• Liberalisation vs globalisation — liberalisation loosens internal controls on Indian producers; globalisation opens the economy outward to world markets.
• Privatisation vs disinvestment — privatisation transfers management control; disinvestment may sell only a minority stake and leave control with the government.
Also asked from this topic: what LPG stands for (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation); the year of the New Economic Policy (1991); the two bodies whose loans shaped it (World Bank and IMF).
Planning and NITI Aayog · Five-Year Plans - objectives and models

Q33. The Seventh Plan prioritized which theme along with industrial growth?

  1. (a) Export-led growth
  2. (b) Space exploration
  3. (c) Social justice and employment
  4. (d) Corporate tax cuts
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Social justice and employment

Answer: Option 3 — Social justice and employment
The Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985–90) was themed "Food, Work and Productivity".
Alongside industrial modernisation it pushed employment generation and social justice.
Revision note — The Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985–90)
• It ran from 1985 to 1990 under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, with the slogan Food, Work and Productivity.
• Its objectives were growth, modernisation, self-reliance and social justice, with special stress on anti-poverty and employment programmes.
• Jobs were sought mainly in labour-intensive small-scale and cottage industries, and in rural development and rural capital formation.
• It pushed modernisation and technological upgradation of industry and partial deregulation, laying the ground for the liberalisation of the 1990s.
• It was the last plan before the 1991 reforms — Annual Plans ran in 1990–92 and the Eighth Plan began in 1992.
• For contrast: the Second Plan (1956–61) followed the Mahalanobis model and heavy industry, and the Fifth Plan (1974–79) launched the Minimum Needs Programme.
Do not mix these up
• Seventh Plan vs Eighth Plan — the Seventh (1985–90) stressed food, work and productivity; the Eighth (1992–97) was the first plan of the liberalised economy and stressed human resource development.
• Plan holiday vs the Annual Plans of 1990–92 — the plan holiday was 1966–69, after the Third Plan; the 1990–92 gap came just before the Eighth Plan.
Also asked from this topic: the year the Seventh Plan began (1985); the sector it leaned on for jobs (small and cottage industries); the plan that used the Mahalanobis model (the Second Plan).
Public Finance - Budget and Taxation · FRBM Act and fiscal policy

Q34. Which fiscal policy tool is used by governments to influence aggregate demand?

  1. (a) Repo rate
  2. (b) Taxation & government spending
  3. (c) Statutory Liquidity Ratio
  4. (d) Bank rates
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Taxation & government spending

Answer: Option 2 — Taxation & government spending
Fiscal policy is the government's own instrument — it works through the Budget, by changing tax rates and public expenditure.
The repo rate, SLR and bank rate are monetary tools, and they belong to the Reserve Bank of India.
Revision note — Fiscal policy versus monetary policy
• Fiscal policy is run by the Ministry of Finance through the Budget — tax rates, subsidies, transfer payments and government spending.
• Expansionary fiscal policy — more spending, lower taxes — raises aggregate demand and is used during a recession.
• Contractionary fiscal policy — less spending, higher taxes — lowers aggregate demand and is used to curb inflation.
• Monetary policy is run by the RBI through the repo rate, reverse repo, CRR, SLR, bank rate and MSF; the Monetary Policy Committee has 6 members and the Governor holds a casting vote.
• Pushing demand beyond the economy's capacity produces demand-pull inflation; a fall in aggregate demand during a downturn produces cyclical unemployment.
• The FRBM Act, 2003 disciplines fiscal policy, aiming to cut the fiscal deficit and wipe out the revenue deficit.
• In the circular flow of income, imports are a leakage that lowers aggregate demand and exports are an injection that raises it.
Do not mix these up
• Fiscal vs monetary policy — fiscal is the government's taxes and spending; monetary is the central bank's control of money supply and interest rates.
• Repo rate vs bank rate — the repo rate is short-term RBI lending against collateral with a repurchase agreement; the bank rate is longer-term lending without collateral and no repurchase.
Also asked from this topic: what a government does under contractionary fiscal policy (cuts spending or raises taxes); the policy used in a recession (expansionary fiscal policy); the aim of the FRBM Act (cut the fiscal deficit).
Industry and Infrastructure · LPG reforms of 1991

Q35. Which statement best describes “globalisation” under economic reforms after 1991?

  1. (a) Making exports illegal
  2. (b) Reducing India’s global trade
  3. (c) Integrating India with global market by reducing tariffs, export incentives, and FDI
  4. (d) Strengthening government monopolies
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Integrating India with global market by reducing tariffs, export incentives, and FDI

Answer: Option 3 — Integrating India with global market by reducing tariffs, export incentives, and FDI
Globalisation is the outward limb of the 1991 reforms — linking India to world markets through freer flows of trade, capital and technology.
Lower tariffs, incentives for exports and an open door to foreign direct investment are exactly its instruments.
Revision note — The LPG reforms of 1991
• Announced by Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao; the New Industrial Policy came on 24 July 1991.
• The trigger was a balance of payments crisis — reserves had fallen to about two weeks of imports and India pledged gold with the Bank of England.
• The rupee was devalued twice in July 1991, by about 18 to 19 per cent in all.
• Industrial licensing was abolished except for a short list, and the industries reserved for the public sector fell from 17 to 8; FDI up to 51 per cent was allowed in 34 high-priority industries.
• Peak customs duty was cut from over 200 per cent to about 10 per cent by 2007-08, and quantitative restrictions on imports were removed.
• FEMA, 1999 replaced FERA, 1973; the rupee became fully convertible on the current account in 1994; India joined the WTO on 1 January 1995.
Do not mix these up
• Liberalisation vs globalisation — liberalisation loosens internal controls on Indian producers; globalisation opens the economy outward.
• Privatisation vs disinvestment — privatisation transfers management control; disinvestment may sell only a minority stake and leave control with the government.
Also asked from this topic: the reform that let MNCs enter India (globalisation); the Prime Minister who began the LPG reforms (P. V. Narasimha Rao); the lenders behind them (IMF and World Bank).

Static GK (9)

National Symbols, Firsts and Superlatives · First in India - persons

Q36. Who was known for her role in India's freedom struggle and became the first woman Chief Minister of an Indian state?

  1. (a) Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
  2. (b) Sucheta Kriplani
  3. (c) Arun Chandra Guha
  4. (d) Srimanta Sankardeva
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Sucheta Kriplani

Answer: Option 2 — Sucheta Kriplani
Sucheta Kriplani took charge as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 2 October 1963 and served till 1967.
She was the first woman to head any Indian state.
Revision note — Sucheta Kriplani and India's women 'firsts'
• Born Sucheta Mazumdar in 1908 at Ambala; she married the Congress leader Acharya J. B. Kripalani.
• She was active in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and worked with Mahatma Gandhi during the Noakhali riots of 1946-47.
• A member of the Constituent Assembly, she sang Vande Mataram in the House on the night of 14-15 August 1947, just before Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny" speech.
• First woman Chief Minister — Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh, 1963). First woman Governor — Sarojini Naidu (United Provinces, 1947).
• First woman President of India — Pratibha Patil (2007); first woman Prime Minister — Indira Gandhi (1966).
• First woman President of the Indian National Congress — Annie Besant (1917); first Indian woman to hold it — Sarojini Naidu (1925).
• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay led India's handicrafts and handloom revival and was among the first Indian women arrested in the salt satyagraha.
• Srimanta Sankardeva was the 15th-century Assamese Bhakti saint who founded the Ekasarana Dharma and the sattra monasteries.
Do not mix these up
• Sucheta Kriplani vs Sarojini Naidu — Kriplani was the first woman Chief Minister (UP, 1963); Naidu was the first woman Governor of an Indian state (UP, 1947).
• Sucheta Kriplani vs Indira Gandhi — Kriplani headed a state in 1963; Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister of India in 1966.
Also asked from this topic: the first woman Chief Minister of any state in India (Sucheta Kriplani); the state she headed and the date she took charge (Uttar Pradesh, 2 October 1963).
Organisations and Headquarters · India's foreign relations and connectivity projects

Q37. Which statement correctly describes India's strategic use of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region)?

  1. (a) It supports exclusive control over South China Sea
  2. (b) It promotes only bilateral maritime pacts with QUAD
  3. (c) It promotes maritime ties with Indian Ocean states.
  4. (d) It funds private sector port development in the Pacific
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) It promotes maritime ties with Indian Ocean states.

Answer: Option 3 — It promotes maritime ties with Indian Ocean states.
SAGAR — Security and Growth for All in the Region is India's maritime doctrine for the Indian Ocean.
It covers security cooperation, trade, capacity building and disaster relief with the region's littoral and island states.
Revision note — SAGAR and India's maritime neighbourhood
• SAGAR was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mauritius in March 2015; sagar also means "ocean".
• Its pillars are safeguarding India's own maritime interests, deepening security and economic cooperation with Indian Ocean neighbours, and collective action against piracy, terrorism and natural disasters.
• It also stresses sustainable use of ocean resources and treats the Indian Ocean Region's own countries as India's primary responsibility.
• Partner states include Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Madagascar and Comoros; landlocked neighbours such as Nepal and Bhutan are not part of it.
• Mission SAGAR (2020) was the Indian Navy's COVID-era relief deployment, carrying medicines and food to Indian Ocean countries.
• Related efforts: Sagarmala (port-led development at home), the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), the Colombo Security Conclave, and IFC-IOR at Gurugram.
• In March 2025 India widened the idea into MAHASAGAR — Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
Do not mix these up
• SAGAR vs Sagarmala — SAGAR is a foreign-policy doctrine for the Indian Ocean; Sagarmala is a domestic port-led infrastructure programme.
• SAGAR vs Mission Sagar — SAGAR is the vision of 2015; Mission Sagar of 2020 was one naval relief deployment carried out under it.
Also asked from this topic: what India's SAGAR doctrine focuses on (maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean); the country that launched Mission SAGAR (India); a nation taking part in it (Seychelles).
Organisations and Headquarters · Regional groupings (SAARC, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, SCO, G20)

Q38. Which of the below statements is/are correct?
Statement 1: Maldives withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2016 due to human rights concerns.
Statement 2: India is not a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

  1. (a) Only Statement 1 is correct
  2. (b) Only Statement 2 is correct
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2 are correct
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2 are correct
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) Only Statement 1 is correct

Answer: Option 1 — Only Statement 1 is correct
The Maldives left the Commonwealth in October 2016 after criticism of its democracy and human rights record, so Statement 1 holds.
India is a founding member of IORA, so Statement 2 is false.
Revision note — The Commonwealth and IORA
• The Maldives announced its withdrawal from the Commonwealth on 13 October 2016 and rejoined on 1 February 2020.
• The Commonwealth of Nations has 56 members, and its Secretariat is at Marlborough House, London.
• Rwanda, Mozambique, Gabon and Togo joined without ever being British colonies; Ireland (1949) and Zimbabwe (2003) left.
• The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) was set up in 1997 in Mauritius as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, with India as a founding member.
• IORA has 23 member states, among them Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the UAE; its Secretariat is at Ebene, Mauritius.
• Indian diplomat Sanjiv Ranjan took office as IORA Secretary General on 1 January 2025 for a three-year term.
Do not mix these up
• IORA vs IONS — IORA is the economic and diplomatic grouping of Indian Ocean rim states; the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium is a navy-to-navy forum begun by India in 2008.
• Commonwealth of Nations vs CIS — the Commonwealth grew out of the British Empire; the Commonwealth of Independent States is the grouping of former Soviet republics.
Also asked from this topic: the year IORA was established (1997); the country hosting its secretariat (Mauritius); its Secretary General from 1 January 2025 (Sanjiv Ranjan).
Space, Defence and Technology · Indian space missions

Q39. What does the magnetometer onboard Aditya-L1 satellite primarily measure in space?

  1. (a) Solar radiation pressure
  2. (b) Interplanetary magnetic field strength and direction
  3. (c) Cosmic ray intensity
  4. (d) Solar plasma temperature
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Interplanetary magnetic field strength and direction

Answer: Option 2 — Interplanetary magnetic field strength and direction
The Magnetometer (MAG) payload measures the interplanetary magnetic field at the L1 point.
It records both the strength and the direction of that field, so changes carried by the solar wind can be tracked.
Revision note — Aditya-L1
• Aditya-L1 is India's first dedicated solar mission, launched by ISRO on 2 September 2023 aboard PSLV-C57.
• It was inserted into its final orbit on 6 January 2024 — a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1.
• L1 lies about 15 lakh km from the Earth, roughly 1 per cent of the Earth-Sun distance, and lets the Sun be watched without eclipse or occultation.
• It carries seven payloads: VELC (the primary one, a coronagraph), SUIT, SoLEXS, HEL1OS, ASPEX, PAPA and the Magnetometer (MAG).
• Four payloads observe the Sun directly and three study particles and fields in situ at L1.
• Its targets are the corona and the coronal heating problem, coronal mass ejections, solar flares, the solar wind and space weather.
• A two-body system has five Lagrange points (L1 to L5); L1 lies between the Sun and the Earth.
Do not mix these up
• MAG vs ASPEX — the magnetometer measures the interplanetary magnetic field; ASPEX measures the solar wind's particles, its protons and heavier ions.
• Aditya-L1 vs XPoSat — Aditya-L1 studies the Sun; XPoSat, launched on 1 January 2024, carries POLIX to study X-ray polarisation.
Also asked from this topic: the part of the Sun Aditya-L1 studies (the corona); the payload monitoring solar wind at L1 (ASPEX); the kind of point its halo orbit surrounds (Lagrangian).
Festivals, Fairs, Paintings and Crafts · Contemporary and modern Indian artists

Q40. Which Indian artist's signature use of bindis in her installations addresses identity and tradition?

  1. (a) Bharti Kher
  2. (b) Mithu Sen
  3. (c) Raqib Shaw
  4. (d) L.N. Tallur
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) Bharti Kher

Answer: Option 1 — Bharti Kher
Bharti Kher covers sculptures, panels and found objects in thousands of bindis, using the forehead dot as a sign of identity, femininity and tradition.
Her best-known work is the fibreglass elephant "The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own" (2006), skinned entirely in sperm-shaped bindis.
Revision note — Contemporary Indian artists
• Bharti Kher — born in London in 1969, works from Gurugram; her signature material is the bindi, and her best-known work is The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own.
• Subodh Gupta — Bihar-born, married to Bharti Kher; monumental installations of everyday stainless steel kitchenware, such as Very Hungry God and Line of Control.
• Mithu Sen — Delhi-based, works with drawing, hair, teeth and invented language; known for the project I Hate Pink.
• Raqib Shaw — born in Kolkata, raised in Kashmir, based in London; densely jewelled enamel paintings in the Garden of Earthly Delights series.
• L. N. Tallur — Karnataka-born sculptor who fuses traditional Indian iconography with industrial materials such as concrete and coins.
• Anish Kapoor — British-Indian sculptor of Cloud Gate in Chicago; Sudarsan Pattnaik of Odisha is India's best-known sand artist.
Also asked from this topic: the artist renowned for large installations built from everyday Indian kitchenware (Subodh Gupta).
Sports · Sports terminology

Q41. What term describes doping violations recorded for Indian athletes in world anti-doping reports?

  1. (a) Code breach
  2. (b) ADRVs (Anti-Doping Rule Violations)
  3. (c) Match-fixing
  4. (d) No ball
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) ADRVs (Anti-Doping Rule Violations)

Answer: Option 2 — ADRVs (Anti-Doping Rule Violations)
ADRV is the formal term the World Anti-Doping Agency uses in its annual report for every confirmed breach of the World Anti-Doping Code.
It is the figure quoted whenever India's doping record is discussed, because India has repeatedly ranked among the top countries by number of ADRVs.
Revision note — Anti-doping bodies and terms
• WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, was set up in 1999 and is headquartered at Montreal, Canada; it issues the World Anti-Doping Code and the annual ADRV report.
• WADA revises its Prohibited List every year, and the new list takes effect on 1 January.
• NADA, the National Anti-Doping Agency of India, was set up as a registered society on 24 November 2005 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and is based at New Delhi.
• Samples are analysed by the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), New Delhi.
• NADA's "Speak Up!" portal lets athletes, coaches and others report anti-doping rule violations confidentially.
• The National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 gave NADA and the National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports statutory backing.
• Anabolic agents such as oxandrolone are class S1 on the Prohibited List and are the commonest cause of Indian ADRVs.
Do not mix these up
• ADRV vs a positive test — an ADRV covers eleven kinds of violation, including refusing a test, whereabouts failures, tampering and trafficking, not only a positive sample.
• WADA vs NADA — WADA is the global body at Montreal; NADA is the Indian agency at New Delhi that tests athletes and adjudicates violations.
Also asked from this topic: the body overseeing the global fight against doping (WADA); WADA's headquarters (Montreal); how often the Prohibited List is updated (every year); NADA's base (New Delhi).
Sports · Other sports and tournaments (tennis, chess, badminton, etc.)

Q42. Which Indian traditional sport involves “raiders” touching opponents and returning to their half?

  1. (a) Archery
  2. (b) Hockey
  3. (c) Kabaddi
  4. (d) Golf
Answer & solution

Answer: (c) Kabaddi

Answer: Option 3 — Kabaddi
In kabaddi the raider crosses into the opponents' half, touches as many defenders as he can and must return to his own half in a single breath to score.
The defenders, called antis, try to hold him back until the breath is broken.
Revision note — Kabaddi
• A side has 7 players on the mat and 5 substitutes; a match is two halves of 20 minutes with a 5-minute break.
• Court size is 13 m × 10 m for senior men and 12 m × 8 m for women and junior boys.
• The raider must keep chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi" without a break, and in the Pro Kabaddi League a raid may last at most 30 seconds.
• A raider earns a bonus point by crossing the bonus line when the defending side has at least 6 players on the mat.
• Raiding skills include the toe touch, hand touch and kick; defending holds include the ankle hold, knee hold and thigh hold.
• The rules were framed in 1918 and printed in 1923; kabaddi was a demonstration sport at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and a medal event at the Asian Games from 1990 (Beijing).
• The Pro Kabaddi League began on 26 July 2014 and Jaipur Pink Panthers won the first season; Harjeet Brar Bajakhana is called the Father of Kabaddi in India.
• A tied match goes to Golden Raids; if still level after five raids each, a fresh toss is taken.
• A green card is a warning, a yellow card a two-minute suspension and a red card a dismissal.
Do not mix these up
• Baulk line vs bonus line — the baulk line is the line a raider must cross for the raid to be valid; the bonus line lies beyond it and earns one extra point.
• Kabaddi vs Kho-Kho — in kabaddi one raider attacks seven defenders; in kho-kho a chasing team of 9 pursues the defenders in relay, with no breath-holding chant.
Also asked from this topic: the sport the term "raider" belongs to (kabaddi); the sport of "ankle hold" and "knee hold" (kabaddi); the minimum defenders on the mat for a bonus point (6).
Sports · Cricket

Q43. In cricket, what is the “popping crease”?

  1. (a) Place to change bats
  2. (b) Line beyond which batter is safe from run out
  3. (c) Place for bowling coach
  4. (d) Umpire’s seating line
Answer & solution

Answer: (b) Line beyond which batter is safe from run out

Answer: Option 2 — Line beyond which batter is safe from run out
The popping crease is the white line 1.22 m (4 feet) in front of the stumps; a batter who grounds the bat or a foot behind it cannot be run out or stumped.
The option phrases it loosely — safety lies behind the line, on the batting side — but only this option names the crease correctly.
Revision note — The creases and markings of a cricket pitch
• Popping crease — parallel to the stumps and 1.22 m (4 ft) in front of them; it is the batter's safe line and also the line the bowler's front foot must not overstep, or it is a no ball.
• Bowling crease — the line through the three stumps, 2.64 m (8 ft 8 in) long. The 22 yards (20.12 m) of a pitch are measured between the two bowling creases.
• Return crease — the two lines at right angles to the popping crease, 1.32 m (4 ft 4 in) on either side of the middle stump; the bowler's back foot must land inside them.
• The pitch is 3.05 m (10 feet) wide. A stump stands 71.1 cm (28 inches) above the ground and the two bails add about 1.27 cm.
• A cricket ball weighs 155.9 to 163 g with a circumference of 22.4 to 22.9 cm; the bat may be at most 96.5 cm (38 in) long and 10.8 cm (4.25 in) wide.
• The Laws of Cricket are owned by the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), founded 1787 and based at Lord's, London; the world governing body is the ICC, headquartered at Dubai.
Do not mix these up
• Popping crease vs bowling crease — the bowling crease runs through the stumps; the popping crease is 1.22 m in front of it.
• Popping crease vs return crease — the popping crease is across the pitch, the return creases run along it at the two ends of the bowling crease.
Also asked from this topic: the part of cricket the word popping belongs to (the crease); the regulated weight of a cricket ball (155.9 to 163 g); the fielder behind the stumps (wicket keeper).
Organisations and Headquarters · Regional groupings (SAARC, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, SCO, G20)

Q44. Which Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation member state serves as the host for the Permanent Secretariat?

  1. (a) People’s Republic of Bangladesh
  2. (b) Kingdom of the Thailand nation
  3. (c) Republic of the India territory
  4. (d) Democratic Socialist Sri Lanka
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Answer: Option 1 — People's Republic of Bangladesh
The BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat stands at Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The decision to create it was taken at the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit, Nay Pyi Taw, 2014, and the secretariat opened at Dhaka the same year.
Revision note — BIMSTEC
• Born as BIST-EC through the Bangkok Declaration of 6 June 1997 with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand; Myanmar joined in December 1997.
• Nepal and Bhutan joined in 2004, and the group was renamed BIMSTEC at the first summit in Bangkok on 31 July 2004.
• The seven members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand — five from South Asia and two from Southeast Asia. Pakistan and the Maldives are not members.
• The BIMSTEC Charter was adopted at the 5th Summit, Colombo, 2022 and entered into force on 20 May 2024.
• The 6th Summit was held at Bangkok on 4 April 2025, where Bangkok Vision 2030 was adopted.
• Work is organised in seven pillars, each led by one member; India leads Security, which covers counter-terrorism, energy security and disaster management.
Do not mix these up
• BIMSTEC vs SAARC — BIMSTEC's secretariat is at Dhaka and excludes Pakistan; SAARC's is at Kathmandu and includes it.
• BIMSTEC vs ASEAN — ASEAN was formed by the Bangkok Declaration of 1967 with its secretariat at Jakarta; BIMSTEC's founding Bangkok Declaration is of 1997.
Also asked from this topic: the summit that decided on the BIMSTEC Secretariat (Third Summit, 2014); the one that adopted its Charter (Fifth, Colombo 2022); the host of the 6th summit (Thailand, 2025).

Physics (1)

Work, Energy and Power · Numericals on work, energy and power

Q45. A 60 kg man runs up a 15 m high staircase in 30 seconds. What is the average power developed by him (take g = 10 m/s²)?

  1. (a) 300 W
  2. (b) 350 W
  3. (c) 100 W
  4. (d) 250 W
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) 300 W

Answer: Option 1 — 300 W
Average power = work ÷ time = mgh ÷ t.
Work = 60 × 10 × 15 = 9,000 J, so power = 9,000 ÷ 30 = 300 W.
Revision note — Work, energy and power
• Work = force × displacement in the direction of the force; SI unit joule (J), and 1 J = 1 N m.
• Work done in climbing a height h against gravity equals the gain in potential energy, mgh.
• Power is the rate of doing work, P = W ÷ t; SI unit watt (W), and 1 W = 1 J/s.
• Power can also be written as P = F × v (force × velocity), which gives the same unit.
• 1 horsepower = 746 W. The commercial unit of energy is the kilowatt-hour, and 1 kWh = 3.6 × 10⁶ J.
• In a staircase problem only the vertical height counts — the horizontal run does no work against gravity.
Do not mix these up
• Work vs power — work is the total energy transferred (joule); power is how fast it is transferred (watt = joule per second).
• Watt vs watt-hour — the watt measures power; the watt-hour and the kilowatt-hour measure energy.
Also asked from this topic: the power of a 50 kg girl climbing a 5 m rope in 25 s (98 W, g = 9.8 m/s²); the quantity given by force × velocity (power); one kilowatt-hour in joules (3.6 × 10⁶ J).

Current Affairs (2)

Awards and Honours - Current · International awards - current

Q46. Indian scientists were co-awardees of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize for their work with which CERN experiment?

  1. (a) ALICE and CMS
  2. (b) SOFIA
  3. (c) Voyager
  4. (d) Quantum Gravity Collaboration
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) ALICE and CMS

Answer: Option 1 — ALICE and CMS
The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics went to the four big Large Hadron Collider collaborations at CERN — ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb.
Indian institutions are long-standing members of CMS and ALICE, so Indian physicists were among the thousands of co-awardees named.
Revision note — CERN, the LHC and the Breakthrough Prize
• CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, founded in 1954, with headquarters at Geneva on the France–Switzerland border.
• India became an Associate Member State of CERN in January 2017, after being an Observer from 2002.
• The Large Hadron Collider is a 27 km circular proton–proton collider, the world's largest particle accelerator; its four main detectors are ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb.
• The Higgs boson was announced by ATLAS and CMS on 4 July 2012; Peter Higgs and François Englert shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for predicting it.
• ALICE studies the quark–gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions; LHCb studies matter–antimatter asymmetry through b-quarks.
• The Breakthrough Prize, founded in 2012 by Yuri Milner, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, carries 3 million US dollars and is nicknamed the "Oscars of Science".
• SOFIA was a NASA–DLR airborne infrared observatory flown in a converted Boeing 747SP and retired in 2022; Voyager 1 and 2 are NASA deep-space probes launched in 1977.
Do not mix these up
• ATLAS and CMS vs ALICE and LHCb — ATLAS and CMS are general-purpose detectors that found the Higgs boson; ALICE is built for heavy-ion physics and LHCb for matter–antimatter studies.
• Breakthrough Prize vs Nobel Prize — the Breakthrough Prize is privately funded and began in 2012; the Nobel Prize has been awarded by Swedish institutions since 1901.
Sports - Current · Venues and hosts

Q47. Which Indian city will host the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup in December 2025?

  1. (a) Chennai and Madurai
  2. (b) Delhi and Mumbai
  3. (c) Kolkata and Ranchi
  4. (d) Guwahati and Bhubaneswar
Answer & solution

Answer: (a) Chennai and Madurai

Answer: Option 1 — Chennai and Madurai
⚠️ Note: the stem asks for one 'city', but every option names two; the event was shared by Chennai and Madurai, so option 1 is the answer.
The FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup 2025 was staged in Tamil Nadu from 28 November to 10 December 2025.
Chennai hosted it at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium and Madurai at its newly built hockey stadium.
Revision note — Hockey World Cups and India
• The Junior World Cup is the under-21 world championship run by the FIH (International Hockey Federation), headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland.
• India has won the Junior World Cup twice — 2001 at Hobart and 2016 at Lucknow, beating Belgium 2-1 in the final with goals from Gurjant Singh and Simranjeet Singh.
• India has hosted the junior event before at New Delhi (2013), Lucknow (2016) and Bhubaneswar (2021).
• In the senior Men's Hockey World Cup, India's only title came in 1975 at Kuala Lumpur, beating Pakistan 2-1.
• India hosted the senior World Cup in 1982 (Bombay), 2010 (New Delhi), 2018 (Bhubaneswar) and 2023 (Bhubaneswar and Rourkela); Germany won in 2023.
• The national body is Hockey India; hockey is not India's official national game — India has none declared by law.
Do not mix these up
• Junior World Cup vs senior World Cup — the junior event is under-21; India last won the senior title in 1975 but the junior title as recently as 2016.
• Azlan Shah Cup vs World Cup — the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational tournament at Ipoh, Malaysia, not a world championship.
Also asked from this topic: the city that staged the 2016 Junior World Cup final (Lucknow); India's only senior Hockey World Cup title (1975); the winner in 2023 (Germany).
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