65th BPSC Prelims (Held in 2019) Exam Official paper (Previous Year Paper)

The correct answer is Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar.

Key Points

• This book warned against the colonial state's hypnotic conquest of the mind.
• It inspired the performance of Swadeshi street plays and folk songs.
• The book “Desher Katha” was published in 1904 and is about the slavery of Indian people in the British reign.
• The book was translated into Hindi and named “Des ki Baat” by Baburao Vishnu Paradkar.
• His major works are-

Additional Information

• He wrote many editorials in the 'Hitwadi' paper of Kolkata against the exploitation of a magistrate named Hard in 1894.
• He again wrote many editorials in Bharti, Dharni, Sahitya-Samhita, Pradeep, Bhang-darshan, Aryavrat, etc.
• Arvind Ghosh has written that the word 'Swaraj' was first used in 'Desher Katha'.

The correct answer is Murali Mohan Prasad.

• Murali Mohan Prasad was a journalist from Bihar.

Key Points

• During the ‘Struggle for freedom in India’, he had also been to jail a number of times.
• He was a freedom fighter and Searchlight newspaper was one of the ‘prominent newspapers’ in the country before independence.
• After independence, the newspaper continued with its stories.

Important Points

• Murali Mohan Prasad started the publication of Searchlight began in 1918 as a bi-weekly newspaper.
• The first editor of Searchlight was Syed Haider Hussain and the second was Maheshwar Prasad.
• After that CSR Somayajulu and S. Ranga Iyer also became an editor in turn. Murali Manohar Prasad was the editor for the longest time.

The correct answer is Phulan Prasad Varma.

• Bihar Socialist party was formed in 1931 within congress by ideologies of Marxist-Leninist socialists.
• This was formed by Phulan Prasad Varma under the leadership of JP Narayan.

Key Points

• Bihar Socialist party was formed in July 1931 by Ganga Sharan Sinha, Rambriksh Benipuri, Phulan Prasad Varma, and Ramanand Mishra.
• Bihar Socialist party later provided the foundation for Congress Socialist Party in 1934.
• The party had the following objectives-
• Propagation of Socialist ideas.
• Formation of labor and peasant's organizations.
• An organizing committee of the party was established with Abdul Bari as President, Ganga Sharan Sinha, and PP Verma as Secretaries, and Ambika Kant Sinha as the Treasurer.

Additional Information

• Some important leaders of Bihar Socialist Pary are as follows -
• Acharya Narendra Deva-He was born in 1890 in UP. He along with JP Narayan represented Marxian ideologies in the country.
• Sampurnanad - Written booklet 'When we were in power' which contained a comprehensive program of socialist organizations of society.
• Yusuf Meherally - He gave the slogan 'Go Back Simon' in 1928.
• Dadabhai Naoroji founded East India Association in 1866 in London, to present Indian views in front of British public.

The correct answer is A.O. Hume.

Key Points

• Allan Octavian Hume was a British member of the Imperial Civil Service and one of the founders of the Indian National Congress.
• He also founded the journal Stray Feathers in which he and his subscribers recorded notes on birds from across India.
• He left India in 1894 and found the South London Botanical Institute towards the end of his life.
• List of the Birds of India, My Scrap Book: Or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology, and Hints on Esoteric Theosophy are the important works of him.

Additional Information

• Indian national congress was founded on 28 December 1885.
• It was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa.
• Allan Octavian Hume, William Wedderburn, W. C. Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, Lalmohan Ghosh, Badruddin Tyabji, M. G. Ranade, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Pherozeshah Mehta are the founders of the Indian national congress.

The correct option is Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Key Points

• He was the freedom fighter and the lawyer and his ideology that without self-rule or swarajya, no progress was possible.
• He was the founder of the Deccan Education Society.
• He was one of the founders of the Fergusson College (1885) in Pune through the Deccan Education Society.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak  is also known as Lokmanya Tilak.
• Tilak was called the ‘father of Indian unrest’ in the book “Indian Unrest” written by Valentine Chirol.

Additional Information

• He joined the Indian National Congress in 1890.
• Gita Rhasya and Arctic Home of the Vedas are the important books written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
• He was part of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio of leaders with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra.
• He published two papers – Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English.

The correct answer is Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy.

Key Points

• Rabindranath Tagore returned 'the sir' (Knighthood) award to the British government in 1919 to protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in which more than 379 innocent people died at the hands of the British army.
• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919.
• This incident shocked Rabindranath Tagore (the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate) to such an extent that he renounced his knighthood and stated that "such mass murderers aren't worthy of giving any title to anyone".

The correct answer is Gopal Krishan Gokhale.

• Servants of India Society was founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905 to unite and train Indians of different ethnicities and religions in welfare work.

• Servants of India Society was founded in 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. 

• It aimed to unite and train Indians of different ethnicities and religions in welfare work. It was the first secular organization in that country to devote itself to the underprivileged, rural and tribal people, and other social causes.

• Gokhale was known to be Mahatma Gandhi’s political mentor.

• In 1905, he was elected president of the Indian National Congress (Benares Session).

• In 1926, Bhagat Singh founded the 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha (Youth Society of India) and joined the Hindustan Republican Association (later known as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association), where he met several prominent revolutionaries. 

• The police discovered the connection between Bhagat Singh and the murder of Officer Saunders and he was rearrested. While awaiting trial, he led a hunger strike in prison. Eventually, Singh and his co-conspirators were tried and sentenced to hang. He was executed on March 23, 1931.

The correct answer is Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla.

• The robbery was organized by  Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under the leadership of Ram Prasad Bismil and supported by Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sachindra Bakshi, Keshab Chakravarty, Manmathnath Gupta, Murari Lal Gupta (Murari Lal Khanna), Mukundi Lal (Mukundi Lal Gupta) and Banwari Lal.
• Ram Prasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri, and Asfaqullah Khan were charged with various offenses including robbery and murder.

Additional Information

• Ram Prasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri, and Ashfaqullah Khan were given the death sentence and the rest were given Kala Pani (Port Blair Cellular Jail) and normal imprisonment of 14, 10, 7, 5, and 4 years
• To avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, Uddham Singh – the “patient assassin”  plotted for over twenty years, and on March 13, 1940, he shot dead the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Sir Michael O'Dwyer, at Caxton Hall.
• Surya Sen had actively participated in the non-cooperation movement and was popularly known as Masterda.
• Surya Sen was arrested on 16 February 1933, tried and hanged on 12^th January 1934.

The correct answer is C. R Das.

Key Points

• Chittaranjan Das was born on 5 November 1870 at Telirbagh in the Bengal Presidency, currently in Bangladesh.
• **He finished his law studies from England and returned to India in 1893.**​
• He championed the cause of the Khadi and cottage industries and gave up his own western clothes and luxurious lifestyle.
• He was a prolific writer and poet. He published his collection of poems in two volumes titled ‘Malancha’ and ‘Mala’.
• Das died of a severe fever on 16 June 1925 in Darjeeling. His mortal remains were brought to Calcutta for the funeral. Hundreds of people turned up for his funeral. Gandhi led the funeral procession.

Additional Information

• Veer Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 in the village Bhagalpur, Nashik, and died on 26 February 1966, Bombay (now Mumbai). His full name is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He was a freedom fighter, politician, lawyer, social reformer, and formulator of the philosophy of Hindutva. Let us read more about Veer Savarkar, why he is known as Veer Savarkar and his contributions to the National Freedom Struggle.
• In 1911, Savarkar was sentenced to 50 years in the cellular jail of Andamans, also known as Kala Pani for revolting against the Morley-Minto reforms (Indian Councils Act 1909).
• In his book 'The History of the War of Indian Independence', he analyzed the circumstances of the 1857 uprising. It was via this book that Savarkar became one the first writers to call for India's first war for independence against the British.

The correct answer is Jyotiba Phule.

Key Points

• SatyaShodhak Samaj was founded by Jyotiba Phule in 1873 in Maharashtra.
• The Satyashodhak Samaj aimed to spread education among the lower caste people to make them aware of their rights.
• Satyashodhak Samaj rejected all kinds of Brahman domination on the basis of religion and all religious sources of inequality. Membership of Satyashodhak Samaj was open to all castes, sects, and religions.
• Anyone who accepted its ideology and acted accordingly by taking oath could be a member of Satyashodhak Samaj.
• Swami Dayanand put emphasis on the Veda. He gave the slogan— “Go back to the Vedas”.
• Arya Samaj was also founded by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati on 10 April 1875. Arya Samaj was the first Hindu organization to introduce proselytization in Hinduism.

Additional Information

• Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar founded the Independent Labor Party in 1936 and his party contested the 1937 elections to the Central Legislative Assembly.
• In 1947 Dr. Ambedkar was appointed as the chairman of the constitution drafting committee.​

The correct answer is Mrs. Annie Besant.

• Annie Besant was a British theosophist, socialist and she was President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.

Key Points

• Besant converted to Theosophy after meeting Helena Blavatsky in 1889.
• In 1893, she came to India to propagate ideas of Theosophical society.
• Annie Besant was the society’s president from 1907 to 1933.
• When the First World War broke out, she said, “England’s need is India’s opportunity.
• Besant launched the All India Home Rule League along with Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1916.
• Besant was an ardent supporter of Indian and  Irish self-rule.
• Besant set up the Central Hindu College at Benares.

Additional Information

• Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman who was the president of the Indian national congress in 1925.
• Bhaktilaxmi Desai along with Manibehan was a prominent women leader in Bardoli satyagraha.
• Kasturba Gandhi was wife of Mahatma Gandhi and a prominent women leader in Indian National Movement, she passed away in 1944.

The correct answer is Vinoba Bhave.

• The centerpiece of Individual Satyagraha was Non-violence.
• The first Satyagrahi selected for this Satyagraha was Vinoba Bhave who was sent to jail when he spoke against the war.
• He was followed nearly by 25,000 individual satyagrahis.
• The demand of the Satyagrahi was to use freedom of speech against the war through an anti-war declaration.
• In December 1940, Gandhi suspended the movement and the campaign started again in January 1941.

Key Points

• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Brahma Dutt were the second and third the selected Satyagarhi respectively
• The campaign started again and this time thousands of people joined and around 20,000 people were arrested in January 1941.
• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Brahma Dutt were also sent to jail for violating the Defence of India Act.

​

Additional Information

Some important Life Facts of Vinoba Bhave -

• He started the Sarvodaya Movement which meant ‘Progress for all’.
• In 1951, Bhave started the Bhoodan Movement in Pochampally, Telangana.
• He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1958.
• In 1983, he received the Bharat Ratna posthumously.

The correct answer is Shyamji Krishanvarma.

• Shyamji Krishna Varma founded the Indian House in 1905.

Key Points

• It is a meeting point outside of India for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain at the time and one of the most prominent centers for revolutionary Indian nationalism.
• He represented India at the Berlin Congress of Orientalists in 1881.
• He worked for a number of Indian princely states in India as the Divan.
• He also founded the “The Indian Sociologist”.
• On 04 October 1989, The India Post has issued a postal stamp on Shyamji Krishna Varma.
• He founded the Indian Home Rule Society also.

Additional Information

• Taraknath Das was instrumental in founding of Ghadar Party along with Lala Hardayal.
• Ras Behari Bose was an Indian revolutionary. He was associated with landmark events such as-
• Assassination attempt of lord Hardinge in 1912 in Delhi.
• Foundation of Indian Independence League at Tokyo in 1942.
• He was instrumental in formation of the INA.

The correct answer is Mahadev Lal Saraf.

Key Points

• The Salt Satyagraha in Bhagalpur was led by Mahadev Lal Saraf.
• Mahadev Lal Saraf of Bhagalpur was one of the important freedom fighters.
• He organized the Salt Satyagraha in Bhagalpur in the year 1930. He was highly influenced by Gandhiji's thoughts.
• In this movement Use of Khadi, the refusal to pay Chaukigari, a message against intoxicating drinks was the most important point.

Additional Information

• On dated 31^st march to 3^rd April 1930 Pt. Jawaharlal visited Bihar for the success of the Satyagraha.
• Swadeshi Committee was set up at Patna.

The correct answer is Rahul Sankrityayan.

• In 1939, Ambari Satyagraha was led by Rahul Sankrityayan in Bihar.
• During this Satyagraha, Rahul Sankrityayan was implicated in a false case and sent to jail and sentenced to six months in prison.
• Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan is a unique personality of Hindi literature.
• He was born in a village called Pandha in the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
• His childhood name was Kedarnath. Being a Sankritya gotra, he was called Sankrityayan.
• Because of his faith in Buddhism, he changed his name to Rahul and then became known as Rahul Sankrityayan.

Key Points

• Mohammad Zubair and Sri Krishna Singh organized Kisan Sabha at Munger in 1922-23.
• Rahul Sankrityayan is called the Father of Indian Travelogue Travel literature.
• “Volga Se Ganga” was written by Rahul Sankrityayan.
• Athato Ghumakkad Jigyasa, Asia ke Durgam Bhukhando Mein, Tibbat Me Sava Varsha, and Meri Europe Yatra are also the most important works of Rahul Sankrityayan.

Concept used: 

Sum of 1 to n^th term = n(n + 1)/2 

Where

n → Number of term 

Calculations:

\(S = \sum^{15}_{n=1} \left( n + \frac 1 3 \right)\)

⇒ S = 1 + 1/3 + 2 + 1/3 + 3 + 1/3 + .......... + 15 + 1/3 

⇒ S = (15 × 16)/2 + 15/3

⇒  S = 120 + 5 = 125 

∴ The value of S is 125

Given:

Length of each train = 150 metres 

Speed of each train = 90 km/h 

Concept used:

m/s = (km/h) × 5/18

Time = Distance/Speed 

Relative speed as the speed of a moving body with respect to another.

Relative speed in opposite direction = X + Y.

Calculations:

Total distance = 150 + 150 = 300 metres 

Relative speed = 90 + 90 = 180 km/h 

Relative speed in m/s = 180 × 5/18 = 50 m/s 

Required time = 300/50 = 6 sec 

∴ The time taken by the trains to cross each other will be 6 sec

The Correct Answer is 9.

• Since it is given that each of them should be getting 2 pens.
• Thus, firstly, we give 2 to each of them (Assuming all pens are identical).
• Now, these 2 students have 2 pens each.
• Remaining 8 pens (12 initial–4 distributed) can be distributed to these with the condition that any one of these can receive any number of pens ranging from 2 to 10, as they will always have at least 2 with them as asked in the questions.
• Let us now see the possible groups -
• (2, 10)
• (3, 9)
• (4, 8)
• (5, 7)
• (6, 6)
• (7, 5)
• (8, 4)
• (9, 3)
• (10, 2)
• Here are the 9 possibilities, so the answer is Nine(9).

Given:

The radii of circles A and B are in the ratio = 1.5 ∶ 1 

Concept used:

Area of the circle = πr²

Where,

r → Radius 

Calculations:

Let the radius of A be 1.5x and B be x 

Area of circle A = π(1.5x)² = 2.25πx²

Area of circle B = πx²

The ratio of Area A and area B = 2.25πx² ∶ πx² = 2.25 ∶ 1

∴ The ratio of area A and area B is 2.25 ∶ 1

Given:

Time taken by first tap to fill the tank = 3 hours 

Time taken by second tap to empty tank = 4 hours 

Concept used:

Total capacity = LCM 

Efficiency = Total capacity/Time 

Efficiency of outlet pipe always be negative

Calculations:

Total capacity = LCM (3, 4) = 12 

Efficiency of first tap = 12/3 = 4 

Efficiency of second tap = 12/4 = -3 

One third part of the tank = 12 × 1/3 = 4 

Remaining part of the tank = 12 – 4 = 8

Total efficiency of both the tap = 4 – 3 = 1 

Time taken by both the tap to fill the remaining part of the tank = 8/1 = 8

∴ If the tank is one-third full and both the taps are opened together, then the time taken to fill the tank will be 8 hours

The series follows the following pattern

(1)2 – 0 = 1

(2)2 – 1 = 3

(3)2 – 0 = 9

(4)2 – 1 = 15

(5)2 – 0 = 25

(6)2 – 1 = 35

(7)² – 0 = 49

(8)² – 1 = 63

∴ The next term in the sequence is 63

Given:

x2 - y2 = 7

x - y = 1

Calculation:

x - y = 1            ---(1)

x2 - y2 = 7

⇒ (x + y) × (x - y) = 7

⇒ (x + y) × 1 = 7

⇒ (x + y) = 7     ---(2)

On addition of equation (1) and (2)

⇒ 2x = 8

⇒ x = 4

Now, y = x - 1

⇒ 4 - 1 = 3

⇒ y = 3

Diagonal = √ (x² + y²)

√ (4² + 3²)

⇒ √ 25 = 5

∴ Length of a diagonal = 5 cm

Given:

Total students = 80

Students play carrom, n(X) = 60%

Students play chess, n(Y) = 45%

Students neither play carrom nor chess, n(X ∩ Y)' = 10%

Formula used:

n(X ∪ Y) = n(X) + n(Y) - n(X ∩ Y) 

Calculation:

From the given details,

Students play either carrom nor chess, n(X ∪ Y) = 100 - 10 = 90%

n(X ∪ Y) = n(X) + n(Y) - n(X ∩ Y) 

⇒ 90% = 60% + 45% - n(X ∩ Y) 

⇒ n(X ∩ Y) = 15%

The number of students who play only chess = n(Y) - n(X ∩ Y) 

⇒ 45% - 15% = 30%

∴ The number of students who play only chess = 30% of 80

⇒ (30/100) × 80 = 24

Given:

\(x^3 - y^3 = \frac {117}{8}\)

\(x - y = \frac 3 2\)

Calculation:

We have,

x³ - y³ = (x - y) (x2 + xy + y²)

⇒ 117/8 = 3/2 × (x2 + xy + y2)

⇒ (x2 + xy + y2) = (117/8) × (2/3)

⇒ 39/4

nGiven:

\((5)^{x^2 + 2x + 7} = (125)^{2x + 1}\)

Concept:

Using the result, 5³ = 125

Formula used:

(a^m)ⁿ = a^{m × n}

Calculation:

\((5)^{x^2 + 2x + 7} = (125)^{2x + 1}\)

⇒ \((5)^{x^2 + 2x + 7} = (5^3)^{2x + 1}\)

We know, (am)n = am × n

⇒ \((5)^{x^2 + 2x + 7} = (5)^{6x + 3}\)

From the above equation,

x² + 2x + 7 = 6x + 3

⇒ x² - 4x + 4 = 0

⇒ (x - 2) (x - 2) = 0

⇒ x = 2

The correct answer is osteology.

Additional Information

• In forensic anthropology, examining bones determines the cause of death.
• It is used to identify death, age, sex, growth, and development of humans.
• It is also used to identify whether a person is male or female by the Structure of bones (Pelvis and skull).

The correct answer is None of the above.

Key Points

• The Lichen has multiple enzymes that are capable of producing hydrolysis. for example-"orsellinate depside hydrolase", capable of catalyzing the hydrolysis of certain depsides to corresponding resorcylic acid monomers.
• The virus has enzymes in its cell and is present in isolated locations. For example- some in the capsid, some in an envelope, etc.
• In bacterial cells enzymes are produced to aid the cell for example in E.coli it helps in metabolism.
• The hydrogenase which produces hydrogen is an enzyme present in the algae’s cell.

Additional Information

• Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts.
• The shape of the enzyme plays a vital role in enzyme relations, the 'active site' of an enzyme is the area where the substrate binds and the reaction takes place.
• For instance, Amylases from fungi and plants are used in the Food Processing Industry.
• Amylases, Xylanases, Cellulases, and ligninases are used in Paper Industry.

The correct answer is Bone marrow.

Key Points

• Lymphocytes develop in the thymus and bone marrow (yellow), which are therefore called central lymphoid organs.
• Bone marrow is a tissue that is found in spongy or cancellous portions of bones. It is a semi-solid tissue.
• Bone marrow is containing marrow adipose tissue, and supportive stromal cells, of hematopoietic cells.
• In mammals and birds, it is the primary site of new blood cell production.
• On the basis of the prevalence of hematopoietic cells vs fat cells, human marrow is characterized as “Yellow” or “Red” marrow.

​

Additional Information

• Animal bone marrow used for food worldwide, such as the famed Milanese Ossobuc.
• By Multiple myeloma and aplastic anemia, bone marrow is damaged.
• Lymphocytes are responsible for the astonishing specificity of adaptive immune responses.
• There are about 2 × 10^12 lymphocytes in the human body, making the immune system comparable in cell mass to the liver or brain.

The correct answer is Thyroxine.

• Thyroxine or T4 is produced by the thyroid gland.
• It is secreted in blood and reaches organs such as the liver, kidneys by travel.
• Here it is converted into its active form. The active form of thyroxine is triiodothyronine.

Key Points

• The main functions of Thyroxine are:-
• Thyroid hormones help with brain development and function.
• It also helps with muscle control as well as bone health, Regulates the metabolic rate of the body.
• Also regulates the metabolism of fat, proteins, and carbohydrates.
• Thyroid hormones also help with protein synthesis, increases the body’s sensitivity to catecholamines.
• Essential for the development and differentiation of cells.

Additional Information

• The thyroid gland produces two types of hormones-
• Triiodothyronine (T3)
• Thyroxine (T4)
• Triiodothyronine hormone is produced by the gland via the removal of iodine by Thyroxine.
• If any imbalance of the thyroid, mostly has the following symptoms:-Depression, Weight gain, Constipation, and tiredness.

The correct answer is Virus.

Key Points

• HIV is a lentivirus, it is a sub-classification of the retrovirus.
• HIV infection is over time leads to AIDS.
• HIV demolishes a particular type of WBC and the T-helper cells. This virus also makes copies of itself inside these cells.
• HIV infection can occur by the transference of blood, breast milk, vaginal fluid, semen, or pre-ejaculate.

Additional Information

• The virus is that can replicate inside a host cell and Viruses are noncellular, microscopic infectious agents.
• HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus while  AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

The correct answer is None of the above.

• Pascal formula= N/m2 =kg/m*s-2.
• The pressure is the scalar quantity. It is generally defined as the amount of force that is applied to a certain area.
• The pressure is expressed as a formula:-

P=F/A

Where A and F are force per area perpendicular to the surface.

Key Points

• S.I. unit of pressure is Pascal.
• The CGS unit of pressure is bary, and is equal to 1 dyn·cm−2, or 0.1 Pa.
• The unit of pressure is kg m-1 sec -2 in M.K.S. unit systems.
• Comparision of different units of pressure are as follows-
• 1 atm = 760 mm of Hg = 760 Torr = 101.3 KPa = 14.7 psi

The correct answer is 8 minutes approx.

• It takes sunlight an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
• Light travels at a speed of 299,792 kilometres per second; 186,287 miles per second.
• It takes 499.0 seconds for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth, a distance called 1 Astronomical Unit.
• Lightwave is an EM wave that travels through a medium or vacuum and has two important characteristics known as wavelength and frequency.
• According to Einstein, light is made of tiny packets of energy known as photons. The formula devised by Planck determines the energy of a photon.

Key Points

• The relation between different Planets, Distance in AU from the Sun, and the time taken by light to reach each planet.

The correct answer is Pressure.

Key Points

• A scalar quantity is defined as the physical quantity with magnitude and no direction.
• Mass, Speed, Distance, Time, Area, Volume, Density, Temperature are examples of Scalar Quantity.
• A vector quantity is defined as the physical quantity that has both directions as well as magnitude.
• Linear momentum, Acceleration, Displacement, Momentum, Angular velocity, Force, Electric field, Polarization is the Vector quantity.

Additional Information

• Electric Current has a definite direction yet it is a scalar quantity.
• Unit vectors are the vectors with a magnitude of 1, they are used to define direction.
• William Rowan Hamilton is given credit for inventing vectors.
• A zero vector is a vector with zero magnitudes and an arbitrary direction.

The correct answer is Strain.

Key Points

• The unit for strain in the SI  is “one” i.e. 1 ε= 1 = 1 m/m. Basically, it is a unitless quantity.
• The strain is defined as the "deformation of a solid due to stress".
• Normal strain - elongation or contraction of a line segment
• Shear strain - change in angle between two line segments originally perpendicular

Additional Information

• Stress is proportional to load and strain is proportional to deformation as expressed with Hooke's Law.
• Bulk Modulus of Elasticity is the ratio of stress to change in volume of a material subjected to axial loading.

The correct answer is Longitudinal.

• Sound waves in air are longitudinal waves because particles of the medium through which the sound is transported vibrate parallel to the direction that the sound wave moves.
• A sound is a vibration that propagates through a medium (Solid, Liquid, Gas) in the form of a mechanical wave.
• Solid Sound travels fast.

Additional Information

• Sound waves with a frequency in the range of (0-20 Hz) are called infrasonic waves.
• Sound waves with a frequency range (20-20000 Hz) are called audible ranges.
• Sound waves with a frequency greater than 20000 Hz are called Ultrasonics.
• Sound can be characterized by its frequency, wavelength, and amplitude.

Key Points

• There are primarily two types of mechanical waves:-
• Transverse Waves
• Longitudinal Waves
• Examples of Transverse Waves are:-

Electromagnetic waves, The waves on a string, Stadium or human wave, The ocean waves, The ripples on the surface of the water, The secondary waves of an earthquake.

• Examples of Longitudinal Waves are:-

Sound waves in air, The primary waves of an earthquake, Ultrasound, The vibration in spring, The fluctuations in a gas, The tsunami waves.

The correct answer is 122 F.

• The temperature is written in terms of Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Kelvin.
• Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversion:-

F=(C*1.8) +32

F=(50*1.8)+32

F=122

• Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion :-

C= (F-32)/1.8

C= (122-32)/1.8

C=50

Important Points

• Celsius to Kelvin Conversion Formula

K=C+273.15

• Kelvin to Celsius Formula

             C=K-273.15

The correct answer is Frequency.

• Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time.
• It is also known as temporal frequency.
• Frequency is measured in units of hertz (Hz) which is equal to one occurrence of a repeating event per second.
• The relation between the frequency and the period, T, of a repeating event, is given by
• F=1/T

​​

Additional Information

The correct answer is Hypothalamus.

• In size, Hypothalamus is almost like the size of an almond. It present in the center of the human brain.
• The structure of the hypothalamus is made up of three main regions: The anterior region, the Middle region, Posterior region.

Key Points

• The main functions of the hypothalamus are:-​
• Maintaining the body’s internal balance,
• It also connects the endocrine and the nervous system,
• It is involved in Childbirth, Emotions, Sleep cycles, Balancing body fluids, Appetite and thirst control, Blood pressure, and heart rate.
• Hormones secreted by Hypothalamus:-
• Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone, Oxytocin, Somatost​.

Additional Information

The correct answer is ammeter.

Key Points

• Devices and their uses are given as below-

Additional Information

• Some other devices and their uses are as below-

The correct answer is Watt.

Key Points

• The unit of power 'Watts' is named to honour James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine.
• A Watt is equal to one ampere under the pressure of one volt.
• The rate at which the work is being done in an electrical circuit is called electric power.
• Electric power is defined as the rate of the transfer of energy.
• The power consumed in an electrical circuit is said to be one watt if one ampere current flows through the circuit.
• An ampere is a unit used to measure electric current.
• One amp is the amount of current produced by a force of one volt.
• A volt is the unit of electric potential difference.
• It is also a unit of the size of the force that sends the electrons through a circuit.
• One coulomb is equal to the quantity of charge that passes through a conductor in one second.

The correct answer is Lavoisier.

Key Points

• Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier discovered the oxygen role in combustion.
• He named hydrogen and Oxygen.
• Opuscules physiques et chimiques, Methode de nomenclature chimique are selected writings of Lavoisier.
• Lavoisier helped construct the metric system and wrote the first extensive list of elements.

Additional Information

• Ernest Rutherford is known as the father of Nuclear Physics.
• Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".
• Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics and was the first Asian person to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science.
• Dr. C.V. Raman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 and became the first Indian to receive the award.

The correct answer is 38.

Key Points

• The mass number=atomic number+ number of neutrons.
• Atomic number= No. of proton= No. of electron.
• It is represented by symbol A.
• So, Mass number= 18+20 =38.
• The hydrogen atom is the lightest element with Mass number 1.01 and Atomic number 1.

Important Points

• The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in the nucleus of each atom of that element. It is represented by Z.
• Isotopes have a different number of neutrons but the same number of protons.

The correct option of Nitrous Oxide.

Key Points

• Nitric acid has the chemical formula HNO3 and its other name is Acidum nitricum.
• Nitric oxide is prepared industrially by passing air through an electric arc or by oxidation of ammonia over platinum gauze.
• Nitrogen pentoxide is used in chloroform solution as a nitrating agent. Its chemical formula is N2O5.
• Nitrogen pentoxide is produced by dehydration of nitric acid by phosphorus pentoxide.
• Nitrous oxide is prepared by thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate.

Additional Information

• Nitrogen dioxide It has an irritating odor and is highly poisonous. Under normal atmospheric conditions, it exists in equilibrium with nitrogen tetroxide (N204). Heavier than air. Nitrogen dioxide produces nitrous acid (HN02) and nitric acid (HN03) on contact with water.
• Nitrogen pentoxide Sublimes at -32.4°C but undergoes moderately rapid decomposition into 02 and the NO2/N204 equilibrium mixture at temperatures above -10°C. Freely soluble in chloroform without appreciable decomposition.
• Nitrous oxide supports combustion. Very stable and rather inert chemically at room temperatures. Dissociation begins above 300°C when the gas becomes a strong oxidizing agent.
• Nitric oxide Burns when heated with hydrogen. It combines with oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide and with halogens to form nitrosyl halides, e.g. NOCl.

The correct answer is Gases.

Confusion Points

• ​All the materials we see in our daily lives are made up of matter.
• Matter can be classified into different states such as solid, liquid and gas on the basis of intermolecular forces and the arrangement of particles.
• Hence, gas is a state of matter. It is not a type of element.

Key Points

• Elements are chemically the simplest substances and hence cannot be broken down using chemical reactions.
• Elements can only be changed into other elements using nuclear methods.
• Elements present to the left of the line of the periodic table are said as metals, though elements present to the far right of the periodic table are said as non-metals.
• Metalloids or semimetals are present just to the right of metals and possess properties of metals as well as non-metals.

The Correct Answer is 7.

Key Points

• The pH is the degree of concentration of hydrogen ions in a substance or solution and is represented as the log of the hydrogen ion concentration in an aqueous solution.
• The pH value of water is 7.
• Therefore there are 10-7 moles per liter of hydrogen ions in water with a pH of 7; while a pH of 6 is 10-6 moles per liter. The scale of the pH varies between 0 and 14.
• Water with a pH of < 7 is considered acidic, and water with a pH of > 7 is considered basic.
• The standard range of pH is 6.5 to 8.5 for surface water systems and 6 to 8.5 for groundwater systems.
• Alkalinity is a measure of the water's capacity to tolerate a pH change that appears to make the water more acidic.
• To calculate the corrosivity of the water, the calculation of alkalinity and pH is required. The pH of pure water (H₂0) at 25^oC is 7, but this combination results in a pH of about 5.2 when exposed to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The Correct Answer is option 5.

Key Points

All of the following are significant greenhouse gases:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) – Most abundant greenhouse gas emitted by human activities.
• Methane (CH₄) – 25x more potent than CO₂ over a 100-year period.
• Nitrous oxide (N₂O) – About 298x more potent than CO₂.
• Ozone (O₃) – Acts as a greenhouse gas in the troposphere.

So more than one of the options (1 to 4) are correct contributors to the greenhouse effect. Hence, Option 5 is the most accurate.

Additional Information

Greenhouse Gases Listed Under the Kyoto Protocol:

The Correct Answer is kerosene.

• Oxygen is absent in kerosene.
• A combustible hydrocarbon liquid derived from petroleum is kerosene.
• It is commonly used both in aviation and in households as a fuel.
• Kerosene is a low viscosity, transparent liquid formed from hydrocarbons produced from petroleum fractional distillation between 150 and 275 °C (300 and 525 °F), resulting in a mixture of carbon chains that usually contain between 10 and 16 carbon atoms per molecule with a density of 0.78 to 0.81 g/cm³ (0.45 to 0.47 oz/cu in).

Important Points

• There is excess oxygen in the soil that many bacteria use to breathe and decompose. For many anaerobic people, it is harmful.
• Oxygen allows ionic bonds in the glass to provide it with the correct form and colour.
• Oxygen is the most significant ingredient in cement. Since it is used in concrete as a binder to give it a clay appearance. Hydrogen transforms into a gaseous state without oxygen.

The Correct Answer is isoprene(2-methyl-1,3-butadiene).

Concept:

Polymers: 

• Polymers are high molecular mass compounds obtained by joining repeating units in a regular fashion.
• The simple reactive molecules from which the repeating units of polymers are derived are called monomers. For example,

​

• The simple process by which monomers are transferred into polymers is known as polymerization.

Classification of Polymer (Based on the source of availability): 

• Natural polymers:
• Polymers obtained mostly plants and animals (nature).
• Examples: Cellulose, starch, etc.
• Synthetic polymers:
• Polymers prepared artificial or man-made in the laboratory.
• Examples – Synthetic rubber (Buna – S), Nylon 6,6, Teflon, etc.
• Semi-synthetic polymers:
• Through chemical modification, some polymer occurring naturally.
• Examples – cellulose nitrate, Rayon (cellulose acetate), etc.
• The polymers can be classified into Addition and Condensation polymers according to the process of polymerization.

Explanation:

• Natural rubber is an added polymer from a tropical rubber tree that is collected as a milky white fluid known as latex.
• The monomer isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) produces natural rubber.
• As isoprene has two double bonds, after the polymerization response, it still retains one of them. The cis structure for the methyl groups is natural rubber.
• Rubber is an example of a polymer of the elastomer kind where, after being stretched or deformed, the polymer has the ability to return to its original form. When in a resting state, the rubber polymer is coiled.
• The elastic properties derive from the ability to stretch the chains apart but the chains snap back to the initial position when the stress is released.

Hence, natural rubber is a polymer of isoprene.

Important Points

• Styrene-butadiene (styrene-butadiene rubber) defines the styrene and butadiene groups of synthetic rubbers. When covered by additives, these materials have the good abrasion resistance and good ageing stability.
• A type of synthetic elastomer that is closely related to EPDM rubber is ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR).

The Correct Answer is C₆H₁₂O₆(Glucose).

Key Points

• Glucose is the most abundant monosaccharide, a carbohydrate sub-category.
• During photosynthesis, glucose is primarily produced by plants and most algae from water and carbon dioxide, using energy from sunlight, where it is used to create the most abundant carbohydrate cellulose in cell walls.
• In the metabolism of energy, the most essential source of energy in all species is glucose.
• For metabolism, glucose is processed as a polymer, primarily as starch and amylopectin in plants, and as glycogen in animals. In the animals' blood, glucose circulates as blood sugar.
• In 1747, the German chemist Andreas Marggraf first isolated glucose from raisins.

Important Points

The correct answer is 3.

• The bond order of CO is 3.

• The bond order shows the number of chemical bonds present between a pair of atoms.

• The Bond Order Formula is half of the difference between the number of electrons in bonding orbitals and antibonding orbitals.

• Electronic configuration of CO (14 electrons) = (σ1s)2(σ1s)2(σ2s)2(σ2s)2(π)4(2pz)2

• a = 10

• b = 4

• Bond order = 1/2 (10 – 4)

• Bond order = 3

• CO comes in that group that has dative bonding. The bond order of CO is 3 as oxygen shares two of its electrons with carbon and makes a dative bond filling its a shell.

The correct answer is Darwin.

Important Points

• The theory of evolution by natural selection, first expressed in Darwin's book "On the Origin of Species" in 1859, is the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioural attributes.
• Evolution by natural selection is one of the best-substantiated theories in the history of science, supported by evidence from a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including palaeontology, geology, eugenics, and developmental biology.
• The story of the origin of whales is one of evolution's most fascinating tales and one of the best examples scientists have of natural selection.

Additional Information

Charles Darwin:

• Charles Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England.
• In 1859, Darwin published his thoughts about evolution and natural selection in "On the Origin of Species".
• It was as famous as it was controversial.
• The book influenced many people that species change over time - a lot of time - suggesting that the planet was much older than what was commonly believed at the time: six thousand years.
• Charles Darwin died in 1882 at the age of seventy-three.

The correct answer is Mutualism.

Important Points

• Lichen is a special kind of plant made up of the Algal component and fungal component exhibiting symbiotic association with each other in which both components are benefited viz., fungal components provide substratum and absorb mineral and water whereas algal component performs photosynthesis and provide food to a fungal component.
• Algae prepare food for fungi as it is photosynthetic whereas fungi provide shelter and absorb minerals and water for algae.

Additional Information

Symbiotic Relationship:

• The word symbiosis comes from the Greek 'sym' and 'bios', which translated means together and life, or life working together.
• Symbiosis is an adjacent relationship among two classes in which at least one species benefits.
• There are three basic types of symbiosis:

The correct answer is Habitat.

Important Points

• A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an organism needs to survive.
• For an animal, habitat means everything it needs to find and gather food, select a mate, and successfully reproduce.
• For a plant, a good habitat must provide the right combination of light, air, water, and soil.
• The main components of habitat are shelter, water, food, and space. A habitat is said to have a proper arrangement when it has the correct amount of all of these.

Additional Information

• Ecosystem: An ecosystem is defined as a structural and functional unit of biosphere consisting of a community of living beings and the physical environment, both interacting and exchanging materials between them.
• Niche: A niche is the unique functional role or a place of species in an ecosystem.
• Biome: The terrestrial part of the biosphere is divisible into an enormous region called biomes.

The correct answer is Chloroplast.

Important Points

• Solar energy is converted into ATP in the Chloroplast of leaves.
• The process of making glucose and oxygen by using sunlight, carbon dioxide and water is called photosynthesis.
• Chloroplast: Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts absorb sunlight and use it in association with water and carbon dioxide gas to produce food for the plant.
• Chloroplast are found in all green plants and algae. They are the food producers of plants. Animal cells do not have Chloroplast.
• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), energy-carrying molecule found in the cells of all living things. ATP captures chemical energy obtained from the breakdown of food molecules and releases it to fuel other cellular processes.

Additional Information

• Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
• Ribosomes: Ribosomes are called as the Protein factory of the cell.
• Peroxisome: Peroxisomes originally were defined as organelles that carry out oxidation reactions leading to the production of hydrogen peroxide.

The correct answer is O₂.

Important Points

• Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy, usually from the Sun, into chemical energy that can be later released.
• The process by which green plants transform light energy from the sun into chemical energy.
• The process of photosynthesis is commonly written as

                                                6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂.

• This means that the reactants, six carbon dioxide molecules, and six water molecules, are converted by light energy captured by chlorophyll into a sugar molecule and six oxygen molecules, the products.
• Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplasts specifically, in the grana and stroma regions.

The correct answer is Hon. A. P. Sahi.

Key Points 

• Article 159 Constitution of India: Oath or affirmation by the Governor.
• Every Governor and every person discharging the functions of the Governor shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
• A governor must:
• Be a citizen of India.
• Be at least 35 years of age.
• Not be a member of either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.
• Not hold any office of profit.

Important Points

• Fagu Chauhan was appointed as the 40^th governor of the state.
• He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of Patna High Court Amreshwar Pratap Shahi​.
• Patna High Court: Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar.
• It was established on 9 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915.

The correct answer is To commemorate Bihar's separation from the Bengal Presidency in 1912.

Important Points

• March 22 marks the formation day of the state of Bihar and is called as ‘Bihar Diwas’.
• Historical Importance:
• In 1911, King George V was coronated in Delhi and the capital of British India was moved to Delhi.
• On March 21, 1912, Thomas Gibson Carmichael, the new governor of Bengal took charge and declared that from the next day, March 22, the Bengal Presidency will be split into four subhas of Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, and Assam.
• Bihar Diwas was first celebrated on a large-scale in 2010 in the tenure of Nitish Kumar. He is the current Chief Minister of Bihar.
• The day is celebrated not only in India but also in countries including Australia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Britain, and Trinidad.
• Each year the Government of Bihar declares the day as a public holiday that applies to companies, offices, and schools that comes under the jurisdiction of the State and Central government.

The correct answer is Bihar.

Important Points

• Special Category Status (SCS):
• The concept of a special category state was first introduced in 1969 when the 5^th Finance Commission tried to provide certain disadvantaged states with preferential treatment in the form of central assistance and tax breaks.
• This means that the Centre pays 90 per cent of the funds for all centrally-sponsored schemes in a state-granted special status, as opposed to those that are not, which payout 70 per cent.
• Initially, three states Assam, Nagaland, and Jammu & Kashmir were given special status but since then eight more have been added (Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand).
• The decision to grant special category status lies with the National Development Council, comprised of the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, and members of the Planning Commission, who guide and review the work of the Planning Commission.
• The parameters needed for a state to be granted special category include hilly and difficult terrain, low population density or sizable share of tribal population, strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries, economic and infrastructure backwardness, and non-viable state finances.

Key Points

• Status of Bihar:
• Bihar has the highest number of backward districts as compared to other states, with 36 out of the 38 districts in the state ranked as backcward according to a report by the Inter Ministry Task Group (IMGT) in 2005.
• The Bihar CM has argued that since the state is land-locked and is the least-developed in the country, its demand is justified since such states are "internationally eligible for special and differential treatment".

The correct answer is Nalanda.

Important Points

• Yousuf Shah Chak
• The last sovereign Muslim ruler of the Valley. He ruled Kashmir from 1579 to 1586 AD.
• Yousuf Shah Chak was exiled to Bihar by the Mughal emperor Akbar.
• The area where he had settled along with his family and relatives in Biswak village in Nalanda and also maintained a cavalry force of 500 horses, was later known as Kashmiri Chak.
• Though the exiled Kashmiri ruler died in Odisha in 1592, his body was brought to Bihar and has been lying buried along with the tombs of his wife, sons and other relatives at the graveyard at Biswak near Kashmiri Chak.
• He had a Mansabdaari of 500 horses. In fact, his love and understanding of art and literature had impressed the Mughal emperor and that became the reason for his release.

The correct answer is Blissful Bihar.

Important Points

• Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) was established in the year 1980 for the advancement of tourism in the State of Bihar and for the commercialization of Tourist Resources available with the State.
• To achieve this objective various tourist infrastructures like Tourist Bungalow, Cafeteria, Restaurant, Transportation facilities, and Ropeway are provided at various tourist spots by Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation.
• BSTDC has taken major initiatives to show the potential of tourist places of Bihar to the World.
• “Blissful Bihar” campaign which was launched in 2005 aimed to give Bihar a pleasant facelift that emphasized its significance as the point of origin of Buddhism.
• Even its tourism logo is the image of a peepal tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.
• Bihar was synchronous with other elite tourism initiatives with a view of creating “Buddhist circuits” under the rubric “pilgrimage with pleasure”.

The correct answer is North Koel.

Important Points

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put the foundation stone for the Mandal Dam Project on the North Koel River. The Mandal Dam Project would be boon for the states of Jharkhand and Bihar.
• Features of Mandal Dam:
• The Mandal Dam project will benefit around one lakh eleven thousand hectares of agricultural land in Jharkhand and Bihar to get irrigation facilities.
• 24 MW of electricity will also be produced.
• 60 Per cent would be supported by the central government as a grant from Long-Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).
• Remaining 40% will be owned by the States through loan financed by NABARD.
• Historical background of Mandal Dam:
• The construction of the Mandal Dam began in 1972 and continued till 1993. Later it was hindered over the concerns raised by the Bihar Forest Department.
• The project threatens to descend the portions of the Palamau Tiger Reserve and Betla National Park.
• The central government has now passed the ‘in principle’ for deviation of forest under Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) for the construction of Mandal Dam.
• North Koel River:
• North Koel River rises on Ranchi plateau in Jharkhand and joins the Sone River.
• From its origin to its confluence with the Son its length is about 260 kilometres.
• The river meanders through the northern part of Betla National Park.

The correct answer is Kaimur.

Important Points

Megalithic Period

• India spanned from 1500 BC to 600 BC during the Copper and Iron Ages. Megaliths are the specific old monuments of indigenous people in memory of their ancestors.
• Mostly, they used to keep the bones of ancestors in an earthen pot and bury the same in the earth.

Some black-red Pottery, minor stone tools, and animal bones were kept in the burial covered with a large stone plate. The stone pillars were installed at the burial for identification.

• Stone monolith standing vertically is called Menhir while standing stones arranged in circles are called Stone Circles.
• In July 2019, experts visited for the first documentation of a Megalithic site in the Kaimur district in Bihar.
• Famous archaeologist - Dr. Shyam Sundar Tiwary, had discovered six megalithic burial sites on Kaimur hills. After further excavations, a group of archaeologists headed toward Kaimur in July 2019 to document Bihar as a megalithic state.
• Following their findings, it has been firmly established that Bihar is a Megalithic State.

The correct answer is India.

Important Points

• Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC):
• The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states.
• It is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It strives to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of fostering international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
• It was set upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on the 25^th of September 1969.
• 2019 is the 50^th anniversary of OIC under the Theme "50 Years of Islamic Cooperation: Road Map for Prosperity and Development."
• Headquarter: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Additional Information

• India and OIC:
• India is not a member of the OIC. However, India was invited as a guest of honour at 46^th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Abu Dhabi.
• Sushma Swaraj will be the “guest of honour" at the inaugural plenary 46^th meeting of OIC foreign ministers.

The correct answer is France.

Important Points

• National space agency ISRO and its French counterpart CNES  sealed an accord to set up a joint maritime surveillance system in the country.
• The two nations will explore setting up a constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites that will identify and track the movement of ships globally - and in particular, those moving in the Indian Ocean region where France has its Reunion Islands.
• The two agencies have put up two climate and ocean weather monitoring satellites Megha-Tropiques (of 2011) and SARAL-AltiKa (2013) that are considered a model.

Additional Information

• About ISRO:
• ISRO or Indian Space Research Organisation is India’s space agency established in 1969 to help promote an indigenous Indian space program.
• It is one of the 6 largest space agencies in the world today. ISRO maintains one of the biggest fleets of remote sensing (IRS) and communication (INSAT) satellites catering to the needs of the nation through a network of centres, offices, and research institutes in different parts of the country.
• Headquarter: Bengaluru
• ISRO Chairman: Dr. S Somanath
• About CNES:
• CNES is the French Space Agency, a governmental organisation founded in 1961. As programme-focused agency and centre of technical expertise, CNES is responsible for shaping and implementing France’s space policy within the framework of international cooperation, particularly within Europe.
• Headquarter: Paris
• Chairman: Jean-Yves Le Gall

The correct answer is Asuncion.

Important Points

• Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will be paying a visit to Paraguay from 5-7 March 2019.
• The Vice President who is on a two-day visit to the Latin American Country, is the highest-level representative of the Republic of India to visit Paraguay in the last 58 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on 13 September 1961.
• VP will also address the India-Paraguay business forum and interact with the Indian diaspora in Paraguay.

Additional Information

• About Paraguay:
• Paraguay, landlocked country in south-central South America.It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest.
• Asuncion is the capital city of Paraguay which accounts 10% of the country's population.
• In addition to Spanish, Paraguay has a second official language, Guarani.
• The guaraní is the national currency unit of Paraguay.

The correct answer is Nairobi-Kenya.

Important Points

• The fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly of the UN Environment Programme 11 - 15 March 2019, United Nations Environment Programme Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya.
• The overall theme, ‘Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production.'

Key Points

• UNEA-4 :
• Environmental challenges associated to poverty and natural resources management, including sustainable food systems, food security and halting biodiversity loss; Life-cycle approaches to resource efficiency, energy, chemicals and waste management; and innovative sustainable business development at a time of rapid technological change.

Additional Information

• About the UN Environment Assembly:
• The United Nations Environment Assembly was created in June 2012.
• The United Nations Environment Assembly is the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment.
• It addresses the critical environmental challenges facing the world today.
• Recognizing these challenges and protecting and rehabilitating our environment is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The correct answer is Second.

Important Points

• The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the 2^nd Edition of Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary in New Delhi.
• It will provide the hearing impaired people with 6,000 words in Hindi and English along with their identical graphic representation. The first version of the first-of-its-kind dictionary was launched with 3,000 words on March 23, 2018.
• The dictionary has been developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC).

Additional Information

• About Indian Sign Language Dictionary(ISL):
• The dictionary is designed to serve as a resource for ISL teachers, ISL learners, teachers of the hearing impaired, interpreters, parents of hearing-impaired children and researchers.
• The dictionary was prepared with the involvement of the hearing impaired community, by giving due consideration to their suggestions and understanding.
• The dictionary videos include the sign, the English term for the sign and pictures where appropriate and word list is also given with the English and Hindi equivalents of the signs.
• The Dictionary was brought about by Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

The correct answer is Pramod Sawant.

Important Points

• Manohar Parrikar was Chief Minister of Goa from 2000 to 2005 and from 2012 to 2014 and from 2017 to 2019.
• He was the first IIT alumnus to serve as MLA of an Indian state, the first IITian to become the Chief Minister of a state in India.
• In November 2014, Parrikar was chosen as the Defence Minister
• Parrikar was undergoing treatment for what would turn out to be pancreatic cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA.
• He returned to India and in September was admitted to the AIIMS.
• He died on 17 March 2019 at the age of 63 from pancreatic cancer at his residence in Panaji.
• In June 2020, a biography on the late Parrikar entitled “An Extraordinary Life : A Biography of Manohar Parrikar” was published by Penguin Random House India.
• Pramod Sawant was Parrikar's choice to replace him.

The correct answer is Yohei Sasakawa.

Important Points

• Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018 will be conferred on Yohei Sasakawa who is Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization for Leprosy Eradication.
• The award will be given to Sasakawa in recognition of his work towards the elimination of the disease in India and across the world.
• The award carries an amount of Rs 1 Crore, a tribute in a scroll, a plaque as well as an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.

Additional Information

• About International Gandhi Peace Prize:
• The annual award was launched by the Government of India in 1995 during the ceremony of the 125^th Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi for those involved in social, economic and political transformation through non-violence.
• The prize can be awarded to individuals, associations, institutions or organizations.
• The prize is not awarded posthumously.
• It is open to all persons regardless of nationality, creed, race or sex.

The correct answer is Dubai.

Important Points

• Historically, camels, identified as the 'ship of the desert' have been a source of transport as well as food and milk in the region.
• The camel has continued to be an essential part of the UAE's society and culture to this day and preserving it is a key aim of the hospital.
• With select breeds used for camel racing, a sport highly popular among Emiratis
• The camel hospital opened its doors in 2017 to meet the overwhelming demand in the UAE for an advanced medical facility dedicated to treating camels.
• The Dubai Camel Hospital can currently treat 22 camels at a time.
• The Dubai Camel Hospital is a unique hospital catering especially to the needs of the burgeoning camel industry that has been thriving and growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years.

The correct answer is Kento Momota.

Key Points 

• All England Open Badminton Championships:
• All England Open Badminton Championships held annually in England is the World’s oldest badminton tournament.
• The genesis of the tournament can be traced to an open tournament held in the English town of Guildford in 1898, the success of this tournament paved the way for All England’s inaugural edition, which was held at London’s Horticultural Halls in 1899.
• The Winners in the various categories of the All England Open Badminton Championships 2019 are:

The correct answer is Bhutan.

Key Points 

• India will collaborate with Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia to increase the population of three species of Asian Rhinos namely Greater one-horned rhinoceros, Javan rhino, and Sumatran rhino.
• India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia have signed the New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019 declaration for the preservation and protection of the species at the Second Asian Rhino Range Countries Meet organized by the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Ministry in collaboration with IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group, WWF- India, and Aaranyak.
• Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros: Vulnerable.
• Javan Rhinoceros: Critically Endangered.
• Sumatran Rhinoceros: Critically Endangered.

Additional Information 

• New Delhi Declarations:
• To collaborate for strengthening protection regimes, strategic information gathering, and real-time sharing of actionable information on rhino crime
• To enhance the engagement of the local communities as stewards to secure the future of rhinos in range countries and its horn trade to secure the rhino population within and between range countries.
• To collaborate and encourage wildlife forensics for the purpose of investigation etc.

The correct answer is Steve Smith.

Key Points 

• Australian batsman Steve Smith became the second-fastest player to register 25 centuries in Test cricket.
• Smith has now scored 25 tons in 119 innings.
• Nevertheless, Don Bradman's record of 25 centuries in 68 innings remains unbeaten.
• India skipper Virat Kohli who took 127 innings to achieve the above landmark.
• Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been cited as the biggest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.

The correct answer is Andhra Pradesh.

Key Points 

• Chandrayaan-2 was India's second mission to the moon and was a follow-up mission from the Chandrayaan-1 mission that assisted in confirming the presence of water/hydroxyl on the moon in 2009.
• Chandrayaan-2 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket on July 22, 2019, and will reach lunar orbit on Aug 19.
• Originally, ISRO planned to partner with Russia to perform Chandrayaan-2. The two agencies signed an agreement in 2007 to launch the orbiter and lander in 2013. Russia later pulled out of the agreement.
• The purpose of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter was to circle the moon and provide information about its surface.

Additional Information

• About Satish Dhawan Space Center:
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, the Spaceport of India, is liable for providing Launch Base Infrastructure for the Indian Space Programme.
• Sriharikota island was chosen in 1969 for a satellite launching station. The center became operational in 1971.
• This Centre has the facilities for solid propellant processing, static testing of solid motors, launch vehicle integration and launch operations, range operations comprising telemetry, tracking and command network, and mission control center.
• The Centre has two launch pads from where the rocket launching operations of PSLV and GSLV are carried out.

The correct answer is Mark Harper.

Key Points 

• Mark Harper was not among the last seven in the contest after the first round of voting in the conservative party to be the Prime Minister of the UK.
• About Conservative Party:
• The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party—the Conservatives' common name is Tories, and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19^th century, along with the Liberal Party.
• Under Benjamin Disraeli, it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of the British Empire.
• Theresa May, Conservative Party leader and the second woman prime minister (2016–19) in U.K. history.
• Boris Johnson is a British politician, author, and former journalist who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2019.

The correct answer is Venezuela.

Key Points 

• The Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Caracas, Venezuela in 2019.
• Azerbaijan will hold the NAM presidency for the next three years until the next summit in 2022**.**

Additional Information

• Non-Aligned Movement:
• The Non-Aligned Movement was created during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union but sought to remain independent or neutral.
• The first NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.
• It has 120 members as of April 2018 comprising 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 2 from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and 10 international organizations that are Observers at NAM.
• The purpose of the organization was specified in the Havana Declaration of 1979 to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign subjugation.

The correct answer is Asoke Kumar Mukherji.

Key Points

• Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN):
• It is the diplomatic mission that every member state deputies to the UN.
• It is headed by a Permanent Representative who is also referred to as the UN ambassador.
• According to Article 1(7) of the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Associations with International Organizations of a Universal Character, 1975 it is a mission of permanent character, representing the State, sent by a State member of an international organization to the organization.
• UN Permanent Representatives are assigned to the UN headquarters in New York City, and to other offices in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi as well.
• There are currently eight Indians in senior leadership positions at the UN at the levels of under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General.
• The first Indian delegates at the UN included statesman Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar and freedom fighters Hansa Mehta, Lakshmi N. Menon, and Vijayalakshmi Pandit.
• Syed Akbaruddin is a retired Indian diplomat from the 1985 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and served as India's permanent representative at the United Nations at New York from January 2016 to April 2020. 
• ​He was preceded by Asoke Kumar Mukherji.
• TS Tirumurti is India's new permanent representative to the UN.

The correct answer is Tulsi Gabbard.

Key Points 

• Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic presidential candidate and the first Hindu member of the US Congress, has sued Google for at least USD 50 million for the tech giant's "discriminatory actions" against her 2020 election campaign and stifling her free speech rights.
• Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran who has been serving as the US Representative for Hawaii's 2^nd congressional district since 2013, said in a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, that Google infringed on her free speech when it momentarily suspended her campaign's advertising account after the first Democratic debate in June.
• Google, however, said it had automated systems that flag unusual activity on advertiser accounts - including large spending money - to prevent fraud.
• The Iraq war veteran has become the first-ever Hindu to be running for the presidency in the US.

The correct answer is Ruskin Bond.

Key Points 

• Ruskin Bond’s new book, A Gallery of Rascals, includes new stories that feature delightful rogues. Originally published in August 2019.
• A few brand new stories - ‘a man called brain’, ‘Sher Singh and the hot-water bottle’, ‘crossing the road’- headline this collection and rub shoulders with much-loved tales like ‘the thief story’.
• Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author of British origin.
• He lives with his adopted family in Landour, Mussoorie, India.
• The Indian Council for Child Education has recognized his role in the growth of children's literature in India.
• He was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra.
• He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.
• Other famous books of Ruskin Bond: The Room on the Roof, The Blue Umbrella, A flight of pigeons, A handful of Nuts.

The correct answer is Hyderabad.

Key Points 

• IKEA is a multinational group of Swedish origin headquartered in Delft, Netherlands, that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, and home accessories, among other valuable goods and seldom home services.
• Feodor Ingvar Kamprad was a Swedish billionaire business magnate best known for founding IKEA.
• Founded in Sweden in 1943, IKEA has been the world's largest furniture retailer since 2008.
• Jon Abrahamsson Ring has been named the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the Inter IKEA Group.
• World’s biggest furniture giant Ikea has inaugurated its first store in India.
• After a long wait, IKEA finally opened its first store in Hyderabad, more than five years after it received the government’s nod for 100% FDI in India in single-brand retail.

The correct answer is Tokyo.

Key Points 

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is an important non-governmental organization that looks after the management of the Olympic Games held all over the world.
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a non-governmental international organization that came into existence in 1894.
• The IOC has the aim of ensuring the regular holding of the Olympic Games and promoting Olympism and the Olympic movement.
• Tokyo 2020 has revealed the official Games Motto, “United by Emotion”.
• This is the second time the Olympics games held in Tokyo, earlier it was in the year 1964.
• The official mascot of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games was set to be a smiling, futuristic creature named Miraitowa.

The correct answer is 150.

Key Points 

• The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements in 2019 will coincide with the 150^th anniversary of the invention of the Periodic System by Dmitry Mendeleev in 1869.
• It is a unique tool enabling scientists to predict the appearance and properties of matter on Earth and in the Universe.
• The expansion of the Periodic Table Elements is one of the most significant achievements in science and a uniting scientific concept, with broad implications in Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and other natural sciences.
• The International Year of the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements will match with the Centenary of IUPAC.
• The events of IUPAC100 and of IYPT will improve the understanding and appreciation of the Periodic Table and chemistry in general among the public. The 100^th Anniversary of IUPAC will be on the UNESCO Calendar of Anniversaries on 28^th July 2019.

The correct answer is 2017.

Key Points 

• The Supreme Court in the Shayara Bano case (2017) had declared the practice of Triple Talaq (talaq-e-biddat) as unconstitutional.
• Talaq-e-biddat:
• If a man belonging to the religion of Islam pronounces talaq thrice either verbally or in written form to his wife, then the divorce is granted immediate and irrevocable.
• The only way to settle the marriage is through the practice of nikah halala, which requires the woman to get remarried, consummate the second marriage, get divorced, observe the three-month iddat period and return to her husband.
• Recently, the Parliament has passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, thereby criminalizing the practice of instant Triple Talaq.

Additional Information 

• Some features of Triple Talaq Bill:
• It is relevant in the whole of India but it is not extended to the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
• Any declaration of “talaq” by a Muslim husband to his wife in any manner, orally or written, will be void and illegal.
• Any Muslim husband who gives the “talaq” orally or in writing may face the punishment of up to three years in jail. The punishment may be also increased.
• A person involved in this offense cannot be granted bail unless an application is filed by the accused after a hearing in the presence of the Muslim woman (on whom talaq is pronounced) is conducted and the Magistrate is satisfied with the reasonable grounds for granting bail.
• The Triple Talaq was held to be violative of Article 14 (the right to equality), which is held by the Supreme Court from Shah Bano case 1986 to Shayara Bano case in 2017.

The correct answer is Brazil.

Key Points 

• The 11^th BRICS Summit will convene in Brasília, Brazil.
• The 2019 Brazilian Presidency focuses on the theme, 'BRICS: Economic Growth for an Innovative Future'.
• This will be the sixth time that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating at the BRICS summit.
• His first BRICS summit was at Fortaleza in Brazil in 2014.
• Prime Minister is scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese Premier Xi Jinping aside from the BRICS business forum closing ceremony and the closed & Inclusive Sessions of the XI BRICS Summit.

Additional Information

• About BRICS:
• BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world's leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• The BRICS Leaders’ Summit has convened annually.
• The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and concentrated on issues such as the improvement of the global financial structure.
• South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
• South Africa subsequently attended the Third BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, in March 2011.
• During the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014) the leaders approved the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).