Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

Key Points

• Firoz Shah Tughlaq built the biggest network of canals in India.
• He was born in 1309 and became sultan of Delhi after the demise of his cousin Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.
• He was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty that ruled over Delhi from 1320 to 1412 AD. He was in power from 1351 to 1388 AD.
• The Britisher used to call him Father of irrigation department because of many gardens and canals he built like:​
• The canal connecting the Yamuna to Hissar city.
• The Satluj to the Ghaggar.
• Mandvi and Sirmour Hills to Hansi in Haryana.
• The Ghaggar to Firuzabad.
• He is known to establish four new towns, Firuzabad, Fatebabad, Jaunpur, and Hissar.
• He was the one who started the Imposition of Jaziya on the Brahmans.
• He died in 1388.

Additional Information

Tughlaq Rulers with their timeline:

The correct answer is option 4, i.e. West Bengal

• Bhawaiya is a musical form of popular folk music in West Bengal.
• It is practised in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, part of Darjeeling and North Dinajpur district of West Bengal.
• Some other folk dance names are:
• Chhau (It also performed in Odisha and Bihar)
• Kirtan
• Alkap
• Gambhira

The correct answer is Group 17.

Key Points 

Tennessine:

• Atomic Number - 117
• Previously designated as ununseptium, a placeholder name that means one-one-seven in Latin.
• In November 2016, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) approved the name Tennessine for element 117.
• A synthetic chemical element with the symbol 'Ts'.

Additional Information 

• Halogen means "Salt-producing" as they produce salt on reaction with a metal.
• Group number 17 of the Periodic Table is known as the Halogen group.
• The five natural halogen elements are;
• Fluorine(F), atomic number 9.
• Chlorine(Cl), atomic number 17.
• Bromine(Br), atomic number 35.
• Iodine(I), atomic number 53.
• Astatine(At), atomic number 85.
• Tennessine(Ts), is also a halogen element but it is artificially created. The atomic number of Ts is 117.
• Fluorine is the most electro-negative element among all other halogens.
• The descending order of electronegativity in the halogens is F>Cl>B>I>At>Ts.
• Electronegativity is defined as the ability of an atom in a chemical compound to attract a shared electron to itself.

The correct answer is 2012.

Key Points

• "Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)" came into force in India in 2012.
• It was enacted especially to protect children (aged less than 18) from sexual assault.
• The act describes a child as anyone below the age of 18 years.
• The POCSO Act was enacted to protect children aged less than 18 years from sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and pornography.
• This act asks for the setting up of Special Courts that are better equipped to deal with such offences in a more effective manner.

 Thus, we can say that POCSO Act came into force in 2012.

The correct answer is Badri Narayan.

Key Points

• Badri Narayan would be conferred the award for his collection of poems in Hindi titled ‘Tumadi Ke Shabd’.
• He is currently the director of G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad.
• He is an eminent Hindi poet, Some of his famous collections of poems include “Khudai Mein Himsa”, “Shabpadiyam” and “Sach Sune Kai Din” his poems have been translated into English, Bengali, Oriya, Malayalam, Urdu, and many other Indian languages.

 Additional Information

• Anis Ashfaq would be conferred for his novel Khwab Saraab in the Urdu language category.
• Praveen Dashrath Bandekar has been awarded for his novel Ujavya Sondechya Bahulya in the Marathi language category.
• Manoj Kumar Goswami was awarded for his Short Stories Bhool Satya in the Assamese language category.

​The correct answer is Jodhpur.

In News

• The First Employment Working Group meeting of the G20 summit will be held in Jodhpur in Rajasthan from 2 to 4 February 2023.

Key Points

• It will discuss things namely Global Skill gaps, sustainable financing to achieve social security, Social Protection, and Gig and Platform Economy.
• More than 73 delegates are to attend the meeting.
• The members are planning to launch an international skill gap mapping portal.

Additional Information

• The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
• It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development.
• The G20 was founded in 1999 in response to several world economic crises.
• Members of G-20:

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Saudi Arabia
4. United States
5. India
6. Russia
7. South Africa
8. Turkey
9. Argentina
10. Brazil
11. Mexico
12. France
13. Germany
14. Italy
15. United Kingdom
16. China
17. Indonesia
18. Japan
19. South Korea
20. European Union

The correct answer is ​Manipuri.

Key Points

• Manipuri
• Guru Bipin is often regarded as the Father of the Manipuri Dance.
• Mainly there are 3 styles associated with the Manipuri Dance.
• Mandal Rasak: Lord Krishna is the centre of attraction while he is surrounded by the Gopis.
• Tai Rasak: It is mainly performed with the use of clapping
• Danda Rasak: A geometric pattern is created with the help of the position of the dancers and Drum are played with two sticks
• Lai Haraoba
• Lai Haraoba is the earliest form of dance which originated in Manipur.
• ​Lai Haraoba is mainly celebrated by the Meitei community of Manipur.
• Manipuri Raas Leela
• Manipuri Raas Leela is based on the love stories of Lord Krishna and Radha.

Additional Information

• Odissi
• Odissi is a folk dance form of Odisha.
• Gotipua is a traditional dance form in the state of Odisha and the precursor of Odissi classical dance
• Odissi” dance form represents Water.
• Kathak
• It originated In North India.
• The roots of this dance form lie in the Sanskrit text, ‘Natya Shastra’.
• The four main Gharanas or schools of kathak are Jaipur, Lucknow, Raigarh and the Benares gharanas.
• Kuchipudi
• Kuchipudi is a traditional Indian Classical dance form that originated from Andra Pradesh.
• Mridangam, cymbals, veena, flute, and tambura are the traditional musical instruments in Kuchipudi.

The correct answer is option 1.

In News

• The Railways conducted a test run of its longest freight train, Super Vasuki, as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
• The 3.5-km-long freight train covered the distance between Korba in Chhattisgarh and Rajnandgaon in Nagpur and was run by the South East Central Railway (SECR).

Key PointsAbout Super Vasuki 

• Super Vasuki is a 3.5-km-long freight train with 295 wagons carrying 27,000 tonnes. Hence option 1 is correct.
• The freight train gets its name from Vasuki, the Hindu god of serpents. Shiva's snake, Vasuki, is portrayed as being around his neck. The snake is said to have a gem on his head called a Nagamani.
• The national transporter claimed that this is the longest and heaviest freight train that the Railways have ever operated and that it crosses a station in around four minutes.
• Super Vasuki carries enough coal to operate a 3000 MW power plant for a whole day.
• This can transport three times as much coal in a single trip as the 90-car, 100-ton rail rakes that are now in use.
• The train was formed by amalgamating five rakes of goods trains as one unit.
• The Railways plans to use this arrangement (longer freight trains) more frequently, especially to transport coal in peak demand season to prevent fuel shortages in power stations.

The correct answer is 6.4%.

In News

• According to the latest update, the Centre is likely to cut its 2023-24 (FY24) fiscal deficit in the range of 5.8-5.9 per cent of the GDP from 6.4 per cent in FY23.

Key Points

• The deficit, however, is expected to remain much larger than the 4-4.5 per cent of the GDP that was usual for decades.
• The Centre is hoping to return to those historical levels by FY26.
• According to a report, Economists at SBI expect the Budget to peg the fiscal deficit close to 6 per cent.
• They said that India will have to grow at a faster clip for making this possible, given its estimates on expenditure and revenue mobilisation.
• They expect 8.2 per cent growth in expenditure but the subsidy bill to come down, and revenues to grow 12.1 per cent.
• On the borrowing front, analysts expect the market borrowings of the government to be pegged higher in FY24.
• Japanese brokerage Nomura, which pegged the fiscal deficit at 5.9 per cent, said the gross borrowing will rise to Rs 15.5 trillion from Rs 14.2 trillion in FY23, while SBI estimated it at Rs 16.1 trillion.

Additional Information

• Fiscal deficit is the difference between the total revenue and total expenditure of a government in a financial year.
• Fiscal deficit happens due to events like a major rise in capital expenditure or deficit arising from revenue. It serves as an indicator of how well the government is managing its finances.
• Fiscal deficit is calculated by subtracting the total revenue obtained by the government in a fiscal year from the total expenditures that it incurred during the same period, i.e., Fiscal deficit = Total Expenditure – Total revenue (Excluding the borrowings)

The correct answer is Orissa.

Key Points 

• The First edition of the Khelo India university games 2020 was organized in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa from 22 February to 1 March 2020.
• The Games includes a total of 211 events in about 17 sports. The venue for the Games was Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, JNL Indoor Stadium, SAI-Odisha Badminton Academy, and SAI International Residential School in Cuttack.
• Punjab University Chandigarh stood First in 2020 with 46 Medals (17 Gold,19 Silver,10 Bronze)
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is the concerned Ministry for the above game.

Additional Information

• The Second edition of the Khelo India University games 2021 was scheduled for 2021 but due to COVID-19, it was shifted to 2022.
• It was hosted by Bangalore’s Jain University.
• Bangalore’s Jain University stood first with 20 gold medals.
• Official Mascot of the Khelo India University games 2021 was VEERA an Elephant.