Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is Narendra Modi.

Key Points

• Russia has awarded Narendra Modi with the "Order of St Andrew the Apostle".
• Prime Minister Modi was conferred the highest order of the Russian Federation on April 12, 2019.
• He was honored with the order recognizing his efforts in strengthening the special and strategic partnership between the two countries.
• Bahrain Order of First Class, Zayed Medal (UAE), Philip Kotler Presidential Award (Georgia), Grand Collar of Palestine (Palestine), Seoul Peace Prize are the awards conferred on Mr. Narendra Modi by foreign states.

Additional Information

• "Order of St Andrew the Apostle":
• Order of St Andrew the Apostle was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great in the honor of Saint Andrew.
• It is awarded to the prominent public figures of Russia and foreign heads of state.
• The order was abolished in 1918 and reinstated in 1998.
• Xi Jinping (China), Nursultan Nazarbayev (Kazakhstan), and Geydar Aliev (Azerbaijan) are the other recipients of this order.

The correct answer is Karnataka.

Key Points

• The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India between the 10^th and the 14^th centuries.
• Hoysala Dynasty:
• Hoysala literature in the Kannada language began to proliferate under the patronage of Vishnuvardhana.
• The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu.
• Vishnuvardhana took the first steps in creating an independent Hoysala Empire in South India through a series of battles against his overlord, the Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI, and the Chola Empire to the south.
• He recovered parts of Gangavadi province from the hegemony of the Cholas in the Battle of Talakad, and parts of Nolambavdi.
• Hoysala architecture and sculpture, especially ornate and intricate, are best seen at Halebid, Belur, and Somnathpur. The family liberally patronized Kannada and Sanskrit literary artists.

The correct answer is Anna Burns.

Key Points

• Milkman is the third novel written by the Irish author Anna Burns.
• It won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, marking the first time a Northern Irish writer has been awarded the prize.
• The novel also won the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.
• Milkman is an experimental novel set during The Troubles military conflict in the 1970s, in which the narrator is an unnamed 18-year-old girl known as "middle sister" who was stalked by an older paramilitary figure, Milkman.
• Other than Milkman the other novels of Anna Burns are:  
• No Bones
• Little Constructions

Additional Information

• Arundhati Roy:
• Arundhati Roy is an Indian author
• Her novel The God of Small Things won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author.
• Kiran Desai:
• Kiran Desai is an Indian author. Her novel The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award.
• Hilary Mantel:
• Hilary Mantel is an English writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs, and short stories.
• The other books written by her are The mirror and the light, Bring up the bodies, etc.

The correct answer is Mahatma Gandhi.

Key Points

• The slogan 'do or die' is associated with Mahatma Gandhi.
• This slogan came into existence during the Quit India Movement initiated by Gandhiji.
• The slogan was officially launched by the Indian National Congress (INC) led by Mahatma Gandhi on 9 August 1942.
• The movement gave the slogans 'Quit India' or 'Bharat Chodo'.

Additional Information 

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23^rd July 1856 in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
• Freedom fighter and lawyer, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, is also known as Lokmanya Tilak.
• Slogan: “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!”
• Bhagat Singh was an Indian socialist revolutionary whose two acts of dramatic violence against the British in India and execution at age 23 made him a folk hero of the Indian independence movement.
• Bhagat Singh coined the powerful slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' which became the slogan of India's armed struggle.
• ​Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist whose defiant patriotism made him a hero in India, but whose attempts during World War II to rid India of British rule with the help of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a troubled legacy.
• “Give me blood and I will give you freedom!” One of Bose's most quoted lines is from a speech that Bose delivered to the soldiers of the Indian National Army that he commanded along with Mohan Singh.

The correct answer is Annie Beasant.

Key Points

• Annie Besant launched the Home Rule League in September 1916 at Madras.
• They had the common objective of achieving self-government in India.
• She wanted to bring all sections of the Indians into one fold.
• There was an informal understanding between both the leagues wherein Tilak's league worked in Maharashtra (except Bombay), Karnataka, Berar, and the Central Provinces.
• Tilak’s league had its headquarters in Pune.
• It had 6 branches. Besant’s league had 200 branches and was a looser organization compared to Tilak’s.
• The two leagues worked closely with one another.
• However, they did not merge to avoid friction between both leaders.

Additional Information

• Annie Basant's contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement:
• Women's Education and Empowerment:
• She was a tireless worker for the upliftment of women and repeatedly pleaded for radical changes in social status.
• She fought for the freedom of thought, women's rights, secularism, birth control, workers' rights.
• In this way, a large number of women were inspired to realize their self-esteem and participated in the freedom movement.
• Central Hindu University:
• He established a new school for boys in Varanasi which later came to be known as Banaras Hindu University.
• The aim of the school was to build a new leadership for India.
• Indian Scout Movement:
• It was discovered by Besant in 1918 by boys wearing Indian turbans.
• This movement also helped in building the self-confidence and personality of the youth.
• Theosophical society:
• She became the second president of the Theosophical Society.
• It played an important political role.
• Theosophy became an integral part of the wider.

The correct answer is Buddhist.

Key Points

• ‘Harmika’, a balcony-like structure that represented the abode of God was part of Buddhist architecture.
• The Harmika is inspired by a square railing or fence that surrounded the mound of dirt, marking it as a sacred burial site.
• The Great Stupa at Sanchi, in central India, is one of the earliest stupas, it served as an architectural prototype for all others that followed.
• The world-famous stupa first constructed by the 3^rd-century-BCE Mauryan ruler Ashoka in brick (the same material as those of Sri Lanka) was later expanded to twice its original size in stone.

Additional Information

• The Sanchi Stupa was built in the second century BCE and was discovered in 1888.
• It is one of the most important stupas in India. Its structural features are explained below:
• The stupa (a Sanskrit word meaning a heap) originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth, later called the anda.
• Above the anda, was a harmika which was a balcony-like structure that represented the Abode of the Gods.
• Arising from the harmika, was a mast called yashti.
• It was surrounded by an umbrella.
• Around the mound, there was a railing that separated the sacred space from the outer world.
• There were stone railings and the gateways which had richly card and installed at the four cardinal points.
• The elevation of it provided a vertical perspective.

The correct answer is Amitabh Bachchan.

Key Points

• The country’s highest film honor, the Dadasaheb Phalke award, conferred for “outstanding contribution for the growth and development of Indian cinema” was presented to Amitabh Bachchan in 2018.
• Amitabh Bachchan was given the Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2018 for his contribution to the Indian film industry.​
• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema.
• It is presented annually at the ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The recipient is honored for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema".
• The first recipient of the award was actor Abhishek Sakkarwal, who was honored at the 17^th National Film Awards.
• As of 2018, there have been 50 awardees.
• Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and actor Vinod Khanna (2017) are the only posthumous recipients.

The correct answer is England.

Key Points

• Birmingham City, England has been chosen to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
• The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022.
• It is an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that is scheduled to be held in Birmingham, England.
• This is to be the third time England has hosted the Games after London in 1934 and Manchester in 2002.
• The Games are expected to take place between 28 July and 8 August 2022.
• The city was announced as the host by the Commonwealth Games Federation (GCF) at a press conference at the Arena Academy in Birmingham on 21 December 2017.

Additional Information

• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Commonwealth.
• The headquarters of GCF is located in London, England.
• 2026 Commonwealth Games:
• The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games.
• It is a multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth to be organized in a city designated by the Commonwealth Games Federation.
• The host city was initially intended to be selected at the 2019 GCF General Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda.
• 2018 Commonwealth Games:
• The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Gold Coast 2018.
• It was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018.
• It was India's 18^th appearance at the Commonwealth Games. With 26 Gold medals and a total of 66 medals.
• India finished 3^rd in the event.
• The first time a major multi-sport event achieved gender equality by having an equal number of events for male and female athletes.

The correct answer is 74^th Amendment Act, 1992.

Key Points

• Through 74^th Amendment Act, 1992 municipalities were introduced in India.​
• The 74^th constitutional amendment act mandated the setting up and devolution of powers to Urban local bodies (ULBs) or city governments as the lowest unit of governance in cities and towns.
• Urban local bodies are known as municipal corporations**, municipal councils, and Nagar panchayat based on population**.
• The Nagar Panchayat is for traditional areas, the municipal council or municipalities are for smaller urban areas and municipal corporations are for larger urban areas.
• It is constituted for a time period of 5 years.
• 1/3^rd seats are reserved for women.
• These bodies have been given the power to legislate and implement schemes for economic development and social justice.
• The legislature of a state can assign specific taxes, duties, tolls, etc. for the functioning of urban local bodies.

Additional Information

• Some of the voluntary provisions which are not binding, but are expected to be observed by the States are:
• Giving representation to members of the Union and State Legislatures in these bodies;
• Providing reservation for backward classes;
• Giving financial powers in relation to taxes, duties, tolls, and fees, etc;
• Making the municipal bodies autonomous and devolution of powers to these bodies to perform some or all of the functions enumerated in the Twelfth Schedule added to the Constitution through this Act and/or to prepare plans for economic development.

The correct answer is I, II, and III.

Key Points

• The movement of organisms in large numbers from one place to another place is termed migration.
• The push and pull factors operate together for a person to migrate.
• The push factors make the place of origin less attractive and compel a person to migrate because of unemployment, poverty, violence, political strife, etc.
• The pull factors make the place of destination seem more attractive such as better living conditions, educational and cultural development, regular work, high wages, etc.
• Adults are more likely to migrate than any other age group.
• Rural to urban migration is far the major portion of migration. It is because of growing urbanization.
• The migration affects the overall population of the region.
• Migration can be of various types:
• Temporary
• Permanent
• Voluntary
• Permanent
• Main factors affecting migration in India:
• Work/Employment
• Business
• Education
• Marriage
• Poverty
• Health care