General Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is Chahamana.

• The best-known Chahamana ruler was Prithviraj III (1168- 1192), who defeated an Afghan ruler named Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191, but lost to him the very next year, in 1192.

Important Points

• Shihab al-Din, popularly known as Muhammad Ghori was the Muslim ruler who laid the foundation for the subsequent Islamic ruling dynasties of India which saw its pinnacle later in the Mughal Empire.
• He was defeated in many battles, notably by Chahamana ruler Prithviraj III (1178-1192 CE) in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 CE, by Gujrati Chalukya ruler Mularaja II  (1178 CE), and by the rulers of the Khwarazm Empire.
• The Second Battle of Tarain established the Ghurid rule in India with the chief Rajput ruler Prithviraj being beaten.

The correct answer is Jawaharlal Nehru.

• Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as President of the Indian National Congress in December 1929 at its annual session in the city of Lahore.

Important Points

• Indian National Congress was formed on December 28, 1885, by British civil servant Allan Octavian Hume.
• Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee was elected as the first president of the first meeting of the Congress.
• The Indian National Congress, on 19 December 1929, passed the historic ‘Purna Swaraj’ – (total independence) resolution – at its Lahore session.
• A public declaration was made on 26 January 1930 – a day which the Congress Party urged Indians to celebrate as ‘Independence Day’.
• In 1929, Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India, made a vaguely announced – referred to as the Irwin Declaration -  that India would be granted dominion status in the future.

Additional Information

The correct answer is adaptive radiation.

• Adaptive radiation (divergent evolution) is the evolution from one species of animals or plants of many different forms.
• The original population increases in size and it spreads out from its center of origin to exploit new habitats and food sources.
• This results in many populations each adapted to its particular habitat. Eventually, these populations will differ from each other sufficiently to become new species.

Key Points

• Adaptive evolution is natural selection that acts to increase the frequency of beneficial alleles and traits while decreasing the frequency of deleterious qualities.
• Natural selection acts at the level of the individual, selecting for those that have a higher overall fitness compared to the rest of the population.
• There are several ways evolution can affect population variation: stabilizing selection, directional selection, diversifying selection, frequency-dependent selection, and sexual selection.
• Genetic drift produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. An evolution that arises from genetic drift is called neutral evolution.

The correct answer is 2015.

• On 4 December 2015, the first lot of 33 files which were declassified were handed over by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to the National Archives of India.
• The Government of India had decided to declassify the files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and make them accessible to the public.
• This was announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 14 October 2015.

Important Points

• Subhas Chandra Bose (Netaji) (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) is known for his role in India's independence movement.
• He was born on 23^rd January 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa Division, Bengal Province, to Prabhavati Dutt Bose and Janakinath Bose.
• He earned the title ‘Netaji’, in Germany by the Indian soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj in 1942.
• His very famous slogan is, “Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!” as well as “Jai Hind”.
• He was elected the President of the All India Youth Congress and also the Secretary of Bengal State Congress.
• He formed the All India Forward Bloc.
• He is said to have died in 1945 when his plane crashed in Taiwan. However, there are still many conspiracy theories regarding his death.

The correct answer is Faraday and Henry.

• The Discovery and understanding of electromagnetic induction are based on a long series of experiments carried out by Henry and Faraday.
• Experiment 1: This shows that the relative motion between the magnet and the coil is responsible for a generation (induction) of electric current in the coil.
• Experiment 2: The deflection, and consequently current becomes larger if a coil is moved towards or away from the other coil at a quicker rate.
• Experiment 3: Faraday showed that this relative motion is not an absolute requirement.

It is also observed that the deflection increases dramatically when an iron rod is inserted into the coils along their axis.

Important Points

• Rutherford's experiment: It proved the existence of a nucleus in the atom.
• Ernest Rutherford's most famous experiment is the gold foil experiment.
• A beam of alpha particles was aimed at a piece of gold foil. Most alpha particles passed through the foil, but a few were scattered backward. This showed that most of the atom is in space surrounding a tiny nucleus.
• Einstein's experiment was chasing after a beam of light and had played a memorable role in his development of special relativity.
• He is famous for his theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe.
• One equation from Albert Einstein's theory of relativity is E=mc².
• In this formula, "c" is the speed of light (constant). It is assumed to be the fastest speed possible in the universe. This formula explains how energy (E) is related to mass (m).
• Planck's work in thermodynamics led to the formulations of his quantum theory.
• To explain the colors of hot glowing matter, he proposed that energy is radiated in a very minute and discrete quantized amount of packets, rather than in a continuous unbroken wave.
• Enrico Fermi's experiment discovers the neutron and then discover artificial radioactivity.
• Fermi resolved to experiment in producing artificial radioactivity by substituting neutron bombardment for the alpha particles method.

The correct answer is 1951.

• The planned economic development in India began in 1951 with the inception of the First Five Year Plan, theoretical efforts had begun much earlier, even before the independence.
• It focused primarily on the development of the primary sector, specifically agriculture and irrigation.

Important Points

• First Five-Year Plan was launched from 1951 to 1956, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• It was based on the Harrod-Domar model with a few modifications.
• This plan was successful and achieved a growth rate of 3.6% (more than its target of 2.1%).
• The duration of the "Eleventh Five Year Plan" was from 2007 to 2012, under the leadership of Manmohan Singh.
• It was prepared by the C. Rangarajan.
• The theme was towards faster and more inclusive development.
• It achieved a growth rate of 8% against a target of 9% growth.

Key Points

• India had a total of 12 Five-Year Plans, the last one being from 2012-2017.
• In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dissolved the Planning Commission and replaced it with the NITI Aayog
• The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) facts:
• Formed: 1 January 2015
• Chairman - Narendra Modi
• Vice-Chairman - Dr. Suman Bery
• CEO - Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam

The correct answer is 3702 km².

Key Points

• Goa is a state in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea.
• It is India's smallest state (1,429 square miles).
• 30, May 1987 is the Goa formation day.
• Some facts about Goa:
• Capital: Panaji
• Governor: Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai
• CM: Pramod Pandurang Sawant
• Official language: Konkani
• Largest city: Vasco da Gama
• Number of districts: 2 (North Goa and South Goa)

Additional Information

• The Dudhsagar Waterfalls (603 meters) can be found in the far east of the state.
• Calangute is the largest beach in Goa. Other beaches are included Baga Beach, Arambol Beach, Morjim Beach, Palolem Beach, Anjuna Beach.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site Basilica of Bom Jesus was built in the 16^th Century.
• Article 371 in the Indian constitution is a special provision for Goa.

The correct answer is The Banyan Tree.

• "The Banyan Tree" was written by Rabindranath Tagore.
• "A Love Song from the North", "My Dead Dream", "In the Forest" all are written by Sarojini Naidu.

Additional Information

• Sarojini Naidu was an Indian political activist, a member of the Indian National Congress, and a poet.
• She was the first female Indian governor.
• She was titled as ‘Nightingale of India’ by Mahatma Gandhi.
• Her first guru was Gopal Krishna Gokhale who encouraged her to fight for the country and ignited the fire of patriotism in her.
• The British government also awarded her the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for her work during the plague epidemic in India.
• Some books written by the Sarojini Naidu are The Golden Threshold, Mohammad Jinnah: An Ambassador of Unity, The Indian Fantasy, The Royal Tombs of Golconda, The Snake Charmer, etc.
• Rabindranath Tagore was also known as Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath- poet, writer, composer, philosopher, and painter.
• He was the first non-European and the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1913).
• He was the author of ‘Geetanjali’.
• Tagore was awarded the knighthood by King George V in 1915, but he repudiated it in 1919 as a protest against the Amritsar (Jallianwala Bagh) Massacre. He is sometimes referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”.
• He was the founder of Visvabharati University.
• He is the only person who wrote the National anthem for two countries- ‘Jana Gana Mana’ originally written in Bengali for India in 1911 and first sung at the Calcutta Session of Congress and ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ for Bangladesh in the year 1905.

The correct answer is Kapil Dev.

• Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj is a former Indian cricketer. He is known as ‘Haryana Hurricane’.
• He was born on 6 January 1959 in Chandigarh.
• His test debut (cap 142) on 16 October 1978 with Pakistan Team.
• Kapil Dev led the Indian cricket team to their maiden World Cup triumph on June 25, 1983.

Important Points

The correct answer is Steel Authority of India Limited.

• There are 12 Maharatna CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises), namely:
• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
• Coal India Limited
• GAIL (India) Limited
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited
• NTPC Limited
• Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
• Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited
• Steel Authority of India Limited
• Power Finance Corporation
• There are 13 Navratna Companies in India:
• Bharat Electronics Limited
• Container Corporation of India Limited
• Engineers India Limited
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
• National Aluminium Company Limited
• NBCC (India) Limited
• NMDC Limited
• NLC India Limited
• Oil India Limited
• Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited
• Rural Electrification Corporation Limited
• Shipping Corporation of India Limited
• REC Ltd becomes 12^th company to gets 'Maharatna' company

Key Points

• Maharatna Company Criteria:
• Having a Navratna status.
• Listed on Indian stock exchange with minimum prescribed public shareholding under SEBI regulations.
• Average annual turnover of more than Rs. 25,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
• The average annual net worth of more than Rs. 15,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
• Average annual net profit after tax of more than Rs. 5,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
• Should have a significant global presence/international operations.

Important PointsAs of September 2024, India has 13 Maharatna companies and 25 Navratna companies: List of Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna.

The correct answer is Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.

• India's first physicist to win a Nobel Physics Prize in 1930, for his work on the scattering of light.
• The discovery of the effect was named after him (Raman Effect).
• He further established that a small portion of the scattered light acquires other wavelengths than that of the original light because some of the incoming photons' energy can be transferred to a molecule, giving it a higher level of energy.

Important Points

The correct answer is fiscal policy.

• Fiscal policy is concerned with the government’s taxation and public expenditure.
• Fiscal policy is how a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to monitor and influence a nation's economy.
• It is the sister strategy to monetary policy through which a central bank influences a nation's money supply.

Important Points

• Financial policies, which are adopted by the legislative body, provide written guidance for how local government officials and staff should approach fiscal issues and core financial areas.
• It is related to the regulation, supervision, and oversight of the financial and payment systems, including markets and institutions.
• The view of policies is in promoting financial stability, market efficiency, and client-asset and consumer protection.
• Financial Management takes financial decisions under three main categories namely, investment decisions, financing decisions, and dividend decisions.
• Fiscal reform refers to a wide range of structural adjustments to a country’s fiscal system, particularly taxation models and fiscal incentives.
• It can reflect the true values and importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services in national economies.
• Financial reforms are introduced in the bank to remove the deficiencies of the banking sectors in India.
• The main intent of reforms is to uphold a diversified, efficient, and competitive financial system with the aim of improving the allocative efficiency of resources through operational flexibility, improved financial viability and institutional solidification.

The correct answer is Gujarat.

• The origin of the Hallisaka dance is traced to the Harivamsa Purana.
• It is a form of group dance, which is performed by both males and females.

Important Points

The correct answer is Squash.

• Ritwik Bhattacharya, Joshna Chinappa, and Saurav Ghosal are associated with Squash.
• Ritwik Bhattacharya led Indian squash to a good growing momentum which was further capitalized by the young crop of Saurav Ghosal and Co.
• He won the national championship a record 5 times.
• He also partnered Saurav to the world championship doubles final way back in 2004.
• Saurav Ghosal is currently ranked 13^th in the world (PSA Men's World Rankings).
• Saurav has won 5 titles, besides one gold and one silver at the 2014 Asian Games and three bronze medals before that.
• Joshna Chinappa is the current India number 1 in the women's category.

Additional Information

• According to PSA Men's World Rankings of August 2020:
• Mohamed El Shorbagy, an Egyptian player ranked top, and Ali Farag, from Egypt, ranked 2^nd.

The correct answer is 1915.

Important Points

• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi landed on January 9, 1915, at the Apollo Bunder in Bombay after two decades of residence abroad.
• He received a "Kaiser-i-Hind" gold medal in the King’s birthday honors list of 1915.
• His political mentor on the Indian scene was Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
• Lord Hardinge’s open support of the Satyagraha movement had in any case removed the stigma of rebellion from South Africa’s Indian movement.

Key Points

• As a 19-year-old, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had left India for the first time on September 4, 1888, to get enrolled in the centuries-old law institute Inner Temple in London.
• In 1894 Gandhi tried his first criminal cases in South Africa.
• From 1893 till 1913 Gandhiji practiced in South Africa.
• On March 12, 1930, Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi begins a defiant march to the sea in protest of the British salt monopoly.
• Gandhi set out from Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmadabad with 78 followers on a 241-mile march to the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea.
• They reached Dandi on April 5, Gandhi was at the head of a crowd of tens of thousands. Gandhi spoke and led prayers and early the next morning walked down to the sea to make salt.

The correct answer is Jharkhand.

Important Points

• Some Indian States and their folk Dances:

The correct answer is Raoult’s law.

Raoult’s law states that a solvent’s partial vapour pressure in a solution (or mixture) is equal or identical to the vapour pressure of the pure solvent multiplied by its mole fraction in the solution.

Mathematically, Raoult’s law equation is written as;

P_solution = Χ_solventP⁰_solvent

Where,

Psolution = vapour pressure of the solution

Χ_solvent  = mole fraction of the solvent

P⁰_solvent = vapour pressure of the pure solvent

Important Points

The correct answer is Cuttack.

Key Points

• This festival Baliyatra is also celebrated with great fanfare in the entire Odisha.
• Baliyatra bears testimony to the rich maritime legacy of ancient Odisha (Kalinga).
• It celebrates the maritime history of Odisha and its ancient trading links in Bali, Indonesia.
• This festival is known as "Boita Bandhana Utsav" (Boat Festival) which has been celebrated from a very ancient time to till now.
• The festival is held on Kartik Purnima (Full Moon Day of the Month of Kartika) which is usually varied in October or in November in the English calendar.

The correct answer is ground.

• The groundwater utilization is very high in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.
• Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, and Maharashtra are utilizing their groundwater resources at a moderate rate.
• States like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala utilize only a small proportion of their groundwater potentials.

Important Points

• The total replenishable groundwater resources in the country are about 432 cubic km.
• The Ganga and the Brahmaputra basins have about  46% of the total replenishable groundwater resources.
• The level of groundwater utilization is relatively high in the river basins lying in the north-western region and parts of south India.

The correct answer is Chess.

Key Points

• Viswanathan Anand is the first Indian chess grandmaster in 1988 and a former world chess champion.
• At the age of 15, Anand became the youngest Indian to win the title of International Master (IM) 1984.
• Anand won his first National Chess Championship in 1986.
• The title of Grandmaster was awarded to ‘Vishy’ in 1988.
• He won the Chess Oscar six times.
• He won the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE; international chess federation) world championship in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
• Pentala Harikrishna is an Indian chess player. He became the youngest grandmaster from India.
• He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior Champion in 2004, and Asian Individual Champion in 2011.
• Vidit Gujrathi is an Indian chess player. He attained the title of Grandmaster in January 2013.