SSC Steno 2019 Official Paper (Held on: 6 Feb 2019 Shift 1) (Previous Year Paper)

The pattern followed is

In the first square,

18 – 5 = 13,

Similarly, 18 + 5 = 23

In the second square,

35 – 17 = 18

Similarly,

35 + 17 = 52

Hence, 52 is the correct answer.

Halogens are non metallic Elements.

Fluorine is a Halogen.

Similarly,

Argentum is a Metal.

Hence, Metal is the correct answer.

Bulls, Cows and Hens are categories of animals.

Hence, they are represented in different diagrams.

Hence, option 4 is the correct answer.

Option 1 → 99 ÷ 9 = 11

Option 2 → 117 ÷ 9 = 13

Option 3 → 135 ÷ 9 = 15

Option 4 → 105 is not divisible by 9

All other options are divisible by 9 except 105.

Hence, 105 is the odd one out.

VIBGYOR is the representation of colours after splitting of white light.

VIBGYOR stands for Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red.

Yellow, Blue and Red are colours in VIBGYOR, whereas Pink is not a colour in it.

So, Pink is the odd one out.

So, gold is coded as ‘honna’

The diagrams above are represented according to the increasing order of their sides.

First figure being Triangle.

Second is Square.

Third is Pentagon.

Fourth is Hexagon.

Fifth is Heptagon.

Similarly, the next figure that follows is an Octagon.

Hence, option → 4 is the correct answer.

Venn diagram representation is

Conclusion I: No coins are rupees → False (This is definitely false).

Conclusion II: All rupees are coins → True (This is definitely True).

Hence, only Conclusion II follows.

The pattern followed is

Hence, FG is odd one out.

Representing the give information in the diagram,

Hence, shortest distance = $\sqrt {{3^2} + {4^2}} = \sqrt[2]{{25}}$

Hence, 5 km is the correct.

From the above figures, we can clearly say that,

From figures 3, 2 and 4 we can form a square.

We can clearly tell that

9 is facing opposite to 8.

7 is opposite to @.

5 is opposite to %.

Hence by folding the sheet the figure formed is

Hence, option 1 is correct.

The pattern followed is

Hence, T is the correct answer.

Conclusion 1: “All healthy people drink milk” doesn’t follow, since it is given in the statement that drinking milk is beneficial for health. It doesn’t mean that all healthy people drink milk.

Conclusion 2: “Milk is harmful for child” does not follow because it is not at all mentioned in the statement.

So, neither Conclusion I nor Conclusion II follow.

The figure which we get after cutting the drawing paper is,

Hence, option 1 is correct.

The pattern followed is

and

similarly

The letter which is seventh form the right after coding the word ‘COMPUTER ‘ is ‘N’

Hence, N is the correct answer

The least possible Venn diagram is

Conclusion I: Some wheat are peas → False (It is possible but not definite).

Conclusion II: No wheat are peas → False (It is possible but not definite).

Conclusion I and II forms a complementary pair.

Hence, either Conclusion I or Conclusion II follows.

The figure which will come next in the series is

The given figure is rotated in anti clock wise direction,

The square is sifted by 45 degree in anti clockwise direction.

In each rotation the triangle shifts its position from corner to sides of the square and vice versa.

The lines Shifts its position in anticlockwise direction taking the position of the successive one.

Hence, option 1 is correct.

Apple and Peach are fruits.

Similarly Cream and Butter are obtained from Milk.

Cookie, Bread and Cake are different.

Hence, Butter is the correct answer.

The pattern followed is:

Hence, VGG is the correct answer.

Using BODMAS rule

$\frac{{ \left( {12 - 4} \right) \div \left( {2 - 4} \right)}}{{2; \times ;8; - 2; \times 25; + ;1}}$

= -4/ 16 – 50 + 1

= - 4/ -33

= 0.121

= 0(approximately)

Hence, 0 is the correct answer.

Kilometeris the unitused to measure Distance.

Barometer is an instrumentused to measure air pressure.

Hygrometer is an instrumentused to measure humidity in air.

Anemometer is an instrumentused to measure wind speed and direction.

Hence, all except Kilometer are instruments used to measure some parameters of Air, whereas Kilometer is the unit of measurement of Distance.

Hence, Kilometer is the odd one out.

Furniture, Chairs, Beds are represented by,

Since, Chairs and Beds are types of furniture,

Option 4 is the correct answer.

The diagrammatic representation is given below:

Six friends A, B, C, D, E and F are sitting in a circle facing the center

1)F is to the immediate left of A.

2. A and D are opposite to each other.

3. B is opposite to E.

Since, two places are vacant either B/E are placed in those places.

Hence, either B or E is sitting second to the right of F.

The pattern followed is

Hence, 96 is the correct answer.

For MOONG,

M → 13

O → 4

N → 14

G → 7

Here, for consonants the positional values are taken and for Vowels the values taken are according to the Vowel series.

For LUCKNOW,

L → 12

U → 5

C → 3

K → 11

N → 14

O → 4

W → 23

Similarly

For MARIGOLD,

M → 13

A → 1

R → 18

I → 3

G → 7

O → 4

L → 12

D → 4

MARIGOLD → 13118374124

Hence, 13118374124 is the correct answer.

Option 1 → Pen is an instrument used for writing.

Option 2 → Hunter is not an instrument.

Option 3 → Forceps is an instrument used for grasping and holding objects.

Option 4 → Type writer is an instrument used for typing.

All the other options, except Hunter are instruments.

Hence, Hunter is odd one out.

26 – 30 ÷ 5 × 3 + 2

Using BODMAS Rule,

= 26 – 6 × 3 + 2

= 26 – 18 + 2

= 28 – 18

= 10

Hence, 10 is the correct answer.

The pattern followed is:

Hence, K is the correct answer.

The pattern followed is

Hence, IQ is the correct answer.

Prime Number → It is a number divisible by 1 and itself.

Option 1 → 23 is a prime number.

Option 2 → 29 is a prime number.

Option 3 → 37 is a prime number.

Option 4 → 51 is not a prime number, it is divisible by 3 and 17.

Hence, 51 is odd one out.

The pattern followed is

Hence, ‘G’ is the correct answer.

Advisor, Counsellor, Guide are used for giving Advices.

Follower follows the Advices or Suggestions given by Advisors, Counsellors or Guides.

Hence, Follower odd one out.

The pattern followed is

Hence, UHFS is the correct answer.

The pattern followed is:

Hence, ’OL’ is the correct answer.

Writer is one who writes Novels, Books or Poems.

Hence, Writer is the odd one out.

The pattern followed is:

382 - 160 = 222

691 – 180 = 511

753 – 200 = 553

Hence, 553 is the correct answer.

Note: There was a mistake in question and thus we have modified the option to get the correct answer.

We breathe in air.

But air is called Sun.

So, Sun is the correct answer.

By interchanging 3 and 6, + and × and using BODMAS rule

Option 1 → 15 + 3 × 6 = 43

15 + 18 = 33, not 43.

Option 2 → 35 + 6 × 3 = 53

35 + 18 = 53, which is correct.

Option 3 → 20 + 6 × 3 = 60

20 + 18 = 38, not 60.

Option 4 → 3 + 6 × 25 = 135

3 + 150 = 153, not 135.

Hence, option 2 is correct.

In the first row,

4² + 3² + 5² = 50

Similarly,

In the second row,

7² + 6² + 8² = 149

Hence, 149 is the correct answer.

Option 1 → 12 = 1 +2 = 3

3² = 9

Similarly,

Option 2 → 45 = 4 + 5 = 9

9² = 81

Hence, 81 is the correct answer.

Option 1 → 13³ = 2197

2197 – 13 = 2184 not 2186.

Option 2 → 7³ = 343

343 – 7 = 336.

Option 3 → 11³ = 1331

1331 – 11 = 1320.

Option 4 → 5³ = 125

125 – 5 = 120.

Hence,13 :2186 is the odd one out.

Seven friends P, Q, R, S, T, U and V are watching hockey match in a stadium sitting in row.

1. P and U are sitting at the extreme ends.

2. S is sitting second to the right of P and between T and R.

3. Q is sitting between U and V. R is sitting immediate left of V.

Hence, ‘U’ is sitting at the extreme right.

3⁴ is 81

81 + 1 = 82

So, 3 : 82

Similarly,

4⁴ is 256

256 + 1 = 257

So, 4 : 257 is correct.

The pattern followed is

Hence, 113 is the correct answer.

Using BODMAS rule,

27 ÷ 9 + 15 × 3 – 16

= 3 + 15 × 3 -16

= 3 + 45 – 16

= 48 – 16

= 32

Hence, 32 is the correct answer.

The pattern followed is

Hence, 99 is the correct answer.

The journey is as represented in the diagram:

Diagram:

$\sqrt {{{30}^2} + {{40}^2}} = \sqrt[2]{{2500}} = 50$

The straight distance between Temple and the Gym = $\sqrt {{{50}^2} + {{50}^2}} = \sqrt[2]{{5000}} = 70.71$

Difference = 70.71 – 50 = 20.71 ≈ 20.7

Hence, the correct answer is 20.7 m

112 : 5, 15 : 4 :: _ : 7, 10 : 3

The pattern followed is:

The first analogy is  = 112 × 5 = 560

The second analogy is = 15 × 4 = 60

The third analogy is = X × 7 = 7X

The fourth analogy is = 10 × 3 = 30

Here, we get to know that the second analogy is double the fourth analogy.

Similarly, the first analogy will be double the third analogy.

7X × 2 = 560

X = 40

Hence, the answer is 40.

Option 1 → Sky is blue in colour.

Option 2 → Colour of water depends on the place it flows, so you cannot say it is blue in colour.

Option 3 → Blood is red in colour.

Option 4 → Milk is white in colour.

Hence, water : blue is the odd one out.

As of 2018, K L Dhingra was the CEO of National Culture Fund(NCF).

• NCF was established as Trust under Charitable Endowment Act, 1890 as a funding mechanism distinct from existing sources and patterns of funding for arts and culture in India.
• It is managed and administered by the council headed by Union Culture Minister and decides the policies.
• Its Executive Committee is headed by Secretary, Ministry of Culture which actualizes those policies.
• The current CEO of NCF is Mrs Arvind Manjit Singh.
• Anupam Kher is an Indian actor and the former Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India.
• Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director and producer.
• Rahul Nath is an Indian actor, writer, dancer/choreographer and director.

Slave dynasty existed in India between AD 1206-1290.

Key Points

• Slave Dynasty directed into Northern India by Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, a Turkic Mamluk slave general from Central Asia.
• In 1206, Muhammad of Ghor, Sultan of the Ghurid Empire, was assassinated.
• Qutb-ud-Din Aibak became the sultan of Delhi, and that was the beginning of the Slave dynasty.
• Aibak rose to power when a Ghurid superior was assassinated.
• He became the ruler of an independent kingdom that evolved into the Delhi Sultanate ruled by the Mamluk dynasty.

International Day of the Girl Child is observed every year on 11^th October.

• The day aims to meet the needs and challenges faced by girls. It also aims to promote girls' empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
• .On 19 December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child.
• The first International Day of the Girl Child was observed on 11 October 2012 with the theme Ending Child Marriage.
• The theme for the year 2019 is Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable.

Additional Information

• https://www.un.org/en/observances/girl-child-day#:~:text=On%20December%2019%2C%202011%2C%20United,girls%20face%20around%20the%20world.

The correct answer is option 2, i.e. Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli was the recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2018.

• India men’s cricket team captain Virat Kohli was conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Virat Kohli is the third cricketer to be awarded the Khel Ratna after Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and MS Dhoni (2007).
• Chanu is the third weightlifter to win the prize after Karnam Malleswari (1995) and Nameirakpam Kunjarani (1996).
• Neeraj Chopra to be awarded the Arjuna Award.
• Tintuluka was awarded Arjuna award, the country's Second-highest sporting honour by Government of India in 2014.

Miniature painting was developed in Eastern India (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) during the Pala Kingdom in 9th - 10th century A.D.

• Miniature painting in little is a genre that focuses on art (especially painting, engraving and sculpture) with a long history that dates back to the scribes of the medieval ages.
• The U.S. White House, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Astolat Dollhouse Castle and museums around the world have collections of miniature paintings, drawings, original prints and etchings, and sculpture.
• The Pala Empire was an imperial power during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent.
• A mural painting is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other permanent surfaces.
• Thanjavur painting is a classical South Indian painting style, which was inaugurated from the town of Thanjavur (anglicized as Tanjore).
• Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder.
• Note: This was way before the Mughals Akbar and Jehangir.

Darjeeling Tea was the first product to get a GI tag in India.

Key Points

• A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• Darjeeling Tea was the first Indian product to get the geographical indication tag. In 2004, the famous beverage got recognition.
• As of March 31, 2024, there were 635 products in India that had been granted a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The states with the most GI tags in 2023-2024 were:
  

Uttar Pradesh: 69 products

Tamil Nadu: 58 products

• Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of IPRs.

The distinction of winning double Nobel Prize by individuals have 4.

Key Points

• Nobel Prize is regarded as the highest honour available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace and economics.
• Nobel Prize is the highest recognition for a scientist, being awarded twice is an extraordinary event that only four scientists have witnessed in their lives: John Bardeen, Marie Curie, Linus Pauling and Frederick Sanger.
• John Bardeen won his first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 for this invention, along with William B. Shockley.
• Marie Curie was first awarded the prize in Physics in 1903 along with her husband Pierre and Henri Becquerel for the discovery of radioactivity.
• The only person to receive two Nobel Prizes without having to share it with anyone else was Linus Pauling.
• Frederick Sanger was a biochemistry enthusiast who succeeded in determining the amino acid sequence of a protein.

The epicentre of the earthquake that caused a tsunami on 26/12/2004 was located in the Indian Ocean.

• It was an undersea megathrust earthquake that registered a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw, reaching a Mercalli intensity up to IX in certain areas.
• The earthquake was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate.
• The earthquake was the third-largest ever recorded and had the longest duration of faulting ever observed; between eight and ten minutes.
• The event is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake.
• A series of large tsunami waves up to 30 metres (100 ft) high was created by the underwater seismic activity.

• The International Conference on Status and Protection of Coral Reefs (STAPCOR-2018) was held at Lakshadweep.
• STAPCOR – 2018 was held at Bangaram Island, Union Territory of Lakshadweep from 22nd to 24th October 2018.
• The theme of the conference was “Reef for Life”.
• It was inaugurated by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan.
• International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) has the declared the year 2018 as the International Year of the Reef (IYOR 2018).

• The National Culture Fund(NCF) was created as a Trust in 1996.
• NCF was established as Trust under Charitable Endowment Act, 1890 as a funding mechanism distinct from existing sources and patterns of funding for arts and culture in India.
• It is managed and administered by the council headed by Union Culture Minister and decides the policies.
• Its Executive Committee is headed by Secretary, Ministry of Culture which actualizes those policies.
• The current CEO of NCF is Mrs Arvind Manjit Singh.

The transformation of Delhi into a capital that controlled vast are of the subcontinent started with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate at the beginning of the thirteenth century.

Important Points 

• “Histories”, Tarikh (singular) / Tawarikh (plural), written in Persian.
• The authors of Tawarikh were learned men: secretaries, administrators, poets, and courtiers, who both recounted events and advised rulers on governance, emphasizing the importance of just rule.
• The authors of Tawarikh lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in villages.
• Objectives of these writings-
• They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rewards.
• They advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social order based on birthright and gender distinctions.
• Their ideas were not shared by everybody.

From the above, it is clear that Tawarikh was written in Persian.

• Corrosion is a type of Electrochemical process.
• Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically-stable form such as oxide, hydroxide, or sulfide.
• Electrochemical oxidation of metal in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen or sulfates.
• Corrosion degrades the useful properties of materials and structures including strength, appearance and permeability to liquids and gases.
• Electrochemical reaction, any process either caused or accompanied by the passage of an electric current and involving in most cases the transfer of electrons between two substances, one a solid and the other a liquid.

The correct answer is Odisha.

Key Points

• Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha.
• Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian state, Odisha.
• The pattachitra art form is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.
• Patrachitras is a component of an ancient Bengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song.
• These paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava sect.

• Basawan was a famous painter in ancient India.
• Basawan (flourished 1580-1600), was an Indian miniature painter in the Mughal style.
• He was known by his contemporaries as a skilled colourist and keen observer of human nature, and for his use of portraiture in the illustrations of Akbarnama, Mughal Emperor, Akbar's Official Biography.
• He became a court painter for Akbar the Great, where he came under the influence of Abd al-Samad.
• Basawan was one of the first Indian artists to be interested in western techniques, inspired by the European paintings brought to Akbar's court by Jesuit missionaries.

• Damayanti Joshi is a famous kathak dancer.
• Damayanti Joshi was a noted Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form.
• She received the Padma Shri in 1970 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance in 1968.
• She had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.
• She has been featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1971 by Films Division, Government of India.
• She was the first person to introduce "Saree" as a costume in Kathak dance.

• The per capita income in India was 1.13 lakh during 2017-18.
• Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
• The per-capita income at current prices during 2018-19 is estimated to have attained a level of ₹1,26,406 ( ₹10,533.83 monthly) as compared to the estimated for the year 2017-18 of ₹1,14,958 ( ₹9,579.83 a month), showing a rise of 10%.
• The per-capita income is a crude indicator of the prosperity of a country.

• AD 753 witnessed as the rise of the Rashtrakuta dynasty that ruled the Deccan and surrounding areas.
• Rashtrakuta was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries.
• The sources for Rashtrakuta history include medieval inscriptions, ancient literature in the Pali language, contemporaneous literature in Sanskrit and Kannada and the notes of the Arab travellers.
• The heart of the Rashtrakuta empire included nearly all of Karnataka, Maharashtra and parts of Andhra Pradesh, an area which the Rashtrakutas ruled for over two centuries.

• The Pullela Gopichand Academy trains badminton players.
• Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) is a badminton training facility in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
• Founded by 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion, Pullela Gopichand, the facility trains several badminton players such as Saina Nehwal, P. V. Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi, Parupalli Kashyap, H.S. Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, Sameer Verma and many others.
• Pullela Gopichand won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001.
• The 2009 Indian Open was held here while the 2009 BWF World Championships used it as a training venue.

The total amount of  Rs. 117 lakh crore of bank deposit in India as on 31st March 2018.

• In March 2017, the total amount of bank deposit was 109.75 lakh crore.
• The shares of current deposit was stood 9.7 % while saving and term deposit was stood 32.1% and 58.6% respectively as on March 2018.
• All data was revealed by Central Bank.
• Uttar Pradesh was the highest contributer for deposit with Maharashtra.

• Vitamin C is used to purify water after it has been Iodine-treated.
• Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate, is a vitamin found in various foods and sold as a dietary supplement.
• Vitamin C was discovered in 1912, isolated in 1928, and in 1933 was the first vitamin to be chemically produced.
• Foods containing vitamin C include citrus fruits, kiwifruit, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, raw bell peppers, and strawberries. Prolonged storage or cooking may reduce vitamin C content in foods.

• Apart from Mahatma Gandhi, Bhimrao Ambedkar was the other prominent personality to protest against untouchability in India.
• Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi were two of the most prominent personalities who protested against the untouchability in India.
• Gandhi had published three journals to support the underprivileged class, namely Harijan in English, Harijan Bandu in Gujarati and Harijan Sevak in Hindi. This led to the Harijan Movement in India.
• Babasaheb also pointed out that the principal problem of Indian society was the perennial fight between Buddhism and Brahmanism.

Prithviraj Chauhan won the first battle of Tarain.

Key Points

• The First Battle of Tarain was fought in 1191 between the Ghurids against the Chahamanas and their allies, near Tarain (modern Taraori in Haryana, India).
• The Chahamana king Prithviraj Chauhan defeated the Ghurid king Mu'izz al-Din, who avenged this defeat at the Second Battle of Tarain a year later.
• Prithviraj was born to the Chahamana king Someshvara and queen Karpuradevi (a Kalachuri princess).
• Prithviraj's predecessors had faced multiple raids from the Muslim dynasties that had captured the north-western areas of the Indian subcontinent by the 12th century.

Additional InformationKey events that led to the start of the First Battle of Tarain:

• Muhammad Ghori marched his soldiers into India and proceeded to seize the major fort of Bathinda.
• The loss of Bathinda provoked a reaction from the Delhi army. Prithviraj Chauhan rallied his allies and led his army into battle against Muhammad Ghori.
• The battle began with a probing attack by Ghurid archers, who scattered arrows across the Rajput formation.
• Prithvi Raj Chauhan instantly countered with an all-out attack that took the Ghurids off guard.
• They were unfamiliar with the Rajput style of combat, which favoured close combat.
• The Ghurid army, to their credit, stood hard against waves of soldiers, but the Rajput cavalry began to overpower the Ghurid flank.
• Muhammad Ghori realised that the Rajputs benefited greatly from close-quarter fighting.
• Muhammad’s forces broke ranks and fled, unable to sustain the pressure on their flank.

The aftermath of the first battle of Tarain:

• The Ghurid raids into India did not finish there, as Muhammad Ghori was to return later, having learned his enemies’ strengths and vulnerabilities and being cautious of overlooking his opponents in battle.
• As the second battle of Tarain would demonstrate, Prithvi Raj Chauhan’s incapacity to pursue and slay his rival and consolidate his frontiers would have devastating consequences in Indian history.

Important Points

Second Battle of Train -

• The second battle was fought in 1192.
• It was also fought in Taraori near Karnal.
• It was also fought between the Ghurids against the Chahmanas and their allies.
• The battle resulted in the Ghurid's victory.

Ohm (Ω) is the SI unit for electrical resistance.

• The electrical resistance of an object is a measure of its opposition to the flow of electric current.
• The resistance of an object depends in large part on the material it is made of—objects made of electrical insulators like rubber tend to have very high resistance and low conductivity.
• The resistance (R) of an object is defined as the ratio of voltage across it (V) to the current through it (I).
• Mole is the SI unit of amount of substances.
• Kelvin is the SI unit of Temperature.
• Ampere is the SI unit of current.

• Cyclones are caused by high-speed winds and air pressure difference.
• A cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong centre of low atmospheric pressure.
• Cyclones are characterized by inward spiralling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure.
• There are three main types of surface-based cyclones: Extratropical cyclones, Subtropical cyclones and Tropical cyclones.
• Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions in the atmosphere.
• A volcano is an opening in the earth's crust through which lava, volcanic ash, and gases escape.
• A drought is an event of prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric (below-average precipitation), surface water or groundwater.

• The Indian Constitution states that 'The total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the House of People'.
• Pursuant to Article 75(3), the Council of Ministers is responsible collectively to the lower house of the Indian parliament, called the Lok Sabha (House of the People).
• Any minister who is not a member of either of the houses of the parliament for six consecutive months is automatically stripped of his or her ministerial post.
• Pursuant to Article 75, a minister who works at the pleasure of the president, is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.
• The Union Council of Ministers exercises executive authority in the Republic of India.

• Alpha Rays are the term used to refer to helium atoms that have lost two electrons.
• Alpha particles, also called alpha ray or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus.
• Alpha particles are named after the first letter in the Greek alphabet, α.
• Alpha "rays" are actually high-speed particles.
• Ultraviolet (UV) is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from 10 nm to 400 nm, shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays.
• Theta waves generate the theta rhythm, a neural oscillatory pattern that can be seen on an electroencephalogram (EEG).
• X-rays make up X-radiation, a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation.

• Maharashtra was awarded for the third cleanest in India in Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• The awards were commissioned by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• Haryana was ranked as the best State while Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as the best district as per the ranking was undertaken by Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• Gujarat was awarded for the second maximum citizen's participation.

• Sunil Arora assumed office as Chief Election Commissioner of India on December 2018.
• Sunil Arora is the current and 23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India.
• He is also the chairman for Association of World Election Bodies(A-WEB).
• He also served as a secretary to the Government of India in two ministries.
• He succeeded Om Prakash Rawat.

Important Points

• Rajiv Kumar is the current Chief Election Commissioner of India.

• Alexander, the Great invaded India in the year 326 BC.
• In 326 BC, Alexander invaded India, after crossing the river Indus he advanced towards Taxila.
• The Battle of the Hydaspes was fought in 326 BC between Alexander the Great and King Porus of the Paurava kingdom on the banks of the Jhelum River (known to the Greeks as Hydaspes) in the Punjab region.
• Alexander captured Porus and, like the other local rulers he had defeated, allowed him to continue to govern his territory.
• Alexander the Great was a king (basileus) of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

• The first practical light bulb was invented by Thomas Alva Edison.
• Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest inventor.
• He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.
• An incandescent light bulb globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated to such a high temperature that it glows with visible light (incandescence).
• The filament is protected from oxidation with a glass or fused quartz bulb that is filled with inert gas or a vacuum.

Additional Information

• Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing and patenting the first practical telephone.
• Galileo Galilei studied speed and velocity, gravity and free fall, the principle of relativity, inertia, projectile motion.
• Isaac Newton was a scientist who discovered the gravitation.

• Water, foam, dry power & Wet chemical are types of Fire Extinguishers.
• A fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire.
• There are two main types of fire extinguishers: stored-pressure and cartridge-operated.
• In stored pressure units the expellant is stored in the same chamber as the firefighting agent itself, With dry chemical extinguishers, nitrogen is typically used. W
• Water and foam extinguishers typically use air.
• Cartridge-operated extinguishers contain the expellant gas in a separate cartridge that is punctured prior to discharge, exposing the propellant to the extinguishing agent.

• Leander Paes won Santo Domingo open trophy in doubles category in 2018.
• Leander Paes in partnership with Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela of Mexico won the doubles title in the $125,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• Leander Adrian Paes is an Indian professional tennis player.
• Leander Paes won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
• Paes received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour, in 1996–97; Arjuna Award in 1990; Padma Shri award in 2001; and India's 3rd Highest Civilian Award Padma Bhushan in January 2014.

• India is going to build its longest river bridge which will connect Dhubri and Phulbari.
• The Dhubri - Phulbari Bridge is a proposed bridge over the Brahmaputra River between Assam and Meghalaya in North-East India.
• The Dhubri - Phulbari bridge, planned to be completed by 2026-27, would be India’s longest bridge over water and would span more than 19 km.
• This is being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency and it would be executed by NHIDCL.

• Cobalt Oxide imparts Blue colour to the glass.
• The addition of oxides, sulfides, salts and other compounds of different metals to molten glass at the time of manufacture adds colour to the glass.
• The introduction of electrically charged ions which are evenly distributed in the glass during manufacture also gives the glass a characteristic colour.

The correct answer is Oxygen.

Key Points

• Hemoglobin is a pigment present in human blood that carries oxygen from our lungs to all parts of the body.
• RBCs contain hemoglobin a protein that carries oxygen.
• Blood gets its bright red color when hemoglobin picks up oxygen in the lungs.
• As the blood travels through the body, the hemoglobin releases oxygen to the different body parts.
• Each RBC lives for about 4 months.
• Hemoglobin in the blood carries oxygen from the respiratory organs (e.g. lungs or gills) to the rest of the body (i.e. tissues).
• There it releases the oxygen to permit aerobic respiration to provide energy to power the functions of an organism in the process called metabolism.
• A healthy individual human has 12 to 20 grams of hemoglobin in every 100 mL of blood.
• In mammals, the chromoprotein makes up about 96% of the red blood cell's dry content (by weight), and around 35% of the total content (including water).
• Hemoglobin has an oxygen-binding capacity of 1.34 mL O2 per gram, which increases the total blood oxygen capacity seventy-fold compared to dissolved oxygen in the blood.

• India is predicted to reach 3rd global ranking by 2024 in the Global Aviation Market.
• India will become the world's third-largest aviation market around 2024 surpassing the UK, global airlines' body.
• According to the IATA, China would displace the United States as the world's largest aviation market in the mid-2020s.
• IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said a doubling of air passengers in the next 20 years could support 100 million jobs globally.

• Rewari district was 2nd position among the district category in Swachh Survekshan Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018 to top-ranked states and districts.
• Haryana was ranked as best State, Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as the best district.
• Uttar Pradesh was rewarded for maximum citizens’ participation.
• The awards were given at concluding session of Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention at Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre.
• The rankings were based on the National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

• In 2018, ​Shahi Litchi from India received the GI tag.
• Bihar’s Shahi litchi has received the geographical indication(GI) tag.
• The tag, awarded by the India Patent Office, allows a state or a geographical region to lay an exclusive claim over a product, gives an assurance of quality, and is often used as a reason to increase production rates.
• The state produces 40% of the litchis grown in India on 38% of the area.
• The fruit is the fourth product from Bihar, after Jardalu mango, Katarni rice and Magahi paan, to receive the status.

• Repo Rate is an instrument of the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India.
• A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, is a form of short-term borrowing, mainly in government securities.
• Monetary policy refers to the credit-control measures adopted by the central bank of a country.
• Repo rate is a powerful arm of the Indian monetary policy that can regulate the country’s money supply, inflation levels, and liquidity.
• Public Debt is how much a country owes to lenders outside of itself.

• Piyush Goyal was acting as Finance Minister on behalf the former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who was unwell.
• Arun Jaitley headed India’s finance ministry between 2014 and 2019.
• Piyush Vedprakash Goyal is an Indian politician and the current Minister of Railways and Commerce in the Government of India.
• He is currently a Member of Parliament for Rajya Sabha from the state of Maharashtra and the Deputy Leader of Rajya Sabha.

• Maharashtra was awarded for the third maximum citizen's participation in Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• Awards were given away in 3 categories: Top Ranked State, District and State with maximum citizen participation. The awards were given away by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• Haryana was ranked as the best State while Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as the best district as per the ranking was undertaken by Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• Gujarat was awarded for the second maximum citizen's participation.
• The Ministry of Drinking water and Sanitation was merged into Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Unnayan Banka won the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management's International Innovation Award for 2018.

• India on October 23, 2018, won the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Award (CAPAM) 2018 for an initiative that envisages quality education for all.
• The initiative entitled ‘Unnayan Banka- Reinventing Education Using Technology of Banka District’, state of Bihar has been awarded under the category ‘Innovation Incubation’.
• "Unified Agriculture Markets" initiative of the Government of Karnataka has been awarded under the Innovation in Public Service Management category and also won overall Gold Award.
• CAPAM has been announcing it's International Innovations Awards (IIA) Programme bi-annually, since 1998.
• CAPAM was held on October 23, 2018, at Georgetown, Guyana.

• India won the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Award(CAPAM) 2018.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is an institutional member of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM).
• This award held on 23rd October 2018 at Georgetown, Guyana.
• CAPAM has been announcing it's International Innovations Awards (IIA) Programme bi-annually, since 1998.
• The initiative entitled “Unnayan Banka- Reinventing Education" Using Technology of Banka District, State of Bihar has been awarded under the Category “Innovation Incubation”.

• Condensation is the process of conversion of water vapour back to the water.
• Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase and is the reverse of vaporization.
• Condensation is initiated by the formation of atomic/molecular clusters of that species within its gaseous volume—like a raindrop or snowflake formation within clouds—or at the contact between such gaseous phase and a liquid or solid surface.
• Vapour cooling and compressing equipment that collects condensed liquids is called a "condenser".
• Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase.
• Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point.
• Sublimation is the transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas phase, without passing through the intermediate liquid phase.

• Mirabai Chanu along with Virat Kohli was the recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2018.
• India men’s cricket team captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Virat Kohli is the third cricketer to be awarded the Khel Ratna after Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and MS Dhoni (2007).
• Chanu is the third weightlifter to win the prize after Karnam Malleswari (1995) and Nameirakpam Kunjarani (1996).

• Mangifera Indica is the National fruit of India.
• Mangifera Indica is the scientific name of Mango.
• It is a species of flowering plant in the sumac and poison ivy family Anacardiaceae.
• It is a large fruit-tree, capable of growing to a height and crown width of about 30 metres (100 ft) and a trunk circumference of more than 3.7 metres (12 ft).
• Mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines and the national tree of Bangladesh.

Kerala has the highest life expectancy at birth.

• Kerala has the highest life expectancy among the states in India, while Assam had the lowest.
• Life expectancy is defined as the average number of years that a person could expect to live.
• Kerala has a life expectancy at birth, at 74.9 years — 72 for men and 77.8 for women.
• Delhi is second, with an overall life expectancy at birth of 73.2 years, 72 for men and 74.7 for women.

• Ranjan Gogoi was appointed as the new Chief Justice of India in October 2018.
• ​Ranjan Gogoi was an Indian jurist who served as the 46th Chief Justice of India.
• On 3 October 2018, he was appointed as Chief Justice of India, succeeding Dipak Misra.
• On 9 November 2019, the five-judge bench headed by him delivered the verdict in the historical controversial Ayodhya - Babri Masjid possession case.
• The current Chief Justice of India is S A Bobde.
• K. K. Venugopal is an Indian constitutional lawyer and a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India.

• Pankaj Sharma will replace Mr Amandeep Gill as the Ambassador of India to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, Geneva.
• Pankaj Sharma was the joint secretary (Disarmament and International Security Division) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
• Syed Akbaruddin is an Indian Foreign Service officer serving as India's permanent representative at the United Nations since January 2016.

• Gujarat was awarded for the second maximum citizen's participation in Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave awards to top Ranked State, District and State with maximum citizen participation based on the National Swachh SurvekshanGrameen 2018 commissioned by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• The awards by Prime Minister were given at the concluding session of Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention at Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre.
• Maharashtra was awarded for the third maximum citizen's participation in Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.
• Haryana was ranked as the best State while Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as the best district as per the ranking was undertaken by Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018.

The correct answer is 'The application form was given to me by the secretary.'

Key Points

• The instructions given below should be followed while changing an active voice to a passive voice.
• Find the subject and object of the sentence and exchange their places; make changes in their cases as well if subject and object are pronouns.
• Use preposition 'by' before the agent.
• Use an appropriate helping verb in passive form according to the tense of the active form.
• Always use the third form of the main verb in passive form. At last line up the remaining part.
• The given sentence is in the past tense as observed from the word 'gave'.
• 'The application form' will come in place of 'the secretary' and vice versa.
• So, the passive form of the sentence will contain was +past participle form i.e was given.
• So, option 4 is correct.

The correct answer is 'regarded'.

Key Points

• Noted means notice or pay particular attention to (something).
• Regarded means consider or think of in a specified way.
• Judged means form an opinion or conclusion about.
• Thought means an idea or opinion produced by thinking, or occurring suddenly in the mind.
• The sentence conveys that Black Friday is considered as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
• So, 'regarded' is the correct word.

Additional Information

• Example sentences with regarded-
• The two men regarded each other.
• The guard regarded it for a moment.
• Her brother was regarded as a hero

The correct answer is 'major'.

Key Points

• The required word must describe the retailers as prominent who open their shops for sales.
• The most appropriate word is 'major'.
• Major means something that is very important; very large, serious.
• Example- 
• The local war escalated into a major conflict.
• His advancement to major came two years ago.
• Influential means having power or influence.
• Example- He always tries to get in with the most influential people.
• Affluent means having a lot of money.
• Example-  Cigarette smoking used to be common among affluent people.
• Considerable means great in amount or size.
• Example- She was in considerable pain.
• Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

The correct answer is 'offer'.

Key Points

• Come up with means think of something in a situation.
• Put forward means to suggest something.
• Option 3 and 4 are inappropriate.
• As the sentence is mentioning the sales, so 'offer' sales seems more appropriate than 'make available' as 'offer' gives an impression of readiness.
• Hence, the correct answer is option 1.

The correct answer is 'kick off'.

Key Points

• Kick off means begin or cause something to begin.
• Example- England won the toss and chose to kick off.
• Start out means to embark on a venture or undertaking, especially a commercial one.
• Example- The day started out hot and humid.
• Start over means begin once again.
• Example- I'm sorry, but you'll have to start over
• Set off means begin a journey.
• Example- We would like to set off for Paris by 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
• Here, the sale marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
• So, 'kick off' is the most appropriate word.

The correct answer is 'potential'.

Key Points

• Potential means the possibility of something happening or of someone doing something in the future.
• The given word must describe the shoppers as the people who can possibly buy something in the season.
• Future and hidden seem inappropriate.
• Between 'likely' and 'potential', 'potential' is more appropriate.
• So, option 3 is correct.

The correct answer is 'consistently'.

Key Points

• Ordinarily means usually.
• Example- Even though I would ordinarily wake up at 8 am, I was feeling sick and I stayed in bed for another two hours.
• Normally means usually.
• ​Example- I don't normally take my holiday in midsummer.
• Routinely means a sequence of actions regularly followed.
• Example- Vitamin K is routinely given in the first week of life to prevent bleeding.
• Consistently means acting or done in the same way over time.
• Example- The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits.
• The sentence suggests how the day has been the same as the busiest shopping day for a long time.
• So, consistently is the most appropriate word.
• Hence, the correct answer is option 3.