Static GK Previous Year Questions (PYQ) with Answers – Page 2

The correct answer is A, Philippines. The Asian Development Bank has its headquarters in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, in the Philippines. It was set up in 1966 to fund development in Asia and the Pacific, and India was one of its founding members. Japan and the United States are its two largest shareholders, and by tradition its president has always been Japanese. The ADB lends for roads, power, water and urban projects, and India is among its biggest borrowers. B is wrong because South Korea hosts the Green Climate Fund at Songdo, not the ADB. C is wrong because China is the home of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (Beijing) and the New Development Bank of BRICS (Shanghai). D is wrong because Japan is only the largest shareholder; the bank was deliberately located in Manila rather than Tokyo. Exam tip: ADB in Manila (1966), AIIB in Beijing (2016), New Development Bank in Shanghai (2015).

The correct answer is B, 10. The UN Security Council has 15 members: 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members. The permanent five are the USA, the UK, France, Russia and China, and only they hold the veto. The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, five seats falling vacant every year, and a retiring member cannot be re-elected immediately. Seats are shared by region: five for Africa and Asia-Pacific, one for Eastern Europe, two for Latin America and the Caribbean, and two for Western Europe and others. India has served eight terms, the latest in 2021–22. A is wrong because 15 is the total strength of the Council, not the non-permanent count. C is wrong because 12 has never been the number of elected seats. D is wrong because 14 is also incorrect; before the 1965 enlargement there were only 6 non-permanent members. Exam tip: Security Council means 5 permanent plus 10 non-permanent equals 15, with two-year elected terms.

The correct answer is A, The Hague. The International Court of Justice sits in the Peace Palace at The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, set up in 1945 by the UN Charter, and it settles legal disputes between countries and gives advisory opinions to UN bodies. It has 15 judges elected for nine-year terms by the General Assembly and the Security Council, and it is the only one of the six principal UN organs that is not based in New York. Justice Dalveer Bhandari of India is one of its judges. B is wrong because Paris hosts UNESCO, not the court. C is wrong because Washington D.C. is home to the IMF and the World Bank. D is wrong because New York houses the UN headquarters, the General Assembly and the Security Council. Exam tip: ICJ at The Hague, UNESCO in Paris, IMF and World Bank in Washington, UN headquarters in New York.

The correct answer is C, Anti-lock braking system. ABS stands for anti-lock braking system, a safety device that keeps the wheels from locking during hard braking. Sensors at the wheels watch how fast each one is turning, and when a wheel is about to stop turning the control unit releases and applies the brake pressure many times a second. Because the wheels keep rolling, the tyres hold their grip on the road, so the driver can still steer while braking hard and the vehicle usually stops in a shorter distance. A locked wheel simply skids and goes wherever it was already going. ABS is now required by law on cars and on larger two-wheelers in India. Option A is wrong because 'avoid brake system' is not a term used for any vehicle part. Option B is wrong because 'actual brake system' has no meaning in engineering. Option D is wrong because an automatic braking system is a different feature in which the vehicle applies the brakes by itself to avoid a crash. Exam tip: ABS prevents wheel lock and keeps steering control; it does not replace the brakes.

The correct answer is B, Cambodia. Angkor Wat stands near Siem Reap in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world. It was built in the early twelfth century by King Suryavarman II of the Khmer empire as a temple of Vishnu, and it later became a Buddhist place of worship. The temple faces west, is ringed by a wide moat, and its towers are shaped like lotus buds; UNESCO put the whole Angkor complex on the World Heritage list in 1992. Angkor Wat also appears on the national flag of Cambodia, which is the only national flag in the world that carries a building. Option A is wrong because Vietnam is known for Ha Long Bay and the My Son Cham temples. Option C is wrong because Thailand's best known temple is Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok. Option D is wrong because the Philippines is known for its rice terraces and baroque churches. Exam tip: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, built by Suryavarman II and shown on that country's flag.

The correct answer is B, Bogibeel. The Bogibeel bridge crosses the Brahmaputra near Dibrugarh in Assam and links the south bank to the north bank on the way to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. It was opened on 25 December 2018 and is India's longest rail and road bridge, about 4.94 km long, with a double line railway track below and a three-lane road above. Built to withstand earthquakes, it cuts the journey between Dibrugarh and the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh by several hours and also serves the armed forces near the border. Option A is wrong because the Naini or New Yamuna bridge is a cable-stayed bridge at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. Option C is wrong because the Coronation bridge spans the Teesta near Siliguri in West Bengal. Option D is wrong because the Pamban bridge joins Rameswaram island to the Tamil Nadu mainland. Exam tip: Bogibeel is the longest rail and road bridge, while Dhola-Sadiya, also called Bhupen Hazarika Setu, is the longest road bridge.

The correct answer is C, Australia. Of the four countries listed, Australia gave women the vote first, in 1902. Its Commonwealth Franchise Act of that year let women vote in and stand for the federal Parliament, following the colony of South Australia, which had already granted it in 1894. New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to allow women to vote, in 1893, but it is not among the options here. Option A is wrong because France let women vote only in 1944, at the end of the Second World War. Option B is wrong because the United States granted it in 1920 through the Nineteenth Amendment. Option D is wrong because the United Kingdom gave the vote to women above 30 in 1918 and to all adult women only in 1928. India, by contrast, gave women the vote on equal terms from its very first general election under the Constitution. Exam tip: fix the order as New Zealand 1893, Australia 1902, UK 1918, USA 1920 and France 1944.

The correct answer is A, Unity and Discipline. The motto of the National Cadet Corps is Unity and Discipline, in Hindi Ekta aur Anushasan. The NCC was set up in 1948 under the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948, and works under the Ministry of Defence with its headquarters in New Delhi. It trains school and college students through its Army, Navy and Air wings, and cadets holding the C certificate can become Army officers through the NCC Special Entry without writing the CDS paper. NCC Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of November every year. An easy way to remember the motto: a cadet's two first lessons are to stand together and to follow orders. B is wrong, because Unity and Integrity is not the NCC motto. C is wrong, because Unity and Command is a made-up pairing. D is wrong, because the word service belongs to the Indian Army's motto, Service Before Self, not to the NCC's. Exam tip: NCC, 1948, Ministry of Defence, motto Unity and Discipline, NCC Day on the fourth Sunday of November.

The correct answer is A, Sucheta Kriplani. Sucheta Kripalani became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in October 1963 and served till March 1967, making her the first woman to head a state government in India. A freedom fighter who worked closely with Gandhi during the Quit India movement, she was a member of the Constituent Assembly and sang Vande Mataram in the Assembly on the night of 14 August 1947. She was married to the socialist leader Acharya J.B. Kripalani. B is wrong because Mamata Banerjee became the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal only in 2011. C is wrong because Indira Gandhi was India's first woman Prime Minister, in 1966, and never a Chief Minister. D is wrong because Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor of an Indian state, Uttar Pradesh, in 1947, and the first Indian woman to preside over the Congress, but never a Chief Minister. Exam tip: first woman CM Sucheta Kripalani (UP, 1963); first woman Governor Sarojini Naidu (UP, 1947); first woman PM Indira Gandhi (1966).

The correct answer is B, USA. The World Bank has its headquarters at Washington DC in the United States of America.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were both set up after the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 and began work in 1945, and both have their offices in Washington DC. The Bank lends for long-term development - roads, power, irrigation, schools and health - while the IMF looks after exchange rates and short-term balance of payments trouble. The World Bank Group has five arms, of which the IBRD and the IDA together form the World Bank, and India was a founder member.

Option A is wrong because London holds the Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Maritime Organisation, not the World Bank. Option C is wrong because Tokyo is the seat of the United Nations University, while the Asian Development Bank is at Manila. Option D is wrong because Moscow hosts no such global lender.

Exam tip: World Bank and IMF at Washington DC, WTO at Geneva, ADB at Manila.

The correct answer is A, Azerbaijan. The manat is the currency of Azerbaijan, a country of the Caucasus whose capital is Baku on the shore of the Caspian Sea. The name comes from the Russian word moneta, meaning coin, and Turkmenistan calls its currency the manat too, so the two countries share the name. Azerbaijan's oil and gas wealth keeps Baku in the news, and the country is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. B is wrong because the currency of Armenia is the dram. C is wrong because the currency of Albania is the lek. D is wrong because Andorra, a small country between France and Spain, uses the euro and has no currency of its own. Exam tip: manat - Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan; dram - Armenia; lari - Georgia; lek - Albania. When every option starts with the same letter, fix the currency to the country instead of guessing.

The correct answer is C, Euro. The euro is the official currency of the European Union. It came into being as an accounting currency in 1999 and reached people's hands as notes and coins on 1 January 2002. It is managed by the European Central Bank at Frankfurt, its symbol is a crossed E and its code is EUR. Not every member state uses it: the group that does is called the eurozone, while members such as Sweden, Poland and Denmark keep their own currencies. A is wrong because the yen is the currency of Japan. B is wrong because the dollar belongs to the United States and several other countries, none of them the European Union. D is wrong because the pound sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom, which never adopted the euro and left the Union in 2020. Exam tip: euro - European Central Bank at Frankfurt, notes and coins from 1 January 2002, and its users form the eurozone.

The correct answer is B, Minsk. Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus, a landlocked country of Eastern Europe that shares borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Belarus became independent when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, its currency is the Belarusian rouble, and Minsk also houses the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The city gave its name to the Minsk agreements on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which is why it appears in the news. A is wrong because Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan, a port on the Caspian Sea. C is wrong because Moroni is the capital of Comoros, an island country off the eastern coast of Africa. D is wrong because Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the seat of the European Union and NATO. Exam tip: Belarus - Minsk; Belgium - Brussels; Azerbaijan - Baku; Comoros - Moroni. The similar-sounding country names are the trap here.

The correct answer is C, Philippines. The Asian Development Bank has its headquarters in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. ADB was set up in 1966 to reduce poverty and fund development in Asia and the Pacific, and it lends mainly for roads, railways, power, water and urban projects. Japan and the United States hold the largest shares in it, and by convention its president has always been Japanese, which is what makes Japan a tempting wrong choice. India was a founding member and is today one of the bank's biggest borrowers. A is wrong because Japan supplies the bank's largest shareholding and its presidents but not its head office. B is wrong because Beijing hosts the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a different institution set up in 2016. D is wrong because India hosts no such multilateral development bank; the BRICS New Development Bank sits in Shanghai. Exam tip: ADB - Manila, 1966; AIIB - Beijing, 2016; New Development Bank - Shanghai, 2015.

The correct answer is A, Venezuela. Angel Falls, in the Canaima National Park of Venezuela, is the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world, with a total height of about 979 metres and a single unbroken drop of about 807 metres. It pours off the edge of Auyan-tepui, a flat-topped table mountain, and the local Pemon people call it Kerepakupai Meru. It is named after Jimmie Angel, an American pilot who flew over it in 1933. The falls are so remote that most visitors reach them by small plane and then by boat along jungle rivers. B is wrong because Brazil shares the wide Iguazu Falls with Argentina, which are famous for their width, not height. C is wrong because the USA shares Niagara Falls with Canada, which are wide but only about 50 metres high. D is wrong because China is known for the Huangguoshu Falls, which are far lower. Exam tip: highest waterfall = Angel Falls (Venezuela); Iguazu = Brazil and Argentina; Victoria Falls = Zambia and Zimbabwe; Niagara = USA and Canada.

The correct answer is A, Kolkata. Kolkata earned the name City of Palaces in the colonial era for the grand mansions built by British officials and rich Bengali families along its main streets. It was the capital of British India until 1911, when the capital moved to Delhi, and many of those buildings still stand, from the Victoria Memorial to the Marble Palace and the Writers Building. The city also carries the names City of Joy and the cultural capital of India, and it was the first city in India to get a metro railway, in 1984. B is wrong because Hyderabad is the City of Pearls and the City of Nizams. C is wrong because Mumbai is known as the Gateway of India, the City of Seven Islands and the financial capital of India. D is wrong because Chennai is called the Gateway of South India and the Detroit of India for its car industry. Exam tip: Kolkata = City of Palaces and City of Joy; Hyderabad = City of Pearls; Jaipur = Pink City; Udaipur = City of Lakes.

The correct answer is C, China. SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, has eight members — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. China is not one of them; it holds only observer status, as do Japan, the United States, the European Union, South Korea, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar and Australia. SAARC was set up by the Dhaka Declaration of 8 December 1985 with seven members, and its secretariat is at Kathmandu in Nepal. Option A is wrong because Nepal is a founding member and hosts the secretariat. Option B is wrong because the Maldives is also one of the seven founders. Option D is wrong because Afghanistan is a full member, admitted as the eighth at the Delhi summit of 2007. Exam tip: the seven founders are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives; Afghanistan is the eighth member and China is only an observer.