Static GK Mixed Quiz: Set 1

The correct answer is B, Indonesia. President Sukarno of Indonesia was the chief guest at India's first Republic Day on 26 January 1950, the day the Constitution came into force and Dr Rajendra Prasad took oath as the first President. Indonesia had won its own independence from the Dutch only weeks earlier, in December 1949, and Sukarno and Nehru were close partners in the Asian anti-colonial movement that later became the Non-Aligned Movement, which is why he was chosen. That first parade was held at the Irwin Amphitheatre, today the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, not on Rajpath. A, Bhutan, sent King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck as chief guest in 1954. C, China, was represented by Marshal Ye Jianying in 1958. D, Japan, had its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as chief guest in 2014. Exam tip: first Republic Day chief guest, Sukarno of Indonesia, 1950; Indonesia's President Joko Widodo was chief guest again in 2018 with the ASEAN leaders.

The correct answer is D, Beijing. China's capital hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the Winter Olympics in 2022, which made it the first city ever to stage both. The 2008 Games are remembered for the Bird's Nest stadium and for Abhinav Bindra's gold in the 10 m air rifle, India's first individual Olympic gold. In 2022 the ice events were held in Beijing itself, with snow events in the nearby hill areas, and several 2008 venues were reused, such as the Water Cube, which became the curling venue. A is wrong because Tokyo has hosted only the Summer Games, in 1964 and 2020, while Japan's Winter Games went to Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998. B is wrong because Sydney hosted only the Summer Olympics of 2000. C is wrong because New York City has never hosted the Olympics; the Winter Games of 1932 and 1980 were at Lake Placid, a small town in New York State. Exam tip: Beijing 2008 summer plus 2022 winter; first city with both.

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, Roman. The rupee sign blends the Devanagari letter "र" (Ra) with the Roman capital "R" with its vertical stem removed, so that it reads as an Indian letter and an international one at the same time. It was designed by D. Udaya Kumar, then a student at IIT Bombay and later a professor at IIT Guwahati, who won a nationwide open competition; the Union Cabinet approved it on 15 July 2010. The two parallel horizontal lines across the top stand for the tricolour and for the equality sign, a nod to a balanced economy. With this sign the rupee joined the dollar, pound, euro and yen as currencies with their own symbol. B, Ol Chiki, is the script created for the Santali language and has no part in the design. C, Brahmi, is the ancient script of Ashoka's edicts, not used here. D, Cyrillic, is the script of Russian and other Slavic languages. Exam tip: rupee symbol = Devanagari Ra + Roman R, designed by Udaya Kumar, adopted 15 July 2010.

The correct answer is A, Black Francolin. The black francolin, known locally as kala teetar, is the state bird of Haryana. It belongs to the pheasant family, and the male is easy to recognise by its black face and breast, white cheek patch and chestnut collar, while the female is mostly brown. It lives in grassland, scrub and farmland with tall crops such as sugarcane, and its loud, repeated call is heard mostly at dawn and dusk. Haryana's other state symbols are the blackbuck as the state animal, the peepal as the state tree and the lotus as the state flower. Option B is wrong because the house sparrow is the state bird of Delhi and Bihar, not Haryana. Option C is wrong because the great egret is a large white wading bird of wetlands and is not Haryana's symbol. Option D is wrong because hummingbirds are found only in the Americas and do not live in India at all. Exam tip: Haryana's symbols are black francolin (bird), blackbuck (animal), peepal (tree) and lotus (flower).

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 D, New Delhi. The National Dope Testing Laboratory, NDTL, is in New Delhi and works under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It analyses the urine and blood samples of athletes for banned substances and is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, which allows its results to be used in international sport. The other arm of the system, the National Anti-Doping Agency, NADA, which collects the samples and decides the cases, is also in New Delhi, so both national anti-doping bodies share the capital. NDTL is an autonomous body; NADA was set up in 2005 under the Societies Registration Act. A, Mumbai, has no national anti-doping facility. B, Bangalore, hosts a Sports Authority of India centre but not the laboratory. C, Punjab, has the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports at Patiala, India's main coaching institute, which is a different body. Exam tip: NDTL tests, NADA polices, both in New Delhi; WADA, the world body, is in Montreal.

The correct answer is C, 1962. The Battle of Rezang La was fought on 18 November 1962 during the India-China war, at a pass about 16,000 feet high near Chushul in Ladakh. The Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon, 120 men mostly Ahirs from Haryana under Major Shaitan Singh, held the post against repeated Chinese attacks in freezing cold and without artillery support; 114 of them died fighting almost to the last man and the last round. Major Shaitan Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously, and the battle is remembered as one of the greatest last stands in military history. A rebuilt memorial at Rezang La was inaugurated in 2021. A, 1948, falls in the first India-Pakistan war over Kashmir (1947 to 1948), remembered for the tank assault on Zoji La. B, 1956, saw no war fought by India. D, 1972, is the year of the Shimla Agreement, after the 1971 Bangladesh war. Exam tip: Rezang La, 18 November 1962, 13 Kumaon, Major Shaitan Singh, Param Vir Chakra.

The correct answer is B, Insat-1B. It was the first working satellite of the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system, carried to orbit by the US Space Shuttle Challenger in August 1983. INSAT-1B was a multipurpose satellite: its transponders gave national television coverage, telephone links and weather pictures from one spot in geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the equator. It made nationwide Doordarshan broadcasts possible and began the INSAT series that still serves communication and meteorology. Its predecessor INSAT-1A, launched in 1982, failed early, which is why 1B is remembered as the real start. A is wrong because Bhaskara-I, launched in 1979 on a Soviet rocket, was an experimental earth-observation satellite, not a geostationary broadcaster. C is wrong because GSAT-7, launched in 2013, is the Indian Navy's dedicated communication satellite, often called Rukmini. D is wrong because RISAT-1, launched in 2012 on a PSLV, is a radar imaging satellite for earth observation. Exam tip: INSAT = communication and weather in geostationary orbit; Bhaskara and RISAT = observing the earth.

The correct answer is B, Hirakud dam – Odisha. The Hirakud dam stands on the Mahanadi near Sambalpur in Odisha. Completed in 1957, it was among the first big multipurpose river valley projects after Independence, built to control the Mahanadi's floods and to give irrigation and hydroelectric power. With its long earthen dykes it is one of the longest earthen dams in the world, about 26 km in total length. A is wrong because the Tehri dam, India's tallest, is on the Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand; it was in Uttar Pradesh only until Uttarakhand was formed in 2000, which is the trap here. C is wrong because Bhakra Nangal is on the Sutlej, with the Bhakra dam in Himachal Pradesh and the Nangal dam in Punjab, and its reservoir is the Gobind Sagar. D is wrong because Nagarjuna Sagar is on the Krishna, on the border of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, far from Rajasthan. Exam tip: match dams with rivers too, Hirakud–Mahanadi, Tehri–Bhagirathi, Bhakra–Sutlej, Nagarjuna Sagar–Krishna.

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, 24 January. On 24 January 1950, two days before the Constitution came into force, the United Provinces was officially renamed Uttar Pradesh. The state government began celebrating this date as Uttar Pradesh Diwas, or UP Foundation Day, in 2018, with events across the state showing its culture, crafts and achievements. The One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, which promotes a special product from each district, was launched on the first UP Diwas in 2018. Conveniently, the short form ‘U.P.’ stayed the same, since both names begin with the same letters. Option A is wrong because 26 January is Republic Day, when the Constitution came into force in 1950. Option B is wrong because 25 January is National Voters’ Day, marking the founding of the Election Commission in 1950, and also Himachal Pradesh’s statehood day. Option D is wrong because 23 January is the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, observed as Parakram Diwas. Exam tip: on 24 January 1950 the United Provinces became Uttar Pradesh; the day has been celebrated as UP Diwas since 2018.

The correct answer is D, Uttar Pradesh. Prathama Bank, the first Regional Rural Bank of India, opened on 2 October 1975 with its head office at Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, sponsored by Syndicate Bank. It was one of the first five RRBs set up that day under an ordinance that became the Regional Rural Banks Act 1976, following the recommendation of the Narasimham working group of 1975. Their capital is shared 50 per cent by the Central Government, 15 per cent by the State Government and 35 per cent by the sponsor bank; they are regulated by the RBI and supervised by NABARD. Option A is wrong because Prathama Bank never sat in Rajasthan; that state's first RRB was the Jaipur-Nagaur Anchalik Gramin Bank, another of the first five. Option B is wrong because none of the first five RRBs was in Madhya Pradesh. Option C is wrong because Punjab was not in the first batch either; the other first-day banks were in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Rajasthan. Exam tip: first RRB = Prathama Bank, Moradabad (UP), 2 October 1975, sponsor Syndicate Bank; shareholding 50:15:35.

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 D, Chennai. The All India Chess Federation, the national body for chess, was founded in 1951 and has its headquarters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. It is affiliated to FIDE, the world chess federation founded in Paris in 1924 and now based in Lausanne, and to the Indian Olympic Association. Chennai is called the chess capital of India: Viswanathan Anand, the first Indian Grandmaster (1988) and five-time world champion, is from the city, D Gukesh, who became world champion in December 2024, grew up there, and the 44th Chess Olympiad of 2022 was held at nearby Mamallapuram. Option A is wrong because Bengaluru houses no national chess body; it is known for the National Cricket Academy. Option B is wrong because Hyderabad is linked with badminton through the Gopichand academy, not with the AICF. Option C is wrong because Mumbai is the home of the BCCI, the cricket board. Exam tip: AICF = Chennai (1951), BCCI = Mumbai, Hockey India and AIFF = New Delhi, FIDE = Lausanne.

The correct answer is B, Vairengte. The Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, known as CIJWS, is at Vairengte in the Kolasib district of Mizoram, close to the Assam border. It trains Indian soldiers in fighting insurgents and in surviving and operating in dense jungle, and its motto is Fight a Guerrilla like a Guerrilla. Soldiers from many friendly foreign armies, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have also trained here, and every army unit going for counter-insurgency duty passes through its courses. A, Dehradun, has the Indian Military Academy, which trains officers before commissioning. C, Gulmarg, in Jammu and Kashmir, has the High Altitude Warfare School, which trains for mountain and snow warfare. D, Mhow, in Madhya Pradesh, has the Infantry School, the Army War College and the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering. Exam tip: jungle warfare at Vairengte in Mizoram, high altitude warfare at Gulmarg, infantry at Mhow, officers at IMA Dehradun and NDA Khadakwasla.

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 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 D, 1984. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) was set up by the Government of India in January 1984 as a registered society under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It was created to make good use of the stadiums and facilities built for the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi and to train athletes for international events. Its headquarters is at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, and it runs training centres across the country, including the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports at Patiala. A is wrong because 1982 is the year India hosted the Asian Games in Delhi, which led to SAI's creation two years later. B is wrong because 1983 is remembered for India winning the Cricket World Cup under Kapil Dev. C is wrong because by 1987 SAI had already been working for three years. Exam tip: Asian Games in Delhi 1982, SAI formed 1984, headquarters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.

The correct answer is B, Assam Rifles. It is the only such force whose administrative control lies with the Ministry of Home Affairs while its operational control lies with the Indian Army. The Assam Rifles is also India's oldest paramilitary force, raised in 1835 as the Cachar Levy to guard British tea estates and settlements in the North East. Most of its officers come on deputation from the Army; it guards the India–Myanmar border and runs counter-insurgency operations in the North East, which is why it is called the Sentinels of the North East and the Friends of the Hill People. A is wrong, because the CRPF, India's largest central armed police force, is fully under the Home Ministry. C is wrong, because the ITBP, raised in 1962 to guard the border with China, is also under the Home Ministry alone. D is wrong, because the CISF, set up in 1969 to protect industrial units, airports and metros, reports only to the Home Ministry. Exam tip: Assam Rifles, raised 1835, Home Ministry for administration and Army for operations, guards the Myanmar border.