Static GK Mixed Quiz: Set 18

The correct answer is A, Sirimavo Bandaranaike. She took office in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in July 1960 and so became the first woman anywhere in the world to head a government as Prime Minister. She entered politics after the assassination of her husband, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, led the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and served three terms as Prime Minister, from 1960 to 1965, from 1970 to 1977 and from 1994 to 2000; her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga was President during the last of them. B is wrong because Benazir Bhutto became Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, the first woman to lead a Muslim-majority country but not the first in the world. C is wrong because Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first woman Prime Minister in 1979. D is wrong because Indira Gandhi became India's first woman Prime Minister in 1966, six years after Sirimavo. Exam tip: keep the order 1960 Sirimavo, 1966 Indira, 1979 Thatcher, 1988 Benazir.

The correct answer is B, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Statue of Unity stands on Sadhu Bet, an island in the Narmada near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada district of Gujarat, and it shows Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, who brought the princely states into the Union. The statue is 182 metres tall, a height chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Assembly, and it was unveiled on 31 October 2018, Patel's birth anniversary. Ram V. Sutar designed it, and iron collected from farmers across the country went into the work. A is wrong because M. K. Gandhi has no statue of this scale. C is wrong because Vinoba Bhave, who led the Bhoodan movement, is not its subject. D is wrong because Dr B. R. Ambedkar is honoured by other memorials, not by this statue. Exam tip: Statue of Unity — 182 m, Sardar Patel, on the Narmada in Gujarat, unveiled 31 October 2018.

The correct answer is B, Dzongkha. Dzongkha is the national and official language of Bhutan, and it is written in the Tibetan script. The name itself means the language of the dzong, the fortress-monasteries from which Bhutan was governed. Bhutan is a landlocked Himalayan neighbour of India, its capital is Thimphu and its currency is the ngultrum, which is pegged to the Indian rupee. The other three options are all currencies, not languages, which is the trap in this question. A is wrong because the yuan is the currency of China. C is wrong because the ngultrum is the currency of Bhutan, not its language. D is wrong because the kyat is the currency of Myanmar, another neighbour of India. Exam tip: remember the set together - Bhutan, capital Thimphu, language Dzongkha, currency ngultrum.

The correct answer is B, Monthly channel. India Post moves its mail through six named channels, and there is no 'Monthly channel' among them. Under the Mail Network Optimisation Project the department separated its traffic so that each kind of article travels on a route with its own time norms. The six are the Metro channel, for mail between the big metro cities; the Rajdhani channel, linking the state capitals; the Green channel, for local mail inside a city; the Business channel, for corporate and bulk business mail; the Periodical channel, for newspapers and magazines; and the Bulk mail channel, for very large mailings. Because of this split, a letter addressed to a metro city does not travel with local city mail. A is wrong because the Metro channel is one of the six. C is wrong because the Rajdhani channel, which joins the capitals, is also one of them. D is wrong because the Business channel handles corporate and bulk mail and is on the list. Exam tip: the six mail channels are Metro, Rajdhani, Green, Business, Periodical and Bulk.

The correct answer is A, The Hague. The International Court of Justice sits in the Peace Palace at The Hague in the Netherlands, and it is the only principal organ of the United Nations not based in New York. Set up by the UN Charter in 1945, it held its first sitting in 1946 and took the place of the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League of Nations. It has fifteen judges elected for nine years by the General Assembly and the Security Council voting separately, and it both decides disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to organs of the United Nations. Option B is wrong because Paris is the headquarters of UNESCO. Option C is wrong because Washington DC houses the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Option D is wrong because New York is the seat of the United Nations itself, with the General Assembly and the Security Council. Exam tip: the ICJ sits at The Hague with fifteen judges for nine-year terms, the one principal UN organ outside New York.

The correct answer is A, Brazil. Brazil is called the Coffee Bowl of the World because it grows and sends out more coffee than any other country and has done so for more than a century. Its coffee belt lies in the south-east, in the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Parana, where the deep red soil called terra rossa, the warm climate and the rolling plateau suit the plant. The large estates there are known as fazendas, and the port of Santos handles much of the export. Coffee needs a hot, wet climate with well drained slopes, which is why it is a plantation crop of the tropics. B is wrong because Mexico is a smaller coffee grower and is better known for maize and silver. C is wrong because India grows coffee mainly in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu but is far behind Brazil. D is wrong because Serbia has a cool climate that cannot support coffee at all. Exam tip: Brazil Coffee Bowl of the World, Sri Lanka Pearl of the Indian Ocean, Cuba Sugar Bowl of the World.

The correct answer is B, 2014. The spacecraft was launched by a PSLV in November 2013 and entered the orbit of Mars on 24 September 2014, which made India the first country to succeed at Mars on its first attempt and the first in Asia to reach Mars orbit. Option A is wrong because 2013 is the year of the launch and not of the arrival, and this is the trap the question is built on. Option C is wrong because 2016 has no connection with the mission. Option D is wrong because 2019 is the year of Chandrayaan-2. Read carefully whether a question asks for the launch or for the arrival, because papers set both and the two years are different. The spacecraft was also called Mangalyaan and carried five instruments, among them a camera whose pictures of Mars were widely published.

The correct answer is D, India, Australia, Japan and the US. Malabar 2020 was held in two phases in November 2020, the first in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam and the second in the Arabian Sea, and Australia joined India, Japan and the United States in it. Malabar began in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the US Navy. Japan became a permanent participant in 2015. Australia had taken part once in 2007 and then returned in 2020, which brought the navies of all four Quad countries together in the same exercise. The drills cover anti-submarine warfare, air defence, cross-deck flying and live firing. Option A is wrong because that was the three-nation line-up from 2015 to 2019, before Australia rejoined. Option B is wrong because Israel has never been part of Malabar. Option C is wrong for the same reason, and it also leaves out Japan, a permanent member. Exam tip: Malabar started 1992 as India-US, Japan permanent from 2015, Australia from 2020 — the four Quad navies.

The correct answer is C, 1,676 millimetres. Broad gauge in India measures 1,676 millimetres between the inner faces of the rails, and it carries almost all long distance traffic; the conversion of older lines to this gauge is called Project Unigauge. Option A is wrong because 1,000 millimetres is metre gauge, which survives on a few heritage and branch lines. Option B is wrong, and it is the sharpest distractor, because 1,435 millimetres is standard gauge, used worldwide and in India on metro systems rather than on the main railway network. Option D is wrong since 762 millimetres is narrow gauge, with a lighter 610 millimetre gauge on hill lines such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Learn the four figures in descending order and the question answers itself whichever gauge is asked.

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 A, hilly terrains. Hydel or hydroelectric power depends on head, the vertical distance through which water falls on to the turbine, and on a narrow valley in hard rock where a tall dam can hold a deep reservoir. Hills supply both, which is why the great hydro stations of the country stand in the Himalaya and the Western Ghats, at Tehri, Nathpa Jhakri, Koyna and Idukki. Option B, desert areas, is wrong because a desert has neither perennial flow nor the gradient needed, and high evaporation would empty a reservoir. Option C, plains, is wrong because the gradient there is too gentle to give useful head; plains carry barrages for irrigation and navigation, such as Farakka, rather than high dams. Option D, oceans, is wrong because a dam needs a river channel to close; the sea is used for tidal and wave power, which is a different technology altogether.

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, Jaipur. The capital of Rajasthan, founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II, earned the name because the old walled city was painted in a terracotta pink wash, traditionally said to have been done to welcome a royal visit in the nineteenth century, and the colour is still maintained by law in the old quarter. Option A is wrong because Jodhpur is the Blue City, named for the indigo-washed houses below the Mehrangarh fort, and is also called the Sun City. Option C is wrong because Udaipur is the City of Lakes, sometimes also called the White City and the Venice of the East. Option D is wrong because Jaisalmer is the Golden City, named for the yellow sandstone of its fort and havelis. All four Rajasthan cities carry colour names, which is exactly the trap this question sets.

The correct answer is A, Boston. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile red brick path laid out in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1951, linking sixteen sites connected with the American Revolution. Walkers pass the Massachusetts State House, the Old South Meeting House where the Boston Tea Party was planned, the spot of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's house and the Bunker Hill Monument, and the walk ends at the warship USS Constitution. Boston was the centre of colonial protest against British taxes, which is why so much of the revolution's story sits inside one walkable city. B is wrong because Memphis in Tennessee is known for Beale Street and the civil rights museum at the Lorraine Motel. C is wrong because Denver in Colorado is a much later city of the American West. D is wrong because Connecticut is a state, not a city. Exam tip: Freedom Trail, Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre all point to the same city.

The correct answer is A, New Delhi. Humayun's library stood in the Sher Mandal, the small octagonal tower inside the Purana Qila in Delhi, which he used as a library and an observatory after he won back the throne in 1555. It was from its steep steps that he fell in January 1556, and the fall killed him. The Purana Qila itself rose on the site of Dinpanah, the city Humayun began in 1533, and was completed by Sher Shah Suri, who held Delhi from 1540 to 1555. His tomb, the first great garden tomb of the Mughals and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is also in Delhi and was raised by his widow Bega Begum. B is wrong because Aligarh is known for its university, founded as a college in 1875. C is wrong because Aurangabad is linked with Aurangzeb and the Bibi ka Maqbara. D is wrong because Agra holds the buildings of Akbar and Shah Jahan, not Humayun's library. Exam tip: Sher Mandal in the Purana Qila was Humayun's library, and he died falling from it in 1556.

The correct answer is D, Indonesia. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, has four members — India, the United States, Japan and Australia — and Indonesia is not one of them. The grouping grew out of the coordination between these four navies after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, was set up as a dialogue in 2007, lapsed for a decade and was revived in 2017. It is an informal strategic forum rather than a treaty alliance with a standing army, and it works on maritime security, vaccines, critical and emerging technology, climate action and infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific. The Malabar naval exercise, which began as an India–United States drill, now brings all four Quad navies together. Options A, B and C are wrong because the United States, India and Japan are all founder members of the Quad. Indonesia is instead a founder member of ASEAN and a G20 member, and it works with India through forums such as the East Asia Summit and IORA. Exam tip: Quad = India, US, Japan, Australia; Malabar is the exercise of these four navies.

The correct answer is C, Iran. The Lotus Temple, the Bahai House of Worship at Kalkaji in New Delhi, was designed by Fariborz Sahba, an architect born in Iran who later settled in Canada, and it was completed and opened for worship in December 1986. Twenty-seven marble petals set in clusters of three give the building its nine sides and nine doors and the shape of a half-open lotus, and the marble was quarried at Penteli in Greece. Like every Bahai house of worship it is open to people of all faiths and holds no idol, no altar and no sermon, only readings from scripture. A is wrong because no architect from the UAE was involved in the work. B is wrong because Japan has no connection with the building. D is wrong because the German link belongs to other projects in Delhi, not to this one. Exam tip: Lotus Temple, Bahai faith, architect Fariborz Sahba of Iran, opened 1986, nine sides and twenty-seven petals.

The correct answer is C, San Francisco Conference. The Charter of the United Nations was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945, at the close of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, by the delegates of fifty nations; Poland signed a little later and so the organisation began with fifty-one original members. The Charter came into force on 24 October 1945, once the five permanent members of the Security Council and a majority of the others had ratified it, and that day is kept as United Nations Day. The name United Nations was coined by President Franklin Roosevelt. Option A is wrong because The Hague is the seat of the International Court of Justice, not the place of signing. Option B is wrong because London is where the General Assembly held its first session, in January 1946. Option D is wrong because no United Nations conference was held at Berlin. Exam tip: signed 26 June 1945 at San Francisco and in force from 24 October 1945.

The correct answer is A, Maldives. BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, has seven members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Maldives is not one of them, although it is a member of SAARC. The grouping began at Bangkok in 1997 as BIST-EC with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand; Myanmar joined later the same year, and Nepal and Bhutan came in 2004, when the present name was adopted. Its permanent secretariat is at Dhaka, and because it links five South Asian with two South-East Asian countries, it is often described as a bridge between South Asia and South-East Asia. Option B is wrong because India is a founding member. Option C is wrong because Bhutan joined in 2004. Option D is wrong because Nepal also joined in 2004. Exam tip: BIMSTEC has seven members with no Pakistan, Afghanistan or Maldives, and its secretariat is at Dhaka.

The correct answer is A, 1962. The Sino-Indian War was fought between 20 October and 21 November 1962, when China attacked across the Himalayan frontier. The fighting ran in two separate theatres, Aksai Chin in Ladakh in the west and the North East Frontier Agency, today Arunachal Pradesh, in the east. China declared a unilateral ceasefire on 21 November 1962 and kept Aksai Chin. Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister and the reverses cost Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon his post; the war pushed India to enlarge its army and raise mountain divisions trained for high altitude. Option B is wrong because no India-China war took place in 1969. Option C is wrong because 1973 is remembered for the Kesavananda Bharati judgment and the launch of Project Tiger, not a war. Option D is wrong because 1964 is the year Nehru died. Exam tip: 1962 with China, 1965 and 1971 with Pakistan, 1999 Kargil.