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Static GKEasyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2019, GK

Paul Allen, who died in October 2018, was the co-founder of

  1. A.Oracle
  2. B.IBM
  3. C.Microsoft
  4. D.SAP

Correct answer

C. Microsoft

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Microsoft. Paul Allen founded Microsoft with his school friend Bill Gates in 1975.

Allen and Gates started the company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to write software for the early personal computer Altair 8800, and the name came from "microcomputer software". Microsoft later grew with MS-DOS and Windows and moved its base to Redmond, Washington. Allen left active management in 1983 and went on to own sports teams and fund science and philanthropy; he died in Seattle in October 2018.

A is wrong because Oracle was founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.

B is wrong because IBM grew out of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company formed in 1911 and was renamed IBM in 1924, long before Allen.

D is wrong because SAP is a German software company founded in 1972 by five former IBM employees.

Exam tip: Microsoft = Bill Gates and Paul Allen (1975); Apple = Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (1976).

Practice Questions

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Q2.Static GKAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2026, GS Paper IHard

Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?

(Indian Army Corps : Headquarters)

  1. A.3 Corps : Dimapur
  2. B.4 Corps : Tezpur
  3. C.14 Corps : Leh
  4. D.33 Corps : Srinagar
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 33 Corps : Srinagar

33 Corps has its headquarters at Sukna near Siliguri in West Bengal, not at Srinagar. 33 Corps, under the Eastern Command, guards Sikkim and the narrow Siliguri Corridor that links the North-East with the rest of India, which is why it sits at Sukna.

Q3.Static GKAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2026, GS Paper IHard

Consider the following statements about platforms for multilateral co-operation:

1. The 'Colombo Process' is a regional consultative process in which member states take binding decisions by consensus.

2. The 'Abu Dhabi Dialogue' is a voluntary non-binding consultative process among Asian countries of labour origin and destination to facilitate regional cooperation on contractual labour mobility.

3. The 'Global Forum for Migration and Development', created upon the proposal of a former UN Secretary General, is a voluntary forum whose decisions are non-binding in nature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A.1, 2 and 3
  2. B.1 and 3 only
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.2 only
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 2 and 3 only

All three are voluntary migration forums whose outcomes are non-binding, so statement 1 is wrong in calling the Colombo Process's decisions binding.

Q4.Static GKAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IEasy

Which one of the following pairs of countries with new names and old names is correctly matched?

New name : Old name

  1. A.Kingdom of eSwatini : Swaziland
  2. B.Malawi : Rhodesia
  3. C.Botswana : Nyasaland
  4. D.Zimbabwe : Ceylon
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Kingdom of eSwatini : Swaziland

In April 2018 King Mswati III renamed Swaziland as the Kingdom of eSwatini, meaning land of the Swazis. eSwatini is a small landlocked kingdom in southern Africa, bordered by South Africa and Mozambique.

Q5.Static GKHard

Which of the following statements about birthplaces is correct?

  1. A.Lal Bahadur Shastri was born at Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh
  2. B.Lala Lajpat Rai was born at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra
  3. C.Sarojini Naidu was born at Chennai
  4. D.Maharana Pratap was born at Chittorgarh
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Lal Bahadur Shastri was born at Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh

Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on 2 October 1904 at Mughalsarai in the Varanasi region of Uttar Pradesh, a town now named Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar; he shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi, which is why both are remembered on 2 October.