Which is the state animal of Andhra Pradesh?

The correct answer is A, rice, wheat and maize. These three cereals take up most of Bihar's cropped area and give the state the bulk of its foodgrain output. Rice is the main kharif crop of both the north Bihar plain and the south Bihar plain, where the monsoon and the alluvial soil of the Ganga basin suit it; wheat follows as the leading rabi crop; and maize is grown heavily in the Kosi and Seemanchal belt, with the state well known for its rabi maize. B is wrong because sugarcane is a cash crop and not a foodgrain, tea is grown on only a small area in Kishanganj, and barley is a minor crop. C is wrong because groundnut is an oilseed and coffee is not grown in Bihar at all, since it needs the well-drained hill slopes of peninsular India. D is wrong because option A is correct. Exam tip: Bihar's foodgrain trio is rice, wheat and maize, while sugarcane and jute are its chief cash crops.

The correct answer is B, tin. The Bastar belt carries cassiterite, the primary ore of tin, and Chhattisgarh is the only state in the country from which primary tin ore is mined, which makes it a favourite one-line fact for objective papers. Option A is wrong because copper comes chiefly from Jharkhand, from the Singhbhum belt, as well as from Madhya Pradesh at Malanjkhand and from Rajasthan at Khetri. Option C is wrong because zinc comes overwhelmingly from Rajasthan, from the Zawar and Rampura Agucha mines, where it occurs with lead. Option D is wrong because lead likewise comes mainly from Rajasthan, as zinc and lead ores are found together there. Chhattisgarh is better known for iron ore from Bailadila, coal from Korba and large deposits of bauxite, dolomite and limestone, but the tin fact is the one that distinguishes it.

The correct answer is B, Veer Narayan Singh. The zamindar of Sonakhan opened grain stores for a famine stricken countryside during the revolt of 1857, was arrested for it, and was hanged at Raipur, which is why he is honoured as the first martyr of Chhattisgarh. Option A is wrong because Gundadhur led the Bhumkal rebellion of 1910 in Bastar against forest and revenue policy, half a century later. Option C is wrong because Birsa Munda led the Munda rising in the Chotanagpur region of present day Jharkhand at the close of the nineteenth century, and the state of Jharkhand was formed on his birth anniversary. Option D is wrong because Pandit Sundarlal Sharma was a social reformer and the pioneer of the demand for a separate Chhattisgarh, not a figure of 1857.

The correct answer is C, the Soviet Union. The Bhilai Steel Plant in Durg district was built with Soviet collaboration and began production in 1959; it is run today by the Steel Authority of India and is known above all for the long rails it supplies to Indian Railways. Option A is wrong because West German collaboration built the Rourkela Steel Plant in Odisha, the first of the public sector plants of that era. Option B is wrong because British collaboration built the Durgapur Steel Plant in West Bengal. Option D is wrong because the Soviet Union, not Japan, was the partner here, although Japanese assistance came later to other Indian industry; the Bokaro Steel Plant in Jharkhand was also built with Soviet help. The three plants of the Second Five Year Plan, Rourkela, Bhilai and Durgapur, are asked as a set with their partner countries.

The correct answer is A, Teejan Bai. She is the best known performer of Pandwani, the sung narration of the Mahabharata, which has two styles, Kapalik and Vedamati, and she carried the form from village gatherings to stages abroad; she has received the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan. Option B is wrong because Ritu Verma is also a noted Pandwani singer of the state but has not been given the Padma Vibhushan. Option C is wrong because Habib Tanvir of Raipur was a towering figure of Indian theatre, who built Naya Theatre on the folk form Nacha and wrote Charandas Chor, but he belongs to theatre rather than Pandwani. Option D is wrong because Minimata was a political figure, the first woman member of Parliament from the region, and not a performer.