Railway 2018 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, France. France was the first country to introduce GST, in 1954. The idea came from Maurice Lauré, a French tax official, who designed a tax charged at every stage of production and sale but only on the value added at that stage. This avoids "tax on tax", the cascading effect of older sales taxes. This value added tax (VAT) model later spread across Europe and the world. India adopted GST on 1 July 2017 through the 101st Constitutional Amendment, with a dual model: CGST and SGST on sales within a state and IGST on sales between states. A is wrong because Canada brought in its GST only in 1991. C is wrong because Australia introduced GST in 2000. D is wrong because Germany adopted its VAT system in 1968, long after France. Exam tip: First GST = France, 1954 (Maurice Lauré); India's GST from 1 July 2017 under the 101st Amendment; 1 July is observed as GST Day.

The correct answer is A, Assam. Assam became the first state to ratify the GST Constitution Amendment Bill, on 12 August 2016, soon after Parliament passed it. Because GST changes the taxing powers of both the Centre and the states, the bill needed approval from at least half of the state legislatures under Article 368. Bihar was the second state and Jharkhand the third. After enough states ratified it, the President gave assent on 8 September 2016 and it became the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016. It added Article 246A and created the GST Council under Article 279A, and GST came into force on 1 July 2017. B is wrong because West Bengal ratified the bill only after Assam. C is wrong because Meghalaya was not the first state to ratify it. D is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh was not the first state either. Exam tip: GST = 101st Amendment, 2016; first state to ratify = Assam; GST Council = Article 279A, chaired by the Union Finance Minister; GST in force from 1 July 2017.

The correct answer is A, 2nd Oct 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2 October 2014, Mahatma Gandhi's 145th birth anniversary, at Rajpath in New Delhi. Its target was a clean and open defecation free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, Gandhiji's 150th birth anniversary, mainly by building household and community toilets and improving waste management. The mission has two parts, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) for villages and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) for towns and cities. Its logo is Gandhiji's round spectacles with the words "Swachh Bharat". B is wrong because 14 November is Children's Day, Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday, and 2015 is also the wrong year. C is wrong because 14 November 2014 was Children's Day, not the launch date. D is wrong because by 2 October 2015 the mission had already completed its first year. Exam tip: Swachh Bharat = 2 October 2014, target ODF India by 2 October 2019, logo = Gandhiji's spectacles; the Swachh Survekshan ranks cities on cleanliness.

The correct answer is A, Orange River. The Orange River is the longest river of South Africa, about 2,200 km long. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains of Lesotho, flows west across South Africa and falls into the Atlantic Ocean at Alexander Bay. For part of its course it forms the border between South Africa and Namibia. Its main tributary is the Vaal, and the Augrabies Falls lie on the Orange. The Limpopo is the other big river of South Africa, flowing east into the Indian Ocean. B is wrong because the Nile, the longest river in the world, flows north through countries such as Uganda, Sudan and Egypt into the Mediterranean Sea. C is wrong because the Congo flows through Central Africa, crosses the Equator twice and enters the Atlantic. D is wrong because the Niger flows through West Africa (Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria) into the Gulf of Guinea. Exam tip: South Africa = Orange and Limpopo; Nile = north-east Africa; Congo = crosses the Equator twice; Niger = West Africa; Zambezi = Victoria Falls.

The correct answer is C, Panama Canal. The Panama Canal cuts across the narrow Isthmus of Panama in Central America and joins the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea, with the Pacific Ocean. It was opened in 1914 by the United States and is about 82 km long. Because the land in between is higher than the sea, ships are raised and lowered by locks that use water from the man-made Gatun Lake. The canal saves ships the long voyage around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The USA handed the canal over to Panama on 31 December 1999. A is wrong because the Kiel Canal in Germany joins the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. B is wrong because the Suez Canal in Egypt, opened in 1869, joins the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. D is wrong because the White Sea Canal in Russia links the White Sea with the Baltic Sea. Exam tip: Suez 1869 (Mediterranean to Red Sea, no locks), Panama 1914 (Atlantic to Pacific, with locks), Kiel (North Sea to Baltic Sea).

The correct answer is C, southern. Indira Point, the southernmost point of India, lies at the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is at about 6°45' North latitude. Its old name was Pygmalion Point, and it was renamed in 1985 in memory of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The southernmost point of mainland India is Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, at about 8°4' N. The Six Degree Channel, south of Great Nicobar, separates India from Sumatra in Indonesia. A is wrong because the northern tip of Great Nicobar faces Little Nicobar, the next island in the chain. B is wrong because the eastern coast runs along the side of the island and does not reach its southern end. D is wrong because the western coast also runs along the side of the island, not at its southern end. Exam tip: India's extreme points: south = Indira Point, mainland south = Kanyakumari, east = Kibithu (Arunachal Pradesh), west = Guhar Moti (Kutch, Gujarat).

The correct answer is D, Aravalli Range. Guru Shikhar, about 1,722 m high on Mount Abu in the Sirohi district of Rajasthan, is the highest peak of the Aravalli Range. The Aravallis are among the oldest fold mountains in the world and have been worn down into low hills. They run about 700 km from Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana to Delhi, where the Delhi Ridge is their last part. The range acts as a barrier to the spread of the Thar Desert towards the east, and Mount Abu is the only hill station of Rajasthan. A is wrong because the Vindhyas are a lower range in central India and Guru Shikhar is not part of them. B is wrong because the highest peak of the Western Ghats is Anamudi (2,695 m) in Kerala. C is wrong because the highest peak of the Satpura Range is Dhupgarh, near Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh. Exam tip: Aravalli = Guru Shikhar, Satpura = Dhupgarh, Western Ghats = Anamudi, Nilgiris = Doddabetta.

The correct answer is D, 1911. King George V announced at the Delhi Durbar on 12 December 1911 that the capital of British India would move from Calcutta to Delhi. Lord Hardinge II was the Viceroy at the time, and the same Durbar also cancelled the Partition of Bengal of 1905. Delhi was chosen because it was more central, had long been the seat of the Sultans and the Mughals, and was away from the strong nationalist movement in Bengal. The new city of New Delhi was planned by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker and was formally inaugurated in 1931. A is wrong because 1912 is when the move was carried out; the decision was declared in 1911. B is wrong because 1905 is the year of the Partition of Bengal under Lord Curzon. C is wrong because 1910 is the year George V became king. Exam tip: 1905 Partition of Bengal (Curzon); 1911 partition annulled and capital shift announced (Hardinge II, Delhi Durbar); 1931 New Delhi inaugurated.

The correct answer is D, Shah Jahan. The Jama Masjid of Delhi was built by Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656 as the main mosque of his new capital, Shahjahanabad. It is one of the largest mosques in India, made of red sandstone and white marble, with three great gateways, four towers and two tall minarets. Its courtyard can hold about 25,000 worshippers. Its original name was Masjid-i-Jahan Numa, and it stands facing the Red Fort, which Shah Jahan also built. A is wrong because Humayun died in 1556, almost a century before the mosque was built. B is wrong because Babur founded the Mughal Empire in 1526 and died in 1530. C is wrong because Aurangzeb built the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore and the Moti Masjid inside the Red Fort, not the Jama Masjid. Exam tip: Shah Jahan = Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid (Delhi), Moti Masjid (Agra); Aurangzeb = Badshahi Mosque (Lahore), Bibi ka Maqbara (Aurangabad).

The correct answer is B, indigo. Under the tinkathiya system, European planters forced the peasants of Champaran in Bihar to grow indigo on 3 out of every 20 katthas (one bigha) of their land. Indigo was a blue dye in demand abroad, and the planters paid the farmers very little for it. When cheap German synthetic dye made indigo less profitable, the planters demanded higher rents and illegal dues instead. A local farmer, Raj Kumar Shukla, persuaded Gandhiji to visit Champaran in 1917. This became Gandhi's first satyagraha in India, and the Champaran Agrarian Act of 1918 ended the tinkathiya system. A is wrong because sugarcane was not the crop forced on the peasants under this system. C is wrong because the Champaran planters were indigo planters, and cotton was not imposed there. D is wrong because jute is a crop of Bengal and was not linked with the Champaran struggle. Exam tip: Gandhi's first three struggles in India: Champaran 1917 (indigo), Ahmedabad mill strike 1918 (wages), Kheda 1918 (land revenue).

The correct answer is D, Nucleus. The nucleus is called the master or control centre of the cell because it directs all the activities of the cell. It holds the chromosomes, which carry DNA, the genetic instructions for making proteins and for passing traits from parents to children. It is wrapped in a double membrane called the nuclear envelope, whose pores let messages move in and out. Robert Brown discovered the nucleus in 1831. Mature red blood cells of mammals have no nucleus. A is wrong because mitochondria release energy as ATP and are called the powerhouse of the cell. B is wrong because the endoplasmic reticulum is a network of membranes that makes and carries proteins and fats. C is wrong because the nucleolus is a small body inside the nucleus that makes ribosomes, so it is only a part of the control centre. Exam tip: Nucleus = control centre, Mitochondria = powerhouse, Ribosome = protein factory, Lysosome = suicide bag, Golgi body = packaging unit.

The correct answer is B, Copper and Zinc. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, usually about 70 per cent copper and 30 per cent zinc. Adding zinc makes brass harder than pure copper, gives it a golden-yellow shine and helps it resist corrosion. That is why brass is used for utensils, door handles, taps, musical instruments like the trumpet, and cartridge cases. An alloy is a mixture of a metal with other metals or a non-metal, made to improve properties such as strength, hardness or resistance to rust. A is wrong because copper and tin make bronze, the alloy that gave its name to the Bronze Age. C is wrong because copper with aluminium gives aluminium bronze, not brass. D is wrong because copper and iron do not form a common alloy; iron with a little carbon makes steel. Exam tip: Brass = Cu + Zn, Bronze = Cu + Sn, Solder = Pb + Sn, Stainless steel = Fe + Cr + Ni + C, German silver = Cu + Zn + Ni.

The correct answer is B, Chlorine. Bleaching powder gives off chlorine when it reacts with water, and this chlorine does the bleaching and kills germs. Bleaching powder is calcium oxychloride, CaOCl2, made by passing chlorine gas over dry slaked lime, Ca(OH)2. With water it gives back calcium hydroxide and chlorine: CaOCl2 + H2O → Ca(OH)2 + Cl2. The chlorine it can release is called "available chlorine", which is why the powder smells of chlorine and is used to disinfect drinking water and swimming pools and to bleach cotton and paper. A is wrong because bleaching powder does not give off hydrogen gas. C is wrong because carbon monoxide comes from the incomplete burning of fuels. D is wrong because carbon dioxide is released when an acid reacts with a carbonate such as washing soda or baking soda. Exam tip: Bleaching powder = CaOCl2 (releases chlorine), Baking soda = NaHCO3, Washing soda = Na2CO3.10H2O, Plaster of Paris = CaSO4.½H2O.

The correct answer is C, Calcium Carbonate. Carbon dioxide reacts with lime water to form calcium carbonate, which does not dissolve, and its fine white particles make the water look milky. Lime water is a clear solution of calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, and the reaction is Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O. This is the standard test for carbon dioxide, for example to show that the air we breathe out contains CO2. If CO2 is passed for a long time, the milkiness disappears because soluble calcium hydrogen carbonate forms. A is wrong because lime water contains no barium, so barium carbonate cannot form. B is wrong because calcium oxide (quicklime) is made by heating limestone, not by bubbling CO2. D is wrong because calcium hydrogen carbonate forms only with excess CO2, and since it dissolves in water it clears the milkiness instead of causing it. Exam tip: CO2 in lime water = milky (CaCO3); excess CO2 = clear again (Ca(HCO3)2); limestone, chalk and marble are all CaCO3.

The correct answer is D, Vitamin K. Vitamin K is needed to make the clotting proteins, so without it even a small cut keeps bleeding. The liver uses vitamin K to make prothrombin and other clotting factors that turn blood into a clot at a wound. The letter K comes from the German word "Koagulation", meaning clotting. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and cabbage are rich sources, and bacteria in the large intestine also make some of it. Newborn babies are usually given a vitamin K injection because they are born with very little. A is wrong because lack of the vitamin B group causes diseases like beriberi (B1) and pellagra (B3). B is wrong because lack of vitamin A causes night blindness. C is wrong because lack of vitamin C causes scurvy with bleeding gums, but the vitamin that makes blood clot is K. Exam tip: A = night blindness, B1 = beriberi, C = scurvy, D = rickets, K = bleeding; vitamins A, D, E and K dissolve in fat.

The correct answer is D, Medulla. The medulla oblongata is the breathing centre of the brain, which is why we keep breathing even while asleep. It is the lowest part of the hindbrain and joins the brain to the spinal cord. It controls involuntary actions such as breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, swallowing, coughing, sneezing and vomiting. It senses the level of carbon dioxide in the blood and speeds up or slows down breathing to match, so an injury at the base of the skull can be fatal. A is wrong because the forebrain (cerebrum) handles thinking, memory, speech and voluntary actions. B is wrong because the cerebellum keeps the body balanced and makes voluntary movements smooth and precise. C is wrong because the midbrain mainly carries reflexes linked to seeing and hearing. Exam tip: Medulla = breathing and heartbeat, Cerebellum = balance, Cerebrum = thinking and memory, Hypothalamus = body temperature, hunger and thirst.

The correct answer is B, Perini thandavam. Perini Shiva Thandavam is a vigorous warrior dance of Telangana, performed by men in praise of Lord Shiva. It flourished under the Kakatiya kings of Warangal, whose soldiers danced it before going to battle. Its steps are described in the Nritta Ratnavali, written in the thirteenth century by Jayapa Senani, a commander of the Kakatiya army, and dancers carved on the Ramappa Temple at Palampet show its poses. The form had almost died out until the dance scholar Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna revived it in the twentieth century. A is wrong because Bharatanatyam is the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. C is wrong because Sattriya is the classical dance of Assam, begun by Srimanta Sankardev in the Vaishnava monasteries called sattras. D is wrong because Mohiniyattam is the graceful solo dance of Kerala, performed by women. Exam tip: Telangana = Perini; Andhra Pradesh = Kuchipudi; Tamil Nadu = Bharatanatyam; Kerala = Kathakali and Mohiniyattam; Assam = Sattriya.

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 A, 1949. The Reserve Bank of India was nationalised on 1 January 1949 under the Reserve Bank of India (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948. Until then it was owned by private shareholders. The RBI was set up on 1 April 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, on the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission. Its first office was in Calcutta and it moved permanently to Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1937. C.D. Deshmukh, appointed in 1943, was its first Indian Governor. B is wrong because 1962 is not linked to the RBI's ownership. C is wrong because 1947 was the year of Independence; the RBI still had private shareholders then. D is wrong because 1955 is when the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India. Exam tip: RBI set up 1 April 1935, nationalised 1 January 1949; SBI formed 1955; 14 major banks nationalised in 1969.