RRB Group D 2018 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is A, 390. Chandragupta II extended Gupta rule to Gujarat around 390 AD by defeating the Western Kshatrapas, the Saka rulers of Malwa, Gujarat and Kathiawar. The victory handed the Guptas the western ports and the sea trade with West Asia and Rome, and it won him the title Vikramaditya; his silver coins also call him Sakari, the destroyer of the Sakas. Chandragupta II ruled from about 380 to 415 AD, made Ujjain his second seat of power, and the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien travelled through India in his reign. B is wrong because 309 AD falls before the dynasty itself began, as Chandragupta I took the throne only around 319 AD. C is wrong because 903 AD is several centuries after the Gupta empire had ended. D is wrong because 930 AD belongs to the Rajput age, far later than any Gupta king. Exam tip: Chandragupta II - Vikramaditya and Sakari, Ujjain, Fa-Hien's visit, Saka conquest about 390 AD.

The correct answer is C, Philippines. The Asian Development Bank has its headquarters in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. ADB was set up in 1966 to reduce poverty and fund development in Asia and the Pacific, and it lends mainly for roads, railways, power, water and urban projects. Japan and the United States hold the largest shares in it, and by convention its president has always been Japanese, which is what makes Japan a tempting wrong choice. India was a founding member and is today one of the bank's biggest borrowers. A is wrong because Japan supplies the bank's largest shareholding and its presidents but not its head office. B is wrong because Beijing hosts the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a different institution set up in 2016. D is wrong because India hosts no such multilateral development bank; the BRICS New Development Bank sits in Shanghai. Exam tip: ADB - Manila, 1966; AIIB - Beijing, 2016; New Development Bank - Shanghai, 2015.

The correct answer is D, 80 J. The work done in moving a charge across a potential difference is W = QV, so W = 5 × 16 = 80 joules. Potential difference is itself defined as the work done per unit charge in carrying that charge from one point to another, which is why one volt means one joule of work for every coulomb moved. Here five coulombs are carried across sixteen volts, so the source must supply 80 J of energy. A is wrong because 65 J does not follow from any correct use of 5 C and 16 V. B is wrong because 45 J would need a potential difference of 9 V for the same charge. C is wrong because 40 J would need either 2.5 C at 16 V or 5 C at 8 V. Exam tip: remember V = W/Q, so W = QV; in this chapter joules are simply coulombs multiplied by volts.

The correct answer is B, Buddha, Dhamma (dharma), Sangha. Triratna means the three jewels in which a Buddhist takes refuge. Buddha is the enlightened teacher, Dhamma is his teaching of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and Sangha is the order of monks and nuns that carries the teaching forward. A follower formally enters the faith by reciting these three refuges, which is why the Triratna is treated as the doorway of Buddhism. A is wrong because Tripitaka is the three-basket Pali canon of Buddhism, made up of the Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitakas, not the three jewels. C is wrong because truth, non-violence and compassion are values respected in Indian thought but they are not the Triratna. D is wrong because the threefold Buddhist training is Sheel, Samadhi and Prajna, and this option replaces Prajna with Sangha. Exam tip: Buddhism's Triratna is Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha; Jainism's Triratna is right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.

The correct answer is A, 1773. The Boston Tea Party took place on 16 December 1773, when American colonists threw British tea into Boston harbour. The protest was against the Tea Act of 1773, which let the East India Company sell tea in the colonies without paying the usual duties and undercut local merchants. Members of the Sons of Liberty, some dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships at Griffin's Wharf and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. Britain replied with the Intolerable Acts, and the anger they caused led to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and to the American War of Independence from 1775. B is wrong because 1776 is the year the Declaration of Independence was adopted, on 4 July. C is wrong because 1775 is when fighting began at Lexington and Concord. D is wrong because 1774 is the year of the Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress. Exam tip: Boston Tea Party 1773, war begins 1775, independence declared 1776.

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.

The correct answer is D, Chambal. Rana Pratap Sagar Dam stands on the Chambal at Rawatbhata in the Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan. It is one of the four structures of the Chambal Valley Project: Gandhi Sagar Dam upstream in Madhya Pradesh, then Rana Pratap Sagar, Jawahar Sagar and the Kota Barrage in Rajasthan. The dam was completed in 1970 and has a hydropower station of 172 MW, and the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station also stands at Rawatbhata. The Chambal rises in the Janapav hills near Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and joins the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. A is wrong because the Ganga is known for the Farakka Barrage, not this dam. B is wrong because the Jhelum carries projects such as Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. C is wrong, and is the usual trap, because the Pong Dam on the Beas in Himachal Pradesh has a reservoir called Maharana Pratap Sagar. Exam tip: Rana Pratap Sagar = Chambal (Rajasthan); Maharana Pratap Sagar = Pong Dam on the Beas.

The correct answer is B, Meghalaya. Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, the hill state whose name means abode of the clouds. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam and became a full state on 21 January 1972, the same day as Manipur and Tripura. Before that, Shillong had been the capital of undivided Assam, and its pine hills and cool weather earned it the name Scotland of the East. The state is home to the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills, and Mawsynram and Cherrapunji (Sohra) in the Khasi hills are among the wettest places on Earth. A is wrong because the capital of Tripura is Agartala. C is wrong because the capital of Nagaland is Kohima. D is wrong because Assam moved its capital from Shillong to Dispur, in Guwahati, after Meghalaya was formed. Exam tip: Shillong = Meghalaya, Kohima = Nagaland, Agartala = Tripura, Dispur = Assam, Imphal = Manipur, Aizawl = Mizoram, Itanagar = Arunachal Pradesh.

The correct answer is C, Uttarakhand. Nainital, the eye-shaped lake, lies in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand at a height of about 1,938 metres. The town grew around it after the British trader P. Barron reached the lake in 1841, and it became the summer capital of the United Provinces. The lake is a natural crescent, with Mallital at its northern end and Tallital at its southern end, and the Naina Devi temple on its bank gives it its name. Nearby lakes of the same district are Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal, which is why the area is called the Lake District of India. A is wrong because Assam's well-known lakes are Chandubi and Deepor Beel. B is wrong because Himachal Pradesh has Renuka, Rewalsar and Chandra Tal. D is wrong because Nainital was part of Uttar Pradesh only until Uttarakhand was carved out in November 2000. Exam tip: Nainital, Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal all lie in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.

The correct answer is D, Alauddin Khilji. Amir Khusro was the court poet and musician of Alauddin Khalji, and he lived in the courts of several Delhi sultans from Balban's time to Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. He was a disciple of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya and is buried near his dargah in Delhi. He wrote in Persian and in Hindavi, the early form of Hindi and Urdu, and is called Tuti-e-Hind, the Parrot of India. Tradition credits him with the qawwali and with ragas and forms such as tarana, and his Khazain-ul-Futuh describes Alauddin's campaigns. Popular belief also links him to the sitar and the tabla, though historians doubt this. A is wrong because Shah Jahan was a Mughal emperor who ruled about three centuries later. B is wrong because Aurangzeb, also a Mughal, banned music at his court. C is wrong because Jahangir was a Mughal emperor known for his love of painting. Exam tip: Amir Khusro = Alauddin Khalji's court, disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, Parrot of India, father of qawwali.

The correct answer is C, 1206 AD and 1526 AD. The Delhi Sultanate began in 1206, when Qutb-ud-din Aibak became the first sultan after the death of Muhammad Ghori, and ended in 1526, when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat. In these 320 years five dynasties ruled from Delhi in this order: the Mamluk or Slave dynasty, the Khalji, the Tughlaq, the Sayyid and the Lodi. The Tughlaqs ruled the longest and the Khaljis the shortest. Famous rulers of the period include Iltutmish, Razia Sultan, the first woman to rule from Delhi, Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq. A is wrong because 1106 is a century before the Sultanate began. B is wrong because 1606 to 1826 falls in the Mughal and British periods. D is wrong because 1006 is the time of the raids of Mahmud of Ghazni, and 1326 falls in the middle of Tughlaq rule. Exam tip: Delhi Sultanate = 1206 to 1526; dynasty order Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi.

The correct answer is C, Emperor Akbar. Hamida Banu Begum was the wife of Humayun and the mother of Akbar, who was born to her in 1542 at Amarkot in Sindh. Humayun married her in 1541 while he was on the run after losing his throne to Sher Shah Suri at the battles of Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540). Akbar was born during these years of exile, and Humayun won back Delhi only in 1555, a few months before his death. Hamida Banu was honoured with the title Maryam Makani, and she lived on at the court of her son until her death in 1604. A is wrong because Humayun was her husband; his mother was Maham Begum. B is wrong because Jahangir was her grandson, the son of Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani. D is wrong because Babur was her father-in-law, the founder of the Mughal empire. Exam tip: Babur, then Humayun, then Akbar, then Jahangir; Akbar's mother = Hamida Banu Begum, born at Amarkot in 1542.

The correct answer is B, Rajputs. Akbar won over the Rajput rulers through marriage alliances and high ranks, turning old rivals into pillars of the Mughal empire. In 1562 he married the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber, and her family rose to the top of the nobility: Raja Man Singh of Amber became one of his greatest generals and governors. Raja Todar Mal, his finance minister, built the land revenue system, and Raja Birbal was among his closest companions. Akbar abolished the pilgrim tax in 1563 and the jizya in 1564, and his idea of sulh-i-kul, peace with all, shaped his rule. A is wrong because Muslim nobles already held high posts; giving them rank was not a sign of tolerance. C is wrong because the Sikhs were a small community under their Gurus then and held no court ranks. D is wrong because Christian Jesuits visited his court for debates but were not given high posts. Exam tip: Akbar's tolerance = Rajput alliances, jizya abolished in 1564, sulh-i-kul, Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri.

The correct answer is A, Directive Principles of State Policy. Part IV, Articles 36 to 51, lists the Directive Principles that guide the State in making laws for a welfare state. The idea was borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland, which in turn took it from Spain. These principles cannot be enforced by any court, but Article 37 says they are fundamental to the governance of the country. Examples are equal pay for equal work, a uniform civil code (Article 44), free legal aid (Article 39-A), village panchayats (Article 40) and protection of the environment and wildlife (Article 48-A). B is wrong because the Constitution has no part named Human Rights; the enforceable rights are the Fundamental Rights in Part III. C is wrong because the Union Judiciary, meaning the Supreme Court, comes under Chapter IV of Part V. D is wrong because Parliament is covered by Chapter II of Part V. Exam tip: Part III = Fundamental Rights (enforceable), Part IV = Directive Principles (not enforceable), Part IV-A = Fundamental Duties.

The correct answer is A, 3 to 12. The d-block occupies the middle of the modern periodic table, groups 3 to 12, and its members are also called transition elements. In these elements the last electron enters a d orbital of the second-last shell, which is why they show variable valency, form coloured compounds and work as good catalysts. Iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold and mercury all belong here. The block has four series, filling the 3d, 4d, 5d and 6d orbitals, one in each of periods 4 to 7. B is wrong because groups 1 and 2 are the s-block, the alkali and alkaline earth metals. C is wrong because groups 13 to 18 form the p-block, which holds most non-metals and the noble gases. D is wrong because the d-block does not stop at group 10; zinc, cadmium and mercury in group 12 are part of it. Exam tip: s-block = groups 1 and 2, d-block = groups 3 to 12, p-block = groups 13 to 18, f-block = lanthanides and actinides placed below the table.

The correct answer is D, Shape - Amoeboid or circular. A red blood cell is a biconcave disc, thin in the middle and thick at the edge, not an amoeboid cell. This shape gives it more surface area to pick up oxygen and lets it bend through narrow capillaries. Mature human RBCs have no nucleus, are about 7.5 micrometres wide, live for about 120 days and are made in the red bone marrow. Their red colour comes from haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and part of the carbon dioxide back. A is wrong as a choice because 7.5 μm really is the size of an RBC. B is wrong because carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide is exactly what RBCs do. C is wrong because a haemocytometer is indeed the counting chamber used to count blood cells under a microscope. Exam tip: RBC = biconcave, no nucleus, 120 days; WBC = amoeboid, has a nucleus; the amoeboid shape belongs to white cells, not red.