RRB Group D 2022 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is A, Tsunami. A tsunami is caused by an undersea earthquake, a volcanic eruption or a landslide on the ocean floor, and has nothing to do with the ozone layer.

The ozone layer lies in the stratosphere, roughly 15 to 35 km above the ground, and absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. Chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators, air conditioners and aerosol sprays release chlorine that destroys ozone, which is why the Montreal Protocol of 1987 phased them out. World Ozone Day is observed on 16 September.

Option B is a real result, because extra ultraviolet radiation damages skin cells and raises the risk of skin cancer. Option C is a real result, since a thinner layer lets more ultraviolet rays reach the Earth. Option D is a real result, as ultraviolet exposure weakens the immune system, and it also causes cataract and harms crops and plankton.

Exam tip: ozone holes bring skin cancer, cataract and weak immunity; tsunamis come from the sea floor, not the sky.

The correct answer is D, money. Consumer theory studies how a household decides to spend its money among the goods and services available to it.

The idea rests on three things: the wants of the consumer, the prices of goods, and the income in hand, which is the budget constraint. Since income is limited, the consumer chooses the basket that gives the greatest satisfaction, or utility, from the money spent, and is said to be in equilibrium when no rearrangement of spending can raise that satisfaction. The law of diminishing marginal utility, indifference curves and the law of demand all belong to this branch of microeconomics.

Option A is wrong because the use of time is studied separately as the labour-leisure choice. Option B is wrong because relations are social, not economic, choices. Option C is wrong because energy here has no economic meaning as a thing the consumer allocates.

Exam tip: consumer theory joins three things - wants, prices and income - and explains the demand curve.

The correct answer is A, To consider cases of civil and criminal nature. Subordinate courts are the courts at the district level and below, and they hear civil and criminal cases as courts of first instance.

The Indian judiciary is a single pyramid. The Supreme Court stands at the top, a High Court in each state comes next, and below it are the subordinate courts, which work under the control of that High Court. On the civil side the District Judge is the highest, and below come the courts of the Civil Judge; on the criminal side the Sessions Judge is the highest, with Judicial Magistrates below. Articles 233 to 237 deal with these courts, and the Governor appoints district judges in consultation with the High Court.

Option B is wrong because writs are issued by the Supreme Court under Article 32 and by High Courts under Article 226. Option C is wrong because hearing appeals from lower courts is mainly the work of the High Court. Option D is wrong because transferring cases is a power of the higher courts.

Exam tip: District and Sessions Courts are subordinate courts; writs belong only to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

The correct answer is A, 1969. On 19 July 1969 the Government of India issued an ordinance taking over the fourteen largest Indian scheduled commercial banks, those whose deposits stood at ₹50 crore or more. Indira Gandhi held the Finance portfolio along with the Prime Minister's office at the time, and the stated purpose was to direct credit to agriculture, small industry and the unbanked districts.

Option B, 1970, is the year the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act was passed to replace the ordinance after the Supreme Court struck it down, which is why the year is a favourite distractor. Option C, 1972, belongs to no step in the nationalisation story. Option D, 1950, is far too early; in that year the Reserve Bank had been in public ownership for barely a year and commercial banking was still entirely private. The second round of nationalisation, of six banks, came on 15 April 1980.

The correct answer is President. Article 123 lets the President promulgate an ordinance when either House of Parliament is not in session and the President is satisfied that circumstances make immediate action necessary. An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament, but it must be laid before both Houses when they reassemble and lapses six weeks after that unless approved earlier. It can be withdrawn at any time, and it cannot amend the Constitution.

The Vice-President has no power to make laws; the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers advise the President to issue an ordinance but cannot issue one themselves; and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the House but has no ordinance-making power. The State counterpart is the Governor's power under Article 213. Remember too that the maximum life of an ordinance is six months and six weeks, because Parliament must meet at least once every six months.

The correct answer is A, During respiration. Plants respire day and night, breaking glucose down to release energy, and carbon dioxide is the waste product of that process. Photosynthesis does the opposite: the plant takes in carbon dioxide and water and, using sunlight trapped by chlorophyll, makes glucose while releasing oxygen as its waste product. During the day photosynthesis runs faster than respiration, so a green plant gives out oxygen on balance; at night only respiration continues, so carbon dioxide is released. These gases move in and out through the stomata of leaves and the lenticels of woody stems. B is wrong because photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide up instead of producing it. C is wrong for the same reason, as oxygen and not carbon dioxide is the waste of photosynthesis. D is wrong because transpiration is the loss of water vapour from the plant and involves no carbon dioxide. Exam tip: respiration takes oxygen and gives carbon dioxide; photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide and gives oxygen.

The correct answer is B, the same, opposite. The same magnet moves at the same speed in both cases, so the rate of change of magnetic flux through the coil is equal and the induced potential difference has the same magnitude. But turning the other pole towards the coil reverses the direction of the field through it, so the induced voltage takes the opposite sign. This follows from Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, which says the induced emf equals the rate of change of flux, and from Lenz's law, which fixes the direction so that the induced current opposes the change causing it. A is wrong because the sign must flip once the pole facing the coil is reversed. C is wrong because the speed, and therefore the rate of flux change, is unchanged, so the two magnitudes match. D is wrong on both counts. Exam tip: speed decides how big the induced emf is, the field direction decides its sign - Faraday for magnitude, Lenz for direction.

The correct answer is B, West Bengal and Assam. Nor'westers are violent pre-monsoon thunderstorms that strike eastern India, especially West Bengal and Assam, in the afternoons and evenings of April and May. They form when hot dry air from the Chotanagpur plateau meets moist air drawn in from the Bay of Bengal; the towering clouds bring squally winds, lightning and short but heavy showers. In West Bengal they are called Kalbaisakhi, the calamity of the month of Baisakh, and in Assam they are known as Bardoli Chheerha, where they help the tea crop. A is wrong because Kerala and Karnataka get the pre-monsoon mango showers, which ripen mangoes and help coffee. C is wrong because Gujarat and Maharashtra lie in the west and get no Nor'westers. D is wrong because Rajasthan and Punjab instead feel the hot dry summer wind called loo. Exam tip: Kalbaisakhi - Bengal; Bardoli Chheerha - Assam; mango showers - Kerala and Karnataka; loo - north-west India.

The correct answer is B, 2019. Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat, so his 150th birth anniversary fell on 2 October 2019. The Government of India marked it with two years of celebrations from 2018 to 2020, and the Swachh Bharat Mission set its target of an open-defecation-free India for that date. The United Nations observes 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence, adopted in 2007. Gandhi Jayanti is one of India's three national holidays, along with Republic Day on 26 January and Independence Day on 15 August. A is wrong because 2018 was the 149th anniversary and only the start of the celebrations. C is wrong because 2020 was the 151st anniversary. D is wrong because 2021 was the 152nd. Exam tip: Gandhi born 2 October 1869; 150th anniversary in 2019; 2 October = International Day of Non-Violence.

The correct answer is C, Kachchh. The Kachchh Biosphere Reserve in Gujarat, notified in 2008, covers about 12,454 square kilometres and is the largest biosphere reserve in India by area. It takes in the Great Rann and the Little Rann of Kachchh, salt marshes that flood in the monsoon, and is home to the Indian wild ass, the flamingo breeding grounds and the desert fox. The first biosphere reserve of India was the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, set up in 1986 across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. A is wrong because the Sundarbans reserve in West Bengal covers about 9,630 square kilometres. B is wrong because the Gulf of Mannar reserve in Tamil Nadu is about 10,500 square kilometres. D is wrong because Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand is about 5,860 square kilometres. Exam tip: largest biosphere reserve by area = Kachchh (Gujarat); first = Nilgiri (1986); do not confuse it with the largest national park, Hemis in Ladakh.

The correct answer is A, Refuse. The 3 R's of waste management are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; Refuse is not one of them. Reduce means creating less waste in the first place, such as buying fewer packaged goods and switching off lights to save power. Reuse means using a thing again, like refilling a bottle or turning old clothes into bags. Recycle means sending waste such as paper, glass, metal and plastic to be made into new products. NCERT gives the three in this order, and the order matters: reducing is the best option and recycling the last resort because it still uses energy. Some newer lists add Refuse and Repurpose to make 5 R's, but the paper asks about the 3 R's. B is wrong because recycling is one of the three. C is wrong because reducing is the first R. D is wrong because reuse is the second R. Exam tip: 3 R's = Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, in that order of preference.

The correct answer is B, New Delhi. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a Union ministry, and like every ministry of the Government of India it works from the national capital, New Delhi. It was set up as a separate ministry in May 2004 to look after the three-tier system of village, block and district panchayats. That system got constitutional status through the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, which came into force on 24 April 1993; this is why 24 April is observed as National Panchayati Raj Day. Part IX of the Constitution and the Eleventh Schedule, with 29 subjects, deal with panchayats. A is wrong because Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan; Rajasthan was the first state to start Panchayati Raj, at Nagaur on 2 October 1959, but the ministry is not there. C is wrong because Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu. D is wrong because Pune is a city of Maharashtra, not a seat of Union ministries. Exam tip: Union ministries = New Delhi; 73rd Amendment = panchayats; first Panchayati Raj = Nagaur, Rajasthan, 2 October 1959.

The correct answer is B, Gulzarilal Nanda. Gulzarilal Nanda became the first Deputy Chairman when the Planning Commission began work in 1950, and he later became interim Prime Minister twice, in 1964 and 1966. The Planning Commission was set up by a Cabinet resolution on 15 March 1950 with the Prime Minister as its ex-officio Chairman; it was neither a constitutional nor a statutory body. Nanda was also Union Planning Minister and received the Bharat Ratna in 1997. The Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015. A is wrong because Sardar Patel was Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister and never served on the Planning Commission. C is wrong because K.C. Neogy headed the first Finance Commission in 1951. D is wrong because Nehru was the Chairman of the Planning Commission as Prime Minister, not its Deputy Chairman. Exam tip: Planning Commission 1950, Chairman = Prime Minister, first Deputy Chairman = Gulzarilal Nanda; NITI Aayog replaced it on 1 January 2015.

The correct answer is B, 1976. Regional Rural Banks were set up under the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976, after the Narasimham Working Group of 1975 recommended small banks close to the villages. The first RRB, Prathama Bank, opened at Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh on 2 October 1975 under an ordinance, and the Act followed in 1976. Each RRB is sponsored by a commercial bank, and its capital is shared by the Centre (50 per cent), the sponsor bank (35 per cent) and the State government (15 per cent). Their aim is credit for small farmers, artisans and rural labourers, and NABARD supervises them. A is wrong because in 1966 rural credit still depended on cooperatives; no RRB law existed. C is wrong because 1986 saw no such Act. D is wrong because 1996 is long after the Act, not the year it was passed. Exam tip: RRB Act 1976; first RRB Prathama Bank, 2 October 1975; capital shared 50:35:15 between Centre, sponsor bank and State.

The correct answer is D, Altitude and slope determine the rate of humus formation. Altitude and slope, which together make up relief, decide how much soil collects at a place, not how fast humus forms. Humus is the dark organic matter made when dead leaves and animals rot, and its rate of formation depends on climate and on the living things in the soil: plants, animals and micro-organisms. NCERT lists five factors of soil formation. Parent rock gives the soil its colour, texture and minerals; climate, meaning temperature and rainfall, sets the rate of weathering and humus formation; relief, meaning altitude and slope, controls how much soil accumulates; time decides the thickness of the soil profile; and flora, fauna and microbes affect humus. A is wrong as a choice because temperature and rainfall really do control weathering. B is wrong because time does decide how thick the profile grows. C is wrong because parent rock does fix the colour of soil. Exam tip: relief = accumulation of soil; climate and organisms = humus; parent rock = colour and texture; time = thickness.

The correct answer is B, Fourth Schedule. The Fourth Schedule allots the seats of the Rajya Sabha, the Council of States, among the States and Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh gets the most with 31, followed by Maharashtra with 19 and Tamil Nadu with 18, while small states such as Goa, Sikkim and Mizoram get one seat each. Article 80 fixes the House at not more than 250 members, 12 of them nominated by the President for their work in literature, science, art and social service. Members are elected by the State Legislative Assemblies by proportional representation and serve six years, with one-third retiring every two years. A is wrong because the First Schedule lists the States and Union Territories and their territories. C is wrong because the Third Schedule contains the forms of oaths and affirmations. D is wrong because the Second Schedule gives the salaries and allowances of the President, Governors, judges and other officials. Exam tip: Schedule 1 = States and UTs, Schedule 2 = salaries, Schedule 3 = oaths, Schedule 4 = Rajya Sabha seats.

The correct answer is C, Article 343. Article 343(1) declares that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in the Devanagari script, with the international form of Indian numerals for official purposes. Part XVII of the Constitution, Articles 343 to 351, deals with official language. Article 343 allowed English to continue for fifteen years from 1950, and the Official Languages Act of 1963 kept English alongside Hindi after that period. Article 344 provides for a Commission and a Committee of Parliament on official language, and the Eighth Schedule lists the languages recognised by the Constitution. A is wrong because Article 351 is only a directive to promote and develop Hindi. B is wrong because Article 336 gives a special provision for the Anglo-Indian community in certain services. D is wrong because Article 347 lets the President recognise a language spoken by a section of a State's population. Exam tip: Article 343 = Hindi in Devanagari as the official language; Article 351 = directive to develop Hindi; Articles 343 to 351 make up Part XVII.

The correct answer is D, 2002. Article 21-A was inserted by the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, making free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen a Fundamental Right. The same amendment added a new Fundamental Duty in Article 51-A(k), asking parents and guardians to provide education to their children, and reworded Article 45 to cover early childhood care for children below six years. The law that puts Article 21-A into practice is the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which came into force on 1 April 2010. A is wrong because 2003 saw no amendment on education. B is wrong because 2004 is not linked to Article 21-A. C is wrong because 2001 is before the amendment was passed. Exam tip: 86th Amendment 2002 = Article 21-A; RTE Act 2009, enforced from 1 April 2010; age group 6 to 14 years.

The correct answer is D, Article 154. Article 154 says the executive power of a State is vested in the Governor, who exercises it directly or through officers under him, exactly as Article 53 does for the President at the Centre. Part VI of the Constitution deals with the States: Article 153 provides a Governor for each State, Article 155 says the President appoints the Governor, Article 156 fixes the term at five years, and Article 163 gives the Governor a Council of Ministers to aid and advise him. In practice the Chief Minister and the ministers run the government, and the Governor acts on their advice. A is wrong because Article 124 establishes the Supreme Court. B is wrong because Article 134 deals with criminal appeals to the Supreme Court. C is wrong because Article 144 requires all authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court. Exam tip: Article 53 = President's executive power, Article 154 = Governor's executive power; the two Articles mirror each other.

The correct answer is D, It has no unit. Magnification is a ratio of two lengths, so the units cancel and it is a pure number. For a mirror or a lens, magnification m equals the height of the image divided by the height of the object (h′/h). For a lens it also equals v/u, the image distance divided by the object distance, and for a mirror it equals −v/u. A value of 2 means the image is twice the size of the object; a value less than 1 means it is smaller. With the usual sign convention a negative m means a real, inverted image, and a positive m means a virtual, erect image. A is wrong because the dioptre is the unit of the power of a lens, P = 1/f with f in metres. B is wrong because the newton is the SI unit of force. C is wrong because the centimetre measures lengths such as focal length and image distance, not their ratio. Exam tip: magnification = no unit; power of a lens = dioptre; focal length = metre or centimetre.