SSC CGL 2023 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is D, Delhi. The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, "Might of Islam", stands in the Qutub complex at Mehrauli in Delhi, next to the Qutub Minar and the Iron Pillar. Qutb-ud-din Aibak began it in 1192-93, right after the Turkish conquest, making it the first mosque built in Delhi and the earliest surviving example of Indo-Islamic architecture in India. Its pillars were taken from twenty-seven demolished Hindu and Jain temples, which is why they still carry bells, chains and floral carvings, and Iltutmish and Alauddin Khalji later enlarged it. The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A, Panipat, has the Kabuli Bagh mosque built by Babur after the first battle of Panipat in 1526. B, Lahore, has the Badshahi mosque of Aurangzeb. C, Ajmer, has Aibak's other mosque, the Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, which is the usual trap in this question. Exam tip: Aibak built Quwwat-ul-Islam in Delhi and Adhai Din ka Jhonpra in Ajmer.

The correct answer is D, Overcoming social exclusion through Bharatanatyam dance performances. Narthaki Nataraj is a Bharatanatyam dancer from Madurai in Tamil Nadu and, in 2019, became the first transgender person to receive the Padma Shri, which she got in the field of art. Thrown out of her home as a teenager, she trained for years under Guru K. P. Kittappa Pillai, a descendant of the Thanjavur Quartet, and mastered the Nayaki bhava style of the Thanjavur tradition; she also runs the Velliyambalam School of Dance in Chennai. She had earlier received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2011 and Tamil Nadu's Kalaimamani title. The Padma citation therefore links her name to dance, not to any other field. A, cuisine, C, agriculture, and B, Nyayashastra, describe fields of other Padma awardees and have nothing to do with her. Exam tip: Narthaki Nataraj = Bharatanatyam, Tamil Nadu, first transgender Padma Shri, 2019.

The correct answer is B, Indonesia. President Sukarno of Indonesia was the chief guest at India's first Republic Day on 26 January 1950, the day the Constitution came into force and Dr Rajendra Prasad took oath as the first President. Indonesia had won its own independence from the Dutch only weeks earlier, in December 1949, and Sukarno and Nehru were close partners in the Asian anti-colonial movement that later became the Non-Aligned Movement, which is why he was chosen. That first parade was held at the Irwin Amphitheatre, today the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, not on Rajpath. A, Bhutan, sent King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck as chief guest in 1954. C, China, was represented by Marshal Ye Jianying in 1958. D, Japan, had its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as chief guest in 2014. Exam tip: first Republic Day chief guest, Sukarno of Indonesia, 1950; Indonesia's President Joko Widodo was chief guest again in 2018 with the ASEAN leaders.

The correct answer is D, New Delhi. The National Dope Testing Laboratory, NDTL, is in New Delhi and works under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It analyses the urine and blood samples of athletes for banned substances and is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, which allows its results to be used in international sport. The other arm of the system, the National Anti-Doping Agency, NADA, which collects the samples and decides the cases, is also in New Delhi, so both national anti-doping bodies share the capital. NDTL is an autonomous body; NADA was set up in 2005 under the Societies Registration Act. A, Mumbai, has no national anti-doping facility. B, Bangalore, hosts a Sports Authority of India centre but not the laboratory. C, Punjab, has the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports at Patiala, India's main coaching institute, which is a different body. Exam tip: NDTL tests, NADA polices, both in New Delhi; WADA, the world body, is in Montreal.

The correct answer is D, 9. Period 2 holds the eight elements from lithium (3) to neon (10), and group 17 is the halogen column, whose members have seven electrons in the outer shell. The element that is both in period 2 and in group 17 is fluorine, with electronic configuration 2, 7, and atomic number 9. You can work it out without memorising: period 2 means two shells, group 17 means seven valence electrons, so the electrons are 2 + 7 = 9, and in a neutral atom the number of electrons equals the atomic number. Fluorine is the most electronegative element and the most reactive non-metal. A, 8, is oxygen, which is in period 2 but in group 16 with six valence electrons. B, 7, is nitrogen, period 2, group 15. C, 10, is neon, period 2, group 18, a noble gas with a full shell. Exam tip: for periods 2 and 3, atomic number = electrons in the inner shells plus the group's last digit; 2 + 7 gives fluorine, 10 + 7 gives chlorine (17).

The correct answer is C, GST collected by the government. A revenue receipt is money the government gets without creating a liability for itself or selling off an asset; tax collections such as GST, income tax and excise, and non-tax income such as interest, dividends and fees, all fall in this class. A capital receipt is the opposite: it either creates a liability, like a loan, or reduces an asset, like selling shares. Apply that two-part test to each option and only GST passes. A, sale of shares of public sector companies, is disinvestment, which reduces the government's assets, so it is a capital receipt. B, recovery of loans, also reduces an asset, the loan owed to the government, so it too is capital. D, borrowings from the public, create a liability that must be repaid, the clearest capital receipt of all. Exam tip: revenue receipt = tax and non-tax income; capital receipt = borrowings, disinvestment and loan recoveries.

The correct answer is B, Total demand and term deposits. The Statutory Liquidity Ratio, or SLR, is the share of a bank's net demand and time liabilities, that is, all its demand deposits and term deposits taken together, that it must hold in liquid assets such as cash, gold or approved government securities. It is prescribed under Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and the bank keeps these assets with itself, unlike the Cash Reserve Ratio, which is a cash balance kept with the Reserve Bank under the RBI Act, 1934. Both ratios are fixed on the same base, total deposits, and both are tools the RBI uses to control how much banks can lend. A, Current deposits, are only one part of demand deposits, so the base would be far too small. C, Term deposits, leave out demand deposits. D, Saving deposits, are again only one slice of the total. Exam tip: SLR and CRR are both fractions of net demand and time liabilities; SLR stays with the bank in liquid assets, CRR goes to the RBI in cash.

The correct answer is B, NABARD. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development was set up on 12 July 1982 by an Act of Parliament, on the recommendation of the Sivaraman Committee (CRAFICARD), as the apex body for rural and farm credit. It took over the agricultural credit work of the Reserve Bank and the whole of the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation. Its headquarters is in Mumbai, it refinances cooperative banks and regional rural banks, and it runs the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund. The year 1982 and the words "farmers" and "national level" together point only to NABARD. A, NEDFI, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation, was set up in 1995 to fund projects in the North-East. C, IFCI, the Industrial Finance Corporation of India, was India's first development bank, founded in 1948 for industry, not farmers. D, SIDBI, the Small Industries Development Bank of India, began in 1990 at Lucknow for small and medium enterprises. Exam tip: IFCI 1948, NABARD 1982, SIDBI 1990, NEDFI 1995.

The correct answer is D, Vembanad Lake. Vembanad in Kerala is the longest lake in India, stretching about 96 km from Alappuzha to Kochi, and it is also the largest lake of Kerala. It is a brackish backwater lagoon separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier, it is a Ramsar wetland since 2002, and the famous Nehru Trophy snake-boat race is held on it at Punnamada every August. Willingdon Island, on which Kochi port stands, was raised inside this lake. A, Shivaji Sagar Lake, is the reservoir of the Koyna dam in Maharashtra, a man-made lake. B, Indira Sagar, is the reservoir of the Indira Sagar dam on the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, the largest reservoir in India by water volume but not the longest lake. C, Chilika Lake in Odisha is the largest brackish-water lagoon in India and Asia by area, but it is shorter than Vembanad. Exam tip: longest lake Vembanad, largest brackish lagoon Chilika, largest freshwater lake Wular.

The correct answer is D, Tamil Nadu. The Shevaroy Hills, also spelt Servarayan, rise near Salem in Tamil Nadu and are part of the Eastern Ghats. Their best-known spot is the hill station of Yercaud, about 1,500 metres high, famous for coffee plantations, oranges and the Yercaud lake, which is why the range is sometimes called the "poor man's Ooty". The Shevaroys form a set with the other Eastern Ghats hills of Tamil Nadu, the Javadi, Kalrayan and Pachaimalai hills, and all four sit between the Palar and Kaveri river basins. A, Chhattisgarh, has the Maikal range and the Bastar plateau. B, Odisha, has the Garhjat hills and Mahendragiri in its stretch of the Eastern Ghats. C, Rajasthan, has the Aravalli range with Guru Shikhar as its highest point. Exam tip: Shevaroy, Javadi, Kalrayan and Pachaimalai are Tamil Nadu's Eastern Ghats hills; Yercaud sits on the Shevaroys.

The correct answer is C, Tapi. Aner, Panzara and Waghur all join the Tapi in the Khandesh region of northern Maharashtra, along with the Purna, Girna and Bori. The Tapi rises near Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, flows west for about 724 km through the Satpura and Ajanta ranges and the Khandesh plain, and enters the Gulf of Khambhat near Surat. With the Narmada it is one of the two big west-flowing rivers of the Peninsula that run through rift valleys and form estuaries instead of deltas. The Ukai dam in Gujarat is built on it. A, Kaveri, has the Kabini, Bhavani and Amaravati as tributaries. B, Mahanadi, is joined by the Seonath, Ib and Tel. D, Godavari, receives the Pranhita, Indravati and Manjra. Exam tip: Tapi group = Purna, Girna, Panzara, Waghur, Aner, Bori; Tapi and Narmada are the west-flowing pair.

The correct answer is D, Bihar. The Lomas Rishi cave is one of the Barabar caves in the Barabar Hills of Jehanabad district, about 25 km north of Gaya. These are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, carved from hard granite in the Mauryan period, in the third century BCE, and their inner walls carry the famous glass-like Mauryan polish. Ashoka and his grandson Dasharatha gave the caves to the Ajivika monks, as inscriptions at the site record. The Lomas Rishi cave is best known for its doorway, carved to look like the arched wooden entrance of a hut, the earliest "chaitya arch" that later appears at Bhaja, Karle and Ajanta. A, Maharashtra, has the later Buddhist caves of Ajanta, Ellora, Karle and Bhaja. B, Karnataka, has the Badami cave temples of the Chalukyas. C, Madhya Pradesh, has Bhimbetka rock shelters and Udayagiri caves, but not Lomas Rishi. Exam tip: Barabar and Lomas Rishi, Mauryan, Ajivikas, Bihar.

The correct answer is A, Part V. Part V is titled "The Union" and its first chapter, "The Executive", covers the President, the Vice-President, the Council of Ministers and the Attorney-General. Part V runs from Article 52 to Article 151 and also contains Parliament, the legislative powers of the President, the Union Judiciary (Supreme Court) and the Comptroller and Auditor-General. Article 52 is the opening line: "There shall be a President of India." Whatever belongs to the Centre as an institution lives in Part V. B, Part III, is Fundamental Rights, Articles 12 to 35. C, Part IV, is the Directive Principles of State Policy, Articles 36 to 51. D, Part VI, is "The States", Articles 152 to 237, which has the Governor, the state legislature and the High Courts, the state mirror of Part V. Exam tip: Part V is the Union, Part VI is the States; Part III rights, Part IV directives.

The correct answer is D, Article 247. It gives Parliament the power to provide by law for additional courts so that laws made by Parliament, or older laws on Union List subjects, are administered better. The Article sits in Part XI, Chapter I, which deals with the division of law-making power between the Union and the States (Articles 245 to 255). The word to catch in the question is "additional courts": only Article 247 talks about courts in this chapter, the neighbouring Articles talk about subjects and lists. A, Article 246, distributes subjects among the Union List, State List and Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule. B, Article 248, gives the residuary power, that is, power over any matter not in the State or Concurrent List, to Parliament. C, Article 253, lets Parliament make laws for the whole country to implement treaties and international agreements. Exam tip: 246 three lists, 247 additional courts, 248 residuary power, 253 international agreements.

The correct answer is D, Article 141. It says that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India. This Article is the constitutional base of the doctrine of precedent: a ruling of the Supreme Court becomes the law for every High Court and lower court until the Supreme Court itself changes it. Note the exact words, because they are lifted straight into exam questions: "law declared", "binding on all courts", "within the territory of India". A, Article 143, is the advisory jurisdiction under which the President may seek the opinion of the Supreme Court. B, Article 142, lets the Court pass any order needed to do complete justice in a case. C, Article 144, directs all civil and judicial authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court. Exam tip: remember the run 141 binding law, 142 complete justice, 143 advice to the President, 144 authorities act in aid.

The correct answer is Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. These are the exact words the Preamble uses for liberty, and they appear in it just as written here.

Each of the other options changes one word of the real text, which is exactly how this question catches people. The Preamble speaks of fraternity "assuring the dignity of the individual" and the unity and integrity of the Nation, not "human dignity". It promises equality "of status and of opportunity", not of status and employment. And justice in the Preamble is "social, economic and political"; the word "administrative" does not appear. When an option looks almost right, compare it word for word with the text: justice (social, economic, political), liberty (thought, expression, belief, faith, worship), equality (status, opportunity) and fraternity (dignity of the individual, unity and integrity of the Nation).

The correct answer is Ireland. The Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Constitution were modelled on the Irish Constitution. India also took two other features from Ireland: the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha and the method of electing the President.

The other countries gave different features. The USSR is the source of the Fundamental Duties and of the ideal of social, economic and political justice in the Preamble. The United States gave the Fundamental Rights, judicial review, the independence of the judiciary and the impeachment of the President. China is not counted among the sources of the Indian Constitution at all. The pair most often confused is Rights and Principles: Fundamental Rights come from the USA, while the Directive Principles come from Ireland. A simple memory hook is "Rights from America, Directions from Ireland".