SSC CHSL GK Questions 2026

The correct answer is D, inflation. Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, measured in India by the CPI and the WPI. It is fought in three ways: monetary measures by the RBI such as raising the repo rate or CRR, fiscal measures such as higher taxes and lower government spending, and direct or administrative measures. Price control, rationing through the Public Distribution System and stock limits under the Essential Commodities Act 1955 are the direct measures: they cap what sellers may charge and how much each family may buy, so that scarce goods are shared and hoarding is checked. Option A is wrong because reflation is the deliberate effort to push prices and demand up after a slump, the opposite aim. Option B is wrong because disinflation is only a slowing of the inflation rate, not a problem that needs rationing. Option C is wrong because deflation is a fall in the general price level, when governments spend more rather than control prices. Exam tip: inflation = prices rise, deflation = prices fall, disinflation = prices rise more slowly, reflation = pushing prices up again.

The correct answer is D, Hawkish. A hawkish stance means the central bank treats inflation as its first enemy and is ready to raise interest rates and tighten money supply, even at some cost to growth. Higher rates make loans dearer, so people and firms borrow and spend less, demand cools and prices stop rising so fast. India saw this when the RBI raised the repo rate from 4 per cent to 6.5 per cent between May 2022 and February 2023 to fight inflation. The opposite, a dovish stance, cuts rates to support growth and jobs, as in 2020 during the Covid slowdown. Option A is wrong because 'owlish' is only an informal label some writers use for a wait-and-watch, neutral position, not the usual anti-inflation stance. Option B is wrong because a dovish stance eases money and fuels inflation rather than fighting it. Option C is wrong because 'Hicksian' refers to the economist John Hicks and his IS-LM model, not to a policy stance. Exam tip: hawk = fight inflation, raise rates; dove = support growth, cut rates.

The correct answer is C, Economy budget. By the balance between estimated receipts and expenditure, a budget is of only three types. A balanced budget has receipts equal to expenditure. A surplus budget has receipts higher than expenditure, and a government may use it to cool an overheated, inflationary economy. A deficit budget has expenditure higher than receipts; it is the normal case in India and is used to push demand and growth, the gap being met by borrowing. 'Economy budget' is not a recognised type at all; it is a distractor. In India the budget is called the Annual Financial Statement under Article 112, is presented on 1 February since 2017, and the first budget of independent India was presented by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty on 26 November 1947. Option A is wrong because a deficit budget is a real type. Option B is wrong because a balanced budget is a real type. Option D is wrong because a surplus budget is a real type. Exam tip: three types by balance, balanced, surplus and deficit; India normally runs a deficit budget.

The correct answer is D, Reserve Bank of India. Monetary policy, the control of money supply and interest rates to keep prices stable, is the job of the central bank, the RBI, set up on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act 1934 and nationalised on 1 January 1949. Since 2016 the policy repo rate is decided by the six-member Monetary Policy Committee, three from the RBI including the Governor, who chairs it, and three appointed by the Union Government, working to an inflation target set in 2016 at 4 per cent with a band of 2 per cent on either side. Option A is wrong because the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation compiles data such as GDP and the CPI, it does not set policy. Option B is wrong because the Finance Commission, under Article 280, recommends how taxes are shared between the Centre and the States. Option C is wrong because NITI Aayog, formed on 1 January 2015, is a policy think tank that replaced the Planning Commission. Exam tip: monetary policy = RBI and its MPC, fiscal policy = Finance Ministry through the Budget.

The correct answer is C, Deccan Plateau. The Deccan plateau is the large triangular block of the Peninsular plateau south of the Narmada, bounded by the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in the north, the Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east, with an average height of about 600 metres. It is higher in the west, up to 900 to 1,200 metres along the Western Ghats, and tilts east, so the Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri flow east into the Bay of Bengal. Its north-western part is the Deccan Trap of basalt lava, which weathers into black cotton soil. Option A is wrong because the Marwar plateau is a low upland of eastern Rajasthan, drained by the Banas. Option B is wrong because the Meghalaya plateau is a detached block in the north-east, made of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills. Option D is wrong because the Chota Nagpur plateau lies in Jharkhand, drained by the Damodar and rich in coal and iron. Exam tip: Deccan = between Satpura, Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats, high in the west, sloping east.

The correct answer is B, Sahyadri Range. The Krishna rises near Mahabaleshwar in the Satara district of Maharashtra, at about 1,337 metres in the Sahyadri, which is the local name of the Western Ghats. It is the second longest peninsular river after the Godavari, about 1,400 km long, and flows east through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to the Bay of Bengal near Vijayawada. Its main tributaries are the Bhima, Tungabhadra, Koyna, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha and Musi, and the Almatti, Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar dams stand on it. Option A is wrong because the Satpura range is the source of the Tapi, which rises at Multai. Option C is wrong because the Vindhya range feeds northward rivers like the Betwa and Ken, not the Krishna. Option D is wrong because the Eastern Ghats are where the Krishna ends its journey, not where it begins. Exam tip: three great east-flowing rivers rise in the Western Ghats, Godavari at Trimbakeshwar, Krishna at Mahabaleshwar, Kaveri at Talakaveri.

The correct answer is A, Mizo Hills. The Lushai Hills are the old British name for the hills of present-day Mizoram, home of the Mizo (Lushai) people. The Lushai Hills district of Assam was renamed the Mizo Hills district in 1954, became the Union Territory of Mizoram in 1972 and the 23rd State on 20 February 1987 under the 53rd Amendment. These hills form the southern part of the Purvanchal, the eastern extension of the Himalayas along the Myanmar border, and their highest point is Phawngpui, the Blue Mountain, at 2,157 metres. Option B is wrong because the Patkai Hills lie further north on the Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland border with Myanmar. Option C is wrong because the Khasi Hills are in Meghalaya, with Shillong, Cherrapunji and Mawsynram. Option D is wrong because the Naga Hills are in Nagaland, with Mount Saramati as the highest peak. Exam tip: Purvanchal from north to south runs Patkai, Naga, Manipur and Mizo (Lushai) hills; the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya are a separate plateau block.

The correct answer is B, Mahanadi river. The Malwa plateau lies in western Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan, between the Vindhyas in the south and the Aravallis in the north-west, and is made of Deccan lava with black soil. It slopes to the north, so its rivers, the Chambal, Kali Sindh, Parbati, Betwa and Ken, flow north to join the Yamuna. The Mahanadi has nothing to do with Malwa: it rises near Sihawa in the Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, flows east through Odisha past the Hirakud dam and falls into the Bay of Bengal. Option A is wrong because the Chambal rises at the Janapav hills near Mhow on the Malwa plateau and carries the Gandhi Sagar dam. Option C is wrong because the Ken rises on the Kaimur hills in Panna and drains the eastern edge of the plateau. Option D is wrong because the Betwa rises near Raisen in the Vindhyas and crosses Malwa and Bundelkhand to meet the Yamuna at Hamirpur. Exam tip: Malwa rivers flow north to the Yamuna (Chambal, Betwa, Ken); the Mahanadi flows east to the Bay of Bengal.

The correct answer is B, Lord Cornwallis. Lord Cornwallis, Governor-General from 1786 to 1793, introduced the Permanent Settlement on 22 March 1793 in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It made the zamindars the owners of the land and fixed the land revenue permanently: the zamindar kept one-eleventh and paid ten-elevenths to the Company, and under the 'sunset law' his estate was auctioned if the money was not paid by sunset of the due date. Cornwallis also issued the Cornwallis Code of 1793, separated revenue and judicial work, reorganised the police under darogas, and is called the father of the Indian civil services. Option A is wrong because Warren Hastings (1774 to 1785) was the first Governor-General of Bengal and used annual and five-year revenue farming. Option C is wrong because Sir John Macpherson was only the acting Governor-General in 1785 to 1786. Option D is wrong because Sir John Shore helped design the scheme but became Governor-General only after Cornwallis, in 1793 to 1798. Exam tip: Permanent Settlement 1793 = Cornwallis, Ryotwari = Munro (Madras), Mahalwari = Holt Mackenzie (North-West Provinces).

The correct answer is C, Lord Hastings. This sentence comes from the NCERT Class 8 history chapter 'From Trade to Territory'. Lord Hastings, Governor-General from 1813 to 1823, declared that the Company's authority was paramount, so it could annex or threaten any Indian state to protect its interests. Under him the Company fought the Anglo-Nepal War (1814 to 1816), ended by the Treaty of Sugauli, crushed the Pindaris, and won the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 to 1818), after which the Peshwa's office was abolished; Thomas Munro's ryotwari system in Madras (1820) also belongs to his time. Do not confuse him with Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal. Option A is wrong because Lord Amherst (1823 to 1828) fought the First Anglo-Burmese War, ended by the Treaty of Yandabo. Option B is wrong because Lord Cornwallis (1786 to 1793) is known for the Permanent Settlement. Option D is wrong because Lord Auckland (1836 to 1842) is linked with the First Anglo-Afghan War. Exam tip: Wellesley = subsidiary alliance, Lord Hastings = paramountcy, Dalhousie = doctrine of lapse.

The correct answer is A, Warren Hastings. The Regulating Act of 1773 created the post of Governor-General of Bengal, and Warren Hastings, then Governor of Bengal, became the first holder from 1774 to 1785, with a council of four and a Supreme Court at Calcutta set up in 1774. He ended the dual system of Robert Clive, shifted the treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta, set up civil and criminal courts in each district, and founded the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781; the Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in 1784 during his time. After returning to England he faced a long impeachment trial from 1788 to 1795 and was acquitted. Option B is wrong because William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India under the Charter Act of 1833 and abolished sati in 1829. Option C is wrong because Charles Metcalfe (1835 to 1836) freed the press. Option D is wrong because John Shore (1793 to 1798) followed Cornwallis and is known for non-intervention. Exam tip: first Governor-General of Bengal = Warren Hastings (1773 Act), first Governor-General of India = William Bentinck (1833 Act).

The correct answer is B, Parantaka I. Parantaka I (907 to 955 CE), son of Aditya I, crushed the Pandya king Maravarman Rajasimha II and his Sri Lankan allies at the battle of Vellur, or Vellore, around 915 CE, and took the title Maduraikonda, 'captor of Madurai'. His reign is also remembered for the Uttaramerur inscriptions of 919 and 921 CE, which describe how village assemblies were elected by lot, and for covering the Nataraja shrine at Chidambaram with gold. Late in his rule he lost the battle of Takkolam (949 CE) to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III, where his son Rajaditya was killed. Option A is wrong because Rajaraja I (985 to 1014 CE) came later and is known for the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur. Option C is wrong because Rajendra I led the Ganga expedition and took the title Gangaikonda Chola. Option D is wrong because Vijayalaya founded the imperial Chola line by capturing Thanjavur around 850 CE, before this battle. Exam tip: Vellur = Parantaka I (Maduraikonda), Takkolam = Chola defeat by Krishna III.

The correct answer is B, Pushyamitra. Pushyamitra Shunga founded the Shunga dynasty in about 185 BCE after killing Brihadratha, the last Mauryan king, while reviewing the army; he was the Mauryan commander-in-chief. The Shungas ruled from Pataliputra, and later Vidisha, for about 112 years, and Pushyamitra performed two Ashvamedha sacrifices, a sign of the Brahmanical revival after Ashoka's Buddhist patronage. The Bharhut stupa railings and the enlargement of the Sanchi stupa belong to this period, and Patanjali, author of the Mahabhashya, lived at his court. The last Shunga king, Devabhuti, was killed by his minister Vasudeva Kanva, who started the Kanva dynasty. Option A is wrong because Porus was the Punjab king who fought Alexander at the Hydaspes in 326 BCE. Option C is wrong because Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor, son of Chandragupta. Option D is wrong because Ashoka was a Mauryan, not a Shunga. Exam tip: Mauryas end with Brihadratha, Shungas begin with Pushyamitra (185 BCE), Kanvas begin with Vasudeva.

The correct answer is A, Article 11. Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11, deals with citizenship. Articles 5 to 10 only settled who was a citizen when the Constitution commenced on 26 January 1950; Article 11 then hands the whole subject to Parliament, giving it full power to make any law on acquisition and termination of citizenship. Using this power Parliament passed the Citizenship Act 1955, which lists five ways of acquiring citizenship: birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory. India provides single citizenship, and citizenship is a Union List subject (Entry 17). Option B is wrong because Article 5 defines citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution by domicile. Option C is wrong because Article 8 covers persons of Indian origin living outside India. Option D is wrong because Article 6 covers migrants who came from Pakistan. Exam tip: Articles 5 to 10 = who was a citizen in 1950, Article 11 = Parliament's power, Citizenship Act = 1955.

The correct answer is B, Article 89. Article 89 covers the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States. Clause (1) makes the Vice-President of India the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and clause (2) says the Council shall choose one of its own members as Deputy Chairman, and choose another whenever that office falls vacant. Article 90 deals with the Deputy Chairman's vacation of office, resignation and removal, and Article 93 is the matching provision for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The point setters test is that the Chairman is not a member of the House while the Deputy Chairman always is. Option A is wrong because Article 14 guarantees equality before the law. Option C is wrong because Article 377 is a transitional provision about the Comptroller and Auditor-General. Option D is wrong because Article 370 dealt with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Exam tip: 89 = Rajya Sabha Chairman and Deputy Chairman, 93 = Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The correct answer is D, Article 343. Article 343(1) says the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script, and that the international form of Indian numerals shall be used for official purposes. It also allowed English to continue for fifteen years from 1950; the Official Languages Act 1963 then kept English alongside Hindi beyond 1965. Articles 343 to 351 form Part XVII on Official Language, and Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14 September because the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language on that day in 1949. Note that India has no 'national language'; Hindi is the official language of the Union, and the Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages. Option A is wrong because Article 370 gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Option B is wrong because Article 51A lists the Fundamental Duties. Option C is wrong because Article 80 is about the composition of the Rajya Sabha. Exam tip: 343 = Hindi in Devanagari, 344 = Official Language Commission, 348 = language of the courts.

The correct answer is A, Admission or establishment of new states. Article 2 lets Parliament admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. Article 2 deals with territory that is outside India, for example Sikkim, which was admitted as a full State by the 36th Amendment in 1975. Article 3, by contrast, works inside India: it lets Parliament form a new State from existing ones, and change their areas, boundaries or names, as happened with Telangana in 2014. Both sit in Part I, Articles 1 to 4, headed 'The Union and its Territory'. Option B is wrong because altering the area of an existing State is a power under Article 3. Option C is wrong because changing the name of an existing State is also Article 3. Option D is wrong because the name and territory of the Union, 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States', is Article 1. Exam tip: Article 2 = new States from outside, Article 3 = reorganising States inside.

The correct answer is A, Article 80. Article 80 lays down how the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha, is composed. It fixes the House at not more than 250 members: 12 nominated by the President for special knowledge in literature, science, art and social service, and up to 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories, elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies through proportional representation by the single transferable vote. Article 81, the next one, does the same job for the Lok Sabha, and Articles 79 to 122 together cover Parliament. Option B is wrong because Article 395 only repeals the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the Government of India Act 1935. Option C is wrong because Article 51A lists the Fundamental Duties of citizens. Option D is wrong because Article 12 defines the 'State' for Part III on Fundamental Rights. Exam tip: remember the pair 80 = Rajya Sabha composition, 81 = Lok Sabha composition, and 250 = 238 + 12.

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, Olympic Council of Asia. ASIAD is the short name for the Asian Games, the continent's multi-sport event held every four years, and it is run by the Olympic Council of Asia, OCA, headquartered in Kuwait City. The OCA was formed in 1982, taking over from the Asian Games Federation that had organised the Games since the first edition in New Delhi in 1951; New Delhi hosted again in 1982, the year Appu the elephant became the mascot. The Games are recognised by the International Olympic Committee, but the day-to-day regulation is the OCA's job. A, International Olympic Council, is a distorted name for the International Olympic Committee, which runs the Olympic Games, not the Asian Games. B, the Commonwealth Games Federation, governs the Commonwealth Games. C, Indian Olympic Council, points to the Indian Olympic Association, India's national body, which only sends the Indian team. Exam tip: Asian Games = OCA, Kuwait; first held 1951 in New Delhi; motto "Ever Onward".