SSC CPO 2020 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is D, Somadeva. The Kathasaritsagara, whose name means the ocean of the streams of story, was composed in Sanskrit verse in the eleventh century by Somadeva of Kashmir for the queen Suryavati, and it is a vast frame narrative drawing on the lost Brihatkatha of Gunadhya; the Vetala Panchavimshati, known in Hindi as Baital Pachisi, is part of it. A is wrong because Kalidasa wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghadutam, Raghuvamsham, Kumarasambhavam and Ritusamharam, but not this collection. B is wrong because Bhasa was an earlier dramatist whose plays include Swapnavasavadattam and Charudattam. C is wrong because Jayadeva, of the court of the Sena ruler Lakshmanasena in Bengal, wrote the Gita Govinda, the devotional poem on Radha and Krishna. All four are Sanskrit authors, which is what makes the question difficult.

The correct answer is D, Venice. Marco Polo belonged to a family of merchants of the Republic of Venice, then the leading trading city of the Mediterranean, and he travelled overland to the court of Kublai Khan in China, returning by sea at the end of the thirteenth century. On that return voyage he touched the Pandya country of southern India and wrote of its pearl fishery, its horses brought by sea and its temples, and his book of travels became Europe's chief source on Asia for two centuries. Option A is wrong because Zurich is a Swiss city with no part in this story. Option B is wrong because Paris was the capital of France, whose travellers to India, Tavernier, Bernier and Thevenot, came four centuries later. Option C is wrong because Istanbul, then Constantinople, was the Byzantine and later Ottoman capital, a city Marco Polo's trade passed through but not his home. Remember Venice for Marco Polo and Tangier in Morocco for Ibn Battuta.

The correct answer is A, Greece. The Gandhara School of Art, which grew in the north west around Taxila and Peshawar between the first and fifth centuries, was shaped by Greek or Hellenistic sculpture that had reached the region after Alexander's campaign and stayed on through the Indo Greek and Kushana rulers. That is why its Buddha figures have wavy hair, sharp features, a halo without decoration and heavy robes with deep folds, carved mostly in blue grey schist. The school also produced the first images of the Buddha in human form, alongside the Mathura school. Kanishka was its best known patron. B is wrong because Roman influence came later and in small measure, mainly through trade. C and D are wrong because Hungary and Belgium had no contact with ancient India. Exam tip: Gandhara Greek and grey schist, Mathura Indian and red sandstone, Amaravati white marble.

The correct answer is B, Majjhima Nikaya. The Sutta Pitaka is the basket of the Buddha's discourses and is divided into five collections called Nikayas: Digha, Majjhima, Samyutta, Anguttara and Khuddaka. The Majjhima Nikaya is the collection of middle length discourses and holds about one hundred and fifty two sermons on meditation, right conduct and the middle path. The Sutta Pitaka is one of the three baskets of the Pali canon, the others being the Vinaya Pitaka on monastic rules and the Abhidhamma Pitaka on philosophy. A is wrong because the Dipavamsa is a Sri Lankan chronicle of the island's history, not part of the canon. C is wrong because the Dhammasangani is the first book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. D is wrong because the Manu Smriti is a Brahmanical law text and has nothing to do with Buddhism. Exam tip: Tripitaka means Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma, and Sutta holds five Nikayas.

The correct answer is A, Kerala. Ashtamudi is a backwater lake in Kollam district of Kerala and the second largest estuarine system in the state after Vembanad. Its name means eight braids, because the lake spreads out in several arms before meeting the Arabian Sea at Neendakara. It was declared a Ramsar site in 2002 for its mangroves, migratory birds and the short necked clam fishery, which became the first fishery in India to get Marine Stewardship Council certification. The lake also carries the houseboat route to Alappuzha. B is wrong because Karnataka's noted wetlands include Ranganathittu and Magadi. C is wrong because Tamil Nadu's Ramsar wetlands include Point Calimere and Pallikaranai. D is wrong because Assam has Deepor Beel near Guwahati. Exam tip: Kerala's Ramsar sites are Ashtamudi, Vembanad Kol and Sasthamkotta, the last being the largest freshwater lake in the state.

The correct answer is D, Assam. The Ambubachi Mela is held every year at the Kamakhya temple on Nilachal hill in Guwahati, Assam. It falls in the month of Ahaar, around the middle of June, and marks the belief that the goddess goes through her yearly cycle of menstruation, so the temple doors stay shut for three days and open on the fourth with the distribution of red cloth as prasad. Thousands of sadhus, tantriks and pilgrims gather for it, which is why the fair is sometimes called the Mahakumbh of the East. Kamakhya is counted among the Shakti Peethas. A is wrong because Kerala is known for the Thrissur Pooram and the Nehru Trophy boat race. B is wrong because Gujarat is known for the Rann Utsav and Tarnetar fair. C is wrong because Sikkim holds festivals such as Losar and Pang Lhabsol. Exam tip: Ambubachi, Kamakhya temple, Guwahati, June.

The correct answer is B, NR Narayana Murthy. A Better India: A Better World was written by N R Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, and published in 2009. The book collects his lectures and talks to students and business audiences, and argues that India will improve only through honest institutions, respect for public money and what he calls compassionate capitalism, in which business creates jobs and pays its taxes rather than seeking favours. Narayana Murthy started Infosys in 1981 with six colleagues and a small sum borrowed from his wife Sudha Murty. A is wrong because Shashi Tharoor wrote An Era of Darkness and The Great Indian Novel. C is wrong because Ratan Tata has not written such a book, though several biographies of him exist. D is wrong because Gurcharan Das wrote India Unbound and The Difficulty of Being Good. Exam tip: Narayana Murthy, Infosys, A Better India A Better World, 2009.

The correct answer is D, Section 7. Section 7 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 lets the Central Government, after consulting the Governor, give the Reserve Bank such directions as it thinks necessary in the public interest, and it also allows the Governor and the Central Board to be superseded in that sense. The power has never been used formally, but it was discussed publicly in 2018 when the government and the Reserve Bank differed over lending rules and liquidity, which is why the section became an exam favourite. A is wrong because Section 5 deals with the offices and branches of the Bank. B is wrong because Section 1 only gives the short title and extent of the Act. C is wrong because Section 3 provides for the establishment and incorporation of the Reserve Bank itself. Exam tip: RBI Act 1934, Section 7 for government directions, Section 3 for the Bank's establishment, and the Bank began work on 1 April 1935.

The correct answer is A, Punjab National Bank. The slogan The Name you can Bank Upon belongs to Punjab National Bank. PNB was set up in 1894 at Lahore and was the first Indian bank started wholly with Indian capital, with Lala Lajpat Rai among those behind it; its head office is now in New Delhi. Taglines like this are asked often because each large bank keeps one for years, and PNB has used this line through its branding. B is wrong because the State Bank of India uses The Banker to Every Indian, and earlier With you all the way. C is wrong because HDFC Bank uses We understand your world. D is wrong because Canara Bank uses Together We Can. Exam tip: pair the bank with its line and its founding year, PNB 1894 Lahore and The Name you can Bank Upon, SBI 1955 and The Banker to Every Indian.

The correct answer is C, Giani Zail Singh. Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister on 31 October 1984, the day his mother Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and Giani Zail Singh, who was President from 1982 to 1987, administered the oath. Zail Singh was the first Sikh to hold the office and had earlier been Chief Minister of Punjab and Union Home Minister. The swearing in shows the President's power under Article 75, by which the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and the other ministers are appointed on the Prime Minister's advice. A is wrong because R Venkataraman became President only in 1987. B is wrong because Shankar Dayal Sharma became President in 1992, after serving as Vice President. D is wrong because N Sanjiva Reddy's term ended in 1982. Exam tip: Zail Singh 1982 to 1987, Venkataraman 1987 to 1992, Sharma 1992 to 1997.

The correct answer is B, Raigad. Raigad is the hill fort in Maharashtra that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj made his capital, and it has nothing to do with the Buddha. The Ashta Mahasthana are the eight places tied to the main events of the Buddha's life: Lumbini where he was born, Bodh Gaya where he gained enlightenment, Sarnath where he gave his first sermon, Kushinagar where he died, and Sravasti, Rajgir, Sankasya and Vaishali, each linked to a miracle or an important episode of his teaching years. A is wrong because Sarnath, near Varanasi, is where the wheel of law was first turned. C is wrong because Lumbini in Nepal is the birthplace. D is wrong because Bodh Gaya in Bihar is where he sat under the Bodhi tree. Exam tip: remember the core four first, Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar, then add the other four.

The correct answer is D, Guler Paintings – Karnataka, because this pair is the wrong one. Guler painting belongs to Himachal Pradesh, not Karnataka. Guler, a small hill state in the Kangra valley, is where the Pahari school took its gentle new form in the eighteenth century under artists of the Seu family, and from there it grew into the famous Kangra style of soft lines and green hill landscapes. A is a correct pair, since Phad is the long cloth scroll painting of Rajasthan that tells the story of folk gods such as Pabuji and Devnarayan. B is a correct pair, as Saura painting is the wall art of the Saura tribe of Odisha, close in look to Warli. C is a correct pair, because the Bagh paintings are the cave murals near the Bagh caves in Madhya Pradesh. Exam tip: Guler and Kangra are both Pahari schools of Himachal Pradesh.

The correct answer is A, Heritage Foundation. The Index of Economic Freedom has been published by this research organisation based at Washington DC since 1995, and it scores countries on matters such as property rights, tax burden, government spending, trade freedom and business regulation. Questions on this topic usually pair an index with the body that publishes it, so this name is worth memorising along with the index it produces.

Option B, the Fraser Institute of Canada, publishes a similarly named report called Economic Freedom of the World, which makes it the closest trap in the set. Option C, the International Monetary Fund, publishes the World Economic Outlook and the Global Financial Stability Report. Option D, the World Bank, brings out the World Development Report and earlier the Ease of Doing Business rankings, but not this index.

The correct answer is D, Odisha. The twin hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri stand near Bhubaneswar and hold Jain rock-cut cells cut for monks in the first century BCE. The Hathigumpha or elephant cave on Udayagiri carries the inscription of the Chedi king Kharavela of Kalinga, the main source for his reign, and the Rani Gumpha is the largest and most decorated of the cells.

Option A, Uttarakhand, has the Kalsi rock edict and hill temples but no such cave group. Option B, Chhattisgarh, is associated with the Sitabenga and Jogimara caves of the Ramgarh hills, which are different sites. Option C, Tripura, is known for the rock carvings of Unakoti, again a separate site. Candidates often confuse Udayagiri in Odisha with the Udayagiri caves of Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, which are Gupta period Vaishnavite caves with the Varaha panel.