SSC GD Constable 2024 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Austro-Asiatic family. The tribal languages of Jharkhand and the neighbouring belt of central and eastern India, namely Santali, Mundari, Ho and Kurukh's neighbours in the Munda group, belong to the Austro-Asiatic family, whose Indian branch is called Munda. Santali, written in the Ol Chiki script, is the best known of them and was added to the Eighth Schedule in 2003. Option A is wrong because Indo-European, through its Indo-Aryan branch, covers Hindi, Bengali and Odia, the regional languages of the plains, not the tribal languages of the plateau. Option C is wrong because the Tibeto-Burman family lies along the Himalayan belt and the north-east, far from central India. Option D is wrong because the Dravidian family is concentrated in the south, although the Dravidian language Kurukh is indeed spoken by the Oraon of the same region, which is what makes this option a tempting trap.

The correct answer is C, Kerala. Thrissur Pooram is held at the Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur during the Malayalam month of Medam, which falls in April and May. Thirty caparisoned elephants, the panchavadyam and pandimelam percussion ensembles, the umbrella exchange called Kudamattam and a long fireworks display make it the largest temple festival of the state.

Option A, Tamil Nadu, is the commonest trap because the state borders Kerala and has its own great temple festivals, such as the Chithirai festival of Madurai. Option B, Orissa, now Odisha, is the state of the Puri Rath Yatra and of Bali Yatra at Cuttack, both of which are separate topics in the same syllabus. Option D, Karnataka, is known for the Mysuru Dasara procession and the Hampi festival, not for Pooram, which is a Kerala word for a temple gathering.

The correct answer is D, tariffs and quotas. An inward-looking trade strategy, better known as import substitution, was the policy India followed from the Second Five Year Plan until 1991, and it rested on two instruments. A tariff is a tax on imports that makes the foreign good dearer, and a quota is a limit on the quantity that may be imported at all. Option A is wrong because subsidies help exporters or domestic producers but are not the paired instrument named in the textbook definition of protection. Option B is wrong for the same reason, and because it leaves out the tariff, which is the primary instrument. Option C is wrong because price controls are a domestic measure aimed at consumers and essential goods; they do not act at the border. Remember the textbook pairing: protection equals tariffs plus quotas.

The correct answer is Article 129. It declares that the Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court, including the power to punish for contempt of itself. Being a court of record means two things: its judgments and proceedings are preserved as permanent records of evidentiary value that cannot be questioned when produced before any court, and it has the inherent power to punish anyone who scandalises the court or disobeys its orders.

The other options are nearby Articles with different content. Article 123 gives the President the power to issue ordinances. Article 125 deals with the salaries and allowances of Supreme Court judges. Article 127 provides for the appointment of ad hoc judges when there is no quorum of permanent judges. The High Courts are courts of record too, under Article 215, so remember the pair: 129 for the Supreme Court and 215 for the High Courts. Contempt of court is further defined by the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

The correct answer is One-third. The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserves one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies and the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, including one-third of the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It was the first bill passed in the new Parliament building, in September 2023.

The reservation does not begin at once: it will take effect after the delimitation of constituencies carried out on the basis of the first census taken after the Act, and it will last for fifteen years, which Parliament can extend. The seats reserved for women will rotate after each delimitation. The other options are wrong fractions; one-third also happens to be the share of seats reserved for women in panchayats and municipalities since the 73rd and 74th Amendments of 1992, which is where the idea first entered the Constitution.

The correct answer is C, Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor. Article 163 says there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at its head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in the few matters where the Constitution requires him to act in his own discretion. Whether a matter falls in that discretion is decided by the Governor himself, and Article 163(3) bars any court from asking what advice the ministers gave. It is the state counterpart of Article 74, which makes the President's Council of Ministers binding at the Union level. Option A is wrong because the conduct of business of a state government is Article 166. Option B is wrong because the constitution of legislatures in states is Article 168. Option D is wrong because the Advocate-General for the State is appointed under Article 165. Exam tip: 163 aid and advise, 164 appointment of the Chief Minister and ministers, 165 Advocate-General, 166 conduct of business.

The correct answer is C, M.S. Subbulakshmi. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi, the Carnatic vocalist, received the Bharat Ratna in 1998 and was the first singer and the first musician of any kind to be given the award. She was also the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in 1974, and she sang at the United Nations General Assembly in 1966. Her rendering of the Venkateswara Suprabhatam and of Vaishnava Jana To is still heard every morning in temples and homes. The Bharat Ratna, instituted in 1954, is India's highest civilian honour and is given for exceptional service in any field. Option A is wrong because Zakir Hussain is a tabla player who was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, not the Bharat Ratna. Option B is wrong because A.R. Rahman, a composer, holds the Padma Bhushan. Option D is wrong because R.D. Burman, a music director, never received the Bharat Ratna. Exam tip: M.S. Subbulakshmi in 1998 was the first musician, and Lata Mangeshkar in 2001 the second singer to receive it.

The correct answer is To safeguard public property and to abjure violence. That is the duty in Article 51A(i). It asks citizens not to damage buses, trains, roads, government buildings and other public property, and to reject violence, for example during protests. Parliament has also made damage to public property a criminal offence through the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

The other options are duties from different clauses. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture is clause (f). To defend the country and render national service when called upon is clause (d). To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India is clause (c). Clause-matching questions are common, so it helps to link each letter with a keyword: (a) Constitution, Flag and Anthem; (c) sovereignty; (d) defence; (e) harmony and women's dignity; (f) composite culture; (g) environment; (h) scientific temper; (i) public property; (j) excellence; (k) education.