SSC MTS 2019 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is D, Dhyan Chand Award. The Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games was instituted in 2002 to honour sportspersons who not only performed well in their playing days but kept serving the sport after retiring. It is named after Major Dhyan Chand, the hockey wizard who won Olympic gold in 1928, 1932 and 1936; his birthday, 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day, when all the national sports awards are given. A is wrong because the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, started in 1991-92, is the highest award for the best performance over the previous four years, and in August 2021 it was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, which is a different award from the lifetime achievement one. B is wrong because the Arjuna Award, started in 1961, is for consistent outstanding performance by active players. C is wrong because the Dronacharya Award, started in 1985, is for coaches. Exam tip: Khel Ratna best performance, Arjuna players, Dronacharya coaches, Dhyan Chand Award lifetime achievement; all given on 29 August.

The correct answer is A, Sucheta Kriplani. Sucheta Kripalani became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in October 1963 and served till March 1967, making her the first woman to head a state government in India. A freedom fighter who worked closely with Gandhi during the Quit India movement, she was a member of the Constituent Assembly and sang Vande Mataram in the Assembly on the night of 14 August 1947. She was married to the socialist leader Acharya J.B. Kripalani. B is wrong because Mamata Banerjee became the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal only in 2011. C is wrong because Indira Gandhi was India's first woman Prime Minister, in 1966, and never a Chief Minister. D is wrong because Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor of an Indian state, Uttar Pradesh, in 1947, and the first Indian woman to preside over the Congress, but never a Chief Minister. Exam tip: first woman CM Sucheta Kripalani (UP, 1963); first woman Governor Sarojini Naidu (UP, 1947); first woman PM Indira Gandhi (1966).

The correct answer is D, Madhya Pradesh. The Son rises at Amarkantak on the Maikal hills in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh, the same plateau from which the Narmada starts in the opposite direction. It flows north and then east for about 780 km through Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and joins the Ganga near Maner, a little west of Patna. It is the largest right-bank (southern) tributary of the Ganga; its own tributaries include the Rihand and the North Koel, and the Bansagar dam in Madhya Pradesh and the Rihand dam in Uttar Pradesh stand on this system. The famous Koilwar rail-road bridge in Bihar crosses the Son. A is wrong because West Bengal is where the Ganga ends its Indian course, not where the Son begins. B is wrong because Uttar Pradesh only lies on the Son's middle course. C is wrong because Assam belongs to the Brahmaputra basin. Exam tip: Amarkantak sends the Narmada west and the Son north-east; the Son meets the Ganga near Patna.

The correct answer is B, President. A bill passed by both Houses of Parliament becomes an Act only when the President gives assent to it, as laid down in Article 111. The President has three choices: give assent, withhold assent, or return the bill (if it is not a Money Bill) to Parliament for reconsideration. If both Houses pass the returned bill again, with or without changes, the President has to give assent. The Constitution fixes no time limit, so this delaying power is often called a 'pocket veto'. For state bills the Governor plays the same role under Article 200. A is wrong because the Law Minister only pilots bills; a minister's approval cannot turn a bill into law. C is wrong because the Supreme Court can strike down a law later but does not approve it before it is made. D is wrong because the Prime Minister heads the government but the formal assent is the President's. Exam tip: Parliament passes, the President assents (Article 111); the Governor assents for states (Article 200).

The correct answer is Habeas Corpus, a Latin phrase meaning "to have the body of". Through this writ a court orders whoever is holding a person to produce that person before it and show the legal grounds for the detention. If the detention is found unlawful, the person is set free at once. It can be issued against public authorities and private individuals alike, and a petition can be filed by the detained person or by someone on their behalf. It is not issued where the detention is lawful, where it is for contempt of a legislature or a court, or where a competent court has ordered it.

The other three writs do different jobs. Certiorari transfers a case from a lower court or tribunal, or quashes an order it has already passed. Prohibition stops a lower court or tribunal from exceeding its jurisdiction while a case is pending. Mandamus, meaning "we command", orders a public official to perform a duty. Habeas Corpus is often called the strongest safeguard of personal liberty, because it puts the protections of Articles 21 and 22 into immediate effect.