SSC MTS 2023 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is C, Kathakali. Kathakali, which means 'story play', is the classical dance-drama of Kerala, performed traditionally by men, in which stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are told through hand gestures (mudras), eye movements and facial expressions. Its most striking feature is the heavy, colourful makeup and towering headgear: green (pacha) for noble heroes, a red-streaked face (kathi) for villains, and beard (thadi) types for demons and monkeys. The vigorous body training comes from Kalaripayattu, Kerala's ancient martial art. Performances are accompanied by the chenda and maddalam drums and go on through the night. A is wrong because Mohiniyattam, also from Kerala, is a gentle solo dance by women, the 'dance of the enchantress', with simple makeup and no masks. B is wrong because Kuchipudi is the classical dance of Andhra Pradesh. D is wrong because Odissi belongs to Odisha and is known for its tribhangi posture. Exam tip: Kerala has two classical dances, Kathakali (masks, makeup, martial vigour) and Mohiniyattam (graceful, feminine).

The correct answer is C, Gir Forest. Gir in Gujarat is a national park and wildlife sanctuary, famous as the only home of the Asiatic lion, but it has never been declared a biosphere reserve. A biosphere reserve is a much larger area, notified under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme, with a protected core zone, a buffer zone and a transition zone where people live and work. India's list began with the Nilgiri in 1986, and Panna in Madhya Pradesh, added in 2011, was the eighteenth. A is wrong because the Cold Desert biosphere reserve was set up in 2009 in the Lahaul-Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. B is wrong because the Sunderbans in West Bengal, home of the Royal Bengal tiger and the mangroves, became a biosphere reserve in 1989 and is on the UNESCO world network. D is wrong because the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, spread over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, was India's first, declared in 1986. Exam tip: Nilgiri first (1986), Sunderbans 1989, Cold Desert 2009; Gir = lions, national park, not a biosphere reserve.

The correct answer is A, 1st April of a year to 31st March of the next upcoming year. In India the fiscal or financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March, so the year that starts on 1 April 2025 is written as 2025-26. The Union Budget, the government's accounts, income tax and company accounts all follow this period. India inherited this April to March cycle from British practice in 1867; before that the government year ran from May to April. The Union Budget is presented on 1 February so that the new year can start on 1 April with the money already approved. B is wrong because a year cannot be only nine months long. C is wrong because January to December is the calendar year, used by some countries but not for India's public finances. D is wrong because it describes a two-year span, which no fiscal year covers. Exam tip: fiscal year 1 April to 31 March; Budget on 1 February; the assessment year follows the financial year.

The correct answer is D, Manipur. Nepal touches five Indian states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. Manipur lies far to the east in the North-East and shares its international border only with Myanmar. Bihar has the longest border with Nepal, and the India-Nepal border is an open border of about 1,750 km along which people move without a visa. Two easy memory hooks: the Kali river separates Uttarakhand from Nepal, and the Siliguri corridor of West Bengal lies between Nepal and Bangladesh. A is wrong because Sikkim lies between Nepal and Bhutan and shares its western border with Nepal. B is wrong because Bihar has the longest boundary with Nepal among all states. C is wrong because the Darjeeling district of West Bengal borders eastern Nepal. Exam tip: Nepal's five neighbours are Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim; Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal touch Myanmar.

The correct answer is A, Dhondo Keshav Karve. Maharshi Karve, a social reformer from Maharashtra, founded India's first women's university at Pune in 1916, inspired by the Japan Women's University. In 1920 the industrialist Sir Vithaldas Thackersey donated fifteen lakh rupees, and the university was renamed after his mother as Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women's University; it later moved to Mumbai. Karve had earlier married a widow in 1893, started the Widow Remarriage Association and, in 1896, a home and school for widows at Hingne near Pune. He received the Bharat Ratna in 1958, in his hundredth year. B is wrong because Ashutosh Mukherjee was the famous Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, known as the 'Tiger of Bengal'. C is wrong because William Hunter headed the Hunter Commission of 1882 on education. D is wrong because Sayed Ahmed Khan founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875, which became Aligarh Muslim University. Exam tip: first women's university, Pune 1916, D.K. Karve, later SNDT; Bharat Ratna 1958.

The correct answer is D, Part IV. The Directive Principles of State Policy are placed in Part IV of the Constitution, from Article 36 to Article 51. They are instructions to the government to build a welfare state, such as equal pay for equal work, free legal aid, village panchayats, a uniform civil code and protection of the environment. The idea was borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland, which in turn took it from Spain. Unlike Fundamental Rights they cannot be enforced in a court, but Article 37 makes them fundamental in the governance of the country. A is wrong because Part II, Articles 5 to 11, deals with citizenship. B is wrong because Part III, Articles 12 to 35, contains the Fundamental Rights. C is wrong because Part I, Articles 1 to 4, deals with the Union and its territory. Exam tip: Part III = Fundamental Rights (12 to 35), Part IV = Directive Principles (36 to 51), Part IVA = Fundamental Duties (51A).

The correct answer is Socialist. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 added three words to the Preamble: "Socialist" and "Secular" to the description of India, and "Integrity" to the phrase "unity and integrity of the Nation". It is the only amendment ever made to the Preamble.

Democratic, Republic and Sovereign were all in the Preamble from the start: as adopted on 26 November 1949, it described India as a "sovereign democratic republic". That is why they are wrong here. Questions on this amendment come in several forms: which word was added, which word was not added, or how many words were added. Keep all three in mind together: Socialist, Secular and Integrity, added in 1976. A related fact worth linking is the Kesavananda Bharati case of 1973, which had held three years earlier that the Preamble is part of the Constitution and can be amended without changing its basic features.

The correct answer is 1946. The Cabinet Mission came to India in 1946 to work out how power would be handed over, and its plan laid down how a Constituent Assembly would be formed: 389 seats in all, 296 for British India and 93 for the princely states, with the members from the provinces elected indirectly by the provincial legislative assemblies. Elections to the British Indian seats followed in July and August 1946, and the Assembly held its first meeting on 9 December 1946.

The other years cannot be right. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, so an Assembly formed in 1952, 1959 or 1962 would have had nothing left to write. A good way to fix this date is to tie it to two others from the same year: the elections of July and August 1946, and the first sitting in December 1946.