SSC 2021 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Silver. The Bombay Stock Exchange became the first stock exchange in India to enter commodity derivatives when it launched futures contracts in gold and silver on 1 October 2018. This followed the decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India to allow a single exchange to deal in both securities and commodities from that date, ending the wall that had kept stock exchanges and commodity exchanges apart. BSE, set up in 1875, is Asia's oldest stock exchange, its benchmark index is the Sensex and it works under SEBI. A is wrong because diamond is not traded as a commodity derivative on the exchange. C is wrong because platinum was not part of that launch. D is wrong because equity is a security, not a commodity, and equity derivatives had been traded long before 2018. Exam tip: BSE founded in 1875, Asia's oldest exchange; gold and silver commodity derivatives from 1 October 2018; the regulator is SEBI.

The correct answer is C, Amritsar. Sri Harmandir Sahib, popularly called the Golden Temple, stands in Amritsar in Punjab and is the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. The fourth Guru, Ram Das, had the sacred tank dug and the city grew around it, taking its name Amritsar from the pool of nectar; the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev, built the shrine and installed the Adi Granth there in 1604. Maharaja Ranjit Singh later covered its upper storeys with gold leaf, which gave the temple its popular name. It has a door on each of its four sides to show that it is open to people of every caste and faith, and its community kitchen feeds thousands every day. A is wrong because Manali is a hill town in Himachal Pradesh. B is wrong because Patna has Takht Sri Patna Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, which is a different shrine. D is wrong because Jalandhar has no such temple. Exam tip: Amritsar founded by Guru Ram Das; Harmandir Sahib built by Guru Arjan Dev; Akal Takht stands beside it.

The correct answer is B, Seventh. Prophet Muhammad was born at Mecca in about 570 CE and began preaching the faith of Islam after his first revelation in about 610 CE, so the religion was founded in the seventh century. His migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, called the Hijra, marks the start of the Islamic calendar, and he died in 632 CE. The revelations were later compiled as the Quran. Islam reached the Indian subcontinent within decades, first through Arab traders on the Malabar and Konkan coasts and then with the Arab conquest of Sind under Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE. A is wrong because the sixth century ended before the Prophet began his mission. C is wrong because by the ninth century Islam had already spread from Spain to Central Asia. D is wrong because the eighth century saw the expansion of Islam, not its founding. Exam tip: Prophet Muhammad born about 570 CE, Hijra 622 CE, death 632 CE, Arab conquest of Sind 712 CE.

The correct answer is D, Maharashtra. Maharashtra has by far the largest number of large dams in India, more than two thousand of the roughly 5,300 listed in the National Register of Large Dams, which is close to half the country's total. The rivers of its Deccan plateau, its dependence on irrigation for sugarcane and its long record of building storage projects explain the number, and Koyna, Jayakwadi, Ujani and Bhatsa are among its best known dams. Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat come next on the list. A is wrong because Rajasthan is dry and has few perennial rivers to dam, so its count is much smaller. B is wrong because Tamil Nadu has thousands of tanks but far fewer large dams. C is wrong because Gujarat, though high on the list and home to the Sardar Sarovar, stands behind Maharashtra. Exam tip: most large dams - Maharashtra, then Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat; a large dam is one more than 15 metres high.

The correct answer is D, Dharampala. Dharmapala, the second and greatest ruler of the Pala dynasty of Bengal and Bihar, founded the Vikramshila monastery and university in the late eighth century in what is now Bhagalpur district of Bihar, and he also restored and supported the older university at Nalanda. Vikramshila became the leading centre of tantric Buddhism, and its scholar Atisa Dipankara carried Buddhism to Tibet. The Palas were the last great royal patrons of Buddhism in eastern India, and both universities were destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji around 1200. A is wrong because Gopala founded the Pala dynasty and the Odantapuri monastery, not Vikramshila. B is wrong because Vasudeva was a Kushan ruler of the north-west, far from Bengal and much earlier. C is wrong because Shri Gupta founded the Gupta line and lived centuries before the Palas. Exam tip: Nalanda founded by Kumaragupta I and revived by Dharmapala; Odantapuri by Gopala; Vikramshila by Dharmapala.

The correct answer is D, Kharaj tax. Kharaj was the land tax on agricultural produce and the single largest source of revenue for the Delhi Sultanate. Alauddin Khalji raised the demand to half the produce in the doab and had land measured for assessment. Along with kharaj the state took zakat from Muslims, jizya from non-Muslims and khams, its share of war booty. Option A is wrong because the Ryotwari settlement was a British land revenue system introduced by Thomas Munro and Alexander Read in the Madras and Bombay presidencies, centuries later. Option B is wrong because income tax in India dates from 1860, when James Wilson introduced it under the colonial government. Option C is wrong because the Mahalwari system was another British settlement, associated with Holt Mackenzie and later William Bentinck in the North-Western Provinces, in which the village or mahal was the revenue unit.

The correct answer is D, Harshavardhana. Banabhatta was the court poet of Harsha in the seventh century CE. He wrote the Harshacharita, the biography of his patron and the first historical biography in Sanskrit, and the prose romance Kadambari, which was completed by his son Bhushanabhatta.

Option A, Ashoka, ruled in the third century BCE, nine hundred years earlier, and left edicts in Prakrit rather than a body of Sanskrit court poetry. Option B, Bindusara, was Ashoka's father and an even earlier Mauryan king. Option C, Chandragupta II of the Guptas, ruled around 375 to 415 CE; the writers associated with his court in tradition are the nine gems, including Kalidasa, while the inscriptional poet of his father Samudragupta was Harishena. Banabhatta belongs to none of these courts, only to Harsha's.

The correct answer is D, Gauda. Shashanka was the king of Gauda, the region of Bengal with its centre at Karnasuvarna. He killed Harsha's elder brother Rajyavardhana, and it was to avenge that killing, and to recover his sister Rajyashri, that Harsha declared war and allied with Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa.

Option A, Kanyakubja, is the old name of Kannauj, the Maukhari capital that Harsha himself took over and made his own seat, so it is not the kingdom Harsha attacked. Option B, Junagarh, is a place in Saurashtra in Gujarat known for the rock edicts of Ashoka and the Rudradaman and Skandagupta inscriptions, and had no connection with Shashanka. Option C, Magadha, is the south Bihar kingdom of the Haryankas, Nandas, Mauryas and Guptas; by Harsha's day it was part of his own empire and not the base of Shashanka.

The correct answer is President. After a general election, the Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha vacates office just before the new House first meets. To bridge the gap, the President appoints a member of the new Lok Sabha, usually the senior-most, as Speaker pro tem. The President administers the oath to the pro tem Speaker, who then presides over the first sitting, administers the oath to the newly elected members and conducts the election of the new Speaker. The office ends as soon as the Speaker is elected.

The Prime Minister does not appoint the pro tem Speaker; in practice the government suggests a name, but the appointment is the President's. The Chief Justice of India administers the oath to the President, not to members of the Lok Sabha, and has no role here. The Chief Election Commissioner conducts the general election but has nothing to do with the House once it is constituted. "Pro tem" is Latin for "for the time being", which describes the office exactly.

The correct answer is B, Portuguese. The Battle of Swally was fought in November 1612 off Suvali, a village near Surat on the Gujarat coast. A small English squadron under Captain Thomas Best defeated a larger Portuguese fleet, and the victory ended the belief that the Portuguese could not be beaten at sea in Indian waters. Jahangir's officers watched the fight from the shore, and soon after the English were allowed to open a factory at Surat, their first real foothold on the western coast, confirmed by an imperial farman. Sir Thomas Roe's embassy of 1615 built on this opening. A is wrong because the Danes came later, setting up at Tranquebar in 1620, and took no part in this battle. C is wrong because the Dutch fought the English elsewhere, most bitterly over the spice trade at Amboyna in 1623. D is wrong because the French East India Company was founded only in 1664. Exam tip: Swally 1612, Thomas Best beat the Portuguese, and the Surat factory followed.

The correct answer is D, Tripura. The Manikya dynasty ruled Tripura for centuries, and its kings all took the title Manikya. Their history is recorded in the Rajmala, a chronicle in Bengali verse first compiled in the fifteenth century under Dharma Manikya. The Ujjayanta Palace at Agartala, built by Radha Kishore Manikya at the beginning of the twentieth century, was their seat and now houses a state museum, and the lake palace Neermahal was raised by Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, the last ruling king, after whom Agartala's airport is named. The princely state signed the merger agreement and joined the Indian Union in October 1949. Option A is wrong because Gujarat was ruled by the Solanki or Chaulukya line. Option B is wrong because Rajasthan had the Sisodia, Kachwaha and Rathore houses. Option C is wrong because Manipur was ruled by the Ningthouja or Meitei dynasty. Exam tip: Manikya means Tripura, its chronicle is the Rajmala, and it merged with India in 1949.

The correct answer is A, Odisha. The International Sand Art Festival is held every year on Chandrabhaga beach at Konark in Odisha, and its ninth edition took place in December 2020. The state tourism department organises it alongside the Konark Festival of classical dance, staged at the open-air theatre near the Sun Temple, so that visitors get sculpture on the sand by day and dance in the evening. Artists from India and abroad carve large figures in wet sand along the shore. Odisha has a long association with the art form: Sudarsan Pattnaik of Puri, honoured with the Padma Shri, has won many international sand sculpture titles. Option B is wrong because Tamil Nadu's well known coastal festival is the Mamallapuram dance festival. Option C is wrong because Maharashtra holds the Ellora-Ajanta festival. Option D is wrong because Andhra Pradesh hosts the Visakha Utsav. Exam tip: link Konark in Odisha with three things — the Sun Temple, the Konark dance festival and the International Sand Art Festival at Chandrabhaga beach.

The correct answer is D, India, Australia, Japan and the US. Malabar 2020 was held in two phases in November 2020, the first in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam and the second in the Arabian Sea, and Australia joined India, Japan and the United States in it. Malabar began in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the US Navy. Japan became a permanent participant in 2015. Australia had taken part once in 2007 and then returned in 2020, which brought the navies of all four Quad countries together in the same exercise. The drills cover anti-submarine warfare, air defence, cross-deck flying and live firing. Option A is wrong because that was the three-nation line-up from 2015 to 2019, before Australia rejoined. Option B is wrong because Israel has never been part of Malabar. Option C is wrong for the same reason, and it also leaves out Japan, a permanent member. Exam tip: Malabar started 1992 as India-US, Japan permanent from 2015, Australia from 2020 — the four Quad navies.

The correct answer is D, Kapilendra Deva. He founded the Suryavamsi Gajapati dynasty of Odisha in 1435.

Kapilendra Deva was a minister who took the throne when the Eastern Ganga line ended, and he built the largest empire Odisha ever had, stretching from the lower Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south. He fought the Bahmani sultanate and the Reddi chiefs of Andhra, and the word Gajapati means lord of elephants. His successors were Purushottama Deva and Prataparudra Deva, in whose reign the saint Chaitanya came to Puri; the dynasty weakened after him and the Bhoi line followed.

Options A, B and C are wrong. Bhanu Deva was a title used by rulers of the earlier Eastern Ganga dynasty, the builders of the Konark temple, while Vasu Deva and Surendra Deva are not rulers of this line at all.

Exam tip: Eastern Gangas - Konark and the Puri temple; Gajapatis from 1435 - Kapilendra Deva.

The correct answer is B, Goa. Ranmale is a folk theatre of Goa, performed mainly in the Sattari and Sanguem areas.

It is staged at night in the open during the Shigmo festival and around Holi, in front of a village temple. Men play all the roles, including the female ones, and the episodes are taken from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, tied together by a narrator, drums and the ghumot. Goa's other well known folk forms are Jagor, Dashavatara, Kalo and Khell, and Zagor is listed among its temple traditions.

Option A is wrong because West Bengal's folk theatre is Jatra. Option C is wrong as Jharkhand is known for Chhau and Paika. Option D is wrong because Chhattisgarh's forms are Nacha and Pandavani, the ballad style made famous by Teejan Bai.

Exam tip: Ranmale, Dashavatara and Jagor - Goa; Jatra - West Bengal; Nautanki - Uttar Pradesh; Tamasha - Maharashtra; Bhavai - Gujarat.

The correct answer is C. Lead and mercury are in fact the poorest conductors of heat among the metals, so calling them the best is wrong.

Metals conduct heat and electricity because of the free electrons that move through their lattice. Silver is the best conductor of heat, followed by copper, which is why cooking vessels and heat sinks are made of copper and aluminium. Lead and mercury conduct so weakly that they are the usual textbook example of poor metallic conductors.

Option A is a correct statement: most metals melt at high temperatures, tungsten at about 3400 degrees Celsius, though gallium and caesium are exceptions. Option B is correct, since good thermal conduction is a defining property of metals. Option D is correct too, as a fresh metal surface has lustre and is polished for that reason, while tarnishing is due to a layer of oxide.

Exam tip: best conductors silver then copper; poorest among metals lead and mercury.

The correct answer is B, Karnataka. Jog Falls is in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka.

The Sharavathi river drops about 253 metres here in four separate streams known as Raja, Rani, Rocket and Roarer, which makes Jog one of the highest plunge waterfalls in India. It lies in the Western Ghats, is fed by the monsoon, and the Linganamakki dam upstream supplies the Mahatma Gandhi hydroelectric station, so the flow is strongest in the rains. The falls are also called Gersoppa or Jogada Gundi.

Option A is wrong because Punjab is a flat alluvial plain with no waterfall of this kind. Options C and D are wrong as Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh lie in the Himalayan north, far from the Sharavathi; India's highest waterfall, Kunchikal, is also in Karnataka.

Exam tip: Jog on the Sharavathi and Kunchikal on the Varahi are both in Karnataka; Dudhsagar is in Goa.

The correct answer is B, thirty. The SENSEX tracks thirty large, well traded companies listed on the BSE.

The name is short for Sensitive Index. It was launched in 1986 with 1978-79 as the base year and a base value of 100, and the thirty companies are chosen from major sectors so that the index mirrors the market as a whole. Since 2003 it has been calculated by the free float market capitalisation method, which counts only shares available for trading. The BSE itself was founded in 1875 and is Asia's oldest stock exchange.

Options A, C and D are wrong: the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange has fifty companies, and the BSE has separate broader indices with one hundred, two hundred and five hundred companies. No Indian benchmark uses ten.

Exam tip: SENSEX thirty companies on the BSE, base year 1978-79; Nifty fifty companies on the NSE, base year 1995.

The correct answer is A, Small Industries Development Bank of India. SIDBI is the apex institution for micro, small and medium enterprises.

It was set up in 1990 under an Act of Parliament, began work on 2 April that year, and has its head office at Lucknow. It started as a subsidiary of IDBI and became independent later. SIDBI does not usually lend directly in small amounts; it refinances banks, state finance corporations and microfinance institutions, and runs funds such as the Fund of Funds for Startups and the credit guarantee scheme for small units along with the government. It also publishes the MSME Pulse report.

Options B, C and D change one word each and are simply not the name of any institution. The trap is the pair small and service: SIDBI is about small industries, the sector that employs the most people after agriculture.

Exam tip: SIDBI 1990, Lucknow, MSMEs; NABARD 1982, Mumbai, agriculture and rural credit.

The correct answer is C, SBI Life Insurance. It is a private sector joint venture, not a public sector insurer.

SBI Life was set up in 2001 as a partnership between the State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif of France. Although the State Bank holds a large stake, the company is registered and classified as a private life insurer and its shares are listed on the stock exchanges. The only public sector life insurer in India is the Life Insurance Corporation, set up in 1956.

Option A, United India Insurance of Chennai, and option B, New India Assurance of Mumbai, are two of the four government owned general insurers, along with National Insurance and Oriental Insurance. Option D, the General Insurance Corporation of India, is the state owned national reinsurer. All of them came out of the nationalisation of general insurance in 1972.

Exam tip: public insurers - LIC plus the four general insurers and GIC Re; SBI Life, HDFC Life and ICICI Prudential are private.