SSC 2025 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Seventh Plan. The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985–90), launched under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, had the slogan 'food, work and productivity'. It aimed to raise food grain production, create jobs and improve productivity, and it laid stress on modern technology. It achieved a growth rate of about 6 per cent against its target of 5 per cent. The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (1989) for rural employment also came in this period. A is wrong because the Third Plan (1961–66) aimed at a self-reliant economy but failed after the wars of 1962 and 1965 and a severe drought, which led to the plan holidays. C is wrong because the Fourth Plan (1969–74) aimed at 'growth with stability and progressive achievement of self-reliance'. D is wrong because the Sixth Plan (1980–85) focused mainly on removing poverty. Exam tip: Seventh Plan, 1985–90, Rajiv Gandhi, 'food, work and productivity'.

The correct answer is A, Agricultural development. The First Five Year Plan (1951–56) gave top priority to agriculture, irrigation and power, because India faced food shortages after Partition and needed to feed its people first. It was based on the Harrod-Domar model and was presented by Jawaharlal Nehru, who chaired the Planning Commission. Big river projects such as Bhakra-Nangal and Hirakud were started in this period. The Plan aimed at a growth rate of 2.1 per cent and achieved about 3.6 per cent, so it is counted as a success. B is wrong because the development of heavy industries was the focus of the Second Plan (1956–61), based on the Mahalanobis model. C is wrong because rapid industrialisation was also the goal of the Second Plan, not the First. D is wrong because privatisation of industries came with the economic reforms of 1991, forty years later. Exam tip: First Plan, agriculture and Harrod-Domar; Second Plan, heavy industry and Mahalanobis.

The correct answer is C, Gorges. In its upper course a river flows fast down steep slopes, so it cuts downward into the rock more than it spreads sideways. This vertical erosion makes deep, narrow valleys with steep sides: V-shaped valleys and, where the rock is hard, gorges. Waterfalls and rapids also belong to this young stage of a river. A famous example is the Indus gorge in the Himalayas, and the Narmada flows through a marble gorge at Bhedaghat near Jabalpur. A is wrong because oxbow lakes form in the lower course, when a loop of a meander is cut off from the main channel. B is wrong because meanders, the wide loops of a river, form in the middle and lower course, where the land is gentle and the river swings sideways. D is wrong because floodplains form in the lower course, where the river spreads out and leaves silt during floods. Exam tip: upper course, V-shaped valley, gorge and waterfall; lower course, meander, oxbow lake, floodplain and delta.

The correct answer is D, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka. The Nilgiri Hills, the 'Blue Mountains', rise where the borders of these three states meet, at the junction of the Western and Eastern Ghats. Their highest peak is Doddabetta (2,637 m), near Ooty (Udhagamandalam) in Tamil Nadu. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, set up in 1986, was India's first biosphere reserve and covers parts of all three states. The hills are home to the Toda tribe and the Nilgiri tahr. A is wrong because Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh lie in the Himalayas, which are young fold mountains far to the north. B is wrong because the Gujarat-Rajasthan-Haryana belt is the region of the Aravallis, among India's oldest fold mountains, but they are not the Nilgiris. C is wrong because Assam, Nagaland and Tripura are in the north-east, far from these southern hills. Exam tip: the Nilgiris join the Western and Eastern Ghats at the Tamil Nadu-Kerala-Karnataka tri-junction; the highest peak is Doddabetta.

The correct answer is C, Cherrapunji and Mawsynram. Both are in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya and each gets well over 1,080 cm of rain in a year. The Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west monsoon enters a funnel-shaped valley south of the Khasi Hills, is forced to rise sharply and pours its moisture on the windward slopes. Mawsynram, about 15 km west of Cherrapunji (Sohra), is usually counted as the wettest place on Earth, with an average near 1,187 cm. A is wrong because Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and Neriamangalam in Kerala are rainy places in the Western Ghats but get far less rain. B is wrong because Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim and Amboli is a Maharashtra hill station, and neither comes close to that total. D is wrong because Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh and Agumbe in Karnataka, called the 'Cherrapunji of the South', also receive much less. Exam tip: the wettest pair is Mawsynram and Cherrapunji, both on the windward side of Meghalaya's Khasi Hills.

The correct answer is A, Ajatashatru. He was Bimbisara's son and took the throne of Magadha after him in the Haryanka dynasty. Bimbisara, a contemporary of the Buddha, built Magadha's power through marriage alliances and the conquest of Anga, with Rajagriha as his capital. Ajatashatru pushed it further: he fought Kosala, defeated the Vajji confederacy of the Licchavis, and built a fort at the village of Pataligrama on the Ganga. The First Buddhist Council was held at Rajagriha in his reign, soon after the Buddha's death. B is wrong because Udayin was Ajatashatru's son, who came later and made Pataliputra the capital. C is wrong because Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya dynasty around 322 BCE, nearly two centuries later. D is wrong because Ashoka was Chandragupta Maurya's grandson. Exam tip: Haryanka order, Bimbisara, then Ajatashatru, then Udayin; Rajagriha first, Pataliputra later.

The correct answer is C, Prakrit and Brahmi. Most of Ashoka's edicts were written in Prakrit, the language people spoke, in the Brahmi script, so that ordinary subjects could understand his message of Dhamma. Brahmi was first deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837, and the edicts call the king 'Devanampiya Piyadasi', beloved of the gods. In the north-west, near today's Pakistan, the same Prakrit was written in the Kharosthi script, and at Kandahar in Afghanistan edicts were written in Greek and Aramaic. A is wrong because Ashoka did not use Sanskrit for his edicts, and the Devanagari script developed many centuries later. B is wrong because Kharosthi was used only in a few north-western edicts such as Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra, and Pali is the language of the Buddhist canon, not of the edicts. D is wrong because Greek appears only at Kandahar and Latin was never used. Exam tip: Ashoka's edicts, Prakrit language in Brahmi script; Prinsep read them in 1837.

The correct answer is B, State Election Commission. The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 gave Municipalities constitutional status and made the State Election Commission responsible for their elections. It added Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects for urban local bodies. Article 243ZA hands the electoral rolls and the conduct of municipal elections to the same State Election Commission that Article 243K creates for panchayat elections. The State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor. The Act came into force on 1 June 1993. A is wrong because there is no constitutional body called a District Election Commission. C is wrong because a Divisional Election Commission also does not exist under the Constitution. D is wrong because the Election Commission of India, under Article 324, conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President, not to local bodies. Exam tip: 73rd Amendment for panchayats (Part IX), 74th for municipalities (Part IXA), and both are run by the State Election Commission.

The correct answer is C, Governor. Under Article 171, the Governor nominates one-sixth of the members of a State Legislative Council. These members must have special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, the co-operative movement or social service. The rest are elected: one-third by local bodies, one-third by the members of the Legislative Assembly, one-twelfth by graduates and one-twelfth by teachers. The Council's total strength cannot be more than one-third of the Assembly's strength and not less than 40. A is wrong because the State Election Commissioner conducts elections to panchayats and municipalities and makes no nominations to the Council. B is wrong because the President nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, not to a state Council. D is wrong because the Chief Minister heads the state government, but the Constitution gives the power of nomination to the Governor. Exam tip: Council formula, 1/3 local bodies, 1/3 MLAs, 1/12 graduates, 1/12 teachers and 1/6 nominated by the Governor.

The correct answer is A, Article 226. It gives every High Court the power to issue writs within its territory. A High Court can issue the five writs, habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto, not only to enforce Fundamental Rights but also 'for any other purpose', that is, for ordinary legal rights. This makes the writ power of a High Court wider than that of the Supreme Court, which under Article 32 issues writs only for Fundamental Rights. Article 32 is itself a Fundamental Right, while Article 226 is not. B is wrong because Article 246 divides law-making subjects between the Union and the states through the Seventh Schedule. C is wrong because Article 254 settles a clash between a central law and a state law on a Concurrent List subject. D is wrong because Article 233 deals with the appointment of district judges. Exam tip: writs by the Supreme Court under Article 32, by High Courts under Article 226, and the High Court's power is the wider one.

The correct answer is Champakam Dorairajan Case, 1951. In State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, the Supreme Court struck down a Madras government order that reserved college seats by community. The State defended it as carrying out Article 46, a Directive Principle, but the Court held that the Directive Principles must conform to and run subsidiary to the chapter on Fundamental Rights, so in any conflict the Fundamental Rights prevail. The judgment also led directly to the 1st Amendment of 1951, which added Article 15(4) to permit special provisions for backward classes.

The other cases came later and went further. Golaknath (1967) held that Parliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights at all, even to implement Directive Principles. Kesavananda Bharati (1973) held that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but not its basic structure. Minerva Mills (1980) held that the balance between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles is itself part of the basic structure. Read in order, the four cases show how the Court moved from "rights first" to "rights and directives in balance".

The correct answer is Organization of village panchayats. Article 40 asks the State to take steps to organise village panchayats and to give them the powers and authority they need to function as units of self-government. It is one of the Gandhian principles, reflecting Gandhi's idea of village self-rule. For decades it remained only a direction, until the 73rd Amendment of 1992 made a three-tier Panchayati Raj system compulsory and added Part IX to the Constitution.

The wrong options borrow from other provisions. Free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen is a Fundamental Right under Article 21A, while Article 45 now covers early childhood care below six. Free housing to the poor is not a specific Directive Principle at all. Free medical aid is not named either; public health and nutrition come under Article 47. Remember the link: Article 40 was the seed, and the 73rd Amendment turned it into the Panchayati Raj institutions we have today.