SSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Troposphere. The troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, lying right above the Earth's surface, and nearly all weather happens in it. It reaches about 18 km over the equator and about 8 km over the poles, and it holds roughly three quarters of the mass of the air along with almost all the water vapour and dust. Because this layer is heated from the ground upwards, the temperature falls with height by about 6.5 degrees Celsius per kilometre, which keeps the air churning and makes clouds, rain, storms and winds possible. Its upper limit is called the tropopause. A is wrong because the mesosphere lies above the stratosphere and is the layer where meteors burn up. C is wrong because the ionosphere is far higher and reflects radio waves back to Earth. D is wrong because the stratosphere holds the ozone layer and has calm air that jet aircraft use. Exam tip: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere, from the ground upwards.

The correct answer is D, Bagha Jatin. Jatindranath Mukherjee, known as Bagha Jatin, planned an armed rising against the British with German help during the First World War. He led the Jugantar group in Bengal and worked with Rash Behari Bose on what is called the Indo-German conspiracy: German ships were to land rifles on the Odisha coast, and those arms were to reach revolutionaries across the country for a general revolt. The plan leaked to British intelligence, and Jatin died in a gun battle with the police at Balasore in September 1915. He had earned his nickname years earlier by killing a Royal Bengal tiger with a dagger. A is wrong because Prafulla Chaki shot himself in 1908 after the Muzaffarpur bomb attack, well before the war. B is wrong because Ashfaqulla Khan belonged to the Kakori train robbery of 1925. C is wrong because Khudiram Bose was hanged in 1908, also for Muzaffarpur. Exam tip: Bagha Jatin, Jugantar, German arms plot, killed at Balasore in 1915.

The correct answer is B. Mulching means covering the bare soil between plants with a layer of organic matter such as straw, dry leaves, husk or grass clippings. The cover shades the ground, so less water evaporates and the soil stays moist and cool, and it also softens the blow of falling rain, which would otherwise loosen the topsoil and wash it away. As the mulch rots it adds humus to the field, and by cutting off light it keeps weeds down. Farmers use it widely in orchards and vegetable plots, and in dry regions it is one of the cheapest ways to hold moisture. A is wrong because raising barriers of stone, grass and soil along the contours is contour barrier work. C is wrong because growing different crops in alternate rows is strip cropping. D is wrong because piling up rocks to slow the flow of water describes a rock dam. Exam tip: mulching covers the soil, strip cropping alternates rows, terracing cuts steps into a hillside.

The correct answer is A, Christians. In Census 2011 Muslims were the largest religious minority of India at 14.2 per cent of the population, and Christians came next at 2.3 per cent, which makes them the second largest minority. Sikhs followed with 1.7 per cent, Buddhists with 0.7 per cent and Jains with 0.4 per cent, while Hindus formed 79.8 per cent. Christians are the largest group in Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya, and they have a strong presence in Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu as well. These are the figures of the 2011 count and they hold until a fresh census is published. B is wrong because Buddhists are smaller than both Christians and Sikhs. C is wrong because Sikhs stand third among the minorities. D is wrong because Muslims are the largest minority, not the second largest. Exam tip: Census 2011 order, Hindu 79.8, Muslim 14.2, Christian 2.3, Sikh 1.7, Buddhist 0.7, Jain 0.4 per cent.

The correct answer is B, Neuron. Dendrites and the axon are the two kinds of processes that grow out of a neuron, the nerve cell that carries messages through the body. The cell body, also called the cyton, holds the nucleus. Dendrites are short branched fibres that pick up a signal and carry it towards the cell body, while the axon is a single long fibre that carries the signal away towards the next cell. The gap between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of the next is the synapse, where a chemical crosses over. A neuron is the longest cell in the human body. A is wrong because a mature human red blood cell is a disc without a nucleus and only carries oxygen. C is wrong because the nephron is the filtering unit of the kidney, made of many cells, not a cell itself. D is wrong because white blood cells fight infection and move by changing shape. Exam tip: dendrite brings the signal in, axon takes it out, synapse joins two neurons.

The correct answer is C, Salem - Tamil Nadu. The Salem Steel Plant lies in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, so this is the only correctly matched pair. It is a SAIL unit set up in 1981 and is known for stainless steel cold-rolled coils and sheets rather than ordinary construction steel. The other three pairs name the wrong state. A is wrong because the Bokaro Steel Plant, built with Soviet help in the 1960s, stands in Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar in 2000. B is wrong because the Durgapur Steel Plant, built with British help, is in West Bengal and not in Odisha. D is wrong because the Rourkela Steel Plant, India's first public sector integrated plant and built with West German help, is in Odisha and not in West Bengal. Exam tip: Rourkela-Germany-Odisha, Durgapur-Britain-West Bengal, Bhilai-Russia-Chhattisgarh, Bokaro-Russia-Jharkhand.

The correct answer is A, Ibrahim Lodi. Ibrahim Lodi was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty and the last Sultan of Delhi; he was killed in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, where Babur defeated him and began Mughal rule in India. The Lodis were the third and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate and the first Afghan line to hold Delhi. Bahlul Lodi set it up in 1451, his son Sikandar Lodi shifted the capital to Agra in 1504, and Ibrahim, who came to the throne in 1517, quarrelled with his Afghan nobles. Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of Punjab, then invited Babur, and the Sultanate ended on the field of Panipat. B is wrong because Sikandar Lodi ruled before Ibrahim and died in 1517. C is wrong because Barbak Shah was a Lodi prince who governed Jaunpur, not Delhi. D is wrong because Bahlul Lodi was the founder. Exam tip: Bahlul 1451, Sikandar 1489, Ibrahim 1517, Panipat 1526.

The correct answer is B, Small intestine. The small intestine is the longest part of the human alimentary canal, about 6 to 7 metres in an adult, which is why it is called the longest organ of the digestive system. It has three parts, the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum, and its inner wall is folded into millions of finger-like villi. These villi give it a huge surface area, so digestion is completed and almost all the nutrients are absorbed here. Bile from the liver and enzymes from the pancreas empty into the duodenum and break down fat, starch and protein. A is wrong because the pancreatic duct is only a narrow tube a few centimetres long. C is wrong because the large intestine is about 1.5 metres, shorter though wider, and mainly absorbs water and salts. D is wrong because the oesophagus is roughly 25 centimetres. Exam tip: small intestine about 6-7 m and longest, large intestine about 1.5 m and widest.

The correct answer is A, Gujarat. The Kawas Thermal Power Station stands at Kawas near Hazira in the Surat district of Gujarat, on the bank of the Tapi. It is a gas-based station run by NTPC with an installed capacity of about 656 MW, and it draws its fuel from the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline that carries gas from the Bombay High and South Basin fields. Gujarat's western coast has several such gas stations because the offshore fields and the landing terminals lie close by, which keeps the cost of moving the fuel low. A gas station can also be started and stopped quickly, so it helps meet the evening peak in demand. B is wrong because Maharashtra's big gas station is Uran, not Kawas. C is wrong because NTPC's West Bengal stations, such as Farakka, burn coal. D is wrong because Rajasthan has coal and lignite stations like Suratgarh and Giral. Exam tip: Kawas and Gandhar are NTPC's gas stations in Gujarat; Uran is Maharashtra's.

The correct answer is D, National Sample Survey Organisation. The poverty line in India is worked out from the consumption expenditure data that the NSSO collects through its large sample surveys. The NSSO, now part of the National Statistical Office, asks households what they spend in a month on food and on other items. From these figures a minimum expenditure for a basic basket is fixed, covering food that gives about 2,400 calories a day in villages and 2,100 in towns, along with clothing, fuel, footwear and schooling, and anyone spending below it is counted as poor. Expert groups such as the Lakdawala, Tendulkar and Rangarajan committees have all drawn the line from this NSSO data. A is wrong because the Reserve Bank of India handles currency and monetary policy. B is wrong because NITI Aayog uses the survey figures but does not collect them. C is wrong because the ICAR works on farm research. Exam tip: the NSSO collects the consumption data; expert committees only fix the line from it.

The correct answer is C, 6 years or the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier. Article 316 of the Constitution fixes this term for the chairman and members of a State Public Service Commission. The same article gives members of the Union Public Service Commission six years or the age of 65, so the six years is common and only the retiring age differs. The Governor appoints the chairman and members of a State Commission, but they can be removed only by the President, on a report of the Supreme Court, which protects their independence. At least half the members must be persons who have held office under the government for ten years or more. Option A is wrong because it mixes the state term with the Union retiring age of 65. Option B is wrong because the age for a State Commission is 62, not 60. Option D is wrong on both counts, as the term is six years and the age is 62. Exam tip: UPSC 6 years or 65, State PSC 6 years or 62.

The correct answer is C, Loess. Loess is a deposit of fine silt and dust carried by the wind and dropped far from where it was picked up, so it is the classic wind made or aeolian soil. It is loose, porous, pale yellow and stands in steep walls when cut, and because it holds nutrients well it is very fertile. The largest spread in the world is the Loess Plateau of northern China, formed from dust blown out of the Gobi desert, and it also covers parts of central Europe, Central Asia and the Mississippi valley. Option A is wrong because loam is a balanced mixture of sand, silt and clay and is not defined by the wind. Option B is wrong because marl is a clay rich in lime, laid down in water. Option D is wrong because podsol is the ash grey, acidic and leached soil of cold coniferous forest lands. Exam tip: loess means wind blown silt, and the Huang He carries it, which is why the river is called the Yellow River.

The correct answer is B, Serchhip. Serchhip district of Mizoram recorded the highest literacy rate of any district in India in the Census of 2011, at almost 98 per cent. Mizoram was the second most literate state in that census after Kerala, and its small hill districts, helped by mission schools and a high rate of school attendance, came out ahead of every district in the country. The census counted a person aged seven years and above who can both read and write with understanding as literate, and put India's overall literacy at 74.04 per cent. Option A is wrong because Kottayam in Kerala has very high literacy but stands below Serchhip. Option C is wrong because Champhai, also in Mizoram, comes after Serchhip. Option D is wrong because Ernakulam is among Kerala's best districts but again not the highest in India. Exam tip: Kerala is the most literate state and Serchhip in Mizoram the most literate district in Census 2011.

The correct answer is A, Mangrove Forests. Palm, coconut, keora and agar are the trees named for India's mangrove or tidal forests, which grow where the land meets the sea in deltas, estuaries and creeks. Their roots stand in salt water and mud, so many of them send up breathing roots above the ground to take in air. The largest such belt in India is the Sundarbans of the Ganga and Brahmaputra delta in West Bengal, famous for the sundari tree that gives it its name and for the Royal Bengal tiger, and mangroves also line the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna deltas and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Option B is wrong because evergreen forests of very heavy rainfall give rosewood, mahogany and ebony. Option C is wrong because deciduous or monsoon forests give teak, sal and shisham. Option D is wrong because montane forests of the hills give pine, deodar, oak and silver fir. Exam tip: tidal forest, Sundarbans and breathing roots all mean mangroves.

The correct answer is A, Reserve Bank of India. Under Section 22 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the RBI alone has the right to issue currency notes in the country, and it decides how many notes of each denomination are printed. The work is done at four presses, two run by the government company SPMCIL at Nashik and Dewas and two by the RBI's own subsidiary BRBNMPL at Mysuru and Salboni. Coins and the one rupee note are issued by the Government of India, though the RBI puts them into circulation. Option B is wrong because NABARD is the apex bank for agriculture and rural development and refinances rural lending. Option C is wrong because the State Bank of India is a commercial bank, the largest in the country, and only handles notes as a bank. Option D is wrong because ICICI Bank is a private commercial bank. Exam tip: the RBI issues all notes above one rupee, the central government issues coins and the one rupee note.

The correct answer is D, Warren Hastings. Raja Nand Kumar, a Brahmin revenue officer of Bengal, accused Warren Hastings of taking bribes. Soon afterwards Nand Kumar himself was charged with forgery, tried by the Supreme Court at Calcutta under Chief Justice Elijah Impey and hanged in 1775. Indian opinion held that the case was arranged to silence an accuser, and the episode is remembered as the judicial murder of Nand Kumar. It became one of the charges in the impeachment proceedings brought against Hastings, the first Governor General of Bengal, in the British Parliament, where he was finally acquitted. Option A is wrong because Wellesley came much later and is known for the subsidiary alliance system. Option B is wrong because Dalhousie belongs to the 1850s and the doctrine of lapse. Option C is wrong because Cornwallis followed Hastings and is known for the Permanent Settlement of 1793. Exam tip: Nand Kumar, the Rohilla war and the Chait Singh affair are all charges against Warren Hastings.

The correct answer is D, Iron oxide. Laterite soil is rich in oxides of iron and aluminium, and the iron oxide gives it its red brick colour. The soil develops in regions of high temperature and heavy seasonal rain, where water washes the lime, silica and plant nutrients down through the soil and leaves the insoluble iron and aluminium behind. This process is called leaching, and the name laterite comes from the Latin word for brick, since the hardened soil is cut into blocks for building. It is found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and the hills of Maharashtra. Option A is wrong because laterite soil is poor in phosphorus, nitrogen and humus and needs manure. Option B is wrong because calcium carbonate, or lime, is exactly what leaching removes, and it is instead plentiful in black and arid soils. Option C is wrong because potash too is washed away. Exam tip: leaching leaves iron and aluminium, so laterite is red and acidic.

The correct answer is B, 1.64 percent. The Census of 2011 puts the average annual exponential growth rate of India's population for the decade 2001 to 2011 at 1.64 per cent. The same census counted 121.09 crore people, a decadal growth of 17.7 per cent, which was the first decade since independence in which the number added was smaller than in the decade before. Census 2011 was the fifteenth census of the country and the seventh after independence, and its motto was Our Census, Our Future. Option A is wrong because 1.97 per cent was the annual rate for the earlier decade of 1991 to 2001, and the fall from 1.97 to 1.64 is the point of the question. Options C and D are wrong because rates above two per cent belong to the decades of the 1970s and 1980s, when growth was at its peak. Exam tip: 2001 to 2011 means 17.7 per cent for the decade and 1.64 per cent a year.

The correct answer is B, Malegam Committee. The Reserve Bank of India set up this sub committee of its Central Board under Y. H. Malegam in October 2010, after complaints of very high interest rates and harsh recovery in the microfinance business. Its report of January 2011 asked the RBI to treat microfinance lenders as a class of their own, and the RBI then created the NBFC-MFI category with rules on the share of qualifying assets, a ceiling on the borrower's income and loan size, and a cap on the margin and the interest rate. Option A is wrong because the Narasimham committees of 1991 and 1998 dealt with banking sector reform, capital adequacy and bad loans. Option C is wrong because the Deepak Parekh committee reported on financing infrastructure. Option D is wrong because the P. K. Mohanty working group of 2020 examined ownership and corporate structure of private banks. Exam tip: Malegam means microfinance, Narasimham means banking reforms.

The correct answer is C, Subhash Chandra Bose. Both slogans belong to Netaji and to the Azad Hind Fauj, the Indian National Army he led from 1943. He gave the call of Dilli Chalo to set the march on Delhi as the army's goal, and asked for blood in return for freedom in his famous appeal to Indians in South East Asia. He also gave the greeting Jai Hind, set up the Provisional Government of Free India at Singapore in October 1943, and formed the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of women soldiers. Option A is wrong because Gandhi's slogans were Quit India and Do or Die, given in 1942. Option B is wrong because Nehru is remembered for his Tryst with Destiny speech, not these slogans. Option D is wrong because Patel, the Iron Man of India, is linked to the Bardoli movement and the merger of the princely states. Exam tip: Dilli Chalo, Jai Hind and Give me blood all point to Subhash Chandra Bose.