SSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is D, Smriti Mandhana. The India opener was named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2021 and received the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in January 2022. She had scored 855 international runs across the three formats in that year, including India's first century in a day-night Test, made against Australia at Carrara. The trophy is named after Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the England captain who pushed for women's cricket at Lord's and for the first Women's World Cup in 1973. Option A is wrong because Mithali Raj, India's long-serving captain, has never won this particular trophy. Option B is wrong because Ellyse Perry of Australia won it in 2019, not for 2021. Option C is wrong because Lizelle Lee of South Africa took the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year award that season, which is a separate prize. Exam tip: the women's award is the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the men's is the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

The correct answer is B, Gerusoppa. The Sharavati river in Karnataka falls from a height of about 253 metres as Jog Falls, which is also called Gerusoppa Falls after the village nearby, and Jogada Gundi in the local tongue. It is among the highest plunge waterfalls in India, and the water comes down in four separate streams named Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket. The Linganamakki dam upstream now controls the flow, so the falls are at their finest during the monsoon. Option A is wrong because Hogenakkal is on the Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, close to the Karnataka border. Option C is wrong because Soochipara, or Sentinel Rock falls, is on the Chaliyar in Wayanad, Kerala. Option D is wrong because Athirappilly is on the Chalakudy river in Kerala and is called the Niagara of India. Exam tip: the Sharavati makes Jog or Gerusoppa Falls in Karnataka, while the Kaveri makes Hogenakkal and Shivanasamudra.

The correct answer is C, Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat. The Dronacharya Award, India's honour for coaches who produce outstanding sportspersons, was given for the first time in 1985, and Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat, a wrestling coach, was among the first three to receive it, along with O.M. Nambiar in athletics and Om Prakash Bhardwaj in boxing. The award is named after Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the Mahabharata, and it carries a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a certificate and a cash prize. It is given in two categories, regular and lifetime. Option A is wrong because Hansa Sharma was not among the first recipients. Option B is wrong because Karan Singh did not receive the award in 1985. Option D is wrong because Hawa Singh, the boxer, was honoured as a coach much later, not in the first list. Exam tip: the Dronacharya Award began in 1985, the Arjuna Award in 1961 and the Khel Ratna in 1991-92.

The correct answer is D, Both I and II. The Post Office Protocol, best known in its third version POP3, lets a mail client download messages from a mail server, and it works in two modes. In the delete mode the message is removed from the server once it has been downloaded, which suits a person who always reads mail on the same computer. In the keep mode a copy stays on the server after downloading, so the same mail can be read again from another device. POP3 uses port 110, or port 995 when secured with SSL. Option A is wrong because both modes do exist in POP. Option B is wrong because keep mode is not the only one; delete mode is the default in many clients. Option C is wrong because delete mode is not the only one either. Exam tip: POP3 downloads mail and offers delete and keep modes, IMAP keeps mail on the server and syncs it across devices, and SMTP is the protocol that sends mail.

The correct answer is C, 15. The Planning Commission divided India into 15 agro-climatic zones in 1989, so that farm planning could follow soil, climate, rainfall and water resources rather than State boundaries. The zones run from the Western Himalayan Region and the Trans-Gangetic Plains to the East Coast Plains and Hills, the Western Dry Region and the Islands Region. The idea was to match crops and cropping patterns to the land, and it is still the base on which farm research and extension work are planned. Option A is wrong because 20 is not the Planning Commission's figure. Option B is wrong because 10 is too few and matches no such classification. Option D is wrong because 30 confuses this division with the far larger number of agro-climatic sub-zones worked out by the ICAR. Exam tip: the Planning Commission marked 15 agro-climatic zones in 1989, while the ICAR uses 127 agro-climatic sub-zones.

The correct answer is D, a - iv, b - i, c - ii, d - iii. The Champakkulam Moolam boat race is held on the Pampa river in Alappuzha, Kerala, and is the oldest snake-boat race in the state. The Somnath fair is held at the Somnath temple in Gujarat on Kartik Purnima, where pilgrims gather at the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The Surajkund crafts fair takes place every February at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana, and brings craftspeople from India and abroad together under a theme state each year. The Baneshwar fair is a tribal fair of the Bhils held at Dungarpur in Rajasthan, where the Som and Mahi rivers meet. Option A is wrong because it sends the Somnath fair to Rajasthan and the Baneshwar fair to Haryana. Option B is wrong because it places the boat race in Rajasthan. Option C is wrong because it moves the Somnath fair to Haryana and Surajkund to Gujarat. Exam tip: Champakkulam - Kerala, Somnath - Gujarat, Surajkund - Haryana, Baneshwar - Rajasthan.

The correct answer is B, Fencing. Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi is an Indian fencer from Chennai who competes in the sabre event. She became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympic Games, at Tokyo in 2021, and won her opening bout there. She has taken gold at the Commonwealth Fencing Championship and a medal at the Asian Fencing Championship, and she trains with support from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Fencing is a sword-fighting sport with three weapons - foil, epee and sabre - fought on a strip called a piste, where hits are recorded electronically. Option A is wrong because rowing is a water sport, in which India has been represented by athletes such as Bajrang Lal Takhar. Option C is wrong because Bhavani Devi has never been a boxer. Option D is wrong because she is not a wrestler. Exam tip: Bhavani Devi is a fencer in the sabre event and the first Indian fencer at the Olympics.

The correct answer is D, Golconda Fort. Golconda in Hyderabad was the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, which ruled the Golconda Sultanate from 1518, when Quli Qutb Shah broke away from the Bahmani kingdom. The fort stands on a granite hill and is famous for its acoustics, since a clap at the Fateh Darwaza can be heard at the pavilion on top, and for the diamond trade that passed through it, including the Koh-i-Noor. In 1591 Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah founded the city of Hyderabad and built the Charminar, moving the capital there; Aurangzeb finally took Golconda in 1687. Option A is wrong because Chiktan Fort stands in Ladakh. Option B is wrong because Rajgad in Maharashtra was an early capital fort of Shivaji. Option C is wrong because the Red Fort was built by Shah Jahan in Delhi. Exam tip: Qutb Shahi rulers held Golconda and then Hyderabad; the Charminar was built by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591.

The correct answer is D, 1927. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry was set up in 1927 by G.D. Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, so that Indian business would have a voice of its own during the freedom struggle. It is the oldest and largest apex business organisation in the country, a non-government body funded by its member companies and chambers, with its head office in New Delhi. Its well known arms include the FICCI Frames media conference and its ladies' organisation, FLO. Option A is wrong because 1948 is the year of the first Industrial Policy Resolution, not of FICCI. Option B is wrong because 1952 saw the first Parliament meet after the general election. Option C is wrong because 1939 is the year the Second World War began. Exam tip: FICCI 1927 with its head office in New Delhi; CII traces itself to 1895 and ASSOCHAM to 1920.

The correct answer is C, Losar festival. Losar marks the Tibetan New Year and is kept for about a fortnight, usually in February or March, in Ladakh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and among Tibetan communities across India. In Tibetan, lo means year and sar means new. Homes are cleaned and decorated, butter lamps are lit, masked Cham dances are performed in the monasteries, and families eat guthuk, a noodle soup, to drive out the ill luck of the old year. Option A is wrong because Saga Dawa marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha and falls in the fourth Tibetan month. Option B is wrong because Ongkor is a harvest festival held before the crops are cut. Option D is wrong because Shoton, the yoghurt festival of Lhasa, is known for Tibetan opera and the unveiling of a giant thangka. Exam tip: Losar is the Tibetan New Year; Saga Dawa marks the Buddha's birth and enlightenment.

The correct answer is C, 1784. Pitt's India Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1784, named after Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and it separated the commercial work of the East India Company from its political work. Trade stayed with the Court of Directors, while a Board of Control of six members, answerable to the British government, took charge of civil, military and revenue matters in India. This began the dual government of the Company and the Crown, which lasted until the Government of India Act of 1858, and the term British possessions in India was used for the first time. The Act corrected the weaknesses of the Regulating Act of 1773, which had made Warren Hastings the Governor-General of Bengal. Option A is wrong because 1818 is the year the Third Anglo-Maratha War ended. Option B is wrong because no India Act was passed in 1792. Option D is wrong because 1802 is the year of the Treaty of Bassein. Exam tip: Regulating Act 1773, then Pitt's India Act 1784 with its Board of Control and dual government.

The correct answer is C, The air always moves from high pressure areas to low pressure areas. Air flows from where pressure is high to where it is low, and that moving air is what we call wind; the greater the difference in pressure, the stronger the wind. The Coriolis force then bends this flow, to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern. Option A is wrong because high pressure means sinking air, which brings clear skies and dry weather. Option B is wrong because low pressure means rising air that cools and condenses, so it brings clouds and rain. Option D is wrong because air pressure is highest at sea level, about 1,013 millibars, and falls as one goes up and the air thins. Pressure is measured with a barometer and shown on weather maps by isobars, the lines joining places of equal pressure. Exam tip: high pressure means sinking air and clear weather; low pressure means rising air, clouds and rain.

The correct answer is A, Most people will expect the interest rate to rise in the future. When the rate of interest is already very low, people believe it can hardly fall further and must rise, so they hold cash instead of bonds. Keynes called this the speculative demand for money, and the extreme case, in which everyone prefers cash at a very low rate, is the liquidity trap. The reason lies in the link between bond prices and interest: when the rate rises, the price of existing bonds falls, so anyone holding bonds would suffer a capital loss. Option B is wrong because people avoid bonds at such a time for exactly that fear of loss. Option C is wrong because a further fall is what people stop expecting once the rate is near its floor. Option D is wrong because in a liquidity trap extra money is simply held as cash and leaves the interest rate unchanged. Exam tip: a very low interest rate means high speculative demand for money, which is the liquidity trap.

The correct answer is B, 1240. Razia Sultan was removed from the throne of Delhi in 1240 and killed the same year. She was the daughter of Iltutmish, who named her his successor over his sons, and she ruled from 1236 to 1240, the only woman ever to sit on the throne of the Delhi Sultanate. She gave up the veil, held court in men's dress and rode into battle herself, and she raised Jamaluddin Yaqut, an Abyssinian noble, to high office, which the Turkish nobles of the Chalisa resented. Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda, rose in revolt; Razia married him, but both were defeated by the supporters of her brother Bahram Shah and killed near Kaithal. Option A is wrong because 1244 falls in the reign of Alauddin Masud Shah. Option C is wrong because 1238 falls in the middle of her own rule. Option D is wrong because 1236 is the year she came to the throne. Exam tip: Razia ruled 1236-1240; the Turkish nobles of the Chalisa brought her down.

The correct answer is C, President of India in consultation with senior judges of Supreme Court and High Court. Article 124(2) says the President appoints every judge of the Supreme Court after consulting such judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts as he thinks necessary, and that for a judge other than the Chief Justice the Chief Justice of India must always be consulted. In practice the collegium system now decides the name: the outgoing Chief Justice recommends the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, and the Law Ministry places the recommendation before the President, who signs the warrant of appointment. Option A is wrong because judges only recommend; they do not appoint. Option B is wrong because the Prime Minister has no such power of his own. Option D is wrong because it leaves out the High Court judges whom Article 124(2) names. Exam tip: Article 124 covers the appointment of Supreme Court judges - the collegium recommends, the President appoints.

The correct answer is C, Chandipur, Odisha. Prithvi II is test-fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur on the Odisha coast, the DRDO range used for missile and rocket trials. Prithvi II is a surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile of the Indian Air Force, developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme that Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam led. It runs on liquid propellant, has a range of about 350 km and can carry a warhead of 500 to 1,000 kg. Option A is wrong because Rutland Island in the Andamans has no missile test range. Option B is wrong because Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh is ISRO's launch centre for satellites, not a missile range. Option D is wrong because Machilipatnam is a coastal town with no such facility. Exam tip: the IGMDP missiles are Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag; missiles are tested at Chandipur, while satellites go up from Sriharikota.

The correct answer is C, China. The Panchsheel agreement was signed on 29 April 1954 between India and China, as part of the treaty on trade between India and the Tibet region of China. Jawaharlal Nehru and Zhou Enlai gave it the name Panchsheel, the five principles: respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. The slogan Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai belongs to those years, and the five principles later shaped the Non-Aligned Movement. The war of 1962 showed how little the agreement held. Option A is wrong because India's main agreements with Pakistan are the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and the Simla Agreement of 1972. Option B is wrong because Bangladesh came into being only in 1971. Option D is wrong because the India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed in 1950. Exam tip: Panchsheel - India and China, 29 April 1954, five principles.

The correct answer is D, 1.6 W/kg. The Specific Absorption Rate measures how much radio energy from a handset the body takes in, in watts per kilogram of tissue. From 1 September 2012 the Department of Telecommunications made 1.6 W/kg, averaged over one gram of human tissue, the limit for every new mobile handset design sold in India. Before that India followed the older figure of 2.0 W/kg averaged over ten grams. The rules also require the SAR value to be printed on the handset and its box, and a buyer can check it by dialling a code given by the maker. India's limit matches the standard used in the United States. Option A is wrong because 1.8 W/kg is not a prescribed limit anywhere. Option B is wrong because 2.1 W/kg is not a SAR standard. Option C is wrong because 2.2 W/kg is only a distractor. Exam tip: India's SAR limit is 1.6 W/kg over 1 gram of tissue, in force from 1 September 2012.

The correct answer is D, Thallophyta. Algae belong to Thallophyta, the simplest division of the plant kingdom. Their body is a thallus, which means it is not divided into root, stem and leaf, and they have no vascular tissue. Most algae live in water, make their own food by photosynthesis and reproduce by spores; Spirogyra, Ulothrix, Chara and Volvox are common examples. Option A is wrong because angiosperms are flowering plants whose seeds lie enclosed in a fruit, the most advanced group of all. Option B is wrong because pteridophytes, such as ferns, are the first plants with proper vascular tissue, though they bear no seeds. Option C is wrong because bryophytes, such as mosses and Marchantia, are called the amphibians of the plant kingdom; they stand a step above thallophytes and need water for reproduction. Exam tip: the order of the plant kingdom is Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms.

The correct answer is A, 12 members. Article 80 of the Constitution lets the President nominate twelve members to the Rajya Sabha from people with special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. The maximum strength of the House is 250, of whom 238 are elected by the elected members of the State and Union Territory legislatures and 12 are nominated. A nominated member takes part in every proceeding of the House and may join a political party within six months of taking a seat, but does not vote in the election of the President. Option B is wrong because ten is not the figure for either House. Option C is wrong because 14 matches no provision. Option D is wrong because no article allows 16 nominations. Exam tip: Article 80 gives 12 nominated members in the Rajya Sabha; the Lok Sabha has had no nominated members since the 104th Amendment ended the two Anglo-Indian seats.