SSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is C, western disturbance. Western disturbances are low-pressure systems that start over the Mediterranean Sea and are carried east towards India by the westerly jet stream in winter. They bring light rain to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, and snowfall to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This small winter rain, locally called 'mahawat', is very useful for rabi crops, especially wheat. A is wrong because the south-west monsoon brings rain from June to September, not in winter. B is wrong because the north-east monsoon gives winter rain mainly to the Tamil Nadu coast, not to the north-west. D is wrong because the retreating monsoon of October and November mostly affects the east coast and the south, and brings cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. Exam tip: winter rain in the north-west comes from western disturbances from the Mediterranean; winter rain in Tamil Nadu comes from the north-east monsoon.

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 D, Murshid Quli Khan. Aurangzeb sent him to Bengal as diwan, the officer in charge of revenue, and he later became its governor. After Aurangzeb died in 1707, he gradually stopped taking orders from Delhi, though he kept sending tribute. He became the first Nawab of Bengal (1717–1727) and moved the capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad, a town named after him. He transferred the Mughal jagirdars out of Bengal and collected land revenue strictly in cash from the zamindars. A is wrong because Mukarram Khan was a Mughal governor of Bengal in the 1620s, when the province was fully under the emperor. B is wrong because Ali Kadir is not linked with the rise of the independent Nawabs of Bengal. C is wrong because Alivardi Khan came later, seizing power in 1740; he was the grandfather of Siraj-ud-Daulah. Exam tip: Bengal broke away under Murshid Quli Khan, capital Murshidabad; the order is Murshid Quli Khan, then Alivardi Khan, then Siraj-ud-Daulah.

The correct answer is A, Seleucus Nicator. Seleucus, a general of Alexander who came to rule the eastern part of his empire, sent Megasthenes as his ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya's court at Pataliputra. This followed their war around 305 BCE, after which Seleucus gave up the regions around Kandahar and Kabul and received 500 war elephants in return. Megasthenes wrote 'Indica', a description of Mauryan India, its capital and its people; the book itself is lost and survives only in quotations by later Greek writers such as Strabo and Arrian. B is wrong because Amyntas II was an early king of Macedon, long before the Mauryas. C is wrong because Amyntas III was a Macedonian king and the father of Philip II. D is wrong because Philip II was the king of Macedon and the father of Alexander the Great, and he died in 336 BCE. Exam tip: Seleucus sent Megasthenes to Chandragupta, and Megasthenes wrote 'Indica'.

The correct answer is D, Jyotiba Phule. Jyotirao (Jyotiba) Phule founded the Satya-Shodhak Samaj, the 'Society of Seekers of Truth', on 24 September 1873 in Pune. The Samaj fought caste discrimination and worked for the education and rights of Shudras, Dalits and women, without the help of priests. In the same year Phule published his book 'Gulamgiri' (Slavery), which he dedicated to those in America who fought to end slavery. He and his wife had opened a school for girls in Pune in 1848. A is wrong because Govindrao Phule was Jyotiba's father, from the Mali community. B is wrong because Gopal Hari Deshmukh, known as 'Lokahitawadi', was a reformer famous for his letters called 'Shatapatre'. C is wrong because Savitribai Phule was Jyotiba's wife and India's first woman teacher; she worked with the Samaj but did not found it. Exam tip: Satya-Shodhak Samaj, 1873, Pune, Jyotiba Phule, book 'Gulamgiri'.

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, 42nd. The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 changed so many parts of the Constitution that it is called the 'Mini Constitution'. It was passed during the Emergency under Indira Gandhi's government on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. It added the words Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble, added the Fundamental Duties in Part IVA (Article 51A), and moved five subjects, including education and forests, from the State List to the Concurrent List. A is wrong because the 38th Amendment, 1975 put the President's satisfaction in declaring an Emergency beyond court review. C is wrong because the 40th Amendment, 1976 dealt with laws placed in the Ninth Schedule and with India's maritime zones. D is wrong because the 44th Amendment, 1978 undid many 42nd Amendment changes and removed the Right to Property from the Fundamental Rights. Exam tip: the 42nd (1976) is the Mini Constitution; the 44th (1978) is the correction that followed it.

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 C, Football. All three are Indian football tournaments. The Durand Cup, first played in 1888 and named after Sir Mortimer Durand, then Foreign Secretary of British India, is Asia's oldest football tournament and is still organised with the help of the armed forces. The Santosh Trophy is the national football championship for state teams, first held in 1941. The Rovers Cup was a famous club tournament played in Mumbai from 1891. Papers often mix these with trophies from other sports, so learn them in sets. A is wrong because hockey's well-known Indian trophies include the Beighton Cup and the Aga Khan Cup. B is wrong because cricket's domestic trophies are the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy. D is wrong because badminton's world team events are the Thomas Cup for men, the Uber Cup for women and the Sudirman Cup for mixed teams. Exam tip: Durand, Santosh, Rovers, Federation Cup = football; Ranji, Duleep, Irani = cricket; Beighton, Aga Khan = hockey.

The correct answer is A, Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam grew out of Sadir Attam, also called Dasiattam, the temple dance performed by devadasis in Tamil Nadu. In the early 19th century the Tanjore Quartet, four brothers at the Thanjavur court, arranged its items into the order still followed in a recital. In the 1930s the dance was revived and renamed Bharatanatyam, with E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale, who founded Kalakshetra in Chennai in 1936, leading the change. It is known for its half-sitting stance called aramandi and is linked with the Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni. B is wrong because Kuchipudi comes from the village of Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh and was shaped by Siddhendra Yogi. C is wrong because Mohiniyattam, the dance of the enchantress, is a graceful solo dance of Kerala. D is wrong because Kathakali is Kerala's dance-drama with heavy make-up and costumes, which grew out of Ramanattam and Krishnanattam. Exam tip: Sadir or Dasiattam became Bharatanatyam; Rukmini Devi and Kalakshetra are the names tied to its revival.

The correct answer is D, 1866. The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the word 'Oekologie' in 1866 in his book Generelle Morphologie der Organismen. He built it from the Greek oikos, meaning house or household, and logos, meaning study, so ecology is the study of living things in their home, their relations with each other and with their surroundings. That is why the question speaks of the 'economies' of living forms, since economy comes from the same oikos. Haeckel was a strong supporter of Darwin and also gave biology words such as phylum. A related date that papers test is 1935, when the British ecologist A. G. Tansley coined the term 'ecosystem'. A is wrong because 1888 has no link with the word; by then it had been in use for over twenty years. B is wrong because 1884 is also too late and is not a date tied to ecology's naming. C is wrong because 1887 is likewise unconnected with Haeckel's coinage. Exam tip: ecology by Haeckel in 1866, ecosystem by Tansley in 1935.

The correct answer is D, stratification. It means the layering of an ecosystem from top to bottom, with each layer holding its own set of species. The NCERT example is a forest: tall trees form the top layer, shrubs the second, and herbs and grasses the bottom layer, and each layer gets a different amount of light, heat and moisture. A tropical rainforest shows the most layers, with emergent trees, the canopy, the understorey and the forest floor, and animals such as birds, monkeys and insects also live at particular heights. Lakes are stratified too, into a warm upper layer and a cold bottom layer. Stratification lets many species share the same patch of land without competing directly. A is wrong because levelling is not a term used in ecology for vertical layers. B is wrong because grouping simply means putting things together and says nothing about height. C is wrong because ramification means branching and describes how a plant spreads, not layers of species. Exam tip: vertical layering in an ecosystem is stratification; trees, shrubs, herbs from top to bottom.

The correct answer is B, Insat-1B. It was the first working satellite of the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system, carried to orbit by the US Space Shuttle Challenger in August 1983. INSAT-1B was a multipurpose satellite: its transponders gave national television coverage, telephone links and weather pictures from one spot in geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the equator. It made nationwide Doordarshan broadcasts possible and began the INSAT series that still serves communication and meteorology. Its predecessor INSAT-1A, launched in 1982, failed early, which is why 1B is remembered as the real start. A is wrong because Bhaskara-I, launched in 1979 on a Soviet rocket, was an experimental earth-observation satellite, not a geostationary broadcaster. C is wrong because GSAT-7, launched in 2013, is the Indian Navy's dedicated communication satellite, often called Rukmini. D is wrong because RISAT-1, launched in 2012 on a PSLV, is a radar imaging satellite for earth observation. Exam tip: INSAT = communication and weather in geostationary orbit; Bhaskara and RISAT = observing the earth.

The correct answer is B, Hirakud dam – Odisha. The Hirakud dam stands on the Mahanadi near Sambalpur in Odisha. Completed in 1957, it was among the first big multipurpose river valley projects after Independence, built to control the Mahanadi's floods and to give irrigation and hydroelectric power. With its long earthen dykes it is one of the longest earthen dams in the world, about 26 km in total length. A is wrong because the Tehri dam, India's tallest, is on the Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand; it was in Uttar Pradesh only until Uttarakhand was formed in 2000, which is the trap here. C is wrong because Bhakra Nangal is on the Sutlej, with the Bhakra dam in Himachal Pradesh and the Nangal dam in Punjab, and its reservoir is the Gobind Sagar. D is wrong because Nagarjuna Sagar is on the Krishna, on the border of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, far from Rajasthan. Exam tip: match dams with rivers too, Hirakud–Mahanadi, Tehri–Bhagirathi, Bhakra–Sutlej, Nagarjuna Sagar–Krishna.

The correct answer is D, Beijing. China's capital hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the Winter Olympics in 2022, which made it the first city ever to stage both. The 2008 Games are remembered for the Bird's Nest stadium and for Abhinav Bindra's gold in the 10 m air rifle, India's first individual Olympic gold. In 2022 the ice events were held in Beijing itself, with snow events in the nearby hill areas, and several 2008 venues were reused, such as the Water Cube, which became the curling venue. A is wrong because Tokyo has hosted only the Summer Games, in 1964 and 2020, while Japan's Winter Games went to Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998. B is wrong because Sydney hosted only the Summer Olympics of 2000. C is wrong because New York City has never hosted the Olympics; the Winter Games of 1932 and 1980 were at Lake Placid, a small town in New York State. Exam tip: Beijing 2008 summer plus 2022 winter; first city with both.