SSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is C, First Anglo-Maratha War. The Treaty of Salbai, signed in May 1782, closed that war between the English East India Company and the Marathas. The war had begun in 1775 when the Company backed Raghunath Rao for the Peshwa's seat through the Treaty of Surat. After the British defeat at Wadgaon in 1779 the fighting dragged on until Mahadji Scindia mediated the peace at Salbai. The treaty gave Salsette to the British, recognised Madhav Rao Narayan as Peshwa, and bought about twenty years of peace between the two powers. A is wrong because the Third Battle of Panipat, 1761, was fought between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali and ended in a single day, not with a treaty. B is wrong because the Battle of Buxar, 1764, was followed by the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765. D is wrong because the Second Anglo-Maratha War ended with the treaties of Deogaon and Surji-Arjangaon in 1803. Exam tip: remember the Maratha treaty chain Surat 1775, Purandar 1776, Wadgaon 1779, Salbai 1782.

The correct answer is D, Governor. Article 361 gives this personal immunity to only two offices, the President of India and the Governor of a State. While in office, no criminal proceedings can be started or continued against them, and no court can order their arrest or imprisonment. A civil case about their personal acts can be filed only after giving two months' written notice. The logic is that both are formal heads who act on ministers' advice, so the ministers answer for the decisions. A is wrong because the Chief Minister heads the state government and can be sued or prosecuted like any citizen; he has no protection under Article 361. B is wrong because a Secretary is a civil servant whose official orders can be challenged in court. C is wrong because the Prime Minister, the real head of the Union executive, enjoys no such immunity either. Exam tip: Article 361 protects only the President and the Governors; Prime Minister and Chief Ministers are not covered.

The correct answer is A, Vice President. Article 64 makes the Vice President of India the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha. Because he chairs a House he is not a member of, he has no ordinary vote and casts only a deciding vote when there is a tie. He draws his salary as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, not as Vice President, and while he acts as President he stops presiding over the House. The Deputy Chairman, by contrast, is elected by the Rajya Sabha from among its own members under Article 89. B is wrong because the Prime Minister is usually a member of the Lok Sabha and leads the government, not the Rajya Sabha's proceedings. C is wrong because the President is a part of Parliament under Article 79 but is a member of neither House and presides over neither. D is wrong because the Attorney General may speak in either House under Article 88 but cannot vote or preside. Exam tip: Lok Sabha has a Speaker elected by members; Rajya Sabha has the Vice President as ex-officio Chairman.

The correct answer is D, Habeas corpus. It orders the person or authority holding someone to produce that person before the court, and if the detention is found unlawful the person is set free. The Latin words mean 'to have the body'. The Supreme Court issues writs under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226, and there are five of them: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto. Habeas corpus is the strongest guard of personal liberty and, unlike most writs, it can be issued against a private person as well as against the State. A is wrong because prohibition is sent by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal to stop it acting beyond its jurisdiction. B is wrong because mandamus, 'we command', orders a public official to perform a legal duty he has failed to do. C is wrong because quo warranto, 'by what authority', asks a person to show his right to hold a public office. Exam tip: illegal detention means habeas corpus; Article 32 for the Supreme Court, Article 226 for the High Courts.

The correct answer is A, Article 37. It says the Directive Principles shall not be enforceable by any court, yet they are fundamental in the governance of the country and the State must apply them in making laws. The Directive Principles of State Policy sit in Part IV of the Constitution, Articles 36 to 51, and the idea was borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland. Non-justiciable means a citizen cannot go to court to force the government to follow them, which is the key difference from Fundamental Rights in Part III, enforceable through Article 32. B is wrong because Article 40 asks the State to organise village panchayats as units of self-government. C is wrong because Article 38 asks the State to secure a social order based on social, economic and political justice to promote people's welfare. D is wrong because Article 39 lists principles such as equal pay for equal work for men and women and fair distribution of material resources. Exam tip: Article 36 defines the State for Part IV, and Article 37 says the principles are not enforceable but fundamental.

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 Nehruvian. The Constitution does not classify the Directive Principles, but scholars group them into three categories: Socialist (such as Articles 38, 39, 41, 42 and 43, aimed at a welfare state and economic justice), Gandhian (such as Article 40 on village panchayats, Article 43 on cottage industries, Article 47 on prohibition and Article 48 on protecting cattle) and Liberal-intellectual (such as Article 44 on a Uniform Civil Code, Article 48A on the environment, Article 50 on separating the judiciary and Article 51 on international peace).

There is no "Nehruvian" category, even though Jawaharlal Nehru's ideas of planning and a mixed economy influenced the socialist principles. That is exactly why the option sounds believable. When the options list three of the recognised categories and one name that sounds historical, the odd one out is the answer. A quick check: the three real groups are Socialist, Gandhian and Liberal-intellectual; no category is named after any leader other than Gandhi.

The correct answer is separation of judiciary from executive. Article 50 says the State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State. Before independence, district magistrates, who were executive officers, also tried criminal cases. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 gave effect to Article 50 by creating separate judicial magistrates, so that the officers who run the administration no longer sit in judgment over the cases it brings.

The other options come from elsewhere in the Constitution. Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies is in Articles 330 and 332. The right to elementary education is a Fundamental Right under Article 21A. The appointment of a Governor by the President is under Article 155. Article 50 sits among the liberal-intellectual Directive Principles, and it is often asked alongside Article 51 on international peace, the last Article of Part IV.

The correct answer is 44th. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 added clause (2) to Article 38, which asks the State in particular to strive to minimise inequalities in income, and to endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only among individuals but also among groups of people living in different areas or engaged in different vocations. Clause (1) of Article 38, on securing a social order based on social, economic and political justice, was there from the beginning.

The 42nd Amendment is the tempting wrong answer, because it added several Directive Principles (Articles 39A, 43A and 48A), but not this one. The 52nd Amendment (1985) brought in the anti-defection law through the Tenth Schedule, and the 47th Amendment (1984) added more land reform laws to the Ninth Schedule. Remember the 44th Amendment as the one that undid much of the 42nd: it also removed the right to property and protected Articles 20 and 21 during an emergency.

The correct answer is Article 44. It says: "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." A uniform civil code would replace the separate personal laws of different religious communities on marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption with one common law for all citizens. Being a Directive Principle, it cannot be enforced in court, and the Supreme Court has more than once urged the government to act on it. Goa has long had a common civil code, and Uttarakhand passed its own Uniform Civil Code in 2024.

The other options are Directive Principles on different subjects: Article 39 is about livelihood, the distribution of resources and equal pay; Article 40 is about village panchayats; and Article 50 is about separating the judiciary from the executive. Remember too that the Uniform Civil Code is usually classed as a liberal-intellectual principle, not a Gandhian one, a point examiners also test.

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.

The correct answer is 39A. Article 39A asks the State to ensure that the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity, and in particular to provide free legal aid, so that no citizen is denied justice because of economic or other disabilities. It was added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. Parliament gave effect to it through the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, which set up the National Legal Services Authority and legal services bodies in the States and districts.

The other options are the three other Articles with a letter that the 42nd Amendment made famous, and one that does not belong. Article 43A, also added in 1976, is about workers' participation in the management of industries. Article 48A, again from 1976, is about protecting the environment, forests and wildlife. Article 32A was inserted in 1976 but repealed by the 43rd Amendment in 1977, so it no longer exists. A useful memory line: 39A legal aid, 43A workers, 48A environment, all from 1976.

The correct answer is Article 37. It says two things at once: the provisions of Part IV "shall not be enforceable by any court", but the principles laid down in it are "nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws". That is why a citizen cannot sue the government for failing to bring in, say, a Uniform Civil Code, yet courts often rely on the Directive Principles when they judge whether a law is reasonable.

The other options are traps built from nearby numbers. Article 40 is itself a Directive Principle, on organising village panchayats, but it does not state the nature of the whole chapter. Article 30 gives minorities the right to run educational institutions, and Article 35 deals with Parliament's power to make laws giving effect to certain Fundamental Rights; both are in Part III. When a question quotes the words "fundamental in the governance of the country", the answer is always Article 37.

The correct answer is Directive Principles of State Policy. Part IV of the Constitution, Articles 36 to 51, contains the Directive Principles: the goals the State should pursue in making laws and policies, such as a living wage, free legal aid, village panchayats and a Uniform Civil Code. Article 37 makes them non-justiciable but "fundamental in the governance of the country".

Each wrong option belongs to a different Part. The Fundamental Rights are in Part III, Articles 12 to 35. The Fundamental Duties are in Part IVA, a single Article, 51A, added in 1976. "The Union" is Part V, which begins at Article 52 with the President and covers the Union executive, Parliament and the Supreme Court. Learning the four Parts in a row makes this kind of question easy: Part III rights (12–35), Part IV directives (36–51), Part IVA duties (51A), and Part V the Union (from 52).

The correct answer is D, Dhyan Chand Award. The Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games was instituted in 2002 to honour sportspersons who not only performed well in their playing days but kept serving the sport after retiring. It is named after Major Dhyan Chand, the hockey wizard who won Olympic gold in 1928, 1932 and 1936; his birthday, 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day, when all the national sports awards are given. A is wrong because the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, started in 1991-92, is the highest award for the best performance over the previous four years, and in August 2021 it was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, which is a different award from the lifetime achievement one. B is wrong because the Arjuna Award, started in 1961, is for consistent outstanding performance by active players. C is wrong because the Dronacharya Award, started in 1985, is for coaches. Exam tip: Khel Ratna best performance, Arjuna players, Dronacharya coaches, Dhyan Chand Award lifetime achievement; all given on 29 August.

The correct answer is C, 1952. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy of music, dance and drama, was created by a government resolution of 31 May 1952 and formally inaugurated on 28 January 1953 by President Rajendra Prasad. It was the first of the three national academies; the Sahitya Akademi for literature and the Lalit Kala Akademi for fine arts followed in 1954. Its annual awards, the Akademi Puraskar, have been given to performing artists since 1952, which makes it the oldest national honour for the performing arts in India. The higher honour, the Akademi Ratna or Fellowship, was started in 1954. A is wrong because 1961 is the year the Arjuna Award for sports began. B is wrong because 1950 is when the Constitution came into force, not when the Akademi was formed. D is wrong because 1959 is the year the National School of Drama was set up, not the start of the awards. Exam tip: Sangeet Natak Akademi 1952 (awards from 1952); Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi 1954.

The correct answer is C, Tennis. 'Ace Against Odds' is the autobiography of Sania Mirza, India's most successful woman tennis player, published in 2016 and written with her father Imran Mirza and Shivani Gupta. The title plays on 'ace', a serve the opponent cannot touch. Sania became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title, at Hyderabad in 2005, and went on to win six Grand Slam doubles titles, three in women's doubles with Martina Hingis and three in mixed doubles, and to become world number one in doubles in 2015. She received the Arjuna Award in 2004, the Khel Ratna in 2015 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016. A is wrong because the best-known shooting autobiography is Abhinav Bindra's 'A Shot at History'. B is wrong because badminton star Saina Nehwal's book is 'Playing to Win'. D is wrong because cricket autobiographies include Sachin Tendulkar's 'Playing It My Way'. Exam tip: Ace Against Odds = Sania Mirza (tennis); A Shot at History = Abhinav Bindra (shooting); Playing It My Way = Sachin Tendulkar (cricket).

The correct answer is C, Kathakali. Kathakali, which means 'story play', is the classical dance-drama of Kerala, performed traditionally by men, in which stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are told through hand gestures (mudras), eye movements and facial expressions. Its most striking feature is the heavy, colourful makeup and towering headgear: green (pacha) for noble heroes, a red-streaked face (kathi) for villains, and beard (thadi) types for demons and monkeys. The vigorous body training comes from Kalaripayattu, Kerala's ancient martial art. Performances are accompanied by the chenda and maddalam drums and go on through the night. A is wrong because Mohiniyattam, also from Kerala, is a gentle solo dance by women, the 'dance of the enchantress', with simple makeup and no masks. B is wrong because Kuchipudi is the classical dance of Andhra Pradesh. D is wrong because Odissi belongs to Odisha and is known for its tribhangi posture. Exam tip: Kerala has two classical dances, Kathakali (masks, makeup, martial vigour) and Mohiniyattam (graceful, feminine).

The correct answer is C, Gir Forest. Gir in Gujarat is a national park and wildlife sanctuary, famous as the only home of the Asiatic lion, but it has never been declared a biosphere reserve. A biosphere reserve is a much larger area, notified under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme, with a protected core zone, a buffer zone and a transition zone where people live and work. India's list began with the Nilgiri in 1986, and Panna in Madhya Pradesh, added in 2011, was the eighteenth. A is wrong because the Cold Desert biosphere reserve was set up in 2009 in the Lahaul-Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. B is wrong because the Sunderbans in West Bengal, home of the Royal Bengal tiger and the mangroves, became a biosphere reserve in 1989 and is on the UNESCO world network. D is wrong because the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, spread over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, was India's first, declared in 1986. Exam tip: Nilgiri first (1986), Sunderbans 1989, Cold Desert 2009; Gir = lions, national park, not a biosphere reserve.

The correct answer is D, 29th July. International Tiger Day, also called Global Tiger Day, is observed every year on 29 July. It was started in 2010 at the Tiger Summit held in St Petersburg, Russia, where the thirteen tiger-range countries promised to double the number of wild tigers by 2022. The day spreads awareness about the loss of tiger habitat and poaching. India is home to about three-fourths of the world's wild tigers; it launched Project Tiger on 1 April 1973 from Jim Corbett National Park, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority was set up in 2005. The tiger is India's national animal and the results of the tiger census are usually released around this day. A is wrong because 12 May is International Nurses Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. B is wrong because 10 January is World Hindi Day. C is wrong because 5 November is World Tsunami Awareness Day. Exam tip: 29 July Tiger Day (St Petersburg 2010); Project Tiger 1973; 12 August is World Elephant Day.