SSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is Dismiss State government; needs approval within two months. Under Article 356, if the President is satisfied, on the Governor's report or otherwise, that the government of a State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution, he or she can take over the functions of the State government, which in practice means dismissing the State's Council of Ministers and suspending or dissolving its Assembly. The proclamation must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months, by a simple majority, and then lasts six months at a time, up to three years.

The other options mix in other provisions. The President can dissolve the Lok Sabha under Article 85, but never Parliament as a whole, and not under Article 356. A Financial Emergency is Article 360, and it needs the approval of both Houses, not only the Rajya Sabha. Suspending Fundamental Rights is dealt with by Articles 358 and 359, and needs no Supreme Court approval. Since the S.R. Bommai case (1994), a proclamation under Article 356 can be reviewed by the courts.

The correct answer is Three times. A National Emergency under Article 352 has been proclaimed three times: in October 1962, when China attacked India; in December 1971, during the war with Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh; and in June 1975, on the ground of "internal disturbance", during Indira Gandhi's government. The first two were external emergencies; the third was the only internal emergency India has had.

The 1975 proclamation came while the 1971 emergency was still in force, so for about two years two emergencies ran side by side; both were revoked in March 1977. That overlap is why "two times" sometimes tempts candidates who think of periods rather than proclamations. "Four times" and "only once" have no basis. Note that the count refers only to National Emergencies: President's Rule under Article 356 has been imposed on States many times, and a Financial Emergency under Article 360 has never been declared.

The correct answer is 1962-68. India's first National Emergency was proclaimed on 26 October 1962, during the war with China, on the ground of external aggression. It stayed in force long after the fighting ended and was revoked only on 10 January 1968, which is why the question gives the span 1962–68. President Dr S. Radhakrishnan made the proclamation, on the advice of Jawaharlal Nehru's government.

The other spans are invented, built around the right decade to catch candidates who remember only "the 1960s". For the full picture, learn all three proclamations together: 1962 (external aggression, the war with China), 1971 (external aggression, the war with Pakistan) and 1975 (internal disturbance, declared while the 1971 emergency was still in force). Both the 1971 and 1975 emergencies ended in March 1977. The long 1962–68 emergency, continuing years after the war, was itself one of the reasons later governments added limits on how long an emergency can last without fresh approval.

The correct answer is upto one year. While a Proclamation of National Emergency is in operation, Parliament can by law extend the normal five-year term of a State Legislative Assembly (Article 172) and of the Lok Sabha (Article 83) by up to one year at a time. There is also an outer limit: the extension cannot continue beyond six months after the proclamation has ceased to operate. During the Emergency of 1975–77 the term of the Fifth Lok Sabha was extended in this way.

The other durations come from elsewhere in the chapter and are meant to confuse. Six months is the period for which an approved emergency lasts, and also the outer limit after an emergency ends. One month is the time within which Parliament must approve a National Emergency. Nine months has no basis. The logic of the rule is that elections may be impossible during a war or rebellion, so the Constitution lets the existing legislatures continue, but only one year at a time and never for long after the crisis has passed.

The correct answer is 1. A Proclamation of National Emergency must be laid before both Houses of Parliament and approved by each of them within one month of its issue; otherwise it ceases to operate. Each House must approve it by a special majority: a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of the members present and voting. The original Constitution allowed two months; the 44th Amendment (1978) cut this to one month and introduced the special majority. Once approved, the emergency lasts six months and can be renewed every six months.

The other options mix up different time limits in the same chapter. Two months, which is not an option here, is the approval period for President's Rule and a Financial Emergency. Six months is how long an approved National Emergency or President's Rule lasts before it must be renewed. Three and nine months have no role at all. A simple way to keep them apart: the most serious emergency, a threat to the nation, gets the shortest leash and the strictest majority.

The correct answer is 44th Amendment act, 1978. The Emergency of June 1975 was declared on the ground of "internal disturbance", a phrase so vague that almost any political unrest could be brought under it. The Janata government's 44th Amendment replaced it with "armed rebellion", a much narrower ground. The same amendment required the Cabinet's written advice for a proclamation, cut the approval period from two months to one, demanded a special majority for approval and let the Lok Sabha end an emergency by a simple majority.

The other options are the amendments around it. The 42nd Amendment (1976), passed during the Emergency, strengthened the Centre and allowed an emergency to be declared for part of the country, but it did not change the grounds. The 43rd Amendment (1977) restored some powers of the courts that the 42nd had taken away. The 41st Amendment (1976) raised the retirement age of members of State Public Service Commissions. When a question mentions "armed rebellion", the answer is always the 44th Amendment.

The correct answer is Article 352. It allows the President, if satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or any part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion, to make a Proclamation of Emergency. Since the 44th Amendment (1978), the President can do so only when the Union Cabinet's decision is communicated in writing, and both Houses must approve the proclamation within one month by a special majority.

The other options are real Articles on quite different subjects. Article 350 gives every person the right to submit a representation for the redress of a grievance in any language used in the Union or a State. Article 362 dealt with the rights and privileges of the rulers of the former princely states and was removed by the 26th Amendment in 1971, which ended the privy purses. Article 364 contains special provisions for major ports and aerodromes. Remember the emergency trio: 352 National Emergency, 356 President's Rule, 360 Financial Emergency.

The correct answer is 3. Part XVIII of the Constitution provides for three kinds of emergency. A National Emergency under Article 352 can be declared on the ground of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. President's Rule, also called State Emergency or constitutional emergency, under Article 356, applies when the constitutional machinery in a State fails. A Financial Emergency under Article 360 applies when the financial stability or credit of India is threatened.

The word "emergency" itself is used in the Constitution only for the first one: Article 352 speaks of a "Proclamation of Emergency", while Article 356 speaks of the failure of constitutional machinery. That is why some questions ask how many times "emergency" has been declared and mean only the National Emergency. The options 2, 4 and 5 have no basis in the text. Learn the three together with their Articles, 352, 356 and 360, since the next question is almost always about one of those numbers.

The correct answer is C, Sun Temple, Konark. The Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha is called the Black Pagoda, a name European sailors gave it because its dark stone tower stood out as a landmark along the coast, in contrast to the whitewashed Jagannath temple at Puri, which they called the White Pagoda. It was built in the thirteenth century by Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in the Kalinga style, and the whole structure is shaped as the chariot of the sun god, with twelve pairs of carved stone wheels and seven horses drawing it. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. A is wrong because Omkareshwar is a Jyotirlinga on an island in the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, not at Puri. B is wrong because the Somnath temple in Gujarat is a Jyotirlinga rebuilt many times after raids. D is wrong because the Jagannath temple stands at Puri in Odisha and is the White Pagoda. Exam tip: Konark is the Black Pagoda and Puri's Jagannath temple the White Pagoda.

The correct answer is A, Cyclical unemployment. Cyclical unemployment is the unemployment that a slump or depression in the economy creates: when demand falls, firms sell less, cut production and let workers go, and those jobs come back once demand recovers. It is therefore tied to the trade cycle of boom and slump, and it is the kind of unemployment John Maynard Keynes wrote about after the Great Depression, when he argued that the government should spend to lift demand. It is common in industrial economies and rare in a largely agricultural one such as India, where disguised and seasonal unemployment matter more. B is wrong because frictional unemployment is the short gap while a worker changes jobs or a fresh graduate hunts for the first one. C is wrong because seasonal unemployment comes from work being available only in some months, as in farming or sugar mills. D is wrong because structural unemployment arises when the skills workers hold no longer match the jobs the economy offers. Exam tip: a depression brings cyclical unemployment, while a skills mismatch brings structural unemployment.

The correct answer is D, Industrial Disputes Act. The Industrial Disputes Act was passed in 1947 and governs how disputes between employers and workmen, including matters that concern trade unions as well as individual workmen, are raised and settled. It sets up works committees, conciliation officers, courts of enquiry, labour courts, industrial tribunals and a national tribunal, lays down when a strike or a lock-out is lawful, and requires larger establishments to take government permission before lay-off, retrenchment or closure. Its provisions have now been folded into the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. A is wrong because the Indian Councils Acts, of 1861, 1892 and 1909, dealt with legislative councils and not with labour. B is wrong because the Charter Acts, the last of them in 1853, renewed the East India Company's charter. C is wrong because the Rowlatt Act of 1919 allowed detention without trial and led to the protest at Jallianwala Bagh. Exam tip: Industrial Disputes Act 1947, now part of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.

The correct answer is D, Perfluorocarbons. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in Japan in December 1997 and in force from February 2005, set binding cuts for six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride. Perfluorocarbons come mostly from aluminium smelting and from making semiconductors; they are released in tiny amounts but survive in the atmosphere for thousands of years and trap far more heat than the same weight of carbon dioxide, which is why the Protocol counted them. Nitrogen trifluoride was added as a seventh gas later, under the Doha amendment of 2012. A is wrong because chlorine is not a greenhouse gas; chlorine released from CFCs harms the ozone layer, a matter the Montreal Protocol deals with. B is wrong because phosgene is a poisonous industrial gas and is not on the Kyoto list. C is wrong because carbon monoxide is an air pollutant that the Protocol does not cover. Exam tip: the six Kyoto gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, HFCs, PFCs and sulphur hexafluoride.

The correct answer is B, Karnataka. Yakshagana is the folk theatre of coastal Karnataka, performed mainly in the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. A show once ran all night and mixes dance, music, spoken dialogue and tall painted headgear with bright face make-up, and its stories are drawn from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. A singer called the Bhagavata leads from the side with the chande and maddale drums and a harmonium, and the actors build their dialogue around his verses as they go, so no two performances are quite the same. It is played mostly in Kannada, and a Tulu form also exists. A is wrong because Kerala's comparable temple theatre forms are Kathakali and Koodiyattam. C is wrong because Haryana is known for Dhamal, Phag and Khoria. D is wrong because Rajasthan is known for Ghoomar, Kalbelia and Chari. Exam tip: Yakshagana belongs to coastal Karnataka, while the similar-looking Kathakali belongs to Kerala.

The correct answer is B, Mumbai. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has its head office in Mumbai, in the Bandra Kurla Complex. NABARD was set up on 12 July 1982 under an Act passed in 1981, on the advice of the Sivaraman Committee, and it took over the rural credit work that the Reserve Bank and the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation had been doing. It is the apex body for rural finance: it refinances cooperative banks and regional rural banks rather than lending much directly to farmers, supervises those banks, runs the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and links self-help groups to banks under its microfinance programme. It is fully owned by the Government of India. A is wrong because Pune houses the National Insurance Academy, not NABARD. C is wrong because Chennai is the headquarters of Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank. D is wrong because Kolkata is the headquarters of UCO Bank and Bandhan Bank. Exam tip: NABARD, Mumbai, set up 12 July 1982 on the Sivaraman Committee's recommendation.

The correct answer is A, Burma. The Reserve Bank of India, which began work on 1 April 1935 on the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission, was also the central bank of Burma, then part of British India, and it stayed in that role until April 1947, a few months before India became independent. Burma had been separated from India administratively in 1937, yet the RBI continued to manage its currency and banking. In the same way it served as central bank for Pakistan until June 1948, while the State Bank of Pakistan was being set up. The RBI itself was nationalised on 1 January 1949. B is wrong because Nepal has had its own central bank, the Nepal Rastra Bank, since 1956. C is wrong because Bhutan's Royal Monetary Authority was set up in 1982, though the ngultrum is still pegged to the rupee. D is wrong because Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, was never under the RBI and started its own central bank in 1950. Exam tip: the RBI acted for Burma till April 1947 and for Pakistan till June 1948.

The correct answer is A, Nagaland. Moatsu is a festival of the Ao tribe of Nagaland, kept in the first week of May once the fields have been cleared, the seed sown and the seedlings planted. It marks the end of that hard stretch of work and the start of a short rest before the rains, and it runs for about three days with singing, dancing, rice beer and roasted meat. Its best-known part is Sangpangtu, when men and women in their finest dress sit around a large fire and food and drink are shared. It is one of the two chief Ao festivals, the other being Tsungremmong in August. B is wrong because Tripura is known for Garia Puja and Kharchi Puja. C is wrong because Assam is known for Bihu, tied to the harvest and the Assamese new year. D is wrong because West Bengal is known for Durga Puja and Poila Boishakh. Exam tip: Moatsu belongs to the Ao tribe of Nagaland and falls in early May; the Hornbill Festival is the state's December event.

The correct answer is B, Ovum. The female egg cell, or ovum, is the largest cell in the human body. It measures about 100 to 130 micrometres across, roughly the thickness of a hair, and is the only human cell that can just be seen without a microscope. It is this big because it carries the cytoplasm, food store and machinery an embryo needs in its first days, and a girl is born with her whole stock of these cells already formed. A is wrong because the sperm is the smallest human cell, a few micrometres in the head, built only to swim and carry a nucleus. C is wrong because a nerve cell is the longest cell, since a single axon can run about a metre from the spinal cord to the toe, but it is extremely thin and not the largest in volume. D is wrong because an osteoclast, the cell that dissolves bone, is large and has many nuclei yet stays smaller than the ovum. Exam tip: ovum is the largest cell, sperm the smallest and the nerve cell the longest.

The correct answer is B, Tropical monsoon. India's climate is usually called a tropical monsoon type, because the Tropic of Cancer runs across the middle of the country and the seasonal reversal of winds brings almost all of its rain. From June to September the south-west monsoon blows from the sea towards the land and gives about three quarters of the year's rainfall; in winter the north-east monsoon blows from land to sea and leaves most of India dry, although it does water the Tamil Nadu coast. Regional differences are wide, from the wet slopes of Meghalaya to the sands of Rajasthan, yet this rhythm of one wet and one dry season is what gives the whole country its label. A is wrong because a polar climate has long freezing winters and is found near the poles. C is wrong because a desert climate fits only western Rajasthan and not the country. D is wrong because an arid climate again describes a few dry pockets alone. Exam tip: India is tropical monsoon, and the south-west monsoon brings about 75 per cent of the annual rain.

The correct answer is D, 100. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 promises every rural household at least 100 days of unskilled manual wage work in a financial year. The scheme began in 200 districts in February 2006, covered the whole country by 2008, and was renamed after Mahatma Gandhi in 2009. Any adult member of a rural household can demand work; the job must be given within fifteen days of the demand and within five kilometres of the village, and if it is not given the state must pay an unemployment allowance. At least one third of the workers are to be women, wages are paid into bank or post office accounts, and the works taken up are mostly water conservation, ponds, roads and land development. A is wrong because 45 days is not the guarantee. B is wrong because 365 days would mean work all year, which the Act never promised. C is wrong because 250 days is not the figure in the law. Exam tip: MGNREGA 2005, 100 days a year, work within 15 days or an unemployment allowance.

The correct answer is D, Vernacular Press Act. The Vernacular Press Act was enacted in 1878 by Lord Lytton to silence Indian-language newspapers, which had begun to criticise British rule sharply, especially over the famine and the cost of the Delhi Durbar. It allowed a magistrate to demand a bond and a deposit from the printer of any Indian-language paper and to seize the press if the paper printed anything judged seditious, while English papers were left untouched. Because of this open discrimination it was nicknamed the Gagging Act, and Lord Ripon repealed it in 1882. A is wrong because the Indian Contract Act was passed in 1872. B is wrong because the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act belongs to 1873, when the Company's stock was wound up. C is wrong because the Transfer of Property Act came in 1882, the same year the Vernacular Press Act was withdrawn. Exam tip: Lytton brought the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 and Ripon repealed it in 1882.