State Exams 2021 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Belgaum Session 1924. Gandhi presided over the Congress only once, at its session held at Belgaum (now Belagavi in Karnataka) in December 1924. At that time the party was split between the No-Changers, who wanted to stick to his constructive programme, and the Swarajists led by C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru, who wanted to contest elections and enter the legislative councils. Under Gandhi's presidency the Belgaum session let both groups work side by side, and it gave great importance to spinning and khadi. Option A is wrong because the Amritsar session of 1919, held after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, was presided over by Motilal Nehru. Option C is wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru presided at Lahore in 1929, where Purna Swaraj was adopted as the goal. Option D is wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru also presided at the Lucknow session of 1936. Exam tip: Gandhi presided only at Belgaum 1924; Jawaharlal Nehru at Lahore 1929 and Lucknow 1936; Subhas Bose at Haripura 1938.

The correct answer is A, Zat, Sawar. Every Mughal mansab was expressed by two numbers, the zat rank and the sawar rank. Akbar organised the mansabdari system in the 1570s so that every noble and officer, civil or military, had a place on one graded ladder. The zat rank fixed a mansabdar's status and his personal salary, while the sawar rank fixed how many horsemen he had to keep ready for the emperor. Mansabdars were usually paid through jagirs, which were rights to collect land revenue from an area, not ownership of the land, and they could be transferred at the emperor's will. The post was not hereditary. Option B is wrong because barkat (blessing) and fana (merging of the self in God) are ideas from Sufi thought. Option C is wrong because namus and din are words for honour and faith, not ranks. Option D is wrong because peshkash and nazr were tributes and gifts offered to a ruler or a superior. Exam tip: zat = personal rank and pay; sawar = number of cavalrymen; together they make one mansab.

The correct answer is B, 30. Sensex, short for ‘Sensitive Index’, tracks 30 large, well-established and actively traded companies listed on the BSE, chosen from different sectors of the economy. It was launched in 1986 with 1978–79 as its base year, when its value was set at 100, and it is calculated by the free-float market capitalisation method, which counts only the shares available for trading. When people say ‘the market rose today’, they usually mean the Sensex or the Nifty went up. The BSE, founded in 1875 and located on Dalal Street in Mumbai, is Asia’s oldest stock exchange. Option A is wrong because the Sensex has never been a 20-stock index. Option C is wrong because 25 is not its size either; the count has stayed at 30 since 1986. Option D is wrong because ten companies would be too few to represent the whole market. Exam tip: Sensex has 30 companies on the BSE, base 1978–79 = 100; Nifty has 50 companies on the NSE.

The correct answer is B, Shri K. C. Neogy. Article 280 of the Constitution requires the President to set up a Finance Commission every five years, or earlier if needed, to recommend how the taxes collected by the Union should be shared with the states and how grants-in-aid should be given. The first Finance Commission was set up in 1951 with Kshitish Chandra Neogy, a former member of Nehru’s first cabinet, as chairman, and its recommendations covered the five years from 1952 to 1957. Commissions are numbered in order, which is how setters frame questions on their chairmen. Option A is wrong because K. Santhanam chaired the second Finance Commission, appointed in 1956; he is also known for the Santhanam Committee on corruption. Option C is wrong because P. V. Rajamannar chaired the fourth Finance Commission, appointed in 1964. Option D is wrong because A. K. Chanda chaired the third Finance Commission, appointed in 1960. Exam tip: the first four chairmen in order are Neogy, Santhanam, Chanda and Rajamannar.

The correct answer is C, 61st Amendment. The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 changed Article 326, which provides for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage, and lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years. It was passed under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and came into force in March 1989, so the Lok Sabha election of 1989 was the first in which 18-year-olds could vote. The aim was to give young people, a large part of the population, a voice in choosing governments. Option A is wrong because the 66th Amendment (1990) added more land reform laws to the Ninth Schedule. Option B is wrong because the 62nd Amendment (1989) extended the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in legislatures for another ten years. Option D is wrong because the 63rd Amendment (1989) repealed the special emergency provisions for Punjab added by the 59th Amendment. Exam tip: 61st Amendment, 1988, Article 326, voting age 21 to 18.

The correct answer is B, Sir William Jones. Jones, a judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta and a scholar of many languages, founded the Asiatic Society on 15 January 1784 to study the history, languages and culture of Asia. He translated Kalidasa’s Abhijnanashakuntalam into English in 1789, which made Sanskrit literature famous in Europe, and in 1786 he pointed out the family link between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. Governor-General Warren Hastings supported the society as its patron but declined to be its president in favour of Jones. Option A is wrong because Jonathan Duncan founded the Sanskrit College at Benares in 1791. Option C is wrong because Warren Hastings was only the patron; his own foundation was the Calcutta Madrasa of 1781. Option D is wrong because William Bentinck, Governor-General from 1828 to 1835, is remembered for abolishing sati in 1829, not for this society. Exam tip: Calcutta Madrasa 1781 (Hastings), Asiatic Society 1784 (Jones), Benares Sanskrit College 1791 (Duncan).