State Exams 2024 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Amaravati. The panel showing the submission of the mad elephant Nalagiri, sent by Devadatta to kill the Buddha and calmed by him in the street of Rajagriha, is among the best known carvings of the Amaravati stupa on the lower Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. The Amaravati school flourished under Satavahana patronage and worked in white limestone, filling its panels with crowded, slender and flowing figures.

Option A, Bharhut, is a Sunga period stupa in Madhya Pradesh whose railings carry Jataka scenes labelled in Brahmi. Option C, Mathura, is a school of red sandstone sculpture in the north and not the site of this panel. Option D, Sanchi, is famous for its stupa gateways with scenes of the Buddha's life shown through symbols, but the Nalagiri panel belongs to Amaravati.

The correct answer is B, because pattvaya was the guild of silk weavers, not of washermen. The washermen had their own body, known as the rajaka guild. The famous Mandasor stone inscription of the time of Kumaragupta records a guild of silk weavers who migrated from Lata in Gujarat to Dasapura and built a temple of the Sun there, and it is the best known reference to this craft group. Option A is correctly matched, since a shreshthi, the word behind today's seth, was the rich merchant banker who headed a guild. Option C is correctly matched, because a puga was a corporation whose members followed different callings, unlike a shreni, which brought together the workers of one craft. Option D is correctly matched, as a sartha was a body of traders travelling together, and its leader was called a sarthavaha. Exam tip: shreni is one craft, puga is many trades together, sarthavaha leads the caravan, and rajaka means washerman.

The correct answer is D, Golgi apparatus. The Golgi apparatus is the main site where glycoproteins and glycolipids are formed. It is a stack of flat, disc-shaped sacs called cisternae, first described by Camillo Golgi in 1898. Proteins made on the endoplasmic reticulum reach the Golgi, where sugars are added to them, and they are then packed into vesicles and sent to places inside the cell or out of it. That is why the Golgi is called the packaging and dispatch centre of the cell, and it also helps to form lysosomes. Option A is wrong because plastids, such as chloroplasts, carry out photosynthesis or store food and pigments in plant cells. Option B is wrong because lysosomes are small sacs of digestive enzymes and are called the suicide bags of the cell. Option C is wrong because mitochondria make energy in the form of ATP and are called the powerhouse of the cell. Exam tip: Golgi means packaging and adding sugars; mitochondria mean ATP; a lysosome is the suicide bag.

The correct answer is C, Thymine. In DNA, adenine always pairs with thymine through two hydrogen bonds, and guanine pairs with cytosine through three. This is called complementary base pairing, and it is why one strand of DNA can be used to copy the other. The double-helix model was proposed by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, using X-ray images made by Rosalind Franklin. Adenine and guanine are purines with two rings, while thymine and cytosine are pyrimidines with one ring, so each pair has the same width and the helix stays even. In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil. Option A is wrong because guanine is a purine like adenine and pairs with cytosine. Option B is wrong because cytosine pairs with guanine through three hydrogen bonds. Option D is wrong because histone is a protein around which DNA is wound in chromosomes; it is not a base at all. Exam tip: A pairs with T by two bonds, G with C by three; RNA has U in place of T.

The correct answer is B, M3. M3 is called broad money or aggregate monetary resources. It equals M1 plus the time deposits of the public with banks, so it measures almost all the money available in the economy. The Reserve Bank of India uses four measures, M1 to M4, introduced in 1977, and M3 is the one most often used to track money supply. Liquidity falls as we move from M1 to M4, because time deposits and post office deposits cannot be spent as quickly as cash. Option A is wrong because M2 is M1 plus the savings deposits with post office savings banks. Option C is wrong because M4 is M3 plus total post office deposits, excluding National Savings Certificates. Option D is wrong because M1 is narrow money: currency with the public, demand deposits with banks and other deposits with the RBI. Exam tip: M1 is narrow money and M3 is broad money or aggregate monetary resources; M1 is the most liquid and M4 the least.

The correct answer is C, Kali and Teesta. The Himalayas, about 2,400 km long, are divided from west to east into regions marked by river valleys, and the Nepal Himalayas lie between the Kali in the west and the Teesta in the east. This is the highest stretch of the whole range and holds Mount Everest as well as Kanchenjunga on the Nepal–Sikkim border. The Kali forms the border between Uttarakhand and Nepal, and the Teesta flows through Sikkim before entering West Bengal. Option A is wrong because the Sutlej and the Dihang together cover almost the whole range and do not mark any single section. Option B is wrong because the land between the Sutlej and the Kali is the Kumaon Himalayas. Option D is wrong because the land between the Teesta and the Dihang is the Assam Himalayas. West of the Sutlej, up to the Indus, lie the Punjab Himalayas, also called the Kashmir and Himachal Himalayas. Exam tip: Indus–Sutlej Punjab, Sutlej–Kali Kumaon, Kali–Teesta Nepal, Teesta–Dihang Assam.

The correct answer is C, Hindan. The Hindan rises in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, flows south past Ghaziabad and joins the Yamuna near Greater Noida, on its left bank. The Yamuna is the longest tributary of the Ganga; it rises at the Yamunotri glacier and meets the Ganga at Prayagraj. Its left-bank tributaries, such as the Hindan, the Rind and the Sengar, come from the plains between the Yamuna and the Ganga. Its right-bank tributaries come from the south, from the Malwa plateau and Bundelkhand. Option A is wrong because the Chambal, which flows through the ravines of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, joins the Yamuna from the right. Option B is wrong because the Ken, which flows through Panna in Madhya Pradesh, is a right-bank tributary. Option D is wrong because the Betwa, rising near Bhopal, also joins the Yamuna from the right, near Hamirpur. Exam tip: Yamuna right bank: Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken; left bank: Hindan, Rind, Sengar.

The correct answer is D, Certiorari. Certiorari means 'to be certified' or 'to be informed'. By this writ a higher court orders a lower court or tribunal to send up a case pending before it, or quashes an order it has already passed, when there is lack of jurisdiction, excess of jurisdiction or an error of law. The Supreme Court issues writs under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226. Prohibition and certiorari look alike, so note the timing: prohibition stops a case while it is still going on, while certiorari can also cancel a decision already made. Option A is wrong because prohibition only forbids a lower court from going beyond its jurisdiction; it does not transfer the case. Option B is wrong because mandamus, 'we command', orders a public official or body to do a duty it has failed to do. Option C is wrong because quo warranto, 'by what authority', asks a person to show his right to hold a public office. Exam tip: Certiorari = send up or quash; Prohibition = stop; Mandamus = do your duty.

The correct answer is A, Richard Wellesley. Lord Richard Wellesley was Governor-General from 1798 to 1805, and in 1801 he forced Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh to hand over about half of his kingdom to the Company. The Nawab had failed to pay the rising cost of the British troops kept in his state, and Wellesley took rich lands such as Rohilkhand and the lower Doab in payment. This was a classic use of Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance, under which an Indian ruler paid for British troops, accepted a British Resident and could make no treaty without the Company's approval. Hyderabad was the first state to accept it, in 1798. Option B is wrong because Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal, had left India in 1785. Option C is wrong because Cornwallis, known for the Permanent Settlement of 1793, had left by then; he returned only briefly in 1805. Option D is wrong because Robert Clive, the victor of Plassey, died in 1774. Exam tip: Subsidiary Alliance means Wellesley; Awadh lost half its land in 1801 and was annexed by Dalhousie in 1856.

The correct answer is C, Cher. The Cheras ruled in Kerala and took no part in the fight over Kannauj. The Tripartite Struggle was a long contest in the 8th to 10th centuries among three powers for control of Kannauj, the old capital of Harshavardhana in the Ganga valley. Whoever held Kannauj was seen as the master of north India, so the three kept attacking it for nearly two centuries. In the end the Gurjara-Pratiharas held Kannauj the longest, and the fight wore out all three powers. Option A is wrong because the Palas of Bengal, founded by Gopala, were one of the three sides; Dharmapala even placed his own nominee on the Kannauj throne. Option B is wrong because the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan, under kings like Dhruva and Govinda III, raided the north and joined the struggle. Option D is wrong because the Gurjara-Pratiharas of western India, with rulers like Nagabhata II and Mihira Bhoja, were the third side. Exam tip: Pala (east), Pratihara (west) and Rashtrakuta (south) fought for Kannauj.

The correct answer is B, 1565. The Battle of Talikota, also called Rakshasi-Tangadi, was fought in January 1565 and broke the power of Vijayanagara. Rama Raya was the real ruler behind the throne of Sadashiva Raya. He had played the Deccan Sultanates against one another, so Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda finally joined hands against him. Rama Raya was captured and killed, and the winning armies plundered the capital Vijayanagara (Hampi) for months. The ruins of Hampi, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, date from this sack. The empire lived on under the Aravidu dynasty but never regained its glory. Option A is wrong because 1585 is twenty years after the battle. Option C is wrong because in 1545 Rama Raya's long control of the empire had only just begun; the decisive battle came twenty years later. Option D is wrong because 1525 was the reign of Krishnadeva Raya, the empire's golden age. Exam tip: Vijayanagara founded 1336, peak under Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529), fall at Talikota 1565.

The correct answer is C, (ii) (iii) (i) (iv). The Kaveri rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri hills of Kodagu in Karnataka; the Sabarmati begins in the Aravalli hills of Mewar in Udaipur district of Rajasthan; the Tapti rises near Multai in Betul district, on the Satpura range of Madhya Pradesh; and the Damodar starts on the Chhotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand. An easy way to check: the Tapti and the Narmada are the two big west-flowing rift-valley rivers of central India, while the Damodar, once called the Sorrow of Bengal, is a river of the eastern coal belt. Option A is wrong because it sends the Kaveri to the Satpuras and the Tapti to the Mewar hills. Option B is wrong because it puts the Kaveri in the Mewar hills and the Sabarmati on the Chhotanagpur plateau. Option D is wrong because it links the Kaveri with Chhotanagpur and the Damodar with the Satpuras. Exam tip: Kaveri–Brahmagiri, Sabarmati–Mewar, Tapti–Multai on the Satpuras, Damodar–Chhotanagpur.

The correct answer is D, If such amendment seeks to make any change in Article 279-A. Article 279A creates the GST Council, and the 101st Amendment of 2016 added it to the proviso to Article 368(2), so changing it needs a special majority of Parliament plus ratification by at least half of the state legislatures. The same federal list covers the election of the President (Articles 54 and 55), the extent of the executive power of the Union and the states, the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the division of legislative powers and the Seventh Schedule lists, the representation of states in Parliament, and Article 368 itself. The logic is simple: what touches the states needs the consent of the states. Option A is wrong because Article 53, on the executive power of the Union, is not in that list. Option B is wrong because Article 239A, on legislatures for certain Union Territories, can be changed by Parliament alone. Option C is wrong because Article 243A, on the Gram Sabha, also needs no ratification by the states. Exam tip: the GST Council of Article 279A came with the 101st Amendment, and changing it needs state ratification.

The correct answer is C, Atharvaveda. The Atharvaveda calls the Sabha and the Samiti the two daughters of Prajapati, which shows that they were seen as two separate popular bodies. The Sabha was a smaller council of elders and nobles that also did judicial work, while the Samiti was a larger assembly of the common people that discussed policy and could even have a say in choosing the king. Both are first named in the Rigveda, but it is the Atharvaveda that sets them apart and says the king needs their support to rule well. Together with the Vidatha and the Gana, they were the tribal assemblies of the Vedic age. Option A is wrong because the Rigveda mentions both bodies but does not present them as twin institutions. Option B is wrong because the Samaveda is a book of chants set to music for rituals. Option D is wrong because the Yajurveda deals with the rules and formulas of sacrifice. Exam tip: Sabha and Samiti, the two daughters of Prajapati, in the Atharvaveda.

The correct answer is B, Endangered species. The Red Data Book is the source book that keeps a record of endangered animals, plants and fungi, so that governments and conservationists know which living species face the greatest risk of dying out. It is linked to the Red List prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which was founded in 1948 and has its headquarters at Gland in Switzerland. Species at risk are placed in categories such as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable, which together are called threatened species. Many countries, including India, also prepare their own Red Data Books for local species, and the Botanical Survey of India compiles one for Indian plants. Option A is wrong because the book is meant to help save living species; extinct species cannot be saved and are not its main record. Option C is wrong because common species are not at risk. Option D is wrong because invasive species, such as water hyacinth, are harmful newcomers and are tracked in separate lists. Exam tip: Red Data Book means endangered species; IUCN is at Gland, Switzerland, founded 1948.

The correct answer is A, one coulomb per second. Electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge, written as I = Q/t, so one ampere flows when one coulomb of charge passes through a cross-section of a conductor in one second. One coulomb is the charge carried by about 6.25 × 10^18 electrons, so even a small current means a huge number of moving electrons. The ampere is one of the seven SI base units, and it is named after the French scientist André-Marie Ampère. Current is measured with an ammeter, which is always connected in series in a circuit, and small currents are expressed in milliamperes or microamperes. Option B is wrong because volt per second is not a unit of current; the volt measures potential difference. Option C is wrong because one joule per coulomb is the definition of one volt, the unit of potential difference. Option D is wrong because second per coulomb is the reverse of current and is not used as a unit at all. Exam tip: ampere = coulomb per second, volt = joule per coulomb, ohm = volt per ampere.

The correct answer is C, a-iii, b-i, c-ii, d-iv. Gua and Noamundi, in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, are well-known iron ore mines of the Singhbhum–Keonjhar belt, which feeds steel plants such as the one at Jamshedpur. Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh has the Malanjkhand copper mine, one of India's largest open-cast copper mines. The Amarkantak plateau, where the Narmada and the Son rise, has rich bauxite deposits, the ore of aluminium. Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh is a leading mica belt of India, along with Koderma in Jharkhand and Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Option A is wrong because it gives copper to Amarkantak and bauxite to Balaghat. Option B is wrong because it places iron ore at Amarkantak and bauxite at Gua and Noamundi. Option D is wrong because it puts iron ore at Balaghat, copper at Gua and Noamundi, and mica at Amarkantak. Exam tip: Gua–Noamundi iron ore, Malanjkhand (Balaghat) copper, Amarkantak bauxite, Nellore and Koderma mica.

The correct answer is B, Nilgiri Hills. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet in the Nilgiri Hills, near the point where Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka come together. The Western Ghats run as an almost unbroken wall along the west coast, while the Eastern Ghats are broken into separate hills by rivers such as the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri that flow into the Bay of Bengal. The Nilgiris hold Doddabetta (2,637 m), their highest peak, and the hill station of Udhagamandalam (Ooty). The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, set up in 1986, was India's first biosphere reserve. Option A is wrong because the Cardamom Hills lie further south, along the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border, and belong to the Western Ghats alone. Option C is wrong because Mudumalai is a national park and tiger reserve on the slopes of the Nilgiris, not the meeting point. Option D is wrong because the correct answer, the Nilgiri Hills, is among the options. Exam tip: the two Ghats meet at the Nilgiris; the highest peak of peninsular India is Anamudi (2,695 m) in the Anaimalai Hills.

The correct answer is A, a-iii, b-ii, c-iv, d-i. Article 263 allows the President to set up an Inter-State Council to discuss disputes and common subjects among states; the council was first formed in 1990 on the Sarkaria Commission's advice. Article 226 gives every High Court the power to issue writs such as habeas corpus and mandamus, not only for Fundamental Rights but also 'for any other purpose', which makes it wider than the Supreme Court's power under Article 32. Article 239 says each Union Territory is run by the President through an administrator appointed by him. Article 280 requires a Finance Commission every five years to recommend how tax revenue is shared between the Centre and the states. Option B is wrong because it links Article 263 with the Finance Commission and Article 280 with Union Territories. Option C is wrong because it links Article 263 with the High Court and Article 226 with the Finance Commission. Option D is wrong because it links Article 263 with Union Territories and Article 239 with the Inter-State Council. Exam tip: 263 Inter-State Council, 226 High Court writs, 239 UTs, 280 Finance Commission.

The correct answer is D, a-iii, b-iv, c-i, d-ii. These are names found in Mesopotamian cuneiform texts for the lands that traded with the Harappans. Meluha is generally identified with the Indus region, including Sindh; the texts speak of its ships bringing carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold and fine wood. Dilmun is identified with Bahrain island in the Persian Gulf, which served as a halfway station, and Harappan-style seals and weights have been found there. Magan, or Makan, is placed on the Makran coast and nearby Oman, a source of copper. Ur was a Sumerian port city in Mesopotamia where Indus seals and carnelian beads have been dug up. Option A is wrong because it makes Dilmun a Mesopotamian port and puts Meluha on the Makran coast. Option B is wrong because it places Dilmun on the Makran coast and Magan in Sindh. Option C is wrong because it places Dilmun in Mesopotamia and Ur on the Makran coast. Exam tip: Meluha = Indus land, Dilmun = Bahrain, Magan = Makran or Oman; the dockyard at Lothal shows the Harappans traded by sea.