State Exams 2025 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is A, The principle of conservation of energy is not violated. As the body falls its height shrinks, so the potential energy m g h falls, but exactly that much energy reappears as kinetic energy, half m v squared, because the body speeds up. The sum of the two stays the same at every point of the fall, so the total mechanical energy is conserved and energy is only changing form. At the moment of release the energy is all potential; just before the body strikes the ground it is almost all kinetic. When air resistance acts, the small shortfall leaves as heat and sound, so the energy is still accounted for. B is wrong because no energy is destroyed, only converted. C and D are wrong because gravity is a force, not a law that can be obeyed or broken, and neither statement answers what happens to the lost potential energy. Exam tip: for free fall, m g h plus half m v squared stays constant.

The correct answer is C, The Competition Act, 2002. Competition policy in India rests on the Competition Act of 2002, which was passed on the advice of the Raghavan Committee after liberalisation, and it replaced the older monopolies law. The Act forbids agreements that harm competition, such as cartels that fix prices or share markets, forbids the abuse of a dominant position, and requires large mergers and acquisitions to be cleared in advance. It is enforced by the Competition Commission of India, which was set up in 2003 and began hearing cases in 2009, with appeals going to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. Option A is wrong because the Companies Act of 2013 governs the formation and running of companies. Option B is wrong because the MRTP Act of 1969 was repealed when this Act came into force. Option D is wrong because the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 protects buyers against unfair trade practices. Exam tip: MRTP 1969 replaced by Competition Act 2002, regulator CCI.

The correct answer is A, Licence-Permit-Quota Raj. The New Industrial Policy of 24 July 1991 abolished industrial licensing for all but a short list of industries, so a firm no longer needed a government permit to start production, to expand or to import. That system of licences, permits and quotas, named the Licence-Permit-Quota Raj by C. Rajagopalachari, had governed Indian industry since the Industries Act of 1951. The reforms came in a balance of payments crisis under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, and are remembered as liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. Option B is wrong because the banks nationalised in 1969 and 1980 stayed in public hands. Option C is wrong because subsidies on fertiliser, food and power continue to this day. Option D is wrong because cooperative banks still work under the Reserve Bank and state registrars. Exam tip: 1991 reforms, licensing kept for only a handful of industries.

The correct answer is B, Puducherry with its units at Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam. Puducherry is the only Union Territory spread over both coasts of India. Puducherry and Karaikal lie on the east coast within Tamil Nadu, Yanam lies on the east coast in Andhra Pradesh, and Mahe lies on the west (Malabar) coast within Kerala. All four were French settlements; they came to India in 1954 and formally became part of India in 1962. Option A is wrong because the Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie only in the Bay of Bengal, on the eastern side. Option C is wrong because Lakshadweep lies only in the Arabian Sea, off the Kerala coast. Option D is wrong because Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu lie only on the western side, near Gujarat and Maharashtra. Exam tip: Puducherry has four districts in three states: Puducherry and Karaikal (Tamil Nadu), Yanam (Andhra Pradesh) and Mahe (Kerala).

The correct answer is B, Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq. He was the Delhi Sultan when Timur invaded India in 1398. Timur, the Turko-Mongol ruler of Samarkand, crossed the Indus, defeated Mahmud Shah's army near Delhi in December 1398 and sacked the city for several days. The Sultan fled to Gujarat, and the Tughluq state never recovered. Timur left his supporter Khizr Khan in charge of Multan, and this link later helped Khizr Khan found the Sayyid dynasty in 1414. Option A is wrong because Nusrat Shah was a rival Tughluq claimant who held Firozabad for a few years; he was not the recognised Sultan at Delhi. Option C is wrong because Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah III, a son of Firuz Shah, ruled earlier, from 1390 to 1394. Option D is wrong because Khizr Khan became the ruler of Delhi only in 1414. Exam tip: Timur's raid of 1398 ended Tughluq power in practice; the Sayyid dynasty began in 1414.

The correct answer is B, A-ii, B-iii, C-i, D-iv. Nihalchand was the master painter of Kishangarh in the 18th century under Raja Sawant Singh, the poet-king known as Nagaridas; his 'Bani Thani', with its long nose, arched eyebrows and lotus-shaped eyes, is often called the Mona Lisa of India. Ustad Ali Raza, a painter who came from Delhi, worked at Bikaner in the 17th century under Maharaja Karan Singh, which is why Bikaner painting shows a strong Mughal touch. Sahibdin was the leading painter of Mewar under Maharana Jagat Singh I; his Ragamala of 1628 and his Ramayana paintings shaped the Udaipur style. Shivdas is counted among the painters of the Marwar, or Jodhpur, school. Option A is wrong because it gives Shivdas to Bikaner and Ali Raza to Marwar. Option C is wrong because it gives Shivdas to Mewar and Sahibdin to Marwar. Option D is wrong because it links Sahibdin with Bikaner and Ali Raza with Mewar. Exam tip: Bani Thani–Nihalchand–Kishangarh; Ragamala–Sahibdin–Mewar; Ali Raza–Bikaner; Shivdas–Marwar.

The correct answer is A, Aedes - Chikungunya - Bacteria. This set is wrong because chikungunya is caused by a virus, the chikungunya virus, and not by bacteria. It is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, the same day-biting mosquitoes that carry dengue and Zika, and it causes high fever with severe joint pain. The name comes from a word in the Makonde language of East Africa meaning 'that which bends up', describing patients bent over with pain. Aedes breeds in clean water stored in coolers, tyres, pots and tanks, which is why dengue and chikungunya cases rise after the monsoon. Option B is a correct set because the Culex mosquito spreads lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis, caused by parasitic worms such as Wuchereria bancrofti. Option C is correct because the female Anopheles mosquito spreads malaria, caused by the Plasmodium parasite, a protozoan. Option D is correct because Aedes also spreads dengue, which is caused by the dengue virus. Exam tip: Aedes carries dengue, chikungunya and Zika, all viruses; Anopheles carries malaria; Culex carries filariasis and Japanese encephalitis.

The correct answer is A, Protein. The lens of the eye is made mostly of water and special proteins called crystallins, packed in a very regular order that keeps the lens clear so light can pass straight through to the retina. With age, and faster with diabetes, ultraviolet light, smoking or an injury, these proteins break down and clump together. The clumps scatter light, so the lens turns cloudy and vision becomes blurred, dim and glary. This clouding is a cataract, and it is one of the leading causes of blindness in India. It is treated by a short operation in which the cloudy lens is removed and replaced by an artificial intraocular lens. Option B is wrong because carbohydrate changes are not what clouds the lens, although high blood sugar in diabetes speeds up the protein damage. Option C is wrong because fat does not form the clear structure of the lens. Option D is wrong because the tear glands keep the eye moist and have nothing to do with the lens. Exam tip: cataract = cloudy lens from clumped proteins; glaucoma = raised pressure inside the eye.

The correct answer is C, FRBM Act. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 is a fiscal reform: it binds the Union government to cut its fiscal and revenue deficits and to report on its borrowing. It deals with the government's budget, not with banks and financial markets. Financial sector reforms after 1991 began with the Narasimham Committee on the financial system, which asked for sound banking rules. Banks had to keep capital in proportion to their risky assets, the capital adequacy ratio based on the Basel norms, and to recognise bad loans honestly as non-performing assets (NPAs) instead of hiding them in their books. Option A is wrong because capital adequacy norms were a core banking reform. Option B is wrong because clear rules for NPAs were part of the same reform. Option D is wrong because the SARFAESI Act, 2002 lets banks seize and sell the security of defaulting borrowers without going to court, a major step to recover bad loans. Exam tip: banking reforms = capital adequacy, NPA norms, SARFAESI; FRBM = fiscal discipline of the government.

The correct answer is C, Jaisalmer. A khadin is a long earthen embankment built across the lower end of a sloping field, so that rainwater running off the higher rocky ground collects behind it. The water soaks into the soil during the monsoon, and in winter crops such as wheat and gram are grown on the moist bed without any further irrigation, while wells below the bund also get recharged. The system is credited to the Paliwal Brahmins of Jaisalmer, who developed it around the 15th century, and it suits the district's stony, sloping land and very low rainfall. It is one of the best examples of runoff farming in the Thar. Option A is wrong because Nagaur is not the home of the khadin system. Option B is wrong because Bikaner is known for other rainwater structures, such as the kund and the kui. Option D is wrong because Pali, on the eastern side of the Luni basin, is not where khadins developed. Exam tip: khadin, Paliwal Brahmins, Jaisalmer; kund and tanka store rainwater; kui taps seepage water.

The correct answer is D, A-iv, B-i, C-ii, D-iii. The Rapti rises in Nepal, flows past Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and joins the Ghaghra, which then meets the Ganga. The Tista, or Teesta, rises from glaciers in Sikkim, cuts through the Darjeeling hills and joins the Brahmaputra, known there as the Jamuna, in Bangladesh. The Hiran is a small tributary of the Narmada that joins it from the north in Madhya Pradesh. The Purna rises in the Ajanta hills of Maharashtra and joins the Godavari; do not confuse it with another Purna that joins the Tapi. Option A is wrong because it sends the Tista to the Narmada and the Purna to the Brahmaputra. Option B is wrong because it links the Rapti with the Brahmaputra and the Hiran with the Godavari. Option C is wrong because it makes the Rapti a tributary of the Godavari. Exam tip: Rapti–Ghaghra, Tista–Brahmaputra, Hiran–Narmada, Purna–Godavari, and a second Purna joins the Tapi.

The correct answer is A, A-ii, B-iii, C-iv, D-i. The Gobi is a cold desert of Asia spread over Mongolia and northern China, and it is famous for its dinosaur fossils. Patagonia lies in southern Argentina in South America; it is a rain-shadow desert, dry because the Andes block the moist westerly winds coming from the Pacific. The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert of Australia, stretching across Western Australia and South Australia. The Kalahari covers most of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa, in southern Africa. Paper setters like Patagonia because it lies on the eastern side of its continent, while most hot deserts lie on the western margins, next to cold ocean currents. Option B is wrong because it puts the Gobi in Australia and Patagonia in Asia. Option C is wrong because it places Patagonia in southern Africa and the Victoria Desert in South America. Option D is wrong because it gives every desert the wrong continent. Exam tip: Gobi–Asia, Patagonia–South America, Great Victoria–Australia, Kalahari–southern Africa.

The correct answer is A, Santhanam Committee. The Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962-64), headed by K. Santhanam, recommended a central body to keep watch over honesty in government, and the Central Vigilance Commission was set up in February 1964 by an executive resolution of the Union government. For almost four decades it had no law of its own; the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 made it a statutory, multi-member body with a Central Vigilance Commissioner and up to two Vigilance Commissioners. It is not a constitutional body, which is a common trap in exams. Option B is wrong because the committees headed by Vijay Kelkar dealt with tax reform and public finance. Option C is wrong because the Swaran Singh Committee of 1976 recommended adding Fundamental Duties to the Constitution. Option D is wrong because the Bakshi Tek Chand Committee reviewed the working of the anti-corruption law of 1947 soon after independence; it did not lead to the CVC. Exam tip: Santhanam Committee gave the CVC in 1964; statutory status came in 2003.

The correct answer is D, A-iii, B-i, C-ii, D-iv. Each case tested an amendment against the basic structure of the Constitution. In Indira Gandhi vs Raj Narain (1975), the Supreme Court struck down the part of the 39th Amendment that put the Prime Minister's election beyond the courts, holding free and fair elections to be part of the basic structure. In Minerva Mills (1980), it struck down clauses of the 42nd Amendment that gave Parliament unlimited power to amend and let all Directive Principles override the rights in Articles 14 and 19. In Kihoto Hollohan (1992), it upheld the anti-defection law brought by the 52nd Amendment but kept the Speaker's decision open to judicial review. In P. Sambamurthy (1987), it struck down a clause of Article 371D, added by the 32nd Amendment, that let the state government overrule a tribunal. Option A is wrong because it links Raj Narain with the 42nd Amendment. Option B is wrong because it pairs Minerva Mills with the 52nd. Option C is wrong because it pairs Raj Narain with the 32nd. Exam tip: 39th–Raj Narain, 42nd–Minerva, 52nd–Kihoto, 32nd–Sambamurthy.

The correct answer is D, Articles 15, 16, 19 and 30. Only five Fundamental Rights are reserved for Indian citizens. Article 15 bars discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; Article 16 gives equality of opportunity in public employment; Article 19 gives the six freedoms of speech, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession; Article 29 protects the language, script and culture of minorities; and Article 30 gives minorities the right to set up and run educational institutions. All the other rights, such as equality before law, the right to life and freedom of religion, are available to every person, foreigners included. Option A is wrong because Articles 14, 20 and 23 protect every person, not just citizens. Option B is wrong because Articles 21, 25 and 28 also apply to all persons. Option C is wrong because Articles 20, 21 and 25 are rights of every person, citizen or not. Exam tip: citizens-only rights are 15, 16, 19, 29 and 30.

The correct answer is C, the statement about Madhvacharya. It is the wrong statement, because Madhvacharya worshipped a personal god, Vishnu, with form and qualities, so his path was saguna bhakti, not nirguna. Madhva, a 13th-century teacher from Udupi in Karnataka, taught Dvaita, or dualism: God and the soul are always separate, and the soul is freed only through devotion and God's grace. He set up the Krishna temple at Udupi, still the centre of his tradition. Nirguna bhakti, devotion to a formless god, is linked with saints such as Kabir, Nanak and Dadu. Option A is a correct statement because Vallabhacharya founded the Pushtimarga, the 'path of grace', centred on Krishna worshipped as Shrinathji. Option B is correct because Nimbarka taught Dvaitadvaita, dualism with non-dualism. Option D is correct because Ramananda spread Rama bhakti in north India and took disciples from all castes, Kabir and Raidas among them. Exam tip: Shankara Advaita, Ramanuja Vishishtadvaita, Madhva Dvaita, Nimbarka Dvaitadvaita, Vallabha Shuddhadvaita.

The correct answer is C, Stapedius. The stapedius, only about 1 millimetre long, is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body. It lies in the middle ear and is attached to the stapes, which is itself the smallest bone of the body. When a very loud sound reaches the ear, the stapedius contracts and damps the vibration of the stapes, protecting the delicate inner ear; this is called the acoustic reflex. It is supplied by the facial nerve, so damage to that nerve can make ordinary sounds seem painfully loud. Option A is wrong because the biceps is a large muscle at the front of the upper arm that bends the elbow. Option B is wrong because the sartorius, which runs across the thigh, is the longest muscle of the body, not the smallest. Option D is wrong because the triceps at the back of the upper arm straightens the elbow and is a large muscle. Exam tip: smallest muscle stapedius, smallest bone stapes, longest muscle sartorius, largest muscle gluteus maximus.

The correct answer is B, To maintain price stability and ensure economic growth. Monetary policy is run by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, which controls the supply and the cost of money in the economy. Under the RBI Act, 1934, as amended in 2016, its main goal is to keep prices stable while keeping in mind the objective of growth. In 2016 India adopted flexible inflation targeting, with a CPI inflation target of 4 per cent within a band of 2 to 6 per cent, and a six-member Monetary Policy Committee sets the repo rate. Tools such as the repo rate, the cash reserve ratio and open market operations let the RBI make credit cheaper or dearer. Option A is wrong because raising government expenditure is a fiscal policy step decided through the Budget. Option C is wrong because cutting the fiscal deficit is also a fiscal policy goal of the government. Option D is wrong because managing forex reserves is a supporting task of the RBI, not the main aim of monetary policy. Exam tip: monetary policy means the RBI and the repo rate; fiscal policy means the government, taxes and spending.

The correct answer is B, Pacific and Indian Ocean. The Southern Oscillation is a see-saw in air pressure between the tropical eastern Pacific and the Indian Ocean: when pressure is high over one, it is low over the other. Sir Gilbert Walker, head of the India Meteorological Department, identified it in the 1920s while trying to forecast the monsoon, and it is measured by the pressure difference between Tahiti in the Pacific and Darwin in northern Australia. When pressure over the eastern Pacific becomes lower than over the Indian Ocean, El Niño tends to develop and the Indian monsoon often weakens, which is why the two are studied together as ENSO, the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Option A is wrong because the partner of the Pacific in this see-saw is the Indian Ocean, not the Atlantic. Option C is wrong because the Pacific, the key player, is missing from this pair. Option D is wrong because option B describes the pattern correctly. Exam tip: Southern Oscillation, Pacific and Indian Ocean, Tahiti–Darwin pressure, found by Gilbert Walker.

The correct answer is B, Bharia. Patalkot is a deep, horseshoe-shaped valley in the Tamia area of Chhindwara district, and most of its villages are home to the Bharia tribe. The valley floor lies more than a thousand feet below the surrounding Satpura plateau, so for a long time the Bharias lived almost cut off from the outside world, depending on the forest for food and herbal medicine. The Bharias of Patalkot are one of the three Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Madhya Pradesh, along with the Baiga and the Sahariya. Option A is wrong because the Bhil, the largest tribe of the state, live mainly in western districts such as Jhabua, Alirajpur and Dhar. Option C is wrong because the Khairwar are a separate tribe and not the main community of Patalkot. Option D is wrong because the Oraon belong mainly to the Chhotanagpur region of Jharkhand. Exam tip: Patalkot, Chhindwara, Bharia tribe, one of the three PVTGs of Madhya Pradesh with the Baiga and Sahariya.