State Exams Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

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 B, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. The Bahmani kingdom was born in 1347 out of a revolt against his rule in the Deccan. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq ruled from 1325 to 1351 and tried to control the far south from Delhi, even shifting his capital to Daulatabad for a while. His nobles in the Deccan rebelled, and one of them, Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (Hasan Gangu), founded the Bahmani kingdom with its first capital at Gulbarga. Harihara and Bukka had set up Vijayanagara in 1336 in the same reign, so both great southern kingdoms rose under this one Sultan. Option A is wrong because Iltutmish ruled from 1211 to 1236, long before any Deccan kingdom of this kind. Option C is wrong because Ibrahim Lodi was the last Delhi Sultan, defeated at Panipat in 1526. Option D is wrong because Alauddin Khalji died in 1316; his general Malik Kafur raided the south, but no Bahmani state existed then. Exam tip: Vijayanagara 1336 and Bahmani 1347, both in Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq's reign.

The correct answer is A, Sarangi. Pandit Ram Narayan, born in Udaipur in 1927, lifted the sarangi from an instrument that only accompanied singers to a solo concert instrument, and he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan. Ustad Sultan Khan, born in Sikar district, was a sarangi master and singer known around the world for his work with other musicians, and he received the Padma Bhushan. The sarangi is a bowed string instrument carved from a single block of wood, with three main gut strings played with a bow and many sympathetic strings that ring along; its sound is said to come closest to the human voice. Option B is wrong because the kamaycha is a bowed folk instrument of the Manganiyar musicians of Jaisalmer and Barmer, not the instrument of these two classical masters. Option C is wrong because the tabla is a pair of drums, not a string instrument. Option D is wrong because the sitar is a plucked instrument, made world-famous by Pandit Ravi Shankar. Exam tip: Rajasthan's sarangi masters are Ram Narayan (Udaipur) and Sultan Khan (Sikar).

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 C, Jasnathi Siddha. The fire dance of Rajasthan is performed by men of the Jasnathi Siddha sect, who dance barefoot on a bed of glowing embers to the beat of drums, calling out 'fatai, fatai'. It is performed mostly at night during their religious gatherings, and its main centre is Katariyasar in Bikaner district, the seat of the sect's founder. The sect was founded by Jasnath ji in the late 15th century, and his followers live by a set of 36 rules. The dancers leap through and even lift the embers, yet the performance is treated as an act of faith, not a show. Option A is wrong because the Bishnoi sect, founded by Jambhoji, is known for protecting trees and blackbuck, not for a fire dance. Option B is wrong because the Ramsnehi sect is a devotional sect of Rama worship with centres such as Shahpura, and it has no fire dance. Option D is wrong because the Dadupanth, founded by Dadu Dayal and centred at Naraina, is also not linked with this dance. Exam tip: Agni nritya – Jasnathi Siddhas – Katariyasar (Bikaner).

The correct answer is D, Turbidity of water. NTU stands for Nephelometric Turbidity Unit. A nephelometer shines a beam of light through a water sample and measures how much of it is scattered sideways by suspended particles such as clay, silt, algae and microbes; the more the scattering, the more turbid, or cloudy, the water is. Turbidity is a key test for drinking water because the particles can shield germs from chlorine and other disinfectants, so water supply agencies try to keep it very low before the water reaches homes. High turbidity in a river or lake also cuts off sunlight for aquatic plants. Option A is wrong because water pressure is measured in units such as the pascal or the bar. Option B is wrong because temperature is measured in degrees Celsius or in kelvin. Option C is wrong because acidity is shown on the pH scale, where 7 is neutral and values below 7 are acidic. Exam tip: NTU = turbidity (cloudiness); pH = acidity; BOD = organic pollution, in milligrams per litre.

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 B, Falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum causes malignant, or cerebral, malaria, the most dangerous form of the disease. Red blood cells infected by it become sticky and block the small blood vessels of the brain and other organs, which can lead to coma and death if treatment is delayed. Malaria spreads through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito; the parasite first multiplies in the liver and then in red blood cells, and the bursting of these cells brings the cycles of chills and high fever. Ronald Ross proved the mosquito link in 1897 while working in India and won the Nobel Prize in 1902. Option A is wrong because P. vivax causes benign tertian malaria, which can relapse from dormant stages in the liver but is rarely fatal. Option C is wrong because P. ovale causes a mild tertian malaria found mainly in Africa. Option D is wrong because P. malariae causes quartan malaria, with fever every fourth day. Exam tip: falciparum = malignant; vivax = benign but relapsing; female Anopheles = vector.

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 B, Both (A) and (B) are correct. Headline inflation is the change in the overall Consumer Price Index, which tracks the average price of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by a typical household, including food, fuel, clothing, housing and services. Core inflation removes the items whose prices swing the most, mainly food and fuel, to show the underlying trend in prices. The difference matters for policy: a jump in vegetable prices after a poor monsoon may fade in a few months, but a steady rise in core inflation tells the central bank that price pressure has spread across the economy. That is why the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee watches both numbers. In India the all-India CPI is compiled every month by the National Statistics Office. Option A is wrong because both statements are correct definitions. Option C is wrong because statement A is also correct. Option D is wrong because statement B is also correct. Exam tip: headline = the whole basket; core = the basket minus food and fuel.

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 C, Silchar to Porbandar. The East-West Corridor is one arm of the National Highways Development Project, planned together with the North-South Corridor from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. It runs for about 3,300 km from Porbandar on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat, through Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, and across the narrow Siliguri corridor into Assam, ending at Silchar in the Barak valley. The two corridors cross at Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, a point that exams love to ask. In Rajasthan the route passes Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Kota, so it matters for Rajasthan papers too. Option A is wrong because neither Imphal nor Ahmedabad is an end point of the corridor. Option B is wrong because Dimapur and Vadodara are not its terminal cities. Option D is wrong because the corridor does not end at Kandla, a port on the Gulf of Kutch; its western end is Porbandar. Exam tip: North-South = Srinagar to Kanyakumari; East-West = Silchar to Porbandar; they meet at Jhansi.

The correct answer is A, North Sea. Both rivers flow north-west across the plains of Europe and end in the North Sea. The Rhine rises in the Swiss Alps, forms part of the borders of Switzerland, Germany and France, flows through Germany and enters the sea through the Netherlands, where Rotterdam, Europe's busiest port, stands at its mouth. The Elbe rises in the Czech Republic, flows through Germany past Dresden and reaches the North Sea below Hamburg, another major port. Because of these river ports, the North Sea coast is one of the busiest shipping zones in the world. Option B is wrong because the Mediterranean receives rivers such as the Rhone, the Ebro and the Nile. Option C is wrong because the Adriatic, an arm of the Mediterranean between Italy and the Balkans, receives the Po. Option D is wrong because the Black Sea receives the Danube, the Dnieper and the Dniester. Exam tip: Rhine and Elbe to the North Sea; Danube to the Black Sea; Rhone to the Mediterranean; Po to the Adriatic.

The correct answer is A, A-I, B-III, C-IV, D-II. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is covered by a neat run of four articles in Part V of the Constitution. Article 148 creates the office: the President appoints the CAG by warrant under his hand and seal, and the CAG can be removed only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge. Article 149 deals with the duties and powers, which Parliament has spelt out in the CAG (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971. Article 150 says the accounts of the Union and the states are kept in the form the President prescribes on the CAG's advice. Article 151 sends the CAG's audit reports on Union accounts to the President, who lays them before Parliament, while reports on a state go to the Governor. Option B is wrong because it puts appointment under Article 151. Option C is wrong because it places appointment under Article 149 and duties under Article 148. Option D is wrong because it swaps appointment and audit reports. Exam tip: 148 appointment, 149 powers, 150 form of accounts, 151 reports.

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.