State Exams Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi, Tapi. The Godavari, about 1,465 km long, is the longest river of peninsular India and is called the Dakshin Ganga; it rises at Trimbakeshwar near Nashik in Maharashtra. The Krishna, about 1,400 km long, rises near Mahabaleshwar. The Mahanadi flows about 851 km from Chhattisgarh through Odisha to the Bay of Bengal, and the Tapi, about 724 km long, rises in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and flows west into the Arabian Sea. Option A is wrong because it puts the Mahanadi first, though it is shorter than the Godavari, the Krishna and the Narmada. Option C is wrong because the Narmada, about 1,312 km long, is shorter than the Godavari, and the Mahanadi cannot come before the Godavari either. Option D is wrong because the Krishna is longer than the Narmada, so the Narmada cannot come second. Exam tip: peninsular rivers by length are Godavari 1,465, Krishna 1,400, Narmada 1,312, Mahanadi 851 and Tapi 724 km.

The correct answer is D, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal. According to Census 2011, these were India's four most populous states in exactly this order. Uttar Pradesh had about 19.98 crore people, which was 16.5 per cent of India's total population of about 121 crore. Maharashtra came second with about 11.24 crore, Bihar third with about 10.41 crore and West Bengal fourth with about 9.13 crore. The ranking by density is different: Bihar was the most densely populated state, with 1,106 persons per square kilometre, followed by West Bengal. The least populous state was Sikkim, with about 6.1 lakh people. Option A is wrong because it puts Bihar above Maharashtra. Option B is wrong because it puts West Bengal in second place, when it was fourth. Option C is wrong because it puts West Bengal above Bihar. Exam tip: Census 2011 top four by population are UP, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal; by density, Bihar comes first.

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 B, Wular Lake. NCERT's geography textbook describes Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir as a lake formed as a result of tectonic activity, that is, by movements of the Earth's crust. It lies in the Kashmir Valley in Bandipora district, and the Jhelum river flows into it and out of it, so the lake soaks up the river's floodwater. Wular is the largest freshwater lake in India and has been a Ramsar wetland since 1990. Its area changes a lot with the seasons, roughly from 30 to 260 square kilometres. Option A is wrong because Chilika in Odisha is a lagoon, a coastal lake cut off from the sea by a sand bar. Option C is wrong because Kolleru in Andhra Pradesh is a shallow lake lying between the deltas of the Godavari and the Krishna. Option D is wrong because Sambhar in Rajasthan is an inland salt lake of the dry region, fed by seasonal streams and known for salt production. Exam tip: Wular = largest freshwater lake and tectonic; Chilika = largest lagoon; Sambhar = largest inland salt lake.

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 B, Nagaland – Haryana – Sikkim – Arunachal Pradesh. Nagaland became a state on 1 December 1963, carved out of Assam. Haryana followed on 1 November 1966, when the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 divided Punjab on the basis of the Shah Commission's report. Sikkim, until then an Indian protectorate, became the 22nd state through the 36th Amendment Act, 1975, with statehood from 16 May 1975. Arunachal Pradesh, earlier the North-East Frontier Agency and then a Union Territory from 1972, became a state on 20 February 1987, on the same day as Mizoram. Option A is wrong because it places Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh before Nagaland and Haryana. Option C is wrong because Sikkim (1975) cannot come before Haryana (1966) or Nagaland (1963). Option D is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh (1987) became a state long after both Sikkim and Haryana. Exam tip: 1963 Nagaland, 1966 Haryana, 1975 Sikkim, 1987 Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram; Haryana Day falls on 1 November.

The correct answer is A, Right to personal liberty. Even during a national emergency, the enforcement of Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended. Article 21 protects life and personal liberty, and Article 20 protects a person from retrospective criminal laws, from being punished twice for the same offence and from being forced to be a witness against himself. This safeguard was added by the 44th Amendment, 1978, after the 1975-77 Emergency, when people held in detention could not challenge it in court. Under Article 359, the President may suspend the enforcement of the other Fundamental Rights while an emergency lasts. Option B is wrong because freedom of speech under Article 19 is suspended automatically under Article 358 when an emergency is declared on the ground of war or external aggression. Option C is wrong because the right to equality under Articles 14 to 18 can be suspended by a presidential order under Article 359. Option D is wrong because freedom of religion under Articles 25 to 28 can also be suspended under Article 359. Exam tip: in an emergency, Articles 20 and 21 always stay enforceable.

The correct answer is C, Repeal of the Indian Independence Act, 1947. Article 395, the last article of the Constitution, repeals the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935, along with the laws that amended or added to the 1935 Act. By removing these British laws, the framers made the Constitution the only source of legal authority in India and ended the legal link with the British Parliament. The article makes one exception: the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949 was not repealed. Article 395 sits in Part XXII with Article 393 (short title) and Article 394 (commencement), and it took effect on 26 January 1950. Option A is wrong because the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is an ordinary law made by Parliament, not an article of the Constitution. Option B is wrong because new states are formed under Articles 2 and 3. Option D is wrong because a national emergency is proclaimed under Article 352. Exam tip: Article 395 repeals the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the Government of India Act 1935.

The correct answer is C, Ahmad Shah Abdali. On 14 January 1761 the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, also called Ahmad Shah Durrani, crushed the Maratha army at Panipat in present-day Haryana. The Marathas were led by Sadashivrao Bhau, and Vishwasrao, the young son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao, was killed in the fighting. Abdali was backed by the Rohilla chief Najib-ud-daula and by Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab of Awadh. The defeat checked Maratha expansion in north India for about a decade and made it easier for the British to rise to power. Option A is wrong because Hemu lost the Second Battle of Panipat to Akbar's forces in 1556. Option B is wrong because Muhammad Ghori fought the battles of Tarain in 1191 and 1192, not at Panipat. Option D is wrong because Babur won the First Battle of Panipat against Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 and founded the Mughal empire. Exam tip: Panipat I 1526 Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi; Panipat II 1556 Akbar vs Hemu; Panipat III 1761 Abdali vs Marathas.

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 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.

The correct answer is B, Tax. In the Later Vedic age, bali had become a regular tax collected by the king. In the Rig Vedic period, bali was a voluntary offering that the people or defeated tribes gave to the chief, often in the form of cattle or grain. As kingdoms grew larger after about 1000 BCE and settled farming spread in the Ganga plains, this gift turned into a compulsory payment. The texts of this period name royal officers linked to it, such as the bhagadugha, who collected the king's share, and the sangrihitri, the treasurer. With this income the king could maintain a court and a standing force. Option A is wrong because a sacrifice was called a yajna, and bali in this context was a payment to the ruler. Option C is wrong because bali never meant a person; it refers to what was paid. Option D is wrong because 'income' is too general, while bali was specifically the share paid to the king. Exam tip: Rig Vedic bali was a voluntary gift; Later Vedic bali became a compulsory tax, and the bhagadugha collected it.

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 C, (a), (b) and (c). Statements (a), (b) and (c) describe the Subsidiary Alliance correctly, while (d) does not. Lord Wellesley, Governor-General from 1798 to 1805, turned the Subsidiary Alliance into the main tool of British expansion. An Indian ruler who signed it had to keep a British force in his state and pay for it, either in cash or by giving up territory. He also had to accept a British Resident at his court, and he could not deal with other powers or employ other Europeans without British consent. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to sign, in 1798, and Awadh had to give up about half its territory in 1801 to meet the cost. Statement (d) is wrong because the British promised protection from outside enemies as well as internal revolts. So option A misses (a) and (c), option B misses (c), and option D wrongly includes (d). Exam tip: Subsidiary Alliance means Wellesley, 1798, Hyderabad first; Doctrine of Lapse means Dalhousie.

The correct answer is C, 24 January. On 24 January 1950, two days before the Constitution came into force, the United Provinces was officially renamed Uttar Pradesh. The state government began celebrating this date as Uttar Pradesh Diwas, or UP Foundation Day, in 2018, with events across the state showing its culture, crafts and achievements. The One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, which promotes a special product from each district, was launched on the first UP Diwas in 2018. Conveniently, the short form ‘U.P.’ stayed the same, since both names begin with the same letters. Option A is wrong because 26 January is Republic Day, when the Constitution came into force in 1950. Option B is wrong because 25 January is National Voters’ Day, marking the founding of the Election Commission in 1950, and also Himachal Pradesh’s statehood day. Option D is wrong because 23 January is the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, observed as Parakram Diwas. Exam tip: on 24 January 1950 the United Provinces became Uttar Pradesh; the day has been celebrated as UP Diwas since 2018.

The correct answer is C, Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist and writer, published Silent Spring in 1962. She showed how synthetic pesticides, above all DDT, were killing birds, fish and insects far beyond the fields where they were sprayed, and how these chemicals build up in food chains, becoming more concentrated at each level, a process now called biomagnification. The title imagines a spring with no birdsong because the birds have been poisoned. The book stirred public opinion and helped lead to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and a ban on most uses of DDT in the USA in 1972. Option A is wrong because Carolyn Merchant is an environmental historian known for The Death of Nature (1980). Option B is wrong because Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto, works on economics and politics. Option D is wrong because no writer of that name is linked to this book. Exam tip: Silent Spring 1962 (Rachel Carson, DDT), The Limits to Growth 1972 (Club of Rome), Our Common Future 1987 (Brundtland Report).

The correct answer is A, Lichens. A bioindicator is a living organism whose presence, absence or health tells us about the quality of the environment. Lichens are a partnership between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium; they have no roots and take water and nutrients straight from the air and rain. This makes them very sensitive to air pollution, especially sulphur dioxide. They vanish from the bark of trees in polluted cities and grow richly where the air is clean, so scientists map lichens to judge air quality. Mosses are used in a similar way. Option B is wrong because methyl mercury is a toxic pollutant, not a living indicator; it caused Minamata disease in Japan in the 1950s. Option C is wrong because the rose plant is not used as a standard indicator of air quality. Option D is wrong because the sunflower is not a recognised air pollution indicator either. Exam tip: lichens indicate sulphur dioxide in the air; E. coli in water indicates faecal pollution.

The correct answer is B, Pulmonary vein. Veins usually carry blood low in oxygen back to the heart, but the pulmonary veins are the exception. After blood picks up oxygen in the lungs, four pulmonary veins, two from each lung, bring this oxygen-rich blood to the left atrium of the heart. From there it passes to the left ventricle, which pumps it to the whole body through the aorta. The mirror-image fact is asked just as often: the pulmonary artery is the only artery that carries deoxygenated blood, taking it from the right ventricle to the lungs. So the rule is that arteries carry blood away from the heart and veins carry it towards the heart, whatever its oxygen level. Option A is wrong because the cystic vein drains the gall bladder. Option C is wrong because the hepatic portal vein carries nutrient-rich but oxygen-poor blood from the intestines to the liver. Option D is wrong because the cardiac veins drain used blood from the heart muscle into the right atrium. Exam tip: pulmonary vein, the only vein with oxygenated blood; pulmonary artery, the only artery with deoxygenated blood.

The correct answer is C, Insulin. The pancreas is both an exocrine gland, pouring digestive enzymes into the intestine, and an endocrine gland. Its endocrine part is made of small clusters of cells called the islets of Langerhans. The beta cells in these islets release insulin, which lowers blood sugar by helping body cells take in glucose and by making the liver store extra glucose as glycogen. When the body makes too little insulin, or cannot use it properly, blood sugar stays high, which is diabetes mellitus. Insulin was discovered in 1921 by Frederick Banting and Charles Best. Option A is wrong because adrenaline, the ‘fight or flight’ hormone, comes from the medulla of the adrenal gland. Option B is wrong because glucagon is made by the alpha cells of the same islets, and it raises blood sugar, the opposite of insulin. Option D is wrong because aldosterone comes from the adrenal cortex and helps the kidneys keep back sodium and water. Exam tip: alpha cells make glucagon and raise sugar; beta cells make insulin and lower it.

The correct answer is A, Vitamin K. The liver needs vitamin K to make several clotting factors, including prothrombin, which help blood form a clot and seal a wound. Its letter comes from the German word ‘Koagulation’. When it is lacking, even small cuts bleed for a long time and bruises form easily. Newborn babies have very little of it, so hospitals give them a vitamin K injection at birth to prevent dangerous bleeding. Good sources are green leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and fenugreek, and bacteria in our gut also make some of it. It is a fat-soluble vitamin, like A, D and E. Option B is wrong because vitamin E (tocopherol) works mainly as an antioxidant that protects cells. Option C is wrong because vitamin A (retinol) is needed for vision, and its lack causes night blindness. Option D is wrong because vitamin C (ascorbic acid) keeps gums and skin healthy; its lack causes scurvy, with bleeding gums, but it is not a clotting vitamin. Exam tip: K for Koagulation; A for night blindness, C for scurvy, D for rickets.