State Exams Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is A, Kharavela. The Hathigumpha or ‘elephant cave’ inscription is carved in the Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneswar in Odisha and is the main record of Kharavela, the Jain king of Kalinga of the Mahameghavahana (Chedi) dynasty, who ruled around the first century BCE. Written in Prakrit in the Brahmi script, it describes his reign year by year: repairs to his capital, campaigns against rulers in the north and south, gifts to Jain monks, and the extension of a canal first dug by a Nanda king. That Nanda reference makes it an important source for older history too. Option B is wrong because Ashoka is known from his own rock and pillar edicts; his Kalinga war is described in Rock Edict XIII. Option C is wrong because Harshavardhana is known from Banabhatta’s Harshacharita and the Banskhera and Madhuban copper plates. Option D is wrong because Kanishka’s key record is the Rabatak inscription found in Afghanistan. Exam tip: Hathigumpha → Kharavela; Junagadh → Rudradaman; Nasik → Gautamiputra Satakarni.

The correct answer is B, Rabindranath Tagore. On 13 April 1919, General Dyer’s troops fired on an unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, killing hundreds. At the end of May 1919 Tagore wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, giving up the knighthood he had received in 1915, saying that such badges of honour had become a mark of shame. The poet had won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali, so his protest carried great weight across the world. Option A is wrong because M. A. Jinnah resigned from the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919 in protest against the Rowlatt Act; he returned no knighthood. Option C is wrong because Maharaja Rameshwar Singh of Darbhanga was a loyal supporter of the government and gave up no title. Option D is wrong because Sir C. Sankaran Nair protested by resigning from the Viceroy’s Executive Council, not by returning his knighthood. Exam tip: Tagore gave up his knighthood in 1919; Gandhi returned the Kaiser-i-Hind medal in 1920.

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).

The correct answer is B, Nagasena. The Pali text Milindapanho, ‘The Questions of King Milinda’, records a long question-and-answer session between the Buddhist monk Nagasena and King Milinda. Milinda is the Indo-Greek king Menander I, who ruled in the second century BCE from Sakala, today’s Sialkot. Nagasena answers his doubts on the soul, rebirth and karma with simple examples; the best known is the chariot, which is only a name for its parts, just as a ‘self’ is only a name for changing parts. Buddhist tradition says Menander became a follower of the Buddha. Option A is wrong because Nagarjuna was the Mahayana thinker of about the second century CE who founded the Madhyamika school. Option C is wrong because Kumarila Bhatta was a Mimamsa philosopher of the seventh or eighth century who defended Vedic ritual. Option D is wrong because Nagabhata was a king, the founder of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, not a monk. Exam tip: Milinda = Menander (Indo-Greek, capital Sakala); his teacher in the text = Nagasena.

The correct answer is B, Rajagopalachari. C. Rajagopalachari, known as C.R. or Rajaji, drew up the formula in 1944 to end the Congress–League deadlock over Pakistan. Under the plan, the Muslim League would back the demand for independence and join the Congress in a provisional government. After the war, a commission would mark out the Muslim-majority districts of the north-west and east, and a plebiscite of all adults there would decide on separation. Gandhi used it as the basis of his talks with Jinnah in Bombay in September 1944, but Jinnah rejected it because he wanted the whole of Punjab and Bengal and a vote of Muslims alone. Option A is wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru did not draft this plan. Option C is wrong because Chittaranjan Das founded the Swaraj Party in 1923 and died in 1925, long before 1944. Option D is wrong because V. P. Menon drafted the June 1947 partition plan and later helped integrate the princely states. Exam tip: C.R. Formula 1944, Gandhi–Jinnah talks September 1944, Wavell Plan 1945.

The correct answer is C, Kharosthi. Kharosthi was written from right to left, like the Aramaic script from which it grew. It was the script of Gandhara in the north-west, now in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and was used roughly from the third century BCE to the third century CE, mostly for Prakrit. That is why two of Ashoka's major rock edicts, at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra, are in Kharosthi, while almost all his other edicts are in Brahmi. It spread along the Silk Road into Central Asia and then died out. Option A is wrong because Brahmi runs left to right and is the parent of Devanagari and most other Indian scripts. Option B is wrong because Sharada, the old script of Kashmir, grew out of Brahmi and is also written left to right. Option D is wrong because Nandinagari, a southern form of Nagari used for Sanskrit manuscripts, runs left to right as well. Exam tip: Kharosthi is the odd one out, right to left and found in the north-west; Brahmi is left to right and found almost everywhere else.

The correct answer is A, 1 and 4. Valmiki National Park and Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary are both in Bihar, while the other two are in other States. Valmiki National Park, with its tiger reserve, lies in West Champaran district in the far north-west of Bihar, along the Nepal border, where it adjoins Nepal's Chitwan National Park. It takes its name from the sage Valmiki, whose ashram is believed to have stood in this forest. Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary lies in Munger district in south Bihar and is known for its hot springs. Option B is wrong because both Dudhwa and Gajner are outside Bihar. Option C is wrong because Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary is near Bikaner in the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Option D is wrong because Dudhwa National Park is in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, famous for its swamp deer. Exam tip: Valmiki is in West Champaran in north Bihar, Bhimbandh in Munger in south Bihar; Dudhwa is Uttar Pradesh and Gajner is Rajasthan.

The correct answer is D, More than one of the above. Carbon dioxide, water vapour and CFCs are all greenhouse gases, because each of them traps the heat that the Earth gives off and warms the lower atmosphere. Water vapour is the most plentiful greenhouse gas in the air, while carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas is the main one that human activity keeps adding. CFCs, once used in refrigerators and aerosol sprays, do double damage: they trap heat and they also destroy the ozone layer, which is why the Montreal Protocol of 1987 phased them out. Methane and nitrous oxide are other important greenhouse gases. Option A is incomplete because carbon dioxide is only one of the gases listed that trap heat. Option B is incomplete because water vapour also traps heat but is not the only such gas here. Option C is incomplete because CFCs are greenhouse gases too, but so are the other two. Exam tip: the main greenhouse gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs.

The correct answer is B, Vitamin K. The liver needs vitamin K to make prothrombin and other clotting factors, so without it blood takes much longer to clot. The letter K comes from the German word Koagulation, which makes it easy to remember. Vitamin K1, or phylloquinone, comes from green leafy vegetables such as spinach, and bacteria in the large intestine also make a form of it. Newborn babies have very little vitamin K, which is why they are given a vitamin K injection at birth to prevent bleeding. A lack of it causes easy bruising and bleeding that does not stop. Option A is wrong because vitamin A, retinol, is needed for vision, and its lack causes night blindness. Option C is wrong because vitamin D, calciferol, helps absorb calcium, and its lack causes rickets. Option D is wrong because the B vitamins help release energy from food, and their lack causes diseases such as beriberi and pernicious anaemia. Exam tip: K for Koagulation; A for eyes, D for bones.

The correct answer is C, Vitamin C. Milk contains very little vitamin C, and what little there is gets destroyed further when milk is boiled. Milk is otherwise called a nearly complete food: it gives calcium and phosphorus for bones and teeth, good-quality protein, mainly casein, the sugar lactose, fat, and vitamins A, B2 and B12. Its two well-known gaps are vitamin C and iron. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, comes from fresh fruits such as amla, guava, lemon and orange, and a lack of it causes scurvy, with bleeding gums as the classic sign. Option A is wrong because milk is one of the richest everyday sources of calcium. Option B is wrong because milk supplies good protein, which is why it is advised for growing children. Option D is wrong because milk carries a carbohydrate of its own, lactose, the milk sugar. Exam tip: milk is poor in vitamin C and iron, and rich in calcium, protein and lactose.

The correct answer is C, amount of water in cells. Each stoma is surrounded by two guard cells, and the pore opens or closes as these cells gain or lose water. When water flows into the guard cells they swell and become turgid; because their inner walls are thicker than the outer walls, they curve outward and the pore between them opens. When they lose water they become flaccid, straighten and close the pore. The movement of potassium ions into and out of the guard cells drives this flow of water. Stomata are the tiny pores, mostly on the lower surface of leaves, through which plants take in carbon dioxide, give out oxygen and lose water vapour in transpiration. Option A is wrong because the position of the nucleus does not control the pore. Option B is wrong because the protein make-up of the cells does not change to open or shut the stomata. Option D is wrong because only one factor, the water content, is the cause here. Exam tip: turgid guard cells open the stoma, flaccid guard cells close it.

The correct answer is B, Al₂O₃ and ZnO. Aluminium oxide and zinc oxide behave like a base with acids and like an acid with bases, so both are amphoteric. With hydrochloric acid, aluminium oxide gives aluminium chloride and water. With sodium hydroxide, zinc oxide gives sodium zincate and water. The word amphoteric comes from the Greek for 'both', which is the easiest way to remember it. Most metal oxides are basic, while oxides of non-metals such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide are acidic. Other common amphoteric oxides are those of lead and tin. Option A is wrong because copper(II) oxide is a basic oxide; it reacts with acids but not with bases. Option C is wrong for the same reason, as it also pairs aluminium oxide with basic copper oxide. Option D is wrong because only one pair, B, has both oxides amphoteric. Exam tip: remember the amphoteric four as Al, Zn, Pb and Sn, that is aluminium, zinc, lead and tin.

The correct answer is C, Public Account of India. Money from National Savings Certificates belongs to the savers, not the government, so under Article 266(2) it is credited to the Public Account. The Public Account holds money that the government keeps as a banker or trustee, such as small savings, provident funds, deposits and remittances. Since the money has to be returned to its owners, it can be paid out by executive action without a vote of Parliament. Option A is wrong because the Consolidated Fund, under Article 266(1), receives the government's own revenues, the loans it raises and loan repayments, and nothing can be spent from it without Parliament's approval. Option B is wrong because the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund is a separate fund built from public donations, set up in 1948 to help people displaced by Partition. Option D is wrong because the Contingency Fund, under Article 267, is kept at the disposal of the President for urgent, unforeseen spending. Exam tip: Article 266(1) is the Consolidated Fund, 266(2) the Public Account, 267 the Contingency Fund.

The correct answer is A, Taxes. Fiscal policy is the government's use of taxation and public spending, so taxes are its main tool. In India, fiscal policy is run by the Union Government through the Ministry of Finance, and the Union Budget is its yearly statement. By raising or cutting taxes and spending, the government tries to steer growth, jobs and prices, and the gap between what it spends and what it earns is the fiscal deficit. Monetary policy is the other lever, and it belongs to the Reserve Bank of India, which works through money supply and credit. Option B is wrong because the Cash Reserve Ratio, the share of deposits banks must keep with the RBI, is a monetary tool. Option C is wrong because a credit ceiling, a limit on how much banks may lend, is a selective credit control used by the RBI. Option D is wrong because the Bank Rate, at which the RBI lends to banks, is also a monetary tool. Exam tip: fiscal means the Finance Ministry's taxes and spending; monetary means the RBI's rates and ratios.

The correct answer is D, Kosi - Magadh. Neither the Kosi division nor the Magadh division touches the Ganga, while every other division named in the options does. The Ganga enters Bihar near Chausa in Buxar, where the Karmanasa meets it, and flows west to east, splitting the State into North Bihar and South Bihar. The Kosi division, with Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura, lies well north of the river and is drained by the Kosi. The Magadh division, with Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad, Jehanabad and Arwal, lies to the south on the plateau edge and is drained by rivers such as the Phalgu and the Punpun. Option A is wrong because the Ganga touches Samastipur in Darbhanga division and flows past Munger. Option B is wrong because the Ganga flows through Bhagalpur and along Katihar in Purnea division. Option C is wrong because the Ganga touches Vaishali in Tirhut division and Saran district in Saran division. Exam tip: Kosi is north of the Ganga's reach and Magadh is south of it, so neither division sits on the river.

The correct answer is B, North Atlantic Ocean. The Sargasso Sea lies in the middle of the North Atlantic and is the only sea in the world with no coastline. Instead of land, it is bounded by four ocean currents that circle clockwise around it: the Gulf Stream on the west, the North Atlantic Current on the north, the Canary Current on the east and the North Atlantic Equatorial Current on the south. Because it sits in the calm centre of this gyre, its water is warm, clear and very salty. It is named after sargassum, a brown seaweed that floats on its surface in huge mats, and it is the breeding ground of the American and European eels. Option A is wrong because the Arctic Ocean lies around the North Pole, far from this sea. Option C is wrong because the Sargasso Sea is north of the equator, not in the South Atlantic. Option D is wrong because the Indian Ocean is on the other side of Africa. Exam tip: Sargasso Sea means North Atlantic, no coastline, walled by currents, named after floating seaweed.

The correct answer is C, West Champaran. Piedmont swamp soil is found only in the north-western part of West Champaran, at the foot of the Someshwar hills. Piedmont means 'at the foot of the mountain': streams coming down the hills slow down on the flat land below, and the ground stays wet and marshy, which gives this soil its name. The same corner of the district holds Valmiki National Park and Someshwar fort, the highest point in Bihar. Just to the east, a strip of Terai soil runs along the Nepal border, while most of the Bihar plain is covered by alluvial soil laid down by the Ganga and its tributaries. Option A is wrong because Madhubani, in the Mithila plain, has alluvial soil with a Terai strip in the north. Option B is wrong because Bhagalpur, on the Ganga in east Bihar, has alluvial soil. Option D is wrong because this soil occurs in only one district. Exam tip: piedmont swamp soil means West Champaran, below the Someshwar hills.

The correct answer is A, Mohana and Lilajan rivers. The Lilajan and the Mohana meet a few kilometres below Bodh Gaya, and from there the combined stream is called the Phalgu. The Lilajan is the old Niranjana, on whose bank the Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. The Phalgu then flows past the city of Gaya, where the Vishnupad temple stands on its bank and Hindus offer pind-daan to their ancestors. For much of the year its bed looks like dry sand, with water flowing beneath it, so it is often called an underground river. Option B is wrong because the Son is a large separate tributary of the Ganga that rises at Amarkantak and joins the Ganga near Patna. Option C is wrong for the same reason, as the Son plays no part in forming the Phalgu. Option D is wrong because only one pair, the Lilajan and the Mohana, forms it. Exam tip: Lilajan plus Mohana make the Phalgu, flowing from Bodh Gaya to Gaya.

The correct answer is A, Borneo. Of the four islands listed, Borneo has the largest area; it is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. The world's top islands by area run Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, Baffin and Sumatra, with Australia counted as a continent rather than an island. Borneo lies in South-East Asia and is the only island shared by three countries: Indonesia, whose part is called Kalimantan, Malaysia, with Sabah and Sarawak, and the small nation of Brunei. Option B is wrong because Great Britain, though the largest island in Europe, ranks only around ninth in the world. Option C is wrong because Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, is the fourth-largest, just behind Borneo. Option D is wrong because Sumatra, also in Indonesia, is sixth, well behind Borneo. Exam tip: remember the top four as Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, and that Borneo belongs to three countries.

The correct answer is D, More than one of the above. The Rajya Sabha has both members nominated by the President and members elected indirectly, so statements A and C are both true. Under Article 80, the House can have at most 250 members. Twelve are nominated by the President from people with special knowledge of literature, science, art and social service. The rest, up to 238, represent the States and Union Territories and are chosen by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies, using proportional representation by the single transferable vote. No member of the Rajya Sabha is elected directly by the people, and the House is never dissolved; one-third of its members retire every second year. Option A is incomplete because nominated members are only twelve of the House. Option B is wrong because there is no direct election to the Rajya Sabha at all. Option C is incomplete because it leaves out the twelve nominated members. Exam tip: Rajya Sabha means 250 at most, 12 nominated, the rest elected by MLAs, none by the people directly.