Rajasthan 2019 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is C, 949, 929. Census 2011 put the rural sex ratio at 949 females per thousand males and the urban sex ratio at 929, while the figure for the country as a whole was 943, the highest since 1951. The sex ratio is lower in towns and cities mainly because men move there for work and leave their families behind in the village. Two other numbers from the same census are worth fixing: the child sex ratio in the age group 0 to 6 years fell to 919, the lowest since independence, and Kerala had the best state ratio at 1084 while Haryana had the lowest at 879. A, B and D are wrong because they misstate both halves of the pair; no census has recorded a rural figure of 969, 959 or 939 with the urban figure shown against it. Exam tip: Census 2011 sex ratio, total 943, rural 949, urban 929, child 919.

The correct answer is C, Between 40 degrees S and 50 degrees S latitudes. The Roaring Forties are the strong westerly winds of the southern hemisphere between about 40 and 50 degrees south. They blow with such force because there is almost no land in that belt to slow them down, so sailing ships once used them on the route to Australia. Further south the same westerlies are called the Furious Fifties, between 50 and 60 degrees, and the Shrieking or Screaming Sixties beyond 60 degrees. A is wrong because that belt holds the south-east trade winds and the subtropical high. B is wrong because the matching northern latitudes have large landmasses, so the winds there are weaker and are not given this name. D is wrong because the equatorial belt is the doldrums, a zone of calm and rising air. Exam tip: Roaring Forties 40-50 S, Furious Fifties 50-60 S, Shrieking Sixties beyond 60 S.

The correct answer is B, Belgrade. The first summit of the Non-Aligned Movement met at Belgrade, then the capital of Yugoslavia, in September 1961, and twenty-five countries took part. The movement grew out of the wish of newly free nations to stay out of the two Cold War blocs, and its founders were Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sukarno of Indonesia and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Its guiding ideas were peaceful coexistence, an end to colonialism and disarmament. A is wrong because Bandung in Indonesia hosted the Afro-Asian Conference of 1955, which prepared the ground but was not a NAM summit. C is wrong because Cairo hosted the second summit in 1964. D is wrong because Jakarta hosted the tenth summit, in 1992. Exam tip: remember the order, Bandung 1955 then the first NAM summit at Belgrade in 1961.

The correct answer is A, Rill erosion. Water erosion of soil moves through a fixed sequence: raindrops first loosen the soil, that is splash erosion; the water then takes off a thin even layer of topsoil, which is sheet erosion; the flow soon gathers into small finger-like channels called rills; and when those rills are cut deeper and wider by running water until a plough can no longer cross them, they become gullies. So a gully is a grown up rill, the advanced stage of rill erosion. The ravines along the Chambal in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are the classic Indian example of badlands made by gully erosion. B is wrong because splash erosion is the first step, the impact of raindrops. C is wrong because sheet erosion comes before rills and removes soil in a uniform layer. D is wrong because wind erosion is a separate agent that lifts dry loose soil, not the parent of a gully. Exam tip: splash, then sheet, then rill, then gully.

The correct answer is A, Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha, whose botanical name is Withania somnifera, is called winter cherry in English because of the small red berry it bears inside a papery cover; it is also called Indian ginseng. The part used is the root, which in Ayurveda is given as a tonic for weakness, stress and sleeplessness, and the plant's Sanskrit name comes from the horse-like smell of the fresh root. It is a hardy shrub of dry regions, so Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are the main growing states; the Nagauri type from Nagaur in Rajasthan and the crop around Mandsaur and Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh are the best known. B is wrong because rose is an ornamental and perfume crop, not a winter cherry. C is wrong because lily is a garden flower grown from bulbs. D is wrong because chandni is an ornamental flowering shrub grown for its white flowers. Exam tip: Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera, winter cherry or Indian ginseng, root used.

The correct answer is B, Muskmelon. Durgapura Madhu is a muskmelon variety, and it takes its name from the Durgapura research farm of the agricultural research institute at Jaipur in Rajasthan, where it was developed. Hot dry summers and light sandy soils suit melons, so Rajasthan grows them on river beds and in field plots as a summer crop, and Durgapura has released a small family of melon varieties that carry the farm's name, Durgapura Madhu and Durgapura Meetha among them. Madhu is grown for its sweet flesh and is popular in the Jaipur, Tonk and Bharatpur belt. State exams usually ask such questions the other way round too, pairing a variety with its crop, so the name itself is the clue to learn. A is wrong because watermelon is a separate crop with its own varieties such as Sugar Baby and Arka Manik. C is wrong because rose is a flower crop. D is wrong because cucumber varieties, like Poona Khira, carry other names. Exam tip: Durgapura Madhu and Durgapura Meetha are muskmelon varieties from Durgapura, Jaipur.

The correct answer is C, Guava. Guava is the classic jam fruit because it is rich in both pectin and acid, the two things a jam needs to set into a firm gel. Jam is made by boiling fruit pulp with sugar until the mixture reaches about 68 per cent soluble solids; without enough pectin it stays syrupy and never sets. Ripe guava carries close to one per cent pectin, so guava jam sets without any added gelling agent, and its strong aroma survives the boiling. Option A, banana, has very little pectin, and its pulp darkens and turns pasty on cooking, so it goes into chips, powder and puree. Option B, pineapple, is low in pectin and high in water, which is why it is preferred for squash, juice and slices in syrup. Option D, sweet orange, is low in acid and its segments break down, so oranges are used for squash and marmalade. Exam tip: jam needs pectin plus acid — guava, apple and aonla are the standard pectin-rich fruits.

The correct answer is B, Article 200. When a bill passed by a state legislature is presented to the Governor, Article 200 gives four courses: give assent, withhold assent, return the bill for reconsideration if it is not a money bill, or reserve it for the consideration of the President. Reservation is compulsory in one case, where the bill would take away the powers of the High Court, and is otherwise left to the Governor, for example when a bill clashes with a central law or touches a subject in which the Union has an interest. Option C, Article 201, is the next step and not the answer: it says what the President does with a bill so reserved, and the state legislature cannot overrule that decision. Option A, Article 169, deals with the creation or abolition of a legislative council in a state. Option D, Article 257, is about the control of the Union over states in certain matters. Exam tip: 200 reserves the bill, 201 decides it.