Rajasthan 2023 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

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 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 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 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, 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, Vigraharaj IV. Vigraharaja IV, also known as Visaladeva or Bisaldev, ruled the Chauhan kingdom of Shakambhari and Ajmer in the middle of the 12th century. He took Delhi from the Tomaras, and his inscription of 1164 on the Delhi-Topra Ashokan pillar records his wide conquests. He was also a scholar-king: he wrote the Sanskrit play Harakeli Nataka and built a Sanskrit college at Ajmer, which was later turned into the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque. The court poet Somadeva wrote the play Lalit Vigraharaj in his honour, and Bisalpur in Tonk is linked with his name. Option B is wrong because Arnoraja, his father, is remembered for building the Anasagar lake at Ajmer after defeating the Turks. Option C is wrong because Ajayaraja founded the city of Ajmer, then called Ajayameru. Option D is wrong because Prithviraj III, the famous Prithviraj Chauhan, came later and inherited Delhi rather than first conquering it. Exam tip: Ajayaraja founded Ajmer, Arnoraja built Anasagar, Vigraharaja IV won Delhi.

The correct answer is C, Panch Mahal. The Panch Mahal is a five-storeyed open pavilion in which each floor is smaller than the one below, ending in a single domed kiosk at the top. This stepped, pyramid-like plan recalls the Buddhist vihara, which is why it is described as following Buddhist architecture. It stands on 176 carved pillars and has no walls on its floors, so it catches the breeze, and it was used by the royal ladies for leisure and to watch the palace courtyards. The mix of Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic styles in Fatehpur Sikri reflects Akbar's open-minded taste. Option A is wrong because Shaikh Salim Chishti's tomb is a white marble Sufi shrine famous for its fine stone screens, or jalis. Option B is wrong because the Buland Darwaza is a huge gateway built to mark Akbar's conquest of Gujarat. Option D is wrong because the Turkish Sultana's palace is a small pavilion known for the rich carving on its walls, not for a Buddhist plan. Exam tip: Panch Mahal = five storeys, Buddhist vihara style; Buland Darwaza = Gujarat victory.

The correct answer is D, 1905. Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in Pune on 12 June 1905. Its members took a vow to serve the country for life on a modest allowance, and they worked in education, famine relief, the uplift of backward classes and public life. Gokhale was a leading Moderate in the Congress; he presided over its Benares session in 1905, and Gandhi regarded him as his political guru. After Gokhale's death in 1915, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri led the society. The year is easy to fix because 1905 was also the year of the Partition of Bengal. Option A is wrong because 1907 was the year of the Surat split, when the Congress divided into Moderates and Extremists. Option B is wrong because 1906 saw the founding of the Muslim League at Dhaka. Option C is wrong because 1904 was the year of the Indian Universities Act passed under Lord Curzon. Exam tip: Servants of India Society, Pune, 1905, founded by Gokhale, Gandhi's political guru.

The correct answer is C, Vakataka Dynasty. Chandragupta II married his daughter Prabhavatigupta to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, whose kingdom lay in the Deccan, south of the Gupta lands. When Rudrasena died young, Prabhavati ruled as regent for her minor sons, so the Guptas had a friendly power guarding their southern flank. This alliance helped Chandragupta II in his campaign against the Shaka Kshatrapas of western India, whom he defeated to win Gujarat and Malwa. Her copper-plate grants, such as the Poona plates, are an important source for this period. Option A is wrong because the Lichchhavi link belongs to Chandragupta I, who married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi. Option B is wrong because the Kadambas of Karnataka claimed marriage ties with the Guptas, but Prabhavati was not married into that family. Option D is wrong because the Naga link is Chandragupta II's own marriage to the Naga princess Kuberanaga, who was Prabhavati's mother. Exam tip: Kumaradevi (Lichchhavi) with Chandragupta I; Prabhavati to the Vakatakas under Chandragupta II.

The correct answer is C, Jagatpati Joshi. Surkotada, a Harappan site in the Kutch district of Gujarat, was discovered by the archaeologist Jagatpati Joshi in 1964, and he later excavated it in 1971-72. The site is best known for bones identified as those of the horse, a rare claim for a Harappan settlement, and for its fortified citadel and residential area built with stone and mud-brick. Joshi also discovered Dholavira in Kutch in 1967-68, the great Harappan city that was later excavated by R. S. Bisht. Option A is wrong because S. R. Rao is known for excavating Lothal, the Harappan dockyard town in Gujarat. Option B is wrong because B. B. Lal is linked with the excavation of Kalibangan in Rajasthan, along with B. K. Thapar. Option D is wrong because Y. D. Sharma is associated with the excavation of Ropar (Rupnagar) in Punjab. Exam tip: Kutch sites Surkotada and Dholavira were both found by Jagatpati Joshi; Lothal belongs to S. R. Rao; Kalibangan to Lal and Thapar.