UPSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is B, 2 and 3 only. Shakyamuni and Tathagata are titles of the Buddha, while Nayaputta is a name of Mahavira. Shakyamuni means 'the sage of the Shakyas', the clan of Kapilavastu into which Siddhartha was born. Tathagata means 'the one who has thus gone', and the Buddha used it for himself in the Pali texts. Nayaputta (Nataputta) means 'son of the Naya or Jnatrika clan', and Buddhist texts call Mahavira Nigantha Nataputta. Option A is wrong because Nayaputta is the one name in the list that does not belong to the Buddha. Option C is wrong because it adds Nayaputta to the two real epithets. Option D is wrong because two of the three names are genuine epithets of the Buddha. Other titles of the Buddha include Sugata and Bhagavat, while Mahavira is also called Jina and Vardhamana. Exam tip: Shakyamuni and Tathagata for the Buddha, Nigantha Nataputta for Mahavira.

The correct answer is B, 2 and 3 only. Goa was taken from Bijapur and the Madras site came from a Vijayanagara Nayak, but the Dutch did not get their east coast land from the Gajapatis. Albuquerque captured Goa in 1510 from the Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur, and it became the centre of Portuguese power in the East. In 1639 Francis Day obtained the site of Madras from Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, a local chief under the Vijayanagara ruler, and Fort St. George was built there. Statement 1 is wrong because the Dutch set up their east coast factories, such as Masulipatnam (1605) and Pulicat (1610), with grants from the Golconda Sultanate and from Vijayanagara and its Nayaks, long after Gajapati power in Odisha had ended. So A, C and D, which include statement 1, are wrong. Exam tip: Goa 1510 from Bijapur, Madras 1639 from a Vijayanagara Nayak, the Dutch at Masulipatnam and Pulicat.

The correct answer is A, Dholavira. This Harappan city in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, is famous for its dams, channels and chain of stone reservoirs. Dholavira stands on Khadir Bet island between two seasonal streams, the Manhar and the Mansar. Its people built check dams across the streams, led the water through channels and stored it in large rock-cut reservoirs around the city, a clever answer to a very dry climate. The site, excavated by R.S. Bisht, also has a signboard of ten large Harappan letters, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. Option B is wrong because Kalibangan in Rajasthan is known for its ploughed field and fire altars. Option C is wrong because Rakhigarhi in Haryana is known as one of the largest Harappan sites, not for water works. Option D is wrong because Ropar in Punjab is known for a burial of a dog with its master. Exam tip: Dholavira means reservoirs and a signboard; Lothal means a dockyard.

The correct answer is C, Bahadur Shah. The Sultan of Gujarat let the Portuguese take Diu in return for their help against the Mughal emperor Humayun. By the Treaty of Bassein (1534) Bahadur Shah handed Bassein to the Portuguese, and in 1535, with Humayun invading Gujarat, he allowed them to build a fort at Diu. Relations soon turned sour, and Bahadur Shah was killed in 1537 on a Portuguese ship off Diu. The Portuguese then held Diu, along with Daman and Goa, until India took them back in December 1961 through Operation Vijay. Option A is wrong because Ahmad Shah I founded Ahmedabad in the fifteenth century, long before the Portuguese arrived. Option B is wrong because Mahmud Begarha fought the Portuguese, joining the Egyptian fleet at Chaul (1508) and losing the Battle of Diu (1509). Option D is wrong because Muhammad Shah is not linked with the grant of Diu. Exam tip: Bahadur Shah, the Humayun threat, Diu fort to the Portuguese in 1535.

The correct answer is D, The Charter Act of 1833. This Act turned the Governor-General of Bengal into the Governor-General of India, with full civil and military powers over all British territory in India. Lord William Bentinck became the first Governor-General of India under it. The Act was the high point of centralisation: it took away the law-making powers of the Bombay and Madras governments, ended the East India Company's commercial activities so that it became a purely administrative body, and added a Law Member, Macaulay, to the Governor-General's Council. Option A is wrong because the Regulating Act of 1773 created the post of Governor-General of Bengal, first held by Warren Hastings. Option B is wrong because Pitt's India Act of 1784 set up the Board of Control and the system of dual control. Option C is wrong because the Charter Act of 1793 mainly renewed the Company's charter for twenty years. Exam tip: 1773 Governor-General of Bengal (Hastings), 1833 Governor-General of India (Bentinck), 1858 Viceroy (Canning).

The correct answer is C, 1 and 3 only. Article 85 lets the President summon each House 'at such time and place as he thinks fit', and no article fixes a minimum number of sitting days. The only rule in Article 85(1) is that the gap between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next must not exceed six months, so Parliament has to meet at least twice a year. The President summons, prorogues and dissolves on the advice of the Council of Ministers. Statement 2 is wrong because the Constitution does not mention three sessions at all; the Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions are only a convention. Statement 1 is right because Article 85 gives the President the choice of place as well as time. Statement 3 is right because no minimum is laid down, which is why the NCRWC (2002) suggested at least 120 sitting days a year for the Lok Sabha. So A, B and D are wrong. Exam tip: Article 85, six-month maximum gap, three sessions by convention only.

The correct answer is A, 1st Amendment. It was passed in 1951 to undo court rulings that had used Fundamental Rights to strike down land reform and other laws. Courts had set aside zamindari abolition laws under the right to property, and in Romesh Thappar (1950) had read free speech very widely. The First Amendment Act, 1951 added the Ninth Schedule and Articles 31A and 31B to shield land reform laws, added 'public order', 'friendly relations with foreign States' and 'incitement to an offence' to Article 19(2), and added Article 15(4) for backward classes after the Champakam Dorairajan case. It was passed by the Provisional Parliament under Nehru. Option B is wrong because the 42nd Amendment of 1976 is known for 'socialist', 'secular' and the Fundamental Duties. Option C is wrong because the 44th Amendment of 1978 mainly undid Emergency excesses and removed property from Part III. Option D is wrong because the 86th Amendment of 2002 added Article 21A, the right to education. Exam tip: 1st Amendment, 1951, Ninth Schedule and Article 15(4).

The correct answer is C, the lower court prohibiting continuation of proceedings in a case. Prohibition is issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal to stop it from acting beyond its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court issues writs under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226. Prohibition is preventive: it comes while the case is still pending and stops the lower court from going ahead. Its partner, certiorari, is corrective, because it quashes an order already passed without jurisdiction. Both lie only against judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, never against legislatures or private persons. Option A is wrong because commands to government officers come through mandamus, and prohibition is not issued to administrative authorities. Option B is wrong because no writ can direct a legislature to pass a law. Option D is wrong because it describes no writ; a policy is tested through judicial review. Exam tip: prohibition stops a case midway, certiorari cancels the order after it is made.

The correct answer is D, Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha. As the oldest member, he chaired the Constituent Assembly as its temporary President at its first sitting. The Assembly first met on 9 December 1946 in the Constitution Hall, now the Central Hall of Parliament, and Sinha took the chair following the French practice of letting the senior-most member preside. On 11 December 1946 Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent President, with H.C. Mukherjee as Vice-President. Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution two days later, on 13 December 1946. Option A is wrong because C. Rajagopalachari was a member and later Governor-General, not the provisional chair. Option B is wrong because Dr. B.R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee, set up on 29 August 1947. Option C is wrong because T.T. Krishnamachari was a member of the Drafting Committee. Exam tip: 9 December 1946 first sitting under Sinha, 11 December 1946 Rajendra Prasad elected President.

The correct answer is B, Legal right available to any person. Since 1978 property is a constitutional right under Article 300A, and it protects every person, not only citizens. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 deleted Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 from Part III and added Article 300A, which says no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. So the State can take property only through a valid law, and a company or a foreigner can also claim this protection. Because it is outside Part III, a person cannot go straight to the Supreme Court under Article 32 for it; the remedy is the High Court under Article 226 or an ordinary suit. Option A is wrong because the word 'person' in Article 300A covers non-citizens too. Option C is wrong because property stopped being a Fundamental Right in 1978. Option D is wrong because it is still a constitutional and legal right. Exam tip: 44th Amendment, property moved from Part III to Article 300A in Part XII.

The correct answer is C, Article 21. The Supreme Court has read privacy into the right to life and personal liberty. In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge bench unanimously held that privacy is a fundamental right, protected mainly as part of Article 21 and also by the other freedoms in Part III. The same bench overruled the older rulings in M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962), which had said the Constitution gives no right to privacy. The case began as a challenge to the Aadhaar scheme, which makes it easy to remember. Option A is wrong because Article 15 bars discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Option B is wrong because Article 19 lists six freedoms such as speech and movement, and privacy is not one of them. Option D is wrong because Article 29 protects the language, script and culture of minorities. Exam tip: privacy, like shelter, health and a speedy trial, is a right the courts have read into Article 21.

The correct answer is Participation of workers in the management of industries. The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 inserted Article 43A, which asks the State to take steps, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to secure the participation of workers in the management of undertakings and industrial establishments. The same amendment added Article 39A (free legal aid) and Article 48A (environment) and rewrote Article 39(f) on the healthy development of children.

The three other options are Directive Principles that were in the Constitution from the start, in 1950, which is exactly what makes the question hard. Equal pay for equal work for men and women is Article 39(d). The right to work, to education and to public assistance in unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement is Article 41. A living wage and humane conditions of work are Articles 43 and 42. The quickest check is the letter: the Directive Principles added later carry a letter after the number (39A, 43A, 43B, 48A), while the original ones do not.