WBCS Main Examination 2023 — Paper III: General Studies I

Answer: (A) 200 years

The Tripartite Struggle for control of Kannauj between the Palas, the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas ran from the late 8th century to the early 10th century, roughly 200 years. It outlasted 50 or 100 years by far and ended well before 400 years, as all three powers had declined by the 10th century.

Answer: (D) Lord Cornwallis

The Sunset Law was part of Lord Cornwallis's Permanent Settlement of 1793: a zamindar who failed to pay the fixed revenue by sunset on the due date had his estate auctioned. Lytton, Ripon and Bentinck were later Governors-General and had nothing to do with this rule.

Answer: (A) Sivaji and Jay Singh.

In 1665 Shivaji, besieged at Purandar, signed a treaty with Raja Jai Singh of Amber, Aurangzeb's commander, surrendering 23 forts. The 1776 Treaty of Purandar between the Company and the Marathas is a different treaty, and Tipu and Ranjit Singh signed no treaty at Purandar.

Answer: (B) 1498

Vasco da Gama reached Calicut (Kozhikode) in May 1498 after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. He had set sail from Lisbon in 1497, which is the tempting wrong option; 1757 is the Battle of Plassey and 1598 has no link to his voyage.

Answer: (B) the Cholas

The Chola kingdom was divided into mandalams (provinces), which were subdivided into valanadus and nadus, with villages run by assemblies like the ur and sabha. This layered administrative system is the classic feature of the Cholas, not of the Pallavas, Pandyas or Rashtrakutas.

Answer: (C) Madras

The Ryotwari System, settling revenue directly with each cultivator, was first introduced in the Madras Presidency (Baramahal) by Alexander Read and Thomas Munro in the 1790s–1820. Bengal had the Permanent Settlement, and the Delhi region came under the Mahalwari System.

Answer: (C) Amir Khusrau

Amir Khusrau, the poet and musician of the Delhi Sultanate, was called Tuti-e-Hind, the ‘Parrot of India’, for the sweetness of his verse. Tansen was a musician at Akbar's court, Surdas a Bhakti poet, and Abul Fazal Akbar's historian.

Answer: (D) Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb took the title Alamgir (‘conqueror of the world’) on his accession in 1658. Jahangir's own name means ‘conqueror of the world’ too, which makes it the tempting option, but the title Alamgir belongs to Aurangzeb.

Answer: (A) Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru presided over the Lahore session of December 1929, which adopted Purna Swaraj as the goal and hoisted the tricolour on the Ravi. Ananda Mohan Bose and R. C. Dutt presided over sessions in the 1890s, and Subhas Bose presided at Haripura (1938) and Tripuri (1939).

Answer: (A) The Rig Veda.

The Dasarajna or Battle of Ten Kings, in which Sudas of the Bharata tribe defeated a confederacy on the Parushni (Ravi), is described in the seventh mandala of the Rig Veda. The Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas contain no account of this battle.

Answer: (B) The Nizam of Hyderabad

The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to sign Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance, in 1798. The Nawab of Awadh followed in 1801 and the Peshwa (Baji Rao II, not Balaji Baji Rao) in 1802 by the Treaty of Bassein.

Answer: (A) Kalhana

Kalhana, a 12th-century Kashmiri poet, wrote the Rajatarangini, a verse chronicle of the kings of Kashmir. Bilhana wrote the Vikramankadevacharita, Banabhatta the Harshacharita, and Ashvaghosha the Buddhacharita.

Answer: (D) Shah Alam II

After the Battle of Buxar, Shah Alam II granted the Company the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765. Farrukhsiyar's farman of 1717 gave only trade privileges, which makes it the tempting wrong option.

Answer: (A) Aurangzeb

Akbar abolished the jizya in 1564, and Aurangzeb reimposed it on non-Muslims in 1679. Jahangir and Shah Jahan did not reimpose it, and Bahadur Shah came after Aurangzeb.

Answer: (C) Nanda

Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the last Nanda king, Dhana Nanda, around 321 BCE, so the Nandas ruled Magadha immediately before the Mauryas. The Sungas and Kanvas came after the Mauryas, and the Satavahanas ruled the Deccan.

Answer: (A) 1931

The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931, suspending the Civil Disobedience Movement so that Gandhi could attend the Second Round Table Conference. 1930 is when the Dandi March began, 1915 is Gandhi's return from South Africa and 1919 the Rowlatt Satyagraha.

Answer: (A) Sir Henry lawrence

The Cabinet Mission of 1946 had three members: Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander. Sir Henry Lawrence was a 19th-century administrator who died defending Lucknow in 1857, so he is the one who was not a member.

Answer: (A) 1800

Lord Wellesley founded Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800 to train Company civil servants in Indian languages. The other years are later; the college had in fact been wound down by the 1850s.

Answer: (A) Harshavardhana

King Harshavardhana of Kannauj wrote three Sanskrit plays: Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika. Kanishka, Samudragupta and Chandragupta II were patrons of learning but are not credited with these plays.

Answer: (B) C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru.

C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru founded the Swaraj Party on 1 January 1923 to contest council elections after the Non-Cooperation Movement ended. Tilak had died in 1920, and Patel was among the ‘no-changers’ who opposed council entry.

Answer: (B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded the Indian Home Rule League at Belgaum in April 1916, alongside Annie Besant's league. Aurobindo had withdrawn to Pondicherry by then, and Gandhi and Malaviya were not its organisers.

Answer: (B) Abul Fazal.

The Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar's reign whose third volume is the Ain-i-Akbari, was written by Abul Fazl. Faizi was his brother and a court poet, Bairam Khan was Akbar's regent, and Akbar himself did not write it.

Answer: (C) Rowlatt Act of 1919

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 allowed detention without trial, and Gandhi called it the ‘Black Act’, launching the Rowlatt Satyagraha against it. The Vernacular Press Act was dubbed the ‘gagging Act’, and the Government of India Act 1919 brought the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms.

Answer: (A) Dhanananda

When Alexander invaded north-west India in 326 BCE, Magadha was ruled by Dhana Nanda, the last Nanda king. Puru (Porus) and Ambhi of Taxila were rulers in the Punjab, and Chandragupta Maurya came to power only a few years later.

Answer: (B) 1829

Lord William Bentinck's Regulation XVII of 1829, backed by Raja Rammohun Roy, made sati illegal. 1856 is the year of the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, a frequent confusion, and 1729 and 1929 are unrelated.

Answer: (A) Asvaghosa

The Buddhacharita, a Sanskrit epic poem on the life of the Buddha, was written by Ashvaghosha, who is associated with Kanishka's court. Vasumitra presided over the Fourth Buddhist Council and Nagasena is the monk of the Milindapanha, so ‘None of the above’ does not apply.

Answer: (D) A. O. Hume

Allan Octavian Hume, a retired civil servant, took the initiative to found the Indian National Congress, whose first session met in Bombay in December 1885. Dadabhai Naoroji was an early leader and later president, Gandhi joined the movement much later, and Lord Hardinge was a Viceroy.

Answer: (A) 1911

The transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi was announced by King George V at the Delhi Durbar of December 1911, the same occasion on which the Partition of Bengal was annulled. 1906, 1910 and 1915 are not linked to this decision.

Answer: (D) On the eve of the Quit India movement

Gandhi gave the call ‘Do or Die’ in his speech at Gowalia Tank, Bombay, on 8 August 1942, when the Congress passed the Quit India resolution. The non-cooperation, civil disobedience and Rowlatt campaigns came earlier and had no such slogan.

No option is correct as printed — this question is disputed. WBPSC awarded the mark to all candidates: two options are correct — Chandragupta II and Skandagupta both used the title Vikramaditya.

The question has two correct options: Chandragupta II is best known as Vikramaditya, but Skandagupta also used the title Vikramaditya on his coins. Because both (C) and (D) are correct, the Commission awarded the mark to all candidates; Chandragupta I and Samudragupta did not bear this title. PSC AWARDED TO ALL: two options are correct — Chandragupta II and Skandagupta both used the title Vikramaditya.

Answer: (C) The Satavahanas

The Nasik inscription of Gautami Balashri describes the achievements of her son Gautamiputra Satakarni, the greatest Satavahana ruler. The Vakatakas, Rashtrakutas and Guptas are known from other records, not from this prashasti.

Answer: (B) Raja Rammohan Roy

Raja Rammohun Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in Calcutta in 1828, which became the Brahmo Samaj. Dayananda founded the Arya Samaj, Vivekananda the Ramakrishna Mission, and Ranade was associated with the Prarthana Samaj.

Answer: (A) Bengal

The Indigo Rebellion of 1859–60 broke out in Bengal (Nadia, Jessore and nearby districts), where ryots refused to grow indigo for European planters. It was not centred in Andhra, Maharashtra or Kerala.

Answer: (C) Surendranath Bandopadhyay.

The Bengalee is identified with Surendranath Banerjea, who took it over in 1879 and made it a leading nationalist daily. W. C. Bonnerjee, Bankim Chandra (who edited Bangadarshan) and Nabagopal Mitra (of the Hindu Mela) were not associated with it. the Bengalee was started in 1862 by Girish Chandra Ghosh and taken over by Surendranath Banerjea in 1879.

Answer: (C) Digambar Biswas

Digambar Biswas and Bishnucharan Biswas of Nadia led the Indigo Revolt of 1859–60. Dudu Miyan led the Faraizi movement, Titumir the Wahabi-inspired revolt at Barasat, and Kanhu Murmu the Santhal rebellion.

Answer: (A) Lord Canning

After the Government of India Act 1858 transferred power to the Crown, Lord Canning became the first Viceroy. Mountbatten was the last Viceroy, Clive was Governor of Bengal, and Auckland was Governor-General before 1858.

Answer: (A) Sindhu Murmu

The Santhal Hul of 1855–56 was led by the brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu. Birsa Munda led the Munda Ulgulan of 1899–1900, Bishnucharan Biswas the Indigo revolt, and Jyotiba Phule was a social reformer.

Answer: (A) Indian National Congress and Muslim League.

By the Lucknow Pact of 1916 the Congress and the Muslim League agreed on joint demands for reform, with the Congress accepting separate electorates. The Moderates and Extremists did reunite at the same Lucknow session, which makes (D) tempting, but the Pact itself was between the Congress and the League.

Answer: (B) the Marathas.

By the Treaty of Bassein (1802), Peshwa Baji Rao II accepted the Subsidiary Alliance with the English East India Company, which led to the Second Anglo-Maratha War. The Nizam had signed in 1798, Tipu had died in 1799, and the Sikhs signed no such treaty.

Answer: (A) 1817

Hindu College was founded in Calcutta in 1817 by David Hare, Raja Radhakanta Deb and others, and later became Presidency College. 1858 and 1885 are the years of Crown rule and the founding of the Congress respectively.

Answer: (A) Sir Thomas Roe

Sir Thomas Roe was James I's ambassador at Jahangir's court from 1615 to 1619 and obtained trading rights for the English. Ibn Battuta visited Muhammad bin Tughlaq, while Nuniz and Paes were Portuguese visitors to Vijayanagara.

Answer: (B) Indra

In the Rig Veda Indra is called Purandara, ‘destroyer of forts’, for breaking the strongholds of his enemies. Varuna is the guardian of cosmic order (rita), Agni the god of fire, and Shiva does not appear under this title.

Answer: (B) Surendranath Banerjee

The Indian Association was founded in Calcutta in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjea with Ananda Mohan Bose. Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal were later Extremist leaders, and Surya Sen led the Chittagong armoury raid.

Answer: (A) Lord Canning

Lord Canning was Governor-General when the revolt broke out in 1857 and became the first Viceroy in 1858. Cornwallis served in the 1780s–1800s, and Curzon and Minto came decades later.

Answer: (A) Junagarh inscription

The Junagadh (Girnar) rock inscription of 150 CE, in Sanskrit, records the Saka ruler Rudradaman's repair of the Sudarshana lake. The Aihole inscription is of Pulakeshin II, the Allahabad Pillar of Samudragupta, and the Bhitari Pillar of Skandagupta.

Answer: (B) Pataliputra

Pataliputra (modern Patna) was the Mauryan capital, described by Megasthenes in his Indica. Ujjain was a provincial seat, Amaravati was a Satavahana-era centre, and Kannauj rose to prominence under Harsha.

Answer: (A) Badruddin Tyabji

Badruddin Tyabji presided over the third session of the Congress at Madras in 1887, becoming its first Muslim President. Hakim Ajmal Khan (1921) and Maulana Azad (1923, 1940) presided later, and Jinnah never presided over the Congress.

Answer: (B) 1928

The Simon Commission, appointed in 1927, arrived in India in February 1928 and was met with ‘Simon Go Back’ protests because it had no Indian member. 1946 is the Cabinet Mission, 1942 the Cripps Mission, and 1930 the year its report was published.

Answer: (D) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay – Ghore Baire

Ghare Baire is a novel by Rabindranath Tagore, not by Bankim Chandra, so pair (D) is incorrect. Harish Chandra Mukherjee edited the Hindoo Patriot, Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Nil Darpan, and Tagore wrote Gora, so the other three pairs are correct.

Answer: (B) Pallavas

The Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram was built by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II (Rajasimha) around 700 CE. The Cholas built the Brihadeshvara at Thanjavur, and the Kailasa temple at Ellora, a common confusion, is Rashtrakuta.

Answer: (C) Muhammad-bin-Qasim

In 712 CE the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahir of Sind and conquered Sind and Multan. Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Ghori raided India centuries later, and Tajuddin Yildiz was Ghori's slave-commander.

Answer: (D) Annie Besant

Annie Besant led the Theosophical Society from its headquarters at Adyar, Madras, and became its international President in 1907. Sarojini Naidu, her daughter Padmaja Naidu and Lakshmi Sahgal of the INA were not leaders of the Society.

Answer: (D) Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who led the non-violent Khudai Khidmatgar (‘Red Shirts’) movement in the North-West Frontier Province, was called the Frontier Gandhi. Rashbehari Bose and Barin Ghosh were revolutionaries, and M. N. Roy a communist leader.

Answer: (B) Dadabhai Naoroji – Proverty and UnBritish rule in India

Dadabhai Naoroji wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901), setting out his drain theory. The other three pairs are jumbled: Ghare Baire is Tagore's, Anandamath is Bankim's, and The Discovery of India is Nehru's.

Answer: (D) Alauddin Khilji

Alauddin Khalji was the first Delhi Sultan to send armies deep into South India, through his general Malik Kafur, against Devagiri, Warangal, the Hoysalas and Madurai. Aibak, Iltutmish and Balban were occupied with consolidating the north.

Answer: (B) Ibrahim Lodi

Ibrahim Lodi was the last Sultan of Delhi; his defeat by Babur at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 ended the Sultanate. Daulat Khan Lodi was governor of Punjab and Alam Khan Lodi was Ibrahim's uncle and rival; both invited Babur.

Answer: (C) Firoz Shah Mehta

The Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1934 by Acharya Narendra Deva, Jayaprakash Narayan and others, with Ram Manohar Lohia a leading member. Pherozeshah Mehta was a Moderate leader of the early Congress who died in 1915, long before the party existed.

Answer: (A) 1526

The First Battle of Panipat was fought on 21 April 1526, when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi and founded the Mughal Empire. 1528 is the year of the Battle of Chanderi, and the other years are unrelated.

Answer: (D) Gandhiji

Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in Gujarati in 1909 aboard ship from London to South Africa, setting out his critique of modern civilisation. Bose wrote The Indian Struggle, Nehru The Discovery of India, and Tilak Gita Rahasya.

Answer: (C) Lord Lytton

The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was passed under Lord Lytton to curb Indian-language newspapers. Lord Ripon repealed it in 1882, which makes him the tempting wrong option, and Curzon came later.

Answer: (B) Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai Naoroji was a leading Moderate who believed in petitions and constitutional methods. Lajpat Rai, Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal formed the ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’ trio of Extremist leaders.

Answer: (B) 1907

The Congress split into Moderates and Extremists at its Surat session in December 1907. The two wings reunited only at Lucknow in 1916; 1900, 1911 and 1919 are unrelated.

Answer: (D) By this agreement the point of separate electorate for the Hindus and the Muslims was accepted.

The Poona Pact of September 1932 between Gandhi and Ambedkar, signed at Poona during Gandhi's fast in Yerawada jail, gave up separate electorates for the Depressed Classes in favour of reserved seats in a joint electorate. It said nothing about accepting separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims, so statement (D) is the untrue one; (A), (B) and (C) are correct.

Answer: (A) Kautilya

The Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft and administration, is attributed to Kautilya (Chanakya), minister of Chandragupta Maurya. Varahamihira and Aryabhata were Gupta-age astronomers, and Patanjali wrote the Mahabhashya and Yoga Sutras.

Answer: (A) 1761

The Third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January 1761 between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali, who won decisively. 1707 is the death of Aurangzeb, and 1740 and 1770 are unrelated.

Answer: (B) Qutub-Uddin Aibak

Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Muhammad Ghori's slave-general, took charge of his Indian conquests after Ghori's death in 1206 and founded the Delhi Sultanate. Bakhtiyar Khalji conquered Bihar and Bengal under Aibak, while Yildiz and Qabacha ruled Ghazni and Multan.

Answer: (A) Jainism

According to Jain tradition, Chandragupta Maurya became a Jain in his last years, followed Bhadrabahu to Shravanabelagola and died there by sallekhana. Buddhism is associated with his grandson Ashoka, and the Ajivikas with his son Bindusara.

Answer: (A) Akbar

Akbar built the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575 to hold debates among scholars of different faiths. These discussions led to his Din-i-Ilahi; the later emperors did not found it.

Answer: (B) Lord Dalhousie

Lord Dalhousie (1848–56) used the Doctrine of Lapse to annex states such as Satara, Jhansi and Nagpur whose rulers died without a natural heir. Wellesley is linked with the Subsidiary Alliance and Cornwallis with the Permanent Settlement.

Answer: (B) Vajji

The Vajji confederacy, with its capital at Vaishali, was a republican sangha of eight clans including the Lichchhavis and Videhas. Magadha, Kashi and Koshala were monarchies.

Answer: (C) Gujarat

Lothal, the Harappan port town with its well-known dockyard, lies on the Bhogavo river in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat. Kalibangan is in Rajasthan, Banawali and Rakhigarhi in Haryana, and Alamgirpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Answer: (B) The Maratha

Tilak ran two papers from Poona: the Kesari in Marathi and The Mahratta in English. Bande Mataram was edited by Aurobindo, The Enquirer by Krishna Mohan Banerjee, and the Hindoo Patriot by Harish Chandra Mukherjee.

Answer: (A) Chandragupta II

Tradition credits Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) with the Navaratnas, nine learned men including Kalidasa, Amarasimha and Varahamihira. Samudragupta, Chandragupta I and Chandragupta Maurya are not linked with the Nine Jewels.

Answer: (A) Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee

W. C. Bonnerjee presided over the first session of the Congress at Bombay in December 1885. Pherozeshah Mehta presided in 1890, Patel in 1931, and Ambedkar never presided over the Congress.

Answer: (D) Lord Dufferin

Lord Dufferin, Viceroy when the Congress was founded, dismissed it in 1888 as representing only a ‘microscopic minority’ of the people. Canning, Elgin and Lawrence were Viceroys before the Congress existed.

Answer: (A) Bilhana

Bilhana, the Kashmiri poet at the court of the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI of Kalyani, wrote the Vikramankadevacharita in his patron's praise. Ravikirti composed the Aihole inscription, Banabhatta the Harshacharita, and Kalhana the Rajatarangini.

Answer: (C) Aurangzed

Textbooks list the Yusufzai revolt among the risings of Aurangzeb's reign: the Yusufzai Afghans of the north-west rose in 1667 under their leader Bhagu and were put down, and the Afridi and Khattak risings followed in the 1670s. Akbar also fought the Yusufzais in 1586, the campaign in which Birbal was killed, which makes (B) the tempting option, but the ‘Yusufzai revolt’ of the textbooks is the 1667 rising. Shah Jahan and Jahangir faced no Yusufzai rising of note.

Answer: (A) Lord Curzon

The Partition of Bengal was announced in July 1905 and took effect on 16 October 1905 under Viceroy Lord Curzon, provoking the Swadeshi movement. Wellesley, Amherst and Bentinck held office in the early 19th century.

Answer: (C) 1919

The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were enacted as the Government of India Act, 1919, introducing dyarchy in the provinces. 1909 is the year of the Morley–Minto Reforms, the most tempting wrong option.

Answer: (B) Tamluk

Tamluk was the centre of the Quit India movement in Medinipur, where the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar, a parallel national government, functioned from 1942 to 1944 and Matangini Hazra was shot leading a procession. Kanthi (Contai) was also active, but Tamluk was the hub; Garbeta and Haldia were not.

Answer: (A) Prithviraj Chauhan

In the First Battle of Tarain (1191) Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Muhammad Ghori. Ghori won the second battle at the same place in 1192, which makes (B) the tempting wrong option; Muhammad bin Qasim and Mahmud of Ghazni belong to earlier centuries.

Answer: (D) 1858

Queen Victoria's Proclamation was read out by Lord Canning at Allahabad on 1 November 1858, announcing the transfer of India's government from the Company to the Crown. The other years do not match this event.

Answer: (C) Sher Shah

Sher Shah Suri's revenue system gave each cultivator a patta (title deed stating his land and dues), and the cultivator signed a kabuliyat (deed of acceptance). Akbar's Todar Mal system built on these reforms, but they were introduced by Sher Shah.

Answer: (C) Lord Warren Hestings

Warren Hastings appointed the Amini Commission in 1776 to inquire into the land revenue and assets of Bengal after the failure of the five-year farming settlement. Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement later, and Dalhousie and Minto belong to other periods.

Answer: (D) Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (‘Servants of God’) in 1929 in the North-West Frontier Province as a non-violent volunteer movement. Jinnah led the Muslim League, Nawab Salimullah helped found it, and the Sayyid Brothers were 18th-century Mughal kingmakers.

Answer: (B) Nagasena

The Milindapanho records the dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda) and the Buddhist monk Nagasena, and is traditionally attributed to Nagasena. Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha and Dharmakirti were other Buddhist scholars.

Answer: (C) Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram was the Pallava capital, where they built temples such as the Kailasanatha. Hampi was the capital of Vijayanagara, while Dwarka and Ujjain lie in western and central India.

Answer: (D) Madras

The third session of the Congress was held at Madras in 1887 under Badruddin Tyabji. The first was at Bombay (1885) and the second at Calcutta (1886); Lucknow hosted a session only in 1899.

Answer: (B) Kushan Dynasty.

The Gandhara school, blending Greco-Roman style with Buddhist themes, flourished under the Kushans, especially Kanishka, in the north-west. The Mathura school also grew under the Kushans, while Amaravati art is linked with the Satavahanas.

Answer: (B) Kanishka

The Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir (Kundalvana) under the patronage of the Kushan king Kanishka, presided over by Vasumitra. Ajatashatru patronised the First Council and Ashoka the Third.

Answer: (A) Skandagupta

Skandagupta repulsed the Huna invasion around 455–460 CE, an achievement recorded in his Bhitari pillar inscription. The later Guptas, Budhagupta and others, could not hold back the next Huna wave under Toramana.

Answer: (D) Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society at Poona in 1905 to train dedicated workers for national service. Malaviya founded the Banaras Hindu University, and Patel and Bose were not its founders.

Answer: (C) Revolt

Ghadar is an Urdu-Punjabi word meaning ‘revolt’ or ‘mutiny’, and it gave its name to the Ghadar Party and its newspaper founded in San Francisco in 1913. ‘Rebel’ is the nearest wrong option, but the word names the act of revolt, not the person.

Answer: (A) Al Beruni

Al-Biruni, who came to India with Mahmud of Ghazni, wrote Tahqiq-i-Hind (Kitab-ul-Hind) describing Indian society, religion and science. Al-Masudi was a 10th-century Arab traveller, Hasan Nizami wrote Taj-ul-Maasir, and Khafi Khan was an 18th-century Mughal historian.

Answer: (D) Badauni

Abdul Qadir Badauni wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh, a history critical of Akbar's religious policy. Nizamuddin Ahmad wrote the Tabaqat-i-Akbari, Faizi was a court poet, and Amir Khusrau belongs to the Sultanate period.

Answer: (C) Todarmal

Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's finance minister, introduced the Zabti or Dahsala system based on measured land and average produce. Man Singh was a general, Birbal a courtier, and Jai Singh served Aurangzeb.

Answer: (C) 1739

Nadir Shah of Persia invaded India in 1739, defeated Muhammad Shah at Karnal and sacked Delhi, carrying away the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor. The other years are not linked to his invasion.

Answer: (A) Amir Khusrau

Amir Khusrau wrote Khazain-ul-Futuh, an account of Alauddin Khalji's conquests. Hasan Nizami wrote Taj-ul-Maasir, Khafi Khan wrote Muntakhab-ul-Lubab, and Badauni wrote Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.

Answer: (C) The Simon Commission

The Simon Commission of 1927 was called the ‘All White Commission’ because all seven of its members were British, with no Indian. The Hunter and Fowler bodies dealt with education and currency, and Linlithgow chaired an agriculture commission.

Answer: (A) Basawan

Basawan was one of the leading painters of Akbar's atelier, along with Daswanth. Bebadal Khan was Shah Jahan's goldsmith who made the Peacock Throne, Raja Ravi Varma a 19th-century painter, and Minhaj-us-Siraj a Sultanate historian.

Answer: (A) Gujarat

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Gujarat has the largest installed wind power capacity of any Indian state, having overtaken Tamil Nadu, which led for many years. Tamil Nadu is therefore the tempting wrong option; Maharashtra and Rajasthan come lower in the ranking.

Answer: (A) Wular Lake

Wular Lake in Jammu & Kashmir, fed and drained by the Jhelum, is India's largest freshwater lake. Loktak in Manipur is the largest freshwater lake of the North-East and is known for its floating phumdis, while Dal and Naini are much smaller.

Answer: (D) Jhelum

The Jhelum rises at Verinag, flows north-west through the Kashmir Valley past Srinagar and through Wular Lake, then cuts a gorge into Pakistan. The Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej flow through Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab instead.

Answer: (B) Vindhyachal ranges.

The Kaimur range forms the eastern part of the Vindhya range, extending across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Satpura lies to the south, the Aravalli in the north-west, and the Rajmahal hills in Jharkhand.

Answer: (A) Kerala

Kerala is called the Spice Garden of India because it grows pepper, cardamom, ginger, clove, nutmeg and other spices on a large scale, on which its historic sea trade was built. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh grow some spices but do not carry this name.

Answer: (A) Ajay river

The Kunur rises in Paschim Bardhaman, flows through Ausgram and joins the Ajay as a right-bank tributary in the Mangalkot area. The Kangsabati, Mayurakshi and Rupnarayan are separate rivers of western and southern Bengal with their own tributaries.

Answer: (A) Brahmaputra.

The Raka (Raga) Tsangpo is a tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo, which is the name of the Brahmaputra in Tibet. It has no link with the Mahanadi, Ganga or Krishna systems.

Answer: (B) Darjeeling.

In the 2011 Census, Darjeeling recorded the highest sex ratio among West Bengal's districts, about 970 females per 1,000 males. Hooghly, Murshidabad and Birbhum also had relatively high ratios but stood below Darjeeling.

No option is correct as printed — this question is disputed. WBPSC awarded the mark to all candidates: none of the listed ports is the largest by total cargo — that is Deendayal (Kandla) or Paradip among major ports, and Mundra overall.

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

No correct option is listed: among major ports Deendayal (Kandla) and Paradip handle the most cargo, and Mundra, a private port, handles the most of all. Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port, which makes it tempting, and Chennai, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam all handle less cargo, so the PSC awarded the mark to all candidates.

Answer: (C) Meghalaya

The Khasi and Jaintia people of Meghalaya grow living root bridges by training the aerial roots of rubber fig trees across streams, as at Nongriat's double-decker bridge. Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur are not known for them.

Answer: (D) Tapi

The Tapi, like the Narmada, flows west through a rift valley (a fault trough between the Satpura and Ajanta ranges) and enters the Arabian Sea through an estuary. The Luni is an inland drainage river of the Thar, and the Chambal and Son are Ganga-system rivers draining the plateau without a rift.

Answer: (D) NH 35

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Under the old national highway numbering, NH 35 ran from Barasat near Kolkata to Bongaon on the Bangladesh border. Old NH 34 ran north from Barasat to Dalkhola, NH 6 ran west from Kolkata towards Mumbai, and NH 31 lay in north Bengal and Bihar. Options use the pre-2010 national highway numbers; the Barasat–Bongaon road is now NH 112.

Answer: (B) 116 types.

H. G. Champion's 1936 survey classified India's forests into 116 types. The 1968 revision by Champion and Seth regrouped them under 16 type groups with about 200 sub-types, which makes (D) tempting, but that figure belongs to the joint revision. The figures 120 and 110 match neither classification.

Answer: (A) Udaipur

Udaipur in Rajasthan, with Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar and other lakes, is known as the City of Lakes. Nainital is a lake town but not called by this name, Srinagar is known for Dal Lake, and Bengaluru is the Garden City.

Answer: (A) (4) (3) (2) (1) (5)

From west to east, Burrard's divisions run Kashmir (Punjab) Himalaya, then Himachal, then the Kumaon or U.P. Himalaya between the Sutlej and Kali, then the Nepal Himalaya, and finally the Assam Himalaya east of the Tista. That is (4), (3), (2), (1), (5); the other sequences misplace the western sections.

Answer: (B) Surat

Surat in Gujarat cuts and polishes the large majority of the world's diamonds and is called the Diamond City. Jaipur is known for coloured gemstones, Hyderabad for pearls, and Ahmedabad for textiles.

Answer: (C) 9

Using Köppen's scheme based on temperature and rainfall, India is divided into nine climatic regions, from Amw on the Konkan coast to E in the high Himalaya. Six, seven and ten do not match this classification.

Answer: (A) Andhra Pradesh.

Kolleru, one of India's largest freshwater lakes, lies between the Godavari and Krishna deltas in Andhra Pradesh and is a wildlife sanctuary. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka have other lakes, such as Pulicat and Vembanad.

Answer: (C) Assam and Rajasthan.

Tertiary (younger) coal and lignite occur in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir. Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh hold the older Gondwana coal.

Answer: (B) Greater Himalayas

The Greater Himalaya (Himadri) was the first of the three parallel Himalayan ranges to be uplifted, so it is the oldest; the Lesser Himalaya (the Middle or Lower Himalaya of the options) came next and the Shiwaliks are the youngest. The Trans-Himalaya lies north of the Himalaya proper and is treated as a separate system in this three-range scheme. The Trans-Himalayan ranges were uplifted before the Greater Himalaya, so (D) could be argued if they are counted as part of the Himalayas; the key follows the standard three-range scheme.

Answer: (C) Mongoloid

The Lepchas, the indigenous people of Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills, belong to the Mongoloid racial stock like most tribes of the Himalaya and North-East. Proto-Australoid stock includes the Santhals and Mundas, and Negrito traits are found among some Andaman tribes.

Answer: (D) Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is called the Apple State of India because apple orchards, especially in Shimla and Kinnaur, dominate its horticulture economy. Jammu & Kashmir actually produces more apples, which makes it tempting, but the title belongs to Himachal.

Answer: (A) Koraput.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's Engine Division at Sunabeda, Koraput (Odisha), manufactures aero-engines such as those for the MiG and Sukhoi aircraft. Kolkata and Visakhapatnam do not make aircraft engines, so (D) does not apply.

Answer: (A) Madhya Pradesh

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

According to the India State of Forest Reports, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover by area, followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Arunachal has a higher percentage of its area under forest, which makes it tempting, but not the largest area.

Answer: (D) Gujarat

Gujarat has the longest coastline of any Indian state, with the Gulfs of Kachchh and Khambhat. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu come next on the eastern coast, and Kerala's coastline is much shorter.

Answer: (A) Guru Shikhar.

Mount Abu, home of the Dilwara Jain temples, is the Aravalli massif in Rajasthan whose summit is Guru Shikhar, the highest point of the Aravallis; the keyed option names it by that peak. The Maikal hills and Kaimur range lie in central India, and Doddabetta is in the Nilgiris.

Answer: (A) Zojila Pass

Zoji La, on the Srinagar–Leh highway, links the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh. Nathu La is in Sikkim, Rohtang links Kullu with Lahaul in Himachal, and Shipki La carries the Sutlej into Tibet.

Answer: (C) Kerala

In the 2011 Census Kerala had the highest literacy rate among states, about 94%, followed by Mizoram at about 91%. Tripura and Manipur were lower, so Mizoram is the tempting but wrong option.

Answer: (A) Krishna

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is built across the Krishna on the Telangana–Andhra Pradesh border. The Tungabhadra is a tributary that joins the Krishna upstream and has its own dam at Hosapete, while the Godavari and Cauvery are separate rivers.

Answer: (A) Bankura

Bishnupur in Bankura district is famous for the terracotta temples built by the Malla kings, such as the Rasmancha and the Jor Bangla. Birbhum has some terracotta temples too, but Bankura's Bishnupur is the one known for them; Malda and Jalpaiguri are not.

Answer: (D) Gomti

Lucknow stands on the banks of the Gomti, a tributary of the Ganga. The Ganga flows past Kanpur and Varanasi, the Yamuna past Delhi and Agra, and the Saryu past Ayodhya.

Answer: (A) Birbhum.

The Tilpara barrage on the Mayurakshi near Suri, in Birbhum district, feeds an irrigation canal system as part of the Mayurakshi project. Purulia and Malda have no such work, so ‘None of the above’ does not apply.

Answer: (C) Chennai

India's first cement factory was set up in Madras (Chennai) in 1904 by South India Industries Ltd. Bhadravati is known for iron and steel, Sindri for fertiliser, and Dalmianagar's cement works came much later.

Answer: (C) India and Myanmar.

The Patkai Bum hills of the Purvanchal run along the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland with Myanmar. The China border follows the Himalaya, and the Bangladesh and Bhutan borders lie elsewhere.

Answer: (A) K2

K2 in the Karakoram is called the Savage Mountain because of its extreme difficulty and high death rate among climbers. Nanga Parbat has a different nickname, ‘Killer Mountain’, which makes it the tempting wrong option.

Answer: (B) Kolkata

Eastern Railway has its headquarters at Fairlie Place, Kolkata. Hajipur near Patna is the headquarters of East Central Railway, Guwahati (Maligaon) of Northeast Frontier Railway, and Bhubaneswar of East Coast Railway.

Answer: (C) Meghalaya

The Khasi and Garo communities of Meghalaya are matrilineal: descent and property pass through the mother, usually to the youngest daughter. Kerala's Nair matrilineal system existed historically but has largely ended, so Meghalaya is the state known for it today.

Answer: (C) Kerala

India's first commercial rubber plantation was set up in 1902 at Thattekad on the Periyar in Kerala, which still produces most of India's natural rubber. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka grow some rubber, and West Bengal none of note.

Answer: (B) Tamil Nadu.

The Mettur Dam and hydroelectric project are on the Cauvery in Salem district, Tamil Nadu. Karnataka has upstream Cauvery works such as Krishnaraja Sagar, which makes it tempting.

Answer: (A) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

ICAR, with its research institutes and the agricultural universities, adapted and spread the high-yielding varieties and practices of the Green Revolution in India. FCI handles procurement and storage, NABARD was set up only in 1982, and IRRI is an international body in the Philippines.

Answer: (C) Anaimudi

Anamudi (2,695 m) in Kerala's Anaimalai hills is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and in peninsular India. Doddabetta is the highest in the Nilgiris, Mullayanagiri the highest in Karnataka, and Mahendragiri lies in the Eastern Ghats.

Answer: (A) Diamond

The Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh has India's only working diamond mine, at Majhgawan, run by the NMDC. It is not a source of silver, coal or gold.

Answer: (B) Kumaon Himalayas

The Milam glacier, source of the Goriganga, lies in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, which is the Kumaon Himalaya. It is not in the Himachal, Kashmir or Assam sections.

Answer: (B) Standup India

Stand-Up India (2016) provides bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore to at least one SC/ST and one woman entrepreneur per bank branch for a new enterprise. Startup India supports start-ups in general, Skill India training, and Make in India manufacturing.

Answer: (B) Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, opened in 1881, is the oldest of the Mountain Railways of India and was the first inscribed by UNESCO, in 1999. The Nilgiri (1908) and Kalka–Shimla (1903) lines were added later, and the Konkan Railway is not a heritage site.

Answer: (A) Hirakud dam

Hirakud Dam on the Mahanadi in Odisha, about 25.8 km long including its dykes, is the longest dam in India. Bhakra is among the highest gravity dams, which makes it tempting, but it is far shorter.

Answer: (B) 1984

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd was set up in the mid-1980s as a West Bengal government-backed joint venture to build a naphtha cracker complex at Haldia port; the key dates its establishment to 1984, and the plant began commercial production only in 2000. 1974 is too early, before the project was taken up, while 1988 and 1992 are later stages of the long-delayed project.

Answer: (B) Rajasthan.

Didwana is an inland salt lake in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, like Sambhar, Pachpadra and Lunkaransar. Punjab and Odisha have no such lake, and Odisha's Chilika is a coastal lagoon.

Answer: (A) Make in India

Make in India, launched in September 2014, aims to make India a global manufacturing hub by attracting domestic and foreign investment into manufacturing. Digital India, Skill India and Startup India target digital services, training and start-ups.

Answer: (B) Uttar Pradesh

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Uttar Pradesh is India's largest producer of sugarcane, with the largest area under the crop. Maharashtra is second, but it is not among the options; Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu produce far less.

Answer: (C) 324 persons/sq. km.

The 2001 Census put India's population density at about 324–325 persons per sq km, up from 267 in 1991. The 2011 Census figure was 382, so the higher options match neither 2001 nor any census exactly.

Answer: (C) Rourkela

Rourkela Steel Plant in Odisha, India's first public-sector integrated steel plant, was built with West German collaboration and began production in 1959. Bhilai and Bokaro were built with Soviet help and Durgapur with British help.

Answer: (C) Sutlej river.

The Koldam hydroelectric project is built on the Sutlej in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, upstream of the Bhakra reservoir. The Beas has the Pandoh and Pong dams, and the Gandak and Bagmati flow through Nepal and Bihar.

Answer: (D) Maharashtra, Goa

The Konkan coast is the stretch of the western coastal plain from Daman to Goa, covering coastal Maharashtra and Goa. The Kannada (Karnataka) and Malabar (Kerala) coasts lie to its south and the Kathiawar coast of Gujarat to its north.

Answer: (A) Narcondam

Narcondam, east of the Andaman Islands, is a dormant volcanic island. Lakshadweep and Minicoy are coral islands built on atolls, so ‘All of the above’ is wrong.

Answer: (C) Nadia

The Tropic of Cancer (about 23.5° N) crosses West Bengal through Purulia, Bankura, Bardhaman and Nadia, passing near Krishnanagar. Birbhum, Murshidabad and Malda lie wholly to its north.

Answer: (B) Indian rhinoceros

Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar district, in the Dooars, is known for the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, with the largest population in the state. Asiatic lions live only in Gir, snow leopards in the high Himalaya, and Bengal's tiger reserves are Sundarbans and Buxa.

Answer: (C) Lord Dalhousie

Lord Dalhousie is called the Father of Indian Railways: the first passenger train ran from Bombay to Thane in 1853 during his tenure, and his 1853 minute laid out the trunk-line network. Visvesvaraya was an engineer known for dams, and Syed Ahmed Khan an educationist.

Answer: (A) PM-KUSUM

PM-KUSUM (2019) supports farmers in installing solar pumps and grid-connected solar plants for irrigation. PMFBY is crop insurance, PKVY promotes organic farming, and eNAM is an online agricultural market.

Answer: (C) Arunachal Pradesh

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Among the listed states Arunachal Pradesh has the largest forest cover, second in India only to Madhya Pradesh, which is not an option. Odisha comes next, while Assam and Himachal Pradesh have far less.

Answer: (B) Kerala

Silent Valley National Park lies in the Nilgiri hills of Palakkad district, Kerala, and protects tropical evergreen rainforest; a 1970s campaign stopped a hydel dam there. It adjoins Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris, which makes (A) tempting, but the park is in Kerala.

Answer: (A) Barren Island

Barren Island in the Andaman Sea has India's only confirmed active volcano, which has erupted repeatedly since 1991. Ross, Neil and Havelock are non-volcanic islands known for history and tourism.

Answer: (A) Mahi

The Mahi rises in Madhya Pradesh south of the Tropic, flows north into Rajasthan across it, then turns south-west through Gujarat and crosses it again before reaching the Gulf of Khambhat. The Narmada flows entirely south of the Tropic, and the Chambal and Mahananda cross it at most once.

Answer: (B) Himachal Pradesh.

Kunzum La (about 4,550 m) links the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh. Sikkim has Nathu La and Jelep La, and Uttarakhand has Lipulekh and Mana.

Answer: (D) Madhya Pradesh.

Sanjay–Dubri Tiger Reserve lies in Sidhi and Shahdol districts of Madhya Pradesh, adjoining Chhattisgarh's Guru Ghasidas park. Tamil Nadu and Assam have other tiger reserves, such as Mudumalai and Kaziranga, and Goa's Mhadei is a wildlife sanctuary.

Answer: (C) Karnataka

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Karnataka, especially Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Hassan, produces about 70% of India's coffee. Kerala is second and Tamil Nadu third, which makes Kerala the tempting wrong option.

Answer: (D) Mizoram

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

In the 2011 Census Mizoram had the highest share of Scheduled Tribes among states, about 94% of its population. Madhya Pradesh has the largest ST population in absolute numbers, which makes it tempting, but a far lower percentage, as do Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Answer: (A) Mumbai

The Gateway of India stands on the Apollo Bunder waterfront in Mumbai and was built to mark the 1911 visit of King George V and Queen Mary. Delhi has India Gate, a war memorial often confused with it.

Answer: (B) 3000 – 4000 meters

Alpine and sub-alpine forest of silver fir, juniper, birch and rhododendron occurs in the Himalaya roughly between 3,000 and 4,000 m, above the temperate coniferous belt. The 2,000–3,000 m band belongs to temperate (montane) forest, and above about 4,000 m trees give way to alpine scrub, meadows and snow.

Answer: (D) North-Western Aryan Language Group.

In Grierson's classification of Indo-Aryan languages, Sindhi falls in the north-western group with Lahnda. Bengali and Odia are eastern, Hindi central, and Marathi southern Indo-Aryan.

Answer: (C) Murshidabad

Murshidabad is known for its silk, especially Murshidabad and Baluchari weaving, and is called the Silk City of West Bengal. Asansol and Durgapur are coal and steel towns, and Siliguri is a trade hub.

Answer: (A) Garo hills.

Nokrek (about 1,412 m) is the highest peak of the Garo Hills in Meghalaya and is the core of the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve. The highest point of the Khasi hills is Shillong Peak, and the Rajmahal hills are in Jharkhand.

Answer: (C) Ramsar Site.

The East Kolkata Wetlands, which treat the city's sewage through fisheries and farming, were declared a Ramsar Site of international importance in 2002. They are not a biosphere reserve, reserve forest or national park.

Answer: (D) East and West coast respectively.

Paradip is in Odisha on the east coast and Mormugao in Goa on the west coast, so the order is east and west respectively. Option (C) reverses this, and (A) and (B) put both ports on one coast.

Answer: (C) Bihar

In the 2011 Census Bihar had the highest density of any state, 1,106 persons per sq km. West Bengal was second at 1,028, which makes it the tempting wrong option; Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were lower.

Answer: (B) Textile Industry.

Serampore, Belgharia and Sodepur in the Hooghly industrial belt grew around cotton and jute textile mills on the banks of the Hooghly. The belt's paper mills are at Titagarh and Naihati, and the state's iron and steel centres are Durgapur and Burnpur.

Answer: (C) (3) (2) (4) (1)

Kanha is in Madhya Pradesh (3), Periyar in Kerala (2), Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu (4) and Manas in Assam (1), giving 3-2-4-1. Option (A) swaps Mudumalai and Manas, which is the tempting error.

Answer: (A) Chilika Lake

Chilika Lake in Odisha is India's largest brackish-water lagoon and a Ramsar site known for Irrawaddy dolphins. Pulicat is the second largest, Vembanad is Kerala's longest lake, and Loktak is a freshwater lake.

Answer: (A) Flood plain.

Khadar is the new alluvium deposited every year by floods on river flood plains, and is fine and fertile. Older alluvium on higher ground is bhangar, while the foothill and piedmont zones have bhabar and terai deposits, so ‘All of the above’ is wrong.

Answer: (C) Jammu & Kashmir

Dachigam National Park near Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir is known as the home of the hangul, the Kashmir stag. Himachal, Uttarakhand and Sikkim have other parks such as Great Himalayan, Corbett and Khangchendzonga.

Answer: (D) West Bengal

Black (regur) soil developed on the Deccan lava plateau covers large parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. West Bengal has mainly alluvial, laterite and red soils, so it is the state where black soil is not found.

Answer: (B) Dr. M. S. Swaminathan

M. S. Swaminathan led the introduction and adaptation of high-yielding wheat and rice varieties in India in the 1960s and is called the Father of the Green Revolution in India. Norman Borlaug is the father of the Green Revolution worldwide, which makes him tempting, and Verghese Kurien led the White Revolution.

Answer: (B) Kerala

In the 2011 Census Kerala had the highest share of people aged 60 and above, about 12.6%, owing to low fertility and long life expectancy. Goa, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Maharashtra followed with lower shares.

Answer: (A) Sandakphu

Sandakphu (3,636 m) on the Singalila ridge in Darjeeling district is the highest point in West Bengal. Singalila is the ridge and national park, not a peak, and Tiger Hill is lower.

Answer: (C) Navigation and irrigation

Farakka Barrage (1975) diverts Ganga water into the Bhagirathi–Hooghly through a feeder canal to flush silt and keep Kolkata port navigable, and it also supports irrigation. It was not built for hydroelectric power, flood control or drinking water.

Answer: (C) Rajasthan.

The Khetri–Singhana copper belt lies in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, where Hindustan Copper runs a mining and smelting complex. Jharkhand has the Singhbhum belt and Madhya Pradesh the Malanjkhand mine.

Answer: (C) 1999

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana began on 1 April 1999, merging IRDP and allied self-employment programmes for the rural poor. It was later restructured as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission in 2011.

Answer: (A) Tapi

The Tapi flows west through a rift valley into the Arabian Sea and ends in an estuary, not a delta. The Cauvery, Godavari and Krishna flow east across a gentle slope into the Bay of Bengal and build large deltas.

Answer: (A) 1948

Independent India's first Industrial Policy Resolution was announced on 6 April 1948, defining a mixed economy. The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 was the second, which makes it the tempting wrong option.

Answer: (C) Bardhaman

Gobindobhog, a short-grained aromatic rice, is grown mainly in the Bardhaman region and received a GI tag in 2017 as Bardhaman's rice. Bankura, Murshidabad and Purba Medinipur grow rice but are not linked with this GI tag.

Answer: (A) Tamil Nadu

The Todas are a pastoral tribe of the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, known for their buffalo herding and barrel-vaulted huts. Bihar and Jharkhand have tribes such as the Santhal and Munda, and Sikkim the Lepcha and Bhutia.

Answer: (C) Bomdi La

Bomdi La in western Arunachal Pradesh lies on the route from the plains towards Tawang and Tibet. Nathu La is in Sikkim, Lipulekh in Uttarakhand, and Rohtang is an internal pass in Himachal.

Answer: (B) Saravathi river

Jog Falls (Gersoppa), about 253 m high, are on the Sharavati river in Shivamogga district, Karnataka. The Cauvery has Shivanasamudra Falls, which makes it tempting, and the Tapi and Bhima have no such falls.

Answer: (B) Odisha

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Odisha is India's largest producer of bauxite, mainly from the Panchpatmali deposit in Koraput. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra produce much less.

Answer: (A) Sikkim

In the 2011 Census Sikkim had the smallest population of any state, about 6.1 lakh. Mizoram (about 11 lakh), Arunachal Pradesh (about 14 lakh) and Goa (about 15 lakh) were all larger.

Answer: (A) Uttar Pradesh

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

Uttar Pradesh has the most districts of any state, 75. Madhya Pradesh is next with over 50, and Maharashtra and Bihar have fewer.

Answer: (A) Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana

The Aravallis run about 700 km from near Palanpur in Gujarat through Rajasthan into Haryana and end at the Delhi ridge. They do not extend into Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh.

Answer: (A) Ministry of Finance

Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.

The Ministry of Finance frames and implements the government's economic policy, including fiscal policy, the Budget, taxation and financial regulation. NITI Aayog is an advisory think-tank without enforcement powers, the Planning Commission was abolished in 2015, and Commerce and Industry deals only with trade and industry.

Answer: (A) Ram Ganga Multipurpose Project — Madhya Pradesh

The Ramganga multipurpose project (Kalagarh dam) is in Uttarakhand, formerly Uttar Pradesh, not Madhya Pradesh, so pair (A) is incorrect. Shivanasamudra is in Karnataka, Hirakud in Odisha, and Nagarjuna Sagar on the Andhra Pradesh–Telangana border, so the other pairs are correct.

Answer: (B) Amarkantak hills

The Son rises near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, close to the source of the Narmada, and flows north-east to join the Ganga near Patna. Amarkantak is part of the wider Maikal range, but the Amarkantak hills name the exact source; the Kaimur hills only flank the Son valley and the Rajmahal hills lie in Jharkhand.