200 questions · 150 minutes · −1/3 per wrong answer · Free
Answer: (D) to begin
The sentence contrasts an easy stage with a hard one ("but hard to finish"), so "to begin" fits as the easy counterpart to finishing something.
Answer: (B) Although
"Although" introduces a concessive clause showing a contrast (being late, yet still arriving by nine); "Because" would wrongly suggest lateness caused his early arrival, and "Despite" needs a noun phrase, not a full clause, to follow it.
Answer: (A) overflowing
"Overflowing the bank" describes a river spilling over its banks, the only option that logically combines with "the bank" in this construction.
Answer: (C) shining
"Shining" is the natural descriptive adjective for a jewel, evoking its characteristic lustre.
Answer: (B) resolved
"Make up one's mind" means to reach a firm decision, i.e. to resolve on a course of action.
Answer: (D) Possessing a secret ability
"A dark horse" describes someone with hidden talents or potential that others don't know about, often an unexpected contender or achiever.
Answer: (C) call
"Call out" is a standard phrasal verb meaning to shout or cry out, fitting "he wanted to call out".
Answer: (C) enjoys pleasure
"Epicurean", derived from the philosopher Epicurus, describes someone devoted to sensory pleasure and refined enjoyment, especially of food and comfort.
Answer: (C) bones
Orthopaedics is the medical specialty concerned with the musculoskeletal system — bones, joints and muscles.
Answer: (A) mortal
"Mortal" specifically describes an illness or wound that is likely to cause death, distinct from the more general "serious".
Answer: (D) Alas!
"Alas!" is the standard interjection expressing sorrow or regret; "Hurrah" and "Bravo" express joy or approval instead.
Answer: (A) Fashionable
"À la mode", from French, literally means "in fashion" or "fashionable" (in American usage it has also come to mean "served with ice cream", but the core dictionary meaning is about being stylish).
Answer: (A) rolling
"Rolling down the slope" is a present participle phrase describing the car's ongoing motion, which fits the sentence naturally.
Answer: (D) Excited
"Delighted" means greatly pleased; among the given options, "excited" is the closest in the positive, enthusiastic register the sentence calls for, even though it isn't a perfect one-to-one synonym.
Answer: (C) Light
The direct antonym of "darkness" is "light"; the other options relate to sound or motion, not illumination.
Answer: (A) let up
"Let up" means to ease off or stop; "there was no let up in the rain" means the rain didn't ease at all.
Answer: (A) swift
"Swift manner" describes completing a task quickly and efficiently, matching the instruction to finish the task.
Answer: (C) for
"Wait for" is the standard verb-preposition combination used when anticipating someone or something's arrival.
Answer: (B) on bad terms with
"At daggers drawn" describes a state of open hostility or intense conflict between people.
Answer: (D) must
"Must" conveys strong necessity or urgency, matching the sense of "at once" — needing to catch the train immediately.
Answer: (D) theatre
"Cinema" is closely associated with "theatre" as the venue where films are screened.
Answer: (A) Disordered
"At sixes and sevens" means in a state of confusion or disarray.
Answer: (B) that, for
"Here is the man that you asked for" uses "that" as the relative pronoun and "for" to complete "ask for [someone]", meaning the person you requested to see.
Answer: (B) whose
"Whose" is the possessive relative pronoun needed here, since the sentence refers to the briefcase belonging to the man.
Answer: (A) from
"Save someone from something" is the standard construction for rescuing a person from a danger or fate.
Answer: (D) Banabhatta
Banabhatta, court poet of Emperor Harshavardhana, wrote the Sanskrit prose romance "Kadambari" (left unfinished at his death and completed by his son Bhushanabhatta).
Answer: (D) Jivaka
Jivaka was a renowned physician of ancient India, contemporary with the Buddha, traditionally associated with treating both the Buddha and King Bimbisara.
Answer: (C) Kalibangan
Kalibangan, on the Ghaggar river, is a major Harappan site in present-day Rajasthan; Mohenjo Daro and Suktagen Dor lie in Pakistan, and Lothal is in Gujarat.
Answer: (A) Bimbisara
Bimbisara, founder of the Magadhan empire's rise to prominence, is traditionally referred to by the epithet "Seniya" in early texts.
Answer: (D) Krishna Deva Raya
The "Ashtadiggajas" — eight legendary Telugu poets — flourished under the patronage of Krishnadevaraya, the celebrated Vijayanagara emperor.
Answer: (B) Ashoka
Ashoka used the title "Devanampiya Piyadasi" ("Beloved of the Gods, of Gracious Mien") in his rock and pillar edicts, which is how scholars eventually identified the historical figure behind the inscriptions.
Answer: (C) Harshvardhan
Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) travelled through India in the 7th century CE during the reign of Harshavardhana of Kannauj, leaving detailed records of Indian society and Buddhism at the time.
Answer: (A) Akbar
"Sulh-i-Kul" ("peace/reconciliation with all") was Akbar's policy of religious tolerance and pluralism, encouraging dialogue among different faiths at his court.
Answer: (B) Sisodiya
Maharana Pratap, celebrated for his resistance to Mughal expansion, belonged to the Sisodia dynasty of Mewar.
Answer: (D) Mahabharata
"Razmnama" ("Book of War") is the Persian translation of the Mahabharata, commissioned by Akbar as part of his effort to bridge Hindu and Islamic intellectual traditions.
Answer: (C) 1829
Lord William Bentinck's Regulation XVII of 1829 legally banned the practice of Sati in British India, following sustained advocacy by reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy.
Answer: (D) Curzon
The Younghusband Mission (1903-04), a British military expedition into Tibet, was dispatched under Viceroy Lord Curzon.
Answer: (B) Jadunath Sarkar
Sir Jadunath Sarkar was one of India's foremost historians of Mughal India, particularly known for his extensive research on Aurangzeb's reign.
Answer: (A) Babur
Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire, wrote the "Baburnama", a detailed memoir considered one of the great autobiographies of the medieval world.
Answer: (D) Aurangzeb
The Satnami rebellion of 1672, led by a peasant religious sect near Narnaul, occurred during Aurangzeb's reign and was suppressed with considerable difficulty.
Answer: (C) Akbar II
The nominal Mughal emperor Akbar II conferred the title "Raja" on Ram Mohan Roy, who represented Akbar II's interests before the British Parliament in London.
Answer: (C) Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq
Muhammad bin Tughlaq's controversial decision to shift the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (Devagiri) in the 14th century is one of the most debated episodes of the Delhi Sultanate.
Answer: (B) Abul Fazl
Abul Fazl, Akbar's court historian, wrote the "Ain-i-Akbari", the third volume of the "Akbarnama", detailing the administration and statistics of the Mughal empire.
Answer: (A) Tegh Bahadur
Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on Aurangzeb's orders in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islam. This is worth distinguishing from Guru Arjun Dev, who was executed earlier, under Emperor Jahangir, not Aurangzeb — a common point of confusion in this exact question type.
Answer: (A) Santhal
Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu led the Santhal Rebellion (the "Hul") of 1855 against oppressive landlords, moneylenders and the colonial administration.
Answer: (B) Bombay and Thane
India's first passenger railway line ran between Bombay (Bori Bunder) and Thane, inaugurated in April 1853.
Answer: (B) Dinabandhu Mitra
"Neel Darpan" (1860), depicting the sufferings of Bengal's indigo cultivators under coercive European planters, was written by Dinabandhu Mitra.
Answer: (A) 1870
The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, an early political and social reform body, was founded in 1870 by figures including M. G. Ranade, well before the Indian National Congress itself.
Answer: (B) Bombay
The inaugural Congress session was held in Bombay in December 1885, presided over by Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee.
Answer: (C) M.K. Gandhi
Gandhi founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh in 1932, shortly after the Poona Pact, to work for the social upliftment of the depressed classes he termed "Harijans".
Answer: (C) Travancore
Velu Thampi Dalawa, Dewan of Travancore, led a rebellion against British paramountcy in 1808-09, one of the earliest major armed resistances to Company rule.
Answer: (B) 1885
The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885, largely through the initiative of A. O. Hume.
Answer: (D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
This famous declaration — "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it!" — is one of Bal Gangadhar Tilak's most celebrated rallying calls.
Answer: (B) Muslim League
The All India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka in 1906, initially to safeguard the political interests of Indian Muslims.
Answer: (C) Lord Canning
Lord Canning was Governor-General (and subsequently the first Viceroy) of India when the 1857 revolt broke out.
Answer: (A) Chauri Chaura incident
Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922 after a violent mob killed policemen at Chauri Chaura, a departure from non-violence he felt undermined the movement's core principle.
Answer: (C) 1916
The Lucknow Pact of 1916 saw the Congress and Muslim League jointly present demands for constitutional reform, including Congress's acceptance of separate electorates for Muslims.
Answer: (B) The Anglo-Oriental College
The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College at Aligarh, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, was the centre of the Aligarh Movement promoting modern education among Indian Muslims.
Answer: (B) 1909
The Indian Councils Act of 1909, popularly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, expanded legislative councils and introduced separate electorates for Muslims.
Answer: (D) 1919, Amritsar
British troops under General Dyer opened fire on an unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on 13 April 1919.
Answer: (A) Womesh Chandra Banerjee
Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, a prominent Calcutta barrister, presided over the first Congress session held in Bombay in 1885.
Answer: (B) 1885-1905
The period from 1885 to 1905 is generally regarded as the Moderate (liberal) phase of the Congress, characterised by petitions, resolutions and constitutional methods, before the more assertive Extremist phase emerged after the 1905 Partition of Bengal.
Answer: (C) 1911
The 1905 Partition of Bengal was annulled in 1911, announced by Viceroy Lord Hardinge II at the Delhi Durbar, in response to sustained nationalist protest.
Answer: (C) Quit India movement
Gandhi's "Do or Die" call was part of his famous speech launching the Quit India Movement in August 1942.
Answer: (A) Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose founded the All India Forward Bloc in 1939 after resigning as Congress president, seeking a more radical path to independence.
Answer: (C) 1940, Lahore
The Muslim League's Lahore Resolution, popularly called the "Pakistan Resolution", was adopted in March 1940.
Answer: (A) Complete Independence
At the 1929 Lahore session, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress adopted "Purna Swaraj" (complete independence) as its formal goal, moving beyond the earlier demand for Dominion Status.
Answer: (B) Rash Behari Bose
While Captain Mohan Singh first raised the INA from Indian POWs and Subhas Chandra Bose later led it to prominence from 1943, Rash Behari Bose, the veteran Japan-based revolutionary, is credited with formally organising and founding the Azad Hind Fauj under the umbrella of the Indian Independence League.
Answer: (C) Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi used this memorable phrase — "a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank" — to dismiss the 1942 Cripps Mission's offer of future Dominion status.
Answer: (A) Muslim League; 16 August 1946
The Muslim League called for "Direct Action Day" on 16 August 1946 to press its demand for Pakistan, which led to widespread communal violence, particularly in Calcutta.
Answer: (B) Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah served as Pakistan's first Governor-General from independence in August 1947 until his death in September 1948.
Answer: (D) Lord Mountbatten
Lord Mountbatten served as independent India's first Governor-General (August 1947-June 1948); C. Rajagopalachari succeeded him as the last Governor-General and the only Indian to hold the post, before it was abolished with the 1950 Constitution.
Answer: (A) July 1947
The Indian Independence Act, providing for the creation of India and Pakistan as independent dominions, was passed by the British Parliament in July 1947.
Answer: (A) 1930, Surya Sen
Surya Sen ("Masterda") planned and led the Chittagong Armoury Raid of April 1930, in which young revolutionaries seized British armouries in Bengal.
Answer: (B) Cabinet Mission
The British Cabinet Mission arrived in India in March 1946 to discuss the framework for the transfer of power.
Answer: (B) Birsa
Birsa Munda led the Munda Rebellion, known as "Ulgulan" ("The Great Tumult"), against British and landlord exploitation in the Chota Nagpur region.
Answer: (B) Tamil Nadu and Kerala
The Mullaperiyar Dam, located in Kerala but operated by Tamil Nadu under a colonial-era lease agreement, has long been a source of dispute between the two states over safety and water-sharing.
Answer: (D) gap or pass
In this geographical context, "Ghat" refers to a mountain pass or step-like terrain feature, describing the terraced, step-like profile of the Western Ghats.
Answer: (A) Amaravati
Amaravati was designated as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh after the state's bifurcation and the creation of Telangana in 2014.
Answer: (D) Godavari
The Polavaram Project, a major multi-purpose irrigation scheme, is built across the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.
Answer: (C) Kolkata
Jalpaiguri, Malda and Bardhaman are all names of administrative Divisions in West Bengal's district hierarchy; Kolkata is a district (falling under the Presidency Division) rather than a Division in its own right.
Answer: (C) Paschim Medinipur
The Rarh region, an undulating lateritic tract of western West Bengal, extends into Paschim Medinipur along with Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum and West Bardhaman.
Answer: (C) 10-15 June
The southwest monsoon typically reaches South Bengal around 10-15 June, a few days after its onset over Kerala in early June.
Answer: (A) Meghalaya
Meghalaya, home to some of the world's wettest places (Mawsynram, Cherrapunji), experiences an extreme contrast between very heavy monsoon rainfall and a comparatively dry winter, giving it the largest annual rainfall variation among these states.
Answer: (B) extremely low rainfall
The plateau (Rarh) region of West Bengal receives comparatively less rainfall than the delta region, making it periodically susceptible to drought conditions.
Answer: (D) Groundwater
Natural gas, clay and sand are all genuinely extracted/mined resources in the delta region, whereas groundwater is pumped or drawn, not "mined" in the geological resource-extraction sense, making it the odd one out.
Answer: (C) West Bengal
The Toto tribe, one of India's smallest and most vulnerable indigenous communities, is found in the Totopara area of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal.
Answer: (B) Augmentation of water supply in the Hugli river
The Farakka Barrage was primarily built to divert Ganga water into the Hooghly River, flushing silt to keep Kolkata Port navigable — not chiefly for flood control, power generation, or transport in Bihar.
Answer: (A) Kolkata
Answer as of 2017 — this may have changed since.
Kolkata, as the state capital and most urbanised district, has consistently recorded the highest Human Development Index among West Bengal's districts.
Answer: (A) 2.4 per cent
India's land area of roughly 3.29 million sq km amounts to about 2.4% of the world's total land area.
Answer: (D) Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh, in India's extreme northeast, extends furthest east in longitude among Indian states.
Answer: (D) alluvial soils
Alluvial soils, deposited across the vast Indo-Gangetic plains and river deltas, cover the largest area of any soil type in India.
Answer: (B) West Bengal
Shifting (jhum) cultivation is traditionally practised in hilly, forested tracts of northeastern and eastern India, including parts of Assam, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, but not in the plains-dominated terrain of West Bengal.
Answer: (A) Wheat
Wheat production saw the most dramatic surge during India's Green Revolution, concentrated especially in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
Answer: (C) Sugarcane
Sugarcane has traditionally ranked as India's most valuable cash crop by production value, given both its yield volume and price.
Answer: (B) Digboi
Digboi, in Assam, is the site of India's first oil discovery (1889) and hosts the country's oldest operating oil refinery.
Answer: (D) Tamil Nadu
Answer as of 2017 — this may have changed since.
Tamil Nadu held the largest installed wind power capacity among Indian states at the time this paper was set, historically the leader in this sector before Gujarat's capacity later expanded significantly.
Answer: (D) 65 per cent
The 2011 Census recorded roughly 65% of India's population as being below the age of 35, reflecting the country's notably young demographic profile.
Answer: (C) a government organisation represented by both the central (India) and the state governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand
DVC is a multi-state statutory corporation jointly involving the Central Government along with the state governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand (formerly Bihar), modelled loosely on the USA's Tennessee Valley Authority.
Answer: (A) Mumbai
Answer as of 2017 — this may have changed since.
As per 2011 Census urban agglomeration data, Greater Mumbai was recorded as India's largest urban agglomeration; note that by more recent estimates and different measurement methodologies, the Delhi NCR urban agglomeration has since overtaken Mumbai in population, so this ranking is worth treating as time-bound rather than a permanent fact.
Answer: (B) Vishakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is one of India's few ports with a genuinely natural harbour, sheltered in part by the Dolphin's Nose headland; Chennai, Haldia and Tuticorin are all artificially constructed/developed harbours.
Answer: (C) iron and steel
The Bhilai Steel Plant, one of India's major public-sector integrated steel plants, is located in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.
Answer: (C) seventh
India is the world's seventh-largest country by land area, following Russia, Canada, the USA, China, Brazil and Australia.
Answer: (A) 1972
Following the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, India established the National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination that same year.
Answer: (D) lead
Lead's high density and atomic number make it highly effective at absorbing and shielding against nuclear/gamma radiation.
Answer: (B) in parallel
Household appliances are wired in parallel so that each device receives the full mains voltage and can operate independently — if one fails or is switched off, the others are unaffected.
Answer: (D) $\dfrac{11}{12}$th of its volume
By Archimedes' principle, the submerged fraction equals the ratio of the ice's density to water's density. Since ice has a density of about $0.917\ \text{g/cm}^3$ against water's $1\ \text{g/cm}^3$, this ratio works out to approximately $\dfrac{11}{12}$.
Answer: (B) red light is scattered least by the air molecules
Red light, having the longest wavelength among visible colours, is scattered the least by air molecules (Rayleigh scattering), allowing it to travel and remain visible over the greatest distance — the same principle behind traffic signal design.
Answer: (A) surface tension of water
Surface tension causes the thin film of water clinging between the bristles to pull them together as the brush is removed from water.
Answer: (C) $\Delta S = +\text{ve}$
The printed key selects $\Delta S=+\text{ve}$, per the source's answer key.
Answer: (A) Radio Detection and Ranging
RADAR is an acronym for "Radio Detection and Ranging", a system that uses radio waves to detect the position and speed of objects.
Answer: (D) rotational as well as translational motion
Since the two forces are unequal, there is a net resultant force causing translational motion; since they don't act along the same line, they also create a net torque, producing rotational motion as well — so the body experiences both simultaneously.
Answer: (A) $10\overset{\circ}{A}$
One nanometre equals $10^{-9}$ m, and one angstrom equals $10^{-10}$ m, so $1\ \text{nm} = 10\ \overset{\circ}{A}$ (10 angstroms).
Answer: (A) Cs
Caesium is the most electropositive (most reactive, most readily electron-donating) of the alkali/alkaline-earth metals listed here, owing to its large atomic size and low ionisation energy.
Answer: (D) see-saw
$SF_4$ has a see-saw molecular geometry: sulphur's five electron domains (four bonding pairs and one lone pair) arrange in a trigonal bipyramidal electron geometry, but the lone pair's presence distorts the actual molecular shape into a see-saw.
Answer: (A) Lindlar catalyst
Lindlar's catalyst (a poisoned palladium catalyst) selectively hydrogenates alkynes to the corresponding cis-alkenes, stopping the reaction before full reduction to the alkane, unlike plain $H_2/Pd$ which would over-reduce it.
Answer: (A) Mg/dry ether/$N_2$-atmosphere
Grignard reagent formation requires strictly anhydrous (dry) ether as solvent and an inert atmosphere (nitrogen or argon), since Grignard reagents react violently with both moisture and oxygen.
Answer: (C) $Me\text{-}C(=O)\text{-}CH_2\text{-}Cl$
The printed key selects option (C), chloroacetone, per the source's answer key.
Answer: (D) Electron transport
The electron transport chain is the stage of cellular respiration where oxygen is directly consumed, acting as the final electron acceptor to form water; glycolysis and fermentation are anaerobic, and the citric acid cycle itself doesn't directly use O2.
Answer: (B) Fungi
Penicillin is derived from Penicillium moulds, which belong to the fungi.
Answer: (A) Protostele
The protostele — a solid, undivided central vascular core without pith — is considered the most primitive stele type, characteristic of early vascular plants.
Answer: (A) A virus
A bacteriophage is a virus that specifically infects and replicates within bacteria.
Answer: (B) Gregor Johann Mendel
Gregor Mendel's particulate theory of inheritance — proposing that traits are passed on via discrete hereditary units (later called genes) rather than through blending — laid the foundation for classical genetics.
Answer: (B) potato
The potato tuber is a modified underground stem; carrot and turnip are modified roots, and groundnut develops its edible part as an underground fruit (a peg-derived pod), not a stem.
Answer: (C) Pachytene
Crossing over — the exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes — occurs during the pachytene stage of prophase I in meiosis.
Answer: (C) Loricifera
Loricifera is among the most recently described animal phyla, first identified and named by Reinhardt Kristensen in 1983, making it the most recently discovered of these options.
Answer: (B) Echidna
The echidna, along with the platypus, is a monotreme — an egg-laying mammal, unlike the marsupial/placental mammals in the other options.
Answer: (C) Turner syndrome individual
A Barr body forms from an inactivated "extra" X chromosome, which requires at least two X chromosomes to be present. Individuals with Turner syndrome (45,X karyotype) have only a single X chromosome, so there is no extra X to inactivate, and hence no Barr body.
Answer: (B) swimming organisms in water
"Nekton" refers to aquatic organisms that actively swim through the water column, as distinct from "plankton", which drift passively with currents.
Answer: (D) 275 and 282
Article 275 provides for statutory grants-in-aid from the Union to states (particularly for tribal welfare and states needing assistance), while Article 282 provides for discretionary grants by the Union or a state for any public purpose.
Answer: (C) three tiers
The 73rd Amendment established a uniform three-tier Panchayati Raj structure across India: the Gram Panchayat at the village level, the Panchayat Samiti (or Block/Mandal) at the intermediate level, and the Zilla Parishad at the district level.
Answer: (B) the President of India
The President of India is ceremonially regarded as the country's "first citizen", as the constitutional Head of State.
Answer: (B) Fundamental Duties
Fundamental Duties were added to the Constitution only later, via the 42nd Amendment (1976); Fundamental Rights, President's Rule, and Emergency provisions were all part of the original 1949 Constitution.
Answer: (B) Approval of the Finance Minister
There is no distinct constitutional requirement for a separate, formal "Finance Minister approval" step for a Money Bill — it needs to pass the Lok Sabha, while the Rajya Sabha can only recommend changes within 14 days, which the Lok Sabha may accept or reject.
Answer: (B) State List
Public order/"Law and Order" is a State List subject under the Seventh Schedule, placing primary responsibility for policing with state governments.
Answer: (C) the Vice-President of India
The Vice-President of India serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Answer: (D) levied by the Centre and shared with the States
Income tax on non-agricultural income is a Union subject, levied by the Centre but shared with the states according to the devolution formula recommended by the Finance Commission.
Answer: (D) the Narasimham Committee
The Narasimham Committee (1991) on financial sector reforms recommended strengthening SEBI's regulatory powers, which was implemented through the SEBI Act, 1992.
Answer: (B) 1935
The Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935, initially as a privately owned institution, and was later nationalised in 1949.
Answer: (D) All of the above
The FRBM Act (enacted 2003, in force from 2004) set out multiple fiscal discipline objectives, including reducing the revenue and fiscal deficits and managing public debt within defined limits.
Answer: (C) the Reserve Bank of India
The Repo rate, the key policy interest rate used to manage liquidity and inflation, is set by the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee.
Answer: (A) 2006
The SEZ Act, passed in 2005, formally came into force in February 2006.
Answer: (C) 1991
India's landmark liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG) reforms were launched in 1991 under Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, following a severe balance-of-payments crisis.
Answer: (C) agricultural goods
AGMARK is a quality certification mark issued by the Indian government for agricultural produce, ensuring conformity to defined quality standards.
Answer: (A) more currency transactions
The informal/unorganised sector relies predominantly on cash (currency) transactions, largely outside formal banking channels.
Answer: (A) the primary sector
Answer as of 2017 — this may have changed since.
Agriculture and allied activities (the primary sector) have historically employed the largest share of India's workforce, even though this share has been gradually declining and the sector now contributes a much smaller portion of GDP.
Answer: (A) the household sector
The household sector has traditionally been the largest single contributor to India's gross domestic savings.
Answer: (D) 50% of GDP
Answer as of 2017 — this may have changed since.
The services sector has for years been the largest contributor to India's GDP, generating more than half of it — though the precise figure moves from year to year and should be checked against current data when used for teaching.
Answer: (B) 1990
The UNDP published its first Human Development Report, introducing the Human Development Index, in 1990.
Answer: (C) the Mahalanobis Model
India's Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61) was based on the Mahalanobis Model, emphasising rapid development of heavy and capital goods industries.
Answer: (C) the World Bank
The World Development Report is an annual flagship publication of the World Bank, each edition focusing on a major theme in global development.
Answer: (A) XPSME
Each letter of MASON is shifted one place forward in the alphabet to give NBTPO (M→N, A→B, S→T, O→P, N→O). Applying the same +1 shift to WORLD gives W→X, O→P, R→S, L→M, D→E, i.e. XPSME.
Answer: (B) MSJH
Matching the letter-substitution pattern used to turn BOY into ZPC and applying the same coding logic to GIRL gives MSJH.
Answer: (C) 12
$12 \otimes 16 = \text{GCD}(12,16) = 4$, and $24 \otimes 36 = \text{GCD}(24,36) = 12$. Combining these with $\oplus$ (LCM): $\text{LCM}(4,12) = 12$.
Answer: (C) $fg^2$
Each term uses two consecutive letters, term $n$ pairing the $n^{th}$ and $(n+1)^{th}$ letters as (letter)(next letter)$^2$: term 5 is $ef^2$, so term 6, using $f$ and $g$, is $fg^2$.
Answer: (D) Language
"Manipuri" names a classical Indian dance form; "Urdu" names a language — the analogy links each term to the general category it belongs to.
Answer: (D) 3 km
Plotting the path: starting at $(0,0)$, moving 8 km east to $(8,0)$, then turning left (now facing north) 3 km to $(8,3)$, then turning left again (now facing west) 8 km back to $(0,3)$. The distance from the starting point $(0,0)$ to $(0,3)$ is 3 km.
Answer: (C) 10%
The error is $80-72=8$ kg; as a percentage of the actual (true) value, $\dfrac{8}{80}\times100\% = 10\%$.
Answer: (B) Rs. 39,000
After 35% tax, he keeps 65% of the winnings: $60{,}000 \times 0.65 = \text{Rs. } 39{,}000$.
Answer: (A) Rs. 225
Selling at a 10% loss on the Rs. 250 purchase value gives $250 \times 0.90 = \text{Rs. } 225$.
Answer: (C) Music
Numbers are the fundamental units of study in Mathematics; musical Notes are the fundamental units of study in Music, completing the analogy.
Answer: (A) Paresh
Combining the two clues (Gogol between Ronnie and Piyush; Kajol between Piyush and Paresh) around their shared reference point, Piyush, gives the seating order: Ronnie, Gogol, Piyush, Kajol, Paresh — placing Paresh at the extreme right end of the row.
Answer: (A) Tom
Working through the given left/right and between relationships and placing all five boys around the circle shows Tom ends up immediately to the right of Bablu.
Answer: (B) 7
First, $2*5 = (2)(5)+5-2 = 13$. Then $c*13 = (c)(13)+13-c = 12c+13 = 97$, so $12c=84$ and $c=7$.
Answer: (C) 23
First, $14\div7$ (meaning $14+7$) $=21$, and $14\times7$ (meaning $14\div7$) $=2$. Applying the outer $\div$ (again meaning "added to"): $21+2=23$.
Answer: (D) Beriberi
Strawberry, Blackberry and Gooseberry are all fruits (berries); "Beriberi" is a Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency disease, not a fruit at all, despite the similar-sounding name.
Answer: (A) Sister-in-law
Since Q is R's wife and P is Q's sister, P is R's wife's sister — making P R's sister-in-law.
Answer: (B) 3:2
$0.4A = 0.6B \Rightarrow \dfrac{A}{B} = \dfrac{0.6}{0.4} = \dfrac{3}{2}$, so $A:B = 3:2$.
Answer: (C) 11:15
New Bus fare $=4\times1.10=4.4$; new Train fare $=5\times1.20=6.0$. The new ratio $4.4:6.0$ simplifies to $11:15$.
Answer: (D) Nephew
B is A's brother, C is B's daughter (making C A's niece), and D is C's brother — so D is also B's son, meaning D is A's nephew.
Answer: (D) America
Hockey is closely associated with India as a historically dominant sport; Baseball is similarly closely associated with America, completing the country-sport analogy.
Answer: (A) 48 g
Since blue:green $=5:4$ and blue weighs 60 g, green $=60\times\dfrac{4}{5}=48$ g.
Answer: (B) 500,000
Let the population two years ago be $x$. After the two changes: $x \times 1.04 \times 0.95 = 494{,}000$, i.e. $x \times 0.988 = 494{,}000$, giving $x = 500{,}000$.
Answer: (C) 4%
Let the Post Office rate be $r$%, so the Bank rate is $(r+0.5)$%. Then $3000(r+0.5)/100 + 2500r/100 = 235$, which simplifies to $5500r = 22{,}000$, giving $r=4\%$.
Answer: (B) 60 m
Let the train's length be $x$ m. Its speed is $\dfrac{x}{5}$ (passing the person) and also $\dfrac{x+120}{15}$ (passing the whole platform). Setting these equal: $15x=5(x+120)$, giving $x=60$ m.
Answer: (A) 60%
By inclusion-exclusion, the share failing in at least one subject is $35+15-10=40\%$, so the pass percentage (failing in neither) is $100-40=60\%$.
Answer: (A) Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom
Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström jointly won the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their contributions to contract theory.
Answer: (C) Canada
The five permanent members with veto power in the UN Security Council are the USA, UK, France, Russia and China; Canada is not a permanent member and holds no veto.
Answer: (A) Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India issued a 2016 order mandating the playing of the National Anthem before film screenings in cinemas (an order later modified and eventually withdrawn in 2018).
Answer: (A) Viswanathan Anand
Chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand received the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award for 2016.
Answer: (A) Arnab Goswami
Arnab Goswami resigned as Editor-in-Chief of Times Now in November 2016, shortly before launching his own channel, Republic TV.
Answer: (C) Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor wrote "An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India" (2016), a critical account of British colonial rule in India, expanded from his widely-shared Oxford Union speech.
Answer: (B) China
The World Internet Conference (also known as the Wuzhen Summit) is an annual event held in Wuzhen, China.
Answer: (A) Mysore
The 103rd Indian Science Congress was held in Mysuru (Mysore) in January 2016.
Answer: (A) Birender Singh Dhanoa
Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa took over as Chief of the Air Staff on 31 December 2016, succeeding Arup Raha.
Answer: (B) Portugal
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was elected President of Portugal, taking office in March 2016.
Answer: (D) Singapore
George Yeo, a former Singaporean Foreign Minister, served as Chancellor of the revived Nalanda University before resigning from the post.
Answer: (B) Nepal
China launched a new rail cargo service linking Tibet (via Lhasa) to Nepal in December 2016, strengthening cross-border trade links.
Answer: (B) U.N. Security Council
The UN Security Council adopted the resolution authorising UN monitors to oversee civilian evacuations from besieged eastern Aleppo in December 2016.
Answer: (B) Qamar Javed Bajwa
General Qamar Javed Bajwa was appointed as Pakistan's Army Chief in November 2016, succeeding General Raheel Sharif.
Answer: (C) Rekha
Veteran actress Rekha received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Dubai International Film Festival.
Answer: (A) Israel
Archaeologists announced the discovery of a roughly 7,000-year-old lost city, En Esur, near Hadera in Israel, in November 2016 — one of the largest prehistoric sites found in the region.
Answer: (D) Brie Larson
Brie Larson won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 88th Academy Awards (held in February 2016, honouring 2015 films) for her role in "Room".
Answer: (B) Washington D. C.
The World Bank is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Answer: (A) Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi resigned as Italian Prime Minister in December 2016 after his proposed constitutional reforms were rejected in a national referendum.
Answer: (C) Aqeela Asifi
Aqeela Asifi, an Afghan refugee teacher who ran a school for refugee girls in Pakistan, won the 2015 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award.
Answer: (A) China
The 2016 G20 Summit was held in Hangzhou, China.
Answer: (C) September 16
The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is observed annually on 16 September, marking the anniversary of the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
Answer: (C) Boxing
Vikas Krishan Yadav is a prominent Indian amateur boxer, a multiple Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medallist.
Answer: (D) Durban
Answer as of 2017 — this may have changed since.
At the time this paper was compiled, Durban, South Africa had been awarded the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
