Every free question on West Bengal Affairs (Current Affairs & General Knowledge) from past WBCS Preliminary Examination and WBCS Main Examination papers, newest first, each with its answer and a short explanation. Free to read.
Answer: (A) 8
Answer as of 2023 — this may have changed since.
North Bengal has eight districts: Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda. Kalimpong and Alipurduar were carved out in the 2010s, so older counts of 6 or 7 are out of date.
Answer: (C) 5
The key counts five SKOCH awards for West Bengal in 2021. The state's projects were honoured more than once that year: ease-of-doing-business services such as the Silpasathi single-window portal in August, and the education and tourism departments in November, so the total depends on which announcements are counted. Note: the widely reported announcement of August 2021 was of four awards (one platinum, one gold and two silver), so (B) 4 is the figure most current-affairs sources give.
Answer: (D) Duare Sarkar
West Bengal's Duare Sarkar ('Government at the doorstep') outreach programme won a Digital India Award for delivering many state services through camps and an online portal. Swasthya Sathi (health cover), Shilpa Sathi (industry single window) and Rupashree (marriage grant) were not the awarded scheme here.
Answer: (D) Classes IX to XII
Sabooj Sathi, launched by the Government of West Bengal in 2015, distributes free bicycles to students of classes IX to XII in government, government-aided and sponsored schools and madrasahs, to improve access to secondary education and cut drop-outs, especially among girls. It is implemented by the Backward Classes Welfare Department through the WB SC, ST & OBC Development and Finance Corporation, and received a UN-backed WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) award in 2019. The narrower class ranges in the other options are incomplete.
Answer: (D) All of the above
Kanyashree Prakalpa (launched 2013) originally applied only to girls from families with annual income up to Rs. 1,20,000, but this ceiling was waived if the girl had lost both parents, was physically challenged (40% or more disability) or was an inmate of a home registered under the Juvenile Justice Act - so all three conditions are correct. The income ceiling was later withdrawn altogether. K1 is an annual scholarship (ages 13-18), K2 a one-time grant of Rs. 25,000 at 18 if the girl is unmarried and studying, and K3 supports post-graduate study; the scheme won the UN Public Service Award in 2017.
Answer: (B) Rs. 1,00,000
Under Gatidhara, launched by the West Bengal Transport Department in 2014, registered unemployed youth (aged 20-45, with family income up to Rs. 25,000 a month) get a subsidy of 30% of the ex-showroom price of a commercial vehicle, subject to a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh, the balance being financed through a bank loan; the aim is self-employment in the transport sector. Related state schemes: Yuvasree (unemployment assistance), Karma Sathi Prakalpa (soft loans up to Rs. 2 lakh for new enterprises) and Swami Vivekananda Swanirbhar Karmasansthan Prakalpa.
Answer: (A) 8
Answer as of 2021 — this may have changed since.
PSC's final key gives 8. The figure is usually reconciled with the state-run medical colleges that started between 2011 and 2021: Sagar Dutta (Kamarhati), Malda, Murshidabad (Berhampore), Cooch Behar, Raiganj, Rampurhat, Diamond Harbour and Purulia. The count depends on exactly which institutions and which ten-year window are taken, and more colleges (e.g., Barasat, Arambagh, Tamluk, Jhargram, Uluberia, Jalpaiguri) have opened since, so treat the number as time-sensitive. For this paper, remember the official answer: 8.
Answer: (C) 100%
Swasthya Sathi, West Bengal's group health-insurance scheme launched on 30 December 2016, gives cashless cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care, and the entire premium (100%) is borne by the State Government - beneficiaries pay nothing. The paperless smart card is issued in the name of the senior-most woman of the family, covers the parents of both spouses and puts no cap on family size; from December 2020 (Duare Sarkar) it was extended to all residents not covered by another scheme. Compare Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, where the cost is shared 60:40 between the Centre and the state.
Answer: (D) Jagdeep Dhankar
Answer as of 2020 — this may have changed since.
Jagdeep Dhankhar was the Governor of West Bengal at the time this paper was set (he took office in July 2019; he later became Vice President of India in 2022).
Answer: (B) Bulbul
Answer as of 2020 — this may have changed since.
Cyclone Bulbul struck the West Bengal coast in November 2019 (Cyclone Fani had hit Odisha earlier that year, in May 2019).
Answer: (B) Kurukh language
Answer as of 2020 — this may have changed since.
The Kurukh language, spoken by the Oraon tribal community, was granted official status in West Bengal and is listed by UNESCO among endangered languages.
Answer: (A) 1984
The Kolkata Metro, India's first underground metro rail system, began commercial operations in 1984, decades before any other Indian city had one.
