RRB NTPC CBT 1 2021 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The Dhamekh Stupa, located at Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, was originally commissioned in 249 BCE by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It was built to commemorate the spot where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon to his five disciples after attaining enlightenment, an event known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. Although the present cylindrical structure was enlarged and encased in carved stone during the Gupta period, its foundation and initial construction belong to the Mauryan dynasty.

Explanation

Article 243S of the Indian Constitution, inserted by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, mandates the constitution of Wards Committees within the territorial area of a municipality having a population of three lakhs or more. A Wards Committee consists of one or more wards within the municipal area, aimed at decentralizing municipal governance and enabling civic participation at the local neighborhood level.

Explanation

Pampore, located in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, is renowned for producing high-quality saffron (Crocus sativus). It produces the vast majority of saffron in India, earning it the popular title of the Saffron Town of Kashmir. Kashmiri saffron cultivated in this region is globally valued for its deep color, rich aroma, and medicinal properties, and holds a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Explanation

Under the old national highway numbering system in India, National Highway 1 (NH 1) connected the national capital, New Delhi, to Attari in Punjab near the India–Pakistan border. It formed a major part of the historic Grand Trunk Road, passing through key northern cities such as Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Amritsar.

Explanation

Kalbelia folk songs and dances belong to the state of Rajasthan, performed by the nomadic Kalbelia community who were traditionally snake charmers. The dance features fluid, swirling movements that mimic the graceful motions of a serpent, accompanied by traditional instruments such as the pungi (been) and dufli. In 2010, the Kalbelia folk songs and dances were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Explanation

Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB) is a corporate debt instrument issued by a company in a foreign currency, such as US Dollars or Euros, rather than the home currency. It is a hybrid financial security that acts as a regular bond paying fixed interest, but also offers the bondholder an option to convert the debt into equity shares of the issuing company at a predetermined price and timeframe. This feature allows companies to raise foreign capital at relatively lower interest rates.

Explanation

The National Development Council (NDC), or Rashtriya Vikas Parishad, was set up on 6 August 1952 as an apex body for decision-making and deliberations on development matters in India. It was presided over by the Prime Minister and comprised Union Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers of all States, Union Territory Administrators, and members of the Planning Commission. The NDC served as a key platform to promote common economic policies, strengthen nation-building efforts, and approve Five-Year Plans.

Explanation

Anthracite is the highest quality coal because it contains the highest carbon content (80% to 95%) and the lowest moisture content, making it burn cleanly with high heat intensity. Lignite is the lowest quality coal, containing only about 25% to 35% carbon along with a very high moisture content, which results in low heat yield and high smoke production upon burning.

Explanation

James Augustus Hicky published India's first newspaper, Hicky's Bengal Gazette (also known as the Original Calcutta General Advertiser), in January 1780 at Calcutta. It was an English-language weekly journal that laid the foundation of journalism and print media in the Indian subcontinent.

Explanation

The Space Applications Centre (SAC) is a major research and development center of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Established in 1972, the center focuses on the design and development of space-borne instruments and payloads for satellite communication, remote sensing, meteorology, and navigation applications.

Explanation

Mount Vinson, also known as Vinson Massif, is the highest peak in Antarctica, standing at an elevation of 4,892 meters (16,050 feet). It is located in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, roughly 1,200 kilometers from the South Pole.

Explanation

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) became the second Indian company to cross the Rs 6 lakh crore market capitalization milestone in July 2018, following Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which was the first to achieve this feat in January 2018.

Explanation

Spam refers to unsolicited bulk electronic communications, primarily in the form of commercial emails sent over the internet to massive numbers of recipients without their prior consent. These automated mass messages flood email servers and user inboxes, typically generated for marketing, promotional advertising, or phishing purposes.

Explanation

Raymond Lindeman introduced the ten percent law of energy transfer in 1942. According to this ecological principle, only about 10% of the energy available at a given trophic level is transferred to the next higher trophic level in a food chain, while the remaining 90% is lost primarily through metabolic processes, respiration, and heat.

Explanation

According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), Italy was the world's largest producer of wine in 2019, with an annual production of approximately 47.5 million hectoliters. It accounted for roughly 18% of total global wine output that year.

Explanation

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects devices within a limited geographical area or relatively small space, such as a residence, school, office building, or laboratory. LANs facilitate high-speed data transmission, low latency, and seamless resource sharing among connected devices using networking hardware like Ethernet cables, switches, and wireless access points.

Explanation

Chlorine (Cl) is a halogen element that exists as a diatomic gas (Cl₂) under standard room temperature and pressure. It is uniquely characterized by its pale greenish-yellow colour, high density, and a sharp, pungent, suffocating smell reminiscent of household bleach.

Explanation

Akhnoor Fort is situated on the right bank of the Chenab River in the Akhnoor town of Jammu and Kashmir. Initiated by Raja Alam Singh in 1792 and completed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, the fort stands on an ancient mound dating back to the Harappan civilization and overlooks the river as it enters the plains from the Himalayas.

Explanation

Lord Cornwallis served as the Governor-General of Bengal from 1786 to 1793 and is regarded as the Father of Civil Services in India. He reformed, reorganized, and modernized the civil services to eliminate corruption, strictly separating the administrative and commercial functions of the East India Company. He introduced structured rules for administrative appointments, increased salaries to deter civil servants from engaging in private trade, and established a merit-based cadre system.

Explanation

Sambad Kaumudi was a weekly Bengali newspaper established by Raja Rammohan Roy in 1821. It served as a prominent platform for social and religious reform, actively campaigning against orthodox social evils such as Sati, child marriage, and illiteracy, while promoting modern education and rational thinking.

Explanation

Geostationary orbits are strictly equatorial orbits positioned directly above the Earth's equator with an orbital inclination of 0°. In contrast, sun-synchronous orbits are near-polar orbits with a high inclination of approximately 98° that allow a satellite to pass over any given latitude at the same local solar time. Because these two orbital paths require completely different orbital inclinations, a geostationary orbit can never be sun-synchronous.

Explanation

Disposing dry leaves in pits under soil is a natural composting practice where microorganisms and earthworms decompose organic plant matter into nutrient-rich humus. This process enriches soil structure, improves its water-retention capacity, and recycles nutrients back into the ecosystem without releasing harmful pollutants or causing environmental degradation.

Explanation

Shri Kalbe Sadiq, an eminent Shia Islamic scholar, reformer, and vice-president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), was posthumously conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2021 in the field of Spiritualism. Renowned for his lifelong commitment to promoting interfaith harmony, education, and communal amity, he established the Tauheedul Muslimeen Trust in 1984 to provide scholarships and educational aid to underprivileged students across India.

Explanation

Jute is known as the golden fiber because of its natural yellowish-gold silky shine and high economic value. It is a long, soft, and shiny plant fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads, making it second only to cotton in global production and usage among natural fibers. It is highly valued for being biodegradable, reusable, and eco-friendly, and is extensively used in manufacturing gunny bags, ropes, twine, carpets, and decorative items.

Explanation

Apsara is India's and Asia's oldest nuclear research reactor, which originally became critical on August 4, 1956, at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) campus in Trombay, Mumbai. After serving for over five decades, it was shut down in June 2009 for refurbishment and technological upgrades. It was recommissioned on September 10, 2018, as an upgraded version named Apsara-U (Apsara-Upgraded) with a higher capacity of 2 MW thermal, utilizing indigenously developed metallic plate-type fuel made of low-enriched uranium.

Explanation

The Tomb of Sher Shah Suri is situated at Sasaram in the Rohtas district of Bihar. Constructed between 1540 and 1545 CE by the architect Aliwal Khan, the tomb is an outstanding example of Indo-Islamic architecture. Built in red sandstone, the octagonal monument stands majestically in the middle of a large artificial square lake and houses the grave of Emperor Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the Sur Empire.

Explanation

Mission Indradhanush was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on December 25, 2014. The flagship health initiative aims to achieve full immunization coverage for all children under two years of age and pregnant women against major vaccine-preventable diseases, including diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles, and hepatitis B.

Explanation

The Haryana government launched the 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow Scheme in January 2018 to grade and rank village panchayats based on seven social parameters. Under this scheme, star ratings with specific color codes are awarded to gram panchayats for outstanding performance in areas including improving sex ratio, education, cleanliness, environmental protection, social harmony, crime reduction, and governance. Panchayats achieving these star ratings receive financial rewards and additional development grants from the state government.

Explanation

Finland secured the first position in the World Happiness Report 2020, published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN). This marked the third consecutive year that Finland was ranked as the happiest nation in the world. The index evaluates countries based on key parameters including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

Explanation

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest honor in the field of cinema. Instituted in 1969 by the Government of India, it commemorates Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913. The award is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals for outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Indian cinema.

Explanation

An amphoteric oxide is an oxide that reacts with both acids and bases to form salt and water, exhibiting both acidic and basic character. Zinc oxide (ZnO) behaves as an amphoteric oxide because it reacts with acids like hydrochloric acid to form zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) and water, while also reacting with strong bases like sodium hydroxide to form sodium zincate (Na₂ZnO₂) and water.

Explanation

The pH of a solution is defined as pH = -log₁₀[H⁺], which gives the hydrogen ion concentration as [H⁺] = 10⁻ᵖᴴ mol/L. Because of the negative logarithmic relation, pH is inversely related to hydrogen ion concentration, meaning a lower pH value represents a higher concentration of H⁺ ions. At pH = 4, the hydrogen ion concentration is 10⁻⁴ mol/L, which is the highest among the given solutions.

Explanation

Kanshi Ram founded the Bahujan Samaj Party on 14 April 1984, coinciding with the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar. The party was established to represent and mobilize the Bahujans, which includes Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and religious minorities. Prior to launching the party, Kanshi Ram established organisations such as the All India Backwards and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) in 1978 and the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4) in 1981 to lay the groundwork for political representation.

Explanation

Yeast cells carry out alcoholic fermentation, which is a form of anaerobic respiration occurring in the absence of oxygen. In this biochemical process, glucose is broken down to produce ethanol (ethyl alcohol), carbon dioxide, and energy in the form of ATP.

Explanation

In Microsoft Word, pressing Alt + E + S opens the Paste Special dialog box. This shortcut sequence functions as a legacy access key combination inherited from the classic menu bar system, where Alt accesses the menu bar, E opens the Edit menu, and S selects the Paste Special command.

Explanation

On 15 April 1980, the Government of India nationalised six major private commercial banks under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1980. This second wave of nationalisation was undertaken to bring a larger segment of the banking sector under government control, ensuring greater credit flow to priority sectors like agriculture, small-scale industries, and rural development.

Explanation

In computer memory and digital storage using binary representation, units increase by factors of 2¹⁰ (1024). Therefore, 1 gigabyte (GB) is equal to 1024 megabytes (MB).

Explanation

National Voters Day has been celebrated across India on 25th January every year since 2011 to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January 1950. The primary objective of this day is to encourage, facilitate, and maximize voter enrollment, particularly focusing on newly eligible young voters.

Explanation

7, Lok Kalyan Marg (formerly 7, Race Course Road) serves as the official residence and principal workplace of the Prime Minister of India in New Delhi. The residential complex is situated within Lutyens' Delhi, the administrative and residential zone designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens during the planning and development of New Delhi. Sir Edwin Lutyens played the central role in designing the layout and grand architectural plan of India's capital city.

Explanation

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1944 following the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. Its headquarters is located in Montreal, Canada. ICAO codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.

Explanation

The 2019 Indian general election was held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 23 May 2019, leading to the formation of the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his second term.

Explanation

An electric generator operates on the principle of electromagnetic induction. When a conductor moves relative to a magnetic field, the changing magnetic flux induces an electromotive force (EMF) in the conductor, converting mechanical energy from an external source into electrical energy.

Explanation

Acharya Kanada, an ancient Indian philosopher who founded the Vaisheshika school of philosophy, formulated the atomic theory of matter. He posited that all matter is composed of minute, indivisible, eternal particles called 'Parmanu', which combine in specific proportions to form the various physical objects in the universe.

Explanation

Russia hosted the 12th BRICS Summit virtually in November 2020 under the chairmanship of President Vladimir Putin. The theme for the summit was "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth". The conference focused on enhancing cooperation among member nations, addressing the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthening counter-terrorism efforts.

Explanation

Peptic ulcers are primarily caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a spiral-shaped bacterium that colonizes the mucosal lining of the human stomach and duodenum. The bacterium produces the enzyme urease, which neutralizes gastric acid locally and allows it to survive in the acidic environment. Its persistent colonisation induces chronic inflammation and weakens the protective mucus coating, enabling digestive acid to irritate and erode the underlying tissue. Robin Warren and Barry Marshall were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005 for discovering the link between this bacterium and peptic ulcer disease.

Explanation

Chittaranjan Das was affectionately bestowed with the title "Deshbandhu", meaning "Friend of the Nation", for his nationalist fervor, public service, and sacrifice during the Indian independence movement. A distinguished lawyer and leader from Bengal, he gave up his lucrative legal practice to join the Non-Cooperation Movement and later co-founded the Swaraj Party in 1923 alongside Motilal Nehru to advocate for Indian self-rule.

Explanation

Article 343(2) of the Constitution of India provided that the English language would continue to be used for all official purposes of the Union for a period of 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950. Parliament was empowered to provide by law for the continued use of English beyond this 15-year period, which led to the enactment of the Official Languages Act of 1963, allowing the continued use of English alongside Hindi.

Explanation

A cation is a positively charged ion. It is formed when a neutral atom or molecule loses one or more electrons from its valence shell, resulting in a net positive electrical charge because the number of protons exceeds the number of electrons. Common examples include sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), and calcium (Ca²⁺) ions.

Explanation

In HTTPS, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, the letter 's' denotes Secure. It indicates that data transferred between the web browser and the website is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), ensuring privacy, integrity, and security over the internet.

Explanation

Lonar Lake, located in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra, is a saline and alkaline lake formed by a meteorite impact during the Pleistocene Epoch. It is the only hyper-velocity impact crater formed in basaltic rock in India and is designated as a National Geo-heritage Monument.