RRB NTPC CBT 1 2021 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Kalidasa was a renowned Sanskrit poet and dramatist of ancient India, celebrated for masterpieces such as Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghaduta, and Raghuvamsha. He was given the title 'Shakespeare of India' by Western scholars, notably Sir William Jones, who translated Abhijnanashakuntalam into English in 1789 and drew comparisons between Kalidasa's literary excellence and that of William Shakespeare.

Explanation

Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut and engineer who became the first woman of Indian origin to travel into space. She flew on her first mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-87) in November 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.

Explanation

India's 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is located at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. Constructed by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), this sodium-cooled fast reactor represents the second stage of India's three-stage nuclear power programme, designed to breed more fissile fuel than it consumes using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel.

Explanation

The Right to Property was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 during the Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Prior to this amendment, the Right to Property was guaranteed as a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 of the Indian Constitution. Following the amendment, it was reclassified as a legal and constitutional right under Article 300A in Part XII of the Constitution.

Explanation

India enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002 to meet its obligations under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992. The Act provides a framework for the conservation of biological resources, their sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization. It established a decentralized three-tier structure consisting of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local body level.

Explanation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was nationalised on 1 January 1949 under the Reserve Bank of India (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948, marking the first nationalisation of a bank in India. Originally established as a private shareholders' bank in 1935, its takeover by the central government established complete state control over India's monetary framework and banking regulations.

Explanation

Under Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected indirectly by an Electoral College. This Electoral College consists of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States, as well as the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.

Explanation

Patna Kalam is an offshoot of Mughal miniature painting that flourished in Bihar during the 18th and 19th centuries. Influenced by both Mughal traditions and European artistic styles, it is characterized by delicate brushwork directly on paper or mica without pencil under-drawings, light washes of natural pigments, and realistic depictions of everyday life, local artisans, and bazaar scenes.

Explanation

The Hemavati River originates in the Western Ghats at Mudigere in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka. It is a major left-bank tributary of the Kaveri River. Flowing for approximately 245 km through the Hassan and Mandya districts, it joins the Kaveri River near the Krishnarajasagara reservoir. The famous Gorur Dam, also known as the Hemavati Dam, is constructed across this river in Hassan district to supply drinking water and irrigation to the surrounding region.

Explanation

The First Five-Year Plan of India was presented to the Parliament by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on December 9, 1951. Covering the period from 1951 to 1956, it focused mainly on the primary sector, including agriculture, irrigation, and power generation, based on the Harrod-Domar growth model.

Explanation

Concave mirrors are used for shaving because when an object is placed close to the mirror (between its pole and principal focus), it forms an erect, virtual, and magnified image. This enlarged reflection provides a clear and detailed view of the face, making shaving easier and safer.

Explanation

On April 14, 2019, President Danny Faure of Seychelles delivered the first live speech by a head of state from an underwater submersible. Descending 124 meters (approx. 400 feet) below the ocean surface in the Indian Ocean during a science expedition, he urged world leaders and global citizens to take decisive action to protect marine ecosystems.

Explanation

Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh. Similarly, volleyball is the official national sport of Nepal, declared by the Nepal cabinet in May 2017.

Explanation

CRY (Child Rights and You) is an Indian non-governmental organisation founded in 1979 by Rippan Kapur. It works to restore and protect the fundamental rights of children, focusing on critical areas such as health, nutrition, education, and safety from child labor, child marriage, and abuse. CRY collaborates with grassroots non-profits, communities, and government bodies across India to enable happy, healthy, and creative childhoods for all children.

Explanation

Booting is the process of powering on or restarting a computer system and loading its core system software into main memory. During this process, the firmware (BIOS or UEFI) checks hardware components, locates the bootloader, and loads the operating system into random access memory (RAM). Without an operating system, the hardware cannot manage system resources, provide a user interface, or execute application software.

Explanation

Johannes Kepler discovered the three laws of planetary motion in the early 17th century by analyzing the detailed astronomical observations compiled by Tycho Brahe. These laws describe how planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun, sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time, and possess orbital periods proportional to the cube of their semi-major axes.

Explanation

The Canadian model of federalism served as the source for India's quasi-federal structure, characterized by a federation with a strong central authority. Key features adopted from the Constitution of Canada include a strong Center, the allocation of residuary powers to the Union, and the appointment of state Governors by the Center.

Explanation

Dr. Rajiv Kumar served as the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog from September 2017 to April 2022. As the Vice Chairman, he held the rank of a Cabinet Minister in the Government of India and headed the policy think tank's executive functions.

Explanation

The ₹2,000 banknote, introduced by the Reserve Bank of India on November 8, 2016, as part of the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, has dimensions of 66 mm × 166 mm. Printed on a magenta base color, the note features a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on the obverse and a motif of Mangalyaan representing India's interplanetary space expedition on the reverse.

Explanation

Manipuri dance is deeply rooted in Vaishnavism and predominantly portrays themes centered around the devotional play and love of Lord Krishna, Radha, and the Gopis. The core performance in this classical dance form is the Raas Leela, which dramatizes the divine love, spiritual play (leela), and intense devotion of the Gopis toward Lord Krishna.

Explanation

In Microsoft Word 2016, pressing Ctrl + Q removes all direct paragraph formatting applied to the selected text. It resets parameters such as indentations, line spacing, and paragraph spacing back to the default settings of the underlying paragraph style.

Explanation

The Suez Canal was constructed across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt between 1859 and 1869 by the Suez Canal Company, led by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. Officially opened in November 1869, this artificial sea-level waterway connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, providing the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

Explanation

The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) is a fundamental component of a computer's Central Processing Unit (CPU). It is responsible for executing all basic mathematical calculations, such as addition and subtraction, as well as logical operations including comparison and bitwise boolean evaluations.

Explanation

During the 11th Five Year Plan period (2007–2012), the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the Development of Solar Cities scheme, proposing financial and technical support to develop 60 cities/towns across India as solar cities. The scheme aimed to enable urban local bodies to reduce at least 10% of their projected demand for conventional energy through renewable energy installations and energy efficiency measures. Financial assistance of up to ₹50 lakh was earmarked for each city to prepare master plans, establish dedicated solar cells, and conduct capacity-building activities.

Explanation

Begum Hazrat Mahal, the wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, led the Revolt of 1857 at Lucknow. Following the British annexation of Awadh in 1856 and the exile of the Nawab to Calcutta, she took charge of the uprising in Awadh. She proclaimed her young son, Birjis Qadr, as the ruler of Awadh, organized the administration, and actively led the armed resistance against the British forces during the Siege of Lucknow.

Explanation

By Euler's triangle formula, the distance d between the circumcentre and the incentre of a triangle is given by:

d² = R(R - 2r)

where R is the circumradius and r is the inradius of the triangle.

Substituting the given values, R = 9 cm and r = 4 cm:

d² = 9 × (9 - 2 × 4) d² = 9 × (9 - 8) d² = 9 × 1 d² = 9 d = √9 = 3 cm

Explanation

The name 'United Nations' was coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was first used officially on 1 January 1942 in the Declaration by United Nations during World War II. On this date, representatives of 26 allied nations signed the declaration, pledging their governments to continue fighting together against the Axis powers and committing to common principles for international peace and security.

Explanation

"Period. End of Sentence." won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 91st Academy Awards in 2019. Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi and produced by Melissa Berton, the documentary highlights the social stigma surrounding menstruation in rural India and follows local women in Kathikhera, Uttar Pradesh, as they learn to manufacture and market low-cost, biodegradable sanitary pads using a machine installed in their village.

Explanation

Sundarbans is a major biosphere reserve located in West Bengal, India. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 for its unique mangrove forest ecosystem and vast biodiversity, including being a critical habitat for the Royal Bengal Tiger. Designated as a national biosphere reserve in 1989, it was later added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2001.

Explanation

Lord Mountbatten served as the first Governor-General of independent India from 15 August 1947 to 21 June 1948. Having previously served as the last Viceroy of British India, he was requested by Indian leaders to continue as the constitutional head of the Dominion of India during the immediate post-independence transition period.

Explanation

Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees the protection of life and personal liberty, stating that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The Supreme Court of India has expanded the scope of Article 21 to include the right to live with human dignity, right to livelihood, right to privacy, right to a clean environment, and right to health, making it one of the most pivotal fundamental rights available to both citizens and non-citizens.

Explanation

Using the time and work formula, if a person completes a task in x days and two people together complete it in y days, the time taken by the second person alone is given by:

Time = (x × y) / (x - y)

Substituting x = 7 days and y = 4 days:

Time = (7 × 4) / (7 - 4) = 28 / 3 = 9⅓ days

Alternatively, via daily work efficiency: Man's 1 day work = 1/7 Combined 1 day work of man and son = 1/4 Son's 1 day work = 1/4 - 1/7 = 3/28

Thus, the son alone takes 28/3 = 9⅓ days to complete the task.

Explanation

Iran holds observer status in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) rather than full membership. SAARC was established in 1985 to promote regional integration, economic growth, and mutual assistance among South Asian nations. While Iran applied for observer status in 2006 and was formally granted observer state status at the 14th SAARC Summit in April 2007, it remains an observer alongside eight other countries and organizations rather than a full member.

Explanation

Total work = 25 × 60 = 1500 woman-days.

Let 5 additional women join after x days. For the first x days, 25 women work, and for the remaining (55 − x) days, 30 women work.

25x + 30(55 − x) = 1500 25x + 1650 − 30x = 1500 5x = 150 x = 30 days

Explanation

The Republic of the Congo officially joined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in June 2018, becoming one of its full member states. Founded in September 1960 in Baghdad by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, OPEC is an intergovernmental organization that coordinates and unifies petroleum policies among its member nations to ensure the stabilization of international oil markets.

Explanation

A gutter margin is an extra space added to the side or top margin of a document page to compensate for the paper consumed or obscured during the binding process. It ensures that the text and graphics remain fully visible and legible, preventing them from being tucked away into the spine of a bound book, booklet, or report.

Explanation

Tectonic earthquakes are generated by the sudden release of strain energy accumulated along geological faults in the Earth's crust. As tectonic stress builds up, rock masses on either side of a fault plane eventually overcome frictional resistance and slide rapidly past each other, sending seismic waves through the surrounding crust.

Explanation

Ugadi is the traditional New Year's Day celebrated in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, along with Telangana and Karnataka. It falls on the first day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month of Chaitra, marking the arrival of spring and new beginnings. A central tradition of the festival is preparing Ugadi Pachadi, a unique dish incorporating six distinct tastes—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, tangy, and spicy—symbolizing that life is a blend of diverse experiences.

Explanation

During the Karachi session of the All-India Muslim League held in December 1943, Muhammad Ali Jinnah adopted the slogan Divide and Quit. This slogan served as the Muslim League's direct counter to the Indian National Congress's Quit India Movement of 1942, emphasizing the League's demand that the British partition India to create a separate Muslim state before departing from the subcontinent.

Explanation

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist and international development expert who was appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in February 2021. She made history by becoming both the first woman and the first African to lead the organization. Prior to her WTO appointment, she served twice as Nigeria's Finance Minister and had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist.

Explanation

Phloem is a complex vascular tissue in plants responsible for translocation, which is the movement of soluble organic nutrients, primarily sucrose (sugar) produced during photosynthesis, from the leaves to non-photosynthetic parts of the plant such as roots, stems, flowers, and fruits for growth and energy storage.

Explanation

Jog Falls, located on the Sharavathi River in the Shimoga district of Karnataka, is widely known as Gersoppa Falls or Gerusoppe Falls, named after the nearby village of Gerusoppa. It is one of the highest plunge waterfalls in India, dropping from a height of approximately 253 meters (830 feet) in four distinct cascades known as Raja, Rani, Roarer, and Rocket.

Explanation

Glucose is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) with the chemical formula C₆H₁₂O₆. It is classified as a hexose because its molecular structure contains a backbone of six carbon atoms, along with twelve hydrogen atoms and six oxygen atoms.

Explanation

Shahtoosh wool, renowned as the finest, softest, and lightest wool in the world, is obtained from the underfur of the Tibetan Antelope, also known as the Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii). Native to the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau, the Chiru produces this ultra-fine hair to survive harsh freezing conditions. Since harvesting the wool requires killing the animal, the Tibetan Antelope is strictly protected, and international trade in Shahtoosh is prohibited under CITES.

Explanation

India Gate, officially known as the All India War Memorial, was designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The foundation stone of this iconic monument in New Delhi was laid on 10 February 1921 by the Duke of Connaught to honor the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

Explanation

Akash Mk-1S is an upgraded variant of the Akash missile system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is a surface-to-air missile equipped with an indigenous active radio frequency seeker that enhances its capability to detect, track, and destroy incoming high-speed aerial threats such as enemy aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles.

Explanation

The Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) was established in 1971 at Hyderabad, Telangana, as a major industrial unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. It is responsible for manufacturing natural and enriched uranium fuel assemblies, zirconium alloy structural components, and reactor core components for nuclear power reactors in India.

Explanation

The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. During the Non-Cooperation Movement, a violent clash erupted when police fired upon a peaceful gathering of protesters. In response, the agitated crowd set fire to the local police station, leading to the deaths of 22 policemen. Deeply distressed by this departure from non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement on 12 February 1922.

Explanation

Salar de Uyuni, located in southwestern Bolivia, is the world's largest salt desert or salt flat, covering an area of over 10,000 square kilometers (about 3,900 square miles). Formed by the evaporation of prehistoric lakes near the crest of the Andes, it contains extraordinary reserves of lithium and salt beneath its thick white crust.

Explanation

António Guterres, who assumed office as the 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations on January 1, 2017, is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Prior to leading the United Nations, he served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 2005 to 2015.