RRB NTPC CBT 1 2021 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The Chipko movement was a non-violent forest conservation movement that originated in 1973 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Villagers, led by prominent environmental activists like Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, and Gaura Devi, hugged trees to prevent them from being felled by commercial contractors. The movement aimed to protect trees, prevent soil erosion, and safeguard the fragile Himalayan ecosystem from widespread deforestation.

Explanation

The Fundamental Duties of citizens were incorporated into Part IV-A of the Indian Constitution under Article 51A by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976. This amendment was enacted on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee to emphasize the civic duties and ethical obligations of citizens alongside their fundamental rights.

Explanation

Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn in as the 10th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on March 10, 2021. He was administered the oath of office by Governor Baby Rani Maurya at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun. Prior to taking charge as the Chief Minister, he served as a Member of Parliament representing the Garhwal constituency in the Lok Sabha.

Explanation

Pulakeshin II (610–642 CE) was the most famous and powerful king of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami (Vatapi). He expanded the Chalukyan kingdom across large parts of the Deccan region and is best remembered for halting the southward expansion of Emperor Harshavardhana at the banks of the Narmada River. His military triumphs and achievements are detailed in the famous Aihole inscription composed by his court poet Ravikirti.

Explanation

Under Article 83(1) of the Constitution of India, the Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. According to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the term of office of a member of the Rajya Sabha is six years. One-third of its members retire every two years, ensuring continuity in the functioning of the Upper House of Parliament.

Explanation

In March 2021, during the presentation of the Delhi Budget for FY 2021-22 (Deshbhakti Budget), Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia announced the Delhi government's plan to bid for hosting the 39th Summer Olympic Games in 2048. The target was set to coincide with the centenary celebration of India's independence in 2048. To achieve this long-term goal, the Delhi government outlined measures to build international-standard sports infrastructure and establish the Delhi Sports University to train athletes.

Explanation

The Rolling Plan concept was introduced in India in 1978 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai. The government terminated the Fifth Five-Year Plan a year ahead of its scheduled completion in 1979 and launched the Rolling Plan for the period 1978–1983. Under this system, performance targets and resource allocations were reviewed and revised annually based on the economy's performance in the preceding year.

Explanation

The Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchipuram was built by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha, in the early 8th century CE (685–705 CE), with its construction completed by his son Mahendravarman III. It is the oldest structural temple in Kanchipuram and serves as a classic example of Dravidian architecture under the Pallava dynasty, renowned for its intricate sandstone relief sculptures and lion-mounted pillars dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Explanation

Dr. Virendra Kumar, a seven-time Member of Parliament from Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, was appointed as the Pro-tem Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha in June 2019. He was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As Pro-tem Speaker, he presided over the first sitting of the newly elected Lok Sabha and conducted the oath-taking ceremony for the newly elected Members of Parliament.

Explanation

Indian Standard Time (IST) is calculated on the basis of the 82.5° East longitude, which passes through Naini near Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh. This meridian was chosen as the standard meridian for the entire country because it passes almost through the middle of India's east-west expanse. IST is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+5:30).

Explanation

Designing of aeroplane wings is based on Bernoulli's principle rather than Archimedes' principle. According to Bernoulli's principle, an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure. The aerodynamic shape of an aeroplane wing causes air to move faster over its upper surface than underneath, creating a region of lower pressure on top. This pressure differential generates dynamic lift, allowing the aircraft to rise and stay aloft.

Explanation

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber constructed five astronomical observatories, known as Jantar Mantar, across northern India during the early 18th century. These observatories were built in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Mathura to compile astronomical tables and predict the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. Allahabad was not among the sites selected for an observatory.

Explanation

Using the double-angle identity tan 2θ = 2 tan θ / (1 - tan² θ), substituting θ = 30° gives 2 tan 30° / (1 - tan² 30°) = tan(2 × 30°) = tan 60°.

Using the fundamental Pythagorean identity sin² a + cos² a = 1, substituting it into the expression yields 1 - cos² a - sin² a = 1 - (cos² a + sin² a) = 1 - 1 = 0.

Since both mathematical statements are identities that hold true for all valid values, both equations are correct.

Explanation

Electric plugs and switches are designed to facilitate electrical connections and switching with minimal resistance, thereby preventing heat generation during operation. Since their primary function is safe electrical conduction rather than generating heat, they are not based on Joule's law of heating (H = I²Rt).

Explanation

The liver secretes bile and the pancreas secretes pancreatic juice, both of which are discharged into the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine, rather than the stomach. The stomach receives food from the esophagus and processes it with gastric juices before releasing the partially digested food into the small intestine, where pancreatic and liver secretions act upon it.

Explanation

The 10 Degree Channel is a maritime strait in the Bay of Bengal that lies along the 10° N parallel of latitude. It separates Little Andaman island to the north from Car Nicobar island to the south, thereby dividing the Andaman group of islands from the Nicobar group of islands within the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Explanation

Google is a multinational technology company best known for its search engine, online advertising services, and software products. It is not a web browser application itself; the web browser developed and maintained by Google is specifically named Google Chrome.

Explanation

Cobalt-60, a radioactive isotope of cobalt, is widely used in radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer. It emits high-energy gamma rays capable of penetrating tissues to target, damage, and destroy malignant cancer cells, preventing them from multiplying.

Explanation

Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), three indemnity levels are provided: 70%, 80%, and 90%. These levels correspond to the risk profiles of different crop areas, representing high-risk, moderate-risk, and low-risk areas, respectively. The indemnity level is used to calculate the threshold yield for a notified crop in an insurance unit by multiplying the selected percentage with the average yield of the preceding seven years (excluding up to two calamity years).

Explanation

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by the Washington Treaty signed on 4 April 1949 as an intergovernmental military alliance between North American and European nations. Its core principle, enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty, is collective defense, which commits member states to protect one another in the event of an armed attack by an external party.

Explanation

Dadabhai Naoroji declared Swaraj (self-government) as the main objective of the Indian National Congress during his presidential address at the Calcutta Session in 1906. This was the first time the word Swaraj was officially used from the Congress platform to define the national movement's goal, serving to bridge the divide between the Moderate and Extremist factions of the party.

Explanation

The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic pastoralists inhabiting East Africa, primarily across Kenya and Tanzania. They are well known for their distinctive culture, traditional dress, and cattle-herding lifestyle along the Great Rift Valley in the East African savannah.

Explanation

SWAGAT (Swachalit Gate) is India's first indigenously developed Automatic Fare Collection gating system, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019 alongside Phase 1 of the Ahmedabad Metro. Jointly developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, it forms part of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) ecosystem to facilitate seamless, cashless travel across public transport systems in the country.

Explanation

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is regarded as the architect of Indian planning for his instrumental role in shaping India's post-independence economic framework. As a key member of the Planning Commission, he formulated the Mahalanobis model, which laid the strategy for the Second Five-Year Plan (1956–1961) with an emphasis on heavy industrialization and capital goods sector development. He also established the Indian Statistical Institute in 1931 and pioneered national sample surveys in India.

Explanation

Scott Morrison served as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia from August 2018 to May 2022. He assumed office after winning the Liberal Party leadership vote in August 2018 and subsequently led the Liberal-National Coalition to victory in the May 2019 Australian federal election.

Explanation

Human Rights Day is observed globally on 10th December every year. It commemorates the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document that set out fundamental human rights to be universally protected for all individuals across the globe.

Explanation

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, was appointed as the country's first Lokpal on March 19, 2019, and was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 23, 2019. The Lokpal is an anti-corruption authority established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, tasked with investigating allegations of corruption against public servants at the national level.

Explanation

A printer is a hardware peripheral that receives processed digital data from a computer system and reproduces it onto a physical medium such as paper. By translating electronic signals into a tangible, human-readable hard copy containing text or graphics, it functions as an output device.

Explanation

In February 2009, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sweden's Ministry of Health and Social Affairs to cooperate in the field of healthcare and public health. Controlling communicable diseases and tackling anti-microbial resistance (AMR) were established as major priority areas of collaboration under this framework.

Explanation

Direct taxes are taxes levied directly on the income, wealth, or profits of individuals and corporate entities, where the financial burden falls entirely on the person or organization paying it. A defining feature of a direct tax is that both its initial impact and final incidence rest on the same entity, making it non-shiftable to another party. Common examples include personal income tax, corporate tax, and capital gains tax.

Explanation

The harmika is a square, balcony-like structure situated at the apex of a Buddhist stupa. It represents the abode of the gods and acts as an enclosed railing that surrounds the sacred pinnacle of the structure, symbolically protecting the holy relics preserved within the stupa.

Explanation

Kurt Waldheim served as the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981. Following his UN tenure, he returned to Austrian politics and served as the President of Austria from 1986 to 1992, having previously served as the country's Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1968 to 1970.

Explanation

Mammals possess a four-chambered heart consisting of two atria and two ventricles. This completely separates oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, ensuring highly efficient oxygen delivery to support their warm-blooded (endothermic) metabolism. A three-chambered heart is characteristic of amphibians and most reptiles.

Explanation

Dear money, also known as tight money, refers to money that is expensive and difficult to borrow because of a high rate of interest set by the central bank. When interest rates are high, borrowing costs increase for commercial banks, businesses, and consumers, which restricts credit expansion, reduces the total money supply in the economy, and makes funds hard to obtain.

Explanation

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in 2005 to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by legally guaranteeing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. By providing statutory guarantee of employment on demand, the scheme helps implement the directive principle enshrined in Article 41 of the Indian Constitution.

Explanation

Mirabai was born in the Merta region of Rajasthan into the Rathore Rajput royal family. She was the daughter of Ratan Singh Rathore and the granddaughter of Rao Duda, the ruler of Merta, making her a Rajput princess of Merta by birth before her marriage into the royal house of Mewar.

Explanation

Joe Root became the first cricketer in Test history to score a double century in his 100th International Test match. He achieved this milestone on February 6, 2021, scoring 218 runs against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Explanation

The Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), rechristened as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), subsumed two ongoing centrally sponsored schemes: the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS). Launched to provide a comprehensive health assurance cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, AB-NHPM merged SCHIS to streamline social health insurance programs and eliminate coverage overlap.

Explanation

Article 51 of the Constitution of India, located in Part IV under the Directive Principles of State Policy, specifically lays down the obligation of the State to promote international peace and security. It mandates that the State shall endeavor to promote international peace, maintain just and honorable relations between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty obligations, and encourage the settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

Explanation

'Buddhacharita' (or Buddhacharitam) is a famous Sanskrit epic poem (Mahakavya) describing the life and spiritual journey of Gautama Buddha from his birth to his attaining enlightenment and reaching Parinirvana. It was composed in the early 2nd century CE by Ashvaghosha, a celebrated Buddhist philosopher, scholar, and poet who was a prominent figure in the court of the Kushana king Kanishka I.

Explanation

In the landmark Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala case (1973), a 13-judge Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled by a 7-6 majority that Parliament's constituent power under Article 368 does not enable it to alter, damage, or destroy the basic structure or framework of the Constitution.

Explanation

Alexander Cunningham, a British Army engineer, founded the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1861 and served as its first Director-General. Often hailed as the "Father of Indian Archaeology", he spearheaded extensive archaeological excavations and surveys across the Indian subcontinent, bringing to light ancient sites, inscriptions, and monuments.

Explanation

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) were established on October 2, 1975, under the Regional Rural Banks Ordinance promulgated on September 26, 1975, following the recommendations of the M. Narasimham Working Group. This ordinance was later replaced by the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976. The primary objective was to provide institutional credit and banking facilities to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, and rural artisans. The first RRB set up in India was the Prathama Bank, headquartered in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Explanation

People suffering from non-communicable health conditions such as diabetes can donate their eyes after death. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder affecting blood sugar regulation rather than an infectious or transmissible disease. Since corneal transplantation involves using the clear front layer of the eye, a history of diabetes does not prevent eye donation as long as the donor cornea itself is structurally intact, clear, and healthy.

Explanation

The binary number system is a base-2 positional numeral system that uses only two distinct digits, 0 and 1, to represent all numerical values. The sequence 100101 consists exclusively of these two valid binary digits, making it a correct representation in binary notation.

Explanation

Antibiotics are antimicrobial medicines that kill or inhibit the growth of disease-causing microorganisms, particularly bacteria. They function by disrupting essential bacterial processes such as cell wall synthesis, protein synthesis, or nucleic acid replication, thereby preventing the spread and survival of the pathogen in the body.

Explanation

Fermentation is an anaerobic biochemical process in which microorganisms such as yeast convert sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose into ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide. During this process, yeast secretes enzymes like zymase that break down the sugar molecules to yield cellular energy, releasing ethanol as a metabolic byproduct. This chemical transformation forms the basis for producing alcoholic beverages and biofuels.

Explanation

Rohit Jain was appointed as the Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with effect from December 11, 2020. Prior to his elevation to this position, he served as the Chief General Manager-in-Charge in the RBI's Department of Supervision. Upon taking charge as Executive Director, he was assigned oversight of the Department of Supervision, focusing on risk, analytics, and vulnerability assessment.

Explanation

Qutubuddin Aibak, the founder of the Slave Dynasty and the first Sultan of Delhi, died in 1210 CE due to severe injuries sustained from falling off his horse while playing Chaugan (a medieval form of polo) in Lahore. He was succeeded briefly by Aram Shah before Iltutmish took the throne.

Explanation

In March 2019, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan and French space agency (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall signed an agreement in Bengaluru to jointly set up a space-based Maritime Surveillance System. The initiative involves deploying a constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites aimed at detecting, identifying, and tracking shipping vessels across the Indian Ocean Region to enhance maritime domain awareness and regional security.