SSC CHSL Tier 1 2023 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Praveen Chithravel is a prominent Indian triple jumper. At the 2023 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan, he secured the silver medal in the triple jump event. During this competition, he set a new Indian national indoor record with a leap of 16.98 metres, improving upon the previous national indoor mark of 16.24 metres.

Explanation

Final goods are products that have completed the production process and are ready for their ultimate use by consumers or businesses. In macroeconomic theory and national income accounting, these goods are categorized into consumption goods and capital goods. Consumption goods are purchased by households to directly satisfy personal wants and needs, including both durable items like television sets and non-durable items like food. Capital goods are durable assets bought by producers and used in the production process of other goods and services over multiple cycles, such as machinery, tools, and industrial equipment. Both types of goods represent final products that do not undergo any further transformation or resale in the current accounting year.

Explanation

Neena Prasad is a highly acclaimed Indian classical dancer, researcher, and teacher who has made significant contributions to Mohiniyattam. She was honored with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 2021 in recognition of her outstanding practice, choreography, and academic research in this classical dance form of Kerala.

Explanation

Pawl Kut is a major harvest and thanksgiving festival celebrated in the state of Mizoram. The term Pawl refers to straw, and Kut means festival, which together translates to the straw harvest festival. It is traditionally celebrated in the month of December or January after all the crops have been harvested and brought home. During this festival, people offer thanks to the Almighty for a bountiful harvest and pray for peace and prosperity for the coming year, marked by traditional dances, songs, and community feasts.

Explanation

According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the phrase "Union of States" was purposely used in Article 1 of the Indian Constitution to indicate that the Indian federation is not the result of an agreement among sovereign states, unlike the American federation. Since the states did not come together via a voluntary agreement to form the union, they have no right to secede from it. This makes the statement that the Indian federation was the result of an agreement by sovereign units factually incorrect in the Indian context.

Explanation

Hermann Kolbe developed the electrochemical method known as Kolbe electrolysis in 1849. This organic reaction involves the electrolysis of sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids (carboxylic acids). During the process, carboxylate anions undergo decarboxylation at the anode to form alkyl radicals, which then dimerize to yield symmetrical hydrocarbons. For instance, the electrolysis of sodium acetate (CH₃COONa) produces ethane (C₂H₆) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) at the anode, while hydrogen gas (H₂) is liberated at the cathode. This work marked a major milestone in organic chemistry and electrochemical synthesis.

Explanation

The Second Five Year Plan, which spanned from 1956 to 1961, was based on the economic development model formulated by the renowned statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. Often referred to as the Nehru-Mahalanobis model, it shifted the developmental focus of the Indian economy toward rapid industrialization. The plan prioritized the establishment of basic and heavy industries, such as iron and steel, heavy engineering, and chemicals, to build a strong capital goods sector and achieve self-reliance.

Explanation

Surendranath Banerjee, along with Anand Mohan Bose, founded the Indian Association in Calcutta on July 26, 1876. It was established as the first avowed nationalist organization in British India, aiming to promote the political, intellectual, and material advancement of the people and to unite Indians on a common political platform.

Explanation

The value of money refers to its purchasing power, which is the quantity of goods and services that can be bought with a single unit of currency. This relationship is mathematically expressed by the formula:

V = 1/P

where V represents the value of money and P represents the general price level. This formula establishes that the value of money is inversely or indirectly related to the price level. When the general price level rises, the purchasing power of money falls because each unit of currency buys fewer goods. Conversely, when the price level falls, the purchasing power of money rises.

Explanation

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of the Samajwadi Party and a three-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2023 for his decades of distinguished service in the field of Public Affairs. He also served as India's Union Minister of Defence from 1996 to 1998, making significant contributions to national security and state-level governance throughout his political career.

Explanation

To control inflation, the Reserve Bank of India adopts a contractionary monetary policy aimed at reducing the money supply and cooling down aggregate demand in the economy. An increase in the repo rate, which is the interest rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks, directly increases the cost of funds for these financial institutions. This rise in borrowing costs is subsequently passed on to businesses and consumers in the form of higher interest rates on loans. Consequently, borrowing becomes expensive, which discourages consumption and investment spending, slows down economic activity, and ultimately helps in lowering the rate of inflation.

Explanation

The Battle of Chandawar was fought in 1194 CE between Jaichand, the Gahadavala king of Kannauj, and Muhammad Ghori, the Ghurid ruler. The battle took place at Chandawar, located on the Yamuna River near modern-day Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Muhammad Ghori defeated Jaichand, which paved the way for the expansion of Turkish rule into the Ganga Valley and northern India.

Explanation

Vitamin D is synthesised in the skin when it is exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from sunlight. The UVB rays trigger a photochemical reaction that converts 7-dehydrocholesterol, a precursor molecule present in the epidermal layers of the skin, into pre-vitamin D₃. This pre-vitamin D₃ then undergoes thermal isomerization to form vitamin D₃ (cholecalciferol), which is subsequently transported to the liver and kidneys for activation.

Explanation

Koneru Humpy won the silver medal in the women's section at the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in December 2022. She scored 12.5 points out of 17 rounds, finishing just half a point behind the gold medalist Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan. This achievement marked India's first-ever silver medal at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship.

Explanation

The stabilisation function of the government budget aims to prevent economic fluctuations, such as inflation or unemployment, by managing the level of aggregate demand in the economy. Through fiscal policy, which involves adjusting government spending and taxation, the government intervenes to expand aggregate demand during a recession to boost employment and output, or to reduce aggregate demand during inflationary periods to maintain price stability.

Explanation

The Satpura Range is located in central India, running parallel to the Vindhya Range, and forms the northern boundary of the Deccan Plateau rather than its southern boundary. The southern tip of the Deccan Plateau is bounded by the Nilgiri Hills.

Explanation

Phthalaldehyde, specifically ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA), is a dialdehyde consisting of a benzene ring with two formyl groups attached to adjacent carbon atoms at the 1,2-positions. It is a highly sensitive fluorogenic reagent used for the detection and quantification of primary amines, amino acids, and peptides. In the presence of a thiol coupling partner, such as 2-mercaptoethanol or 3-mercaptopropionic acid, phthalaldehyde reacts rapidly with primary amines at room temperature to form intensely fluorescent isoindole conjugation products. This specific reaction is widely utilized in analytical chemistry and biochemistry for pre-column or post-column derivatization in liquid chromatography.

Explanation

Chavittukali is a traditional folk dance from the state of Kerala. It is primarily performed by the agrarian communities, particularly the Pulaya community, during festive occasions like Onam and the post-harvest season. The dance involves rhythmic stepping (chavittu) and singing traditional songs (kali-pattu) in a circle, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and daily life of the agricultural workers of Kerala.

Explanation

The population density of India is defined as the number of persons residing per square kilometer of land area. According to the 1951 Census of India, which was the first census conducted after India gained independence, the population density of the country was recorded as 117 persons per square kilometer. This figure reflects the demographic status of India in the mid-twentieth century, characterized by a smaller total population of around 361 million people spread across the nation's geographic area.

Explanation

In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, declared that the Constitution of free India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise. This declaration marked a crucial step in the formal demand for a self-determined constitution, which was eventually accepted in principle by the British Government in the August Offer of 1940.

Explanation

The Chambal Valley Project is a major joint multipurpose river valley initiative executed by the state governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which started in 1954. The project utilizes the water of the Chambal River for irrigation, hydro-power generation, and soil conservation. It consists of three dams, namely the Gandhi Sagar Dam located in Madhya Pradesh, and the Rana Pratap Sagar and Jawahar Sagar Dams located in Rajasthan, along with the Kota Barrage. Both states share the water and power benefits generated from this project on an equal basis in a 50:50 ratio.

Explanation

Ricky Kej won his third Grammy Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards held in February 2023. He received the award for his album Divine Tides, which won in the Best Immersive Audio Album category. He shared this honor with Stewart Copeland, the legendary drummer of the British rock band The Police. With this victory, Ricky Kej became the first Indian to win three Grammy Awards.

Explanation

Jhuming is the traditional slash-and-burn agriculture practiced extensively in the North-eastern region of India, including states like Assam, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

Dahiya is a localized form of shifting cultivation practiced in the forested regions of Madhya Pradesh.

Penda is the term used for shifting agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, where tribal communities cultivate hilly slopes.

Kumari is the practice of shifting cultivation in the Western Ghats of India, particularly in the hilly regions of Karnataka and Kerala.

Explanation

The Val Barker Trophy, which has been presented to the most outstanding boxer at the Olympic Games since 1936, was not awarded at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. This was due to the suspension of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over governance, finance, and refereeing issues. Because the boxing tournament at the 2020 Games was instead run by an IOC Boxing Task Force, the AIBA-owned trophy was not part of the competition.

Explanation

Meiosis is referred to as reduction division because it reduces the number of chromosomes in the parental cell by half, transforming a diploid cell (2n) into four haploid gametes (n). This reduction is essential in sexually reproducing organisms to ensure that when male and female gametes fuse during fertilization, the resulting zygote restores the original diploid chromosome number of the species.

Explanation

Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award for 2022, which was announced in March 2023. With this achievement, she became the first athlete to win this prestigious award in two consecutive years, having previously won it for 2021. The award recognized her outstanding performance, including winning a gold medal in the women's 49 kg weightlifting category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham.

Explanation

The Gori Ganga river originates from the snout of the Milam Glacier, located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand within the Kumaon Himalayas. Fed by the melting ice of this major glacier, the river flows southward through the Johar Valley and joins the Kali River at Jauljibi, serving as one of its primary tributaries.

Explanation

Article 39A of the Constitution of India directs the State to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity. Added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976, this Directive Principle of State Policy mandates the State to provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

Explanation

Pongal is a major multi-day harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Tamil people in the state of Tamil Nadu. Dedicated to the Sun God, Surya, it marks the beginning of Uttarayan, the sun's northward journey, and traditionally occurs in mid-January, coinciding with the start of the Tamil month of Tai. The festival is a celebration of gratitude for a bountiful harvest.

Explanation

According to the 2011 Census of India, Kerala recorded the highest sex ratio in the country with 1084 females per 1000 males. This is significantly higher than the national average sex ratio of 943 females per 1000 males, reflecting the state's progress in female literacy, healthcare, and social development.

Explanation

Article 16 of the Constitution of India guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State. The concept of equality of opportunity enshrined in this article is not a static or literal equality, but rather a substantive one that permits reasonable classification of citizens based on their social and educational backwardness. Article 16(4) specifically enables the State to make special provisions, including reservations in appointments or posts, in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.

Explanation

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in August 1828 in Calcutta, which was later renamed the Brahmo Samaj. He established this reformist movement to propagate monotheism based on the teachings of the Upanishads and to campaign against prevalent social evils, idol worship, and meaningless rituals. His efforts focused on purging Hindu society of superstitious practices and promoting rational, modern education.

Explanation

Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier introduced the concept that any periodic function or wave can be decomposed into an infinite sum of simple sine and cosine waves. In his 1822 work, The Analytical Theory of Heat, he demonstrated that a periodic wave with period T can be represented by the Fourier series:

f(t) = a₀/2 + ∑ (aₙ cos(2πn t / T) + bₙ sin(2πn t / T))

Here, the coefficients aₙ and bₙ determine the weights of the respective harmonic sinusoids. This groundbreaking discovery, known as Fourier analysis, proved that complex wave shapes can be analyzed as a superposition of fundamental frequencies and their harmonics, forming the mathematical foundation for modern signal processing, acoustics, and wave mechanics.

Explanation

Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion, also known as the Law of Harmonies, states that the square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. This relationship is mathematically expressed as T² ∝ R³, where T represents the orbital period of the planet and R represents the radius of its orbit. This implies that the ratio T²/R³ is a constant value for all planets orbiting the same central body, such as the Sun, allowing for a direct comparison of their orbital periods and distances.

Explanation

Nirmala Paniker is a pioneering exponent, researcher, and teacher of Mohiniyattam who has made significant contributions to the revival and preservation of this classical dance form. She was conferred with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 2019 in recognition of her lifetime dedication and outstanding contribution to Mohiniyattam. Through her research institution, Natanakaisiki, she has worked extensively on reconstructing traditional repertoires, specifically focusing on the internal elements of the dance and the reconstruction of ancient choreographies.

Explanation

The Zaid cropping season is a short summer cropping season that falls between the Rabi (winter) and Kharif (monsoon) seasons, typically lasting from March to June. This season requires warm, dry weather for major growth and longer day-length for flowering. Principal crops grown during this period include watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, various vegetables, and fodder crops.

Explanation

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was a legendary Indian vocalist of the Hindustani classical music tradition and a prominent exponent of the Kirana gharana. He is celebrated for his mastery of the Khyal genre of classical singing, as well as his popular performances of devotional music, including bhajans and abhangs, rather than Ghazals. In recognition of his immense contributions to classical music, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, in 2008.

Explanation

The Central Board of Direct Taxes extended the deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar to 30th June 2023. This decision was made to provide taxpayers with additional time to complete the linking process. Under the Income-tax Act, 1961, individuals who have been allotted a PAN and are eligible for Aadhaar must link the two databases, failing which the PAN becomes inoperative, leading to implications such as the inability to file tax returns or receive pending refunds.

Explanation

The All India Muslim League was established on December 30, 1906, in Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). The foundation of the league took place during the annual meeting of the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference, led by prominent figures such as Nawab Salimullah of Dacca, Aga Khan III, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk. The primary objective of the League was to protect and promote the political rights and interests of Indian Muslims and to represent their needs to the British colonial government.

Explanation

According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Assam is the leading onshore producer of natural gas among all states in India. For the year 2021-22, Assam recorded the highest onshore natural gas production in the country, driven by extensive operations in the Assam-Arakan basin by public sector undertakings like Oil India Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

Explanation

National income computed via the income method only includes factor incomes generated from productive activities that contribute to the current flow of goods and services.

Income from lotteries is a windfall gain and represents a transfer of wealth without any corresponding production of goods or services.

Income from illegal activities like gambling is also excluded because these activities do not constitute legally recognized productive work, and their transactions are unaccounted and outside the official economic framework.

Explanation

During the opening match of the 2023 Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans on March 31, 2023, Tushar Deshpande became the first-ever Impact Player in the history of the tournament. Chennai Super Kings utilized the newly introduced rule by bringing him into the match during the second innings as a replacement for batter Ambati Rayudu.

Explanation

The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXV Olympic Winter Games, will be co-hosted by the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. They were selected as the host cities at the 134th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 24, 2019. This event will mark the first time that two cities have jointly hosted the Olympic Winter Games.

Explanation

Fiscal policy refers to the use of government spending and revenue collection to influence the country's economic conditions. Taxes are a primary instrument of fiscal policy because the government can manipulate tax rates to regulate disposable income, consumption, and investment. By adjusting tax policies, the government can stimulate economic growth during a recession through tax cuts, or control inflation during economic booms by increasing tax rates to curb aggregate demand.

Explanation

Gugga dance is a traditional ritualistic folk dance of Haryana performed exclusively by male devotees in honor of Gugga Pir, a widely revered warrior-hero and snake deity. This performance takes place during the festival of Gugga Naumi in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. During the procession, male dancers sing devotional songs, play traditional instruments like the deru and thali, and carry a large, decorated bamboo pole known as Nishan while performing rhythmic movements to seek the deity's protection and blessings.

Explanation

Law and order is a sovereign and administrative function of the state aimed at maintaining peace, security, and justice within society. It is classified as a governance or regulatory function rather than a core economic activity. While a stable legal framework is essential for economic systems to function smoothly, law and order itself does not directly involve the creation, allocation, or utilization of resources to satisfy material human wants.

Explanation

The economic wealth of a nation is not solely determined by its physical endowment of natural resources. Wealth creation depends heavily on the efficient utilization of resources, technology, human capital, infrastructure, and strong institutional frameworks. Many countries with abundant natural resources struggle with low economic growth and development, a phenomenon often referred to as the resource curse. Conversely, nations with very scarce natural resources, such as Japan and Singapore, have achieved immense economic wealth by investing in education, skills, technology, and manufacturing, thereby demonstrating that the possession of resources is not a prerequisite for economic prosperity.

Explanation

The Gahadavala dynasty ruled over the region of Kanauj in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries. Chandradeva founded the dynasty around 1089 CE, establishing his control over the strategic city of Kanauj after the decline of the Gurjara-Pratihara power. The Gahadavalas successfully defended their territory in the fertile Gangetic plains against early Ghaznavid invasions and maintained Kanauj as a major political and cultural center until the dynasty was defeated by the Ghurids in the late twelfth century.

Explanation

The industrial licensing system in India, established under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, aimed to regulate industrial development but resulted in several unintended negative consequences. Large industrial houses frequently misused the system by applying for and securing licenses for capacities they did not intend to utilize. By pre-empting licensing capacity, these large conglomerates successfully prevented new competitors and smaller firms from entering the market, thereby securing their monopoly power and reducing overall industrial competition and efficiency.

Explanation

The Ujjawala Scheme is a social welfare program rather than a microfinance initiative. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, provides clean cooking fuel in the form of LPG connections to women from below poverty line households to safeguard their health from indoor air pollution. Similarly, the Ujjawala Scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development is a comprehensive scheme focused on the prevention of trafficking and the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration of victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Neither of these initiatives functions as a microfinance or micro-credit delivery mechanism.