SSC CHSL Tier 1 2024 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The Pala dynasty was founded by Gopala in the 8th century CE in Bengal, which is situated in eastern India. The dynasty ruled over Bengal and Bihar for about four centuries, establishing a stable and powerful empire in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent and becoming a major center of Buddhist art, education, and culture.

Explanation

Eid-Ul-Fitr is the Islamic festival that marks the end of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting. The name translates to the festival of breaking the fast, and it is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, immediately following the completion of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramzan.

Explanation

The establishment of the Union Public Service Commission for the center and State Public Service Commissions for the respective states under Articles 315 to 323 in Part XIV of the Constitution of India is a manifestation of federalism. Federalism in India entails a distribution of legislative, executive, and administrative powers between the Union and the States. Providing independent, constitutional recruiting bodies at both levels ensures administrative autonomy and institutional capacity for both tiers of government, aligning with the federal character of the Indian polity.

Explanation

Thawarchand Gehlot was serving as the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment in the central cabinet before his appointment as the 19th Governor of Karnataka in July 2021. He took the oath of office on July 11, 2021, succeeding Vajubhai Vala.

Explanation

Sakshi Malik won the bronze medal in the 58 kg freestyle wrestling category at the 2016 Rio Olympics. By defeating Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the bronze medal bout, she created history as the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal. This achievement also made her the fourth Indian woman overall to win an Olympic medal.

Explanation

The taxonomic hierarchy is the process of arranging various organisms into successive levels of the biological classification system, ranging from the highest category to the lowest category. The correct descending order of these taxonomic categories is Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. Excluding the Kingdom level, the sequential order from the broadest to the most specific category is Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. This hierarchical system represents the evolutionary relationships and shared characteristics among organisms at each descending level.

Explanation

In Microsoft Word, page formatting options such as margins, orientation, size, and columns are managed under the Page Layout tab, which is labeled as Layout in some newer versions of the software. To apply the Moderate margin setting, which sets the top and bottom margins to 1 inch and the left and right margins to 0.75 inches, a user navigates to the Page Layout tab, clicks on the Margins dropdown menu within the Page Setup group, and selects the Moderate option from the list of predefined layouts.

Explanation

Sambhar Salt Lake is India's largest inland salt lake, located in the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is situated in the north-western part of India, characterized by its arid and semi-arid landscape. The lake lies approximately 80 km southwest of the city of Jaipur and represents a major source of salt production in the region.

Explanation

Pandit Chhannulal Mishra is an eminent Hindustani classical vocalist from Varanasi who is primarily associated with the Kirana gharana (Kirana Musical Family). He received his formal training in this lineage under Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan of the Kirana tradition. His singing style is highly regarded for preserving the characteristics of the Kirana lineage, which emphasizes perfect intonation, melodic sweetness, and a deeply emotional, step-by-step elaboration of the raga.

Explanation

Jyotiba Phule wrote the book Gulamgiri, which translates to slavery, in 1873. Written in Marathi, the book is a powerful critique of the caste system and Brahminical dominance in Indian society. Phule dedicated Gulamgiri to the American abolitionist movement that fought to end slavery, drawing a direct parallel between the plight of the lower castes in India and the struggles of African Americans in the United States. The text is structured in the form of a dialogue to effectively communicate the message of social justice, equality, and liberation to the masses.

Explanation

According to the estimates released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the year 2022-23, India achieved a record total foodgrain production of 329.687 million tonnes. Converting million tonnes to lakh tonnes (where 1 million tonnes equals 10 lakh tonnes) yields 3296.87 lakh tonnes. This historic production was driven by record outputs of major crops such as rice, wheat, maize, and pulses during the agricultural year.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2022 report, jointly published by the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, there are 44.4 million poor people in India who are simultaneously deprived in four specific indicators: nutrition, cooking fuel, sanitation, and housing. Additionally, the report highlights that another 119.5 million poor people in India are deprived in three out of these four essential indicators.

Explanation

Part II of the Constitution of India, spanning Articles 5 to 11, governs the provisions related to citizenship. These articles determine who was eligible for Indian citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution on January 26, 1950. Specifically, Articles 5 to 8 detail citizenship rights for persons domiciled in India, migrants from Pakistan, migrants to Pakistan who returned, and persons of Indian origin residing abroad. Article 9 deals with the loss of citizenship upon voluntarily acquiring foreign citizenship. Article 10 ensures the continuance of citizenship rights, and Article 11 empowers Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law, which led to the enactment of the Citizenship Act of 1955.

Explanation

Chang dance, also known as Dhamal, is a traditional folk dance from the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, which includes districts such as Sikar, Jhunjhunu, and Churu. This vibrant dance is performed by men during the festival of Holi to celebrate the arrival of the spring season. The dancers carry a chang, which is a large rhythmic frame drum or tambourine, and perform energetic movements to the beats of the instrument while singing traditional folk songs.

Explanation

According to the 2011 Census of India, Goa is the most urbanised state in the country, with 62.17% of its population residing in urban areas. Among all states, Goa stands at the top in terms of the proportion of urban population to its total population.

Explanation

The bansuri is a traditional side-blown flute made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. The name is derived from the Sanskrit words bans, meaning bamboo, and sur, meaning musical note. It is deeply rooted in Indian mythology, particularly associated with Lord Krishna, and remains a primary woodwind instrument in Indian classical music.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

André-Marie Ampère discovered in 1820 that parallel wires carrying electric currents exert mutual forces on each other. Through a series of experiments, he demonstrated that when currents in two parallel wires flow in the same direction, the wires attract each other, whereas they repel each other when the currents flow in opposite directions. This groundbreaking discovery laid the foundation of electrodynamics and led to the formulation of Ampère's Force Law.

Explanation

The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 2019 introduced a 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections of citizens in admission to educational institutions and in public employment. It inserted Clause 6 in both Article 15 and Article 16 of the Constitution of India, enabling the state to make special provisions for the advancement of economically weaker citizens. This amendment was challenged but subsequently upheld by a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India on 7 November 2022 in the Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India case.

Explanation

The inaugural FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, running from 13 July to 30 July. FIFA chose Uruguay as the host nation to celebrate the centenary of the country's first constitution and because the Uruguayan national team had won the gold medal in football at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches during the tournament were played in the capital city of Montevideo, mostly at the Estadio Centenario, which was built specifically for the event. Uruguay also won this first tournament by defeating Argentina in the final.

Explanation

A pie chart represents data as slices of a circle, where the size of each slice is proportional to the quantity it represents. This visual format makes it the most effective tool in Microsoft Excel for illustrating numerical proportions and showing how individual parts contribute to a whole, typically summing up to 100%.

Explanation

Average Fixed Cost (AFC) is calculated by dividing the Total Fixed Cost (TFC) by the quantity of output (Q), represented by the formula AFC = TFC / Q. Since TFC remains constant at all levels of production, this relationship can be rewritten as AFC × Q = TFC (constant). In coordinate geometry, any equation of the form x × y = constant represents a rectangular hyperbola. As output increases, AFC continuously falls but never touches either axis because TFC is positive and output can never be zero. This mathematical property gives the Average Fixed Cost curve its characteristic rectangular hyperbola shape.

Explanation

Vice Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi assumed the charge of Vice Chief of the Naval Staff on January 4, 2024. Prior to taking over as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command.

Explanation

Makemake is a dwarf planet located in the Kuiper belt with an orbital period of approximately 309.9 years, which rounds to 310 years. Its orbit is moderately eccentric, taking it as close as 38.59 astronomical units (AU) to the Sun at perihelion and as far as 52.84 AU at aphelion, fitting the range of 38.5 to 53 AU.

Explanation

Chennai Super Kings won the Indian Premier League 2023 championship by defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the final match held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This victory marked their fifth IPL title, making them joint-record holders for the most championships in the tournament history.

Explanation

The Hemis festival, commonly referred to as Hemis Tsechu, is a major annual festival celebrated at the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. This festival commemorates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who is believed to have introduced Buddhism to the Himalayan region. Celebrated on the tenth day of the Tibetan lunar month, the festival features the famous Cham dance, a sacred masked dance performed by monks to the accompaniment of traditional music, depicting the triumph of good over evil.

Explanation

Kokborok is the native language of the Tripuri people and was declared an official language of the state of Tripura in 1979. It is spoken by the majority of the state's tribal population and is used in administration, education, and media alongside Bengali and English.

Explanation

In Microsoft Word, the Save button, represented by a floppy disk icon, is located on the Quick Access Toolbar. This toolbar is positioned by default in the top left corner of the Word window, providing quick access to frequently used commands such as Save, Undo, and Redo.

Explanation

On November 8, 2016, the Government of India announced the demonetisation of all ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series. This policy initiative aimed to curb the shadow economy, reduce the circulation of counterfeit currency, and crack down on illicit funding. The specified banknotes ceased to be legal tender from midnight of November 9, 2016, requiring citizens to deposit or exchange them at banks and post offices.

Explanation

Giddha is a traditional and highly energetic folk dance of the state of Punjab, performed exclusively by women. It is traditionally performed during festive and social occasions, particularly during the harvesting season and marriages. The dance mimics the movements of Punjabi women going about their daily chores and is performed in a circle, accompanied by rhythmic clapping and the singing of short traditional couplets known as bolis.

Explanation

Ajit Kumar Mohanty, a distinguished physicist who previously served as the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, was appointed as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy in May 2023. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment to this post, succeeding Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas.

Explanation

The Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat is the sole natural habitat of the Asiatic Lion in the wild. The dry deciduous forests, savannah grasslands, and thorn scrub of the Kathiawar-Gir region provide the ideal ecological conditions for this endangered subspecies, which is now restricted entirely to this protected area.

Explanation

An aerosol is a colloidal system in which liquid droplets or fine solid particles are dispersed in a gaseous medium. In this mixture, the gas serves as the continuous dispersion medium, while the liquid or solid represents the dispersed phase. Common examples of aerosols include fog, mist, smoke, and dust.

Explanation

Secularism under the Indian Constitution means that the State is neutral in religious matters and does not have any official state religion. The Preamble along with Articles 25 to 28 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens and ensures that the State does not patronize, promote, or favor any particular religion over another, embodying the principle of equal respect for all religions.

Explanation

The docx file format is based on the Open XML standard and utilizes ZIP compression to store the document's structure, text, and media. Because the entire package of XML files and assets is automatically compressed when saved, the resulting file size is significantly smaller, thereby occupying less memory and disk storage space.

Explanation

The Konkan Railway project was completed and became fully operational on January 26, 1998, when the entire 760 km long route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Thokur near Mangalore in Karnataka was opened to public traffic. Constructed by the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited under the leadership of E. Sreedharan, this massive engineering feat successfully traversed the challenging terrain of the Western Ghats, featuring numerous bridges and tunnels.

Explanation

The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India was established in 1961 and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. This office is responsible for conducting the decennial population census of India, managing the demographic surveys, and implementing the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to ensure systematic registration of vital statistics across the country.

Explanation

According to Law 1 of the Laws of the Game established by the International Football Association Board, which defines the specifications for the field of play, both goalposts and the crossbar must be white. This requirement ensures uniform visibility for players, goalkeepers, and match officials during a match under various weather and lighting conditions.

Explanation

John Anthony Allan, a British geographer and professor at King's College London and SOAS, introduced the concept of virtual water in 1993. Virtual water represents the volume of freshwater used in the production of a commodity or service, measured at the place where the product was actually produced. This concept revolutionized the understanding of water management and trade by demonstrating how water-scarce nations can conserve their domestic water resources by importing water-intensive goods, such as food and agricultural products, from water-abundant regions. For this groundbreaking work, Allan was awarded the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize in 2008.

Explanation

The Amrit Dharohar scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 to facilitate the conservation of wetlands in India. It aims to encourage the optimal use of wetlands, enhance biodiversity, increase carbon stock, and boost ecotourism and income generation opportunities for local communities. The scheme is implemented over three years to promote the conservation values of Ramsar sites across the country.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect because the Fundamental Duties were incorporated into Part IV-A of the Constitution of India by the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976, following the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, and not by the 44th Amendment Act.

Explanation

Ghiyasuddin Balban adopted the ruthless policy of blood and iron to establish law and order and strengthen the authority of the Delhi Sultanate. The Mewati community, residing in the regions around Delhi, frequently plundered the outskirts of the capital, robbed travelers, and disrupted trade routes, making the roads highly unsafe. To eliminate this threat, Balban initiated a severe military campaign where he cleared the dense forests around Delhi, hunted down and executed the plunderers, and established military outposts manned by Afghan soldiers to maintain permanent vigil. This iron-fisted approach effectively subdued the Mewatis and restored peace in the region.

Explanation

The Ranji Trophy is named after Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, popularly known as Ranji. He was an Indian prince from the state of Nawanagar and a pioneering cricketer who played Test cricket for England. Renowned for his exceptional batting skills and credited with introducing innovative strokes like the leg glance, he is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) established the premier domestic first-class cricket tournament in his honor in 1934.

Explanation

The ITC Sangeet Research Academy is located in Tollygunge, Kolkata. It was established in 1977 by ITC Limited with the objective of preserving and promoting Hindustani classical music. The institution is famous for reviving and maintaining the traditional Guru-Shishya parampara, under which promising young musicians receive training from legendary maestros in a residential campus.

Explanation

Under the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Match Playing Conditions, the minimum over rate that the fielding side is required to maintain is 15 overs per hour. This rate is calculated based on the actual playing time during the match, after accounting for various permissible allowances such as player injuries, DRS reviews, lost balls, third-umpire consultations, and the fall of wickets. Teams that fail to meet this minimum requirement of 15 overs per hour are subject to penalties, which include monetary fines for the players and the deduction of crucial World Test Championship points.

Explanation

Lord William Bentinck, who served as the Governor-General of India from 1828 to 1835, enacted the Bengal Sati Regulation, also known as Regulation XVII of 1829. This historic social reform declared the practice of Sati—the self-immolation of widows on the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands—illegal and punishable by the criminal courts as culpable homicide. In implementing this humanitarian law, Bentinck was greatly supported by the relentless campaigning of Indian social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who highlighted that the practice had no Vedic sanction.

Explanation

Shiv Pratap Shukla took oath as the 29th Governor of Himachal Pradesh on February 18, 2023, at Raj Bhawan in Shimla. He was appointed to the post by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, on February 12, 2023, succeeding Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. Prior to this appointment, he served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha and as the Union Minister of State for Finance.

Explanation

Invertebrates are defined by the absence of a backbone (vertebral column) and an internal bony skeleton. The presence of a vertebral column and an internal skeleton made of bone or cartilage is the defining anatomical characteristic of vertebrates, which belong to the subphylum Vertebrata. In contrast, invertebrates either lack a skeleton entirely, possess a hydrostatic skeleton, or have an exoskeleton, such as the chitinous shell of arthropods or the calcium carbonate shell of molluscs.

Explanation

The Sun is the closest star to Earth, situated at an average distance of about 150 million kilometers. Proxima Centauri is the second nearest star to Earth, located at a distance of approximately 4.24 light-years. It is a low-mass red dwarf star and is the closest star to our solar system.

Explanation

In the Natya Shastra, Bharat Muni classifies musical instruments into four categories based on their acoustic principles and the mechanism through which they produce different sounds. This systematic classification, known as the Atodya Vadya, groups instruments according to their sound-producing source and acoustic nature. The four categories include Tata Vadya, which are stringed instruments where sound is produced by vibrating strings; Sushira Vadya, which are wind instruments where sound is produced by blowing air; Avanaddha Vadya, which are percussion instruments where sound is produced by striking a stretched membrane; and Ghana Vadya, which are solid instruments where sound is produced by striking resonant solids like metal or wood. Therefore, this categorization is fundamentally determined by the acoustic properties and the different ways sounds are generated by the instruments.

Explanation

The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer, completed in 1945. Designed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvania, ENIAC was Turing-complete and could be reprogrammed to solve a wide range of complex numerical calculations by manipulating its plugboard connections and switches.