SSC CHSL Tier 1 2024 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly by the Marathi people of Maharashtra, India. It serves as the official language of the state. As an Indo-Aryan language, Marathi is part of the larger Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from Maharashtri Prakrit, a Middle Indo-Aryan language, which itself developed from Sanskrit, sharing structural, grammatical, and lexical features common to other northern and central Indian languages of this family.

Explanation

Krishna Nagar is an Indian Para-badminton player who clinched the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympics. He competed in the men's singles SH6 category, where he defeated Hong Kong's Chu Man Kai in the final match to secure the top podium finish.

Explanation

River Linkage Development is not a component or pillar of the Namami Gange Programme. The Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission approved as a flagship programme by the Union Government in June 2014 with the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, and conservation and rejuvenation of the National River Ganga. Its core pillars focus specifically on the ecological restoration and pollution control of the Ganga basin, whereas river interlinking is a separate national-level water management initiative under the National Perspective Plan of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Explanation

The Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India on 26 November 1949. This landmark event is recorded in the Preamble of the Constitution, which states that the people of India, in their Constituent Assembly, adopted, enacted, and gave to themselves the Constitution on this specific date. While certain provisions relating to citizenship, elections, and provisional parliament came into force immediately, the entire Constitution came into full effect on 26 January 1950. To commemorate the adoption of the Constitution, 26 November is celebrated across the country as Constitution Day, also known as Samvidhan Divas.

Explanation

Mendel's Law of Segregation states that a diploid organism possesses two alleles for any given trait, which segregate or separate during the formation of gametes. Consequently, each gamete carries only one allele for each gene. Upon fertilization, the offspring inherits one randomly selected allele from the maternal gamete and one from the paternal gamete, resulting in a combination of one allele from each parent.

Explanation

Article 43 of the Constitution of India, which contains one of the Gandhian Directive Principles of State Policy, directs the State to endeavour to promote cottage industries on an individual or cooperative basis in rural areas. In pursuance of this directive, the Government of India established various boards, such as the All India Handloom Board and the All India Handicrafts Board, to provide institutional support, financial assistance, and capacity building to artisans and weavers, thereby promoting cottage and small-scale industries across the country.

Explanation

Dr. Manoj Soni served as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission during this period. He initially joined the Commission as a member in 2017 and was later appointed as the Chairman, taking his oath of office on May 16, 2023. He continued to head the Commission through March 31, 2024.

Explanation

The 20th edition of the Asian Games, officially known as the XX Asiad, is scheduled to be co-hosted by the Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya in Japan in 2026. This multi-sport event marks the third time Japan will host the Asian Games, following the Tokyo games in 1958 and the Hiroshima games in 1994.

Explanation

Ghiyasuddin Balban formulated a comprehensive theory of kingship to elevate the prestige and authority of the Delhi Sultanate. He styled himself as Zil-i-Ilahi, which translates to the Shadow of God on Earth. Balban asserted that the Sultan was the recipient of divine favor, a concept he termed Niyabat-i-Khudai (vicegerency of God), thereby placing the ruler's authority above all nobles and subjects, second only to the Prophet.

Explanation

Traditional Kathak dance is closely associated with Hindustani classical music, especially semi-classical lyrical genres like Thumri, Dadra, and Ghazal. During the Abhinaya (expressive) segment of a Kathak performance, the dancer interprets the emotions and poetic nuances of these songs using subtle facial expressions and hand gestures. This expressive aspect, often referred to as Thumri Bhava, is a defining feature of the Lucknow gharana of Kathak, where legendary gurus composed numerous thumris specifically to be enacted in dance.

Explanation

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is a central public sector undertaking owned and operated by the Government of India. Established in 1964, BHEL is one of the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprises in India, specialized in the design, engineering, construction, and servicing of products for core sectors of the economy like power, transmission, industry, transportation, and defense. It operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, with the government holding the majority ownership and overall management control.

Explanation

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a pioneering social reformer and educator who campaigned tirelessly for the empowerment of women and the eradication of social evils. He presented a petition to the Legislative Council, backed by textual evidence from ancient scriptures, to prove that Hindu law did not prohibit widow remarriage. His sustained efforts and advocacy directly led to the enactment of the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 (Act XV of 1856), which was drafted during the tenure of Lord Dalhousie and passed under Lord Canning, legalizing and validating the remarriage of Hindu widows.

Explanation

In 1960, the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures redefined the metre using the international standard of light. Under this definition, one metre was equal to exactly 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in vacuum of the orange-red radiation corresponding to the transition between the 2p₁₀ and 5d₅ energy levels of the krypton-86 atom. This isotope was chosen because it provided a highly stable, sharp, and easily reproducible spectral line, eliminating the reliance on a physical prototype bar.

Explanation

Sattriya dance originated in the Sattras, which are the Vaishnavite monasteries of Assam. It was created in the 15th century by the great saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardev as an artistic medium to propagate the Bhakti movement. Originally performed by male monks, known as Bhokots, as part of their daily rituals and spiritual practices, this dance form integrates music, drama, and dance to narrate mythological stories. Over the centuries, these monastic institutions preserved and nurtured this unique tradition, allowing it to develop into a highly stylized classical dance form.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

Rupnarainpur is a town located in the Paschim Bardhaman district of West Bengal. Hindustan Cables Limited (HCL), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, established its first manufacturing unit at Rupnarainpur in 1952 to produce telecommunication cables.

Explanation

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, a coastal city in the Kathiawar Peninsula of Gujarat. His birthplace is preserved today as Kirti Mandir, a memorial temple built to honour his life and philosophy.

Explanation

Mail merge is a standard feature in word-processing applications that allows users to generate personalized documents, such as letters, emails, envelopes, and labels, for multiple recipients simultaneously. This process combines a main template document containing static text and placeholders with a structured data source, such as a spreadsheet, database, or contact list containing variable information like names and addresses. During the merge, the software automatically replaces the placeholders in the template with the corresponding data from each entry in the source, creating customized individual documents.

Explanation

The Give Plastic and Take Gold campaign was launched in January 2023 in Sadiwara, a village panchayat located in the Hiller Shahabad block of Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir. Conceived by the village Sarpanch, Farooq Ahmad Ganai, this unique environmental initiative aims to make the village completely plastic-free. Under this scheme, the panchayat rewards anyone who collects and hands over 20 quintals (2000 kg) of plastic waste with a gold coin, successfully incentivizing community-led waste management and promoting ecological conservation in the region.

Explanation

The Standard Meridian of India is 82°30' E longitude. This meridian passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and is used to calculate the Indian Standard Time (IST) for the entire nation. It was selected because it lies approximately in the center of India's longitudinal extent, which stretches from about 68°7' E to 97°25' E. Additionally, it is a multiple of 7°30', which ensures that India's standard time is exactly 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +5:30), aligning with international time zone standards.

Explanation

The national anthem of India, Jana Gana Mana, was written and composed by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Originally composed in highly Sanskritised Bengali as Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata, the first stanza of the song was officially adopted as the National Anthem of India by the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950. It was first publicly sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.

Explanation

A market structure characterized by one buyer and many sellers is known as a monopsony, rather than a monopoly. In a monopoly, a single seller dominates the market and faces many buyers, whereas a monopsony represents demand-side market power where a single buyer has the power to influence the prices of the goods or services purchased from multiple sellers.

Explanation

Sushil Kumar won the gold medal in the men's 66 kg freestyle category at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships held in Moscow, Russia. He defeated Alan Gogaev of Russia in the final match to become the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the World Wrestling Championships.

Explanation

Ohira folk music is a traditional music genre deeply associated with the Sohrai festival, which is a major harvest and cattle festival celebrated in Jharkhand. Held during the autumn season, typically the day after Diwali, the festival is dedicated to expressing gratitude towards cattle for their vital role in agriculture. During the celebrations, farmers sing Ohira songs to praise and bless their cows and buffaloes, accompanied by traditional musical instruments like the mandar and dhol.

Explanation

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia served as the Union Minister of Civil Aviation in the Government of India from July 2021 until June 2024, holding the portfolio during the specified period of March 2024.

Explanation

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was launched by the Government of India on April 1, 1999. This initiative was designed as a comprehensive self-employment programme for the rural poor, focusing on organizing them into Self-Help Groups (SHGs), providing training, capacity building, and facilitating credit and subsidy linkups. It restructured and merged several erstwhile schemes, including the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), the Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), and the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA).

Explanation

According to the Census of India 2011, Alirajpur district, located in the state of Madhya Pradesh, recorded the lowest literacy rate in the country at 36.1%. The district, which was carved out of Jhabua district in 2008, has a predominantly tribal population, with the male literacy rate at approximately 42.0% and the female literacy rate at around 30.3%. These figures represent the lowest literacy metrics among all districts in India during the 2011 census operations.

Explanation

Slash and burn agriculture, also known as shifting cultivation, is a primitive subsistence farming practice where a patch of forest land is cleared by cutting and burning trees to grow crops primarily for family consumption. This traditional method relies entirely on natural rainfall, natural soil fertility, and basic family labor with primitive tools, making it the opposite of commercial farming which is characterized by the intensive use of modern inputs to maximize crop yield for sale in the market.

Explanation

The Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Fellowship scheme was launched by the Government of India in 2023 to foster collaboration between the Indian diaspora in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) and Indian higher educational and research institutions. Implemented by the Department of Science and Technology, the program offers fellowships to outstanding researchers of Indian origin (Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin, or Overseas Citizens of India) who are based abroad, enabling them to spend up to two months a year doing collaborative research at a host institution in India.

Explanation

The first Five-Year Plan of India was launched in 1951 by the government of India, covering the period from 1951 to 1956. Formulated under the leadership of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, this plan was based on the Harrod-Domar model, which emphasized the role of savings and investment in driving economic growth. It focused primarily on the agricultural sector, including substantial investments in irrigation and power projects like the Bhakra-Nangal Dam, to address the critical food shortages and rebuild the economy after partition and independence.

Explanation

The Badami Chalukyas, also known as the early Chalukyas, began their political career as feudatories and subjects of the Kadambas of Banavasi. They served under the Kadamba rulers in the Deccan region before asserting their independence in the mid-sixth century. Around 543 CE, Pulakeshin I, the first sovereign ruler of the dynasty, threw off the Kadamba suzerainty, fortified the hill near Vatapi, and established it as the capital of the newly independent Chalukya kingdom.

Explanation

Hampi Utsava is also widely known as Vijaya Utsava. It is a major cultural festival celebrated in Karnataka to commemorate the reign and glory of the historical Vijayanagara Empire, whose capital was Hampi. Organized by the Government of Karnataka, this week-long festival brings alive the rich cultural heritage, art, music, dance, and puppet shows of the region, recreating the pomp and splendour of the bygone era.

Explanation

Mohammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur and banker, founded the Grameen Bank in October 1983. The institution was established under a special law in Bangladesh as an independent bank to provide microcredit, which consists of small loans given to the rural poor without requiring collateral. This innovative system of microfinance was designed to help impoverished individuals, particularly women, start small businesses and achieve financial self-reliance. For their pioneering work in using microfinance to create economic and social development from below, Mohammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

Explanation

Dhanush Srikanth won the gold medal in the men's 10m Air Rifle event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup 2023, which was held in Suhl, Germany. He secured the top spot on the podium by shooting a score of 249.4 in the 24-shot final.

Explanation

Article 361 of the Constitution of India grants personal immunity and protection to the President of India, Governors of States, and Rajpramukhs. Under this provision, these high dignitaries are not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of their office, or for any act done by them in the exercise of those powers. Furthermore, it ensures that no criminal proceedings can be instituted or continued against them in any court during their term of office, and no process for their arrest or imprisonment can be issued by any court during their tenure.

Explanation

The First Past the Post system is a plurality voting method where the candidate who secures the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared elected, even without obtaining an absolute majority. The framers of the Indian Constitution adopted this system from the British Constitution. Because India had already experienced legislative elections conducted under British colonial rule, this electoral system was highly familiar to both the lawmakers and the general public, making it the most practical choice for direct elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Explanation

The district of Shivamogga, historically known as Shimoga, is located in the central-western part of Karnataka. Situated in the picturesque Malnad region, the district is highly rich in mineral resources, with significant deposits of high-grade manganese and iron ore that contribute substantially to the mining sector of the state.

Explanation

The Ministry of Ayush collaborated with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to conduct a clinical trial on Ashwagandha to evaluate its efficacy in promoting recovery from Covid-19. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess whether Ashwagandha could reduce the severity of symptoms, enhance quality of life, and accelerate recovery in patients suffering from long-term effects of Covid-19. Known scientifically as Withania somnifera, Ashwagandha is a prominent herb in Ayurveda recognized for its immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and adaptogenic properties.

Explanation

Ceres is the closest dwarf planet to the Sun, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits at an average distance of approximately 2.77 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, which is about 2.8 times Earth's average orbital distance. Classified as a dwarf planet in 2006, Ceres is also the largest object in the asteroid belt, containing about one-third of the belt's total mass.

Explanation

The Mamluk dynasty, also known as the Slave dynasty, was the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. It was established in 1206 CE by Qutb ud-Din Aibak, a former Turkic slave and military general of Muhammad Ghori. Following Ghori's assassination, Aibak declared independence and assumed control of the northern Indian territories, ruling from Delhi and laying the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate which lasted until 1290 CE.

Explanation

In November 2015, the Government of India introduced comprehensive reforms to the Foreign Direct Investment policy to promote ease of doing business and attract foreign capital. Under these reforms, the government permitted Foreign Direct Investment up to 49% in the defence sector under the automatic route. Prior to this change, portfolio investment and foreign venture capital investment in defence were highly restricted, and any foreign investment up to 49% required prior government approval. Under the revised 2015 policy, proposals for FDI beyond 49% in defence were allowed through the government approval route, specifically in cases that would provide access to modern technology.

Explanation

The 2023 Men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament was hosted in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, from August 3 to August 12, 2023. The matches of this prestigious seventh edition of the tournament were played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, marking the return of major international hockey to Chennai after a gap of 16 years.

Explanation

Shri Amit Shah serves as the head of the Ministry of Cooperation, a portfolio he has held since the creation of this ministry in July 2021. The ministry was established to provide a separate administrative, legal, and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in India.

Explanation

A floating exchange rate is a regime where the value of a currency is allowed to fluctuate freely in the foreign exchange market. It is determined solely by the market forces of demand and supply for that currency relative to others, without direct intervention by governments or central banks to target a specific rate. If the demand for a currency increases, its value rises, whereas if the supply exceeds demand, its value falls.

Explanation

The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935, in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Upon its commencement, the Central Office of the bank, where the Governor sits and policies are formulated, was initially established in Calcutta, which is known as Kolkata today. This office remained in Kolkata until it was permanently relocated to Mumbai in 1937.

Explanation

Glucose reacts with acetic anhydride in the presence of pyridine or anhydrous sodium acetate to form glucose pentaacetate. In this reaction, the five hydroxyl groups (-OH) present in the glucose molecule undergo nucleophilic acyl substitution, where the hydrogen atoms of the hydroxyl groups are replaced by acetyl groups (-COCH₃). This process of introducing an acetyl group into an organic compound is known as acetylation. The formation of glucose pentaacetate confirms the presence of five hydroxyl groups in the molecular structure of glucose.

Explanation

Sangeeta Shankar is a highly acclaimed classical violinist performing in the Hindustani music tradition. She is the daughter and disciple of the legendary violin virtuoso N. Rajam. Sangeeta Shankar was honored with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 2021 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Hindustani instrumental music as a violinist.

Explanation

The density of population is defined as the number of persons per unit of area, typically expressed per square kilometer. According to the final data of the Census of India 2011, the population density of India was 382 persons per km². This represents an increase from the 2001 Census, which recorded a population density of 324 persons per km².

Explanation

Rauf is a celebrated traditional folk dance of Jammu and Kashmir, primarily performed by women to welcome the spring season and celebrate festive occasions such as Eid. The dance involves participants forming two facing rows, linking their arms around each other's shoulders, and performing rhythmic, synchronized footwork accompanied by traditional folk songs.

Explanation

Skype is a telecommunications application used primarily for voice calls, video conferencing, and instant messaging. For the application to function for voice communication, audio input and output devices are essential. A microphone is required to capture and transmit the user's voice, while a speaker or headphone is necessary to hear the audio from the other end. A webcam is only needed for video transmission, and Skype can function perfectly well for voice-only calls and text messaging without any camera connected. Therefore, only a microphone and a speaker are mandatory hardware requirements for voice communication on Skype.

Explanation

A galvanometer operates on the principle that a current-carrying coil placed in a magnetic field experiences a magnetic torque. This magnetic force acts upon the wire of the coil, causing it to rotate. The rotation is transmitted to a needle, and its deflection across a calibrated scale directly measures the presence, direction, and strength of the electric current.