SSC CHSL Tier 1 2024 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Sir Henry Lawrence led the British forces during the Battle of Chinhat on June 30, 1857. Serving as the Chief Commissioner of Oudh, Lawrence marched out of the Lucknow Residency with a force of British and Indian soldiers to confront the advancing rebel forces. The battle resulted in a significant defeat for the British forces, forcing Lawrence and his surviving troops to retreat and defend themselves within the Residency, which initiated the Siege of Lucknow.

Explanation

Central Railway is headquartered at Mumbai CST, which manages major routes across Maharashtra and adjacent states. Northern Railway has its headquarters at New Delhi, serving as the hub for northern Indian rail operations. Eastern Railway is headquartered at Kolkata, overseeing transport in West Bengal and parts of neighboring states. Southern Railway has its headquarters at Chennai, directing rail services across the southern peninsula.

Explanation

Bharatanatyam is traditionally performed as a solo dance presentation known as ekaharya, in which a single dancer plays multiple roles in a single performance. In this format, the solo artist transitions fluidly from one character to another, using facial expressions, body movements, and hand gestures to narrate different parts of a story or dance drama without changing costumes.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

The Uttaramerur inscription, dating back to the reign of the Chola monarch Parantaka I in the early tenth century (around 919 CE and 921 CE), provides a remarkably detailed account of the functioning of the local self-government in the Chola empire. Located on the walls of the Vaikuntha Perumal temple in Uttaramerur, Tamil Nadu, this inscription outlines the rules, qualifications, and disqualifications for the members of the local assembly, or sabha. It meticulously details the Kudavolai system, a unique method of election by draw of lots where names of eligible candidates written on palm leaves were placed in a pot and drawn by a young boy to form various administrative committees overseeing irrigation, gardens, taxation, and justice.

Explanation

The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1955 amended the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution. This amendment empowered the President to prescribe a specific time limit for State Legislatures to convey their views on central bills that propose to alter the areas, boundaries, or names of those States. If a State Legislature fails to express its opinion within the prescribed or extended period, the President can proceed with the introduction of the bill in Parliament, thereby preventing unnecessary delays in the reorganization of states.

Explanation

The Child Sex Ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males in the age group of 0 to 6 years. According to the Census of India 2011, the Child Sex Ratio of the country was recorded at 919, which showed a decline from 927 recorded during the 2001 Census. This demographic indicator is critical for understanding the gender balance among the youngest cohort of the population.

Explanation

Under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court is empowered to pass any decree or order necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it. In May 2023, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that it can invoke this discretionary power to grant a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The Court established that it has the authority to dissolve a marriage that has completely broken down, bypassing the mandatory waiting periods prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, to prevent further prolongation of agony and ensure complete justice for the parties.

Explanation

In Microsoft Word, the shortcut key Ctrl+P is used to print a document. Pressing this key combination immediately opens the Print menu or Print backstage view, where users can choose their printer, select the page range, adjust page layout settings, and send the document to be printed. This keyboard shortcut is a standard command across almost all document creation and editing software in the Windows environment.

Explanation

According to the 2011 Census of India, Sikkim is the least populous state in the country with a total population of 610,577, which is approximately 6.11 lakh. This figure is well below the 10 lakh threshold.

Explanation

In a letter dated November 29, 1602, addressed to the patron of science Guidobaldo del Monte, Galileo Galilei first formally described his experiments with the pendulum. In this correspondence, he outlined the regular, swinging motion of the pendulum, explaining how it is governed by the forces of gravity and acquired momentum. He also noted the phenomenon of isochronism, which is the property where the period of the swing remains constant regardless of the arc's width.

Explanation

Article 51A(k) of the Constitution of India, which was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002, prescribes that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of six and fourteen years. By employing her twelve-year-old daughter as a house cleaner instead of sending her to school, the housemaid fails to discharge this constitutional obligation, directly violating this fundamental duty.

Explanation

The Green Revolution, introduced in India in the mid-1960s, achieved its primary goal of making the country self-sufficient in food grain production, particularly wheat and rice, ending India's dependence on food imports. However, this agricultural transformation had severe environmental consequences. The repetitive cultivation of the same high-yielding crops, known as monoculture, disrupted the natural replenishment of the soil, leading to a significant loss of essential soil nutrients. Furthermore, these high-yielding crop varieties required intensive irrigation, which triggered an over-exploitation of tube wells and a rapid depletion of fresh groundwater resources, especially in major agricultural regions like Punjab and Haryana.

Explanation

The Right to Equality, guaranteed under Articles 14 to 18 of the Constitution of India, ensures equal treatment and opportunities for all citizens. Specifically, Article 15 of the Constitution explicitly prohibits the State from discriminating against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of them, making this protection a core component of the Right to Equality.

Explanation

Prior to 1992, both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games were held in the same calendar year. To allow more focus, media coverage, and resources for each event, the International Olympic Committee decided to stagger the games. Following the 1992 Winter Games, the next Winter Olympics was held in 1994, placing the Winter and Summer Olympics on alternating even-numbered years of a four-year cycle, which means the Winter Olympics occur exactly two years after the Summer Olympics.

Explanation

Trypsin is a digestive enzyme that belongs to the serine protease family. It is synthesized and secreted by the pancreas as an inactive zymogen called trypsinogen. Once activated in the small intestine, trypsin functions as a medium-sized globular protein with a molecular weight of approximately 24 kilodaltons. As a serine protease, it utilizes a catalytic triad containing an essential serine residue to hydrolyze peptide bonds specifically on the carboxyl side of lysine and arginine amino acids, playing a vital role in protein digestion in vertebrates.

Explanation

Carnatic music is a system of classical music associated with the southern region of India. It is historically and culturally confined to the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. This musical tradition developed in these regions with a distinct focus on vocal performances, a sophisticated system of ragas (melodic frameworks) and talas (rhythmic cycles), and compositions predominantly in Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit, and Tamil.

Explanation

The Kutch festival, popularly known as Rann Utsav, is a vibrant celebration of the rich cultural heritage of the Kutch district in Gujarat. Bhuj, which is the administrative headquarters of the Kutch district, serves as the main hub and gateway for this festival. It hosts the initial preparations, major cultural programs, handicraft exhibitions, and folk performances that showcase the traditional arts, music, and crafts of the region before visitors head to the white desert of the Great Rann of Kutch.

Explanation

The Western Coastal Plains of India lie between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. This narrow coastal strip is geographically divided into three main sections. The central stretch of this coastal plain, which covers the region of Karnataka, is known as the Kannad Plain. It is positioned between the Konkan coast in the north and the Malabar coast in the south.

Explanation

Under Koeppen's climate classification system, Group E represents Polar climates. These climates are defined by the complete absence of a warm summer season, meaning that the average temperature for all months of the year is below 10°C. This group is further divided into Tundra climate (ET), where the warmest month has an average temperature between 0°C and 10°C, and Polar Ice Cap climate (EF), where the average temperature of every month is below 0°C.

Explanation

The Assam Government observed 31 March 2023 as Students Day (Chhatra Divas) across the state to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma. He was a highly influential leader, visionary, and former president of the All Bodo Students Union, who worked tirelessly for the education, social reform, and empowerment of the Bodo community and students of the region. The state cabinet decided to honor his legacy by dedicating his birthday as Students Day to inspire youth and students toward leadership and social service.

Explanation

In Microsoft Word, creating a new document is initiated by clicking on the File tab on the top-left corner of the ribbon. This action opens the backstage view, where selecting the New option provides choices to start a fresh, blank document or choose from various pre-designed templates.

Explanation

The third edition of the Khelo India Winter Games was held in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, from February 10 to 14, 2023. The multi-sport event was organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of Jammu and Kashmir. It featured over 1500 athletes from across the country competing in various winter sports disciplines, including alpine skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, ice skating, and snowshoeing, with Jammu and Kashmir securing the top position on the medal table.

Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Bhadla Solar Park, located in the Phalodi district of Rajasthan, India, reached its full operational capacity of 2,245 MW in March 2020. This milestone made it the largest solar power plant in the world at that time. The park is spread over an area of more than 14,000 acres in a region characterized by high solar radiation and optimal environmental conditions for solar energy generation.

Explanation

The Industrial Licensing Policy Inquiry Committee, popularly known as the Dutt Committee, was set up by the Government of India in July 1967 under the chairmanship of Subimal Dutt. The committee was tasked with investigating the working of the licensing system over the preceding ten years to evaluate whether it had met its objectives, particularly in preventing the concentration of economic power and ensuring that licensing did not disproportionately benefit large industrial houses. The findings and recommendations of the Dutt Committee played a pivotal role in shaping India's subsequent industrial policies, leading to the enactment of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969.

Explanation

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in Calcutta on August 20, 1828. This reformist association aimed to promote monotheism, reform Hindu society, and fight against social evils like sati and child marriage. It was later renamed the Brahmo Samaj and played a pivotal role in the Bengal Renaissance, making Calcutta the central hub of its socio-religious reform activities.

Explanation

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq shifted his capital from Delhi to Devagiri in the Deccan region in 1327, renaming the new capital Daulatabad. He believed that a centrally located capital would allow him to exercise better administrative control over both northern and southern parts of his empire, while also placing the capital at a safer distance from the frequent Mongol invasions occurring in the northwest. This massive administrative relocation involved forcing the entire population of Delhi to march over 1500 kilometers to the new site, resulting in widespread misery and loss of life. Due to the difficulty of defending the northern borders from the south and the growing dissatisfaction among the people, he eventually abandoned the project and ordered everyone to return to Delhi.

Explanation

Price control and rationing are direct regulatory measures employed by governments to combat inflation. During periods of high inflation, excessive demand or supply shortages lead to a rapid increase in the prices of essential commodities. By imposing price controls, such as price ceilings, the government legally caps the maximum retail price of goods to keep them affordable. Simultaneously, rationing ensures the equitable distribution of these scarce resources among the population, preventing hoarding, black marketing, and further upward pressure on prices. Together, these administrative interventions directly suppress inflationary trends and stabilize the cost of living.

Explanation

Purandara Dasa is revered as the Pitamaha of Carnatic music because he systematized the entire pedagogy of the music system, creating graded exercises such as Swaravalis, Jantai Varisais, and Alankaras. He lived during the 15th and 16th centuries, which predates the late 18th to early 19th-century era of the Trinity.

Explanation

Handball is a team sport played by two teams of seven players each on a court, where players pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the other team. It is a full team sport and does not feature any doubles or mixed doubles format.

Explanation

According to the Census of India 2011, the total population of India grew from 1,028.73 million (102.87 crore) in 2001 to 1,210.85 million (121.08 crore) in 2011. This represents an absolute increase of approximately 181.96 million, which is equivalent to 18.19 crore, registering a decadal growth rate of 17.7%.

Explanation

The Constitution of India originally provided seven Fundamental Rights under Part III. These included the Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights, Right to Property, and Right to Constitutional Remedies. The Right to Property was subsequently removed from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 and was made a legal right under Article 300A in Part XII of the Constitution.

Explanation

Justice Sanjiv Khanna was nominated as the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority of India by President Droupadi Murmu, with the appointment taking effect on December 26, 2023. He succeeded Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul following his retirement. Under Section 3(2)(b) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the Executive Chairman of NALSA is nominated by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, from among the serving or retired judges of the Supreme Court. Justice Sanjiv Khanna continued to serve in this position as of March 2024.

Explanation

The Asiatic Lion is native to India, and its sole surviving wild population is found in the Gir Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat. The dry deciduous forests and open grassy scrublands of this region provide the ideal ecological conditions for this endangered big cat.

Explanation

An olfactory indicator is a substance whose smell or odor changes depending on whether it is mixed with an acidic or basic medium. Clove oil acts as an olfactory indicator because its characteristic smell remains detectable in acidic solutions but is completely destroyed or lost when treated with a basic solution, such as sodium hydroxide. This distinct change in smell allows it to be used to determine the acidic or basic nature of a substance.

Explanation

Magahi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Magadh region of Bihar and parts of Jharkhand. It is not recognized as a classical language of India, as it does not meet the strict criteria established by the Ministry of Culture, which include an extremely high antiquity of early texts over a period of 1500 to 2000 years, a body of ancient literature, and an original literary tradition not borrowed from another speech community. Magahi is instead classified as a regional language belonging to the Bihari group of Indo-Aryan languages.

Explanation

Classical Carnatic music is the traditional music system of southern India, primarily associated with the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The vast majority of Carnatic compositions are written in South Indian languages, specifically Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil, alongside Sanskrit, which has historically served as a major literary medium for devotional and musical works. The eminent composers of this tradition, including the Trinity of Carnatic music (Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Syama Sastri) and Purandara Dasa, wrote their lyrical compositions (sahitya) in these specific languages to express spiritual and philosophical themes.

Explanation

Lal Thanhawla is a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress who served as the Chief Minister of Mizoram for five terms. He held office during the periods of 1984 to 1986, 1989 to 1993, 1993 to 1998, 2008 to 2013, and 2013 to 2018, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister in the history of the state.

Explanation

Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. The dance is an integral part of the Kalbelia culture, a nomadic community that was historically known for catching snakes and trading snake venom. The women perform the dance with sensuous, fluid movements that mimic those of a serpent, while the men provide musical accompaniment using traditional wind and percussion instruments, most notably the pungi, a woodwind instrument traditionally played to charm snakes.

Explanation

Article 32 of the Constitution of India, known as the Right to Constitutional Remedies, guarantees individuals the right to petition the Supreme Court of India for the enforcement of their fundamental rights. This article empowers the Supreme Court to issue directions, orders, or writs—including habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, and certiorari—to protect and enforce these rights. It ensures that the fundamental rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution are judicially enforceable and justiciable, acting as the ultimate guarantor of individual liberties.

Explanation

According to Law 5 of the International Football Association Board Laws of the Game, a white flag is not part of the compulsory equipment for a football referee. While assistant referees carry flags, which are typically checkered red and yellow, the main referee is not required to carry any flag during a match.

Explanation

Doljatra, also known as Doul Utsav, is a prominent spring festival celebrated with great fervor in the state of Assam, particularly in the Barpeta district. Introduced by the 15th-16th century saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardeva, this festival is dedicated to Lord Krishna and marks the arrival of spring. During the celebrations, devotees play with colors, sing traditional Holigeets (devotional songs), and carry the idols of Lord Krishna and Radha in a grand procession, symbolizing the divine play of the deities.

Explanation

The refractive index of benzene is 1.50. The value of 2.42 is the refractive index of diamond, which is the highest optical density among naturally occurring substances. Therefore, pairing benzene with 2.42 is incorrect.

Explanation

In Microsoft PowerPoint, the Slide Show tab is specifically designed to manage and configure how a presentation is displayed to an audience. Within this tab, the Start Slide Show group contains the From Beginning command, which launches the presentation from the first slide, and the From Current Slide command, which starts the show from the slide that is currently active on the screen.

Explanation

The Commission for Economically Backward Classes, popularly known as the Sinho Commission, was constituted in 2005 under the chairmanship of Major General (Retd.) S.R. Sinho. The commission was tasked with identifying the economically backward classes among those not covered by any existing reservation schemes. In its report submitted in 2010, the commission recommended providing welfare measures and reservation benefits to the economically weaker sections of the general category. These recommendations formed the basis for the enactment of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 2019, which introduced the 10% EWS quota in jobs and education, subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in November 2022.

Explanation

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt was the Chief Guest at India's 74th Republic Day celebrations held on January 26, 2023. This was the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt was invited as the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day, marking a significant milestone in India-Egypt bilateral relations. A military contingent from the Egyptian Armed Forces also participated in the parade.

Explanation

The Preamble to the Constitution of India explicitly describes the nation as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic. The word Secular was formally incorporated into the Preamble through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976. This designation highlights that the Indian State has no official state religion, maintains equal respect and neutral distance from all religious faiths, and guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of religion to all its citizens.

Explanation

Uday Shankar is celebrated as the Father of Modern Dance in India for his pioneering work in creating a unique genre of dance that synthesized traditional Indian classical dance elements with Western theatrical techniques. In the early 20th century, he popularized Indian dance on the global stage through his choreographic innovations and international tours. He also founded the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre at Almora in Uttarakhand, which served as a major hub for training artists in this new contemporary style, laying the foundation for modern Indian choreography.

Explanation

A standard chess game begins with a total of 32 pieces, divided equally between two players who each control 16 pieces of either white or black color. For each side, the 16 pieces consist of one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The player controlling the white pieces starts the game with exactly 8 white pawns lined up on the second rank of the chessboard.

Explanation

Svarajati is a vital learning composition in Carnatic classical music, usually taught to students after they master basic swara exercises and alankaras. It features a structured format consisting of a pallavi, anupallavi, and multiple charanams. The distinguishing characteristic of a svarajati is that the musical notes (swaras) correspond perfectly to the syllables of the lyrics (sahitya). Initially structured as dance forms, svarajatis were elevated to sophisticated art-concert pieces by the legendary Carnatic composer Syama Sastri, one of the Trinity of Carnatic music, who composed highly revered svarajatis in ragas like Bhairavi and Anandabhairavi.

Explanation

During the Green Revolution in India, wheat was the primary beneficiary of high-yielding variety seeds and associated technology, which is why the phenomenon is often referred to as a wheat revolution. The penetration of modern agricultural technology, including chemical fertilizers, controlled irrigation, and mechanization, was much deeper and more widespread in wheat cultivation than in rice cultivation. Additionally, because of the rapid adoption and high profitability of the new technology in wheat-producing regions, the acreage under wheat expanded rapidly. Consequently, the growth rate of the area under rice was relatively slower compared to the growth rate of the area under wheat during the post-Green Revolution period.