WB miscellaneous previous year question paper 2024 : Best Detailed Solution (English Version)

Answer: (B) there is no atmosphere.

Explanation:
Sound is a mechanical wave and needs a material medium such as air to travel. The Moon has virtually no atmosphere, so sound cannot pass between astronauts. They communicate by radio, which uses electromagnetic waves that can travel through a vacuum.

Atmosphere and Sound on Different Bodies

Answer: (C) 4 days

Explanation:
3 men = 5 women in work capacity, so 1 man = 5/3 women. Then 6 men = 10 women, and 6 men + 5 women = 15 women. If 5 women take 12 days, the total work is 5 × 12 = 60 woman-days. So 15 women need 60 ÷ 15 = 4 days.

Answer: (C) an increase in the wages or raw materials.

Explanation:
Cost-push inflation arises on the supply side. When the cost of production rises through higher wages, raw materials or energy prices, producers raise prices to protect their margins. The general price level rises even though demand has not increased.

Types of Inflation and Deflation

Answer: (B) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Explanation:
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar became independent India’s first Law and Justice Minister in Nehru’s cabinet on 15 August 1947. He also chaired the Drafting Committee of the Constituition. He resigned in 1951 over the delay in passing the Hindu Code Bill.

First Holders of Key Posts in Independent India

Answer: (A) ₹877.80

Explanation:
The first sale at a 10% gain gives 840 × 1.10 = ₹924. This is the new buyer’s cost price. He sells at a 5% loss, so the final price is 924 × 0.95 = ₹877.80.

Answer: (B) Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India is the country’s central bank. It issues currency, regulates banks and implements monetary policy. It was established on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934, and was nationalised on 1 January 1949.

Major Banking and Financial Institutions of India

Answer: (C) ROM

Explanation:
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is firmware stored in a ROM or flash ROM chip on the motherboard. It is non-volatile, so it is available as soon as the power is switched on. It runs the power-on self-test and then loads the operating system from the boot device.

Computer Memory Types

Answer: (C) Praia

Explanation:
Praia is the capital and largest city of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. It is on the island of Santiago. The other cities listed are capitals of different countries.

Capitals of Selected African Countries

Answer: (B) Glasgow, Scotland

Explanation:
The 2026 Commonwealth Games were awarded to Glasgow, Scotland, which stepped in after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as host. The Games ran from 23 July to 2 August 2026 with a scaled-down sports programme. Glasgow had previously hosted in 2014.

Recent Commonwealth Games Hosts

Answer: (B) Shiva

Explanation:
The Somnath temple at Prabhas Patan on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is regarded as the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked and plundered it in 1025–26 CE. It was rebuilt several times, and the present temple was reconstructed after independence under Sardar Patel’s initiative and inaugurated in 1951 by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

The Twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva

Answer: (B) M. G. Ranade

Answer: (B) M. G. Ranade

Explanation:
The Prarthana Samaj was founded in Bombay in 1867 by Atmaram Pandurang with the guidance of Keshab Chandra Sen. Mahadev Govind Ranade became its chief intellectual force and architect. He gave it direction through social reform work such as widow remarriage, women’s education and opposition to caste restrictions.

Prarthana Samaj and Contemporary Reform Movements

Answer: (B) 53

Explanation:
The first statement fits the rule a × b = a² + b²: 5² + 4² = 25 + 16 = 41. Applying it to 7 × 2 gives 7² + 2² = 49 + 4 = 53. The second statement (6 × 6 = 45) does not fit this rule, since 6² + 6² = 72, so it appears to be a misprint in the question. Of the options, 53 is the only one that follows from the rule in the first statement.

Answer: (D) China

Explanation:
China is one of the founding members of BRICS, which began as BRIC in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2010. Italy and Sweden are European states outside the grouping. Iraq has not been admitted as a member.

BRICS Full Members

The New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS bank, is headquartered in Shanghai and was set up in 2015. Membership may have changed since my knowledge cutoff, so check a current source for the latest list.

Answer: (D) Cube

Explanation:
Square, triangle and circle are two-dimensional plane figures with only length and breadth. A cube is a three-dimensional solid with length, breadth and height, so it is the odd one out.

2D and 3D Shapes

Answer: (D) F

Explanation:
Atomic size increases down a group as new electron shells are added. Fluorine is at the top of Group 17 with only two shells, so it is the smallest halogen atom. The size order is F < Cl < Br < I.

Halogens (Group 17): Properties

Answer: (C) 5

Explanation:
For two plane mirrors inclined at angle θ, the number of images is n = (360°/θ) − 1 when 360°/θ is even, whatever the position of the object. Here 360°/60° = 6, which is even, so n = 6 − 1 = 5. A point on the angle bisector also gives 5 images.

Number of Images in Inclined Mirrors

Answer: (A) Article 14

Explanation:
Article 14 says the State shall not deny any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within India. “Equality before law” is a negative concept from British law, and “equal protection of laws” is a positive concept from the American Constitution. Article 14 applies to all persons, citizens and foreigners alike.

Fundamental Rights: Articles 14 to 32

Answer: (B) Antalya, Turkey

Explanation:
COP31 is scheduled for 9–20 November 2026 at the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya, Türkiye. Under a compromise reached at COP30, Türkiye hosts the conference and holds the COP presidency, while Australia, through Chris Bowen, serves as President of Negotiations with exclusive authority over the negotiations. A pre-COP meeting is to be held in the Pacific.

Recent UN Climate Conferences (COP)

Answer: (A) cysteine, methionine

Explanation:
Cysteine (with a thiol, –SH, group) and methionine (with a thioether, –S–CH₃ group) are the two standard protein amino acids that contain sulphur. Cystine is a dimer formed when two cysteine molecules join through a disulphide bond. It is not one of the 20 standard amino acids.

The 20 Standard Amino Acids

Answer: (B) Physalia

Explanation:
Physalia physalis is the “Portuguese man of war”. It is not a single animal but a floating colony of specialised polyps and medusoids (a siphonophore) in class Hydrozoa, phylum Cnidaria. A gas-filled float lets it drift at the surface, and its long tentacles carry stinging cells (nematocysts).

Common Names of Cnidarians

Answer: (D) Rafale

Explanation:
The Rafale is a French multirole fighter made by Dassault Aviation. India bought 36 of them under a government-to-government deal signed in September 2016, and the first jets reached Ambala in July 2020. The MiG-21 and MiG-27 are of Soviet origin. The F-16 is American, and India has never bought it.

Major Fighter Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

Answer: (A) William Jones

Explanation:
Sir William Jones, a judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta and a scholar of oriental languages, founded the Asiatic Society on 15 January 1784. Governor-General Warren Hastings supported the effort but did not found the Society. Its journal, Asiatic Researches, began in 1788.

Oriental Studies and Early British-Era Institutions

Answer: (B) Community

Explanation:
A community is the set of different species (plants, animals and microbes) that live and interact in the same area. A population has individuals of one species only, and an individual is a single organism. An ecotype is a genetically distinct form of a species adapted to a particular habitat.

Levels of Ecological Organisation

Answer: (C) Right to life and personal liberty

Explanation:
Under Article 359, the President can suspend the right to move courts for enforcement of Fundamental Rights during an emergency. The 44th Constitutional Amendment (1978) made Articles 20 and 21 non-suspendable. Article 19 rights lapse automatically only when an emergency is declared on grounds of war or external aggression, under Article 358.

Emergency Provisions and Fundamental Rights

Answer: (B) 42

Explanation:
Each term equals n × (n + 1): 1×2 = 2, 2×3 = 6, 3×4 = 12, 4×5 = 20, 5×6 = 30. The next term is 6 × 7 = 42. The differences between terms (4, 6, 8, 10) rise by 2, so the next difference is 12 and 30 + 12 = 42.

Answer: (B) 1893 A.D.

Explanation:
Swami Vivekananda addressed the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago on 11 September 1893. He began with “Sisters and Brothers of America” and presented Vedanta and religious tolerance to a world audience.

Swami Vivekananda: Timeline

Answer: (D) Tamil Nadu

Explanation:
TVK came to power in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 Legislative Assembly election, with Vijay as Chief Minister. The Congress left the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) and joined the TVK government, while four other SPA parties backed the TVK-led coalition from outside. Vijay took oath as Chief Minister on 10 May 2026.

Tamil Nadu 2026 Government Formation

Answer: (A) Central India

Explanation:
The Gonds are one of the largest tribal communities in India, living mainly in the central Indian belt: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, eastern Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. They speak Gondi, a Dravidian language, and are known for the Gond kingdoms such as Garha-Mandla.

Major Tribes of India by Region

Punjab has no notified Scheduled Tribes.

Answer: (C) 5 km/hr

Explanation: Upstream speed = 750 m ÷ 675 s = 10/9 m/s = 4 km/hr. Downstream, 7½ minutes = 450 s, so speed = 750 ÷ 450 = 5/3 m/s = 6 km/hr. Speed in still water = (6 + 4) ÷ 2 = 5 km/hr.

Answer: (C) 10080

Explanation:
A number divisible by 12, 18 and 21 must be a multiple of their LCM. 12 = 2² × 3, 18 = 2 × 3² and 21 = 3 × 7, so LCM = 2² × 3² × 7 = 252. The smallest five-digit number is 10000. Since 10000 ÷ 252 gives 39 with a remainder, the next multiple is 252 × 40 = 10080.

Answer: (C) organize the nobility as well as his army.

Explanation:
Akbar introduced the Mansabdari system around 1570–71 to organize the Mughal nobility and the army in a single graded structure. Each officer (mansabdar) was given a numerical rank (mansab) that fixed his status, salary and the number of soldiers he had to maintain. The system also tied the nobility to the emperor and prevented any group of nobles from becoming too powerful.

Mansabdari System: Key Features

Other Akbar-Era Administrative Measures

Answer: (B) Chola

32.

Answer: (B) Chola

Explanation:
Karikala was the greatest early Chola king of the Sangam age. He is credited with winning the Battle of Venni, in which he defeated a coalition of the Cheras, Pandyas and eleven minor chiefs. He is also associated with building embankments on the Kaveri river and with the Chola capital at Puhar (Kaveripattinam).

Sangam Age Dynasties

Sangam Literature

Answer: (A) 7 : 5

Explanation:
In vessel A, milk is 4/7 of the mixture, and in vessel B it is 2/5. The final mixture has 1/2 milk. By the rule of alligation, the ratio of A to B is (1/2 − 2/5) : (4/7 − 1/2) = 1/10 : 1/14 = 7 : 5.

Answer: (D) Long Walk to Freedom

Explanation:
Long Walk to Freedom (1994) is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. It covers his life from his childhood in the Transkei through the anti-apartheid struggle and 27 years in prison to his election as South Africa’s first Black president in 1994.

Books and Their Authors

Answer: (A) Dadabhai Naoroji

Explanation:
Dadabhai Naoroji is known as the “Grand Old Man of India”. He was a pioneer of Indian nationalism and the first Indian elected to the British House of Commons (1892). His “drain of wealth” theory, set out in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, showed how British rule drained India’s resources.

Titles of Indian Leaders

Dadabhai Naoroji: Key Facts

Answer: (B) 5

Explanation:
The number can be written as N = 56k + 29. Since 56 is divisible by 8, the term 56k leaves remainder 0 when divided by 8. So the remainder depends only on 29 ÷ 8, which is 3 remainder 5.

Answer: (C) ₹1,696
Explanation:
Let the original costs be 16x and 23x. The new costs are 16x × 1.10 = 17.6x and 23x + 477. Setting 17.6x ÷ (23x + 477) = 11/20 gives 352x = 253x + 5247, so x = 53. The new price of the second watch is 23 × 53 + 477 = 1219 + 477 = ₹1,696.

Answer: (D) Calcutta

Congress Sessions and Simla-Related Events

Answer: (A) EPH

Explanation:
Each letter of CAT is replaced by the next letter of the alphabet: C→D, A→B, T→U. Applying the same shift to DOG gives D→E, O→P, G→H, so DOG is coded as EPH.

Answer: (B) Beta rays

Explanation: Beta rays are fast-moving electrons. They have enough penetrating power to pass through paper but are stopped by a few millimetres of aluminium. Alpha rays are stopped by paper, and gamma rays need thick lead or concrete.

Properties of Radiations

Answer: (A) Hematite

Explanation:
Hematite (Fe₂O₃) is the primary and most important ore of iron. It contains about 70% iron and is the main ore used in blast furnaces. Bauxite is the ore of aluminium, malachite is an ore of copper, and limestone is used as a flux in iron extraction.

Important Ores of Metals

Answer: (A) 160

Explanation:
For any two numbers, product = H.C.F. × L.C.M. So L.C.M. = 1280 ÷ 8 = 160.

Answer: (B) Securities and Exchange Board of India

Explanation:
SEBI is the regulator of India’s securities market. It was set up in 1988 as an executive body and given statutory powers by the SEBI Act, 1992. Its role is to protect investors, regulate stock exchanges and intermediaries, and promote development of the securities market.

Financial Regulators in India

Answer: (B) bird sanctuary.

Explanation:
Keoladeo National Park (Keoladeo Ghana) is at Bharatpur in Rajasthan and is one of the world’s best-known bird habitats. It is a wetland that attracts thousands of resident and migratory waterfowl in winter. It was declared a national park in 1982 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, and it is also a Ramsar site.

Major Bird Habitats and Wetlands of India

Answer: (C) F₂

Explanation:
Oxidising power is the tendency to gain electrons. Fluorine has the highest standard reduction potential (+2.87 V) of all the halogens, so it is the strongest oxidising agent. Oxidising power decreases down the group: F₂ > Cl₂ > Br₂ > I₂.

Halogens: Oxidising Power and Related Data

A halogen higher in the group displaces a lower one from its halide solution. For example, Cl₂ displaces Br⁻ and I⁻, but I₂ does not displace Cl⁻ or Br⁻.

Answer: (A) 1/2 of the number.

Explanation:
Three-fourth of a number is (3/4)x, and 2/3 of that is (2/3) × (3/4) × x = 6x/12 = x/2. So the result is 1/2 of the number.

Answer: (B) host, pathogen and environment.

Explanation:
The disease triangle is a model in plant pathology showing that disease develops only when three factors come together: a susceptible host, a virulent pathogen and an environment favourable to the disease. If any one of the three is missing or unfavourable, disease does not develop or is much reduced.

Disease Triangle Components

Answer: (C) Tuber of sweet potato

Explanation:
The sweet potato tuber is a modified root (an adventitious storage root), not a stem. The onion bulb, arbi (colocasia) corm and potato tuber are all modified underground stems. Potato tubers have eyes (nodes) and buds, which show they are stem structures.

Modifications of Stems and Roots

Answer: (D) 5

Explanation:
The UN Security Council has five permanent members: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China. They hold veto power over substantive resolutions. The Council has 15 members in total, the other 10 being non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

Permanent Members of the UN Security Council

Security Council: Key Facts

Answer: (C) Corporate Tax

Explanation:
A direct tax is paid directly to the government by the person or entity on whom it is levied, and the burden cannot be shifted to someone else. Corporate tax is charged on a company’s profits. GST, VAT and customs duty are indirect taxes, collected from consumers through the price of goods and services.

Direct and Indirect Taxes in India

Answer: (A) Tapti

Explanation:
The Tapti flows westward through a rift valley and falls into the Arabian Sea through an estuary, not a delta. West-flowing rivers run fast over a short, steep course and have little sediment to deposit. The Kaveri, Krishna and Godavari flow east, slow down on the wide coastal plain and form deltas in the Bay of Bengal.

Rivers: Delta or Estuary

Answer: (B) people are employed at the going productivity is zero or negligible.

Explanation:
Disguised unemployment occurs when more workers are engaged in a job than are needed, so the marginal productivity of the extra workers is zero or negligible. Removing them would not reduce total output. It is common in Indian agriculture, where many family members work on a small plot.

Types of Unemployment

Answer: (B) 1 : 5

Explanation:
Taking 5 parts of spirit and adding 1 part of water gives 6 parts of mixture. Selling these 6 parts at the price of spirit brings in the cost of 6 parts, while only 5 parts of spirit were paid for. The gain is 1/5 = 20%. So water and spirit are mixed in the ratio 1 : 5.

Answer: (C) 300 GW

Explanation:
India’s non-fossil fuel installed electricity capacity reached 300.50 GW as of 31 July 2026, which means it crossed the 300 GW mark. This is more than 60% of the national target of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. It accounts for over 54% of India’s total installed power capacity.

India’s Non-Fossil Capacity as of 31 July 2026

Answer: (C) Taxes

Explanation:
Taxes, both direct and indirect, are the largest source of revenue for the Government of India. Income tax, corporate tax, GST, customs duty and excise duty together make up most of the government’s receipts. Foreign aid is small, printing currency is not used as a source of revenue, and disinvestment of PSUs is only an occasional capital receipt.

Sources of Government Revenue

Answer: (C) Godavari

Explanation:
The Godavari, called the “Dakshin Ganga”, is the longest river of peninsular India at about 1,465 km. It rises at Trimbak near Nashik in Maharashtra and flows east into the Bay of Bengal. The Krishna comes second at about 1,400 km.

Major Peninsular Rivers

Answer: (D) Loss 25%

Explanation:
The vendor buys 3 bananas for ₹1, so each banana costs ₹1/3. He sells 4 for ₹1, so each sells for ₹1/4. Loss = 1/3 − 1/4 = 1/12 per banana. Loss % = (1/12) ÷ (1/3) × 100 = 25%.

Answer: (C) Zoji-La

Explanation:
Zoji La, at about 3,528 m in the Great Himalayan range, connects Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley with Kargil and Leh in Ladakh along National Highway 1. It is usually closed by snow in winter. The Zojila Tunnel under construction is meant to give all-weather connectivity.

Important Mountain Passes of India

Answer: (D) Mode of nutrition

Explanation:
Animals are classified on features such as levels of organisation, symmetry, germ layers, coelom and segmentation. Mode of nutrition is not used to classify animals because all animals are heterotrophic. It is a basis for separating the kingdoms (for example plants from animals and fungi).

Basis of Animal Classification (Major Phyla)

Answer: (A) Foreign Direct Investment

Explanation:
Economic globalisation is the integration of national economies through trade, investment and technology flows. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by multinational companies is one of its main features. Subsidies to industries, community-led development and licence-based industrialisation (the licence raj) belong to the earlier controlled, inward-looking model that India moved away from in 1991.

Features of Economic Globalisation and India’s 1991 Reforms

Answer: (B) 540

Explanation:
The even numbers between 21 and 51 are 22, 24, …, 50. This is an arithmetic progression with first term 22, last term 50 and common difference 2. The number of terms is (50 − 22) ÷ 2 + 1 = 15. The sum is 15 × (22 + 50) ÷ 2 = 15 × 36 = 540.

Answer: (C) N₂

Explanation:
Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere. CO₂, CH₄ and CFCs do this. Nitrogen (N₂), which makes up about 78% of air, is a diatomic molecule that does not absorb infrared radiation significantly, so it is not a greenhouse gas.

Greenhouse Gases

Answer: (D) All of the above

Explanation:
Aurangzeb spent the last 26 years of his life (1681–1707) in the Deccan fighting the Marathas, Bijapur and Golconda. The wars dragged on across the south, drained the treasury, wore out the army and left the empire unable to hold its gains. Sarkar compared this to the Spanish campaign that ruined Napoleon, and each of the options (A), (B) and (C) describes part of that damage.

Aurangzeb’s Deccan Policy: Key Events

Consequences

Answer: None of the options. The present Vice-President is C. P. Radhakrishnan.

Explanation:
C. P. Radhakrishnan has been serving as the 15th Vice-President of India since September 2025. Jagdeep Dhankhar held the office from 2022 but is no longer in it, so option (A) is out of date. The other three are earlier Vice-Presidents, and P. Chidambaram has never held the post. If the paper’s key gives (A), it was probably prepared before Dhankhar’s exit, so check the official answer key.

Recent Vice-Presidents of India

Vice-President: Constitutional Facts

Answer: (D) 10%

Explanation:
The marked price is 20% above the cost: 1500 × 1.20 = ₹1,800. A 10% discount gives a selling price of 1800 × 0.90 = ₹1,620. So the ₹1,620 in the question is the price at which the item is finally sold, and the discount rate that produces it from the marked price of ₹1,800 is 10%. The last line of the question is worded confusingly, so check the official key if your answer differs.

Answer: (B) Refraction, dispersion and internal reflection of light

Explanation:
A rainbow forms when sunlight enters raindrops. The light is refracted on entering the drop, dispersed into its colours, internally reflected at the back of the drop, and refracted again when it leaves. The observer sees red on the outer edge and violet on the inner edge of the primary bow, at about 42° and 40° from the antisolar point.

Stages in Rainbow Formation

Related Optical Phenomena

Answer: (B) V₂O₅

Explanation:
In the contact process, SO₂ is oxidised to SO₃ using vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) as the catalyst at about 450 °C and 1–2 atm. The SO₃ is absorbed in concentrated H₂SO₄ to give oleum, which is diluted to produce sulphuric acid.

Catalysts in Industrial Processes

Answer: (A) Annalena Baerbock

Explanation:
Annalena Baerbock of Germany, a former German Foreign Minister, was elected President of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly in June 2025. The session opened in September 2025 at UN Headquarters, New York.

Recent Presidents of the UN General Assembly

Answer: (A) 0.143

Explanation: The terms are 1/8, 1/8², 1/8³, 1/8⁴ and 1/8⁵, which form a geometric series with first term 1/8 and common ratio 1/8. The sum is (1/8) × (1 − (1/8)⁵) ÷ (1 − 1/8) = (1/7) × (1 − 1/32768) = 4681/32768 ≈ 0.142853. To three decimal places this is 0.143.

Answer: (B) the particle is at rest.

Explanation:
In a displacement-time graph, the slope gives velocity. A line parallel to the time axis has zero slope, so the displacement does not change with time and the velocity is zero. The particle is at rest.

Reading Displacement-Time Graphs

Answer: (D) 3

Explanation:
Combine the three fractions over the common denominator abc: a²/bc + b²/ca + c²/ab = (a³ + b³ + c³) ÷ abc. When a + b + c = 0, the identity a³ + b³ + c³ = 3abc holds. So the expression equals 3abc ÷ abc = 3.

Answer: (B) a decrease in the money supply.

Explanation:
CRR is the share of a bank’s deposits that it must keep with the central bank in cash. When the central bank raises CRR, banks have less money left to lend, so credit creation falls and the money supply decreases. A lower CRR has the opposite effect.

Monetary Policy Tools of the RBI

Answer: (A) 5 to 8 km/second.

Explanation: P-waves (primary or compressional waves) are the fastest seismic waves and the first to reach a seismograph. In the crust they travel at roughly 5 to 8 km/s, and their speed increases with depth in the mantle. They pass through solids, liquids and gases.

Seismic Waves

Answer: (A) ₹500

Explanation: Taking simple interest, let the sum be P. Interest for 1 year is 7.5% of P and for 5 years is 37.5% of P. The difference is (37.5% − 7.5%) of P = 30% of P = 0.30P. Setting 0.30P = 150 gives P = ₹500.

Answer: (C) 6

Explanation: The square of 46 is 2116, which is below 2203, and the square of 47 is 2209, which is above it. The next perfect square after 2203 is 2209, so the smallest number to add is 2209 − 2203 = 6.

Answer: (C) Quad

Explanation: India is a member of the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) along with the United States, Japan and Australia. India is not a member of NATO (a North Atlantic military alliance), Mercosur (a South American trade bloc) or OPEC (an oil-exporting group).

Organisations and India’s Status

Answer: (B) 7.292%

Explanation: 1 hour 45 minutes is 105 minutes. A day has 24 × 60 = 1440 minutes. The required percentage is 105 ÷ 1440 × 100 = 7.2917%, which is 7.292% to three decimal places.

Answer: (B) N₂

Explanation:
Each nitrogen atom has 5 valence electrons and needs 3 more to complete its octet. Two nitrogen atoms share three pairs of electrons, forming a triple bond (N≡N). This bond is very strong, which makes nitrogen gas unreactive.

Bonds in Common Molecules

Answer: (B) Manipur

Explanation:
Loktak Lake, in the Bishnupur district of Manipur, is the largest freshwater lake in North-East India. It is known for its floating islands of vegetation called phumdis. Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world, lies on it and is the home of the endangered sangai (brow-antlered deer). Loktak is a Ramsar site.

Important Lakes of India

Answer: (C) Kyiv

Explanation: Kyiv is the capital and largest city of Ukraine. It lies on the Dnieper River in the north-central part of the country. Muscat is the capital of Oman, Warsaw of Poland and Abu Dhabi of the UAE.

Ukraine and Its Neighbours

Answer: (A) 7 : 6

Explanation:
For 540 students in the ratio 13 : 11, the boys number 292.5 and the girls 247.5, which are not whole numbers. So the question has a data error. Using these values anyway, adding 3 girls gives 250.5 girls, and the ratio is 292.5 : 250.5 = 195 : 167, about 1.168. This is closest to 7 : 6.

Answer: (C) 3/20

Explanation: Each denominator is a product of consecutive integers: 20 = 4×5, 30 = 5×6, 42 = 6×7, 56 = 7×8, 72 = 8×9, 90 = 9×10. Using 1/(n(n+1)) = 1/n − 1/(n+1), the terms cancel in pairs, leaving 1/4 − 1/10 = 5/20 − 2/20 = 3/20.

Answer: (A) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Explanation:
Dr Tedros began his second term as WHO Director-General on 16 August 2022, and the term ends on 15 August 2027. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala heads the World Trade Organization, not WHO, while Margaret Chan and Gro Harlem Brundtland are former WHO Directors-General. who

WHO Directors-General

Answer: (B) France

Explanation:
France has held the G7 presidency since 1 January 2026. It hosted the 52nd G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains from 15 to 17 June 2026. The presidency rotates annually among the seven members, and Canada held it in 2025.

Recent G7 Presidencies

G7 Members: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. The European Union takes part as a guest.

Answer: (C) Obtuse angle

Explanation:
The angle of contact is measured inside the liquid between the liquid surface and the solid surface. A liquid that wets glass has an acute angle and rises in a capillary tube. A liquid that does not wet glass, like mercury, has an obtuse angle (about 140°), so its meniscus is convex and it is depressed in a capillary tube.

Angle of Contact and Wetting

Explanation:
Among the options, Toor is the athlete who was aiming for a hat-trick of Asian Games gold medals. He won gold in 2018 and 2022 in the men’s shot put, not the 10,000 m, so the event in the question appears to be a mistake. At the 2026 Nagoya Games he settled for silver with a throw of 20.64 m, behind Iran’s Mohammadreza Tayebise, so the hat-trick bid fell short.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor at the Asian Games

The Other Athletes

Answer: (C) Hugli

Explanation:
Before Calcutta was founded in 1690 by Job Charnock, the principal English settlement and factory in Bengal was at Hugli (Hooghly), established in the 1650s. After Mughal clashes in 1686, Charnock left Hugli and moved to the site that became Calcutta.

English Settlements in Eastern India

Answer: (B) Women in Science: Catalyzing Civil Society in Bharat (closest to the official theme)

Explanation: The theme of National Science Day on 28 February 2026 was “Women in Science: Catalysing Viksit Bharat”. Option (B) differs in wording, with “Civil Society in Bharat” in place of “Viksit Bharat”, but it is the only option about women in science, so it is the intended answer. Check the key if your paper prints the theme differently.

National Science Day Themes

National Science Day is observed on 28 February to mark C. V. Raman’s discovery of the Raman Effect in 1928. It has been celebrated since 1987.

Answer: (D) 75%

Explanation: The condition is 30% of A + 40% of B = 80% of B. So 30% of A = 40% of B, which means 0.3A = 0.4B. Then B = 0.3A ÷ 0.4 = 0.75A, so B is 75% of A.

Working Details

Answer: (B) Education

Explanation:
A merit good is one the government considers to be socially desirable, so it encourages its consumption through subsidies or direct provision, since people tend to under-consume it. Education gives wider benefits to society, such as a skilled workforce and higher productivity. Cigarettes are demerit goods, and luxury cars and fast food are ordinary private goods.

Types of Goods

Answer: (A) Bhagirathi river

Explanation: The Tehri Dam is built on the Bhagirathi river near its confluence with the Bhilangana at Tehri in Uttarakhand. At about 260 m it is the tallest dam in India. It is a rock and earth-fill dam used for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water supply. The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join at Devprayag to form the Ganga.

Major Dams of India

Answer: (D) endangered plants, animals and fungi.

Explanation: The Red Data Book (Red List) is maintained by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). It records the conservation status of species, covering plants, animals and fungi that are threatened or endangered. It also carries information on extinct species and is a guide for conservation planning.

IUCN Red List Categories

The IUCN was founded in 1948 and the Red Data Book was begun in 1964. India’s own counterpart is the Zoological Survey of India’s Red Data Book for animals and the Botanical Survey of India’s for plants.

Answer: (B) Jharkhand

Explanation: West Bengal’s international borders are with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and the longest is with Bangladesh, about 2,217 km. None of the four options is a country, so the question evidently asks which neighbouring Indian state shares the longest border with West Bengal. Jharkhand is the neighbouring state with the longest shared border with West Bengal.

Neighbours of West Bengal

The correct answer is (B) 7,500

Answer: (B) the Foreign Planters

Explanation:
The Indigo Revolt (Nil Vidroh) of 1859–60 in Bengal was directed against European indigo planters. They forced peasants to grow indigo on their best land under the tinkathia system, paid very low prices and used violence and false cases against those who refused. Dinabandhu Mitra’s play Nil Darpan (1860) exposed these abuses.

Indigo Revolt: Key Facts

Related Peasant Movements

Explanation: The two men walk towards each other, so their speeds add: 5 + 10 = 15 m/min. They start 1200 m apart, so they meet after 1200 ÷ 15 = 80 minutes.

Answer: (A) Buten (butane)

Explanation: LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is mainly a mixture of butane (C₄H₁₀) and propane (C₃H₈), with butane as the main component in the cylinders used in Indian homes. “Buten” in the option appears to be a misspelling of butane. Butene is an alkene and not the main constituent. Acetylene, ethylene and ethanol are not constituents of LPG. A small amount of ethyl mercaptan is added so that leaks can be detected by smell.

Composition and Uses of Common Fuel Gases

Answer: (B) United Nations

Explanation: CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1979 and came into force on 3 September 1981. It is often called the international bill of rights for women. India signed it in 1980 and ratified it in 1993. Its implementation is monitored by the CEDAW Committee.

Key International Human Rights Instruments

Answer: (B) ₹1,00,000

Explanation:
Let the borrowed sum be P. He pays simple interest of 5% a year for 4 years, which is 0.20P. He lends P/2 at 10% compound interest for 4 years. The compound interest earned is (P/2) × (1.1⁴ − 1) = (P/2) × 0.4641 = 0.23205P. His profit is 0.23205P − 0.20P = 0.03205P. Setting this equal to ₹3,205 gives P = ₹1,00,000.