IAS GK Questions

Who was the first woman to be elected President of the Indian National Congress?

• Sarojini Naidu
• Annie Besant
• Nellie Sengupta
• Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Answer: Annie Besant. Annie Besant presided over the 1917 Calcutta session. Sarojini Naidu, in 1925 at Kanpur, was the first Indian woman to hold the post.

Under which Article can the President proclaim a National Emergency?

• Article 356
• Article 360
• Article 368
• Article 352

Answer: Article 352. Article 352 covers National Emergency on grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion. Article 356 is President's Rule in a state and 360 is Financial Emergency.

Which mountain pass links the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh on the Srinagar-Leh road?

• Zoji La
• Nathu La
• Shipki La
• Bomdi La

Answer: Zoji La. Zoji La carries the Srinagar-Leh highway across the Great Himalayan range. Nathu La is in Sikkim, Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh and Bomdi La in Arunachal Pradesh.

Lothal, the Harappan site known for its ancient dockyard, is in which present-day state?

• Rajasthan
• Haryana
• Gujarat
• Punjab

Answer: Gujarat. Lothal lies near the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat. Kalibangan is in Rajasthan, Rakhigarhi in Haryana and Ropar in Punjab.

The Vikramashila monastic university in Bihar was founded by which ruler?

• Harshavardhana
• Kumaragupta I
• Dharmapala
• Devapala

Answer: Dharmapala. Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty founded Vikramashila around the late 8th century. Nalanda is traditionally credited to the Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I.

The Montreal Protocol of 1987 aims to phase out substances that damage what?

• The ozone layer
• Wetlands
• Coral reefs
• Tropical forests

Answer: The ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol controls ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFCs and halons. Its 2016 Kigali Amendment also targets HFCs, which are powerful greenhouse gases.

Which of these is a direct tax?

• Goods and Services Tax
• Customs duty
• Excise duty
• Corporation tax

Answer: Corporation tax. Corporation tax is paid directly by companies on their profits, so its burden cannot be passed on. GST, customs and excise are indirect taxes collected through prices.

Who appoints the Chief Election Commissioner of India?

• The Prime Minister
• The President
• The Chief Justice of India
• The Lok Sabha Speaker

Answer: The President. Under Article 324, the President appoints the CEC. Since the 2023 Act, the appointment follows the recommendation of a selection committee headed by the Prime Minister.

The Doctrine of Lapse, used to annex Satara, Jhansi and Nagpur, is associated with which Governor-General?

• Lord Dalhousie
• Lord Wellesley
• Lord Cornwallis
• Lord William Bentinck

Answer: Lord Dalhousie. Lord Dalhousie annexed states whose rulers died without a natural heir. Lord Wellesley is known for the Subsidiary Alliance system.

Which of these rivers rises outside India?

• Godavari
• Chambal
• Brahmaputra
• Son

Answer: Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet near Lake Mansarovar, where it is called the Yarlung Tsangpo. The Godavari, Chambal and Son all rise within India.

Most of the Earth's ozone is found in which layer of the atmosphere?

• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Thermosphere

Answer: Stratosphere. About 90% of atmospheric ozone sits in the stratosphere, roughly 15 to 35 km up, where it absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Which metal atom lies at the centre of the chlorophyll molecule?

• Iron
• Copper
• Zinc
• Magnesium

Answer: Magnesium. Chlorophyll has a magnesium atom at its core. Haemoglobin, the oxygen carrier in blood, has iron at the centre of a similar ring structure.

Sattriya, recognised as an Indian classical dance form in 2000, comes from which state?

• Manipur
• Odisha
• Kerala
• Assam

Answer: Assam. Sattriya grew in the sattras (monasteries) of Assam founded in the tradition of the saint Srimanta Sankardev. Manipuri, Odissi and Kathakali come from the other three states.

The Chipko movement of the 1970s began in which present-day state?

• Karnataka
• Uttarakhand
• Himachal Pradesh
• Jharkhand

Answer: Uttarakhand. Chipko began in 1973 in Chamoli district, then in Uttar Pradesh and now in Uttarakhand, with villagers hugging trees to stop felling. Karnataka's similar Appiko movement came in 1983.

Which of these is NOT a Fundamental Right under the Constitution today?

• Right to Property
• Right to Equality
• Right against Exploitation
• Right to Constitutional Remedies

Answer: Right to Property. The 44th Amendment (1978) removed the Right to Property from Part III. It is now a constitutional right under Article 300A.