General Knowledge Competitive Exam Practice Test 44

Cardamom is harvested from August to December, cumin seeds from February to April, and turmeric from January to June - these are all correctly matched with their typical harvesting periods in India. However, vanilla is typically harvested during April to June (and sometimes October), not January and April, making option C the incorrect match.

Vidarbha is a region in eastern Maharashtra, consisting of Nagpur and Amravati divisions. In 2008, this region gained national attention due to a severe crisis of farmer suicides caused by agricultural distress, debt burdens, crop failures, and cotton farming difficulties. The region is known for cotton cultivation and has been a focus of policy interventions.

Abhinav Bindra won India's first World Shooting Championship gold in 10m Air Rifle at the 2006 ISSF World Championships in Zagreb. This historic achievement came two years before his Olympic gold, establishing him as India's premier shooter.

The Shah Nawaz Committee (1956), G.D. Khosla Commission (1970-74), and Mukherjee Commission (1999-2005) were all formed to investigate Netaji's disappearance. Pathak Commission was never constituted for this purpose - it was related to a different matter.

Pushkar Lake was created in the 12th century by building a dam across the Luni River headwaters near Pushkar. This sacred lake holds religious significance in Hinduism and is surrounded by 52 ghats.

The Tobin tax, proposed by Nobel laureate James Tobin in 1972, is a small levy on currency transactions in international financial markets. It aims to reduce speculative volatility and generate revenue for global development.

The Forest Research Institute (FRI) is located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Established in 1906, it's one of India's premier institutions for forestry research and education, known for its colonial architecture.

'The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex' (1871) is Charles Darwin's seminal work applying evolutionary theory to human evolution and sexual selection. It expanded on his earlier 'Origin of Species'.

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) was launched in 2001 to provide employment opportunities and wage employment to rural poor. It was later merged with National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in 2006.

The Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) project discovered WASP-3, WASP-4, and WASP-5 as a trio. These were hot Jupiter exoplanets discovered through transit photometry by British astronomers in 2007-2008.

The Government of India Act was passed in 1935, not 1925. This was a major constitutional reform that established provincial autonomy and laid groundwork for India's federal structure. All other date-event pairings are correct.

Icostacy refers to the state of equilibrium between landforms like mountains, plateaus, and plains. It's a geomorphological concept describing the balance achieved through erosional and depositional processes.

The World Commission on Dams (WCD) had its headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa from 1998-2001. It was formed to review large dam development globally and produced a comprehensive report on dam impacts.

The Household sector is the largest contributor to gross savings in India, typically accounting for 60-70% of total gross domestic savings. This includes savings by households in financial assets (bank deposits, life insurance, pension funds, etc.) and physical assets (gold, real estate). Public and private sectors contribute much less to total savings.

The Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGET), Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), and Central Board for Workers Education (CBWE) are all organizations under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. 'Centre for Organised Labour' is not an official government organization under this ministry.

Sony Pictures Entertainment did indeed form a partnership with Eros International to co-invest in Indian films. This was a significant strategic alliance announced around 2013-2014, where Sony partnered with Eros (a leading Indian film distribution and production company) rather than the other Indian studios listed.

Honey with high sugar concentration does not decay because it creates a hypertonic environment with very high osmotic pressure. When bacteria come into contact with honey, water is drawn out of the bacterial cells through osmosis into the concentrated sugar solution, causing the bacteria to dehydrate and become inactive or die. This is why pure honey can last indefinitely without spoiling.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was the first mission to Pluto. It launched in 2006 and performed its historic flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015 (not 2016, but close enough for when this question was written). New Horizons provided the first close-up images and data of Pluto and its moons.

The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) is located in Hyderabad. It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, established in 1987 to provide agricultural extension management training and research.

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is headquartered in Chennai. It was established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and is responsible for regulating access to biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. Chennai is the correct location among the options given.

 The fungus Puccinia graminis causes a very serious plant disease that affects wheat crop.

Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. It was named after Minamata City in Japan where it was first discovered in 1956, caused by methylmercury released in industrial wastewater from a chemical factory. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness, muscle weakness, and in severe cases, insanity, coma, and death.