Medium Level – GK Questions

Answer: Sutlej

The Bhakra Nangal Dam, one of India's largest multipurpose river valley projects, is built on the Sutlej River in Himachal Pradesh. It provides irrigation to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, and generates 1,325 MW of hydroelectric power.

Answer: True

The ozone layer is located in the stratosphere, approximately 15-35 km above Earth's surface. It absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation, protecting life on Earth. Ozone depletion due to CFCs is addressed by the Montreal Protocol (1987).

Answer: Kaziranga

Kaziranga National Park in Assam is home to the world's largest population of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros (over 2,600). It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also shelters tigers, elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.

Answer: Nile

The Nile River in Africa is traditionally considered the longest river in the world at approximately 6,650 km. However, some recent studies suggest the Amazon may be longer. The Nile flows through 11 countries before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.

Answer: Rice

Rice is a Kharif crop, sown at the beginning of the Southwest Monsoon (June-July) and harvested in September-October. Kharif crops depend on monsoon rainfall, while Rabi crops like wheat are grown in winter with irrigation.

Answer: True

The Western Ghats act as a barrier to the Southwest Monsoon winds coming from the Arabian Sea, causing heavy orographic rainfall on the windward side. This is why Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa receive abundant rainfall during June-September.

Answer: PSLV

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is ISRO's workhorse rocket, primarily used for launching earth observation and remote sensing satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. It has successfully launched missions like Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan.

Answer: Ganga

The Ganga (Ganges) is the longest river in India, flowing approximately 2,525 km from its source in the Gangotri Glacier to the Bay of Bengal. It is considered sacred in Hinduism and supports over 400 million people.

Answer: RAM

RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile memory that loses stored data when power is turned off. Used for temporary storage of actively running programs and data. Non-volatile memories (ROM, EEPROM, Flash) retain data without power, used for firmware, storage, and configuration settings.

Answer: False

NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) settles transactions in half-hourly batches, not real-time. RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) processes high-value transactions individually in real-time. Both operate 24x7 since 2020. UPI is the only system offering instant peer-to-peer and merchant payments 24x7.

Answer: Principle, Privilege

Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) restricts user/system access rights to only what is essential for their role, minimizing damage from accidents or attacks. Implemented via role-based access control (RBAC), regular access reviews, and just-in-time permissions. Core concept in secure system design.

Answer: INSAT/GSAT

INSAT and GSAT series communication satellites provide DTH broadcasting, telecommunication, and weather monitoring services. INSAT-4A, GSAT-15, GSAT-24 carry transponders leased to DTH providers like Dish TV, Tata Play. These geostationary satellites ensure continuous coverage over Indian subcontinent.

Answer: False

Big Data is defined by 5 Vs: Volume (scale), Velocity (speed of generation), Variety (structured/unstructured data), Veracity (uncertainty/quality), and Value (actionable insights). Handling Big Data requires distributed computing (Hadoop, Spark), advanced analytics, and scalable storage solutions.

Answer: GPS

GPS (Global Positioning System) uses signals from 24+ satellites to determine precise geographic location (latitude, longitude, altitude) anywhere on Earth. Integrated into smartphones for navigation, ride-hailing, fitness tracking. Works outdoors; assisted by Wi-Fi/cell towers indoors for faster acquisition.

Answer: Deque

Deque (Double-Ended Queue) allows insertion and deletion at both front and rear ends, combining features of stack (LIFO) and queue (FIFO). Implemented using arrays or linked lists. Used in palindrome checking, sliding window problems, and browser history management. Time complexity: O(1) for end operations.

Answer: True

Digital India was officially launched on July 1, 2015, with vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Built on three pillars: digital infrastructure as utility, governance & services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens. Encompasses multiple sub-initiatives.

Answer: Encryption

Encryption transforms plaintext into ciphertext using algorithms and keys, ensuring only authorized parties with decryption key can read the data. Protects data at rest (stored) and in transit (transmitted). Hashing is one-way for integrity; encoding (Base64) is not security; compression reduces size.

Answer: NFS

NFS (National Financial Switch) is NPCI's largest ATM network in India, enabling interoperability so customers can withdraw cash from any bank's ATM using their debit card. Connects over 2.5 lakh ATMs. RuPay is card network, UPI/IMPS are fund transfer systems. NFS handles ATM transaction routing and settlement.

Answer: Network

Network Layer (Layer 3) handles logical addressing (IP addresses), routing packets between networks, and path determination. Routers operate at this layer. Data Link (Layer 2) handles MAC addresses and local delivery; Transport (Layer 4) manages end-to-end connections and reliability.

Answer: Patch

Patch Management is the process of acquiring, testing, and installing code changes (patches) to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs, or improve functionality. Critical for protecting systems from exploits targeting known flaws. Automated tools and scheduled maintenance windows help streamline patch deployment.