← Assistant & UDC
Past Questions — 2015
Who invented Mobile Phone?
A)
Martin Cooper
B)
Edwin Moore
C)
Garett Morgan
D)
Walter Hunt
The mobile phone is widely credited to Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, who made the first handheld mobile phone call in 1973. Therefore, option (a) is correct. Edwin Moore is associated with office products, Garrett Morgan with inventions like the gas mask and traffic signal improvements, and Walter Hunt with inventions such as the safety pin, so they are not correct.
Which Union Ministry has recently launched the ‘Know Your Rights’ portal?
A)
Human Resource Development
B)
Law and Justice
C)
Women and Child Development
D)
Civil Aviation
The ‘Know Your Rights’ portal was launched by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to spread awareness about the rights of women and children and the legal protections available to them. Therefore, option (c) is correct.
Why others are incorrect:
(a) Human Resource Development deals mainly with education-related matters.
(b) Law and Justice handles legal affairs and judicial administration, but this specific portal was not launched by it.
(d) Civil Aviation is concerned with air transport and aviation policy, unrelated to this portal.
The deathly Ebola Virus disease (EVD) takes its name from
A)
Ebola river in Congo
B)
Ebola mountain in Zaire
C)
Ebola valley in Liberia
D)
Ebola volcano in Zambia
Ebola virus disease was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what was then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Hence, the disease takes its name from the Ebola River. The other options are incorrect because the disease was not named after a mountain, valley, or volcano.
To which country does the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature, Alice Munro belong?
A)
Canada
B)
Australia
C)
America
D)
England
Alice Munro, who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, is a Canadian writer known especially for her short stories. Therefore, the correct answer is (a) Canada. The other options are incorrect because she is not from Australia, America, or England.
Unwanted repetitious messages such as unsolicited bulk e-mail is known as
A)
Worm
B)
Virus
C)
Spam
D)
Malware
Unwanted repetitious messages, especially unsolicited bulk e-mail, are called spam. A worm is a self-replicating program that spreads across networks, a virus infects files or programs, and malware is a general term for malicious software. Therefore, the correct answer is Spam.
Which technology giant acquired Nokia handset business recently?
A)
IBM
B)
Microsoft
C)
Intel
D)
Sony
Microsoft acquired Nokia's handset business in a deal that was completed in 2014, which was 'recently' relative to the 2015 exam. Therefore, option (b) is correct.
Why others are incorrect:
- (a) IBM did not acquire Nokia's handset business.
- (c) Intel was not involved in this acquisition.
- (d) Sony did not acquire Nokia's handset business.
By selling 90 ball pens for Rs.160 a person loses 20%. How many ball pens should be sold for Rs.96 so as to have a profit of 20%?
‘The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’ is a book written by:
A)
Manmohan Singh
B)
Upinder Singh
C)
Daman Singh
D)
Sanjaya Baru
The book ‘The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’ was written by Sanjaya Baru, who served as Manmohan Singh’s media adviser. Hence option (d) is correct. The other options are incorrect because Manmohan Singh, Upinder Singh, and Daman Singh are not the authors of this book.
If A = {1,2,3,4,5}, B = {4,5,6,7,8} and C = {7,8,9,10,11}, find (A U B) ∩ C.
Who was the first Mizo to receive the University Grants Commission’s Emeritus Professorship?
A)
Prof. C.Nunthara
B)
Prof. R.Lalthantluanga
C)
Prof. J.V.Hluna
D)
Prof. Lianzela
The first Mizo to receive the University Grants Commission’s Emeritus Professorship was Prof. C. Nunthara. He is widely recognized for this distinction among the listed Mizoram personalities. The other options, Prof. R. Lalthantluanga, Prof. J.V. Hluna, and Prof. Lianzela, are noted Mizo academics but are not identified as the first recipient of the UGC Emeritus Professorship.
In a mixture of 28 litres, the ratio of milk and water is 5 : 2. Another 2 litres of water is added to the mixture. Find the ratio of milk and water in the new mixture.
Which of the following is India’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine?
A)
INS Arihant
B)
INS Chakra
C)
INS Shankush
D)
INS Cauvery
India’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine is INS Arihant. It is the lead vessel of India’s Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). INS Chakra was a nuclear submarine operated by India but leased from Russia, so it was not indigenously built. INS Shankush is a diesel-electric submarine, not nuclear-powered. INS Cauvery is not India’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine.
Who invented photocopier?
A)
Richard G.Drew
B)
Robert Hooke
C)
G.Marconi
D)
Chester Carlson
The photocopier was invented by Chester Carlson, who developed the process of xerography in 1938. Hence option (d) is correct.
Why others are incorrect:
- (a) Richard G. Drew invented masking tape and Scotch tape, not the photocopier.
- (b) Robert Hooke was a scientist known for contributions to microscopy and physics.
- (c) G. Marconi is known for the invention and development of radio communication.
The non-physical component of a computer system is called
A)
Hardware
B)
Software
C)
ALU
D)
SMPS
The non-physical component of a computer system is called software. Software consists of programs, instructions, and data that tell the computer what to do. Hardware refers to the physical parts of the computer, ALU is the Arithmetic Logic Unit inside the CPU, and SMPS is the Switched Mode Power Supply used for power management.
Which country is known as the ‘Cockpit of Europe’?
A)
Bulgaria
B)
Cyprus
C)
Sweden
D)
Belgium
Belgium is known as the ‘Cockpit of Europe’ because many important European battles were fought on its territory due to its strategic location between major European powers. Hence, option (d) is correct. The other options are not associated with this title.
Germany lifted the 2014 FIFA World Cup Football trophy for the:
A)
Second time
B)
Third time
C)
Fourth time
D)
Fifth time
Germany won the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990, and then again in 2014. Therefore, the 2014 title was Germany’s fourth World Cup victory. Hence option (c) is correct. The other options are incorrect because Germany had already won three times before 2014, making 2014 not the second, third, or fifth title.
A very famous university in India which came to an end in 1193 AD, recently revived with the Special Act of Parliament, 2010 is
A)
Nalanda University
B)
Vikramshila University
C)
Takshila University
D)
Puspagiri University
Nalanda University was the famous ancient Indian university that declined and was destroyed around 1193 AD during the invasions of Bakhtiyar Khilji. It was later revived in modern times through the Nalanda University Act, 2010, passed by the Indian Parliament. Hence, option (a) is correct. Vikramshila was also an ancient university but it was not revived through this Act. Takshila is in present-day Pakistan and was not revived by this Indian parliamentary act. Puspagiri was an ancient centre of learning, but it is not the one referred to here.
What is the month of June in Mizo?
A)
Tau Thla
B)
Nikir Thla
C)
Mimkut Thla
D)
Tomir Thla
In the traditional Mizo month names, June is called Nikir Thla. Therefore option (b) is correct.
Why others are incorrect:
- (a) Tau Thla is not the Mizo name for June.
- (c) Mimkut Thla refers to a different traditional month/seasonal association.
- (d) Tomir Thla is also not June.
Who is the author of the book “Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: An Inside Job”?
A)
Faraz Ahmad
B)
Sriram Vedire
C)
Daman Singh
D)
Vinod Rai
The book “Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: An Inside Job” was written by Faraz Ahmad. Hence, option (a) is correct. The other options are incorrect because Sriram Vedire is known for works on technology/business, Daman Singh for biographical and social writing, and Vinod Rai for public administration and memoir-related works.
Five years ago, A was thrice as old as B and ten years later A shall be twice as old as B. What are the present ages of A and B?
How many teams are there in the newly introduced Hero Indian Super League?
A)
8
B)
9
C)
10
D)
13
The Hero Indian Super League (ISL), introduced in 2014, started with 8 franchise teams. Therefore, the correct answer is 8. The other options (9, 10, and 13) are incorrect because the league did not begin with those numbers of teams.
The ‘Ninety East Ridge’ is a submarine volcanic ridge located in
A)
Pacific Ocean
B)
Atlantic Ocean
C)
Antarctic Ocean
D)
Indian Ocean
The Ninety East Ridge is a long north-south submarine volcanic ridge in the Indian Ocean, roughly along the 90°E meridian, which is why it is called the ‘Ninety East Ridge’. Therefore, option (d) is correct. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Antarctic Oceans do not contain this specific ridge.
Name the Indian badminton player who won the Indonesian Badminton Masters Grand Prix Gold on 14th September 2014?
A)
Firman Abdul Kholik
B)
Saina Nehwal
C)
Arvind Bhat
D)
H.S.Prannoy
The Indian badminton player who won the Indonesian Badminton Masters Grand Prix Gold on 14 September 2014 was H.S. Prannoy. He won the men's singles title in that tournament.
Why others are incorrect:
- (a) Firman Abdul Kholik was an Indonesian player, not the Indian winner.
- (b) Saina Nehwal did not win this particular title.
- (c) Arvind Bhat was an Indian player, but he was not the winner of this event.
Therefore, the correct answer is H.S. Prannoy.
Who wrote the book ‘Argumentative Indian’?
A)
Amartya Sen
B)
Khushwant Singh
C)
Vikram Seth
D)
Amitav Ghosh
The book The Argumentative Indian was written by Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and philosopher. It is a collection of essays discussing Indian history, culture, identity, and the tradition of public reasoning in India. The other options are incorrect because Khushwant Singh, Vikram Seth, and Amitav Ghosh are noted authors, but they did not write this book.
Which state in India is known as the ‘Land of Five Rivers’?
A)
Uttar Pradesh
B)
Sikkim
C)
Punjab
D)
Tamil Nadu
Punjab is known as the ‘Land of Five Rivers’. The name Punjab itself comes from the Persian words ‘Panj’ meaning five and ‘Ab’ meaning water. It refers to the five rivers: Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. Therefore, option (c) is correct. Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu are not known by this title.