← MES Jr. Grade
Past Questions
The line dividing North Korea and South Korea is the:
A)
17th parallel
B)
23rd parallel
C)
38th parallel
D)
Order-Neisse Line
The correct answer is **38th parallel** because the Korean Peninsula was divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel after World War II, and this line became the basis of the later Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The other options are incorrect: the **Oder-Neisse Line** is the post-World War II border between Germany and Poland, while the **17th parallel** and **23rd parallel** are not the dividing line between North and South Korea.
International Date Line is a/an:
A)
Straight line
B)
Zigzag line
C)
Elliptical line
D)
Curved line
The International Date Line is generally a zigzag line. It roughly follows the 180° meridian but bends around islands and countries to avoid splitting them into different calendar dates. Hence, option b is correct. Option a (straight line) is incorrect because the line is not perfectly straight on maps. Option c (elliptical line) is incorrect because it is not an ellipse. Option d (curved line) is too vague; while the line does bend, the standard description in geography is a zigzag line.
Article 164 provides there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare in three specified states:
A)
Mizoram, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh
B)
Assam, Mizoram and Meghalaya
C)
Assam, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh
D)
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa
Article 164(1) of the Indian Constitution provides that in the States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa (now Odisha), there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare, and this may be in addition to any other Minister. Therefore, option (c) is correct only if it matches the constitutional text? No—option (c) says Assam, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, which is not the constitutional wording. The correct trio is Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, which is option (d). The other options are incorrect because they include states not mentioned in Article 164, such as Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. Hence, the correct answer is option (d).
The Second Round Table Conference failed over the question of:
A)
Priority to be given to communal question
B)
Suspension of Civil Disobedience Movement
C)
Grant of Dominion Status
D)
Date of transfer of power
The Second Round Table Conference (1931) broke down mainly because the parties could not agree on the communal question—especially representation and safeguards for minorities, including the separate electorates issue. This became the central stumbling block and prevented a settlement.
Why the other options are incorrect:
- c) Grant of Dominion Status: This was an important demand, but it was not the immediate reason for the failure of the conference.
- d) Date of transfer of power: This was not the main issue discussed at the conference and did not cause its breakdown.
- b) Suspension of Civil Disobedience Movement: This was related to the political context, but the conference failed primarily over communal representation, not this point.
Therefore, the correct answer is a) Priority to be given to communal question.
Which among the following banks has become the first Indian bank to list on the New York Stock Exchange?
A)
IDBI
B)
UTI Bank
C)
ICICI
D)
Corporation Bank
ICICI Bank became the first Indian bank to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It achieved this through its NYSE listing in 2000, making it the first Indian banking institution to do so. UTI Bank (now Axis Bank) did not list on the NYSE first, and Corporation Bank and IDBI Bank also were not the first Indian bank to achieve this milestone.
7 RCR became the official residence of the Prime Minister of India during the tenure of:
A)
Rajiv Gandhi
B)
Indira Gandhi
C)
V.P. Singh
D)
Atal Bihari Vajpeee
7, Race Course Road (7 RCR), New Delhi, became the official residence of the Prime Minister of India during Indira Gandhi’s tenure. The Prime Minister’s official residence was shifted to 7 RCR in the 1980s, and it is historically associated with Indira Gandhi as the first PM to use it as the official residence. Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee all occupied it later, but they did not initiate its adoption as the PM’s official residence.
Sarkaria Commission was set up to examine:
A)
Public Sector Enterprise
B)
Inter-State Relations
C)
Centre-State Relations
D)
River Disputes
Sarkaria Commission was appointed in 1983 to examine the relationship between the Centre and the States and recommend changes to improve Centre-State relations in India. Hence, option (c) is correct. Option (a) is incorrect because public sector enterprises were not the subject of this commission. Option (b) is too narrow: while inter-state issues can be part of federal relations, the commission’s main mandate was broader—Centre-State relations. Option (d) is incorrect because river water disputes are dealt with separately and were not the primary focus of the Sarkaria Commission.
Bodies at 0°C:
A)
Do not radiate heat
B)
Radiate heat
C)
Radiate heat only for particular materials
D)
May radiate heat or may not
At 0°C, a body still has thermal energy and therefore emits thermal radiation. By the Stefan–Boltzmann law, all bodies above absolute zero radiate heat. Hence the correct option is **b: Radiate heat**.
Why others are incorrect:
- **a. Do not radiate heat** — incorrect because radiation occurs at any temperature above 0 K, including 0°C.
- **c. Radiate heat only for particular materials** — incorrect because radiation is a general property of all bodies, though the amount depends on emissivity.
- **d. May radiate heat or may not** — incorrect because a body at 0°C definitely radiates; it is not optional.
The first to reach the North Pole by overland journey was:
A)
Robert Peary
B)
Edward White
C)
Magellan
D)
Amundsen
Robert Peary is credited with being the first to reach the North Pole by overland journey in 1909. Edward White was an astronaut, Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the Earth (via expedition begun by him), and Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole, not the North Pole.
Which of the following glands receives messages from hypothalamus and communicates with other endocrine glands?
A)
Pituitary
B)
Thyroid
C)
Pancreas
D)
Thymus
The correct answer is Pituitary. The pituitary gland is called the "master gland" because it receives regulatory signals from the hypothalamus and then releases hormones that control other endocrine glands such as the thyroid, adrenal glands, and gonads. Thyroid is an endocrine gland but it is controlled by pituitary hormones rather than directly receiving messages from the hypothalamus in this role. Pancreas mainly regulates blood glucose through insulin and glucagon, and thymus is involved in immune function and T-cell maturation; neither is the central gland that relays hypothalamic signals to other endocrine glands.
The official language of the Mauryan Court was:
A)
Magadhi
B)
Prakrit
C)
Mythili
D)
Sanskrit
The official language used in the Mauryan court was Prakrit. Ashoka’s edicts were primarily inscribed in Prakrit, written in the Brahmi script, which shows that Prakrit was the administrative and court language of the Mauryan state. Magadhi was a regional dialect of Prakrit, not the standard court language; Maithili is a much later regional language; and Sanskrit was not the official court language of the Mauryan Empire, though it became important in later periods.
Which among the following is the oldest known city?
A)
Athens
B)
Damascus
C)
Delhi
D)
London
Damascus is generally regarded as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, with evidence of settlement dating back thousands of years. Hence, it is the correct answer. Delhi is very ancient but not older than Damascus in this context. London was founded much later by the Romans, and Athens, though one of the oldest cities in Europe, is also younger than Damascus.
Schrodinger’s Basin is situated in:
A)
Jupiter
B)
Colorado
C)
Amazon
D)
Moon
Schrodinger’s Basin is a lunar impact basin, so it is situated on the Moon. Hence option (d) is correct. The other options are incorrect because Jupiter is a planet, Colorado is a U.S. state, and Amazon refers to the Amazon region/river system on Earth, none of which are locations of Schrodinger’s Basin.
Which of the following acts as soldiers in the body?
A)
Flame Cells
B)
Nerve Cells
C)
Leucocytes
D)
Erythrocytes
Leucocytes (white blood cells) act as the body’s ‘soldiers’ because they defend against infection by destroying pathogens and producing immune responses. Nerve cells transmit impulses, erythrocytes (red blood cells) carry oxygen, and flame cells are excretory structures found in some simple animals, not defense cells.
The main determinant of population growth amongst the following is:
A)
Mortality factor
B)
Fertility factor
C)
Migration factor
D)
None of these
Fertility factor is the main determinant of population growth because it directly controls the number of births added to the population. In demographic terms, population increases primarily when birth rates are high relative to death rates. Mortality factor affects population size by reducing it through deaths, and migration factor changes population only by movement in or out of an area, but neither is the principal driver of natural population growth. Hence, fertility is the correct answer.
Heat and smoke in a kitchen are transferred through the chimney by:
A)
Conduction
B)
Suction
C)
Convection
D)
Radiation
Heat and smoke in a kitchen move upward through a chimney mainly by convection. The hot gases become less dense, rise naturally, and are carried out through the chimney by the upward flow of air. Radiation transfers heat by electromagnetic waves without bulk movement of matter, conduction transfers heat through direct contact, and suction is not the physical heat-transfer mechanism here; the chimney effect is due to convection (natural draft).
Who presented the first budget of independent India?
A)
Dr. John Matthai
B)
Dr. C. Deshmukh
C)
R.K. Shanmukham Chetty
D)
T.T. Krishnamachari
R.K. Shanmukham Chetty presented the first Budget of independent India on 26 November 1947, as the first Finance Minister of India. Hence, option (c) is correct. Dr. John Matthai was the first Finance Minister after independence only briefly and did not present the first budget; Dr. C. Deshmukh presented later Union Budgets; and T.T. Krishnamachari also served as Finance Minister later, not for the first budget of independent India.
Wasteland is that land which is:
A)
Uncultivable
B)
Degraded beyond repair
C)
Degraded but cultivable
D)
Alkaline soil
Wasteland refers to land that is not currently fit for cultivation or productive use without reclamation, so the best match is "Uncultivable." Option (c) is incorrect because degraded but cultivable land can still be brought under use directly. Option (b) is too extreme; wasteland is not necessarily beyond repair. Option (d) is incorrect because alkaline soil is only one possible cause of wasteland, not the definition itself.
Honey produced from honey bees is used as food and medicine and the major compound in honey is:
A)
Lactose
B)
Fructose
C)
Sucrose
D)
Galactose
Honey is composed mainly of simple sugars, especially fructose and glucose. Among the given options, fructose is the major compound in honey, making option (b) correct. Lactose is the sugar found in milk, not honey. Sucrose is common table sugar and is present only in small amounts in honey. Galactose is a monosaccharide found mainly as part of lactose and other carbohydrates, but it is not the principal sugar in honey.
Isobaths is a:
A)
Points of equal depth in an ocean, a sea or lake
B)
Lines of equal value of magnetic variation
C)
Lines of equal value of the salinity of waters
D)
Lines of equal value of rainfall
Isobaths are lines (or points on a bathymetric chart) joining places of equal depth below the water surface in an ocean, sea, or lake. Hence option (a) is correct. Option (b) is incorrect because equal magnetic variation is shown by isogonic lines. Option (c) is incorrect because equal salinity is shown by isohalines. Option (d) is incorrect because equal rainfall is shown by isohyets.
Kurinji flower blossoms once in twelve years in the:
A)
Darjeeling Hills
B)
Kodaikanal Hills
C)
Kumaon Hills
D)
Nilgiri Hills
Kurinji (Neelakurinji) is famous for blooming once every 12 years in the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats, especially around Ooty and nearby hill slopes. Hence, the correct answer is Nilgiri Hills. The other options are incorrect because Kodaikanal, Kumaon, and Darjeeling are not the well-known natural habitat associated with the 12-year Kurinji flowering cycle.
Which among the following locations is not correct: (a) UNESCO Paris (b) ILO Geneva (c) FAO Brussels (d) ICJ The Hague
A)
UNESCO Paris
B)
ILO Geneva
C)
FAO Brussels
D)
ICJ The Hague
FAO is not headquartered in Brussels; the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is based in Rome, Italy. Therefore, option (c) is the incorrect location pairing. The other pairs are correct: UNESCO is in Paris, ILO is in Geneva, and the ICJ (International Court of Justice) is in The Hague.
Under which article of the constitution was Hindi declared as the official language of the Union?
A)
Article 143
B)
Article 243
C)
Article 343
D)
Article 443
Article 343 of the Indian Constitution declares Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union. Hence, option (c) is correct. The other options are incorrect because Article 143 deals with the Supreme Court’s advisory jurisdiction, Article 243 relates to Panchayats, and Article 443 does not declare the official language of the Union.
The part of the grain in cereals where much of the protein lies is the:
A)
Aleurone layer
B)
Endosperm
C)
Pericarp
D)
Embryo
The correct answer is **Aleurone layer**. In cereal grains, the aleurone layer is the outermost layer of the endosperm and is rich in protein and enzymes, so much of the grain’s protein is found there.
Why the others are incorrect: **Endosperm** is mainly a starch reserve and contains comparatively less protein than the aleurone layer; **Pericarp** is the fruit wall/bran covering and is not the main protein-rich part; **Embryo** (germ) does contain nutrients, including some protein and fat, but the question asks where much of the protein lies in the grain, which is classically the aleurone layer.
By which amendment of the constitution was the tenure of the Lok Sabha reduced to five years which was fixed as six years under the 42nd Amendment?
A)
43rd Amendment
B)
44th Amendment
C)
45th Amendment
D)
46th Amendment
The correct answer is **44th Amendment (option b)**. The **42nd Amendment Act, 1976** had extended the tenure of the Lok Sabha from **5 years to 6 years**. This was later reversed by the **44th Amendment Act, 1978**, which restored the original constitutional tenure of the Lok Sabha to **5 years**.
Why the others are incorrect:
- **43rd Amendment**: Did not deal with changing the tenure of the Lok Sabha.
- **45th Amendment**: Also unrelated to restoring Lok Sabha tenure.
- **46th Amendment**: Concerned mainly with taxation and sales tax-related matters, not Lok Sabha tenure.
Hence, the tenure was reduced back to five years by the **44th Amendment**.