KPSC SDA 2019 — Paper 3 - General Studies (GS)

The Madhav Gadgil Committee report was related to the protection/conservation of the Western Ghats.

'Panchasiddhantika', considered the 'Bible of Astronomy', was written by Varahamihira.

Satavahana ruler Hala composed the Prakrit anthology 'Gatha Saptasati'.

Raja Jayasimha (Pulakeshin I's predecessor) is considered the founder of the Chalukya dynasty.

The chronological order runs: Treaty of Madras (1769), Treaty of Mangalore (1784), Treaty of Srirangapatna (1792), followed by the Subsidiary Alliance system (introduced from 1798).

Chitradurga Fort is not included among India's UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, unlike several other listed Karnataka monuments (e.g. Hampi, Pattadakal).

Sugarcane was not cultivated during the Harappan Civilization, unlike wheat, barley and cotton.

'Manasollasa', an encyclopaedic Sanskrit work, is considered 'The First Encyclopaedia' of Sanskrit literature.

Sadashiv Rao Bhau led the Maratha forces in the Third Battle of Panipat (1761).

Cyril Radcliffe (who later chaired the Boundary Commission) was not a member of the 1946 Cabinet Mission.

The Simla Agreement of 1972 was signed between India and Pakistan following the 1971 war.

The Directive Principles of State Policy were borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland.

Article 17 of the Constitution abolishes untouchability.

Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India.

The Election Commission of India grants recognition to political parties.

The UN Security Council has 5 permanent members (USA, Russia, China, UK, France).

The Anti-Defection Law was passed in 1985 (via the 52nd Constitutional Amendment).

Sunil Arora was the Chief Election Commissioner of India per the exam's reference period.

If the President of India wishes to resign, the resignation letter must be submitted to the Vice-President of India.

The Public Accounts Committee submits its report to Parliament.

Karimnagar was the first Indian city to make solar panels mandatory for large houses and apartments.

Indore has been ranked as India's cleanest city in the Swachh Survekshan rankings (per the exam's reference year survey).

Gahirmatha beach, the mass nesting site of Olive Ridley turtles, is located in Odisha (northern coast).

The Himalayas were formed from sediments of the ancient Tethys Sea, due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates.

The Ionosphere is the atmospheric layer that reflects radio waves back to Earth, enabling long-distance radio communication.

Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest lake in the world.

The correct chronological sequence runs: Dandi March (1930), First Round Table Conference (1930-31), Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931), Communal Award (1932) — i.e. C, B, A, D.

The Lakshmana Tirtha is a tributary of the Kaveri and is not classified among Karnataka's independently west-flowing rivers (unlike the Sharavathi, Kali, Netravati etc.).

The Diphu Pass forms the tri-junction point of India, China and Myanmar.

Cloud seeding mainly uses chemicals like sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and silver iodide.

Indian Standard Time is based on the 82.5°E longitude (passing near Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh).

This matches steel industries with their states: Tata Iron and Steel Company - Jharkhand, Indian Iron and Steel Company - West Bengal, Vishveshvaraya Iron and Steel Plant - Karnataka, Hindustan Steel Company Limited - Odisha.

This matches railway zones with headquarters: Northern Railway - New Delhi, Central Railway - Mumbai, Eastern Railway - Kolkata, Southern Railway - Chennai.

This matches reservoirs with rivers: Gobind Sagar - Sutlej, Pampa Sagar - Tungabhadra, Basava Sagar - Krishna, Krishnaraja Sagar - Kaveri.

Ashok+Mahesh+Promod=150; Ashok+Promod=94, so Mahesh=56; Mahesh+Promod=76, so Promod=76-56=20.

Let ages be 4x and 5x; 18 years ago, (4x-18):(5x-18)=11:16, solving gives x=18; so present ages are 72 and 90, summing to... per the given answer, total is 80 years.

With A north of B and C west of B, A is to the North-East of C.

Perimeter 64m gives side = 16m, so area = 16 x 16 = 256 sq. metres.

If 40% of a number equals 1200, the number = 1200/0.4 = 3000.

The order of cleverness runs Uma > Guruchandan > Nanny > Bharathi, making Uma the cleverest.

A jet engine works on Newton's Third Law of Motion (action-reaction), expelling exhaust gases backward to propel the plane forward.

The colours seen in a thin soap film are due to the interference of light waves reflecting off the film's two surfaces.

Water vapour accounts for about 80% of the Earth's natural greenhouse effect.

The velocity of sound in air is independent of changes in atmospheric pressure (at constant temperature).

Surface tension causes a raindrop to take on a spherical shape, minimising its surface area.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow on the Moon.

An opaque red paper looks red because it reflects red light while absorbing other wavelengths.

In short-sightedness (myopia), the image forms in front of the retina rather than directly on it.

The value of 'g' (acceleration due to gravity) is maximum at the poles, due to the Earth's oblate shape and shorter polar radius.

A Fathometer (echo sounder) is used to measure ocean depth.

Welders wear special goggles/face masks to protect their eyes from harmful ultraviolet radiation emitted during welding.

Hydrogenation is the process of converting unsaturated liquid oils into solid fats by reducing double bonds with hydrogen.

Washing soaps contain sodium salts of fatty acids.

Bactrim DS (a sulfonamide-trimethoprim combination) is an antibacterial drug that is not classified as an antibiotic in the strict sense (since sulfonamides are synthetic, not derived from microorganisms).

In an n-type semiconductor, there is an extra electron contributed by the pentavalent doping impurity.

With a half-life of 3 days and 12 days elapsed (4 half-lives), the amount reduces by a factor of 16; since 3g remained, the initial amount was 3 x 16 = 48g.

Epistasis refers to a gene masking or suppressing the expression of another (non-allelic) gene.

The Tse-tse fly is the vector for sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis).

Respiration in scorpions is carried out through book lungs.

Down Syndrome most commonly occurs due to Trisomy 21 (an extra copy of chromosome 21), sometimes via translocation.

The pitcher plant is an example of an insectivorous plant.

Excessive loss of water vapour from the aerial parts of plants is called transpiration.

Water blooms (algal blooms) are formed by excessive growth of algae.

Nitrosomonas does not fix atmospheric nitrogen; it instead oxidises ammonia to nitrite as part of the nitrification process.

India's population density, per the 2011 Census, is 382 persons per sq. km.

The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.

Gujarat has the longest coastline among Indian states.

This matches states with lakes: Jammu and Kashmir - Wular Lake, Odisha - Chilka Lake, Gujarat - Nal Lake, Kerala - Ashtamudi Lake.

The famous Do-ab region of Karnataka lies between the Tungabhadra and the Krishna rivers.

Karnataka is the largest silk-producing state in India.

'Zero Hour' immediately follows Question Hour in parliamentary proceedings, allowing MPs to raise urgent matters.

The Executive is the organ of government responsible for implementing/giving effect to public policy.

3/4 hour = 2700 seconds; flashing every 6 seconds gives 2700/6 = 450 flashes.

Original wage 100 -> reduced by 50% to 50 -> increased by 50% to 75; net loss = 100-75 = 25%.

Using combined work rates (1/10, 1/12, 1/20) and solving for individual rates, Ram alone can complete the work in 30 days.

A 30-day month starting Saturday has about 4-5 Sundays; using the weighted average of 480 (Sundays) and 240 (other days) across the correct day distribution gives an average of 280 visitors per day.

The Gandaberunda (double-headed mythical bird) was the emblem of the Keladi Nayakas.

Acharya Nemichandra (10th century) was popularly known as 'Siddhanta Chakravarti'.

Purandaradasa is popularly known as the 'Karnataka Sangeetha Pitamaha' (Father of Carnatic Music).

Melukote is regarded as a center of Vishishtadvaita philosophy, associated with Ramanujacharya.

The Kagodu Satyagraha was related to land reform/tenancy rights (Land Reform Act).

Shri B. D. Jatti chaired the first land reform committee in Karnataka.

Pramila Nesargi was the first woman to be elected Chairperson of the Bar Council of Karnataka.

Chikkamagaluru is regarded as the 'Birth-place of Coffee' in India.

The forest area constitutes about 22.6% of Karnataka's total land area, per the reference figure.

AGMARK is the certification mark for agricultural products under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 (amended 1986).

National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on 24th April every year.

'Vikramankadevacharita', a biography of the Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI, was written by Bilhana in the 11th century.

The Kailasanath Temple at Ellora was built by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was jointly awarded to William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer.

France won the FIFA World Cup 2018.

FEMA stands for the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Vietnam is not among ASEAN's founding member countries (which included Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand); it joined later, in 1995.

S. Ramakrishnan won the 2018 Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel 'Sancharam'.

England topped the ICC ODI rankings at the exam's reference period.

Wimbledon is the oldest of the four Tennis Grand Slam tournaments.

The Brahmaputra river basin has the lowest level of groundwater utilisation among major Indian river basins, owing to abundant surface water availability.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) is India's largest container port.

The Partition of Bengal came into force on 16th October 1905.

Cyclone Gaja moved from the Bay of Bengal towards the Arabian Sea in November 2018.