CGL Question Paper [Part 1 - General Awareness]

Hellow everyone! Hope your preparations are going well. To assist you with the same, here are the general awareness questions that appeared in CGL (4th September shift)

Q.1) Which organ gets affected by Weil's disease?
Ans: Kidney

Q. 2) When the office of the President and the Vice-President fall vacant simultaneously, who acts as President?
Ans: Chief Justice of India

Q. 3) HDI is an aggregate measure of progress in which of the 3 dimensions?
Ans: Health, Education, Income

Q. 4) ___  involves traversing the entire file system, marking everything that can be accessed.
Ans: Index Pointer

Q. 5) Preservation of historical articles is done in science of
Ans: Options not available

Q. 6) Goitre is caused by the deficiency of __
Ans: Iodine

Q. 7) The speaker of Lok Sabha is removed by __
Ans: A resolution passed by Lok Sabha

Q. 8) The chemical that is used to ripen mangoes is __
Ans: Calcium Carbide

Q. 9) Alfalfa is the name of a __
Ans: Grass

Q. 10) The longest railway line connects __
Ans: Leningrad to Vladivostok

Q. 11) The daily weather Map of India is prepared and printed at-
Ans: Pune

Q. 12) The official Rio Olympic slogan
Ans: A New World

Q. 13) How many constitutional amendments have been made till now?
Ans: 122

Q. 14) Which of the following countries is not a member of G-8 ?

Q. 15) The working committee of National Congress sanctioned the resolution named 'Quit India' at-
Ans: Bombay

Q. 16) Nylon threads are made of
Ans: Polyamide polymer

Q. 17) The term 'smasher' is associated with
Ans: Volley-ball

Q. 18) The capital of Mauryan kingdom?
Ans: Pataliputra

Q. 19) For photoelectric effect to take place, the metal should have __
Ans: Low work function

Q.20) The instrument used for photographing the sun is called __
Ans: Spectroheliograph

Q. 21) The main protein found in milk is __
Ans: Casein

Q. 22) The chairman of National Disaster Management Authority is __
Ans: Prime Minister

Q. 23) Which country won men's Hockey Champions Trophy?
Ans: Australia

Q. 24) Which tax is levied by State govt only?
Ans: Entertainment tax

Q. 25) IPC Section 124A relate to __
Ans: Sedition


These questions appeared in General Awareness section. I will cover the Quantitative Aptitude questions in the next post. Like my facebook page for timely updates-

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Important days [General Awareness]

Here is a list of important days which you must memorise.

IMPORTANT DAYS

January

1-Jan Global Family Day

9-Jan NRI Day

10-Jan World Laughter Day

12-Jan National Youth Day

15-Jan Army Day(India)

25-Jan National Voters Day

25-Jan National Tourism Day

26-Jan India’s Republic Day, International Customs Day

30-Jan Martyrs’ Day; World Leprosy Eradication Day

February     

4-Feb World Cancer Day

13-Feb World Radio day

20-Feb World Day of Social Justice

21-Feb International Mother Language Day

22-Feb World Scout Day

28-Feb National Science Day

March

4-Mar World Day for the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation

8-Mar International Women’s Day

15-Mar World Consumer Rights Day

16-Mar National Vaccination Day

21-Mar World Forestry Day

22-Mar World Water Day

23-Mar World Meteorological Day/ World Earth Day

24-Mar World TB Day

April

7-Apr World Health Day

17-Apr World Haemophilia Day

18-Apr World Heritage Day

21-Apr National Civil Services Day

22-Apr Earth Day

25-Apr World Malaria Day

26-Apr World Intellectual Property Day

29-Apr International Dance Day

May

1-May International Labour Day

3-May Press Freedom Day; World Asthma Day

May, 2nd Sunday - Mothers Day

8-May World Red Cross Day

11-May National Technology Day

12 May International Nurses Day

14-Mar World Migratory day

17-May World Telecommunication Day

21-May Anti-Terrorism day

22-May International Day for Biological Diversity

24-May Commonwealth Day

28-May World Hunger Day

31-May Anti-tobacco Day

June

5-Jun World Environment Day

June, 3rd Sunday Father’s Day

8-Jun World Ocean Day

12-Jun World Day against Child Labour

14-Jun World Blood Donor Day

20-Jun World Refugee Day

21-Jun World Music Day

23-Jun International Olympic Day

27-Jun International Diabetes Day

July

1-Jul Doctor’s Day

11-Jul World Population Day

12-Jul Malala Day

18-Jul Nelson Mandela International Day

August 1st Sunday International Friendship Day

6-Aug Hiroshima Day

6-Aug Organ Donation Day

7-Aug Forgiveness Day

8-Aug World Senior Citizen’s Day

9-Aug Quit India Day, Nagasaki Day

12-Aug International Youth Day

19-Aug Photography Day

29-Aug National Sports Day

September

5-Sep Teachers’ Day

5-Sep International day of charity

8-Sep International Literacy Day (UNESCO),

14-Sep Hindi Diwas

15-Sep Engineers’ Day

16-Sep World Ozone Day

22-Sep Rose Day (Welfare of cancer patients)

27-Sep World Tourism Day

29-Sep World Heart Day

October

1-Oct International Day for the Elderly

2-Oct Gandhi Jayanthi; International Day of Nonviolence

4-Oct World Animal Welfare Day

8-Oct Indian Air Force Day

9-Oct World Post Office Day

16-Oct World Food Day

24 Oct UN Day; World Polio Day

November

17-Nov National Journalism Day

19-Nov Citizens’ Day, World Toilet Day, National Integration Day

21-Nov World Television Day; World Fisheries day

26-Nov Constitution Day

December

1-Dec World AIDS Day

2-Dec World Computer literacy Day

3-Dec World Day of the Handicapped

4-Dec Indian Navy Day

7-Dec Armed Forces Flag Day; International Civil Aviation Day

10-Dec Human Rights Day; Intl. Children’s Day of Broadcasting

14-Dec World Energy Day

22-Dec National Mathematics Day

23-Dec Kisan Divas (Farmer’s Day) (India)

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Strategy to tackle New CGL pattern

We all know CGL has changed the pattern of CGL. But since the syllabus is as it is, you shouldn't bother much about the change...

Just keep few things in mind before entering the examination hall-

1. Give some quality mock tests (paramount is good) to get accustomed with the online world. If you have given bank/insurance exams earlier then you don't need to bother.
2. The new pattern has reduced the number of questions drastically (exactly half), but the time given to attempt the paper has not been halved. Result? This time you won't face issues in completing the paper on time (provided you have good practice).
3. But there is a down side to this. The weightage of each question has increased and as a result the negative marking has increased to 0.5 marks. This suggests that accuracy would be a big game changer this time. A silly mistake will make you lose 2.5 marks and these are enough to knock you off the list.
4. Only 25 questions for GS - some thing to cheer about for all the people with GS-phobia. Instead of covering each section partially, try to read selective sections completely. Finish History, Economics and Polity from Lucent. You can skip Science and Geography because they are vast and you can never be sure what questions would be asked from these two sections.
5. Make your own order of attempting the question paper based on your strengths and weaknesses. I had written an article about it few months back. Check it here-
   How to attempt Tier-1 question paper
6. I hope you have gone through the SSC Hack book, now is the time to give as many mock tests as possible. Don't give much time to unproductive sections like GS, clock, calendar, number system, etc.

Don't think the process ha changed. It is just a tweak. If you have done the hard work, there is no stopping you...

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Sorry for the long absent...Let the hacks begin :)

It has come to my notice that some unscrupulous souls are misusing my name and "SSC Hacks" tag to fool innocent candidates. They are selling cheap mock tests that are good for nothing. I hereby warn the candidates to stay away from such blogs, facebook pages, etc.
These recent activities have forced me to create an official facebook page for our blog. Please like the below page to get timely updates about new hacks and tips

https://www.facebook.com/sschacks.official/

I will continue adding new tricks on the blog...

Thanks you for your patience :)

SSC Hack Book Launched !

It gives me great pleasure to announce the publishing of "SSC Hack-book"

All the hacks in a single ebook!

Taking feed-backs from many candidates, I decided to compile all the tricks in a single document for your convenience. "SSC Hack Book" contains all the hacks that have been discussed in this blog plus some additional solved examples. Moreover, I have also covered some major topics of English - Active Passive Voice, Direct-Indirect Speech, Para-Jumble and Grammar Rules.

You can check the contents of the book below-

Contents

For those of you who are new to the blog and are skeptical, check-out the first chapter of the book -
Chapter-1 (Algebra Hacks)

Since this book is a result of some original work, a price-tag was inevitable.
But I have kept it to a bare minimum, i.e. Rs 69/- equivalent to a paneer roll :)
Click on the below link to purchase your copy-


[The book is in PDF format. You will have to read it in your laptop/mobile]

Link - Click to buy SSC Hack Book

[You will receive your eBook on the email ID that you will provide in the form]

If you are not able to buy this book for any reason, drop a mail at:
prashantrajcalling@gmail.com
Subject: Not able to buy SSC Hack Book
In the mail, explain the problem and I will give you an alternate way to buy.

And yes, this eBook doesn't mean that I will stop writing on this blog. The free content will continue to flow...

Like the "SSC Hacks" official facebook page to receive timely updates about the new hacks/tricks.
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EDIT-

Thank you guys for the amazing response you have given to my book. It's been one week since the launch, and the sales have already crossed the 500 mark. I promise you this book would prove to be more helpful than all the other CGL books that you purchase.

Thanks again and keep rocking!!! :)

Update (June, 2017): Many people are asking me if the buy link is still working or not. I would like to clarify that the link is very much operational and you can go ahead with the purchase.

Life as an Assistant in MEA

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ASO (Assistant Section Officer) in MEA is one of the best posts offered by CGL. There is a lack of genuine information about MEA and I am here to provide some first hand experience to you.

Many candidates enquired about the job profile, work-life balanace, foreign postings, etc. and this post covers them all. Consider it a motivational post for all the MEA aspirants :)

1. Joining - First things first, MEA is very notorious for offering late joining because it has some additional verifications like IB verification, BOS clearance, etc. But things have changed now. Recently DoPT came up with a circular which instructed all the ministries to give joining to all the selected candidates even if their police verification is not done. Now they will just make you sign a undertaking stating that your conduct has been flawless throughout your career. Result? Faster joining. You can expect to get your joining letters within three months of declaration of the result. Something to cheer about :)

2. Work Environment - THE BEST!!! without doubt. Most of the Assistants (not all) get to sit in Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan (JNB), a newly constructed building at the heart of the city with all the latest amenities.

The entrance:

Greenery all around:-

Come to the terrace for a cup of coffee

3. Work desk:

My colleague, busy at work-

3. Promotions:

You join as Assistant Section Officer. After clearing departmental exam, you will get your first promotion as Section Officer (this will take 4-5 years), and you will get to sit on this-

Around 4-5 ASOs work under a Section Officer.
The second promotion will change your grade pay but the designation will remain the same. Your third promotion will make you Under Secretary(US) and you will get your own room. (this takes around 15 years minimum). After US, the hierarchy is Deputy Secretary -> Director (Dir)-> Joint Secretary, JS (the farthest an ASO can go)

4. Type of work:

All the assistants appointed through CGL(whether CSS or MEA) do the same work. i.e. making a Note and an Order. The type of the Note, depends on the section in which you work. All the sections have different work - a Section to manage the travel of diplomats, another Section to process the medical bills, etc. of the employees, Section to communicate with the Embassies, etc.
Consider for e.g. you have to process a loan application of an employee (All central government employees have to take prior permission of the government before raising any loan from a bank). The employee will give you an application mentioning his basic salary, date of joining, date of retirement, purpose of loan, etc. and you have to make a note out of it. In the note, you will state that employee X wishes to raise a loan from ABC bank. Then you will calculate the repaying capacity of the employee with a predefined formula. The employee cannot get a loan beyond his repaying capacity.
All the notes follow different paths - like for a loan, the note moves from SO->US->Dir-> and finally JS. Once the JS signs it, the note returns to you. If the above people haven't raised any objection, you will go on making an Order. Your SO will sign it and move forward. Once an order is issued, the employee can raise the loan.
This is the gist of your work.

5. Work-Life Balance:
It depends on the section in which you work. Mostly you have to work from 9:00 a.m. to 05:30 p.m, with one hour for lunch-break and 1 hour for tea-breaks (30 minutes, twice), although you can extend them if you want.

6. Subsidised food:
JNB has appointed Bikano as its caterer. The food is cheap and tasty. Most of the people eat thali, which costs them Rs. 60/-. Each floor has a coffee/tea vending machine, but you would have to shell out Rs. 5 for coffee and Rs 6 for tea.


7. The MEA edge:

Now the things that you wont find in other SSC posts-

7(i) MEA Quota(Welfare) in top colleges of India-
The MEA officials, when posted abroad, can avail MEA quota to enrol their children in top government colleges of our country (top NITs, NSIT, DTU, etc.). Your children can apply through this quota and can get a seat in these coveted colleges circumventing the formidable JEE exam (they will have to appear for SAT though). The competition through this quota is almost non-existent.

7(ii) Best work place
Population density at JNB is quite low. The whole building looks empty and there is no rush to get a lift or to eat at cafeteria, etc. The work place of most of the other ministries is crowded and doesn't give you that feeling of 'uniqueness'.

7(iii) MEA Quarters
Among all the SSC posts, MEA is the first one to offer you a government accommodation. You will get a 2-BHK flat in Dwarka after around 1.5 years of your joining. In CSS, you won't get government quarter even after 10 years of service.

7(iv) Temporary Deputations (TDs)
All over the internet you would find that MEA assistants spend 3 years in India and 3 years abroad. But there is more to that. MEA Assistants also go on Temporary Deputations (if you work in Protocol Division) for important international summits like SAARC, BRICS, India-Africa Forum Summit, etc.

7(v) Foreign Postings
ASOs generally get foreign postings for 3 years straight, but no one would force you to go. In some Sections you can avoid foreign postings altogether.
Most of the MEA officials are ready (and eager) for foreign postings, and the reason is simple - A hell of a lot of money! (besides the thrill of travelling)

Your allowances mostly depend on the country but they are always more than you need.
For poorer countries like Bhutan and Bangladesh
For a country like Bangladesh, you will get $2,200/month + Your basic salary in India (which after 7th pay commission would be around Rs. 45000). Total = Around 1,92,000/month. Now, you already get free government accommodation, so your biggest expense is already taken care of; you just have to spend on food and shopping. In a country like Bangladesh, even if you live a lavish lifestyle, your expenses wont cross 20,000/month
Savings = Rs. 1,92,000 -  Rs. 20,000 = Rs. 1,72,000/month

For rich countries
Your savings are almost same in all the countries. If you are posted in USA/UK/Japan, you will get around $2,700/month plus your Basic salary in India.
Earnings = 2,25,000/month
Savings = Your expenses won't exceed Rs. 50,000/month (my friend posted in Tokyo has never spent more than Rs. 40,000 in a month).
Savings = Rs. 2,25,000 - Rs. 50,000 =  Rs. 1,75,000/month
Even after adding some invisible costs over your extravagant lifestyle, minimum Rs. 1.5 lakhs/month are definitely going into your pocket.

You would be surprised to know that the places like Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh,etc. are more desirable than UK, USA, Italy, etc. because these places are near your home, hence reducing your travel expenses drastically. (MEA only pays for one visit per year)

That's all :)  I think I have covered all the doubts, but still if you have any queries about this job, feel free to drop a comment...


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[Q] Geometry Tricks - 3 [Construction]

You can tackle many tricky geometry questions with a single word 'Construction'. Yes, just precisely draw the diagram as asked in the question and manually measure the unknown side/angle that has been asked...

Disclaimer: Use this method only when you are unable to figure out how to solve a question.

Q. 1) If BE and CF are two medians of a triangle ABC and G is the centroid and EF and AG intersects each other at O then find - AO:OG
(A) 1:1             (B) 1:2              (C) 2:1                (D) 3:1

Since no information about the type of triangle is given, hence we will assume it to be 'Equilateral'.
Step 1: Draw an Equilateral triangle of any size(but it should be big enough for the purpose). Take 6 cm.
How to draw an equilateral triangle? Just draw a line AB = 6 cm, and make ∠A = 60 and ∠B = 60, the point where the two angles will intersect, will be point C.
Step 2: Now draw the medians BE and CF. Make sure that E and F lie exactly in the middle of AC and AB respectively.
Step 3: Complete the remaining figure.
Step 4: Measure AO and OG with a ruler.

You will find that AO:OG = 3:1
Answer: (D)

Q. 2)

Again, a simple question.
Step 1: Draw a circle of any radius with centre O and diameter AB.
Step 2: Put protractor at A and draw ∠CAB = 34.
Step 3: Join BC
Step 4: Measure ∠CBA with protractor.
Answer: (C)

Q. 3)

This may appear tricky if you go on solving it with conventional methods. But it is way too easy when solved through construction.
Step 1: Draw a triangle ABC with AC = 6 cm. Here we are using the concept of scaling. In the exam you can't draw a line 12 cm long. Hence we are reducing AC to 1/2. Hence, when we will measure AE, we will have to multiply it by 2 to get the exact answer.
Step 2: Draw internal bisector of ∠ABC. Now, be very cautious, a slight mis-measurement give you a wrong answer. Use protractor for accurate measurements (For simplicity, you can take ∠A = 60 and hence use protractor to make ∠CBD = 30)
Step 3: Again with the help protractor, make ∠BDA = 90
Step 4: Draw DE parallel to BC
Step 5: Measure AE with a scale. You will get AE = 3 cm.
Hence actual length of AE = 2*3 = 6 cm
Answer: (B)
Method:

AD extended meets BC at F. 
∠ADB = ∠BDF = 90
∠ADB = ∠FDB (BD is the angle bisector)
∠BAD = ∠BFD
Triangles ABD and FBD are congruent. So AD = DF
Triangles ADE and AFC are similar
AE/AC = AD/AF = 1/2
AE = 1/2 * 12 = 6 cm



Q. 4) 

Although this is a very simple question and you would get 60 degrees as your answer when you solve it. But, if by any chance, if you are not able to figure out the method, solve it using construction.
Method: The median of an isosceles triangle cuts the opposite side at right angles. Hence ∠AOB = 90.




Similarly you can solve many geometry questions with proper measurements. Try solving some questions on your own...