Karnataka VAO key terms

One of the world's earliest urban cultures, flourishing from about 2600 to 1900 BCE in the north-west of the subcontinent. Its hallmarks are planned grid cities, covered drainage, standardised baked bricks and seals with an undeciphered script.

A South Indian empire founded in 1336 with its capital at Hampi on the Tungabhadra. It patronised temple building and Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit literature, controlled rich trade, and fell after the battle of Talikota in 1565.

A British annexation policy applied by Lord Dalhousie: a princely state whose ruler died without a natural male heir was taken over rather than allowed to pass to an adopted son. Satara and Jhansi were annexed this way.

A mass campaign launched by the Indian National Congress in August 1942 demanding an immediate end to British rule. Gandhi's slogan was 'Do or Die', and the colonial government arrested the entire national leadership within days.

Basic freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution, covering equality, speech and expression, religion, life and personal liberty. They can be enforced directly in the Supreme Court and High Courts and are suspended only in specified emergencies.

Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution directing the state to promote welfare, social justice and equitable use of resources. Courts cannot enforce them directly, but they are fundamental in governance and guide law-making.

Set out in the Tenth Schedule, it disqualifies an elected legislator who voluntarily leaves the party on whose ticket they won, or defies a party whip on a crucial vote. It aims to prevent floor-crossing between parties.

The power of courts to test whether a law or government action conforms to the Constitution and to strike it down if it does not. Articles 13, 32 and 226 provide its constitutional basis.

A seasonal reversal of prevailing winds that brings most of India's rain. It results mainly from unequal heating of land and sea; the south-west monsoon from June to September waters the kharif crop.

A long mountain chain along the western edge of the peninsula, running through Karnataka's Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts. It is a global biodiversity hotspot and the source of rivers such as the Tunga and Netravati.

A large triangular plateau lying south of the Vindhya range between the Western and Eastern Ghats. Its black and red soils, dry climate and seasonal rivers shape farming in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana.

The market value of all final goods and services produced inside a country during a given period. It measures the size of an economy, and growth is usually reported at constant prices to strip out inflation.

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends short-term money to commercial banks against government securities. Raising it makes credit costlier and cools inflation; lowering it encourages borrowing and spending.

A unified indirect tax on the supply of goods and services, introduced in India in 2017 to replace a jumble of central and state levies. It is levied at several slabs and the revenue is shared between the Union and states.

A floor price announced before sowing for specified crops so that farmers are protected if market prices fall. It is recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices and approved by the Union Cabinet.

Short devotional compositions in simple Kannada written by the twelfth-century Sharanas of the Basava tradition, including Basavanna, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi. They attack caste and ritual and stress personal devotion and honest work.

The Old Kannada literary era, broadly the ninth to twelfth centuries, when Kavirajamarga and the epics of Pampa and Ranna were written. Its grammar and word forms differ noticeably from modern Kannada.

A dance-drama tradition of coastal Karnataka with colourful costumes, loud percussion, sung narration and improvised dialogue. Troupes perform episodes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and local legends, usually through the night.

The tenth-century poet regarded as Kannada's first great writer, author of Vikramarjunavijaya and Adipurana. His works, composed in the champu style, are landmarks of Halegannada literature.

A number expressed as a part of one hundred, shown with the symbol %. Percentages allow quantities of different sizes to be compared and are the base of profit, loss, discount and interest problems.

Interest charged only on the original principal, calculated as principal multiplied by rate multiplied by time and divided by one hundred. It does not compound, so the amount grows evenly each year.

The least positive integer that is an exact multiple of each of two or more given numbers. Finding it helps add unlike fractions and solve problems where events repeat at different intervals.

A word with the same, or almost the same, meaning as another word, for example 'commence' and 'begin'. Vocabulary questions ask candidates to choose the option closest in meaning from the given list.

A fixed group of words whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words, such as 'to burn the midnight oil' for studying late. Idiom questions test familiarity with such expressions.

Two ways of framing the same action. In active voice the subject does the action; in passive voice the object becomes the subject and the verb uses a form of 'be' with the past participle.

The process by which green plants, using chlorophyll and sunlight, combine carbon dioxide and water to make glucose and release oxygen. It supplies food and oxygen to almost every ecosystem on earth.

The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it when temperature is constant. Written as V = IR, it links voltage, current and resistance in a circuit.

A water-soluble nutrient found in citrus fruits, amla and guava, needed for collagen formation and normal immune function. Deficiency causes scurvy, marked by bleeding gums, easy bruising and slow healing.

Rod-shaped organelles in cells whose membranes host the reactions of aerobic respiration, producing most of the cell's ATP. They are called the powerhouse of the cell and carry a small amount of their own DNA.

A law of 2005 that guarantees every rural household at least one hundred days of unskilled wage work a year when demanded. Wages go to a bank or post office account, and works are planned by the Gram Sabha.

A small group, usually of ten to twenty rural women, who save a fixed amount regularly and lend small loans to members. A good repayment record earns bank linkage and larger credit.

The 1992 constitutional amendment that gave Panchayati Raj constitutional status through Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule. It requires three tiers, five-year terms, and reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.

The state legislation that set up the three-tier Panchayat Raj system in Karnataka in line with the 73rd Amendment. It defines the powers, finances and meeting rules of Gram, Taluk and Zilla Panchayats.

The body of all registered voters of a Gram Panchayat area, meeting at least twice a year to approve plans, examine accounts and conduct social audits. It is the base of direct democracy in the village.

The district-level tier of Panchayat Raj in Karnataka, presided over by an elected president. It prepares district plans and oversees rural roads, water supply and other works executed through lower tiers.

System software that controls hardware, manages memory and files, and provides the interface through which users run applications. Windows, Linux and Android are common examples of it.

Random Access Memory is the fast working memory of a computer that holds programs and files currently in use. Its contents vanish when the machine is switched off, unlike data stored on a hard disk.

Uniform Resource Locator, the address that identifies the location of a page or file on the internet, beginning with a protocol such as https. It tells the browser which server to contact and what resource to fetch.

Any software designed to damage, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to a computer, including viruses, worms, trojans and spyware. Antivirus tools, regular updates and cautious handling of attachments reduce the risk.