Maharashtra SSC General Knowledge Grade flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Dhamma

Ashoka's policy of moral conduct and social harmony promoted through rock and pillar edicts after the Kalinga war, emphasising non-violence, tolerance among sects, and welfare works.

Ashta Pradhan

Shivaji Maharaj's council of eight ministers that advised on administration, finance, foreign affairs and defence, with the Peshwa as the chief minister heading it.

Article 32

The constitutional right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights, called the heart and soul of the Constitution by Dr Ambedkar.

Money bill

A bill dealing only with taxation, borrowing or the Consolidated Fund; it can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha on the President's recommendation, and the Rajya Sabha must return it within 14 days.

Tropic of Cancer

The latitude 23 degrees 30 minutes north, the northern limit of the overhead sun; it crosses eight Indian states from Gujarat to Mizoram.

Rain shadow

The dry leeward side of a mountain barrier; moisture-laden winds rise over the Western Ghats, rain on the windward slope, and leave Pune and Solapur dry.

Regur soil

Black cotton soil formed from weathered lava on the Deccan plateau; it is clayey, retains moisture well and is suited to cotton and jowar.

Standard Meridian of India

The longitude 82 degrees 30 minutes east, used to fix Indian Standard Time as UTC plus five and a half hours across the whole country.

Real GDP

The value of goods and services produced in a country in a year measured at constant base-year prices, removing the effect of price changes so growth can be compared over time.

Repo rate

The rate at which the Reserve Bank lends short-term funds to commercial banks against securities; raising it reduces liquidity and is a contractionary monetary measure.

Disguised unemployment

A situation where more workers are engaged in a job than are needed, so removing some would not reduce output; common in surplus family labour on small Indian farms.

73rd Amendment

The 1992 constitutional amendment giving Panchayati Raj institutions constitutional status through a three-tier structure of gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad.

Ohm's law

The current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it at constant temperature, expressed as V equals I times R.

Power of a lens

The reciprocal of focal length measured in metres, quoted in dioptres; a convex lens has positive power and a concave lens has negative power.

Mitochondria

Cell organelles where aerobic respiration converts glucose and oxygen into carbon dioxide, water and ATP, releasing the energy used for cellular activities.

Neutralisation

The reaction between an acid and a base producing a salt and water; the resulting solution is closer to neutral than either reactant was.

Chandrayaan-3

An Indian lunar mission whose lander Vikram and rover Pragyan soft-landed near the Moon's south polar region in August 2023, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon.

GST

The Goods and Services Tax, a destination-based indirect tax on supply of goods and services launched on 1 July 2017, replacing many central and state taxes.

NITI Aayog

The National Institution for Transforming India, a policy think tank set up in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission and advise on development strategy.

Paris Agreement

A 2015 international climate treaty aiming to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue 1.5 degrees, with each country submitting nationally determined contributions.

Maharashtra Day

Celebrated on 1 May each year, marking the creation of Maharashtra in 1960 when the bilingual Bombay State was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Wari

The annual pilgrimage of Varkari devotees carrying palkhis of saints Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram to Pandharpur, arriving for Ashadhi Ekadashi to worship Vithoba.

Lavani

A lively Marathi folk song and dance form performed to the beat of the dholki, historically associated with Tamasha theatre and noted for its expressive rhythm.

Warli painting

A tribal art of the Thane and Palghar region using white rice-paste figures on a mud-brown ground, depicting daily life, harvest and ritual scenes in geometric forms.

Maharashtra legislature

The state's bicameral legislature consists of a 288-member Legislative Assembly directly elected and a 78-member Legislative Council with partly indirect elections.

Battle of Pratapgad

Fought in 1659 between Shivaji Maharaj and Afzal Khan of Bijapur; Shivaji's victory strengthened Maratha power and is commemorated at the Pratapgad fort in Satara district.

Mahad satyagraha

Dr Ambedkar's 1927 campaign asserting the right of Dalits to draw water from the Chavdar tank at Mahad, a landmark in the struggle against untouchability.

State animal of Maharashtra

The Indian giant squirrel, known locally as shekru, a large tree-dwelling rodent with a long bushy tail found in the forests of the Western Ghats.

Tertiary sector

The services sector covering transport, trade, banking, education, health and tourism; it contributes the largest share of India's gross domestic product.

Contour lines

Lines on a map joining points of equal height above sea level; close spacing shows a steep slope, wide spacing a gentle slope, and closed loops indicate hills or depressions.

Fundamental Duties

Eleven duties of citizens listed in Article 51A, inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation; they are non-justiciable.

Aditya-L1

India's solar observatory mission placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1, studying the corona and solar wind continuously without eclipses.