Maharashtra SSC General Knowledge Grade key terms

The opening statement of the Indian Constitution that sets out its guiding ideals, including justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, and declares the source of authority as the people of India.

Basic freedoms guaranteed to citizens under Part III of the Constitution, such as equality, speech, religion and constitutional remedies, which courts can enforce if violated by the state.

Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution directing governments to promote welfare, reduce inequality and secure social justice; they are not directly enforceable in court but shape law and policy.

Eleven obligations listed in Article 51A asking citizens to respect the Constitution, the national flag and anthem, protect the environment and public property, and promote harmony and education.

A formal written order of a court commanding action or restraint. Habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto are the five writs used to protect fundamental rights.

The power of courts to examine laws and government actions and declare them invalid if they conflict with the Constitution, thereby safeguarding constitutional supremacy and individual rights.

The principle established in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution in a way that destroys its essential features.

The process under Article 368 by which Parliament can change the Constitution, with some amendments also requiring ratification by at least half of the state legislatures.

The constitutional principle that the state has no official religion, treats all faiths equally, and may intervene to reform social practices while protecting religious freedom.

A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent units, each with defined powers, as in the Indian Union and its states.

The three-tier system of local self-government in rural India, comprising gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad, given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment.

The assembly of all registered voters in a village, which reviews the gram panchayat's plans, budgets and accounts and is the foundation of direct local democracy.

A seasonal reversal of wind direction that brings heavy rainfall to India, with the southwest monsoon arriving in June and providing most of the country's annual precipitation.

A dry region on the leeward side of a mountain range, where descending air has lost its moisture; the rain-shadow belt east of the Western Ghats is a classic Indian example.

A reddish, iron-rich soil formed in hot, wet climates by intense leaching. It is acidic, low in fertility and found on the Konkan and Malabar coasts and in parts of the Deccan.

Dark, clay-rich soil also called regur, formed from weathered lava and known for high moisture retention, making it well suited to cotton cultivation in the Deccan plateau.

A large, roughly triangular plateau in peninsular India, bounded by the Western and Eastern Ghats, formed largely of ancient volcanic rock and drained by east-flowing rivers.

A mountain range running along India's western coast, a UNESCO biodiversity hotspot that is the source of major rivers and influences rainfall across the peninsula.

A violent rotating storm system that forms over warm tropical oceans, with low central pressure and strong winds, often bringing heavy rain and storm surges to India's east coast.

A region with an exceptionally high number of endemic species that is under significant habitat threat; the Western Ghats and the Himalaya are hotspots that include parts of India.

A period from the late 1960s when high-yielding seed varieties, irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides sharply raised foodgrain output in India, especially wheat in Punjab and Haryana.

A nationwide dairy development programme led by Verghese Kurien and Operation Flood, which linked milk producers through cooperatives and made India the world's largest milk producer.

A voluntary organisation owned and controlled by its members, who share profits and decisions on an equal basis, common in Indian dairy, sugar, credit and housing sectors.

A situation in which all people have reliable physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food; India pursues it through buffer stocks and the public distribution system.

A government network of fair-price shops that supplies subsidised foodgrain to eligible households, aiming to reduce hunger and shield the poor from price rises.

The total money value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given year, used as the main measure of economic size and growth.

A sustained rise in the general price level of goods and services, which reduces the purchasing power of money and is monitored through indices such as the consumer price index.

The gap between total government expenditure and total government receipts other than borrowing, showing how much the government must borrow to meet its spending.

A composite measure created by the UNDP that combines life expectancy, education and income per person to compare overall well-being across countries.

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, balancing economic growth with environmental protection and social equity.

The process by which green plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make glucose and release oxygen, with chlorophyll in chloroplasts absorbing light energy.

The chemical breakdown of glucose in cells to release energy, occurring with oxygen in mitochondria or without oxygen during fermentation, and producing carbon dioxide and water.

The smallest structural and functional unit of life, bounded by a membrane and containing cytoplasm and genetic material; cells may lack a nucleus (prokaryotic) or have one (eukaryotic).

The principle that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, meaning forces always occur in pairs acting on two different bodies simultaneously.

The product of an object's mass and velocity, a vector quantity that measures how hard it is to stop the object and remains conserved in a closed system.

The attractive force between any two masses, which on Earth gives objects an acceleration of about 9.8 metres per second squared toward the ground.

The relationship stating that current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it at constant temperature, giving the formula V equals IR.

The rate at which electrical energy is transferred by a circuit, calculated as voltage multiplied by current and measured in watts.

An independent constitutional body that conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President, and registers political parties.

The directly elected lower house of Parliament, whose members represent constituencies for five years and which controls the Council of Ministers through a majority.