General Awareness - CBT 1 and CBT 2
What the domain tests
General Awareness appears in both CBT 1 and CBT 2 and is the cheapest place to gain marks because it rewards recall, not calculation. Coverage: Indian polity and the Constitution, modern Indian history and the freedom movement, geography of India and the world, Indian economy and budgets, general science in the news, sports, awards and honours, books and authors, art and culture, important days, and current affairs of the preceding 8–12 months, especially railway-related developments.
High-yield anchors
- Constitution: Fundamental Rights in Articles 12–35, Fundamental Duties in Article 51A added by the 42nd Amendment (1976), President's Rule under Article 356, Financial Emergency under Article 360.
- Geography: Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 Indian states; longest river Ganga; Deccan Plateau is basaltic.
- Economy: RBI established 1935, nationalised 1949; NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015; GST launched 1 July 2017.
- Science in news: ISRO missions, vaccine platforms, semiconductor fabs.
Worked example
A question asks which amendment added the Fundamental Duties. Reason it out: the Duties were recommended by the Swaran Singh Committee and inserted in 1976 during the Emergency, which is the 42nd Amendment - the same amendment that added "socialist, secular, integrity" to the Preamble. Later, the 86th Amendment (2002) added the 11th duty on education of children aged 6–14. So the answer is the 42nd Amendment.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing Article 32 (writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court) with Article 226 (High Court writs). Mixing First Secretary-General, first President and first Prime Minister facts. Trusting a current-affairs headline without the year - awards and appointments change annually, so tie each fact to its year.