Minimalist IAS
← Art & Culture
English हिंदी

Test yourself

Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I

Class 11 · Art & Culture

Real UPSC Prelims questions from 2016–2026, linked to this book. Try each one first, then open the answer. 2026 answers follow UPSC's provisional answer key.

One of these is a related question: NCERT alone can't answer it, so UPSC's answer is shown with the fact you need.

Ch 1 · Language and Literature of India

Prelims 2021 · Q41

With reference to the history of ancient India, Bhavabhuti, Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were famous

  1. (a)Jain monks
  2. (b)playwrights
  3. (c)temple architects
  4. (d)philosophers
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 1 (Language and Literature of India).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, ch 1, names Bhavabhuti among the great Sanskrit playwrights, with Bhasa, Kalidasa and Shudraka. The question groups all three names together, so they are playwrights. Answer (b).

Beyond NCERT: Kshemishvara, for example, wrote the Sanskrit play Chandakaushika, about the truthful King Harishchandra. Source: IGNOU (egyankosh.ac.in), Unit 16 'Languages and Literature'

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2021), question 41 ↗

Prelims 2024 · Q63

Which one of the following is a work attributed to playwright Bhasa?

  1. (a)Kavyalankara
  2. (b)Natyashastra
  3. (c)Madhyama-vyayoga
  4. (d)Mahabhashya
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (c)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 1 (Language and Literature of India).

Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (ch 1) lists Bhasa's plays, including the Madhyamavyayoga. So (c).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2024), question 63 ↗

Ch 5 · Astronomy in India

Prelims 2017 · Q87

What is the purpose of 'evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)' project?

  1. (a)To detect neutrinos
  2. (b)To detect gravitational waves
  3. (c)To detect the effectiveness of missile defence system
  4. (d)To study the effect of solar flares on our communication systems
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 5 (Astronomy in India).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (Part I), ch 5: LIGO, a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, detects gravitational waves. eLISA is the same kind of instrument — a laser interferometer — placed in space. Answer (b).

Beyond NCERT: eLISA is now called LISA, a European Space Agency mission planned for launch around 2035. It will be the first gravitational-wave observatory in space. Source: ESA, LISA factsheet, esa.int

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2017), question 87 ↗

Prelims 2019 · Q97

Recently, scientists observed the merger of giant 'blackholes' billions of light-years away from the Earth. What is the significance of this observation?

  1. (a)'Higgs boson particles' were detected.
  2. (b)'Gravitational waves' were detected.
  3. (c)Possibility of inter-galactic space travel through 'wormhole' was confirmed.
  4. (d)It enabled the scientists to understand 'singularity'.
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 5 (Astronomy in India).

The one fact NCERT doesn't give: The gravitational waves detected in 2015 came from two black holes merging into one, about 1.3 billion years ago.

Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (Part I), ch 5: Indian scientists were part of the team that announced in 2016 the discovery of gravitational waves predicted by Einstein. With the fact, the black-hole merger is that discovery. Answer (b).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2019), question 97 ↗

Ch 6 · Mathematics in India

Prelims 2026 · Q7

Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India:

  1. 1.The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595–596).
  2. 2.In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
  3. 3.The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. (a)1 and 2 only
  2. (b)1 and 3 only
  3. (c)2 and 3 only
  4. (d)1, 2 and 3
Show answer

UPSC's provisional answer: (d)

NCERT covers the topic; the answer comes from UPSC's key: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, ch 6, says the decimal place-value system was invented and first used in India — but not where it first appears in inscriptions. UPSC's answer is (d), so all three statements are correct. The Mankani plates of Gujarat (AD 595–596) are the earliest inscription in India to use it. Place-values were common in Indian inscriptions by the ninth century, and South-east Asian Sanskrit inscriptions used them from the seventh. Answer (d).

NCERT covers the topic (not the answer): Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 6 (Mathematics in India).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2026), question 7 ↗

← Back to the books

Spotted an error? Tell us — we fix it and record the change here.

NCERT textbooks are published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Every file comes from NCERT's own website; a full book is joined into one PDF on the reader's device. Minimalist IAS does not store or edit any NCERT file.

Previous-year questions are from UPSC's question papers and answer keys (final keys; for 2026, the provisional key) published on upsc.gov.in.

Minimalist IAS is not affiliated with NCERT or UPSC. Books by other publishers are named for reference only.

NCERT can move or replace a file at any time. We re-check every link each month; if one breaks, tell us.