BPSC PYQ Topic-Wise: 71st BPSC Prelims Questions with Answers by Subject

Previous year questions (PYQs) are the most reliable guide to what BPSC actually asks. They show which topics come up again and again, how questions are framed, and how deep you need to go. This post takes the 71st BPSC Prelims paper (held on 13 September 2025) and sorts real questions by subject, with answers as per BPSC’s final answer key. It also shows how the 150 questions were spread across subjects, and how to use PYQs in your own preparation.

Questions deleted by BPSC in the final key are not included. A few questions have been lightly edited for spelling; the meaning and options are unchanged.

71st BPSC Prelims: Topic-Wise Weightage

By our count, the 150 questions of the 71st Prelims were spread as below. Topic tagging is approximate, since some questions overlap two subjects, and Bihar-related questions also appear inside history, geography and current affairs.

Subject	Questions (approx.)	Share
Current affairs (national, international, economy, schemes)	43	29%
General Science	30	20%
History (ancient, medieval, modern, art and culture)	27	18%
Indian Polity	14	9%
Geography (India and world)	14	9%
Bihar special (history, geography, economy, schemes)	13	9%
General Mental Ability	9	6%

Two patterns stand out. First, current affairs and Bihar together made up well over a third of the paper. Second, 43 questions had “More than one of the above” as an option, but it was the correct answer in only a handful. Do not pick it by default.

History PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q1. Consider the following dynasties of Ancient India: 1. Shunga 2. Maurya 3. Kushana 4. Kanva. Which of the following is the correct chronological order of their rule?

(A) 1-2-3-4
(B) 2-1-4-3
(C) 2-3-1-4
(D) 2-1-3-4

Answer: (B) 2-1-4-3. Maurya, then Shunga, then Kanva, then Kushana.

Q2. Which one of the following is not related to the Rigvedic period?

(A) Gargi
(B) Ghosha
(C) Apala
(D) Vishvavara

Answer: (A) Gargi. Ghosha, Apala and Vishvavara are Rigvedic women seers. Gargi belongs to the later Upanishadic period.

Q3. Match List I (Event/Place) with List II (Person): a) Chola Gangam Lake b) Appointment of Dhamma Mahamatta c) Assembly at Prayag d) Sudarshan Lake. 1) Chandragupta Maurya 2) Harshavardhan 3) Rajendra I 4) Ashoka

(A) a-1, b-4, c-2, d-3
(B) a-3, b-4, c-2, d-1
(C) a-3, b-4, c-1, d-2
(D) a-2, b-3, c-1, d-4

Answer: (B) a-3, b-4, c-2, d-1.

Q4. Who among the following rulers ruled for the maximum period?

(A) Muhammad bin Tughluq
(B) Alauddin Khilji
(C) Bahlol Lodi
(D) Balban

Answer: (C) Bahlol Lodi. He ruled from 1451 to 1489, about 38 years.

Q5. Match List I (Father) with List II (Son): a) Babur b) Akbar c) Shah Jahan d) Jahangir. 1) Salim 2) Khusrau 3) Kamran 4) Murad

(A) a-3, b-1, c-4, d-2
(B) a-4, b-1, c-3, d-2
(C) a-3, b-1, c-2, d-4
(D) a-4, b-2, c-3, d-1

Answer: (A) a-3, b-1, c-4, d-2.

Q6. Arrange in chronological order: 1. Death sentence to Raja Nand Kumar 2. Treaty of Salbai 3. Battle of Wandiwash 4. Death of Tipu Sultan

(A) 3-1-2-4
(B) 2-3-4-1
(C) 2-4-1-3
(D) 3-2-1-4

Answer: (A) 3-1-2-4. Wandiwash (1760), Nand Kumar (1775), Salbai (1782), Tipu Sultan’s death (1799).

Q7. Who raised the cry “Divide and Quit”?

(A) M.A. Jinnah
(B) M.A. Ansari
(C) Jawaharlal Nehru
(D) Muhammad Iqbal

Answer: (A) M.A. Jinnah.

Q8. At which Viceroy was a bomb thrown on the occasion of his state entry into Delhi?

(A) Lord Minto
(B) Lord Curzon
(C) Lord Hardinge
(D) Lord Wavell

Answer: (C) Lord Hardinge. The Delhi Conspiracy Case of 1912.

Bihar Special PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q9. Which Buddhist council was not held in Bihar?

(A) Second
(B) First
(C) Third
(D) Fourth

Answer: (D) Fourth. The first three were held at Rajgir, Vaishali and Pataliputra. The fourth was held in Kashmir.

Q10. Who among the following was not an Acharya in the Nalanda Vishvavidyalaya?

(A) Kautilya
(B) Nagarjuna
(C) Sheelbhadra
(D) Shantirakshit

Answer: (A) Kautilya.

Q11. The Karmanasa river originates in:

(A) Vaishali district
(B) Kaimur district
(C) Patna district
(D) Bikram district

Answer: (B) Kaimur district.

Q12. Gold is found in which district of Bihar?

(A) Jamui
(B) Gaya
(C) Nalanda
(D) Bhagalpur

Answer: (A) Jamui.

Q13. Which districts in Bihar will benefit from the Kosi-Mechi Link Project?

(A) Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Siwan
(B) Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Begusarai
(C) Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj, Katihar
(D) More than one of the above

Answer: (C) Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj, Katihar.

Q14. Who was the prominent leader of the Kisan Sabha movement in Bihar?

(A) Sahajanand Saraswati
(B) Raj Kumar Shukla
(C) Acharya Narendra Dev
(D) Baba Ram Chandra

Answer: (A) Sahajanand Saraswati.

Q15. The Champaran Agrarian Committee was appointed in agreement between:

(A) Indian Government and Raj Kumar Shukla
(B) Indian Government and Gandhiji
(C) Indian Government and Rajendra Prasad
(D) Indian Government and Anugraha Narayan Singh

Answer: (B) Indian Government and Gandhiji.

Indian Polity PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q16. Which one of the following falls within the jurisdiction of both the High Court and the Supreme Court?

(A) Dispute among States
(B) Dispute between Centre and State
(C) Protection of fundamental rights
(D) Protection from violation of the Constitution

Answer: (C) Protection of fundamental rights. Under Article 32 (Supreme Court) and Article 226 (High Courts).

Q17. Who determines the qualifications requisite for appointment as a member of the Finance Commission?

(A) Council of Ministers
(B) President of India
(C) Parliament by law
(D) Union Cabinet

Answer: (C) Parliament by law. Article 280(2).

Q18. Which pair is not correctly matched?

(A) Forms of oath: 3rd Schedule
(B) Allocation of seats in the Council of States: 4th Schedule
(C) Administration of Scheduled Areas: 6th Schedule
(D) Union List: 7th Schedule

Answer: (C). Scheduled Areas are in the 5th Schedule. The 6th Schedule deals with tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

Q19. Which of the following Directive Principles do not follow Gandhian principles? 1. Organisation of village panchayats 2. Uniform civil code 3. Promotion of cottage industries in rural areas 4. Right to work

(A) Only 2
(B) 1 and 2
(C) 2 and 4
(D) 1 and 3

Answer: (C) 2 and 4.

Q20. Which of the following subjects belong to the Concurrent List? 1. Protection of wildlife 2. Tax on agricultural income 3. Tax on consumption or sale of electricity 4. Price control

(A) 2 and 3
(B) 1 and 4
(C) Only 4
(D) Only 2

Answer: (B) 1 and 4. Wildlife protection moved to the Concurrent List with the 42nd Amendment. Agricultural income tax and electricity tax are State List subjects.

Geography PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q21. Which is the place of confluence of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi?

(A) Karnaprayag
(B) Vishnuprayag
(C) Rudraprayag
(D) Devprayag

Answer: (D) Devprayag. The river is called the Ganga from here.

Q22. The two volcanic islands in Indian territory are:

(A) Bitra and Kavaratti
(B) Kavaratti and New Moore
(C) Pamban and Barren
(D) Narcondam and Barren

Answer: (D) Narcondam and Barren.

Q23. The second largest river basin of India is:

(A) Narmada
(B) Mahanadi
(C) Godavari
(D) Kaveri

Answer: (C) Godavari.

Q24. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, the three eastern rivers are allocated to India. Which of the following is not one of them?

(A) Jhelum
(B) Ravi
(C) Sutlej
(D) More than one of the above

Answer: (A) Jhelum. The eastern rivers are the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The Jhelum is a western river.

General Science PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q25. The part of the mango that we eat is the:

(A) Epicarp
(B) Mesocarp
(C) Endocarp
(D) None of the above

Answer: (B) Mesocarp.

Q26. Which class of immunoglobulin is the first to be produced in response to an infection?

(A) IgA
(B) IgG
(C) IgM
(D) IgE

Answer: (C) IgM.

Q27. The pH value of a 0.1 N HCl solution is approximately:

(A) 11.0
(B) 1.0
(C) 10
(D) 2.0

Answer: (B) 1.0. HCl is a strong acid, so [H⁺] = 0.1 and pH = −log(0.1) = 1.

Q28. Energy consumed in a home is 250 units. The total energy in joules will be:

(A) 8 × 10⁶
(B) 9 × 10⁵
(C) 9 × 10⁸
(D) 10⁵

Answer: (C) 9 × 10⁸ J. 1 unit = 1 kWh = 3.6 × 10⁶ J, so 250 × 3.6 × 10⁶ = 9 × 10⁸ J.

Q29. A truck starts from rest down a hill with constant acceleration and covers 400 m in 20 s. If its mass is 7 tonnes, what is the force acting on it?

(A) 12,000 N
(B) 11,000 N
(C) 13,000 N
(D) 14,000 N

Answer: (D) 14,000 N. s = ½at², so 400 = ½ × a × 400 and a = 2 m/s². F = 7,000 × 2 = 14,000 N.

General Mental Ability PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q30. If + means ×, × means −, ÷ means + and − means ÷, then 175 − 25 ÷ 5 + 20 × 3 + 10 equals:

(A) 87
(B) 77
(C) 140
(D) 70

Answer: (B) 77. The expression becomes 175 ÷ 25 + 5 × 20 − 3 × 10 = 7 + 100 − 30 = 77.

Q31. Ram goes north, turns right, turns right again and then turns left. In which direction is Ram now?

(A) South
(B) East
(C) North
(D) West

Answer: (B) East. North → right (east) → right (south) → left (east).

Q32. Mukesh said to his friend, “Rita is the mother of my son’s wife’s daughter.” How is Mukesh related to Rita?

(A) Son-in-law
(B) Father
(C) Son
(D) Father-in-law

Answer: (D) Father-in-law. The mother of his son’s wife’s daughter is his son’s wife, so Rita is his daughter-in-law.

Current Affairs PYQs (71st BPSC)

Q33. Which glacier of Nepal was declared “dead” in May 2025?

(A) Khumbu Glacier
(B) Yala Glacier
(C) Imja Glacier
(D) More than one of the above

Answer: (B) Yala Glacier.

Q34. The UN climate conference held in Baku in 2024 concluded with an agreement that:

(A) Aims to ban fossil fuels globally by 2030
(B) Calls on developed countries to provide at least $500 billion annually to developing nations by 2030
(C) Calls on developed countries to provide at least $300 billion annually to developing nations by 2035
(D) More than one of the above

Answer: (C). The COP29 finance goal is at least $300 billion a year by 2035.

Q35. What is the title of the book by Banu Mushtaq that won the 2025 International Booker Prize?

(A) Light of the Heart
(B) Heart Lamp
(C) Soul Lantern
(D) More than one of the above

Answer: (B) Heart Lamp.

Q36. In which city was the AI Action Summit held in February 2025?

(A) Bengaluru
(B) Paris
(C) Rome
(D) More than one of the above

Answer: (B) Paris.

What These PYQs Tell You About BPSC

• Bihar is everywhere. Bihar questions came up under history, geography, the freedom movement, the economy and schemes, not just in a separate “Bihar GK” block.
• Static questions are mostly direct. Science, geography and most history questions test facts you can learn from NCERTs and standard books.
• Match-the-list and chronology questions are common in history. Practise timelines and pairs, not just single facts.
• Current affairs covers roughly the last 12 to 18 months before the exam, with a strong tilt towards economy, schemes, reports and Bihar.
• Reasoning is scoring. The nine mental ability questions were simple. Do not leave them for the end.

How to Use BPSC PYQs Topic-Wise

1. Read the PYQs before you study a topic, so you know what BPSC asks from it.
2. Solve them after you finish the topic, timed, and mark the ones you got wrong.
3. Look for repeated themes across years, such as Buddhist councils, Champaran, the Constitution’s schedules and Bihar’s rivers.
4. Solve at least one full paper under exam conditions with negative marking, to check your accuracy. Our BPSC cut off guide shows the score to aim for.

In the ExamYaari app, you can read PYQs topic by topic from the BPSC syllabus for free: open Syllabus, tap a topic and choose Read PYQs. With ExamYaari Premium (₹29 a month, less than ₹1 a day), you can attempt PYQs as practice quizzes and see your strong and weak subjects in exam analytics. See our BPSC syllabus guide for how to track topics in the app.

Answers on this page follow BPSC’s final answer key for the 71st CCE Prelims.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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