RRB JE General Awareness Syllabus

General Awareness syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for General Awareness in RRB JE, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Current Affairs

   4 topics

   • National
   • International
   • Sports
   • Awards
2. 2

   Indian Polity

   3 topics

   • Constitution
   • Governance
   • Public Policy
3. 3

   History

   3 topics

   • Ancient India
   • Medieval India
   • Modern India
4. 4

   Geography

   3 topics

   • Physical Geography
   • Human Geography
   • Economic Geography
5. 5

   Economics

   3 topics

   • Microeconomics
   • Macroeconomics
   • Indian Economy

General Awareness flashcards for RRB JE

19 of 50 cards from the General Awareness deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What does GDP stand for, and how is it defined in economics?

   Gross Domestic Product: the total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given period (usually one year).

2. State the expenditure-method formula for calculating GDP.

   GDP = C + I + G + (X − M), where C = consumption, I = investment, G = government spending, and (X − M) = net exports (exports minus imports).

3. What is the difference between GDP and GNP?

   GDP measures output produced within a country's borders; GNP (Gross National Product) measures output produced by a country's residents/nationals anywhere, i.e. GNP = GDP + net factor income from abroad.

4. In microeconomics, what does the Law of Demand state?

   Other things being equal, as the price of a good rises its quantity demanded falls, and as the price falls its quantity demanded rises (an inverse price–quantity relationship).

5. What is price elasticity of demand, and how is it calculated?

   It measures how responsive quantity demanded is to a price change. PED = (% change in quantity demanded) / (% change in price). Demand is elastic if |PED| > 1 and inelastic if |PED| < 1.

6. In microeconomics, what defines the market equilibrium price?

   The price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, so there is no shortage or surplus and no tendency for price to change.

7. What is inflation, and which index commonly measures retail inflation in India?

   Inflation is a sustained general rise in the price level over time, reducing the purchasing power of money. India's retail inflation is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI); wholesale inflation by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

8. What is fiscal policy, and which authority controls it in India?

   Fiscal policy is the use of government taxation and spending to influence the economy; it is controlled by the Government (Ministry of Finance), as opposed to monetary policy controlled by the RBI.

9. What is the repo rate, and which institution sets it in India?

   The repo rate is the interest rate at which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lends short-term funds to commercial banks against securities; it is set by the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and is a key tool to control inflation and liquidity.

10. What does fiscal deficit mean?

    The fiscal deficit is the excess of the government's total expenditure over its total revenue (excluding borrowings); it indicates the amount the government must borrow in a year.

11. In the Indian economy, what are the three sectors by economic activity?

    Primary (agriculture, mining, raw materials), Secondary (manufacturing/industry), and Tertiary (services such as banking, IT, trade).

12. What is the difference between direct and indirect taxes, with an Indian example of each?

    A direct tax is levied directly on income/wealth and cannot be shifted (e.g. Income Tax); an indirect tax is levied on goods and services and can be passed on to consumers (e.g. GST).

13. When was GST (Goods and Services Tax) implemented in India, and what does it replace?

    GST came into effect on 1 July 2017. It is a single indirect tax that subsumed multiple central and state taxes such as excise duty, service tax, and VAT.

14. What is the difference between economic growth and economic development?

    Economic growth is a quantitative increase in a country's output/GDP; economic development is a broader, qualitative improvement in living standards, including health, education, and equality (often measured by the HDI).

15. In economic geography, what are the factors determining the location of an industry?

    Availability of raw materials, power/energy, labour, capital, transport, market access, water, and government policy together determine where an industry is located.

16. In physical geography, what are the three main types of rocks?

    Igneous (formed from cooled magma/lava, e.g. granite, basalt), Sedimentary (formed from compacted deposits, e.g. limestone, sandstone), and Metamorphic (formed by heat/pressure altering existing rock, e.g. marble, slate).

17. What causes the seasons on Earth?

    The tilt of Earth's axis (about 23.5 degrees) combined with its revolution around the Sun, which changes the angle and duration of sunlight reaching different latitudes through the year.

18. What is the difference between weather and climate?

    Weather is the short-term, day-to-day state of the atmosphere at a place; climate is the average weather conditions of a region observed over a long period (typically 30+ years).

19. Name the layers of the atmosphere in order from the Earth's surface upward.

    Troposphere, Stratosphere (contains the ozone layer), Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and Exosphere.

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