20 Questions With Derek O' Brien: What's Your IQ Or India Quotient?

As we celebrate India's 75th Republic Day, how well do you know our great nation. Test your IQ or India Quotient with these 20 questions.

1. The 'Objective Resolution' moved on 13 December, 1946 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the Constituent Assembly, later formed the basis of which part of the Constitution?

2. What was constructed in 1724 by Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur because he found the existing astronomical instruments too small to take correct measurements?

3. Which was the first song from an Indian film to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song?

4. The Rs 1000 currency note in the King George V series issued in 1931, used a pictorial graphic for the first time in India. What was the image used?

5. On 23 August, 2023 which organisation tweeted 'India, I reached my destination, and you too!'?

6. Abhinav Brinda was the first Indian to hold the Olympics and World Championships title simultaneously. Who is the second?

7. What is unique about Karaundi, a small village in Madhya Pradesh's Katni district?

8. Which is the oldest regiment in the Indian Army, raised in 1773 at Benares by the then Governor General, Warren Hastings, with a strength of 50 handpicked troopers?

9. Which sweet was invented by Kakasura Madappa, the royal chef of Maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar in the 19th century?

10. Whose doctoral thesis for the London School of Economics was later published as a book 'The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution' in 1923?

11. The Bharat Ratna medallion is shaped like the leaf of which tree?

12. Besides the need for strict protection, why was the Bengal Tiger chosen over the Asiatic Lion as the national animal of India?

13. The first fragrant stamp released in India carried the fragrance of what?

14. Started formally by Mahadeo Havaji Bachche, which service was awarded a six sigma efficiency rating of 99.9999 for quality assurance by Forbes?

15. Who was the first Indian woman to score a century in Pink Ball test cricket?

16. Peaking in September, what was India's most searched 'what is' question on Google, in 2023?

17. The motifs of Paithani sarees are derived from the paintings of which Buddhist historical site?

18. In the seventh century, the first written evidence of the rules for working with what were formalised in Brahmagupta's book Brahmasputha Siddhanta (The Opening of the Universe)?

19. Which state would you be visiting if you landed at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport?

20. As per Geographical Indications (GI) registration, what can only be grown in 87 gardens of West Bengal at an altitude ranging from 610 to 2134 metres?

Answers

1. The Preamble

2. Jantar Mantar

3. Naatu Naatu from the film RRR

4. A farmer tilling the land with two bullocks

5. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The full tweet was "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 'India, I reached my destination and you too!': Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon! Congratulations, India!"

6. Neeraj Chopra

7. It is the geographical centre of India (Pre-partition, the geographical centre was in Nagpur, marked by the Zero Mile Stone)

8. The President's Bodyguard

9. Mysore Pak

10. Dr BR Ambedkar

11. Peepal leaf

12. Tiger was found in as many as 16 Indian states whereas the lion was only found in one state

13. Sandalwood (Released in 2006)

14. Mumbai Dabbawalas

15. Smriti Mandhana

16. What is G20

17. Ajanta Caves

18. Zero

19. Assam

20. Darjeeling Tea

Scores

0-4: Frankly, you have a poor India Quotient or IQ!

5-8: Fair enough

9-13: Very well done

14-20: You can write an encyclopaedia on India

Research credit: Ayashman Dey

(Derek O'Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.