General Awareness
Mauryan Pillars Mnemonic — Remember Ashoka's pillar edicts locations: "Some Lions Roar Loudly" = Sarnath, Lauriya-Nandangarh, Rampurva, Lauria-Areraj. Sarnath has the famous Lion Capital (national emblem).
Delhi Sultanate Chronology — "Gold Khilji's Tight Saree Lodges" = Gulam/Slave (1206), Khilji (1290), Tughlaq (1320), Sayyid (1414), Lodi (1451). Sequential order of five dynasties ruling Delhi.
Latitude-Longitude Trick — Latitude = Ladder (horizontal rungs, run east-west, measure north-south). Longitude = Long (vertical lines, run north-south, measure east-west). Never confuse the two.
Indian Ocean Currents Season — Winter (NE Monsoon): currents flow westward. Summer (SW Monsoon): currents reverse eastward. Monsoon winds drive surface current direction in the Arabian Sea.
UN Security Council Permanent-5 — "FRUCC" or "France Russia UK China + USA". These five nations hold veto power; remember by grouping Europe-3, Asia-2, America-1.
Delhi's Seven Cities Order — Qila Rai Pithora (1st), Siri (2nd), Tughlaqabad (3rd), Jahanpanah (4th), Ferozabad (5th), Dinpanah/Purana Qila (6th), Shahjahanabad (7th). Chronological foundation sequence matters for Delhi history questions.
Indian National Congress Presidents — First three: "DDBN" = Dadabhai Naoroji (1st session founder), but actually WC Bonnerjee (1885 Bombay), Dadabhai (1886 Calcutta), Badruddin Tyabji (1887 Madras). Founding era trivia.
General Intelligence and Reasoning
Coding Alphabet Position — A=1, Z=26. For reverse: A=26, Z=1. Quick calculation: Reverse = (27 - normal position). For coding questions involving +/- shifts on alphabets.
Direction After Turns — Start facing North. Right turn = clockwise (N→E→S→W). Left turn = anticlockwise (N→W→S→E). 180° turn = opposite direction. Draw mental compass for complex path questions.
Blood Relations Gender Trap — Cousin, friend, teacher, doctor = gender neutral unless specified. Don't assume. Nephew/niece, uncle/aunt, brother/sister distinguish gender explicitly.
Dice Opposite Faces Sum — Standard dice: opposite faces always sum to 7 (1-6, 2-5, 3-4). Use this to eliminate wrong answer choices in spatial dice problems.
Series Pattern Hierarchy — Check in order: (1) Difference between terms, (2) Ratio between terms, (3) Square/cube patterns, (4) Prime numbers, (5) Alternating operations. Saves time in number series.
Syllogism Venn Basics — "All A are B" = A circle inside B. "No A are B" = separate circles. "Some A are B" = overlapping circles. Draw quick diagrams for conclusion validity.
Arithmetical and Numerical Ability
Divisibility by 11 — Alternating digit sum difference. Example: 4829 → (4+2)-(8+9)=6-17=-11, divisible by 11. Subtract odd-position digits from even-position sum.