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CDS GK Questions 2026

Static GK carries most of the 100 marks of the CDS General Knowledge paper. Of the 120 questions in the CDS (II) 2026 paper, about 20 were on Indian Polity, about 20 on the History of India, about 15 on Geography and the environment, about 10 on the Indian Economy and about 37 on Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which makes CDS the most science-heavy General Knowledge paper among the major recruitment exams. Polity questions test writs, the NHRC, electoral systems, disqualification of legislators, GST and delimitation. History runs from the Upanishads and the Shunga dynasty to Vijayanagara, temple architecture, the Sylhet referendum and the SNDP Yogam. Geography asks about the atmosphere, earthquakes and tsunamis, Ramsar sites, mangroves and World Heritage sites. Science stays at school level but expects reasoning: a lens problem, a magnetic field direction, molarity versus molality, what cooking soda is, how enzymes act. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes for CDS, written as short facts and tables so that a topic can be revised in one sitting. Read a topic, then solve its previous-year questions and quiz on this site to check what stayed with you.

CDS GK Questions with Answers

Q2062.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IMedium

Which one among the following is not a greenhouse gas?

  1. A.Sulphur dioxide
  2. B.Methane
  3. C.Nitrous oxide
  4. D.Fluorinated gas
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Sulphur dioxide

Sulphur dioxide is an air pollutant, not one of the greenhouse gases; in fact the sulphate particles it forms reflect sunlight and have a slight cooling effect.

Q2063.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IEasy

The Buddhist text Majjhima Nikaya is in

  1. A.Sanskrit
  2. B.Pali
  3. C.Prakrit
  4. D.Telugu
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Pali

The Majjhima Nikaya is part of the Pali Canon, the Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. The Tipitaka has three baskets: the Vinaya Pitaka on rules for monks and nuns, the Sutta Pitaka on the Buddha's discourses, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka on philosophy.

Q2064.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IMedium

The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), which is developing Science Centres/Museums/Innovation Hubs in India, works under

  1. A.the Ministry of Science and Technology
  2. B.the Ministry of Culture
  3. C.the Ministry of Education
  4. D.the Ministry of Earth Sciences
Show answer
Correct answer: B. the Ministry of Culture

The NCSM is an autonomous society of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was formed in 1978 to take over the science museums then run by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and its headquarters is in Kolkata.

Q2065.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements regarding Carnot engine is/are correct?

1. It is an irreversible engine operating between two temperatures T1 (source) and T2 (sink).

2. Its efficiency is given by η = 1 − T2/T1, where T1 is the temperature of source and T2 is the temperature of sink.

Select the answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 2 only

A Carnot engine is an ideal reversible engine, not an irreversible one, and its efficiency is 1 − T2/T1 with temperatures in kelvin.

Q2066.Books & AuthorsAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IEasy

Who among the following was the author of Hind Swaraj?

  1. A.Aurobindo Ghose
  2. B.C. R. Das
  3. C.Mahatma Gandhi
  4. D.Rajendra Prasad
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj, or Indian Home Rule, in Gujarati in 1909. He wrote it in about ten days on board the ship Kildonan Castle while returning from London to South Africa.

Q2068.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IMedium

Which one of the following concerns has found a place in both Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles of State Policy?

  1. A.Safeguard of public property
  2. B.Protection and improvement of environment, forests and wildlife
  3. C.Respect for the rich heritage of our composite culture
  4. D.Promotion of cooperative societies
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Protection and improvement of environment, forests and wildlife

Article 48A directs the State to protect it, and Article 51A(g) makes it a duty of every citizen. Both provisions were added by the 42nd Amendment of 1976.

Q2069.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IEasy

The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation of

  1. A.fish
  2. B.wildlife
  3. C.wetland
  4. D.art and culture
Show answer
Correct answer: C. wetland

The Ramsar Convention is the treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It was signed on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the Caspian Sea and came into force in 1975, which makes it one of the oldest global environmental agreements.

Q2070.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

Which one among the following statements is correct?

  1. A.The total mechanical energy of a system is conserved if the forces, doing work on it, are conservative.
  2. B.The total mechanical energy of a system is conserved if the forces, doing work on it, are non-conservative.
  3. C.The total mechanical energy of a system remains constant.
  4. D.Every force encountered in mechanics does have an associated well-defined potential energy.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The total mechanical energy of a system is conserved if the forces, doing work on it, are conservative.

When only conservative forces do work on a system, the sum of its kinetic and potential energy stays the same; this is the principle of conservation of mechanical energy.

Q2071.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IMedium

Which one of the following statements with regard to Panchayats is not correct?

  1. A.Members of Panchayats are elected directly by the Gram Sabha.
  2. B.The elections to Panchayats are conducted by the State Election Commission.
  3. C.The Central Government may by law authorize a Panchayat to levy taxes.
  4. D.Every Panchayat continues for five years from the date of convening of its first meeting.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Central Government may by law authorize a Panchayat to levy taxes.

Under Article 243H it is the State Legislature, not the Centre, that may by law let a Panchayat levy, collect and keep taxes, duties, tolls and fees.

Q2073.Awards & HonoursAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements about the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 is/are correct?

1. The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi

2. Narges Mohammadi was awarded the prize for her struggle to bring peace in Afghanistan and Iran

Select the answer using the code given below:

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 1 only

Narges Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, but it was given for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for human rights and freedom for all, not for bringing peace to Afghanistan.

Q2074.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IEasy

The seasonal variations in the amount of solar energy that any place on the Earth receives are influenced by

  1. A.the speed of rotation of the Earth
  2. B.pollution
  3. C.cloudiness
  4. D.the inclination of the Earth about its axis
Show answer
Correct answer: D. the inclination of the Earth about its axis

Because the axis is tilted and keeps pointing the same way as the Earth goes round the Sun, each place gets more sunlight in one half of the year and less in the other.

Q2075.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

For a particle in uniform circular motion (radius R and angular velocity ω), the magnitude and direction of acceleration, respectively are

  1. A.ωR, along the radius outward
  2. B.ωR, towards the centre of the circle
  3. C.ω²R, towards the centre of the circle
  4. D.ω²R, along the linear velocity
Show answer
Correct answer: C. ω²R, towards the centre of the circle

In uniform circular motion the speed stays the same but the direction keeps turning, and that change needs an acceleration pointing to the centre.

Q2076.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IMedium

The National Green Tribunal, set up to deal with the expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection, was set up under the

  1. A.12th Five-Year Plan
  2. B.11th Five-Year Plan
  3. C.10th Five-Year Plan
  4. D.9th Five-Year Plan
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 11th Five-Year Plan

The National Green Tribunal was established in October 2010, and the 11th Plan ran from 2007 to 2012. The tribunal was created by the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, which drew on Article 21's right to a healthy environment.

Q2077.Awards & HonoursAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2021, Paper IHard

Which one of the following films has won the Best Film Award in Environment Conservation category at the 67th National Film Awards, 2021?

  1. A.Jonaki Porua
  2. B.Wild Karnataka
  3. C.Water Burial
  4. D.Ronuwa—Who Never Surrender
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Water Burial

This film in the Monpa language won the award for the Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation at the 67th National Film Awards, announced in March 2021 for films of 2019.

Q2078.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IHard

Which of the following statements about CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms) is/are correct?

1. These are an emerging set of trade policy tools to allow movement of carbon-intensive economic activity from a jurisdiction having less stringent climate policy to a jurisdiction having stringent climate policy

2. These are meant to increase the environmental effectiveness of climate policies

Select the answer using the code given below:

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 2 only

A carbon border adjustment exists to stop carbon-intensive activity from moving out of a strict jurisdiction, not to help it move, and its aim is to make climate policy work better.

Q2079.Computer AwarenessAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IEasy

1 gigabyte in binary system is equivalent to

  1. A.1000 kilobytes
  2. B.1024 megabytes
  3. C.1200 megabytes
  4. D.10000 kilobytes
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1024 megabytes

In the binary system every step up the ladder of memory units is a factor of 2 raised to 10, that is 1024, so one gigabyte holds 1024 megabytes.

Q2080.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IEasy

A uniform current-carrying narrow solenoid produces

  1. A.uniform magnetic field inside the solenoid
  2. B.uniform magnetic field outside the solenoid
  3. C.magnetic field with straight field lines in all the regions
  4. D.magnetic field with oscillating nature
Show answer
Correct answer: A. uniform magnetic field inside the solenoid

Inside a long, narrow solenoid the field lines run straight and parallel and are evenly spaced, which is the picture of a uniform field.