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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

Q2981.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKEasy

Which one of the following is the most characteristic property of an element?

  1. A.Density
  2. B.Boiling point
  3. C.Mass number
  4. D.Atomic number
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Atomic number

The number of protons in the nucleus defines an element, and no two elements share it. The atomic number (Z) is the number of protons in an atom's nucleus, and in a neutral atom it also equals the number of electrons, which decide chemical behaviour.

Q2982.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2017, GKHard

After using for some time, big transformers get heated up. This is due to the fact that

1. current produces heat in the transformers

2. hysteresis loss occurs in the transformers

3. liquid used for cooling gets heated

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 and 3 only
  3. C.1 and 2 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 1 and 2 only

A transformer heats up because of energy lost inside it: heat from current in the windings and hysteresis loss in the iron core.

Q2983.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKEasy

Statement I : A person may suffer from tuberculosis if she/he frequently visits crowded place.

Statement II : Bacteria of tuberculosis spread through droplets by sneezing or coughing.

  1. A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
  2. B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I

Both statements are true, and the airborne spread of the TB bacterium is exactly why crowded places raise the risk.

Q2984.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2018, GKMedium

Which one of the following denotes a 'true' fruit?

  1. A.When only the thalamus of the flower grows and develops into a fruit
  2. B.When only the receptacle of the flower develops into a fruit
  3. C.When fruit originates only from the calyx of a flower
  4. D.When only the ovary of the flower grows into a fruit
Show answer
Correct answer: D. When only the ovary of the flower grows into a fruit

A true fruit is a ripened ovary and nothing else. After fertilisation, the ovary of a flower develops into the fruit, its wall becomes the pericarp and the ovules inside become seeds.

Q2985.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2019, GKEasy

The working of the price mechanism in a free-market economy refers to which one of the following?

  1. A.The interplay of the forces of demand and supply
  2. B.Determination of the inflation rate in the economy
  3. C.Determination of the economy's propensity to consume
  4. D.Determination of the economy's full employment output
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The interplay of the forces of demand and supply

In a free market, prices are set by buyers and sellers, not by the government. The price mechanism is how a market economy answers the basic questions of what to produce, how much and for whom.

Q2987.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKMedium

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

  1. A.In southern and western India, the ryotwari settlement was adopted.
  2. B.Ryotwari was in principle a direct contract between the ryot and the state.
  3. C.It means a tax contract valid for usually 30 years.
  4. D.In principle, it strengthened the former elite, the zamindars and weakened the peasantry.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. In principle, it strengthened the former elite, the zamindars and weakened the peasantry.

The ryotwari system was meant to do the opposite: it bypassed the zamindars and dealt with the peasant directly. The ryotwari settlement was worked out by Alexander Read and Thomas Munro and introduced in the Madras Presidency in 1820, and later extended to the Bombay Presidency.

Q2988.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2021, GKMedium

Which one of the following statements is not correct?

  1. A.Allahabad High Court has a Bench at Lucknow.
  2. B.Madhya Pradesh High Court has a Bench at Gwalior.
  3. C.Rajasthan High Court is located at Jodhpur.
  4. D.Guwahati High Court has no Bench.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Guwahati High Court has no Bench.

This statement is wrong, because the Gauhati High Court has permanent benches outside Guwahati. The Gauhati High Court at Guwahati is the common High Court for Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

Q2990.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2023, GKEasy

Which one of the following pairs denoting various forms of 'Bhakti' is not correctly matched?

  1. A.Saguna : Belief in Gods with attributes
  2. B.Nirguna : Belief in Gods without attributes
  3. C.Alvars : Believed in devotion of Shakti
  4. D.Nayanars : Believed in devotion of Shiva
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Alvars : Believed in devotion of Shakti

The Alvars were devotees of Vishnu, not of the goddess Shakti, so this pair is wrong. The Bhakti movement began in Tamil Nadu between the sixth and ninth centuries with two groups of poet-saints.

Q2991.Science & TechnologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKEasy

Mission Shakti (DRDO) of India is related to which one among the following ?

  1. A.Launch of multiple satellites using a single rocket
  2. B.Launch of heavy satellites
  3. C.Use of high power rockets in launching of satellites
  4. D.Use of rocket to destroy an orbiting satellite
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Use of rocket to destroy an orbiting satellite

Mission Shakti was India's first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test. On 27 March 2019 DRDO fired a ground-launched interceptor from Dr. A.P.J.

Q2992.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2025, GKMedium

A metallic sphere of mass 1 kg and volume 2 × 10⁻⁴ m³ is completely immersed in water. The buoyant force exerted by water on the sphere is : (Given : density of water = 1000 kg/m³, g = 10 m/s²)

  1. A.0.5 N
  2. B.1.5 N
  3. C.2 N
  4. D.2.5 N
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 2 N

By Archimedes' principle, the buoyant force equals the weight of the water displaced by the sphere. A fully immersed body displaces its own volume of water, here 2 × 10⁻⁴ m³.

Q2993.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKHard

Consider the following statements about the Bengal countryside at the time of the Permanent Settlement :

1. The zamindars' troops were disbanded.

2. Within the villages, the power of jotedars was more effective than that of zamindars.

3. The East India Company made a rule that the property of women would not be taken over.

4. Adhiyars were sharecroppers on the land owned by bargadars.

Which of the statements given above are correct ?

  1. A.1, 2 and 4
  2. B.1, 2 and 3
  3. C.2, 3 and 4
  4. D.1 and 3 only
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1, 2 and 3

Statement 4 is wrong because adhiyars and bargadars were both sharecroppers who worked the land of the jotedars. After the Permanent Settlement of 1793 by Lord Cornwallis, the Company tried to tame the zamindars: their troops were disbanded, their customs duties abolished and their courts placed under Company collectors.

Q2994.Computer AwarenessAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2026, GKMedium

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of flash memory ?

  1. A.It is an ultraviolet erasable programmable ROM.
  2. B.It is an electrically erasable programmable ROM.
  3. C.It retains data without power.
  4. D.It is a non-volatile memory.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. It is an ultraviolet erasable programmable ROM.

Flash memory is erased electrically, not by ultraviolet light, so this is not one of its features. Flash memory is a type of EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) that can erase and rewrite whole blocks at a time, which makes it fast.

Q2995.Indian PolityMedium

Which Prime Minister of India remained a member of the Rajya Sabha throughout his tenure?

  1. A.P. V. Narasimha Rao
  2. B.Manmohan Singh
  3. C.I. K. Gujral
  4. D.H. D. Deve Gowda
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Manmohan Singh

He was Prime Minister from May 2004 to May 2014 and sat in the Rajya Sabha for the whole of those ten years, which is permitted because Article 75 requires only that a Minister be a member of either House within six months; he was also the first Sikh to…

Q2996.Indian PolityHard

By which Constitutional Amendment was the size of the Council of Ministers limited to fifteen per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha?

  1. A.Seventy-third Amendment
  2. B.Eighty-sixth Amendment
  3. C.Ninety-first Amendment
  4. D.Ninety-seventh Amendment
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Ninety-first Amendment

The Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act of 2003 inserted Article 75(1A), which caps the total number of Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, at fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha, and Article 164(1A) does the same for a State…

Q2997.Indian PolityHard

Which Prime Minister of India was the first to lose a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha?

  1. A.Morarji Desai
  2. B.Charan Singh
  3. C.V. P. Singh
  4. D.Chandra Shekhar
Show answer
Correct answer: C. V. P. Singh

His National Front government lost the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha in November 1990 after the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew support, and he resigned, becoming the first Prime Minister to be removed by a vote of the House rather than by resignation or an election.

Q2998.Indian PolityMedium

Who is the only person to have acted as Prime Minister of India twice?

  1. A.Gulzari Lal Nanda
  2. B.Chandra Shekhar
  3. C.Charan Singh
  4. D.Jagjivan Ram
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Gulzari Lal Nanda

As the senior most Minister he was sworn in to hold charge after the death of Nehru in May 1964 and again after the death of Shastri in January 1966, each time for thirteen days, until the ruling party elected a new leader; the Constitution itself makes no provision for…

Q2999.Indian PolityEasy

Who was the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India?

  1. A.Charan Singh
  2. B.Morarji Desai
  3. C.V. P. Singh
  4. D.Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Morarji Desai

After the general election of 1977, held at the end of the Emergency, the Janata Party formed the government and Morarji Desai became the first Prime Minister from outside the Congress, taking office on 24 March 1977 at the age of eighty one, which also makes him the oldest to…

Q3000.Indian PolityMedium

Under which Article is it the duty of the Prime Minister to communicate to the President the decisions of the Council of Ministers?

  1. A.Article 76
  2. B.Article 77
  3. C.Article 78
  4. D.Article 79
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Article 78

It makes it the duty of the Prime Minister to communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the Union and proposals for legislation, to furnish such information as the President may call for, and to submit for the consideration of the…