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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

Q361.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATEasy

Which one of the following statements is not correct ?

  1. A.Human eye is a refracting system containing a diverging lens.
  2. B.The retina of the human eye contains millions of light sensitive cells, called rods and cones, which convert the light into electrical messages.
  3. C.Every image that is focused on the retina is upside down.
  4. D.We need both eyes to judge the relative positions of objects accurately.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Human eye is a refracting system containing a diverging lens.

The lens of the human eye is a converging (convex) lens, not a diverging one, so statement A is not correct.

Q362.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Suppose a rod is given a negative charge by rubbing it with wool. Which one of the following statements is correct in this case ?

  1. A.The positive charges are transferred from rod to wool
  2. B.The positive charges are transferred from wool to rod
  3. C.The negative charges are transferred from rod to wool
  4. D.The negative charges are transferred from wool to rod
Show answer
Correct answer: D. The negative charges are transferred from wool to rod

The rod becomes negative because it gains electrons from the wool. When two materials are rubbed together, only electrons move, because they are the loosely held outer particles of atoms.

Q363.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATEasy

The statement that 'heat cannot flow by itself from a body at a lower temperature to a body at a higher temperature', is known as

  1. A.Zeroth law of thermodynamics
  2. B.First law of thermodynamics
  3. C.Second law of thermodynamics
  4. D.Third law of thermodynamics
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Second law of thermodynamics

This is the Clausius statement of the second law. Rudolf Clausius stated that heat cannot by itself pass from a colder body to a hotter one; work must be done to make it do so.

Q366.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Which of the following regions is/are NOT known for cotton-textile industry ?

1. Mumbai - Pune region

2. Madurai - Coimbatore region

3. Dhanbad - Jamshedpur region

4. Indore - Ujjain region

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

The Dhanbad-Jamshedpur region is known for coal, iron and steel, not cotton textiles. Cotton mills grew where raw cotton, a humid climate, capital, cheap power and markets came together.

Q367.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATEasy

A rainbow is produced due to which one of the following phenomena ?

  1. A.Dispersion of light
  2. B.Interference of light
  3. C.Diffraction of light
  4. D.Scattering of light by atmospheric dust
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Dispersion of light

A rainbow forms when raindrops split white sunlight into its seven colours. When sunlight enters a raindrop, it is refracted, and because each colour bends by a different amount, the colours spread apart.

Q368.Environment & EcologyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATEasy

Which of the following are the major coral reef areas of India ?

1. Gulf of Kachchh

2. Gulf of Mannar

3. Lakshadweep

4. Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

All four areas are recognised as the major coral reef areas of India. India's coral reefs lie in four main regions.

Q369.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATMedium

Which one of the following was not a Chishti Sufi saint?

  1. A.Khwaja Moinuddin
  2. B.Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar
  3. C.Nizamuddin Auliya
  4. D.Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya

He belonged to the Suhrawardi order, not the Chishti order. Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya founded the Suhrawardi order in India at Multan in the thirteenth century.

Q370.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Which one of the following was NOT a feature of the Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley?

  1. A.The British were responsible for protecting the ally from any external threats
  2. B.All internal threats were to be handled by the ally alone, with no help from the British
  3. C.The ally was to provide resources for maintaining a British armed contingent stationed in its territory
  4. D.The ally could not enter into any agreement with other rulers without the permission of the British
Show answer
Correct answer: B. All internal threats were to be handled by the ally alone, with no help from the British

Under the Subsidiary Alliance the British promised to protect the ally from internal threats as well as external ones, so B was not a feature.

Q371.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATEasy

Which one of the following travelogues has given an insight on the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq ?

  1. A.Ibn Battuta's Rihla
  2. B.Francois Bernier's Travels in the Mogul Empire
  3. C.Niccolao Manucci's Storia do Mogor
  4. D.Tavernier's Travels in India
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Ibn Battuta's Rihla

Ibn Battuta lived at the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq and described his reign at first hand. Ibn Battuta, a traveller from Tangier in Morocco, reached India in 1333.

Q372.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Which one of the following was NOT a cause of the Revolt of 1857 ?

  1. A.The rumour that the British had mixed the bone dust of cows and pigs into the flour being sold in the market
  2. B.The prophecy that British rule would come to an end on the centenary of the Battle of Plassey on 23rd June, 1857
  3. C.Popular discontent with British rule
  4. D.The prophecy that the end of British rule would lead to the end of the Kali Yuga and the return of Ram Rajya
Show answer
Correct answer: D. The prophecy that the end of British rule would lead to the end of the Kali Yuga and the return of Ram Rajya

No such prophecy is recorded among the causes of the revolt. Rumours and prophecies spread fast in the months before May 1857 and stirred fear and anger.

Q374.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKMedium

Which one of the following statements is correct about NISHTHA, a Government of India initiative ?

  1. A.It is a training module recently introduced in LBSNAA for civil servants.
  2. B.It is a teacher-training programme.
  3. C.It is a training programme for the new recruits in Delhi Police to inculcate integrity of service among them.
  4. D.It is a workshop for newly elected Members of Parliament organized routinely by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. It is a teacher-training programme.

NISHTHA stands for National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement, a programme to train school teachers and heads.

Q375.Computer AwarenessAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2025, GKEasy

Which one of the following is the characteristic of Artificial Intelligence ?

  1. A.Replicates human decision making
  2. B.Stores relevant information
  3. C.Stores similar kind of data for a specific purpose
  4. D.Allows user to interact with media
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Replicates human decision making

Artificial Intelligence is the ability of a machine to perform tasks that normally need human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning and taking decisions.

Q378.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKHard

On 26th November, 1949, which of the following provisions of the Constitution of India came into effect? 1. Citizenship 2. Elections 3. Provisional Parliament 4. Fundamental Rights Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

The provisions on citizenship, elections and the provisional Parliament came into force on 26 November 1949, the day the Constitution was adopted.

Q379.Environment & EcologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2017, GKMedium

'Xeriscaping' is a concept related to

  1. A.landscaping related to save water
  2. B.landscaping related to save soil erosion
  3. C.weathering of rock surface
  4. D.All of the above
Show answer
Correct answer: A. landscaping related to save water

Xeriscaping is a way of designing gardens and landscapes so that they need little or no irrigation. The word joins the Greek xeros, meaning dry, with landscaping.

Q380.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKHard

Verses ascribed to poet-saint Kabir have been compiled in which of the following traditions? 1. Bijak in Varanasi 2. Kabir Granthavali in Rajasthan 3. Adi Granth Sahib Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

Kabir's verses survive in three separate but overlapping traditions: the Bijak, the Kabir Granthavali and the Adi Granth Sahib. Kabir, a weaver of Varanasi who lived around the fifteenth century, spoke of a formless God and mocked empty ritual in both Hindu and Muslim practice.