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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

Q3961.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IEasy

Regarding Wood's Dispatch, which of the following statements are true ?

1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduced.

2. Establishment of universities was recommended.

3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended.

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

Wood's Dispatch introduced grants-in-aid and recommended universities, but it wanted the vernacular languages, not English, at the primary level. Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, sent this dispatch in 1854; it is called the "Magna Carta of English education in India".

Q3962.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Which one of the following National Parks lies completely in the temperate alpine zone?

  1. A.Manas National Park
  2. B.Namdapha National Park
  3. C.Neora Valley National Park
  4. D.Valley of Flowers National Park
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Valley of Flowers National Park

Set high in the Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand, roughly between 3,200 and 6,600 metres, it lies wholly in the temperate alpine zone.

Q3963.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the correct description of the term 'paramitas'?

  1. A.The earliest Dharmashastra texts written in aphoristic (sutra) style
  2. B.Philosophical schools that did not accept the authority of Vedas
  3. C.Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path
  4. D.Powerful merchant guilds of early medieval South India
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path

In Mahayana Buddhism the paramitas are the perfect virtues a Bodhisattva practises on the way to Buddhahood. Paramita means "gone beyond" or "perfection".

Q3965.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2023, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

Statement-I : Carbon markets are likely to be one of the most widespread tools in the fight against climate change.

Statement-II : Carbon markets transfer resources from the private sector to the State.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
  2. B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
  3. C.Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
  4. D.Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Carbon markets are a leading climate tool, but they work by moving money between emitters and those who cut emissions, not from the private sector to the State.

Q3966.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements regarding World Toilet Organization :

1. It is one of the agencies of the United Nations.

2. World Toilet Summit, World Toilet Day and World Toilet College are the initiatives of this organization, to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

3. The main focus of its function is to grant funds to the least developed countries and developing countries to achieve the end of open defecation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

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

The World Toilet Organization is a non-profit body, not a UN agency, and it works through advocacy and training rather than by giving grants to countries.

Q3967.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IHard

Consider the following statements :

Statement I : In January, in the Northern Hemisphere, the isotherms bend equatorward while crossing the landmasses, and poleward while crossing the oceans.

Statement II : In January, the air over the oceans is warmer than that over the landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A.Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II explains Statement I
  2. B.Both Statement I and Statement II are correct but Statement II does not explain Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is correct but Statement II is not correct
  4. D.Statement I is not correct but Statement II is correct
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II explains Statement I

In the northern winter the oceans stay warmer than the land, and that temperature contrast is what bends the isotherms.

Q3968.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IEasy

At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shore line a few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at

  1. A.Bhavnagar
  2. B.Bheemunipatnam
  3. C.Chandipur
  4. D.Nagapattinam
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Chandipur

At Chandipur beach in Balasore district of Odisha the sea pulls back several kilometres at low tide and returns at high tide, so visitors can walk on the exposed sea bed.

Q3970.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to the history of India, the terms "kulyavapa" and "dronavapa" denote

  1. A.measurement of land
  2. B.coins of different monetary value
  3. C.classification of urban land
  4. D.religious rituals
Show answer
Correct answer: A. measurement of land

Kulyavapa and dronavapa were units of land measurement found in early Indian land-grant inscriptions. These terms appear mainly in copper-plate inscriptions of the Gupta and post-Gupta period from Bengal, such as the Damodarpur plates, which record the sale and grant of land.

Q3972.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to the writs issued by the Courts in India, consider the following statements :

1. Mandamus will not lie against a private organisation unless it is entrusted with a public duty.

2. Mandamus will not lie against a Company even though it may be a Government Company.

3. Any public minded person can be a petitioner to move the Court to obtain the writ of Quo Warranto.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

Mandamus reaches anyone who owes a public duty, including government companies, and quo warranto can be sought by any interested person, not only the aggrieved one.

Q3973.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following pairs :

Country — Animal found in its natural habitat

1. Brazil — Indri

2. Indonesia — Elk

3. Madagascar — Bonobo

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.All three
  4. D.None
Show answer
Correct answer: D. None

All three animals have been placed in the wrong country: the indri lives in Madagascar, the elk in the northern forests of Eurasia and North America, and the bonobo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Q3974.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

Statement I : The amount of dust particles in the atmosphere is more in subtropical and temperate areas than in equatorial and polar regions.

Statement II : Subtropical and temperate areas have less dry winds.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A.Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II explains Statement I
  2. B.Both Statement I and Statement II are correct but Statement II does not explain Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is correct but Statement II is not correct
  4. D.Statement I is not correct but Statement II is correct
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Statement I is correct but Statement II is not correct

Dust is indeed concentrated in subtropical and temperate belts, but the reason is that these belts have more dry winds, not less.

Q3975.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2026, GS Paper IEasy

Which of the following best explain(s) the rationale for protecting mangrove ecosystems in the context of climate resilience?

1. Mangroves reduce tidal energy and store freshwater, making them ideal sites for paddy cultivation in saline estuarine belts.

2. Their salt-sensitive roots filter seawater, making mangroves key to converting coastal land into freshwater aquaculture zones.

3. By withstanding tidal surges and offering biomass resources, mangroves function both as natural bio-shields and livelihood bases for rural communities.

Select the answer using the code given below :

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

Mangroves matter for climate resilience because they break storm surges and support coastal livelihoods; the other two statements describe things mangroves do not do.

Q3976.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2018, GATMedium

Which one of the following devices is non-ohmic ?

  1. A.Conducting copper coil
  2. B.Electric heating coil
  3. C.Semi conductor diode
  4. D.Rheostat
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Semi conductor diode

A diode does not obey Ohm's law: the current through it is not proportional to the voltage across it. An ohmic conductor gives a straight-line graph of current against voltage, so its resistance stays constant at a fixed temperature.

Q3980.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2021, GATEasy

Solder is an alloy of

  1. A.Cu and Sn.
  2. B.Fe and Zn.
  3. C.Pb and Sn.
  4. D.Ag and Zn.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Pb and Sn.

Traditional solder is an alloy of lead and tin, often in a ratio of about 60 parts tin to 40 parts lead.