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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

Q4282.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to 'WaterCredit', consider the following statements :

1. It puts microfinance tools to work in the water and sanitation sector.

2. It is a global initiative launched under the aegis of the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

3. It aims to enable the poor people to meet their water needs without depending on subsidies.

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

Statements 1 and 3 are correct; WaterCredit is not a WHO or World Bank initiative. WaterCredit was created by Water.org, the non-profit co-founded by Gary White and Matt Damon.

Q4283.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

1. Pursuant to the report of H.N. Sanyal Committee, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 was passed.

2. The Constitution of India empowers the Supreme Court and the High Courts to punish for contempt of themselves.

3. The Constitution of India defines Civil Contempt and Criminal Contempt.

4. In India, the Parliament is vested with the powers to make laws on Contempt of Court.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

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

Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct; only statement 3 is wrong. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 was passed on the recommendations of the committee headed by H.N.

Q4285.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to ancient India (600-322 BC), consider the following pairs :

Territorial region : River flowing in the region

I. Asmaka : Godavari

II. Kamboja : Vipas

III. Avanti : Mahanadi

IV. Kosala : Sarayu

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.Only three
  4. D.All the four
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Only two

Only pairs I (Asmaka: Godavari) and IV (Kosala: Sarayu) are correct. Asmaka was the only mahajanapada in the south, lying on the banks of the Godavari, with Potana (Paudanya) as its capital.

Q4286.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2026, GS Paper IMedium

Which of the following pairs of the king and his dynasty in early historical Tamilakam is/are not correctly matched?

1. Senguttuvan : Chera

2. Udiyanjeral : Chola

3. Nedunjeliyan : Pandya

Select the answer using the code given below :

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

Udiyanjeral was a Chera king, not a Chola, so pair 2 is the only wrong one. Sangam poems name three crowned dynasties of Tamilakam: the Cheras on the western (Kerala) coast, the Cholas in the Kaveri delta and the Pandyas around Madurai.

Q4287.Environment & EcologyHard

The Palghat gap, the widest break in the Western Ghats, separates which two hill groups?

  1. A.The Nilgiris and the Anaimalai hills
  2. B.The Cardamom hills and the Agasthyamalai hills
  3. C.The Sahyadri and the Nilgiris
  4. D.The Baba Budan hills and the Brahmagiri hills
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The Nilgiris and the Anaimalai hills

The Palghat gap, about thirty kilometres wide in Palakkad district of Kerala, is the broadest break in the whole chain and carries the road and the railway line that join Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu to Palakkad and Thrissur in Kerala.

Q4288.Environment & EcologyHard

Which authority, along with the State Coastal Zone Management Authorities, oversees the enforcement of the Coastal Regulation Zone rules?

  1. A.The Central Pollution Control Board
  2. B.The National Coastal Zone Management Authority
  3. C.The National Green Tribunal
  4. D.The Survey of India
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The National Coastal Zone Management Authority

It was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act to advise the central government on coastal matters and to work with the State and Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities, which examine proposals and prepare the Coastal Zone Management Plans that draw the High Tide Line and the zone boundaries on…

Q4289.Environment & EcologyHard

The suggestion that land up to ten kilometres around a protected area be treated as ecologically fragile came from which document?

  1. A.The National Forest Policy, 1988
  2. B.The Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002
  3. C.The National Water Policy, 2012
  4. D.The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002

That strategy asked that land falling within ten kilometres of the boundaries of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries be notified as ecologically fragile, and the National Wildlife Action Plan carried the same thought forward, which is how the ten kilometre figure entered the discussion on Eco-Sensitive Zones.

Q4292.Environment & EcologyEasy

Which of the following is a permitted activity inside a notified Eco-Sensitive Zone?

  1. A.Commercial stone quarrying
  2. B.Setting up a saw mill
  3. C.Rainwater harvesting and organic farming
  4. D.A red-category polluting industry
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Rainwater harvesting and organic farming

Eco-Sensitive Zone notifications sort activities into three lists, and the permitted list encourages exactly these practices along with the agriculture and horticulture that local people already carry on, the use of renewable energy and the adoption of green technology, because the purpose of the zone is to limit damaging industry…

Q4293.Environment & EcologyEasy

Mangroves, coral reefs and turtle nesting grounds fall under which Coastal Regulation Zone category?

  1. A.CRZ-I
  2. B.CRZ-II
  3. C.CRZ-III
  4. D.CRZ-IV
Show answer
Correct answer: A. CRZ-I

This category holds the ecologically sensitive stretches of the coast, and the notification lists mangroves, coral reefs and coral areas, sand dunes, salt marshes, mudflats, biologically active areas and the nesting grounds of turtles and birds in its sub-category CRZ-I-A, where construction is effectively barred.

Q4296.Environment & EcologyMedium

Which committee recommended that the whole of the Western Ghats be treated as an ecologically sensitive area and graded into three zones?

  1. A.The Kasturirangan High Level Working Group
  2. B.The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel under Madhav Gadgil
  3. C.The Swaminathan Commission
  4. D.The Tiwari Committee
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel under Madhav Gadgil

Its report of 2011 held that the whole range deserved protection and divided it into three graded zones, ESZ-1, ESZ-2 and ESZ-3, with the strictest ban on mining, quarrying and large projects in ESZ-1, and proposed a Western Ghats Ecology Authority to supervise the regime.

Q4298.Environment & EcologyEasy

Eco-Sensitive Zones around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are notified under which Act?

  1. A.The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
  2. B.The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
  3. C.The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  4. D.The Biological Diversity Act, 2002
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notifies an Eco-Sensitive Zone using the power in Section 3(2)(v) of that Act, read with Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, which lets the central government restrict industries and operations in an area it treats as fragile.

Q4299.Indian PolityHard

Under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, the presiding officer of a Gram Nyayalaya is known as the

  1. A.Nyaya Panch
  2. B.Nyayadhikari
  3. C.Sarpanch Magistrate
  4. D.Lok Adalat Chairman
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Nyayadhikari

The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, in force from 2 October 2009, provides for mobile village courts at the intermediate panchayat level presided over by a Nyayadhikari appointed by the State Government in consultation with the High Court, who holds the rank and draws the salary of a judicial magistrate of…

Q4300.Indian PolityMedium

Which one of the following statements about the award of a Lok Adalat is correct?

  1. A.It is only a recommendation and is not binding on the parties
  2. B.It is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and no appeal lies against it
  3. C.It can be appealed against before the High Court within thirty days
  4. D.It requires confirmation by the District Judge before it takes effect
Show answer
Correct answer: B. It is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and no appeal lies against it

Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 every award of a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court, is final and binding on all the parties to the dispute, and no appeal lies against it in any court, because the award rests on the consent…