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.
Which one of the following is a part of the Congo Basin?
South-eastern Cameroon lies inside the drainage area of the Congo river, and the country is one of the six nations that share the Congo Basin rainforest.
Read the full explanation →The irrigation device called 'Araghatta' was
The araghatta was a water-lifting wheel that carried a chain or ring of pots down into a well and brought them up full.
Read the full explanation →Who presided over the commissioning ceremony of INS Mangrol at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai?
Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, who holds that appointment, presided over the ceremony at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, which falls within the area of the Western Naval Command.
Read the full explanation →INS Mangrol takes its name from a coastal town and fishing harbour in which district of Gujarat?
Mangrol is a coastal town and a well known fishing harbour in the Junagadh district of Gujarat, and the warship carries its name.
Read the full explanation →INS Mangrol is the third ship of which class of Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft?
INS Mangrol, with pennant number P82, is the third Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft of that class to enter service with the Indian Navy.
Read the full explanation →Which shipyard designed and built INS Mangrol, the warship commissioned by the Indian Navy in October 2026?
The ship was designed in India and constructed by that yard, and it carries more than 80 per cent indigenous content, which the Navy cites as evidence of India's own strength in warship design, construction and systems integration.
Read the full explanation →An object is moving with uniform acceleration a. Its initial velocity is u and after time t its velocity is v. The equation of its motion is v = u + at. The velocity (along y-axis) time (along x-axis) graph shall be a straight line
The equation v = u + at has the form y = c + mx, so the graph is a straight line that cuts the velocity axis at u and has slope a. On a velocity-time graph, time is on the x-axis and velocity on the y-axis.
Read the full explanation →Damage to the apical meristem of a growing young plant will affect the
The apical meristem at the tip of the stem and root makes new cells that increase the plant's length, so damage to it stops growth in length.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following organisms has vascular tissues?
Marsilea is a water fern, a pteridophyte, and pteridophytes are the first land plants with true vascular tissues, xylem and phloem.
Read the full explanation →The Five Year Plan was first launched in
The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin launched the world's first Five Year Plan in 1928. The first Soviet plan, for 1928 to 1932, set targets for rapid industrial growth and collectivised agriculture, with the state deciding what to produce.
Read the full explanation →LED (a semi-conductor device) is an abbreviation that stands for
An LED is a p-n junction diode that gives out light when current flows through it in the forward direction.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following factors does not affect the distribution of groundwater?
Groundwater is fed by rain that soaks into the ground, so how far a place lies from the coast does not by itself decide how much groundwater it has.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements correctly explains/explain the existence of a positive force between two electric charges?
1. Both the charges are positive.
2. Both the charges are negative.
3. Both the charges are oppositely charged.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
By Coulomb's law the force F = kq₁q₂/r² comes out positive, meaning repulsive, whenever the two charges have the same sign.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The Dutch East India Company was formed after the formation of the British East India Company.
2. Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The English East India Company was chartered in 1600 and the Dutch company in 1602, and Vasco da Gama landed near Calicut in May 1498.
Read the full explanation →Sita, 1·5 m high, stands before a plane mirror fixed on a wall to view her full image. What should be the minimum height of the plane mirror so that Sita can view her image fully?
To see one's full image in a plane mirror, the mirror must be at least half the person's height: half of 1·5 m is 0·75 m. Light from Sita's feet must reflect from the mirror into her eyes, and so must light from the top of her head.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following forces is/are fundamental in nature?
1. Gravitational force
2. Electromagnetic forces
3. Strong and weak nuclear forces
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Physics recognises four fundamental forces: gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear, and the question lists all four. Every other force we meet is a form of these.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following is the source of energy in cells?
Adenosine triphosphate is the energy currency of the cell: breaking its last phosphate bond releases energy for cell work. ATP is made mainly in the mitochondria during cellular respiration, and in the chloroplasts of green plants during photosynthesis.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following sculptures found at Sanchi Stupa is NOT directly inspired by Buddhist ideas?
The shalabhanjika, a woman holding the branch of a tree, comes from popular fertility beliefs, not from Buddhist teaching. The gateways of the Great Stupa at Sanchi carry rich carvings.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements for second law of motion is NOT correct?
Force depends on how fast momentum changes, not on the momentum itself. Newton's second law states that the rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the net force on it and takes place in the direction of the force.
Read the full explanation →For an ideal gas, a process is described by P = kT, where k is a constant. If the molar heat capacity for this process is C, then which one of the following is correct (where the symbols have their usual meanings)?
If pressure is proportional to temperature for a fixed amount of ideal gas, the volume must stay constant, so the process is isochoric.
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