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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

Q4683.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKEasy

Polynucleotide chain of DNA contains

  1. A.a nitrogenous base, deoxyribose sugar and phosphate group
  2. B.a nitrogenous base, ribose sugar and phosphate group
  3. C.deoxyribose sugar, ribose sugar and phosphate group
  4. D.a nitrogenous base and phosphate group only
Show answer
Correct answer: A. a nitrogenous base, deoxyribose sugar and phosphate group

Each nucleotide of DNA is made of these three parts, and many nucleotides joined together form the polynucleotide chain. In a DNA strand, the sugar of one nucleotide is linked to the phosphate of the next by a phosphodiester bond, making a sugar-phosphate backbone.

Q4684.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2017, GKMedium

Which one of the following islands is the largest?

  1. A.Borneo
  2. B.Madagascar
  3. C.New Guinea
  4. D.Sumatra
Show answer
Correct answer: C. New Guinea

With an area of about 7.86 lakh sq km, New Guinea is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland. New Guinea lies just north of Australia and is shared by two countries: its western half belongs to Indonesia and its eastern half is the mainland of Papua New Guinea.

Q4686.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2018, GKEasy

Two reactants in a flask at room temperature are producing bubbles of a gas that turn limewater milky. The reactants could be

  1. A.zinc and hydrochloric acid
  2. B.magnesium carbonate and hydrochloric acid
  3. C.methane and oxygen
  4. D.copper and dilute hydrochloric acid
Show answer
Correct answer: B. magnesium carbonate and hydrochloric acid

A carbonate reacts with an acid at room temperature to give carbon dioxide, and only carbon dioxide turns limewater milky.

Q4687.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKMedium

Which one of the following statements is not correct?

  1. A.Real GDP is calculated by valuing outputs of different years at common prices.
  2. B.Potential GDP is the real GDP that the economy would produce if its resources were fully employed.
  3. C.Nominal GDP is calculated by valuing outputs of different years at constant prices.
  4. D.Real GDP per capita is the ratio of real GDP divided by population.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Nominal GDP is calculated by valuing outputs of different years at constant prices.

Nominal GDP values each year's output at that year's own (current) prices, not at constant prices, so this statement is not correct.

Q4688.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2021, GKEasy

What is the effect of pressure of a human body on sand ?

  1. A.Larger while standing than while lying
  2. B.Smaller while standing than while lying
  3. C.Same while standing or lying
  4. D.Larger while standing during the daytime and smaller during the night time while lying
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Larger while standing than while lying

The body's weight stays the same, but standing puts it on the small area of the feet, so the pressure is greater.

Q4690.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2022, GKHard

Which one of the following is the first and the oldest Government-owned coal mining company in India ?

  1. A.Neyveli Lignite Corporation
  2. B.Singareni Collieries Company Limited
  3. C.Coal India Limited
  4. D.Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Singareni Collieries Company Limited

Incorporated in 1920 and later taken over by the government, SCCL is India's oldest government-owned coal mining company. Coal was found in the Godavari valley near Yellandu in the 1870s, and the Hyderabad (Deccan) Company began mining there in 1886.

Q4692.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2023, GKEasy

If the Moon is brought closer to the Earth such that its distance from the Earth becomes half of the original distance, then the gravitational force of attraction between the Earth and the Moon would :

  1. A.reduce to half of its original value.
  2. B.increase to two times of its original value.
  3. C.remain the same as the original value.
  4. D.increase to four times of its original value.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. increase to four times of its original value.

Gravitational force varies inversely as the square of the distance, so halving the distance makes the force 2 × 2 = 4 times larger.

Q4693.Art & CultureAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2024, GKMedium

Man Kautuhal, a work on music, was prepared under the aegis of

  1. A.Raja Man Singh of Gwalior
  2. B.Tansen
  3. C.Meera Bai
  4. D.Amir Khusrau
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Raja Man Singh of Gwalior

Man Kautuhal was compiled under the patronage of Raja Man Singh Tomar, who ruled Gwalior from 1486 to 1516. Man Singh Tomar was a great patron of music, and his court is closely linked with the growth of the Dhrupad style of Hindustani singing.

Q4695.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2025, GKMedium

Consider the following statements with reference to Secondary waves (S-Waves) generated during an earthquake : 1. They create troughs and crests in the material through which they pass. 2. The direction of vibrations of S-waves is perpendicular to the wave direction in the vertical plane. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Both 1 and 2

S-waves are transverse waves: they shake the ground at right angles to their direction of travel, and that sideways motion forms crests and troughs.

Q4696.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKMedium

Consider the following international events : 1. Signing of the Simla Agreement 2. Agra Summit between India and Pakistan 3. Signing of the SAARC Charter at the First SAARC Summit 4. India's first nuclear test Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the above events ?

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

The events fall in 1972, 1974, 1985 and 2001 in that order, which is also UPSC's official key. The Simla Agreement was signed on 2 July 1972 by Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after the 1971 war; it turned the ceasefire line in Kashmir into the Line of Control.

Q4699.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IEasy

Which one of the following statements is correct ?

  1. A.Bacteria contain cytoplasm but viruses do not
  2. B.Bacteria contain mitochondria but viruses do not
  3. C.Viruses contain mitochondria but bacteria do not
  4. D.Viruses have a cell membrane but bacteria do not
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Bacteria contain cytoplasm but viruses do not

A bacterium is a living cell filled with cytoplasm, while a virus is only genetic material inside a protein coat.