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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

Q502.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKHard

Statement I : The Zamindars were an exploitative class in Mughal India.

Statement II : The Zamindars often received the support of the peasantry in a large number of agrarian uprisings in North India in the seventeenth century.

  1. A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
  2. B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

The zamindars did exploit the peasants, and yet peasants often backed them against the Mughal state. Zamindars held rights over land and collected revenue on behalf of the state, keeping a share for themselves.

Q503.Static GKAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKMedium

India became a member of which one of the following in 2016?

  1. A.Non-Proliferation Treaty
  2. B.Missile Technology Control Regime
  3. C.Nuclear Suppliers Group
  4. D.Wassenaar Arrangement
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Missile Technology Control Regime

India joined the MTCR as its 35th member on 27 June 2016. The MTCR was set up in 1987 by the G7 countries as an informal group that limits the spread of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles able to carry weapons of mass destruction.

Q504.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKHard

Which of the following statements about the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is/are correct? 1. It has been incorporated as a Public Limited Company. 2. It started its operation by establishing two pilot branches at Hyderabad and Varanasi. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

IPPB was incorporated as a public limited company, but its two pilot branches opened at Raipur and Ranchi, not at Hyderabad and Varanasi.

Q508.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKEasy

Calcium oxide reacts vigorously with water to produce slaked lime whose solution is used for white-washing walls. This slaked lime reacts with component (A) in air to form a thin layer of component (B) to give a shiny finish. What are the components (A) and (B)?

  1. A.A-O₂; B-CaCO₃
  2. B.A-CO₂; B-Ca(OH)₂
  3. C.A-O₂; B-Ca(OH)₂
  4. D.A-CO₂; B-CaCO₃
Show answer
Correct answer: D. A-CO₂; B-CaCO₃

Slaked lime on the wall slowly absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and turns into a thin, shiny layer of calcium carbonate.

Q509.Science & TechnologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2022, GKMedium

Chronologically arrange the following Indian-origin astronauts on the basis of their flying into space starting with the first: 1. Sunita Williams 2. Rakesh Sharma 3. Sirisha Bandla 4. Kalpana Chawla Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Rakesh Sharma flew in 1984, Kalpana Chawla in 1997, Sunita Williams in 2006 and Sirisha Bandla in 2021. Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen in space on 3 April 1984, aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11, and told Indira Gandhi that India looked 'saare jahan se achha'.

Q512.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2024, GKMedium

Through the Forty Second Amendment to the Constitution of India, which of the following was/were inserted into its Preamble? 1. 'Liberty of thought, expression and belief' was substituted by 'Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship'. 2. The expression 'Unity of the Nation' was substituted by 'Unity and Integrity of the Nation'. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

The 42nd Amendment of 1976 changed 'unity of the Nation' to 'unity and integrity of the Nation', but it did not touch the words on liberty.

Q513.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKHard

The Rangarajan Committee methodology for determining the poverty line incorporated which of the following ? 1. A food component 2. A normative level of expenditure for essential non-food items 3. A behaviourally determined expenditure for other non-food items Select the answer using the code given below :

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

The Rangarajan Committee built its poverty line basket from all three parts named in the question. The expert group headed by C. Rangarajan was set up in 2012 and reported in 2014, to review the Tendulkar method.

Q516.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2025, GATHard

A current through a horizontal power line flows in east to west direction. What will be the direction of magnetic field at a point directly below it when viewed from east end ?

  1. A.Clockwise in a plane perpendicular to the wire
  2. B.Anti-clockwise in a plane perpendicular to the wire
  3. C.Clockwise in a plane of parallel to the wire
  4. D.Anti-clockwise in a plane of parallel to the wire
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Clockwise in a plane perpendicular to the wire

Seen from the east end, the current flows away from the observer, and by the right-hand thumb rule the field lines around it are clockwise circles in a plane perpendicular to the wire.

Q518.Static GKAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATEasy

The Headquarters of Eastern Railway Zone of Indian Railway is located at

  1. A.Bhubaneswar
  2. B.Kolkata
  3. C.Hajipur
  4. D.Guwahati
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Kolkata

The Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways has its headquarters at Fairlie Place in Kolkata. Eastern Railway was formed in 1952 out of the East Indian Railway, one of the oldest railway companies in India, whose first train in the east ran from Howrah to Hooghly in 1854.

Q520.Indian PolityAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2018, GATEasy

The Superintendence, direction and control of elections in India is vested in

  1. A.The Supreme Court of India
  2. B.The Parliament of India
  3. C.The Election Commission of India
  4. D.The Chief Election Commissioner
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Election Commission of India

Article 324(1) vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission, as a body. Under Article 324 the Commission conducts elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President.