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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

Q5441.Indian PolityMedium

Which one of the following is not a function of the Union Public Service Commission under Article 320?

  1. A.Conducting examinations for appointments to the services of the Union
  2. B.Advising on the principles to be followed in promotions and transfers
  3. C.Making the final appointment of selected candidates to a service
  4. D.Advising on disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Making the final appointment of selected candidates to a service

The Commission recommends; the appointing authority of the government issues the appointment.

Q5442.Indian PolityEasy

A member of a State Public Service Commission holds office for six years or until he attains the age of:

  1. A.60 years
  2. B.62 years
  3. C.65 years
  4. D.70 years
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 62 years

Article 316(2) fixes a six-year term for every Public Service Commission but two different retiring ages: sixty-five years for a member of the Union Public Service Commission and sixty-two years for a member of a State Commission or of a Joint Commission, and in each case the earlier of the…

Q5443.Indian PolityMedium

Under Article 323, the annual report of a State Public Service Commission on its work is presented to the:

  1. A.President, who lays it before Parliament
  2. B.Chief Minister of the state
  3. C.Governor, who lays it before the state legislature
  4. D.Union Public Service Commission
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Governor, who lays it before the state legislature

Article 323(2) requires a State Commission to present to the Governor an annual report of the work done by it, and the Governor then places it before the state legislature together with a memorandum explaining the cases, if any, in which the Commission's advice was not accepted and the reasons…

Q5444.Indian PolityMedium

The expenses of the Union Public Service Commission, including the salaries and pensions of its staff, are:

  1. A.Voted by the Lok Sabha every year
  2. B.Charged on the Consolidated Fund of India
  3. C.Met from the Contingency Fund of India
  4. D.Shared between the Union and the states
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Charged on the Consolidated Fund of India

Article 322 makes the expenses of the Union Public Service Commission, including the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of its members and staff, charged expenditure on the Consolidated Fund of India.

Q5445.Indian PolityEasy

Which Article of the Constitution of India provides for Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States?

  1. A.Article 312
  2. B.Article 315
  3. C.Article 320
  4. D.Article 324
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Article 315

It is the opening article of the group on Public Service Commissions and says that there shall be a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state, with the further provision that two or more states may have a Joint Commission created by Parliament…

Q5446.Indian PolityAsked in: Uttar Pradesh · 24 Oct 2021Medium

A member of State Public Service Commission may be removed by:

  1. A.The Governor on the basis of impeachment in Vidhan Sabha
  2. B.The Governor, after the enquiry conducted by the Supreme Court
  3. C.The President, after the enquiry conducted by the Supreme Court
  4. D.The Governor, after the enquiry conducted by the High Court
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The President, after the enquiry conducted by the Supreme Court

Article 317(1) provides that the chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission, whether of the Union or of a state, shall be removed from office only by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour, and only after the Supreme Court has held an inquiry on…

Q5447.Indian PolityAsked in: Uttar Pradesh · 24 Oct 2021Medium

The functions of the State Public Service Commission of Uttar Pradesh can be extended by:

  1. A.Prime Minister
  2. B.Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
  3. C.The President
  4. D.Uttar Pradesh State Legislature
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Uttar Pradesh State Legislature

Article 321 allows additional functions to be conferred on a Public Service Commission, and it names two different authorities for the two kinds of Commission: Parliament may extend the functions of the Union Public Service Commission, while the legislature of a state may extend the functions of that state's Public…

Q5448.Indian PolityAsked in: SSC GD Constable · 01 Feb 2023, Shift 3Easy

The tenure of the UPSC members is:

  1. A.6 years or age of 65 whichever is earlier
  2. B.6 years or age of 62 years
  3. C.5 years or age of 65 years
  4. D.4 years or age of 62 years
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 6 years or age of 65 whichever is earlier

Article 316(2) says that a member of the Union Public Service Commission holds office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office, or until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier.

Q5449.Indian PolityAsked in: Uttar Pradesh · UPPSC Civil Services GS Official Paper IMedium

In the removal of which of the following officials does the Parliament not play any role?

1. Judges of the High Court
2. Judges of the Supreme Court
3. Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission
4. Comptroller and Auditor General of India

Choose the correct answer from the codes given below.

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

The chairman of the Union Public Service Commission is removed by the President under Article 317, and for misbehaviour only after the Supreme Court has held an inquiry on the President's reference and reported against him.

Q5450.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · 2020Hard

Consider the following statements: 1. The Constitution of India defines its basic structure in terms of federalism, secularism, fundamental rights and democracy. 2. The Constitution of India has a provision for judicial review to safeguard the citizens' liberties and to preserve the ideals on which the Constitution is based. Which of the statements given above is or 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: D. Neither 1 nor 2

Statement 1 is wrong because the Constitution nowhere uses the expression basic structure or defines it. The doctrine is a creation of the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati in 1973, and the courts have added features to it case by case, which is why no closed list exists.

Q5451.Indian PolityMedium

Which amendment provides for the reservation of one third of the seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies?

  1. A.One hundred and first Amendment
  2. B.One hundred and third Amendment
  3. C.One hundred and fourth Amendment
  4. D.One hundred and sixth Amendment
Show answer
Correct answer: D. One hundred and sixth Amendment

Passed in 2023 and called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, it inserted Articles 330A and 332A to reserve one third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and in the state legislative assemblies, as well as in the Delhi assembly, for women, the reservation to take effect after the delimitation…

Q5452.Indian PolityEasy

An amendment touching the federal provisions of the Constitution must be ratified by the legislatures of:

  1. A.Not less than one half of the states
  2. B.Not less than two thirds of the states
  3. C.Not less than three fourths of the states
  4. D.All the states
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Not less than one half of the states

For matters such as the election of the President, the extent of the executive power of the Union and the states, the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the Seventh Schedule, the representation of states in Parliament and Article 368 itself, the bill must first be passed by each House…

Q5454.Indian PolityMedium

The voting age in India was reduced from twenty-one years to eighteen years by which amendment?

  1. A.Fifty-second Amendment
  2. B.Sixty-first Amendment
  3. C.Seventy-fourth Amendment
  4. D.Eighty-sixth Amendment
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Sixty-first Amendment

Passed in 1989, it amended Article 326 and lowered the voting age for elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies from twenty-one years to eighteen years, which brought a very large number of young voters on to the rolls for the general election that followed.

Q5456.Indian PolityEasy

Which amendment to the Constitution of India is popularly called the mini Constitution?

  1. A.Forty-second Amendment
  2. B.Forty-fourth Amendment
  3. C.Fifty-second Amendment
  4. D.Seventy-third Amendment
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Forty-second Amendment

Enacted in 1976 on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, it changed so many provisions at one stroke that it is called the mini Constitution: it added the Fundamental Duties in Part IVA, inserted the words socialist, secular and integrity in the Preamble, extended the term of the Lok…

Q5457.Indian PolityHard

By which amendment was the President's assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill made obligatory?

  1. A.Twenty-fourth Amendment, 1971
  2. B.Twenty-fifth Amendment, 1971
  3. C.Forty-second Amendment, 1976
  4. D.Forty-fourth Amendment, 1978
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Twenty-fourth Amendment, 1971

It was passed in answer to the Golaknath ruling. It amended Article 13 and Article 368 to make clear that Parliament could take away or abridge a Fundamental Right by amendment, and it made the President's assent to such a bill compulsory, so an amendment bill can neither be withheld…

Q5459.Indian PolityEasy

The doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution was laid down by the Supreme Court in which case?

  1. A.Shankari Prasad case, 1951
  2. B.Golaknath case, 1967
  3. C.Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973
  4. D.Minerva Mills case, 1980
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973

A bench of thirteen judges, the largest ever assembled at the time, held by a majority of seven to six that Parliament may amend any part of the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, but may not damage or destroy its basic structure.