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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

Q5862.GeographyAsked in: Madhya Pradesh · MPPSC Pre GS, 16 Feb 2025Medium

The Southern Oscillation is an oscillation pattern between which of these two oceans?

  1. A.Pacific and Atlantic Ocean
  2. B.Pacific and Indian Ocean
  3. C.Atlantic and Indian Ocean
  4. D.None of the above
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Pacific and Indian Ocean

The Southern Oscillation is a see-saw in air pressure between the tropical eastern Pacific and the Indian Ocean: when pressure is high over one, it is low over the other.

Q5863.GeographyAsked in: Madhya Pradesh · MPPSC Pre GS, 25 Jul 2021Easy

Match List – I with List – II and using the given codes select the correct answer:

List – I (Grassland) – List – II (Country/Continent)

a. Steppes – 1. United States of America

b. Prairies – 2. South Africa

c. Velds – 3. Russia

d. Downs – 4. Australia

Codes: a b c d

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

The Steppes are the temperate grasslands of Eurasia, stretching across Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan; the Prairies cover the central plains of the United States and Canada; the Velds are the grassy plateaus of South Africa; and the Downs are the grasslands of south-eastern Australia, famous for sheep rearing and merino…

Q5864.Indian PolityAsked in: Madhya Pradesh · MPPSC Pre GS, 21 May 2023Medium

The 91st Amendment of the Indian Constitution provides for:

  1. A.Limiting the size of the Council of Ministers
  2. B.No increase in the seats of the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabhas till 2026
  3. C.Bifurcation of the National Commission for SCs and STs
  4. D.None of the above
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Limiting the size of the Council of Ministers

The 91st Amendment Act, 2003 capped the total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister, at 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha or the state Legislative Assembly.

Q5865.Indian PolityAsked in: Madhya Pradesh · MPPSC Pre GS, 23 Jun 2024Hard

An amendment of the Constitution will require ratification by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States:

  1. A.If such amendment seeks to make any change in Article 53.
  2. B.If such amendment seeks to make any change in Article 239-A.
  3. C.If such amendment seeks to make any change in Article 243-A.
  4. D.If such amendment seeks to make any change in Article 279-A.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. If such amendment seeks to make any change in Article 279-A.

Article 279A creates the GST Council, and the 101st Amendment of 2016 added it to the proviso to Article 368(2), so changing it needs a special majority of Parliament plus ratification by at least half of the state legislatures.

Q5867.Indian PolityAsked in: Haryana · HPSC HCS Prelims GS, 11 Feb 2024Medium

With reference to the Indian Constitution, match List I with List II:

List I: a. Article 263, b. Article 226, c. Article 239, d. Article 280

List II: i. Finance Commission, ii. High Court, iii. Inter-State Council, iv. Union Territories

Select the correct answer from the options given below:

  1. A.a-iii, b-ii, c-iv, d-i
  2. B.a-i, b-ii, c-iii, d-iv
  3. C.a-ii, b-i, c-iii, d-iv
  4. D.a-iv, b-ii, c-iii, d-i
Show answer
Correct answer: A. a-iii, b-ii, c-iv, d-i

Article 263 allows the President to set up an Inter-State Council to discuss disputes and common subjects among states; the council was first formed in 1990 on the Sarkaria Commission's advice.

Q5868.Indian PolityAsked in: Haryana · HSSC CET Group C, 6 Nov 2022, Shift 2Medium

While a Proclamation of Emergency (Article 352) is in operation, which of the following Fundamental Rights cannot be suspended?

  1. A.Right to personal liberty
  2. B.Right to freedom of speech
  3. C.Right to equality
  4. D.Right to freedom of religion
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Right to personal liberty

Even during a national emergency, the enforcement of Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended. Article 21 protects life and personal liberty, and Article 20 protects a person from retrospective criminal laws, from being punished twice for the same offence and from being forced to be a witness against himself.

Q5869.Indian HistoryAsked in: Haryana · HPSC HCS Prelims GS, 12 Sep 2021Medium

Mahatma Gandhi was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress only once. In which of the following sessions did it happen?

  1. A.Amritsar Session 1919
  2. B.Belgaum Session 1924
  3. C.Lahore Session 1929
  4. D.Lucknow Session 1936
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Belgaum Session 1924

Gandhi presided over the Congress only once, at its session held at Belgaum (now Belagavi in Karnataka) in December 1924.

Q5870.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC CAPF · Paper I, 8 Aug 2021Medium

In the Mathura School of Art, Buddha's images are largely carved in

  1. A.Dhyana Mudra
  2. B.Abhaya Mudra
  3. C.Dharmachakra Mudra
  4. D.Varada Mudra
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Abhaya Mudra

Early Mathura Buddhas show the right hand raised with the palm facing out, the gesture that says "fear not". The Mathura School flourished under the Kushanas in the first centuries CE, at the same time as the Gandhara school of the north-west.

Q5872.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · Paper I, 18 Aug 2019Medium

Which one of the following Forest Acts divided forests of India into reserved, protected and village forests?

  1. A.Forest Act 1864
  2. B.Forest Act 1865
  3. C.Forest Act 1866
  4. D.Forest Act 1878
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Forest Act 1878

The Indian Forest Act of 1878 created the three classes of reserved, protected and village forests. British interest in Indian forests grew as the railways and shipbuilding needed huge amounts of timber.

Q5873.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · Paper I, 18 Aug 2019Easy

Which one of the following is the main objective of Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol?

  1. A.Combat desertification
  2. B.Formulate sustainable developmental goals
  3. C.Protection of ozone layer
  4. D.Combat climate change
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Protection of ozone layer

Both treaties were made to save the ozone layer in the stratosphere, which screens out harmful ultraviolet rays. The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted in 1985 as a framework agreement.

Q5877.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · Paper I, 18 Aug 2019Medium

Aluminium, Iron, Copper and Zinc are extracted from

  1. A.Bauxite, Magnetite, Malachite and Calamine respectively
  2. B.Magnetite, Bauxite, Malachite and Calamine respectively
  3. C.Calamine, Malachite, Magnetite and Bauxite respectively
  4. D.Malachite, Magnetite, Bauxite and Calamine respectively
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Bauxite, Magnetite, Malachite and Calamine respectively

Each metal here is paired with one of its best-known ores. Bauxite is hydrated aluminium oxide; alumina is refined from it and then broken down by electrolysis in the Hall-Héroult process.