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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

Q1082.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2021, GATMedium

Imagine a current-carrying straight conductor with magnetic field of lines in anti-clockwise direction. Then the direction of current is determined by

  1. A.the Right-Hand Thumb rule and it would be in the downward direction.
  2. B.the Left-Hand Thumb rule and it would be in the downward direction.
  3. C.the Right-Hand Thumb rule and it would be in the upward direction.
  4. D.the Left-Hand Thumb rule and it would be in the upward direction.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. the Right-Hand Thumb rule and it would be in the upward direction.

For a straight wire, the right-hand thumb rule links the current to the circular field lines around it. Hold the wire in the right hand with the thumb along the current; the curled fingers then show the direction of the magnetic field lines, which form concentric circles around the wire.

Q1083.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2022, GATEasy

The Mahad Satyagraha of 1927 was organized by

  1. A.B. R. Ambedkar
  2. B.Mahatma Gandhi
  3. C.S. C. Bose
  4. D.Lokmanya Tilak
Show answer
Correct answer: A. B. R. Ambedkar

In March 1927 Dr Ambedkar led the Mahad Satyagraha to assert the right of the depressed classes to draw water from the public Chavdar tank at Mahad.

Q1084.Indian States & UTsAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2022, GATEasy

In January 2020, the administration of which of the following Union Territories has been merged together?

  1. A.Daman and Diu and Puducherry
  2. B.Puducherry and Dadra and Nagar Haveli
  3. C.Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  4. D.Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

The two western Union Territories were joined into a single Union Territory from 26 January 2020. Parliament passed the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Act in December 2019, and the merger took effect on 26 January 2020.

Q1085.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2023, GATEasy

Which one of the following statements is true for sound waves propagating in air?

  1. A.Sound is an electromagnetic wave and transverse in nature
  2. B.Sound is a mechanical wave and longitudinal in nature
  3. C.Sound is a mechanical wave and transverse in nature
  4. D.Sound is an electromagnetic wave and longitudinal in nature
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Sound is a mechanical wave and longitudinal in nature

Sound needs a material medium to travel, and in air its particles vibrate back and forth along the direction the wave moves.

Q1087.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2024, GATEasy

Which of the following is NOT a part of the five principles enshrined in the 'Panchsheel' agreement signed by India and China in 1954?

  1. A.Mutual non-aggression
  2. B.Mutual non-interference
  3. C.Peaceful coexistence
  4. D.Cultural cooperation
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Cultural cooperation

Cultural cooperation is not one of the five principles of Panchsheel. Panchsheel, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, was set out in the agreement on trade and intercourse between India and the Tibet region of China, signed on 29 April 1954 by Jawaharlal Nehru's government and Zhou Enlai's. The five…

Q1088.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2026, GATEasy

Consider the following statements regarding the Industrial Revolution in Britain : I. There was availability of banks which could loan money to set up industries. II. There was a good transport network. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Easy credit from banks and a good transport network were both among the reasons Britain became the first country to industrialise.

Q1090.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATHard

Which one of the following statements is correct about the magnification of an optical microscope?

  1. A.Magnification increases with the increase in focal length of eyepiece
  2. B.Magnification increases with the increase in focal length of objective
  3. C.Magnification does not depend upon the focal length of eyepiece
  4. D.Magnification decreases with the increase in focal length of eyepiece
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Magnification decreases with the increase in focal length of eyepiece

A compound microscope magnifies more when both its lenses have short focal lengths. In a compound microscope the objective forms a real, enlarged image, and the eyepiece magnifies it further like a simple magnifier.

Q1092.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2018, GATMedium

Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched? (Bhakti Saint : Philosophy)

  1. A.Shankara : Avadhuta
  2. B.Ramananda : Kevaladvaita
  3. C.Ramanuja : Vishishtadvaita
  4. D.Chaitanya : Advaita
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Ramanuja : Vishishtadvaita

Ramanuja, the eleventh-twelfth century teacher of Sriperumbudur, taught Vishishtadvaita or qualified non-dualism. Vishishtadvaita holds that Brahman is the only reality, but souls and matter are real parts of Brahman, as the body is to the soul, and that devotion to Vishnu leads to liberation.

Q1093.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2019, GATMedium

Which one of the following can be said to be essentially related to 'Polar Front Theory' ?

  1. A.Anticyclone
  2. B.Tropical Cyclone
  3. C.Temperate Cyclone
  4. D.Inter Tropical Convergence
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Temperate Cyclone

The Polar Front Theory explains how temperate or extra-tropical cyclones are born and grow. The theory was put forward by the Norwegian meteorologists Vilhelm and Jacob Bjerknes around the end of the First World War.

Q1094.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2019, GATEasy

Stalactite, stalagmite and pillars are the depositional landforms of

  1. A.running water.
  2. B.wind.
  3. C.glacier.
  4. D.underground water.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. underground water.

Stalactites, stalagmites and pillars form inside limestone caves from minerals left behind by water seeping underground. Rainwater with dissolved carbon dioxide dissolves limestone and hollows out caves; this is called karst topography.

Q1095.Environment & EcologyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2020, GATEasy

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

  1. A.Biomass is a renewable source of energy
  2. B.Gobar gas is produced when cow-dung, crop residues, vegetable waste and sewage are allowed to decompose in the absence of oxygen
  3. C.Biogas generation reduces soil and water pollution
  4. D.Heating capacity of biogas is very low
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Heating capacity of biogas is very low

This statement is false: biogas is an excellent fuel with a high heating capacity. Biogas is mostly methane, about 50 to 75 percent, with carbon dioxide and small amounts of other gases.

Q1096.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2021, GATMedium

Consider the following statements : 1. Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was founded at Aligarh by Sayyid Ahmad Khan. 2. Sayyid Ahmad Khan was a great believer in religious toleration, and Hindus, Parsis and Christians had contributed to the funds of his college. 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

Sayyid Ahmad Khan founded the college at Aligarh, and he drew support for it from people of every faith. Sayyid Ahmad Khan started the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875 to give Indian Muslims a modern, Western-style education alongside Islamic learning; it became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.

Q1098.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2022, GATEasy

The Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of the God) was organized by

  1. A.Mahatma Gandhi
  2. B.Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
  3. C.M. A. Jinnah
  4. D.M. M. Malaviya
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

He founded the Khudai Khidmatgar movement among the Pathans of the North-West Frontier Province in 1929. The Khudai Khidmatgars, meaning Servants of God, were a non-violent volunteer body pledged to social reform and to the freedom struggle.

Q1099.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2022, GATMedium

Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. The Earth's crust is brittle in nature. 2. The mean thickness of the oceanic crust is 15 km, whereas that of the continental crust is around 30 km. 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

The crust is brittle, but the mean thickness of the oceanic crust is about 5 km, not 15 km. The crust is the outermost solid shell of the Earth.

Q1100.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2023, GATMedium

Which one of the following pairs of city and industry is NOT correctly matched?

  1. A.Saharanpur : Paper industry
  2. B.Chanderi : Cotton textile industry
  3. C.Bhadohi : Carpet industry
  4. D.Raniganj : Iron and steel industry
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Raniganj : Iron and steel industry

Raniganj in West Bengal is known for coal mining, not for making iron and steel. The Raniganj coalfield in the Damodar valley is the oldest coalfield of India, where commercial coal mining began in 1774.