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CDS Previous Year GK Questions

Previous-year questions are the most reliable guide to the CDS General Knowledge paper, because the syllabus in the notice is one paragraph long and the paper is not. UPSC uploads the question papers of every CDS on upsc.gov.in the day after the exam, so a full record of what was asked exists for each cycle. Reading them shows the weight of each area, the depth UPSC expects in Polity, History, Geography, Economy and Science, and the question forms it prefers: statements with "which of the above are correct", "how many of the following pairs are correctly matched", match the lists, and arrange in chronological order. Many topics return: writs and constitutional bodies, dynasties and reform movements, Ramsar sites and World Heritage sites, budget and balance-of-payments terms, and school science applied to everyday situations. This page collects CDS previous-year General Knowledge questions in English and Hindi, each with the correct answer, an explanation and the topic it belongs to, so that a question leads you to the GK note that covers it. Use them in three passes: untimed to learn, timed to build speed, and a week later to revisit your wrong answers.

Previous Year Questions

Q824.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2023, GKEasy

Which one of the following is a measure that can be used by the Government for combatting inflation?

  1. A.Increasing the non-planned expenditure on defence, police, etc.
  2. B.Providing more subsidies on exports
  3. C.Increasing the rate of interest on savings and fixed deposits
  4. D.Reduction in the cash reserve ratio (CRR)
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Increasing the rate of interest on savings and fixed deposits

Higher interest on deposits encourages people to save rather than spend, which pulls money out of circulation and cools demand.

Q825.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2023, GKMedium

SDG India Index, developed by NITI Aayog, includes 17 SDGs for each State. Which one of the following is not included in that index ?

  1. A.Zero hunger
  2. B.Reduced unemployment
  3. C.Life below water
  4. D.Responsible consumption and production
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Reduced unemployment

There is no Sustainable Development Goal by that name; employment comes under Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Goal 10 is Reduced Inequalities.

Q826.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKHard

Consider the following pairs of High Offices and concerned Departments in the Mauryan Administration :

1. Samahartri : Chief Collector of Revenue

2. Dauvarika : Chief of Army

3. Akshapatala : Records-cum-Audit Officer

4. Samnidhatri : Treasurer

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?

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

The Samahartri collected revenue, the Akshapatala kept records and accounts, and the Samnidhatri was the treasurer, but the Dauvarika was the chief of the royal palace and its attendants, not of the army.

Q828.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKHard

Which of the following statements with reference to Glacial trough is/are correct ?

1. Alpine glaciers strip valleys of their soil, regolith and sediment to form glacial troughs.

2. When the sea level is below the floor of a glacial trough, the seawater enters as the ice front recedes, creating a fiord.

Select the 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

Valley glaciers scour away soil, regolith and loose sediment and deepen their valleys into U-shaped glacial troughs, but a fiord forms only when the trough floor lies below sea level, not above it.

Q829.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2026, GKEasy

Which of the following factors was/were responsible for the rise of Magadha as the most powerful Mahajanapada during the 6th century BCE?

1. Region of productive agriculture

2. Accessibility to iron-mines

3. Availability of elephants in the region

Select the answer using the codes given below :

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

Fertile land, nearby iron ore and a supply of forest elephants together made Magadha the strongest of the sixteen Mahajanapadas.

Q830.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKEasy

Which one of the following statements is correct?

  1. A.The oxidation number for hydrogen is always zero.
  2. B.The oxidation number for hydrogen is always +1.
  3. C.The oxidation number for hydrogen is always -1.
  4. D.Hydrogen can have more than one oxidation number.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Hydrogen can have more than one oxidation number.

Hydrogen shows 0, +1 or -1 depending on what it is bonded to. In the free element H2 its oxidation number is 0, as for every element in its uncombined state.

Q833.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKEasy

Which one of the following elements will be an isobar of calcium if the atomic number of calcium is 20 and its mass number is 40?

  1. A.Element with 20 protons and 18 neutrons
  2. B.Element with 18 protons and 19 neutrons
  3. C.Element with 20 protons and 19 neutrons
  4. D.Element with 18 protons and 22 neutrons
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Element with 18 protons and 22 neutrons

Isobars are atoms of different elements with the same mass number, and 18 + 22 gives a mass number of 40, the same as calcium.

Q834.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2018, GKMedium

The direction of magnetic field at any location on the earth's surface is commonly specified in terms of

  1. A.field declination
  2. B.field inclination
  3. C.both field declination and field inclination
  4. D.horizontal component of the field
Show answer
Correct answer: C. both field declination and field inclination

A direction in space needs two angles, one in the horizontal plane and one in the vertical plane, and declination and inclination supply exactly these.

Q835.Books & AuthorsAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2019, GKHard

Who was the author of the book, Plagues and Peoples?

  1. A.W. L. Thomas
  2. B.Rachel Carson
  3. C.David Cannadine
  4. D.William H. McNeill
Show answer
Correct answer: D. William H. McNeill

The American historian William Hardy McNeill wrote Plagues and Peoples, published in 1976. The book was one of the first to treat infectious disease as a force in world history.

Q836.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2019, GKEasy

What do you mean by 'Demographic Dividend'?

  1. A.A rise in the rate of economic growth due to a higher share of working age people in a population
  2. B.A rise in the rate of literacy due to development of educational institutions in different parts of the country
  3. C.A rise in the standard of living of the people due to the growth of alternative livelihood practices
  4. D.A rise in the gross employment ratio of a country due to government policies
Show answer
Correct answer: A. A rise in the rate of economic growth due to a higher share of working age people in a population

Demographic dividend is the growth bonus a country gets when its working age group grows larger than its dependent population.

Q839.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2022, GKMedium

The issue, 'whether Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India' was decided in which one of the following cases?

  1. A.Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India
  2. B.Vishakha vs. State of Rajasthan
  3. C.Shayara Bano vs. Union of India
  4. D.Naz Foundation vs. Government of NCT of Delhi and others
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Naz Foundation vs. Government of NCT of Delhi and others

In this case the Delhi High Court held in 2009 that Section 377, in so far as it criminalised consensual sex between adults in private, violated Articles 21, 14 and 15.

Q840.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2022, GKEasy

Which one of the following is a feature of Membrane ?

  1. A.Bilayer of phospholipid molecule in which proteins and cholesterol are embedded
  2. B.Bilayer of proteins molecule in which lipid and cholesterol are embedded
  3. C.Bilayer of neutral lipid in which proteins and cholesterol are embedded
  4. D.Bilayer of neutral lipid lacking cholesterol and proteins
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Bilayer of phospholipid molecule in which proteins and cholesterol are embedded

This is the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane given by Singer and Nicolson in 1972. Each phospholipid has a water-loving (hydrophilic) phosphate head and two water-fearing (hydrophobic) fatty acid tails.

All Defence previous year questions