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Defence GK Questions 2026

Static GK carries most of the General Knowledge marks in the defence exams, and science carries the largest share of it. In NDA & NA, Physics, Chemistry and General Science are about half of the 400 marks of Part B, and History, the freedom movement and Geography are about 20% each, as per the notice. In the CDS (II) 2026 General Knowledge paper, GK24 counted about 37 science questions, about 20 each on Polity and History, about 15 on Geography and environment and about 10 on the Economy; this count is guidance, not an official break-up. The Army's Agniveer CEE gives 15 of its 50 General Duty questions to General Knowledge and 15 to General Science, which covers cells, the human body, plants and animals and common epidemics. Its GK list names history, culture and geography of India and its neighbours, the Constitution, inventions and discoveries, books and authors, and the Indian Armed Forces. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes and GK questions tagged for NDA, CDS and Agniveer, in English and Hindi: General Science, Indian History, Art and Culture, Indian Polity, Geography, Indian Economy and Static GK. Read one topic at a sitting, then solve its questions and the previous-year questions of your exam to see what stayed with you.

Defence GK Questions with Answers

Q3521.Indian HistoryMedium

What was the original name of Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir?

  1. A.Arjumand Banu Begum
  2. B.Mehr-un-Nissa
  3. C.Jahanara Begum
  4. D.Hamida Banu Begum
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Mehr-un-Nissa

She was the daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg, whom Jahangir honoured with the title Itmad-ud-Daula, and after her marriage to the emperor in 1611 she was styled Nur Mahal, light of the palace, and then Nur Jahan, light of the world; coins were struck in her name along with the…

Q3527.Indian HistoryEasy

Which Gupta ruler is described as Sarvarajochchetta, the uprooter of all kings?

  1. A.Chandragupta I
  2. B.Samudragupta
  3. C.Chandragupta II
  4. D.Skandagupta
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Samudragupta

The Allahabad pillar inscription, a prashasti composed by his court poet Harisena, lists his campaigns in the Ganga valley, the Deccan and the frontier states and calls him Sarvarajochchetta; the same inscription gives him Kaviraja for his learning, and his coins show him playing the veena.

Q3529.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · 10 Sept 2017Easy

Light year is a measure of

  1. A.Time
  2. B.Distance
  3. C.Total amount of light falling on the earth in a year
  4. D.Average intensity of light falling on the earth in a year
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Distance

A light year is the distance that light travels in vacuum in one year at about 3 into 10 to the power 8 metres per second, which works out to roughly 9.46 into 10 to the power 12 kilometres; astronomers use it because distances between stars are awkward to write…

Q3531.General ScienceEasy

The speed of electromagnetic waves in vacuum is about

  1. A.3 into 10 to the power 8 metres per second
  2. B.3 into 10 to the power 6 metres per second
  3. C.340 metres per second
  4. D.1,500 metres per second
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 3 into 10 to the power 8 metres per second

Maxwell showed that this speed is fixed by the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability of free space, and its agreement with the measured speed of light was the proof that light is an electromagnetic wave; every band of the spectrum shares the same value in vacuum.

Q3532.General ScienceMedium

Which radiation coming from the sun is largely absorbed by the ozone layer of the atmosphere?

  1. A.Infrared radiation
  2. B.Ultraviolet radiation
  3. C.Radio waves
  4. D.Visible light
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Ultraviolet radiation

Ozone in the stratosphere absorbs most of the harmful shorter ultraviolet, and that is why the thinning of the layer by chlorofluorocarbons raises the risk of skin cancer, cataract and damage to crops; the small part of ultraviolet that does reach the surface makes vitamin D in human skin.

Q3533.General ScienceEasy

Which radiation is used in the remote control of a television set?

  1. A.Ultraviolet rays
  2. B.Infrared rays
  3. C.X-rays
  4. D.Gamma rays
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Infrared rays

A remote control carries a small light emitting diode that sends coded pulses of near infrared, which a sensor in the set decodes; the radiation is invisible, harmless at that power and does not pass through walls, so remotes in neighbouring rooms do not interfere.

Q3534.General ScienceMedium

Infrared radiation was discovered by which scientist?

  1. A.Johann Wilhelm Ritter
  2. B.William Herschel
  3. C.Isaac Newton
  4. D.J. C. Bose
Show answer
Correct answer: B. William Herschel

In 1800 he passed sunlight through a prism and moved a thermometer across the coloured band; the reading went on rising past the red end, which showed the presence of an invisible heating radiation now called infrared.

Q3535.General ScienceEasy

X-rays were discovered by which scientist?

  1. A.Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
  2. B.Henri Becquerel
  3. C.William Herschel
  4. D.Paul Villard
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

In 1895 he noticed that a screen coated with a fluorescent salt glowed when a discharge tube was working nearby even though the tube was covered, and he called the unknown radiation X-rays; he received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for the discovery.

Q3536.General ScienceMedium

Which of the following arranges the radiations in order of increasing wavelength?

  1. A.Gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, radio waves
  2. B.Radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays
  3. C.X-rays, gamma rays, infrared, ultraviolet, radio waves
  4. D.Infrared, ultraviolet, radio waves, X-rays, gamma rays
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, radio waves

The spectrum in order of rising wavelength runs gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwaves and radio waves, and the option follows that sequence with the visible and microwave bands left out.

Q3539.General ScienceMedium

Which of the following statements about electromagnetic waves is correct?

  1. A.They are longitudinal waves and need a material medium
  2. B.They are transverse waves and can travel through vacuum
  3. C.They are deflected by a strong magnetic field
  4. D.Their speed in vacuum depends on their frequency
Show answer
Correct answer: B. They are transverse waves and can travel through vacuum

In an electromagnetic wave the electric field, the magnetic field and the direction of propagation are mutually perpendicular, and because the wave is made of fields and not of vibrating particles it needs no medium, which is how sunlight crosses empty space while sound cannot.

GK Questions for sub-exams