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.
Which one of the following oxides shows both acidic and basic behaviour?
Zinc oxide is amphoteric: it reacts with acids as a base and with strong alkalis as an acid, giving a salt and water in both cases.
Read the full explanation →Calcium oxide reacts vigorously with water to produce slaked lime whose solution is used for white-washing walls. This slaked lime reacts with component (A) in air to form a thin layer of component (B) to give a shiny finish. What are the components (A) and (B)?
Slaked lime on the wall slowly absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and turns into a thin, shiny layer of calcium carbonate.
Read the full explanation →Chronologically arrange the following Indian-origin astronauts on the basis of their flying into space starting with the first: 1. Sunita Williams 2. Rakesh Sharma 3. Sirisha Bandla 4. Kalpana Chawla Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Rakesh Sharma flew in 1984, Kalpana Chawla in 1997, Sunita Williams in 2006 and Sirisha Bandla in 2021. Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen in space on 3 April 1984, aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11, and told Indira Gandhi that India looked 'saare jahan se achha'.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following Indian thinkers first spoke of food-for-work programmes to counteract the effects of famines ?
His Arthashastra advises the king, in times of famine, to start public works such as forts and irrigation projects and to pay the workers in food.
Read the full explanation →Cheetahs were recently re-introduced to India from Africa. From which language is the name 'Cheetah' derived ?
The word comes from the Sanskrit 'chitraka', meaning the spotted or speckled one, and reached English through the Hindi 'cheeta'.
Read the full explanation →Through the Forty Second Amendment to the Constitution of India, which of the following was/were inserted into its Preamble? 1. 'Liberty of thought, expression and belief' was substituted by 'Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship'. 2. The expression 'Unity of the Nation' was substituted by 'Unity and Integrity of the Nation'. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The 42nd Amendment of 1976 changed 'unity of the Nation' to 'unity and integrity of the Nation', but it did not touch the words on liberty.
Read the full explanation →The Rangarajan Committee methodology for determining the poverty line incorporated which of the following ? 1. A food component 2. A normative level of expenditure for essential non-food items 3. A behaviourally determined expenditure for other non-food items Select the answer using the code given below :
The Rangarajan Committee built its poverty line basket from all three parts named in the question. The expert group headed by C. Rangarajan was set up in 2012 and reported in 2014, to review the Tendulkar method.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following countries does not share its territorial boundary with Ukraine ?
Lithuania lies on the Baltic Sea to the north of Belarus, and Belarus separates it completely from Ukraine.
Read the full explanation →What are the four human blood types in ABO blood group typing?
The ABO system sorts blood by the antigens present on the surface of red blood cells, and it has exactly these four groups.
Read the full explanation →A current through a horizontal power line flows in east to west direction. What will be the direction of magnetic field at a point directly below it when viewed from east end ?
Seen from the east end, the current flows away from the observer, and by the right-hand thumb rule the field lines around it are clockwise circles in a plane perpendicular to the wire.
Read the full explanation →PM MITRA Parks relate to which one of the following industries?
PM MITRA stands for PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks, a scheme of the Ministry of Textiles to build large, world-class textile parks.
Read the full explanation →The Headquarters of Eastern Railway Zone of Indian Railway is located at
The Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways has its headquarters at Fairlie Place in Kolkata. Eastern Railway was formed in 1952 out of the East Indian Railway, one of the oldest railway companies in India, whose first train in the east ran from Howrah to Hooghly in 1854.
Read the full explanation →If some object is weighed when submerged in water, what will happen to its weight compared to its weight in air ?
When an object is weighed under water, the water pushes up on it with a buoyant force, so it seems lighter than in air; this reduced reading is its apparent weight.
Read the full explanation →The Superintendence, direction and control of elections in India is vested in
Article 324(1) vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission, as a body. Under Article 324 the Commission conducts elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President.
Read the full explanation →Article 352 of the Constitution of India contains provisions related to
Article 352 lets the President proclaim a national (general) emergency when the security of India or any part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was named ICC's emerging player of the year 2018?
The Indian wicketkeeper-batter won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award for 2018, after a debut year in Test cricket that included a century in England.
Read the full explanation →Aishwarya Pissay excels in which one of the following sports ?
Aishwarya Pissay is a motorcycle racer from Bengaluru who in 2019 became the first Indian to win a world title in motorsports, the FIM World Cup in Bajas for women.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements regarding Bleaching powder and D.D.T. is correct ?
Bleaching powder is calcium oxychloride, CaOCl₂, and DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; chlorine is the one element common to both. Bleaching powder is made by passing chlorine gas over dry slaked lime.
Read the full explanation →When a light beam falls on a triangular glass prism, a band of colours is obtained. Which one of the following statements is correct in this regard?
The more a colour is slowed by glass, the higher the refractive index for it and the more it bends.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following metals is most commonly used for making filament of incandescent electric bulbs?
The filament of an incandescent bulb must glow white-hot without melting, and tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals, about 3,400 °C. An incandescent bulb works by the heating effect of electric current: the thin coiled filament gets so hot, around 2,500 °C or more, that it gives…
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