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UPSC Civil Services GK Questions 2026

Static general knowledge is six of the seven lines of the General Studies Paper-I syllabus in the UPSC CSE notice: History of India and the Indian National Movement; Indian and World Geography; Indian Polity and Governance; Economic and Social Development; Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change; and General Science. The Commission tests understanding rather than recall, through statements to be judged correct or incorrect, pairs to be matched and assertion-reason items, and it likes the edges of a topic: a lesser-known provision of the Constitution, a river's tributary, a species' conservation status, the mandate of a statutory body. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes for UPSC, written as short facts and tables, in English and Hindi, with each note linked to the current affairs and previous-year questions on the same topic. Start with Polity and Modern History, which carry the most questions, then Geography, the Economy, Environment, Ancient and Medieval culture and Science. Read a note, solve its PYQs, take its quiz, and come back to it in your monthly revision. A candidate who knows these notes and reads the daily current affairs has covered the syllabus the notice prescribes for Paper-I.

UPSC Civil Services GK Questions with Answers

Q2121.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…

Q2122.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.

Q2125.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.

Q2126.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.

Q2127.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.

Q2128.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.

Q2129.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.

Q2130.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.

Q2131.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.

Q2132.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.

Q2133.Indian PolityAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2024, GATEasy

Which of the following statements with regard to Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India is/are correct ? 1. Freedoms under this Article are not absolute 2. Reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the exercise of freedoms under this Article 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: C. Both 1 and 2

The six freedoms of Article 19(1) are not absolute, because clauses (2) to (6) let the State place reasonable restrictions on them.

Q2134.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2025, GATMedium

State of Assam shares borders with how many other countries and Indian states respectively ?

  1. A.2 countries and 6 Indian states respectively
  2. B.2 countries and 7 Indian states respectively
  3. C.3 countries and 7 Indian states respectively
  4. D.3 countries and 6 Indian states respectively
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 2 countries and 7 Indian states respectively

Assam touches Bhutan and Bangladesh abroad and all the other six north-eastern states plus West Bengal at home. Assam's international borders are with Bhutan in the north and Bangladesh in the south-west, along the Barak valley and Dhubri side.

Q2135.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2026, GATEasy

Consider the following statements in respect of the Rowlatt Act of 1919 : I. Gandhiji launched a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act, 1919. II. The Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the opposition of Indian members. III. The Act gave the Government enormous powers to repress political activities. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

All three statements describe the Rowlatt Act and the protest against it correctly. The Act, based on the Sedition Committee chaired by Justice Sidney Rowlatt, was rushed through the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919 although every elected Indian member opposed it; Jinnah resigned in protest.

Q2136.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2026, GATMedium

The 'Agricultural Population Density' is referred to as the ratio of the :

  1. A.Total population to Net cultivable land
  2. B.Agricultural population to Gross cropped area
  3. C.Total population to Total reported land
  4. D.Total agricultural population to Net cultivable land
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Total agricultural population to Net cultivable land

Agricultural density measures how many farm people depend on each unit of land that can actually be farmed. Geographers use three densities.

Q2137.Summits & ConferencesMedium

'One Nation, One Time', referred to at the CIML meeting, is the name of which Indian project?

  1. A.A single time zone for the whole country
  2. B.The National Time Dissemination Project
  3. C.A single financial year for all states
  4. D.A common clock for railway timetables
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The National Time Dissemination Project

Smt. Nidhi Khare, Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, described 'One Nation, One Time' as this project, whose aim is to make accurate, reliable and traceable Indian Standard Time available throughout the country.

Q2139.Summits & ConferencesMedium

The International Committee of Legal Metrology (CIML) is the governing committee of which international organisation?

  1. A.International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)
  2. B.International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
  3. C.World Trade Organization (WTO)
  4. D.International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Show answer
Correct answer: A. International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)

CIML is the committee of the OIML, and the meeting in New Delhi brings together delegates, officials and technical experts from member countries to take forward cooperation on measurement standards, protection of consumers and fair trade.