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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

Q2281.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2024, GKHard

Under normal downward sloping demand curve and fully elastic supply curve of a commodity, an exogenous decrease in demand would lead to

  1. A.increase in equilibrium price and quantity
  2. B.decrease in equilibrium price and quantity
  3. C.decrease in equilibrium quantity and no change in price
  4. D.increase in equilibrium price and no change in quantity
Show answer
Correct answer: C. decrease in equilibrium quantity and no change in price

A fully (perfectly) elastic supply curve is a horizontal line: sellers will supply any quantity at one fixed price and nothing below it.

Q2282.Books & AuthorsAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKMedium

The book 'The Art of War' was written by :

  1. A.Niccolo Machiavelli
  2. B.Thucydides
  3. C.Thomas Hobbes
  4. D.J.S. Mill
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Niccolo Machiavelli

Among the four thinkers listed, Machiavelli is the one who wrote a work called The Art of War (Dell'arte della guerra), published in Florence in 1521.

Q2284.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2021, GATMedium

Consider the following statements about the Mahanavami Dibba : 1. It was the name of a giant box of sweets distributed at the Mahanavami festival. 2. It was the name of a massive platform with a base covered with relief carvings. 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: B. 2 only

The Mahanavami Dibba is a massive stone platform in the royal centre of Hampi, the Vijayanagara capital, with its base covered in relief carvings.

Q2286.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2022, GATEasy

Consider the following features about a geographical phenomenon : 1. Torrents of snow and ice roaring down a steep mountain side 2. It is hazardous to skiers and mountaineers 3. It involves a mix of falling, rolling, sliding and flowing of materials Which of the following phenomena can be identified with the above features?

  1. A.Slump and earthflow
  2. B.Avalanche
  3. C.Landslide
  4. D.Rockslide
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Avalanche

A rapid rush of snow and ice down a steep mountain slope, dangerous to skiers and climbers, is an avalanche.

Q2287.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2022, GATMedium

Who among the following has described the medieval Indian postal system as of two kinds—the horse-post called 'Uluq' and the foot-post called 'Dawa'?

  1. A.Al-Biruni
  2. B.Duarte Barbosa
  3. C.Ibn Battuta
  4. D.Seydi Ali Reis
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Ibn Battuta

The Moroccan traveller described the two kinds of post he saw in India under Muhammad bin Tughlaq: the uluq, run by royal horses, and the dawa, run by runners on foot.

Q2288.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2023, GATHard

One block of 2.0 kg mass is placed on top of another block of 3.0 kg mass. The coefficient of static friction between the two blocks is 0.2. The bottom block is pulled with a horizontal force F such that both the blocks move together without slipping. Taking acceleration due to gravity as 10 m/s², the maximum value of the frictional force is :

  1. A.50 N
  2. B.30 N
  3. C.4 N
  4. D.10 N
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 4 N

The friction between the blocks is the only force that drags the top block along, and its largest possible value is μ times the normal force from the top block.

Q2289.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2023, GATMedium

The North-South and East-West Road Corridors of India cross each other at which of the following cities?

  1. A.Bhopal
  2. B.Itarsi
  3. C.Gwalior
  4. D.Jhansi
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Jhansi

The North-South and East-West corridors of the National Highways Development Project intersect at Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. The North-South corridor runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari, and the East-West corridor from Silchar in Assam to Porbandar in Gujarat.

Q2290.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2024, GATEasy

A microscope may be a combination of :

  1. A.two convex lenses.
  2. B.a convex and a concave lens.
  3. C.two concave lenses.
  4. D.a convex lens and a convex mirror.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. two convex lenses.

A compound microscope uses two converging lenses, the objective and the eyepiece, to give a greatly magnified image of a tiny object.

Q2292.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2025, GATHard

Consider the following conditions favourable for the formation and intensification of Tropical Storms : 1. Presence of the Coriolis force 2. Upper divergence above the sea level system 3. High variations in the vertical wind speed Which of the conditions given above is/are correct ?

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

Tropical storms need the Coriolis force and upper-level divergence, but they need small, not high, variations in vertical wind speed.

Q2293.Books & AuthorsAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2026, GATMedium

Consider the following pairs : Books — Authors I. Dayabhaga — Jimutavahana II. Prithviraj Raso — Chandbardai III. Lilavati — Bhaskaracharya IV. Mitakshara — Vijnaneshvara How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. A.One
  2. B.Two
  3. C.Three
  4. D.All the four
Show answer
Correct answer: D. All the four

Every book in the list is paired with its real author. Dayabhaga, written by Jimutavahana in Bengal in the twelfth century, is a work on Hindu law of inheritance; under it a son gets a share in family property only after the father's death.

Q2296.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2018, GATMedium

A circular coil of radius R having N number of turns carries a steady current I. The magnetic induction at the centre of the coil is 0.1 tesla. If the number of turns is doubled and the radius is halved, which one of the following will be the correct value for the magnetic induction at the centre of the coil?

  1. A.0.05 tesla
  2. B.0.2 tesla
  3. C.0.4 tesla
  4. D.0.8 tesla
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 0.4 tesla

The field at the centre of a coil is proportional to the number of turns and inversely proportional to the radius, so doubling N and halving R makes it four times larger.

Q2297.General ScienceAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2019, GATEasy

LIGO stands for

  1. A.Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory
  2. B.Light Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory
  3. C.Light Induced Gravity Observatory
  4. D.Laser Induced Gaseous Optics
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory

LIGO uses laser beams in long perpendicular arms to detect the tiny stretching of space caused by gravitational waves. LIGO has two detectors in the United States, at Hanford in Washington and Livingston in Louisiana, each with arms 4 km long.

Q2298.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2019, GATEasy

Who among the following died in exile ?

  1. A.Rani Laxmibai
  2. B.Bahadur Shah Zafar
  3. C.Tantia Tope
  4. D.Nana Saheb
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Bahadur Shah Zafar

The last Mughal emperor was exiled by the British to Rangoon in Burma, where he died in 1862. The rebels of 1857 proclaimed Bahadur Shah II the leader of the revolt.