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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

Q3521.Uttar PradeshMedium

Who presides over the sittings of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad?

  1. A.The Governor of the state
  2. B.The Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha
  3. C.A Chairman elected by the members of the Council
  4. D.A Chairman nominated by the Chief Minister
Show answer
Correct answer: C. A Chairman elected by the members of the Council

Article 182 says the Legislative Council of a state shall choose two members of the Council to be respectively Chairman and Deputy Chairman, and the Chairman presides over its sittings.

Q3524.Uttar PradeshHard

What is the quorum for a sitting of either House of a state legislature?

  1. A.One-fourth of the total members
  2. B.One-tenth of the total members or ten members, whichever is greater
  3. C.Fifty members
  4. D.One-third of the total members
Show answer
Correct answer: B. One-tenth of the total members or ten members, whichever is greater

Article 189(3) fixes this quorum until the House makes a rule of its own. For the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha with 403 members the quorum therefore works out to 41, and for the 100-member Vidhan Parishad it is 10.

Q3525.Uttar PradeshMedium

Which article of the Constitution deals with the creation or abolition of a Legislative Council in a state?

  1. A.Article 168
  2. B.Article 169
  3. C.Article 170
  4. D.Article 171
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Article 169

Parliament may by law create a Legislative Council for a state that does not have one, or abolish an existing Council, but only after the Legislative Assembly of that state passes a resolution supported by a majority of its total membership and by not less than two-thirds of the members…

Q3527.Uttar PradeshMedium

A money bill in Uttar Pradesh can be introduced

  1. A.in either House of the legislature
  2. B.only in the Vidhan Sabha, on the recommendation of the Governor
  3. C.only in the Vidhan Parishad
  4. D.in the Vidhan Sabha, with the prior approval of the President
Show answer
Correct answer: B. only in the Vidhan Sabha, on the recommendation of the Governor

Article 198 says a money bill shall not be introduced in a Legislative Council, and Article 207 requires the recommendation of the Governor before a money bill or a bill dealing with the subjects named in Article 199 is introduced.

Q3532.Uttar PradeshHard

Under Article 167, which of the following is a duty of the Chief Minister of a state?

  1. A.To summon and prorogue the Vidhan Sabha
  2. B.To appoint the Advocate General of the state
  3. C.To furnish the Governor with information relating to the administration of the state
  4. D.To reserve a bill for the consideration of the President
Show answer
Correct answer: C. To furnish the Governor with information relating to the administration of the state

Article 167 gives the Chief Minister three duties: to communicate to the Governor all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the state and proposals for legislation, to furnish such information relating to administration as the Governor may call for, and, if the Governor so requires…

Q3533.Uttar PradeshEasy

Who is the Chancellor of the state universities of Uttar Pradesh?

  1. A.The Chief Minister
  2. B.The Governor
  3. C.The Minister of Higher Education
  4. D.The Chief Secretary
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Governor

The Constitution says nothing about this office; it is the state university Acts that make the Governor of Uttar Pradesh the Chancellor of the state universities, and in that capacity he presides over convocations and is involved in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors.

Q3534.Uttar PradeshMedium

A minister in Uttar Pradesh who is not a member of either House of the state legislature for six consecutive months

  1. A.may continue for one year with the permission of the Governor
  2. B.ceases to be a minister at the end of that period
  3. C.must be elected to the Vidhan Parishad by the Assembly
  4. D.may continue if the Vidhan Sabha passes a resolution
Show answer
Correct answer: B. ceases to be a minister at the end of that period

Article 164(4) says a minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the legislature of the state shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a minister.

Q3535.Uttar PradeshMedium

Which article of the Constitution provides for a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at its head to aid and advise the Governor?

  1. A.Article 161
  2. B.Article 163
  3. C.Article 166
  4. D.Article 167
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Article 163

It says there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is required to exercise them in his discretion, and it bars any court from enquiring into…

Q3536.Uttar PradeshEasy

Sucheta Kripalani, who became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1963, holds which distinction?

  1. A.First woman Governor of an Indian state
  2. B.First woman Chief Minister of an Indian state
  3. C.First woman Speaker of a Vidhan Sabha
  4. D.First woman member of the Constituent Assembly
Show answer
Correct answer: B. First woman Chief Minister of an Indian state

Sucheta Kripalani took charge of the Uttar Pradesh government in October 1963 and became the first woman to head a state government anywhere in India, a fact that is asked in both the state and the national general knowledge papers.

Q3537.Uttar PradeshEasy

Who was the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh?

  1. A.Sampurnanand
  2. B.Govind Ballabh Pant
  3. C.Chandra Bhanu Gupta
  4. D.Kamalapati Tripathi
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Govind Ballabh Pant

Pant headed the government of the United Provinces from 1937 as Premier, returned to office after independence and continued as the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh until 1954, when he moved to the Union cabinet as Home Minister.

Q3538.Uttar PradeshMedium

Which of the following is outside the pardoning power of the Governor under Article 161?

  1. A.Remission of a sentence for an offence against a state law
  2. B.Suspension of a sentence of death
  3. C.Pardon of a sentence of death
  4. D.Commutation of a sentence of death
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Pardon of a sentence of death

Article 161 lets the Governor grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remission of punishment, and suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of an offence against a law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.

Q3539.Uttar PradeshMedium

Before whom does the Governor of Uttar Pradesh take the oath of office?

  1. A.The President of India
  2. B.The Chief Justice of India
  3. C.The Chief Justice of the High Court of the state
  4. D.The Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Chief Justice of the High Court of the state

Article 159 requires every Governor, before entering upon his office, to make and subscribe an oath in the presence of the Chief Justice of the High Court having jurisdiction in relation to that state, and in his absence before the senior-most judge of that court available.