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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

Q4321.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements in the light of octane number and cetane number of fuels: 1. Cetane number is used for gasoline and octane number is used for diesel. 2. Octane number of n-hexadecane is 100 and cetane number of isooctane is 100. 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: D. Neither 1 nor 2

Both statements swap the two scales: octane number rates petrol, cetane number rates diesel, and their reference fuels are the other way round.

Q4322.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IHard

In National Income (NI) accounts, Personal Income (PI) is defined as

  1. A.NI - undistributed profits - net interest payments made by households - corporate tax + transfer payments to the households from the government and firms
  2. B.NI - undistributed profits - corporate tax + transfer payments to the households from the government and firms
  3. C.undistributed profits - net interest payments made by households + transfer payments to the households from the government and firms
  4. D.undistributed profits - net interest payments made by households - corporate tax
Show answer
Correct answer: A. NI - undistributed profits - net interest payments made by households - corporate tax + transfer payments to the households from the government and firms

Personal Income is the part of National Income that actually reaches households, plus the transfers they receive. National Income counts all factor incomes earned in the economy, but not all of it is paid out to people.

Q4323.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IHard

Consider the following statements pertaining to the Satavahanas : 1. Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics 2. Satavahana succession to the throne was generally patrilineal 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

Satavahana kings carried names taken from their mothers, yet the throne usually passed from father to son. A metronymic is a name derived from the mother.

Q4324.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2020, Paper IEasy

Who was the President of the Constituent Assembly ?

  1. A.B. R. Ambedkar
  2. B.Rajendra Prasad
  3. C.Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar
  4. D.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Rajendra Prasad

Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent President of the Constituent Assembly on 11 December 1946 and presided over it until the Constitution was adopted.

Q4325.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IMedium

Which one among the following statements related to human eye is correct?

  1. A.For a person suffering from short-sight defect, the image of a distant object is focused behind the retina.
  2. B.Short-sight defect can be corrected by a converging spectacle lens.
  3. C.For a person suffering from long-sight defect, the image of a near object is focused behind the retina.
  4. D.Long-sight defect can be corrected by a diverging spectacle lens.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. For a person suffering from long-sight defect, the image of a near object is focused behind the retina.

In long-sightedness (hypermetropia) the eye cannot see nearby objects clearly because their image is formed behind the retina.

Q4327.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2017, Paper IEasy

Consider the following statements : 1. Areas where rainfall exceeds 250 cm 2. Annual temperature 25°C - 27°C 3. Average humidity exceeds 75% 4. Trees do not shed the leaves To which one of the following types of vegetation does the above represent ?

  1. A.Tropical wet evergreen
  2. B.Tropical semi evergreen
  3. C.Tropical moist deciduous
  4. D.Tropical dry evergreen
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Tropical wet evergreen

Very heavy rainfall, high and steady temperature, humidity above 75 per cent and trees that stay green all year are the marks of tropical wet evergreen forests.

Q4328.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IHard

Which one of the following is not a characteristic feature of the Indian Independence Act, 1947?

  1. A.The Dominion of India got the residuary territory of India, excluding the provinces of Sind, Baluchistan, West Punjab, East Bengal and NWFP.
  2. B.The Act sought to lay down a Constitution by the Legislative will of the British Parliament.
  3. C.The Act proposed to set up two independent Dominions.
  4. D.The Constituent Assembly of each Dominion was to have unlimited power to frame and adopt any Constitution.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Act sought to lay down a Constitution by the Legislative will of the British Parliament.

The Indian Independence Act did not lay down any Constitution for India; it left the making of the Constitution entirely to the Constituent Assemblies of the new Dominions.

Q4329.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IMedium

Which among the following statements about Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha is/are correct? 1. It was during the course of his campaign against racialism in South Africa that Gandhiji first applied Satyagraha 2. The two vital ingredients of Satyagraha are 'truth' and 'non-violence' 3. The Satyagrahi resists evil by inflicting suffering on himself and not by inflicting suffering on the opponent 4. In India, Satyagraha was first tried by Gandhiji in Champaran Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

All four statements correctly describe Gandhi's method of Satyagraha. Gandhi first used Satyagraha in South Africa, beginning in 1906 in the Transvaal against the law forcing Indians to register and carry passes.

Q4330.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2020, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements with regard to the Speaker, Lok Sabha is/are correct ? 1. The election of the Speaker of Lok Sabha is conducted by the Election Commission of India 2. The Speaker on assuming his office is not required to make and subscribe oath or affirmation 3. The Speaker does not exercise a casting vote in case of equality of votes Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

The Speaker takes no separate oath for the office, while statements 1 and 3 are false.

Q4332.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IEasy

When sunlight (white light) falls on a triangular glass prism, a band of colours called a spectrum is obtained. Which one among the following represents this effect appropriately?

  1. A.Reflection
  2. B.Diffraction
  3. C.Refraction
  4. D.Dispersion
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Dispersion

The splitting of white light into its seven component colours by a prism is called dispersion. White light is a mixture of colours, and glass bends each colour by a different amount because its refractive index depends on wavelength.

Q4333.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IHard

Which one of the following statements is correct?

  1. A.The number of electrons in alpha particle is 2.
  2. B.The coordination number of EDTA is 6.
  3. C.The charge of beta (β) particle is +2.
  4. D.Both carbon and silicon form ionic compounds.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The coordination number of EDTA is 6.

EDTA is a hexadentate ligand: one EDTA ion binds a metal ion through six donor atoms, so it forms complexes with coordination number 6.

Q4334.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2017, Paper IEasy

Which one of the following is NOT decomposed by bacterial action ?

  1. A.Vegetable remains
  2. B.Plastic materials
  3. C.Animal carcasses
  4. D.Wastes of flowers
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Plastic materials

Ordinary plastics are non-biodegradable, so bacteria and fungi cannot break them down in any useful length of time. Most plastics, such as polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC, are long synthetic polymers made from petroleum.

Q4335.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IHard

Which one of the following statements relating to the power of the President of India to grant pardon is not correct?

  1. A.The President has the power to grant pardon where punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial.
  2. B.The President can grant pardon in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.
  3. C.The Court's power of judicial review is very limited in relation to the decision of the President on mercy petition.
  4. D.The power to grant pardon by the President is the power that the sovereign never exercises against its own judicial mandate.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. The power to grant pardon by the President is the power that the sovereign never exercises against its own judicial mandate.

The pardoning power is exactly the power by which the sovereign, acting through the President, can set aside or soften the result of its own courts' judgment, so saying it is never exercised against the judicial mandate is wrong.

Q4336.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IHard

Which of the following statements about the Arya Samaj which emerged in the late 19th century are correct ? 1. Had a very strong support base amongst the trading castes 2. Introduced 'shuddhi' or mass purification 3. The moderates in the Arya Samaj were headed by Hans Raj and Lajpat Rai and set up a chain of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic colleges 4. The Arya Samaj had fewer members than the Brahmo Samaj Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

Statements 1, 2 and 3 are true, while statement 4 is false because the Arya Samaj grew far larger than the Brahmo Samaj.

Q4337.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2020, Paper IMedium

Which one of the following statements regarding Public Accounts Committee is correct ?

  1. A.It consists of fifteen members from Lok Sabha and seven members from Rajya Sabha
  2. B.It consists of twenty members from Lok Sabha and ten members from Rajya Sabha
  3. C.The term of members of Public Accounts Committee is five years
  4. D.Finance Minister is the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee
Show answer
Correct answer: A. It consists of fifteen members from Lok Sabha and seven members from Rajya Sabha

The Public Accounts Committee has 22 members: 15 elected by the Lok Sabha and 7 by the Rajya Sabha.

Q4339.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IMedium

The working principle of refrigerator is based on the

  1. A.first law of thermodynamics
  2. B.second law of thermodynamics
  3. C.Planck's radiation law
  4. D.Rayleigh-Jeans law
Show answer
Correct answer: B. second law of thermodynamics

A refrigerator moves heat from a cold space to a warmer room, which never happens on its own, and the second law explains what it takes to make it happen.