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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

Q4862.Indian HistoryHard

Rani Abbakka Chowta of Ullal, on the coast of present Karnataka, is remembered for her long resistance to which European power?

  1. A.The Dutch
  2. B.The French
  3. C.The Portuguese
  4. D.The Danes
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Portuguese

Rani Abbakka Chowta ruled Ullal near Mangaluru in the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese were trying to control the pepper and spice trade of the Malabar and Tulunadu coast, and she fought them for decades, which is why she is often called the first woman freedom fighter of the Indian…

Q4864.Indian HistoryMedium

Rani Chennamma, who took up arms against the East India Company in 1824 over the refusal to accept her adopted heir, ruled which state?

  1. A.Kittur
  2. B.Keladi
  3. C.Ullal
  4. D.Ramgarh
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Kittur

Kittur Chennamma ruled the small state of Kittur in present Karnataka; when her son died, the Company refused to recognise her adopted son Shivalingappa as heir, and she resisted in arms in 1824, defeating the first British force before being overcome, so she is counted among the earliest rulers to…

Q4866.Indian HistoryEasy

Under which policy of Lord Dalhousie was Jhansi annexed in 1854, after the refusal to recognise the adopted son of Gangadhar Rao?

  1. A.Subsidiary Alliance
  2. B.Doctrine of Lapse
  3. C.Permanent Settlement
  4. D.Ring Fence policy
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Doctrine of Lapse

Under this policy of Lord Dalhousie, a dependent princely state whose ruler died without a natural heir lapsed to the Company, and adoption was not accepted; Satara, Jaitpur, Sambalpur, Nagpur and Jhansi were taken over in this way, and Jhansi was annexed in 1854 after the death of Gangadhar Rao.

Q4871.Indian HistoryMedium

Rani Rudramadevi, who ruled from Warangal in the thirteenth century, belonged to which dynasty?

  1. A.Hoysala
  2. B.Kakatiya
  3. C.Yadava of Devagiri
  4. D.Chola
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Kakatiya

Rudramadevi was the daughter of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapatideva and ruled the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal, in present Telangana, in the second half of the thirteenth century; she is one of the very few women to have governed a southern kingdom in her own name, and her grandson Prataparudra II…

Q4873.Indian EconomyHard

The Sukanya Samriddhi account for a girl child matures:

  1. A.Fifteen years from the date of opening
  2. B.Twenty-one years from the date of opening
  3. C.When the girl turns eighteen years of age
  4. D.After five years, like the National Savings Certificate
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Twenty-one years from the date of opening

The account is opened by a guardian in the name of a girl child before she completes ten years of age, deposits are made for the first fifteen years, and the account matures twenty-one years from the date it was opened; a part withdrawal is allowed for higher education after…

Q4875.Indian EconomyMedium

An open-ended mutual fund scheme is one which:

  1. A.Has a fixed maturity date and is listed on a stock exchange
  2. B.Allows investors to enter and exit on any working day at the NAV
  3. C.Opens for transactions only at stated intervals
  4. D.Invests only in government securities
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Allows investors to enter and exit on any working day at the NAV

An open-ended scheme has no fixed maturity; the fund house keeps creating and cancelling units, so an investor may buy or redeem on any working day at the NAV declared for that day, which is why most schemes sold today are open-ended.

Q4876.Indian EconomyEasy

The National Pension System (NPS) in India is regulated by:

  1. A.SEBI
  2. B.IRDAI
  3. C.PFRDA
  4. D.RBI
Show answer
Correct answer: C. PFRDA

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, which was given statutory status by the PFRDA Act of 2013, regulates the National Pension System and the Atal Pension Yojana, appoints the pension fund managers and the central record keeping agency, and prescribes the Tier I and Tier II account structure.

Q4877.Indian EconomyEasy

The chief benefit of investing through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is:

  1. A.A guaranteed return fixed in advance
  2. B.Rupee cost averaging over market cycles
  3. C.Exemption from the expense ratio
  4. D.Freedom from all market risk
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Rupee cost averaging over market cycles

In an SIP the same sum is invested at fixed intervals, so it automatically buys more units when the NAV is low and fewer when it is high; over a full market cycle the average cost per unit therefore works out lower than a lump sum invested at a high…

Q4880.Indian EconomyMedium

In the three-tier structure of an Indian mutual fund, which entity actually manages the schemes and takes the investment decisions?

  1. A.The sponsor
  2. B.The trustees
  3. C.The asset management company
  4. D.The custodian
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The asset management company

The AMC is appointed by the trustees, is registered with SEBI and runs the schemes from day to day: it employs the fund managers, decides which securities to buy and sell, and is paid a management fee out of the scheme.