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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

Q4961.GeographyHard

The Kishanganga project, on which a Court of Arbitration gave its award in 2013, lies on a tributary of which river?

  1. A.The Indus
  2. B.The Jhelum
  3. C.The Chenab
  4. D.The Ravi
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Jhelum

The Kishanganga, known as the Neelum in Pakistan, is a tributary of the Jhelum, and the Court of Arbitration at The Hague held in 2013 that India could divert its water for generating power at the Kishanganga project while maintaining a minimum flow downstream.

Q4962.GeographyHard

The Baglihar hydroelectric project dispute on the Chenab was decided by which authority under the treaty?

  1. A.The Permanent Indus Commission
  2. B.A Neutral Expert
  3. C.A Court of Arbitration
  4. D.The United Nations Security Council
Show answer
Correct answer: B. A Neutral Expert

When the Permanent Indus Commission could not settle Pakistan's objections to the design of the Baglihar dam, the matter was referred to a Neutral Expert, the Swiss engineer Raymond Lafitte, appointed with the help of the World Bank, who gave his determination in 2007 and allowed the project with changes…

Q4963.GeographyMedium

Which international institution acted as the broker of the Indus Waters Treaty and is a signatory to it?

  1. A.The United Nations
  2. B.The World Bank
  3. C.The International Court of Justice
  4. D.The Asian Development Bank
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The World Bank

The Bank brought India and Pakistan to the table in 1952, proposed the division of the rivers into eastern and western groups, helped to arrange the finance for Pakistan's replacement canals, and signed the treaty for the limited purposes in which it has a role, such as helping to appoint…

Q4964.GeographyEasy

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, which group of rivers was allotted to India for unrestricted use?

  1. A.Indus, Jhelum and Chenab
  2. B.Ravi, Beas and Sutlej
  3. C.Ganga, Yamuna and Gomti
  4. D.Chenab, Ravi and Beas
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Ravi, Beas and Sutlej

These are the three eastern rivers of the Indus system, and the treaty gives their waters to India for unrestricted use, which is why the Bhakra dam on the Sutlej, the Pong dam on the Beas and the Ranjit Sagar dam on the Ravi could be built.

Q4966.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IHard

Which of the following statements about the Ethics Committee in the Lok Sabha are correct ? 1. Initially it was an ad-hoc Committee. 2. Only a Member of the Lok Sabha can make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member of the Lok Sabha. 3. This Committee cannot take up any matter which is sub-judice. Select the answer using the code given below :

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

The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee began as an ad hoc body and does not take up matters pending in court, but complaints can come from people other than members.

Q4967.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IEasy

Consider the following pairs : Region — Country I. Mallorca — Italy II. Normandy — Spain III. Sardinia — France In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.All the three
  4. D.None
Show answer
Correct answer: D. None

Mallorca belongs to Spain, Normandy to France and Sardinia to Italy, so every pair in the question is wrong. Mallorca, also spelt Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean and part of Spain; its capital is Palma.

Q4968.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

For election to the Lok Sabha, a nomination paper can be filed by

  1. A.anyone residing in India.
  2. B.a resident of the constituency from which the election is to be contested.
  3. C.any citizen of India whose name appears in the electoral roll of a constituency.
  4. D.any citizen of India.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. any citizen of India whose name appears in the electoral roll of a constituency.

To contest a Lok Sabha seat, a person must be a citizen and an elector, but the name can be on the roll of any constituency in the country.

Q4969.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IEasy

In which of the following areas can GPS technology be used ? 1. Mobile phone operations 2. Banking operations 3. Controlling the power grids Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Besides location, GPS satellites broadcast extremely precise time, and mobile networks, banks and power grids all depend on that timing.

Q4970.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IHard

Consider the following statements : 1. As per recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboos grown on forest areas. 2. As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce. 3. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

The Forest Rights Act names bamboo as minor forest produce and gives forest dwellers ownership of such produce, but the Indian Forest Act amendment did not allow felling of bamboo grown in forest areas.

Q4971.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2023, GS Paper IHard

With reference to coal-based thermal power plants in India, consider the following statements : 1. None of them uses seawater. 2. None of them is set up in water-stressed district. 3. None of them is privately owned. How many of the above statements are correct?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.All three
  4. D.None
Show answer
Correct answer: D. None

All three statements are false: some coal plants use seawater, many stand in water-stressed districts, and a large share are privately owned.

Q4972.Static GKAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IEasy

Operations undertaken by the Army towards upliftment of the local population in remote areas to include addressing of their basic needs is called :

  1. A.Operation Sankalp
  2. B.Operation Maitri
  3. C.Operation Sadbhavana
  4. D.Operation Madad
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Operation Sadbhavana

Sadbhavana, meaning goodwill, is the Indian Army's civic action programme for people in remote and troubled areas. It began in the late 1990s in Jammu and Kashmir and was later taken to Ladakh and the North-East.

Q4973.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IEasy

Consider the following pairs : Country — Resource-rich in I. Botswana — Diamond II. Chile — Lithium III. Indonesia — Nickel In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.All the three
  4. D.None
Show answer
Correct answer: C. All the three

Botswana is rich in diamonds, Chile in lithium and Indonesia in nickel. Botswana is one of the world's leading producers of diamonds by value; the Jwaneng and Orapa mines, run with De Beers, turned it from one of the poorest countries at independence in 1966 into a middle-income one.

Q4974.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IMedium

The term 'Base Erosion and Profit Shifting' is sometimes seen in the news in the context of

  1. A.mining operation by multinational companies in resource-rich but backward areas
  2. B.curbing of the tax evasion by multinational companies
  3. C.exploitation of genetic resources of a country by multinational companies
  4. D.lack of consideration of environmental costs in the planning and implementation of developmental projects
Show answer
Correct answer: B. curbing of the tax evasion by multinational companies

Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) describes how multinationals shrink their tax base in one country by moving profits to low-tax places.

Q4975.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following pairs : Craft — Heritage of 1. Puthukkuli shawls — Tamil Nadu 2. Sujni embroidery — Maharashtra 3. Uppada Jamdani saris — Karnataka Which of the pairs given above is/are correct ?

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

Puthukkuli shawls come from Tamil Nadu, but Sujni embroidery belongs to Bihar and Uppada Jamdani saris to Andhra Pradesh.

Q4976.Static GKAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IHard

Consider the following statements : 1. The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) has a Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. 2. The UNCAC is the ever-first legally binding global anti-corruption instrument. 3. A highlight of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is the inclusion of a specific chapter aimed at returning assets to their rightful owners from whom they had been taken illicitly. 4. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated by its member States to assist in the implementation of both UNCAC and UNTOC. Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

Statements 1 and 3 swap the two conventions: the migrant-smuggling protocol belongs to UNTOC, and the asset-recovery chapter belongs to UNCAC.

Q4977.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IEasy

Consider the following statements : 1. Coal ash contains arsenic, lead and mercury. 2. Coal-fired power plants release sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen into the environment. 3. High ash content is observed in Indian coal. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

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

All three statements about coal, its ash and its emissions are correct. When coal burns in a power station, the leftover fly ash and bottom ash carry toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium, which can leach into groundwater from ash ponds.

Q4978.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IEasy

"Leaf litter decomposes faster than in any other biome and as a result the soil surface is often almost bare. Apart from trees, the vegetation is largely composed of plant forms that reach up into the canopy vicariously, by climbing the trees or growing as epiphytes, rooted on the upper branches of trees." This is the most likely description of

  1. A.coniferous forest
  2. B.dry deciduous forest
  3. C.mangrove forest
  4. D.tropical rain forest
Show answer
Correct answer: D. tropical rain forest

Constant heat and heavy rain make decomposition fastest there, and climbers and epiphytes are its typical plant forms. Tropical rain forests lie near the equator, in the Amazon, the Congo basin and South-East Asia, with temperatures around 27°C and rain in every month.

Q4979.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IHard

With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts : 1. Nettipakarana 2. Parishishtaparvan 3. Avadanashataka 4. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana Which of the above are Jaina texts ?

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

Parishishtaparvan and Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana are Jaina works, while Nettipakarana and Avadanashataka are Buddhist.

Q4980.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2023, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements : 1. In a seismograph, P waves are recorded earlier than S waves. 2. In P waves, the individual particles vibrate to and fro in the direction of wave propagation whereas in S waves, the particles vibrate up and down at right angles to the direction of wave propagation. 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

P waves are the fastest seismic waves and reach a seismograph first, and they move particles along the direction of travel, while S waves move them at right angles to it.