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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

Q5041.Environment & EcologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKHard

Which one of the following is not among the thematic areas of National Mission on Sustainable Habitat?

  1. A.Energy and Green Building
  2. B.Mobility and Air Quality
  3. C.Waste Management
  4. D.Rural Planning, Green cover and Biodiversity
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Rural Planning, Green cover and Biodiversity

The mission's thematic area is Urban Planning, Green Cover and Biodiversity, because the mission is about cities, not villages.

Q5043.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2026, GKMedium

Consider the following statements with reference to earthquakes:

1. Collapse earthquakes are most common.

2. Tsunamis are waves generated by the tremors and not an earthquake in itself.

3. High magnitude earthquakes i.e. 8+ are quite rare whereas 'tiny' types occur almost every minute.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

Statement 1 is false because tectonic earthquakes, not collapse earthquakes, are the most common type. Earthquakes are grouped by cause: tectonic (sliding of rocks along a fault), volcanic, collapse (the roofs of underground mines or caverns falling in), explosion (from nuclear or chemical blasts) and reservoir-induced.

Q5044.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKMedium

With reference to earthquakes, which of the following statements are correct?

1. Earthquakes largely occur along the converging plate boundaries.

2. Point of origin of earthquake in lithosphere is known as focus/hypocentre.

3. Intensity of earthquake decreases with distance from the epicentre.

4. Epicentre of earthquake always remains over continents only.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

The first three statements are true, while statement 4 is false because many earthquakes have their epicentre under the sea.

Q5046.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKEasy

National Disaster Management Authority is headed by

  1. A.the Prime Minister.
  2. B.the Home Minister.
  3. C.the President.
  4. D.the Health Minister.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. the Prime Minister.

Under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Prime Minister is the ex officio chairperson of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Q5047.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2022, GKMedium

What were Manigramam and Nanadesi in early medieval India?

  1. A.Cluster of non-revenue paying villages
  2. B.Village-level community groups
  3. C.Guilds of Indian merchants
  4. D.Literary societies in the capital towns
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Guilds of Indian merchants

Manigramam and Nanadesi were powerful trade guilds of south India in the early medieval period. In the age of the Pallavas, Cholas and later Chalukyas, merchants organised themselves into guilds that ran long-distance and overseas trade.

Q5048.Static GKAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKMedium

Consider the following statements:

1. The Flag Code of India superseded the 'Flag Code-India'.

2. The state emblem of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath.

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

The Flag Code of India, 2002 replaced the older 'Flag Code-India', and the State Emblem is taken from Ashoka's Lion Capital at Sarnath.

Q5049.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKMedium

Chronologically arrange the formation of the following political associations, beginning from the earliest:

1. Poona Sarvajanik Sabha

2. Indian Association

3. Madras Mahajan Sabha

4. Bombay Presidency Association

Select the answer using the code given below:

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

The four bodies were founded in 1870, 1876, 1884 and 1885 respectively, which is the order of the question. The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was set up in 1870, and Justice M.G.

Q5050.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2026, GKMedium

Which of the following statements related to the stages of evolution of the present atmosphere are correct?

1. The first stage is marked by the loss of primordial atmosphere.

2. In the second stage, the hot interior of the earth contributed to the evolution of the atmosphere.

3. Finally, the composition of the atmosphere was modified by the living world through the process of photosynthesis.

Select the answer using the code given below:

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

All three statements describe, in the right order, the three stages through which the present atmosphere of the Earth evolved.

Q5058.NationalMedium

Which organisation runs the Namo Bharat regional rapid rail service?

  1. A.Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
  2. B.National Capital Region Transport Corporation
  3. C.Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
  4. D.Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
Show answer
Correct answer: B. National Capital Region Transport Corporation

It built and runs the Namo Bharat service and it organised Namo Bharat Diwas in New Delhi, where its Managing Director Shalabh Goel welcomed the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Power, Manohar Lal.