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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

Q5141.Indian PolityHard

Which amendment ended the nomination of members of the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies?

  1. A.95th Amendment, 2009
  2. B.104th Amendment, 2019
  3. C.106th Amendment, 2023
  4. D.87th Amendment, 2003
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 104th Amendment, 2019

The reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes under Articles 330 and 332 has a time limit set by Article 334, and that limit has been extended by amendment every ten years.

Q5142.Indian PolityEasy

Reservation of not less than one-third of the seats for women in panchayats is provided by which Article of the Constitution?

  1. A.Article 243D
  2. B.Article 243T
  3. C.Article 330A
  4. D.Article 332A
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Article 243D

It reserves seats in every panchayat for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, and reserves not less than one-third of the total number of seats, and not less than one-third of the offices of chairperson, for women, the women's share being counted within the…

Q5143.Indian PolityMedium

Under Article 334A, the reservation of seats for women will come into effect after:

  1. A.The next general election to the Lok Sabha
  2. B.The first census taken after the commencement of the Act and a delimitation based on it
  3. C.Ratification by half of the state legislatures
  4. D.A resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The first census taken after the commencement of the Act and a delimitation based on it

Article 334A was drafted in this way because one-third of the seats cannot be set apart until it is known which constituencies exist and how large they are, and the reserved seats are meant to rotate after each later delimitation.

Q5144.Indian PolityMedium

How many Delimitation Commissions have been constituted in India so far?

  1. A.Two, in 1952 and 1973
  2. B.Three, in 1952, 1963 and 2002
  3. C.Four, in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002
  4. D.Five, in 1952, 1963, 1973, 2002 and 2020
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Four, in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002

Each was set up under a Delimitation Commission Act passed by Parliament for the purpose, and each worked on the latest available census: the commission of 2002 used the 2001 census after the 87th Amendment made that census the basis.

Q5145.Indian PolityHard

Which of the following statements about the orders of a Delimitation Commission is correct?

  1. A.They require the approval of the President before taking effect
  2. B.They have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court
  3. C.They can be modified by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority
  4. D.They are advisory and binding only on the Election Commission
Show answer
Correct answer: B. They have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court

The Delimitation Commission Act gives its published orders this finality so that a general election is not held up by litigation over constituency boundaries, and the Supreme Court has upheld the bar.

Q5147.Indian PolityMedium

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 inserted which of the following Articles?

  1. A.Articles 330A, 332A and 334A
  2. B.Articles 243D and 243T
  3. C.Articles 331 and 333
  4. D.Articles 324 and 325
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Articles 330A, 332A and 334A

Article 330A reserves one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha for women, Article 332A does the same for the legislative assembly of every state, and Article 334A fixes when the reservation begins and how long it lasts, tying it to the first census after the commencement of the Act…

Q5148.Indian PolityMedium

Who heads a Delimitation Commission in India?

  1. A.The Chief Election Commissioner
  2. B.A serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court
  3. C.The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
  4. D.The Union Home Minister
Show answer
Correct answer: B. A serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court

The correct answer is B, a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court, who is appointed chairperson of the Commission.

Q5149.Indian PolityHard

Which amendment extended the freeze on the allocation of Lok Sabha seats among the states until the first census taken after the year 2026?

  1. A.42nd Amendment, 1976
  2. B.84th Amendment, 2001
  3. C.87th Amendment, 2003
  4. D.91st Amendment, 2003
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 84th Amendment, 2001

The 42nd Amendment had frozen the allocation on the 1971 census only until the census after 2000; as that date approached, the 84th Amendment pushed the freeze forward to the first census taken after 2026, so that states which had controlled population growth would not lose seats.

Q5150.Indian PolityMedium

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 reserves one-third of the seats for women in which of the following?

  1. A.The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha only
  2. B.The Lok Sabha, the state legislative assemblies and the Delhi legislative assembly
  3. C.All state legislative councils and the Rajya Sabha
  4. D.Only the panchayats and municipalities
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Lok Sabha, the state legislative assemblies and the Delhi legislative assembly

The amendment inserted Article 330A for the Lok Sabha and Article 332A for the state assemblies, and amended Article 239AA so that the reservation also covers the Delhi assembly.

Q5151.Indian PolityEasy

Which Article of the Constitution provides for the readjustment of the allocation of Lok Sabha seats and the division of states into territorial constituencies after every census?

  1. A.Article 80
  2. B.Article 81
  3. C.Article 82
  4. D.Article 84
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Article 82

Article 82 says that upon the completion of each census the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the states and the division of each state into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.

Q5152.Indian HistoryMedium

The recommendations of the Mandal Commission were implemented in 1990 by the government of which Prime Minister?

  1. A.Rajiv Gandhi
  2. B.V. P. Singh
  3. C.Chandra Shekhar
  4. D.P. V. Narasimha Rao
Show answer
Correct answer: B. V. P. Singh

The Mandal Commission, formally the Second Backward Classes Commission, had been appointed in 1979 under B. P. Mandal and submitted its report in 1980, recommending twenty-seven per cent reservation of central government posts for the Other Backward Classes.

Q5153.Indian HistoryHard

The Anti-Defection Law was added to the Constitution as the Tenth Schedule by which amendment?

  1. A.44th Amendment, 1978
  2. B.52nd Amendment, 1985
  3. C.61st Amendment, 1989
  4. D.73rd Amendment, 1992
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 52nd Amendment, 1985

It inserted the Tenth Schedule and amended Articles 101, 102, 190 and 191 so that a member of Parliament or of a state legislature who voluntarily gives up the membership of the party on whose ticket the member was elected, or votes against the party whip, may be disqualified, the…

Q5156.Indian HistoryMedium

Which Constitutional Amendment of the Emergency period is known as the Mini Constitution?

  1. A.38th Amendment
  2. B.42nd Amendment
  3. C.44th Amendment
  4. D.52nd Amendment
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 42nd Amendment

It added the words socialist, secular and integrity to the Preamble, inserted the Fundamental Duties as Part IVA and Article 51A, added subjects such as education, forests and weights and measures to the Concurrent List, extended the normal life of the Lok Sabha and the assemblies to six years, and…

Q5159.Indian HistoryMedium

The Shimla Agreement of 2 July 1972 was signed between Indira Gandhi and which leader of Pakistan?

  1. A.Ayub Khan
  2. B.Yahya Khan
  3. C.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
  4. D.Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

After the war of December 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh, the two countries met at Shimla and agreed on 2 July 1972 to settle their differences bilaterally and by peaceful means, to respect the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir resulting from the ceasefire, and to work towards…

Q5160.Indian HistoryEasy

How many major commercial banks were nationalised in India in 1969?

  1. A.Six
  2. B.Fourteen
  3. C.Twenty
  4. D.Twenty-one
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Fourteen

In July 1969 the government of Indira Gandhi nationalised the fourteen largest commercial banks, each with deposits above fifty crore rupees, in order to take banking to the villages and to direct credit towards agriculture, small industry and the weaker sections, which were together termed the priority sectors.