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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

Q5401.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2020, Paper IMedium

Singapore is known as Port of Call because

  1. A.it deals in the processing and shipping of oil
  2. B.it is a deep water port built away from the actual port
  3. C.it is on main sea route where ships use to anchor for refueling, watering and taking food items
  4. D.it serves the parent ports by receiving the ships which are unable to approach due to their large size
Show answer
Correct answer: C. it is on main sea route where ships use to anchor for refueling, watering and taking food items

That is exactly what a port of call is. Ports of call first grew up as stopping points on the great ocean routes, where ships halted to take on fuel, fresh water and provisions before the next long leg of the voyage.

Q5403.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IMedium

What is Nalayira Divyaprabandham?

  1. A.Compositions by the Alvars compiled in the form of an anthology
  2. B.Hymns composed by Nayanars
  3. C.Eulogies composed for Chola kings
  4. D.An exposition of the hymns of Rig Veda in Malayalam
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Compositions by the Alvars compiled in the form of an anthology

The Nalayira Divyaprabandham, meaning "four thousand sacred compositions", gathers the Tamil hymns of the twelve Vaishnava saints known as Alvars.

Q5404.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IHard

Consider the following statements with reference to salt weathering :

1. Salts in rocks expand due to thermal action, hydration and crystallization.

2. Salts like calcium, sodium, magnesium and barium have a tendency to expand.

3. Salt weathering is a typical example of chemical weathering.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Salt weathering breaks rock by the physical pressure of growing salts, so it is a form of physical (mechanical) weathering, not chemical weathering.

Q5407.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2021, Paper IHard

Who among the following warned his colleagues that the Constituent Assembly was British made and was "working the British plan as the British should like it to be worked out"?

  1. A.Somnath Lahiri
  2. B.B. R. Ambedkar
  3. C.Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
  4. D.B. N. Rau
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Somnath Lahiri

The Communist member from Bengal attacked the Constituent Assembly as a body created under the British Cabinet Mission Plan. The Constituent Assembly was set up in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan, and its members were elected indirectly by the provincial assemblies, not by universal adult franchise.

Q5408.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

In experiment #1, a bar magnet is moved towards a conducting wire loop axially, with the magnet's north pole facing the loop. In experiment #2, the same process as in experiment #1 is repeated except that the south pole of the magnet faces the loop. Which one of the following statements is true in this context?

  1. A.The direction of current in the loop will be of opposite nature in both the experiments.
  2. B.The direction of current in the loop will be the same in both the experiments.
  3. C.No current will flow in either of the two experiments.
  4. D.More current will flow in the loop in experiment #1.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The direction of current in the loop will be of opposite nature in both the experiments.

Reversing the pole that approaches the loop reverses the change in magnetic flux, so the induced current reverses too. When a magnet moves towards a closed loop, the magnetic flux through the loop changes and an electric current is induced (Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction).

Q5409.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IHard

Consider the following eras in early India :

1. Shaka era 2. Kalachuri era 3. Vikrama era 4. Harsha era 5. Gupta era

Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the above eras starting with the earliest ?

  1. A.1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
  2. B.3 - 1 - 5 - 2 - 4
  3. C.2 - 3 - 1 - 4 - 5
  4. D.3 - 1 - 2 - 5 - 4
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 3 - 1 - 2 - 5 - 4

Arranged by the year each era begins, the order is Vikrama, Shaka, Kalachuri, Gupta and Harsha. The Vikrama era (Vikram Samvat) begins in 57 BCE and is still used in much of north and west India.

Q5410.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The time at 180° longitude is exactly 12 hours from the 0° longitude, irrespective of whether one travels westward or eastward from the Prime Meridian.

2. A person moving eastward on Tuesday will count the day as Wednesday once the International Date Line is crossed.

Select the answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is right, but statement 2 has the date change the wrong way round. The Earth turns 360° in 24 hours, so every 15° of longitude means one hour of time.

Q5411.NationalMedium

The Panch Pran, recalled by the Minister, were announced by the Prime Minister from which place?

  1. A.The Red Fort
  2. B.Parliament House
  3. C.Rashtrapati Bhavan
  4. D.Sabarmati Ashram
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The Red Fort

The five pledges, together called Panch Pran, were articulated by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort, and the Minister recalled them at this programme: the resolve to build a developed India, freedom from the colonial mindset, pride in the heritage of the country, unity and solidarity…

Q5412.NationalMedium

How many young leaders did the Minister say are being developed across the country?

  1. A.Ten thousand
  2. B.Fifty thousand
  3. C.One lakh
  4. D.Ten lakh
Show answer
Correct answer: C. One lakh

The Minister said that efforts were under way, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, to develop one lakh young leaders across the country, and he placed the MY Bharat portal at the centre of that effort as the route through which the young can find openings for participation, career…

Q5414.EconomyHard

According to the sector presentation at the programme, where does India rank among global exporters of gems and jewellery?

  1. A.Third
  2. B.Fifth
  3. C.Eighth
  4. D.Twelfth
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Eighth

The presentation by the Joint Director General of Foreign Trade at Jaipur placed India eighth among exporters of gems and jewellery worldwide, with a share of 2.9 per cent in a global market worth about one trillion dollars, and noted that the recently concluded agreements grant immediate duty-free access across…

Q5419.NationalEasy

The High Powered Enquiry Committee that has launched the portal hpec.nic.in was constituted by which authority?

  1. A.The Supreme Court of India
  2. B.The National Human Rights Commission
  3. C.The Delhi High Court
  4. D.The Election Commission of India
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The Supreme Court of India

The court set up the High Powered Enquiry Committee to enquire into all aspects of the incidents of violence at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and at places outside Delhi during July 2026, and the Committee has now opened a portal so that affected persons, including affected police personnel, can send…