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.
The Buddha attained enlightenment at which place in present day Bihar?
Gautama attained enlightenment at Uruvela, the Bodh Gaya of today, under a peepal tree on the bank of the Niranjana river, which is called the Phalgu now.
Read the full explanation →Sopana sangeetam, the devotional music sung on the steps of a temple sanctum to the hourglass drum edakka, belongs to which state?
Sopana sangeetam takes its name from sopanam, the flight of steps leading to the sanctum of a Kerala temple, where the singer stands and sings slow devotional verse, keeping time on the edakka, an hourglass drum played with a stick.
Read the full explanation →The Thevaram hymns, sung in Tamil Shiva temples, were composed by the
The Nayanars were the Shaiva saint-poets of the Tamil country, and the hymns of Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar make up the Thevaram, the first seven books of the Shaiva canon called the Tirumurai.
Read the full explanation →The Ashtachhap, the eight poet-singers whose devotional songs are sung as haveli sangeet, belonged to the sect founded by
Vallabhacharya founded the Pushtimarg, the path of grace, whose worship of Krishna as Shrinathji is centred at Nathdwara in Rajasthan.
Read the full explanation →Who is honoured as the Pitamaha of Carnatic music, and composed devotional songs called devaranamas in Kannada?
Purandara Dasa belonged to the Haridasa movement of Karnataka and composed devaranamas, devotional songs in Kannada, and he is credited with organising the graded exercises with which Carnatic music is still taught.
Read the full explanation →In qawwali, a composition in praise of the Prophet Muhammad is called
The qawwali repertoire follows a fixed order of forms, and the naat is the song in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, usually sung early in a performance after the opening praise of God.
Read the full explanation →Sankirtana, the ritual singing, drumming and dancing inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List in 2013, belongs to which state?
The Sankirtana of Manipur is the Vaishnava ritual music of the Meitei people, in which singers and drummers perform in the temple courtyard, the mandap, with the barrel drum called pung and with cymbals; the drum dance is the Pung Cholom.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following saints was a contemporary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?
Sant Tukaram was a Varkari poet of the seventeenth century who composed abhangs for Vithoba of Pandharpur and lived in Dehu near Pune, in the years when Shivaji was building the Maratha state.
Read the full explanation →The Baul singers, whose songs UNESCO proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, belong mainly to which region?
The Bauls are wandering mystic minstrels of Bengal, on both sides of the border, whose songs blend Vaishnava Sahajiya and Sufi ideas and reject caste and ritual.
Read the full explanation →Abhang, the devotional verse sung for Vithoba of Pandharpur, belongs to which tradition?
Abhang is Marathi devotional verse, and the word means unbroken. Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Chokhamela and Tukaram composed abhangs for Vithoba of Pandharpur, and pilgrims still sing them on the wari to Pandharpur with the taal and the ektari.
Read the full explanation →The development of qawwali in India is credited to which figure?
Khusrau lived in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was the disciple of the Chishti saint Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi.
Read the full explanation →Article 300A of the Constitution, which says that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law, belongs to which Part?
Part XII, Articles 264 to 300A, deals with finance, property, contracts and suits, and Article 300A stands at its end.
Read the full explanation →Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT of the Indian Constitution, forming Part IX-B, relate to which subject?
Part IX-B was inserted by the Constitution (Ninety-seventh Amendment) Act, 2011, which came into force on 15 February 2012, and it gives constitutional status to co-operative societies.
Read the full explanation →The Union Territories are dealt with in which Part of the Constitution of India?
Part VIII, Articles 239 to 242, deals with the Union Territories: Article 239 provides that every Union Territory shall be administered by the President through an administrator, Article 239A allows Parliament to create a legislature for a Union Territory, Article 239AA makes special provision for the National Capital Territory of…
Read the full explanation →Part XVII of the Indian Constitution contains provisions relating to which subject?
Part XVII, Articles 343 to 351, deals with language: Article 343 makes Hindi in the Devanagari script the official language of the Union, Article 344 provides for an Official Language Commission and a Committee of Parliament, Articles 345 to 347 deal with the official languages of the States, Article 348…
Read the full explanation →Which Part of the Constitution of India consists of only one article, dealing with the amendment of the Constitution?
Part XX contains Article 368 alone, which lays down the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and the procedure for doing so: a Bill introduced in either House, passed by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a two-thirds majority of the members present and…
Read the full explanation →Part IX-A of the Indian Constitution, inserted in 1992, deals with which subject?
Part IX-A, Articles 243-P to 243-ZG, was inserted by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 and gives constitutional status to urban local bodies, providing for three types of municipalities, ward committees, five-year terms, reservation of seats, the State Election Commission, the State Finance Commission and the Twelfth Schedule of eighteen…
Read the full explanation →Articles 352 to 360 of the Constitution of India fall under which Part?
Part XVIII, Articles 352 to 360, contains the Emergency provisions: Article 352 provides for a Proclamation of Emergency on the ground of war, external aggression or armed rebellion, Articles 353 to 355 state its effects and the duty of the Union to protect States, Article 356 provides for President's rule…
Read the full explanation →Which Part of the Indian Constitution was repealed by the Seventh Amendment Act, 1956?
Part VII contained only Article 238 and dealt with the administration of the States specified in Part B of the First Schedule, that is, the former princely States such as Mysore, Travancore-Cochin and Hyderabad.
Read the full explanation →Fundamental Duties are contained in which Part of the Indian Constitution?
Part IV-A was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee, and it consists of a single article, Article 51A, which originally listed ten Fundamental Duties; an eleventh duty, on providing education to a child between six and fourteen years, was added…
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