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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

Q5722.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IHard

With reference to the Indian polity, consider the following statements : I. An Ordinance can amend any Central Act. II. An Ordinance can abridge a Fundamental Right. III. An Ordinance can come into effect from a back date. Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament, so it can amend a central law and can be retrospective, but like any law it cannot take away a Fundamental Right.

Q5723.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to the 'Gram Nyayalaya Act', which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. As per the Act, Gram Nyayalayas can hear only civil cases and not criminal cases. 2. The Act allows local social activists as mediators/reconciliators. Select the correct 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: B. 2 only

Gram Nyayalayas hear both civil and criminal cases, and the Act lets social workers at the village level act as conciliators.

Q5724.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements is/are true of the Fundamental Duties of an Indian citizen ? 1. A legislative process has been provided to enforce these duties. 2. They are correlative to legal duties. Select the correct 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: D. Neither 1 nor 2

The Fundamental Duties are moral obligations that the Constitution itself does not enforce, and they are not the legal counterpart of any right.

Q5725.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IHard

With reference to the "Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA)", which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. GACSA is an outcome of the Climate Summit held in Paris in 2015. 2. Membership of GACSA does not create any binding obligations. 3. India was instrumental in the creation of GACSA. Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

GACSA is a voluntary alliance whose members take on no binding obligations, but it was not born in Paris and India did not drive its creation.

Q5726.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IMedium

If you withdraw ₹1,00,000 in cash from your Demand Deposit Account at your bank, the immediate effect on aggregate money supply in the economy will be

  1. A.to reduce it by ₹1,00,000
  2. B.to increase it by ₹1,00,000
  3. C.to increase it by more than ₹1,00,000
  4. D.to leave it unchanged
Show answer
Correct answer: D. to leave it unchanged

Withdrawing cash only changes the form in which the money is held; the total stays the same.

Q5727.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements : 1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age of 21. 2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in legislature. 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: B. 2 only

The 1919 reforms gave no such right to all women, while the 1935 Act did reserve seats for women in the legislatures.

Q5728.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements : 1. Biofilms can form on medical implants within human tissues. 2. Biofilms can form on food and food processing surfaces. 3. Biofilms can exhibit antibiotic resistance. Which of the statements given above are correct ?

  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: D. 1, 2 and 3

Biofilms form on almost any moist surface, including implants and food equipment, and they are notoriously hard to kill with antibiotics.

Q5729.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2023, GS Paper IHard

Consider the following dynasties : 1. Hoysala 2. Gahadavala 3. Kakatiya 4. Yadava How many of the above dynasties established their kingdoms in early eighth century AD?

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

All four rose much later, between the 10th and 12th centuries, mostly as feudatories who broke away from the declining Western (Kalyani) Chalukyas or the Pratiharas.

Q5730.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rules in India, consider the following statements : 1. CSR rules specify that expenditures that benefit the company directly or its employees will not be considered as CSR activities. 2. CSR rules do not specify minimum spending on CSR activities. 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: A. 1 only

CSR spending must benefit society, not the company or its own staff, and the law does set a minimum amount to be spent.

Q5732.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

According to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which of the following animals cannot be hunted by any person except under some provisions provided by law ? 1. Gharial 2. Indian wild ass 3. Wild buffalo 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

All three are listed in Schedule I of the Act, so none of them can be hunted except in the narrow cases the Act itself allows.

Q5733.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements are correct about the deposits of 'methane hydrate'? 1. Global warming might trigger the release of methane gas from these deposits. 2. Large deposits of 'methane hydrate' are found in Arctic Tundra and under the seafloor. 3. Methane in atmosphere oxidizes to carbon dioxide after a decade or two. Select the correct 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: D. 1, 2 and 3

All three statements are correct. Methane hydrate, also called gas hydrate or "fire ice", is methane trapped inside a cage of frozen water molecules.

Q5735.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2023, GS Paper IHard

Which one of the following explains the practice of 'Vattakirutal' as mentioned in Sangam poems?

  1. A.Kings employing women bodyguards
  2. B.Learned persons assembling in royal courts to discuss religious and philosophical matters
  3. C.Young girls keeping watch over agricultural fields and driving away birds and animals
  4. D.A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death
Show answer
Correct answer: D. A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death

Vadakkiruttal, literally "sitting facing the north", was the Sangam practice in which a defeated or dishonoured king sat facing north and fasted until death.

Q5736.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IHard

With reference to the rule/rules imposed by the Reserve Bank of India while treating foreign banks, consider the following statements : 1. There is no minimum capital requirement for wholly owned banking subsidiaries in India. 2. For wholly owned banking subsidiaries in India, at least 50% of the board members should be Indian nationals. 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: B. 2 only

RBI does set a minimum capital for a foreign bank's wholly owned subsidiary, and it requires at least half the board to be Indian nationals.

Q5737.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements : I. No virus can survive in ocean waters. II. No virus can infect bacteria. III. No virus can change the cellular transcriptional activity in host cells. How many of the statements given above are correct?

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

Each statement says "no virus can", and each is disproved by well-known viruses.

Q5738.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IEasy

Banjaras during the medieval period of Indian history were generally

  1. A.agriculturists
  2. B.warriors
  3. C.weavers
  4. D.traders
Show answer
Correct answer: D. traders

The Banjaras were travelling traders and carriers who moved goods across the country on long caravans of pack oxen. Their caravans, called tanda, could have thousands of bullocks carrying grain, salt and other goods from the countryside to towns and markets.

Q5739.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IHard

In the Indian context, what is the implication of ratifying the 'Additional Protocol' with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ?

  1. A.The civilian nuclear reactors come under IAEA safeguards.
  2. B.The military nuclear installations come under the inspection of IAEA.
  3. C.The country will have the privilege to buy uranium from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
  4. D.The country automatically becomes a member of the NSG.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The civilian nuclear reactors come under IAEA safeguards.

For India, the Additional Protocol strengthens IAEA oversight of the civilian nuclear facilities India has chosen to place under safeguards; its military programme stays outside.

Q5740.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

For the measurement/estimation of which of the following are satellite images/remote sensing data used? 1. Chlorophyll content in the vegetation of a specific location 2. Greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies of a specific location 3. Land surface temperatures of a specific location Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  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

Satellite sensors are used to estimate all three, because each leaves a signature in the light or heat a place gives off.