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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

Q6401.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

In the context of mitigating the impending global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, which of the following can be the potential sites for carbon sequestration ?

1. Abandoned and uneconomic coal seams

2. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs

3. Subterranean deep saline formations

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.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 geological traps where captured carbon dioxide can be pumped and stored deep underground. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) takes carbon dioxide from power plants or factories, compresses it and injects it into rock formations that can hold it for thousands of years.

Q6403.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following pairs :

Famous place — River

1. Pandharpur : Chandrabhaga

2. Tiruchirappalli : Cauvery

3. Hampi : Malaprabha

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  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: A. 1 and 2 only

Pandharpur stands on the Chandrabhaga and Tiruchirappalli on the Cauvery, but Hampi lies on the Tungabhadra, not the Malaprabha. Pandharpur in Solapur district of Maharashtra is the seat of Lord Vitthal (Vithoba) and the goal of the Warkari pilgrimage.

Q6404.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IHard

With reference to Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology, which of the following statements are correct ?

1. VLC uses electromagnetic spectrum wavelengths 375 to 780 nm.

2. VLC is known as long-range optical wireless communication.

3. VLC can transmit large amounts of data faster than Bluetooth.

4. VLC has no electromagnetic interference.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

VLC sends data with visible light, which is fast and free of radio interference, but it works only over short distances.

Q6405.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IEasy

In case of which one of the following biogeochemical cycles, the weathering of rocks is the main source of release of nutrient to enter the cycle?

  1. A.Carbon cycle
  2. B.Nitrogen cycle
  3. C.Phosphorus cycle
  4. D.Sulphur cycle
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus has no gaseous form in the cycle, so it enters ecosystems mainly when phosphate rocks weather. The phosphorus cycle is a sedimentary cycle.

Q6409.EconomyHard

What is the enhanced guarantee coverage available to women-led micro and small enterprises under the Credit Guarantee Scheme?

  1. A.75 per cent
  2. B.80 per cent
  3. C.85 per cent
  4. D.90 per cent
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 90 per cent

The scheme was framed to strengthen credit delivery to micro and small enterprises and to reach entrepreneurs who are unserved or underserved, and within it women-led units receive guarantee cover at that higher level together with a concession of 10 per cent on the guarantee fee.

Q6412.NationalHard

The DigiPost initiative, under which traffic e-challans issued by the Gujarat Police are transmitted digitally and delivered physically, was launched by which department?

  1. A.Department of Defence
  2. B.Department of Posts
  3. C.Ministry of Railways
  4. D.Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Department of Posts

The Department of Defence is wrong: it set up the e-Chhawani Helpdesk for grievance redressal, which is a different initiative from the same campaign.

Q6414.NationalMedium

Which department is the nodal department for Special Campaign 6 on Swachhata and disposal of pending matters?

  1. A.Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
  2. B.Department of Personnel and Training
  3. C.Department of Posts
  4. D.Department of Expenditure
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

Its Secretary, Smt. Nivedita Shukla Verma, chaired the third review meeting with the campaign's nodal officers, and its Additional Secretary, Shri Puneet Yadav, presented the progress made.

Q6415.EnvironmentMedium

By which year does the policy framework discussed at the meeting seek to balance ecological security with sustainable socio-economic growth in the Indian Himalayan Region?

  1. A.2030
  2. B.2035
  3. C.2040
  4. D.2047
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 2047

The minister told the meeting that there has been a concerted focus on a policy framework which holds ecological security together with sustainable socio-economic growth in the Indian Himalayan Region by that year, which is the hundredth year of independence and the horizon the government uses for its long-term goals.

Q6416.EnvironmentMedium

How many publications of the institute were released at the 27th meeting of the G.B. Pant Society of Himalayan Environment and Development?

  1. A.Two
  2. B.Three
  3. C.Four
  4. D.Six
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Four

The volumes released at the meeting deal with biodiversity and its conservation practices in the Bhagirathi Eco-sensitive Zone, with the Gangotri Glaciated System, with e-PBR governance for the Indian Himalayan Region, and with the Ramsar wetlands of the Indian Himalayan Region.

Q6417.EnvironmentEasy

Who chaired the 27th meeting of the G.B. Pant Society of Himalayan Environment and Development held in New Delhi in October 2026?

  1. A.The Union Minister for Jal Shakti
  2. B.The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  3. C.The Union Minister for Earth Sciences
  4. D.The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change

The society works on the environment and development of the Himalaya and falls within his ministry's charge, which is why the other options are wrong.

Q6418.NationalHard

How many Eklavya Model Residential Schools were said to be able to use the Adi Vaani platform in classrooms?

  1. A.More than 325
  2. B.More than 425
  3. C.More than 525
  4. D.More than 625
Show answer
Correct answer: C. More than 525

Representatives of the National Education Society for Tribal Students, which runs these schools, told the meeting that the platform could be taken into more than 525 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, which together teach over 1.7 lakh students, and that pupils, teachers and parents could also add stories and poems to…

Q6419.NationalEasy

Who chaired the first meeting of the Working Group on Tribal Languages held in October 2026?

  1. A.The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs
  2. B.The Chairman of the Bhasha Samiti
  3. C.The Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
  4. D.The Director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs

The correct answer is the Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Smt. Ranjana Chopra, who chaired the hybrid workshop and closed it by asking members to share details of the languages they have worked on so that these could be folded into the platform along with IIT Delhi.

Q6420.NationalMedium

The Adi Vaani platform, positioned as the National Tribal Language Repository, has been developed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with which institution?

  1. A.IIT Kanpur
  2. B.IIT Delhi
  3. C.Tezpur University
  4. D.Central Institute of Indian Languages
Show answer
Correct answer: B. IIT Delhi

Adi Vaani has been built by IIT Delhi together with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and at the first meeting of the Working Group on Tribal Languages the institute asked the group for help in validating datasets, settling spelling and orthography, and developing subject vocabulary for planned pilots.