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 cell wall of fungi is composed of
Fungi are eukaryotes with a true nucleus, and their wall is built of chitin, the same tough polysaccharide that forms the exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans.
Read the full explanation →Nitrogen fixation in the root nodules of leguminous plants is carried out by
It lives in a symbiotic relationship inside the nodules on the roots of gram, pea, groundnut and other legumes, converting atmospheric nitrogen into compounds the plant can absorb while drawing its food from the plant.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following diseases is caused by a virus?
The correct answer is B, measles, a viral disease spread by droplets, which is why it is prevented by vaccination and not treated with antibiotics.
Read the full explanation →The cell wall of a bacterium is mainly made of
It is the target of penicillin, which blocks its formation, and the amount of it in the wall is what makes a bacterium stain Gram-positive or Gram-negative.
Read the full explanation →Malaria is caused by which organism, and which vector transmits it?
Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium, of which several species infect human beings, and it is transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito, the male feeding on plant juices.
Read the full explanation →Penicillin, the first antibiotic, was discovered in 1928 by
He noticed that a mould of the genus Penicillium growing by accident on a culture plate had stopped the growth of Staphylococcus around it, and Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later turned that observation into a usable drug, the three sharing the Nobel Prize.
Read the full explanation →Which microorganism is responsible for the setting of milk into curd?
This bacterium ferments the lactose of milk into lactic acid, and the acid makes the milk protein coagulate, which is why a spoonful of old curd added to warm milk sets the whole vessel.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is not a ground of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution?
Paragraph 5 of the Tenth Schedule expressly exempts a person who, on being elected Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha or of a Legislative Assembly, or Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or of a Legislative Council, gives up membership of the party, and the exemption…
Read the full explanation →Which group of Articles was amended by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985 along with the insertion of the Tenth Schedule?
Articles 101 and 102 deal with the vacation of seats and the disqualifications for membership of Parliament, and Articles 190 and 191 do the same for the State Legislatures.
Read the full explanation →The Ninety-first Amendment Act, 2003 limited the total number of ministers in the Council of Ministers to what share of the total strength of the House?
Article 75(1A) says that the total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha, and Article 164(1A) lays down the same ceiling for a state with reference to the Legislative Assembly, with a floor of…
Read the full explanation →Which Article, inserted by the Ninety-first Amendment, 2003, bars a member disqualified for defection from holding any remunerative political post?
It provides that a member of either House of Parliament or of a State Legislature who is disqualified on the ground of defection is also disqualified from holding any remunerative political post, from the date of disqualification until the date on which the term of office would expire or until…
Read the full explanation →Under the Tenth Schedule, a nominated member of a House may join a political party without attracting disqualification within what period of taking the seat?
Paragraph 2(3) provides that a nominated member who joins a political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which the member takes the seat is disqualified.
Read the full explanation →A member who votes against the direction of the party in the House escapes disqualification if the party condones the act within how many days?
Paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Tenth Schedule disqualifies a member who votes or abstains from voting contrary to any direction issued by the party, but the proviso saves the member in two situations: where prior permission was obtained, and where the party condones the act within fifteen days from the date…
Read the full explanation →In Kihoto Hollohan versus Zachillhu (1992), the Supreme Court declared which paragraph of the Tenth Schedule unconstitutional?
That paragraph barred the jurisdiction of all courts in respect of any matter connected with the disqualification of a member under the Schedule.
Read the full explanation →Who decides the question whether a member of a House has become subject to disqualification under the Tenth Schedule?
Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule gives that power to the presiding officer, and where the question is about the presiding officer, it is decided by a member of the House elected for the purpose.
Read the full explanation →The exemption from disqualification in the case of a split in a legislature party was removed from the Tenth Schedule by which amendment?
It omitted Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule, which had saved a split supported by one-third of the members of a legislature party.
Read the full explanation →Under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule, a merger of a legislature party is protected from disqualification only if it is agreed to by what proportion of its members?
Paragraph 4 says that where the original political party of a member merges with another party, the member is not disqualified if not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislature party concerned have agreed to the merger.
Read the full explanation →The Tenth Schedule, containing the anti-defection law, was added to the Constitution by which amendment?
That amendment inserted the Tenth Schedule and amended Articles 101, 102, 190 and 191, which deal with the vacation of seats and the disqualification of members.
Read the full explanation →The anti-defection law is contained in which Schedule of the Constitution of India?
The Tenth Schedule was added by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985, and it lays down the grounds on which a member of Parliament or of a State Legislature is disqualified for defection, the exemption for a merger, the exemption for the presiding officers and the authority who decides the…
Read the full explanation →Under what assumed name did Subhas Chandra Bose leave his Calcutta house in January 1941 to escape from British surveillance?
On the night of 16 and 17 January 1941 Bose left the Elgin Road house in Calcutta, where he was under house arrest, dressed as a Pathan insurance agent of that name, and travelled by way of Gomoh in Bihar and Peshawar to Kabul, and from there through Moscow to…
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