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.
Which is the basic unit of biological classification?
A species is a group of organisms that resemble one another in all essential characters and that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring; it is the smallest and the basic unit of classification, and all higher ranks are built by grouping species together.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is an example of a green algae?
Chlamydomonas is a unicellular, flagellated member of the Chlorophyceae, the green algae, in which chlorophyll a and b give the plant its grass-green colour and the food is stored as starch.
Read the full explanation →The five-kingdom classification of living organisms was proposed by
Robert Harding Whittaker proposed the five kingdoms Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia in 1969, using cell structure, body organisation, mode of nutrition, reproduction and evolutionary relationships as the criteria of division.
Read the full explanation →Who is known as the father of taxonomy?
The Swedish naturalist Carl von Linne, known in Latin as Carolus Linnaeus, arranged plants and animals in a hierarchy of ranks and gave biology the two-word system of scientific names in his works Systema Naturae and Species Plantarum, so he is called the father of taxonomy.
Read the full explanation →The definition of human rights in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 refers to the rights embodied in which international instruments?
Section 2(1)(d) of the Act defines human rights as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in these covenants and enforceable by courts in India.
Read the full explanation →The Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission can be removed by the President on the ground of proved misbehaviour only after an inquiry by
On a ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity the President must refer the matter to the Supreme Court, and the Chairperson or member can be removed only if the Court, after an inquiry held in accordance with its own procedure, reports that the ground is made out.
Read the full explanation →Jain community was added to the list of notified minority communities of India in which year?
The correct answer is C, 2014, when the Jain community was notified as a minority, joining Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis and taking the notified list to six communities.
Read the full explanation →The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights was constituted under an Act of which year?
The correct answer is C, 2005, the year of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, under which the national commission began work in 2007 and the State commissions were later set up.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is a constitutional body?
The correct answer is C, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, which stands on Article 338 of the Constitution; its companion bodies for Scheduled Tribes and for Backward Classes stand on Articles 338A and 338B, the last inserted by the One Hundred and Second Amendment in 2018.
Read the full explanation →In matters involving the armed forces, the National Human Rights Commission may
Section 19 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 carves out a special procedure for the armed forces: the Commission may either not proceed with the complaint or seek a report from the Central Government, and after receiving that report it may make its recommendations; the Government must inform…
Read the full explanation →Within what period of the alleged violation must a complaint reach the National Human Rights Commission for it to inquire into the matter?
The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 bars the Commission from inquiring into any matter after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting the violation of human rights is alleged to have been committed.
Read the full explanation →Who heads the committee that recommends the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the National Human Rights Commission?
The selection committee has six members: the Prime Minister as its head, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and the Union Home Minister; the President then makes the appointment on…
Read the full explanation →The Foundation Day of the National Human Rights Commission is observed on which date?
The correct answer is B, 12 October, the date on which the Commission was constituted in 1993.
Read the full explanation →The National Human Rights Commission of India was constituted under which law?
The Act began life as an ordinance in September 1993, and the Commission was constituted on 12 October 1993 with Justice Ranganath Misra, a former Chief Justice of India, as its first Chairperson.
Read the full explanation →The tenure of the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission is _________.
The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019 reduced the term of the Chairperson and the members of the Commission from five years to three years, or until they attain the age of seventy, whichever is earlier, and it also made them eligible for reappointment.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is a non-constitutional body of India?
A State Human Rights Commission is created by Chapter V of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, an ordinary law of Parliament, so it is a statutory and not a constitutional body; Parliament could abolish it by amending that Act alone.
Read the full explanation →Which committee of 1929 drew attention to the problem of wastage and stagnation in primary education in India?
The correct answer is B, the Hartog Committee, which reported in 1929 that most children left school before becoming literate and that the hurried expansion of primary schools had produced wastage and stagnation; it recommended consolidation of existing schools rather than further expansion.
Read the full explanation →The journal 'Al-Hilal' was started by
The correct answer is A, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who launched the Urdu weekly Al-Hilal and, when it was suppressed, followed it with Al-Balagh, using both to argue for Hindu-Muslim unity against the colonial government.
Read the full explanation →The newspapers 'Kesari' and 'Mahratta' were started by
The correct answer is B, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who published Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English from Pune and was tried for sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code for what he wrote in them.
Read the full explanation →The first Indian Education Commission of 1882 was headed by
The correct answer is A, W. W. Hunter, who led the Indian Education Commission appointed in 1882 to review the working of Wood's Despatch; it urged attention to primary education given in the vernacular, the transfer of schools to local boards and support for private schools through grants.
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