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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

Q9121.Indian EconomyHard

The institution set up in 1988 to develop the money market in India was

  1. A.the Securities and Exchange Board of India
  2. B.the Discount and Finance House of India
  3. C.the National Housing Bank
  4. D.the Small Industries Development Bank of India
Show answer
Correct answer: B. the Discount and Finance House of India

It was set up in 1988 on the recommendation of the Vaghul Working Group to deal in short-term instruments such as treasury bills and commercial bills and so give depth and liquidity to the money market; it later became a primary dealer.

Q9123.Indian EconomyMedium

Narrow money, or M1, in India consists of

  1. A.currency with the public and net time deposits of banks
  2. B.currency with the public, demand deposits of banks and other deposits with the RBI
  3. C.currency with the public and total post office deposits
  4. D.demand deposits and time deposits of banks only
Show answer
Correct answer: B. currency with the public, demand deposits of banks and other deposits with the RBI

M1, narrow money, is the most liquid aggregate: currency, that is notes and coins, with the public, plus the demand deposits of banks, which are withdrawable at any time, plus other deposits with the Reserve Bank, a small residual item.

Q9124.Indian EconomyMedium

In a repurchase agreement, or repo, with the Reserve Bank of India, a commercial bank

  1. A.sells government securities to the RBI with an agreement to buy them back later
  2. B.buys government securities from the RBI with an agreement to sell them back later
  3. C.deposits its surplus cash with the RBI without any security
  4. D.issues commercial paper to the RBI
Show answer
Correct answer: A. sells government securities to the RBI with an agreement to buy them back later

In a repo the bank that needs funds sells government securities to the Reserve Bank and simultaneously agrees to repurchase them a day or a few days later at a slightly higher price; the difference is the interest, and the rate charged is the repo rate, which is the policy…

Q9125.Indian EconomyEasy

Which of the following is NOT a money market instrument?

  1. A.Certificate of Deposit
  2. B.Treasury Bill
  3. C.Equity share
  4. D.Commercial Paper
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Equity share

An equity share has no maturity date at all; it represents ownership of a company for as long as the company exists, so it is the classic capital market instrument, issued in the primary market and traded on stock exchanges under SEBI's regulation.

Q9129.Indian EconomyEasy

Treasury bills in India are issued by

  1. A.the Securities and Exchange Board of India
  2. B.the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India
  3. C.the State Bank of India
  4. D.the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Show answer
Correct answer: B. the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India

A treasury bill is an instrument of the government's short-term borrowing, and the Reserve Bank of India, as banker and debt manager to the government, issues it on the government's behalf through auctions.

Q9131.Indian EconomyAsked in: Delhi · 23 March 2022, shift 2Medium

RBI publishes figures for four alternative measures of money supply. Which of the following is correct regarding M3?

  1. A.CU + DD
  2. B.M1 + Saving deposits with post office savings banks
  3. C.M1 + Net time deposits of commercial banks
  4. D.M1 + Total deposits with post office savings organisations
Show answer
Correct answer: C. M1 + Net time deposits of commercial banks

M3, called broad money or aggregate monetary resources, is the measure the Reserve Bank watches most closely, and it adds the time deposits of the banking system to narrow money.

Q9132.Indian EconomyAsked in: Delhi · 9 Oct 2021, Shift 2Medium

Which of the following statements is correct regarding the commercial paper? I. It is unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of a promissory note. II. It was introduced in India in 1990. III. They are issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

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

Statement I is right: commercial paper is an unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of a promissory note, so it is backed only by the credit standing of the issuer and not by any security.

Q9133.GeographyMedium

A shortfall in rainfall over a long period, measured against the normal rainfall of an area, is called

  1. A.agricultural drought
  2. B.hydrological drought
  3. C.meteorological drought
  4. D.socio-economic drought
Show answer
Correct answer: C. meteorological drought

It is defined purely in terms of rainfall: a significant deficiency of precipitation over an area compared with its long-period average, and it is the first stage from which the other kinds of drought follow.

Q9134.GeographyMedium

In India, flood forecasting and warning is the responsibility of which organisation?

  1. A.The Central Water Commission
  2. B.The Geological Survey of India
  3. C.The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
  4. D.The National Institute of Disaster Management
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The Central Water Commission

It maintains forecasting stations on the major rivers and issues level and inflow forecasts to the State authorities, working with the rainfall data of the India Meteorological Department.

Q9135.GeographyEasy

A tropical cyclone generally forms over a sea surface whose temperature is above

  1. A.15 degrees Celsius
  2. B.20 degrees Celsius
  3. C.27 degrees Celsius
  4. D.40 degrees Celsius
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 27 degrees Celsius

A tropical cyclone is driven by the latent heat released when water vapour condenses, so it needs a large warm ocean surface of at least about 27 degrees to supply enough moisture, along with sufficient Coriolis force, which is why cyclones do not form within about five degrees of the…

Q9136.GeographyMedium

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted in which year, and which framework did it replace?

  1. A.2005, replacing the Yokohama Strategy
  2. B.2015, replacing the Hyogo Framework for Action
  3. C.2010, replacing the Kyoto Protocol
  4. D.2020, replacing the Paris Agreement
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 2015, replacing the Hyogo Framework for Action

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 to 2030 was adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference held at Sendai in Japan in 2015, and it took the place of the Hyogo Framework for Action of 2005 to 2015, which had itself been adopted in Japan at Kobe…

Q9137.GeographyMedium

India's tsunami early warning centre is located at

  1. A.Chennai
  2. B.Hyderabad
  3. C.New Delhi
  4. D.Port Blair
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Hyderabad

After the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 the country set up a tsunami early warning centre at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, which works at Hyderabad under the Ministry of Earth Sciences and uses a network of seismic stations, bottom pressure recorders and tide gauges…

Q9138.GeographyMedium

A State Disaster Management Authority is chaired by

  1. A.the Governor of the State
  2. B.the Chief Minister of the State
  3. C.the Chief Secretary of the State
  4. D.the Revenue Minister of the State
Show answer
Correct answer: B. the Chief Minister of the State

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 makes the Chief Minister the ex officio Chairperson of the State Disaster Management Authority, just as the Prime Minister heads the national Authority; in a Union Territory the Lieutenant Governor or the Administrator takes that place.

Q9139.GeographyEasy

Who is the ex officio Chairperson of the National Disaster Management Authority?

  1. A.The President of India
  2. B.The Union Home Minister
  3. C.The Prime Minister of India
  4. D.The Cabinet Secretary
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Prime Minister of India

Under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 the Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the NDMA, which may have other members not exceeding nine, one of them designated Vice-Chairperson; the parallel offices are held by the Chief Minister in a State Authority and the District Magistrate in a District Authority.