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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

Q1003.Art & CultureAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATMedium

Consider the following statements about the Nagara style of temple architecture :

1. This style of temples are commonly found in the areas between Himalayas and Vindhyas.

2. The most striking feature of this style is its pyramidal shikhara.

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

Nagara temples belong to north India, but their shikhara is curvilinear, not pyramidal. The Nagara style spread over the land between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas, from Gujarat and Rajasthan to Odisha.

Q1005.GeographyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Which of the following regions is/are NOT known for cotton-textile industry ?

1. Mumbai - Pune region

2. Madurai - Coimbatore region

3. Dhanbad - Jamshedpur region

4. Indore - Ujjain region

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

The Dhanbad-Jamshedpur region is known for coal, iron and steel, not cotton textiles. Cotton mills grew where raw cotton, a humid climate, capital, cheap power and markets came together.

Q1006.Environment & EcologyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATEasy

Which of the following are the major coral reef areas of India ?

1. Gulf of Kachchh

2. Gulf of Mannar

3. Lakshadweep

4. Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

All four areas are recognised as the major coral reef areas of India. India's coral reefs lie in four main regions.

Q1007.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATMedium

Which one of the following was not a Chishti Sufi saint?

  1. A.Khwaja Moinuddin
  2. B.Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar
  3. C.Nizamuddin Auliya
  4. D.Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya

He belonged to the Suhrawardi order, not the Chishti order. Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya founded the Suhrawardi order in India at Multan in the thirteenth century.

Q1008.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Which one of the following was NOT a feature of the Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley?

  1. A.The British were responsible for protecting the ally from any external threats
  2. B.All internal threats were to be handled by the ally alone, with no help from the British
  3. C.The ally was to provide resources for maintaining a British armed contingent stationed in its territory
  4. D.The ally could not enter into any agreement with other rulers without the permission of the British
Show answer
Correct answer: B. All internal threats were to be handled by the ally alone, with no help from the British

Under the Subsidiary Alliance the British promised to protect the ally from internal threats as well as external ones, so B was not a feature.

Q1009.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2017, GATEasy

Which one of the following travelogues has given an insight on the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq ?

  1. A.Ibn Battuta's Rihla
  2. B.Francois Bernier's Travels in the Mogul Empire
  3. C.Niccolao Manucci's Storia do Mogor
  4. D.Tavernier's Travels in India
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Ibn Battuta's Rihla

Ibn Battuta lived at the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq and described his reign at first hand. Ibn Battuta, a traveller from Tangier in Morocco, reached India in 1333.

Q1010.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2017, GATMedium

Which one of the following was NOT a cause of the Revolt of 1857 ?

  1. A.The rumour that the British had mixed the bone dust of cows and pigs into the flour being sold in the market
  2. B.The prophecy that British rule would come to an end on the centenary of the Battle of Plassey on 23rd June, 1857
  3. C.Popular discontent with British rule
  4. D.The prophecy that the end of British rule would lead to the end of the Kali Yuga and the return of Ram Rajya
Show answer
Correct answer: D. The prophecy that the end of British rule would lead to the end of the Kali Yuga and the return of Ram Rajya

No such prophecy is recorded among the causes of the revolt. Rumours and prophecies spread fast in the months before May 1857 and stirred fear and anger.

Q1011.NationalMedium

Which of the following is a stated role of NIEPA under the National Education Policy 2020?

  1. A.Conducting the national entrance examinations for higher education
  2. B.Monitoring the policy's implementation and working with state governments on the challenges
  3. C.Accrediting universities and awarding them grades
  4. D.Printing and distributing school textbooks across the states
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Monitoring the policy's implementation and working with state governments on the challenges

At the inauguration of the new academic building, the Union Education Minister highlighted exactly this role: the institute keeps watch on how the National Education Policy of 2020 is being put into practice, identifies the difficulties that show up in implementation and works closely with state governments to address them.

Q1012.NationalMedium

How much has been made available in soft loans for higher education under the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme, as stated at the NIEPA function?

  1. A.Rs 10,000 crore
  2. B.Rs 35,000 crore
  3. C.Rs 60,000 crore
  4. D.Rs 1,20,000 crore
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Rs 60,000 crore

Speaking at the inauguration of the institute's new academic building, the Union Education Minister referred to the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme and said it had facilitated soft loans of that amount for higher education.

Q1013.NationalEasy

Who inaugurated the new Academic Building of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration in New Delhi?

  1. A.The Union Minister for Education
  2. B.The Union Minister for Skill Development
  3. C.The Vice-President of India
  4. D.The Minister of State for Education
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The Union Minister for Education

He opened the new Academic Building and the Main Entrance Gate of the institute in New Delhi and said the building would allow it to scale up the programmes it runs nationally and internationally while strengthening its academic and research capabilities.

Q1015.EconomyMedium

Under which category of public sector enterprise is the National Small Industries Corporation classified?

  1. A.Maharatna
  2. B.Navratna
  3. C.Schedule 'A' Mini Ratna
  4. D.Schedule 'C' undertaking
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Schedule 'A' Mini Ratna

The National Small Industries Corporation Limited is described as a Schedule 'A' Mini Ratna company, and it functions under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, whose two ministers received its dividend for the year.

Q1016.EconomyEasy

How much dividend did the National Small Industries Corporation present to the Government of India for the financial year 2025-26?

  1. A.Rs 29.40 crore
  2. B.Rs 47.76 crore
  3. C.Rs 112.50 crore
  4. D.Rs 159 crore
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Rs 47.76 crore

The Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the corporation, Dr Subhransu Sekhar Acharya, presented a dividend of that amount on 28 October 2026 to the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and the Minister of State, Shobha Karandlaje, with the Secretary of the ministry, Bharat Khera, and senior…

Q1019.Banking & FinanceMedium

Which body was empowered by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to decide procedural issues and allow deviations in strategic disinvestment, and so fixed the best offer round for IDBI Bank?

  1. A.The Securities and Exchange Board of India
  2. B.The Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment
  3. C.The Reserve Bank of India
  4. D.The Department of Financial Services
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment

The Finance Ministry's clarification explains that DIPAM has no internal procedure for the situation in which the highest financial bid comes in below the reserve price, and that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, in its meeting of 16 August 2017, approved a note on the procedure and mechanism for…

Q1020.EconomyMedium

Which textile park did Piyush Goyal describe as the first fully functional PM MITRA park?

  1. A.Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Warangal
  2. B.Zaheerabad Industrial Smart City
  3. C.Navi Mumbai Integrated Textile Park
  4. D.Amravati Mega Textile Park
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Warangal

Listing projects launched or supported in Telangana, the minister referred to this park in Warangal and described it as the first fully functional PM MITRA park in the country.