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.
Phulkari embroidery is the traditional craft of which state?
Phulkari, meaning flower work, is the embroidery of Punjab, in which bright untwisted silk thread is worked in darn stitch from the reverse of a coarse handspun khaddar cloth, so the pattern fills the surface with flowers.
Read the full explanation →Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam are the two centres of which textile craft?
Kalamkari is cloth decorated with vegetable dyes, and it has two schools, both in Andhra Pradesh. At Srikalahasti the work is drawn freehand with a pen like kalam and the subjects are taken from temple mythology, while at Machilipatnam the designs are printed with carved wooden blocks.
Read the full explanation →Pochampally, famous for its geometric ikat weaving, is located in which state?
Bhoodan Pochampally in the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana weaves the ikat saree known as Pochampally, in which the yarn is tied and dyed to produce geometric diamonds and squares with softly blurred edges.
Read the full explanation →Chikankari, the delicate white shadow embroidery worked on fine muslin, is associated with which city?
Chikankari is the hand embroidery of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, worked in white untwisted thread on light cloth, with stitches that show the motif as a shadow through the fabric.
Read the full explanation →Bandhani, a craft of Gujarat and Rajasthan, is an example of which technique?
In Bandhani the cloth is pinched and tied with thread in thousands of tiny knots before it is dipped in dye, so the tied points resist the colour and appear as white or light dots in patterns of squares, waves and flowers.
Read the full explanation →The Kanjeevaram or Kanchipuram silk saree belongs to which state?
The saree is named after the temple town of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, where it is woven from thick mulberry silk.
Read the full explanation →Muga, the natural golden silk, is produced in which state of India?
Muga is reared from the Assam silkworm in the Brahmaputra valley and is the only naturally golden silk in the world, used for the mekhela chador and for sarees woven at Sualkuchi near Guwahati.
Read the full explanation →Baluchari sarees, whose pallu carries woven scenes from the epics, are a product of which place?
Baluchari weaving takes its name from the village of Baluchar in Murshidabad and moved to Bishnupur in the Bankura district, which is its centre today.
Read the full explanation →The Patola saree, woven in the double ikat technique, comes from which state?
Patola sarees are woven at Patan in Gujarat, where both the warp and the weft yarns are tied and dyed before weaving.
Read the full explanation →Raja Harishchandra, India's first full-length feature film, was released in which year?
Raja Harishchandra, written, produced and directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, was released in 1913 and is recognised as the first full-length Indian feature film; the Dadasaheb Phalke Award takes its name from its maker.
Read the full explanation →Which singer received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the year 2000?
Asha Bhosle, the playback singer with one of the longest careers in Indian film music, received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000.
Read the full explanation →Amitabh Bachchan was named for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for which year?
Amitabh Bachchan was named for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2018, and the honour was presented at the National Film Awards ceremony that followed.
Read the full explanation →Lata Mangeshkar was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in which year?
Lata Mangeshkar received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989, and she was later awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001.
Read the full explanation →Satyajit Ray received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in which year?
Satyajit Ray, the Bengali director of Pather Panchali and the rest of the Apu trilogy, received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1984.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first posthumous recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award?
Prithviraj Kapoor, the actor of both stage and screen and the founder of Prithvi Theatres, received the award in 1971 and was its first posthumous recipient.
Read the full explanation →The Dadasaheb Phalke Award carries which medallion?
The recipient is given the Swarna Kamal or Golden Lotus medallion, along with a shawl and a cash prize, at the National Film Awards ceremony.
Read the full explanation →The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is conferred by the Government of India through which ministry?
The award is conferred by the Government of India through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and is presented at the annual National Film Awards ceremony, the recipient being chosen by a committee of eminent persons from the film industry.
Read the full explanation →The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is named after the maker of which film, India's first full-length feature film?
Dadasaheb Phalke wrote, produced and directed Raja Harishchandra, released in 1913, which is recognised as the first full-length Indian feature film, and it is for this that he is called the father of Indian cinema.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award?
Devika Rani, an actress and producer often described as the first lady of Indian cinema, received the first Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969, so the very first recipient of the honour was a woman.
Read the full explanation →The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted in which year?
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was introduced in 1969 by the Government of India, as part of the celebration of the birth centenary of Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, and it has been conferred each year since on one person for a lifetime's contribution to Indian cinema.
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