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 first BRIC summit, held in 2009, took place at
The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China met for the first summit of the grouping at Yekaterinburg in Russia in June 2009, turning an analyst's acronym into a working forum.
Read the full explanation →The term BRIC was coined in 2001 by
Jim O'Neill, then an economist at Goldman Sachs, used the acronym BRIC in a paper of 2001 to describe Brazil, Russia, India and China, the four large economies he expected to grow into a major share of world output.
Read the full explanation →At the New Delhi G20 Summit of 2023, which body was admitted as a new permanent member of the group?
The New Delhi Leaders' Summit of September 2023, held under India's presidency at Bharat Mandapam, admitted the African Union as a permanent member, so that the group now has a second regional organisation alongside the European Union.
Read the full explanation →The first G20 Leaders' Summit was held in 2008 at
The first summit at the level of heads of state and government was called in November 2008, when the collapse of large financial firms threatened the world economy, and it met at Washington.
Read the full explanation →The G20 was established in which year?
The Group of Twenty was formed in 1999, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, as a forum where the finance ministers and central bank governors of the major advanced and emerging economies could discuss the stability of the world financial system.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is a hereditary disease?
Haemophilia is an inherited disorder in which a clotting factor is missing, so bleeding continues for a long time after an injury.
Read the full explanation →Goitre, the swelling of the thyroid gland in the neck, is caused by the deficiency of
The thyroid gland needs iodine to make the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine, and when the supply is short the gland enlarges in an attempt to trap more of it, which appears as a swelling in the neck.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following diseases is caused by a virus?
Rabies is caused by a virus present in the saliva of an infected animal, usually a dog, and it travels along the nerves to the brain, where it causes inflammation, fear of water and almost certain death once the symptoms begin; it is prevented by vaccination after the bite, a…
Read the full explanation →Kala-azar is transmitted by the bite of
Kala-azar, also called visceral leishmaniasis, is caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani and is passed on by the bite of the female sandfly, which breeds in cracks of mud walls and damp soil.
Read the full explanation →Elephantiasis, or filariasis, is caused by
Filariasis is caused by the thread-like nematode Wuchereria bancrofti, which is carried by the Culex mosquito.
Read the full explanation →Night blindness is caused by the deficiency of
Vitamin A is used to make rhodopsin, the pigment of the rod cells of the retina that allows sight in dim light, so a shortage of it makes a person unable to see properly at dusk or in a dark room.
Read the full explanation →Scurvy, in which the gums bleed and wounds heal slowly, is caused by the deficiency of
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is needed to make collagen, the protein that holds tissues together, so its absence weakens the gums and blood vessels and delays the healing of wounds.
Read the full explanation →Dengue is transmitted to human beings by
This mosquito, marked by white stripes on a dark body, bites during the day and breeds in clean stored water in coolers, tyres and flower pots, which is why dengue control campaigns concentrate on emptying household containers.
Read the full explanation →Malaria in human beings is caused by
Four species of Plasmodium commonly infect human beings, of which Plasmodium falciparum is the most dangerous and Plasmodium vivax the most widespread in India.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following pair of plant disease and microorganisms is correct? I. Citrus canker and Virus. II. Rust of wheat and Fungi.
Rust of wheat is indeed a fungal disease, caused by species of Puccinia, and it is named from the reddish brown spores that appear in streaks on the leaves and stem.
Read the full explanation →Name the bacteria that causes dysentery.
Bacillary dysentery, also called shigellosis, is caused by bacteria of the genus Shigella, which invade the lining of the large intestine and produce frequent stools with blood and mucus, along with fever and cramps; it spreads through contaminated water and food.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is a water borne disease?
Escherichia coli is a bacterium whose harmful strains reach the body through drinking water or food contaminated with sewage, and the infection they produce shows itself as diarrhoea and abdominal pain, which places it among the classic water-borne illnesses along with cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A. Option A is wrong…
Read the full explanation →Which continent provides more than half of world's tin?
Asia supplies more than half of the world's tin, because the great tin belt of South East Asia runs through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and China is the largest single producer.
Read the full explanation →Which is the largest uranium producing country in the world?
Kazakhstan is the world's largest producer of uranium and alone accounts for roughly two-fifths of global output. Its uranium comes mainly from the Chu-Sarysu and Syr Darya basins and is won by in-situ leaching, a method that dissolves the metal underground instead of digging it out.
Read the full explanation →Who founded the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885 along with Pherozeshah Mehta and KT Telang?
The Bombay Presidency Association was founded in 1885 by Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta and Kashinath Trimbak Telang, three lawyers of Bombay who are often called the city's triumvirate.
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