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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

Q11681.Computer AwarenessMedium

How many pillars does the Digital India programme have?

  1. A.Five
  2. B.Seven
  3. C.Nine
  4. D.Eleven
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Nine

The nine pillars are Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, the Public Internet Access Programme, e-Governance or reforming government through technology, e-Kranti for the electronic delivery of services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing, IT for Jobs, and Early Harvest Programmes.

Q11682.Computer AwarenessMedium

Digital India is implemented by which ministry of the Government of India?

  1. A.Ministry of Home Affairs
  2. B.Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  3. C.Ministry of Communications
  4. D.Ministry of Science and Technology
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

The correct answer is B, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, shortened to MeitY, which is the nodal ministry for the programme and also for the National e-Governance Division, DigiLocker, UMANG and CERT-In.

Q11683.Computer AwarenessEasy

The Digital India programme was launched on which date?

  1. A.15 August 2014
  2. B.1 July 2015
  3. C.26 January 2016
  4. D.2 October 2014
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1 July 2015

Digital India was launched on that day with the tagline Power to Empower, and it is implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; the launch week was observed as Digital India Week.

Q11684.Computer AwarenessAsked in: Madhya Pradesh · MPPSC General Studies 2019 Official PapeEasy

First cyberlaw which provides the legal infrastructure for e-commerce in India is

  1. A.The Information Technology Act, 1996
  2. B.The Information Technology Act, 2000
  3. C.The Information Technology Act, 1998
  4. D.The Information Technology Act, 1990
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Information Technology Act, 2000

It is India’s first cyberlaw, and it is the statute that gave legal recognition to electronic records and to digital and electronic signatures, so that a contract concluded online is as enforceable as one written on paper and a department may accept a filing or issue a licence electronically.

Q11685.Books & AuthorsMedium

The Persian translation of the Upanishads, titled Sirr-i-Akbar, was made at the instance of:

  1. A.Akbar
  2. B.Dara Shikoh
  3. C.Aurangzeb
  4. D.Abul Fazl
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Dara Shikoh

The correct answer is B, Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan, who was a scholar of comparative religion; besides having the Upanishads rendered into Persian as the Sirr-i-Akbar, or the greatest secret, he wrote the Majma-ul-Bahrain, the mingling of two oceans, on the common ground between Hindu and…

Q11686.Books & AuthorsHard

The Muntakhab-ul-Lubab, written without official sanction because Aurangzeb had stopped court history writing, is the work of:

  1. A.Saqi Mustaid Khan
  2. B.Khafi Khan
  3. C.Abdul Hamid Lahori
  4. D.Nizamuddin Ahmad
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Khafi Khan

Aurangzeb ended official history writing after the first ten years of his reign, which the Alamgirnama of Mirza Muhammad Kazim had covered, so Khafi Khan wrote his history privately; his very name is understood to mean the one who wrote in secret.

Q11687.Books & AuthorsHard

Which historian wrote the Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi that covers the period from Balban to the early years of Firoz Shah Tughlaq?

  1. A.Shams-i-Siraj Afif
  2. B.Ziauddin Barani
  3. C.Muhammad Qasim Firishta
  4. D.Minhaj-us-Siraj
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Ziauddin Barani

Two different books carry the title Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, and the difference between them is the commonest trap in this topic: Barani’s runs from the reign of Balban down to the early years of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, while the other, by Shams-i-Siraj Afif, is devoted to the reign of Firoz Shah…

Q11688.Books & AuthorsMedium

The Padshahnama, the official history of the reign of Shah Jahan, was written by:

  1. A.Abdul Hamid Lahori
  2. B.Khafi Khan
  3. C.Mirza Muhammad Kazim
  4. D.Ishwardas Nagar
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Abdul Hamid Lahori

The correct answer is A, Abdul Hamid Lahori, who followed the method Abul Fazl had established and produced the official chronicle of Shah Jahan’s reign; a work of the same title by Muhammad Amin Qazwini belongs to the same court, and the Amal-i-Salih of Muhammad Salih Kambo is a further…

Q11689.Books & AuthorsMedium

The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri is:

  1. A.A biography of Jahangir by Mutamad Khan
  2. B.The autobiography of Jahangir
  3. C.A history of Shah Jahan’s reign
  4. D.A treatise on kingship by Ziauddin Barani
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The autobiography of Jahangir

The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri is Jahangir’s own memoir, written by the emperor in Persian and carried forward by others once his health failed, and it is notable for its close observation of plants, animals and paintings as much as for its politics.

Q11694.Books & AuthorsEasy

The Ain-i-Akbari was written by:

  1. A.Abdul Qadir Badauni
  2. B.Abul Fazl
  3. C.Nizamuddin Ahmad
  4. D.Faizi
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Abul Fazl

The correct answer is B, Abul Fazl, one of the nine jewels of Akbar’s court, who wrote the Akbarnama in three volumes; the Ain-i-Akbari is its third volume and is a gazetteer of the empire in five books, describing the departments, the provinces, the revenue, the coinage, the army and…

Q11695.Indian PolityMedium

Which Article prohibits the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission from taking further employment under the Government of India or a state after ceasing to hold office?

  1. A.Article 317
  2. B.Article 318
  3. C.Article 319
  4. D.Article 322
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Article 319

It bars the holding of certain offices after a member ceases to be one, and its first clause makes a retiring chairman of the Union Public Service Commission ineligible for any further employment either under the Government of India or under a state government.

Q11696.Indian PolityHard

India's first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 on the recommendation of which body?

  1. A.The Islington Commission
  2. B.The Lee Commission
  3. C.The Simon Commission
  4. D.The Sapru Committee
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Lee Commission

The Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India, headed by Lord Lee of Fareham and reporting in 1924, recommended the setting up of a statutory Public Service Commission, and the first Public Service Commission in India was accordingly established on 1 October 1926 under the Government of India…

Q11697.Indian PolityHard

A Joint State Public Service Commission for two or more states can be created by:

  1. A.The President on the advice of the Union Cabinet
  2. B.Parliament by law, on a request by the legislatures of those states
  3. C.The Governors of the states concerned acting together
  4. D.The Union Public Service Commission by regulation
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Parliament by law, on a request by the legislatures of those states

Article 315(2) says that if the legislatures of two or more states pass resolutions to that effect, Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission to serve the needs of those states.

Q11698.Indian PolityMedium

Which one of the following is not a function of the Union Public Service Commission under Article 320?

  1. A.Conducting examinations for appointments to the services of the Union
  2. B.Advising on the principles to be followed in promotions and transfers
  3. C.Making the final appointment of selected candidates to a service
  4. D.Advising on disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Making the final appointment of selected candidates to a service

The Commission recommends; the appointing authority of the government issues the appointment.

Q11699.Indian PolityEasy

A member of a State Public Service Commission holds office for six years or until he attains the age of:

  1. A.60 years
  2. B.62 years
  3. C.65 years
  4. D.70 years
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 62 years

Article 316(2) fixes a six-year term for every Public Service Commission but two different retiring ages: sixty-five years for a member of the Union Public Service Commission and sixty-two years for a member of a State Commission or of a Joint Commission, and in each case the earlier of the…

Q11700.Indian PolityMedium

Under Article 323, the annual report of a State Public Service Commission on its work is presented to the:

  1. A.President, who lays it before Parliament
  2. B.Chief Minister of the state
  3. C.Governor, who lays it before the state legislature
  4. D.Union Public Service Commission
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Governor, who lays it before the state legislature

Article 323(2) requires a State Commission to present to the Governor an annual report of the work done by it, and the Governor then places it before the state legislature together with a memorandum explaining the cases, if any, in which the Commission's advice was not accepted and the reasons…