UPSC Civil Services GK Questions 2026

Swine flu is an influenza infection of the type first recognised in pigs, and the name itself records the animal in which the virus circulates before it passes to people; once it is in a human population it spreads from person to person by droplets.

Malaria is caused by the protozoan Plasmodium and carried by the female Anopheles mosquito, and kala azar, also called visceral leishmaniasis, is caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani and carried by the sandfly.

Typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, which spreads through food and water contaminated with human waste, and it is prevented both by sanitation and by the typhoid conjugate vaccine.

The Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award, instituted in 1992 by the Indian National Congress, is presented on 20 August, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, which is observed as Sadbhavana Diwas, and it recognises outstanding contribution to communal harmony, peace and goodwill.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding was instituted by the Government of India in 1965 and administered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and its first recipient in that same year was U Thant of Burma, then Secretary General of the United Nations.

Kabir Puraskar was instituted in 1990 by the Ministry of Home Affairs to honour ordinary citizens who show physical or moral courage in saving the lives and property of members of another community, especially during communal disturbance.

The Gandhi Peace Prize carries one crore rupees in cash, together with a citation, a plaque and a piece of traditional handicraft or handloom, and the money may be paid in any convertible currency because the prize is open to citizens of every country.

The Sardar Patel National Unity Award is announced on 31 October, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day.

The Gandhi Peace Prize is administered by the Ministry of Culture, which issues the notification and arranges the ceremony, although the selection rests with a jury chaired by the Prime Minister.

The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014 was conferred on the Indian Space Research Organisation, and it is asked often because a space agency looks out of place among peace awards; the citation recognised the use of space technology for the welfare of ordinary people.

The first Gandhi Peace Prize, for 1995, went to Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania, who was known for his belief in self reliance and non violent nation building.

The jury for the Gandhi Peace Prize is chaired by the Prime Minister, and its other members are the Chief Justice of India, the Leader of the single largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha and two eminent persons.

The Government of India instituted the International Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995, the year of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as an annual award for social, economic and political transformation achieved through non violence and other Gandhian methods.

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race has been rowed on Punnamada Lake at Alappuzha since 1952, when it was instituted after Jawaharlal Nehru watched a race there, and the boats used are the long snake boats called chundan vallam.

Sagol Kangjei is the Manipuri game played on ponies with a stick and a ball and is widely held to be the forerunner of modern polo, which British officers took up in Manipur and Cachar in the nineteenth century before it spread across the world; the Mapal Kangjeibung ground at…

Madhya Pradesh declared Mallakhamb its state game in 2013, and the question survives in paper after paper because the art itself is associated with Maharashtra, where it was revived in the nineteenth century as training for wrestlers.

Inbuan is the belt wrestling of Mizoram, in which a wrestler grips a belt worn round the waist of the opponent and must lift him off the ground; kicking is not allowed and the knee may not be bent, and stepping outside the circle loses the bout.

Mardani Khel is the Maratha art of armed combat from Maharashtra, and it is identified by the patta, a straight sword fixed to a gauntlet that covers the forearm, and by the vita, a corded javelin.

Thoda is the archery based contest of Himachal Pradesh, played around the Baisakhi season, in which two groups called the Pashi and the Saathi shoot blunt wooden arrows aimed below the knee of the opposing players, and dance and drumming accompany the contest.

Gatka is the Punjabi martial art fought with the soti, a wooden stick, and the farri, a shield, and it is displayed at Sikh festivals such as Hola Mohalla.