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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

Q13321.Banking & Financial AwarenessEasy

When the Reserve Bank of India lends to a sound bank that cannot raise funds elsewhere, it is performing the function of

  1. A.Banker to the Government
  2. B.Lender of last resort
  3. C.Custodian of foreign exchange
  4. D.Manager of public debt
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Lender of last resort

It is the classic central bank function: when a bank is solvent but short of cash and neither the market nor other banks will lend to it, the Reserve Bank lends against eligible securities so that a local shortage does not turn into a general panic and a run on…

Q13325.Banking & Financial AwarenessMedium

The establishment of the Reserve Bank of India was recommended by which commission?

  1. A.Hilton Young Commission
  2. B.Narasimham Committee
  3. C.Fazl Ali Commission
  4. D.Sarkaria Commission
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Hilton Young Commission

Formally the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, it reported in 1926 and recommended that the currency and credit functions then divided between the Government and the Imperial Bank be placed in a single central bank.

Q13327.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: SSC CGL · 3 March 2020, Shift 1Easy

Which of these institutions fixes the Repo Rate and the Reverse Repo Rate in India?

  1. A.Ministry of Finance
  2. B.State Bank of India
  3. C.Comptroller and Auditor General of India
  4. D.Reserve Bank of India
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Reserve Bank of India

Policy rates are announced by the Reserve Bank, and since 2016 the decision is taken by its Monetary Policy Committee of six members under the chairmanship of the Governor.

Q13328.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: SSC CHSL · 10 Aug 2021, Shift 2Medium

The legal provisions governing the management of foreign exchange reserves are laid down in the Reserve Bank of India Act, ______.

  1. A.1947
  2. B.1934
  3. C.1923
  4. D.1971
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1934

The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 is the statute that created the Bank and it carries the provisions on the custody and deployment of the country's foreign exchange reserves, which the Bank holds and invests.

Q13329.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: Delhi · 3 Dec 2020, Shift 1Easy

In which year was the RBI nationalised?

  1. A.1971
  2. B.1956
  3. C.1949
  4. D.1935
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 1949

The Reserve Bank of India began as a shareholders' bank and was taken into public ownership on 1 January 1949 under the Reserve Bank (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948.

Q13331.Art & CultureEasy

Kalamkari, the art of drawing and printing on cloth with a bamboo pen and vegetable dyes, is chiefly associated with which state?

  1. A.Odisha
  2. B.Andhra Pradesh
  3. C.Punjab
  4. D.Gujarat
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Andhra Pradesh

Kalamkari takes its name from kalam, a pen, and kari, work. Its two centres are Srikalahasti, where the design is drawn freehand with a bamboo pen and the subjects come from temple mythology, and Machilipatnam, where carved wooden blocks print repeated floral and Persian derived patterns.

Q13333.Art & CultureEasy

The famous painting Bharat Mata, made in 1905, was painted by

  1. A.Raja Ravi Varma
  2. B.Nandalal Bose
  3. C.Abanindranath Tagore
  4. D.Amrita Sher-Gil
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Abanindranath Tagore

He painted Bharat Mata in 1905, during the Swadeshi movement against the partition of Bengal, showing a saffron clad four armed figure holding sheaves of paddy, a white cloth, a book and a rosary, the gifts of food, clothing, learning and faith.

Q13340.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · Official UPSC Civil Services Exam 2018 PMedium

The well-known painting Bani Thani belongs to the

  1. A.Bundi school
  2. B.Jaipur school
  3. C.Kangra school
  4. D.Kishangarh school
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Kishangarh school

Bani Thani was painted by Nihal Chand in the eighteenth century at Kishangarh in Rajasthan, under Raja Savant Singh, who wrote devotional poetry under the name Nagari Das.