Skip to content
GK24
Prime

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

Q1342.NationalEasy

In the wake of which cyclone did the Union Home Minister speak to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh?

  1. A.Cyclone Montha
  2. B.Cyclone Arnab
  3. C.Cyclone Dana
  4. D.Cyclone Remal
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Cyclone Arnab

It was after this cyclone that the Union Minister of Home Affairs and of Cooperation, Amit Shah, telephoned the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh and assured the three states and the Union Territory of every assistance to ease the hardship caused by the disaster.

Q1343.Science & TechnologyHard

Who said at ESTIC 2026 that physical AI is as much a systems engineering challenge as an artificial intelligence one?

  1. A.Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare, Secretary, DST
  2. B.Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Member, NITI Aayog
  3. C.Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, IIT Hyderabad
  4. D.Shri Jalaj A. Dani, Addverb Technologies
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Member, NITI Aayog

Speaking at the session, he said physical artificial intelligence is not merely an artificial intelligence problem but also a systems engineering problem, since an intelligent physical system works only when reliable sensors, efficient actuators, real-time computing, robust control algorithms, low-latency communication and energy-efficient hardware all hold together.

Q1344.Science & TechnologyEasy

ESTIC 2026, where the session on autonomous systems and robotics was held, was organised at which venue?

  1. A.Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
  2. B.Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
  3. C.Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
  4. D.Science City, Kolkata
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi

The Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave of 2026, in short ESTIC 2026, was held there from the twenty-seventh to the twenty-ninth of October 2026, bringing together people from science, technology, research and industry to discuss emerging technologies and innovation.

Q1345.Science & TechnologyMedium

Technology innovation hubs under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems have been set up at how many academic institutions?

  1. A.15
  2. B.20
  3. C.25
  4. D.30
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 25

The Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology told the session on autonomous systems at the conclave that technology innovation hubs under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems have been established at twenty-five leading academic institutions spread across the country.

Q1348.EconomyEasy

Which body recommends the Minimum Support Prices announced by the Union Government?

  1. A.NITI Aayog
  2. B.Food Corporation of India
  3. C.Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
  4. D.National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices

Minimum Support Prices are declared every year for 22 mandated crops on the recommendations of this commission, which also takes into account the views of state governments and central ministries and departments.

Q1351.Summits & ConferencesMedium

What is the theme of the 13th ADMM-Plus addressed by the Raksha Mantri?

  1. A.Shared Seas, Shared Future
  2. B.Youth, Peace and Security
  3. C.Navigating Our Future, Together
  4. D.Peace Through Partnership
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Navigating Our Future, Together

This was the theme of the thirteenth ADMM-Plus, and the Defence Minister said it sits well with India’s foreign and defence policy thinking as well as the civilisational sentiment ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’, the wish that all beings be happy.

Q1352.Summits & ConferencesEasy

In which city was the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held?

  1. A.Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  2. B.Cebu, Philippines
  3. C.Jakarta, Indonesia
  4. D.Hanoi, Vietnam
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Cebu, Philippines

The thirteenth edition of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus was hosted at Cebu in the Philippines, and Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh addressed it there on 29 October 2026, speaking on collective regional security, counter-terrorism and maritime cooperation.

Q1353.Government SchemesMedium

Under the New Amnesty Scheme, 2025, how are damages treated when an ad-hoc assessment is settled?

  1. A.Damages are charged in full
  2. B.No damages are levied
  3. C.Damages are charged at half the assessed rate
  4. D.Damages are converted into an equal instalment plan
Show answer
Correct answer: B. No damages are levied

Where the Corporation had raised a demand on an ad-hoc or estimated basis, the New Amnesty Scheme, 2025 allows the employer to close the matter by paying the contribution that was genuinely owed together with the interest on it, and the claim to damages is given up altogether.

Q1357.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKMedium

Statement I : King Ashoka abolished capital punishment and disbanded his army.

Statement II : After Kalinga War, Ashoka was remorseful and became a Buddhist.

  1. A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
  2. B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Statement I is false but Statement II is true

Ashoka turned to Buddhism after the Kalinga war, but he neither abolished the death penalty nor disbanded his army. The Kalinga war, fought around 261 BCE in the eighth year of his reign, left over a lakh dead, and in Rock Edict XIII Ashoka records his deep remorse.

Q1359.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKMedium

Which of the following are the functions of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)? 1. Inquiry at its own initiative on the violation of human rights 2. Inquiry on a petition presented to it by a victim 3. Visit to jails to study the condition of the inmates 4. Undertaking and promoting research in the field of human rights Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.2, 3 and 4 only
  3. C.1, 3 and 4 only
  4. D.1, 2, 3 and 4
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 gives the NHRC every one of these four functions. The NHRC is a statutory body, not a constitutional one, set up on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.