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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

Q13981.Science & TechnologyHard

The RDI support is meant to take the OptoSAR technology through which readiness levels?

  1. A.TRL-1 to TRL-4
  2. B.TRL-3 to TRL-6
  3. C.TRL-6 to TRL-9
  4. D.TRL-4 to TRL-7
Show answer
Correct answer: C. TRL-6 to TRL-9

Technology Readiness Level is a scale for how far a technology has travelled from an idea towards routine use, and the stretch named here is the late one: a system already demonstrated in conditions close to the real environment has to be engineered, tested and validated until it is proven…

Q13982.Science & TechnologyEasy

The OptoSAR technology of GalaxEye brings together which two kinds of imaging?

  1. A.Synthetic Aperture Radar and electro-optical imaging
  2. B.LiDAR and thermal infrared imaging
  3. C.Hyperspectral imaging and radar altimetry
  4. D.Satellite navigation signals and sonar imaging
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Synthetic Aperture Radar and electro-optical imaging

The two are put on one platform because their weaknesses do not overlap: optical imaging gives rich visual detail but is defeated by cloud cover and by darkness, while radar works irrespective of daylight and can image through cloud.

Q13984.Science & TechnologyMedium

How much support has the Technology Development Board agreed to give GalaxEye under the RDI Fund?

  1. A.Rs 36.48 crore
  2. B.Rs 63.84 crore
  3. C.Rs 84.63 crore
  4. D.Rs 127.50 crore
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Rs 63.84 crore

Keep it apart from the other money figure in the same announcement, the total approved cost of the project, which is far larger; a question will often place the two side by side to see whether a candidate has confused the support with the whole outlay.

Q13985.InternationalHard

Which country's government co-hosted the launch of the OneSCD partnership with India?

  1. A.Nigeria
  2. B.Kenya
  3. C.Ghana
  4. D.South Africa
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Nigeria

OneSCD, described as a global partnership to advance equity and transform sickle cell care, was launched with the Government of Nigeria among its partners, along with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Africa CDC, the World Coalition on Sickle Cell Disease and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Q13987.InternationalMedium

How many teleconsultations has e-Sanjeevani facilitated, according to India's statement at UNGA81?

  1. A.297 million
  2. B.397 million
  3. C.497 million
  4. D.597 million
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 497 million

The Union Health Secretary cited this figure as proof that technology is closing the distance between a patient in a remote area and a doctor, and she placed it beside the other digital health number from the same speech, namely that over 900 million citizens now hold a unique health…

Q13989.EconomyEasy

Which two prices were edible oil companies asked to revise immediately after the duty cut?

  1. A.Minimum Support Price and Fair and Remunerative Price
  2. B.Price to Distributors and Maximum Retail Price
  3. C.Wholesale Price Index and Consumer Price Index
  4. D.Issue Price and Central Issue Price
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Price to Distributors and Maximum Retail Price

The advisory issued to the edible oil associations and other industry stakeholders asks them to bring both of these down in step with the lower landed cost, and to advise member firms to act without delay, so that the gain from the tariff cut is not retained in the supply…

Q13990.EconomyMedium

Which ministry announced the reduction in import duty on major edible oils?

  1. A.Ministry of Finance
  2. B.Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  3. C.Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
  4. D.Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

The reason it and not another ministry speaks here is that the stated purpose of the step is to moderate retail prices of cooking oil and to shield the household budget from imported inflation, which falls squarely within the consumer affairs and food distribution mandate.

Q13993.Environment & EcologyAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 1 Oct 2023Easy

NTU is the unit for measuring

  1. A.Pressure of water
  2. B.Temperature of water
  3. C.Acidity of water
  4. D.Turbidity of water
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Turbidity of water

NTU stands for Nephelometric Turbidity Unit. A nephelometer shines a beam of light through a water sample and measures how much of it is scattered sideways by suspended particles such as clay, silt, algae and microbes; the more the scattering, the more turbid, or cloudy, the water is.

Q13994.General ScienceAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 2 Feb 2025Easy

Select the incorrect set of 'the typical Vector - Disease caused - Type of Pathogen'.

  1. A.Aedes - Chikungunya - Bacteria
  2. B.Culex - Lymphatic Filariasis - Parasite
  3. C.Anopheles - Malaria - Parasite
  4. D.Aedes - Dengue - Virus
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Aedes - Chikungunya - Bacteria

This set is wrong because chikungunya is caused by a virus, the chikungunya virus, and not by bacteria. It is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, the same day-biting mosquitoes that carry dengue and Zika, and it causes high fever with severe joint pain.

Q13996.General ScienceAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 1 Oct 2023Easy

Species of Plasmodium which causes Malignant Malaria:

  1. A.Vivax
  2. B.Falciparum
  3. C.Ovale
  4. D.Malariae
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Falciparum

Plasmodium falciparum causes malignant, or cerebral, malaria, the most dangerous form of the disease. Red blood cells infected by it become sticky and block the small blood vessels of the brain and other organs, which can lead to coma and death if treatment is delayed.

Q13997.Indian EconomyAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 2 Feb 2025Medium

Which of the following is not associated with financial sector reforms in India initiated after 1991?

  1. A.Capital adequacy
  2. B.Non-performing assets
  3. C.FRBM Act (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management)
  4. D.SARFAESI Act
Show answer
Correct answer: C. FRBM Act (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management)

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 is a fiscal reform: it binds the Union government to cut its fiscal and revenue deficits and to report on its borrowing.

Q13998.Indian EconomyAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 1 Oct 2023Easy

Consider the following statements regarding inflation:

Statement (A): Head-line inflation refers to the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index Number, a measure of the average price of a standard basket of goods and services consumed by a typical family.

Statement (B): Core inflation measures the change in average consumer prices after excluding from the Consumer Price Index certain items of volatile prices such as food and fuel.

Of these statements,

  1. A.Neither (A) nor (B) is correct.
  2. B.Both (A) and (B) are correct.
  3. C.Only (B) is correct.
  4. D.Only (A) is correct.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Both (A) and (B) are correct.

Headline inflation is the change in the overall Consumer Price Index, which tracks the average price of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by a typical household, including food, fuel, clothing, housing and services.

Q13999.GeographyAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 2 Feb 2025Hard

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below:

List I (Tributary)

A. Rapti

B. Tista

C. Hiran

D. Purna

List II (River)

(i) Brahmaputra

(ii) Narmada

(iii) Godavari

(iv) Ghaghra

  1. A.A-iv, B-ii, C-iii, D-i
  2. B.A-i, B-ii, C-iii, D-iv
  3. C.A-iii, B-i, C-iv, D-ii
  4. D.A-iv, B-i, C-ii, D-iii
Show answer
Correct answer: D. A-iv, B-i, C-ii, D-iii

The Rapti rises in Nepal, flows past Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and joins the Ghaghra, which then meets the Ganga.

Q14000.GeographyAsked in: Rajasthan · RPSC RAS Pre, 2 Feb 2025Medium

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below:

List I (Desert)

A. Gobi

B. Patagonia

C. Victoria

D. Kalahari

List II (Location)

(i) Southern Africa

(ii) Asia

(iii) South America

(iv) Australia

  1. A.A-ii, B-iii, C-iv, D-i
  2. B.A-iv, B-ii, C-iii, D-i
  3. C.A-ii, B-i, C-iii, D-iv
  4. D.A-iii, B-iv, C-i, D-ii
Show answer
Correct answer: A. A-ii, B-iii, C-iv, D-i

The Gobi is a cold desert of Asia spread over Mongolia and northern China, and it is famous for its dinosaur fossils.