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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

Q14081.EnvironmentHard

Who presided over the National Level Technical Committee meeting held under the REWARD programme?

  1. A.The Deputy Director General (NRM) of ICAR
  2. B.Dr Chandra Shekhar Kumar, CEO of the NRAA
  3. C.The Joint Secretary (Watershed Management), Department of Land Resources
  4. D.The Commissioner of the Watershed Development Department, Karnataka
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Dr Chandra Shekhar Kumar, CEO of the NRAA

The release names him as presiding over the meeting and records his instruction that claims in the draft guidelines be validated against data actually collected under the programme.

Q14082.EnvironmentMedium

What is the full form of the REWARD programme under which the NRAA held its technical committee meeting?

  1. A.Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development
  2. B.Renewing Water Resources for Agriculture and Rural Development
  3. C.Restoring Ecology, Water and Rainfed Drylands
  4. D.Rural Employment through Watershed and Rainfed Development
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development

The second option is wrong; it is built from plausible words but does not match the expansion, and in particular it drops the idea of resilience, which is central to the programme's purpose.

Q14085.NationalMedium

Which department organises the Special Campaign in which the Ministry of Home Affairs is taking part?

  1. A.Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
  2. B.Department of Personnel and Training
  3. C.Cabinet Secretariat
  4. D.Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

The Ministry of Home Affairs is a participant, not the organiser, and its role is to run the campaign within its own divisions, attached offices and field formations.

Q14086.Science & TechnologyHard

How many countries adopted the WAVES Declaration at the first WAVES Summit?

  1. A.47 countries
  2. B.60 countries
  3. C.77 countries
  4. D.100 countries
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 77 countries

The declaration was one of the chief outcomes of the first edition of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, held in Mumbai, and the backgrounder lists it alongside the other results of the event, including the business transactions generated by the WAVES Bazaar.

Q14087.Science & TechnologyHard

When was MyWAVES launched within the WAVES OTT platform?

  1. A.20 November 2024
  2. B.1 May 2025
  3. C.23 March 2026
  4. D.21 July 2026
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 23 March 2026

MyWAVES was opened inside the existing streaming platform on that date, and it changed the service from something people only watched into something they could contribute to, by letting citizens make, upload and share original short, vertical and episodic content.

Q14088.Science & TechnologyMedium

At which event was Prasar Bharati's WAVES OTT platform launched?

  1. A.The 55th International Film Festival of India in Goa
  2. B.The first WAVES Summit in Mumbai
  3. C.The India International Trade Fair in New Delhi
  4. D.The Kolkata International Film Festival
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The 55th International Film Festival of India in Goa

The first WAVES Summit in Mumbai is wrong, and is the most tempting distractor because the summit carries the same name: it was held later, in May of the following year, and the streaming platform already existed by then.

Q14089.NationalHard

Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, what punishment can tampering with a telecommunication identifier attract?

  1. A.Imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to Rs 10 lakh
  2. B.Imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to Rs 50 lakh, or both
  3. C.Only a fine, with no provision for imprisonment
  4. D.Imprisonment up to seven years with no fine
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to Rs 50 lakh, or both

The prohibition itself sits in Section 42(3)(c) of the Act, which bars tampering with telecommunication identifiers, while the neighbouring clause covers obtaining SIMs or identifiers through fraud, cheating or impersonation.

Q14091.NationalEasy

How many digits does an IMEI number contain?

  1. A.Ten digits
  2. B.Twelve digits
  3. C.Fifteen digits
  4. D.Eighteen digits
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Fifteen digits

The International Mobile Equipment Identity is described as a unique number of that length which identifies a mobile device on a telecom network, and the first eight of those digits make up the Type Allocation Code that identifies the model or type of the handset.

Q14092.EconomyHard

How many semiconductor projects have been approved under the Semicon India programme, and how many commercial units were operational as of September 2026?

  1. A.Ten approved, three operational
  2. B.Twelve approved, five operational
  3. C.Fifteen approved, six operational
  4. D.Twenty approved, eight operational
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Twelve approved, five operational

The backgrounder states that the government has cleared this many semiconductor projects under the Semicon India programme, and that five commercial semiconductor units were already running by September of that year.

Q14093.EconomyEasy

How many exhibitors took part in SEMICON India 2026?

  1. A.More than 400
  2. B.More than 600
  3. C.More than 800
  4. D.More than 1,000
Show answer
Correct answer: B. More than 600

The backgrounder records that the event brought together this many exhibitors, of whom close to three hundred were international companies, and treats that mix as a sign of the global interest now being shown in the country's semiconductor and electronics ecosystem.

Q14094.EconomyMedium

Who moderated the panel discussion 'Industry Associations Advancing India's National Agenda' at SEMICON India 2026?

  1. A.The Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog
  2. B.Amitesh Kumar Sinha, CEO of the India Semiconductor Mission
  3. C.The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
  4. D.The Chairman of ISRO
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Amitesh Kumar Sinha, CEO of the India Semiconductor Mission

The backgrounder names him as the moderator of the session, which brought senior representatives of the leading industry associations together to discuss how deeper cooperation could speed up the country's semiconductor and electronics plans.

Q14095.Government SchemesMedium

Which of the following statements about Ayushman Bharat was made by the Prime Minister on its eighth anniversary?

  1. A.It is the largest healthcare scheme in the world
  2. B.It is being wound up and merged into a new programme
  3. C.It covers only government employees
  4. D.It offers cover only for outpatient consultations
Show answer
Correct answer: A. It is the largest healthcare scheme in the world

The Prime Minister said the annual cover now reaches more than sixty crore beneficiaries, and on that basis described the initiative as the biggest of its kind anywhere.

Q14097.Government SchemesEasy

What is the annual health cover available to a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat, as cited by the Prime Minister on its eighth anniversary?

  1. A.Rs 1 lakh
  2. B.Rs 3 lakh
  3. C.Rs 5 lakh
  4. D.Rs 10 lakh
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Rs 5 lakh

In his anniversary message the Prime Minister said that more than sixty crore beneficiaries now have access to an annual health cover of this amount, and that the reach of the cover is what makes the initiative the largest healthcare scheme in the world.