Static general knowledge is the larger part of every UPSC general studies paper. The notices name the same areas again and again: the history of India and the national movement, Indian and world geography, polity and the Constitution, the economy and social development, and general science with environment and ecology. The balance shifts from exam to exam. NDA puts about half of its General Knowledge part on Physics, Chemistry and General Science. CSE favours polity, modern history, environment and the economy. CAPF adds security and human rights, and CDS spreads its questions across polity, history, geography, the economy and school science.
GK24's GK notes are written topic by topic in English and Hindi, as short, fact-first chapters that are easy to revise. They cover Indian Polity, Indian History, Geography, Indian Economy, General Science, Environment and Ecology, Art and Culture, Computer, and the fact lists of awards, sports, books and days. A new chapter is added in each subject as the series grows. Each note carries practice questions, and those that have appeared in an exam say which exam and year. Start with Polity and modern history, then Geography, the Economy and Science. Read a note, take its topic quiz, and come back to it in your monthly revision.
What was the literacy rate of Bihar in the Census of 2011?
The Census of 2011 recorded Bihar’s literacy rate as 61.8 per cent, the lowest among the states of India, with 71.2 per cent for men and 51.5 per cent for women.
Read the full explanation →According to the Census of 2011, which district of Bihar had the highest literacy rate?
In the Census of 2011 Rohtas, with its headquarters at Sasaram in the Shahabad region, recorded the highest literacy rate among the districts of Bihar, ahead of Patna and Munger, which came next.
Read the full explanation →Which is the oldest university in Bihar?
It was set up on 1 October 1917 as an examining and affiliating university for the province of Bihar and Odisha, and it is the oldest university in the state as well as one of the oldest in the country.
Read the full explanation →Ibn Batuta went to China as the envoy of which one of the following Delhi Sultans?
Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller from Tangier, reached India in 1333. Muhammad bin Tughluq, impressed by his learning, made him the qazi (judge) of Delhi, a post he held for several years.
Read the full explanation →The rules for congregational worship (Sangat) involving collective recitation were organized by
After years of travel, Guru Nanak (1469-1539) settled at Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi and set up a centre there.
Read the full explanation →From among the following Mahajanapadas, identify the gana / sangha (oligarchy) :
Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya list sixteen mahajanapadas in the sixth century BC. Most were monarchies, but a few were ganas or sanghas, states ruled by an assembly of clan chiefs rather than a single king.
Read the full explanation →In which one of the following highlands of India can you find temperate forests called 'Sholas'?
Sholas are patches of stunted, evergreen montane forest found in the sheltered valleys and folds of the high hills of the southern Western Ghats, above about 1,500 metres.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following are included in M1 definition of money for the Indian economy? 1. Reserves 2. Currency 3. Time deposits 4. Demand deposits Select the correct answer using the code given below.
M1, called narrow money, is the most liquid measure of money supply in India. It is made up of currency with the public, demand deposits with banks, and other deposits with the Reserve Bank of India.
Read the full explanation →Which kind of mass wasting processes are commonly associated with creep ?
Mass wasting, or mass movement, is the downslope movement of rock and soil under the direct pull of gravity, without a carrying agent such as running water or wind.
Read the full explanation →Which instrument is used to measure the blood pressure manually ?
A sphygmomanometer has an inflatable cuff wrapped around the upper arm, a rubber bulb to pump air into it, and a gauge, traditionally a column of mercury.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about the Sargasso Sea : 1. It is the only sea without a land boundary. 2. The Sargasso Sea records the lowest salinity in the Atlantic Ocean. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Sargasso Sea lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Bermuda, and it is the only sea in the world with no land coast.
Read the full explanation →When electricity is passed through an aqueous solution of sodium chloride, it decomposes to form
When an electric current is passed through brine, a concentrated aqueous solution of sodium chloride, the salt decomposes. Chlorine gas is given off at the anode and hydrogen gas at the cathode, while sodium hydroxide is left in the solution near the cathode.
Read the full explanation →Tropical evergreen rain forest biome provides optimum environmental conditions for the growth of plants and animals. Which one among the following statements regarding this is not correct?
Those areas have a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and winter rain, and their vegetation is evergreen scrub such as chaparral and maquis, not rain forest.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about the National Water Academy (NWA) is/are correct? 1. The primary objective of the NWA is to function as Centre of Excellence in training for in-service engineers from Central and State organizations on various aspects of water resource planning. 2. The NWA is located in New Delhi. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The National Water Academy is the training wing of the Central Water Commission, which works under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements explains higher mutation rate and faster evolution found in RNA virus?
RNA is usually single-stranded and its sugar, ribose, carries an extra hydroxyl group, which makes the molecule more reactive and easier to break or alter than double-stranded DNA.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not correct about Administrative Tribunals?
Article 323A, added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, lets Parliament by law set up administrative tribunals for the Union and for each state or group of states to decide disputes on recruitment and service conditions of public servants.
Read the full explanation →The work Siyar-ul-Mutakherin, which describes the Battle of Plassey, 1757, was written by
Siyar-ul-Mutakherin, meaning 'Review of Modern Times', was written in Persian by Syed Ghulam Husain Khan Tabatabai and completed around 1781.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : The Azamgarh Proclamation refers to 1. the declaration by the rebels of 1857 2. the statement by the leader of the underground movement in the Revolt of 1942 Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?
The question asks which statement is not correct. The Azamgarh Proclamation was issued in August 1857 in the name of the rebels, and is usually linked with Firoz Shah, a prince of the Mughal family.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not a member of the Quad group of nations ?
The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, has four members: India, the United States, Japan and Australia. France is a major Indo-Pacific partner of India with its island territories in the Indian Ocean, but it is not a member of the grouping.
Read the full explanation →The town of Chisht, from which the Sufi Chishti Silsila derives its name, is located in
Chisht, today Chisht-e-Sharif, is a small town in the valley of the Hari Rud river in Herat province of Afghanistan, east of the city of Herat.
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