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UPSC GK Questions 2026

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.

UPSC GK Questions with Answers

Q4001.General ScienceMedium

Cytokinesis in a plant cell differs from that in an animal cell because

  1. A.a cleavage furrow forms in the plant cell
  2. B.a cell plate forms in the plant cell
  3. C.the plant cell does not divide its cytoplasm
  4. D.the plant cell divides its nucleus twice
Show answer
Correct answer: B. a cell plate forms in the plant cell

An animal cell divides its cytoplasm by a cleavage furrow, in which the plasma membrane is pulled inward around the middle until the cell is pinched into two.

Q4004.General ScienceEasy

Mitosis is called the equational division because

  1. A.it produces four daughter cells
  2. B.the chromosome number of the daughter cells is the same as that of the parent cell
  3. C.it halves the chromosome number
  4. D.it occurs only in reproductive cells
Show answer
Correct answer: B. the chromosome number of the daughter cells is the same as that of the parent cell

In mitosis each centromere splits in anaphase and one chromatid of every chromosome goes to each pole, so the two daughter cells receive exactly the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell had, and exactly the same genetic information.

Q4006.Indian PolityHard

Which statement about the codification of parliamentary privileges in India is correct?

  1. A.They were codified by the Privileges Act of 1952
  2. B.Parliament has not enacted a law defining them, so they remain uncodified
  3. C.They were codified by the 44th Amendment itself
  4. D.The Supreme Court codified them in the Keshav Singh case
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Parliament has not enacted a law defining them, so they remain uncodified

Article 105(3) authorises Parliament to define its privileges by law, but Parliament has never passed such a law, so the privileges remain uncodified and are drawn from the Constitution, the rules of the Houses, their precedents and the practice followed before the Forty-fourth Amendment.

Q4007.Indian PolityMedium

Under Article 105(4), parliamentary privileges are also available to which of the following persons who is not a member of the House?

  1. A.The President of India
  2. B.The Attorney General of India
  3. C.The Comptroller and Auditor General
  4. D.The Chief Election Commissioner
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Attorney General of India

Article 105(4) extends the privileges of the House to persons who have the right to speak in and otherwise take part in the proceedings of a House or any of its committees without being members.

Q4008.Indian PolityMedium

Article 122 of the Constitution provides that:

  1. A.Parliament may define its privileges by law
  2. B.Courts shall not inquire into the validity of any proceedings in Parliament
  3. C.A member vacates a seat on absence for sixty days
  4. D.The Speaker shall decide whether a Bill is a Money Bill
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Courts shall not inquire into the validity of any proceedings in Parliament

Article 122 says that the validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question in any court on the ground of an alleged irregularity of procedure, and that an officer or member in whom power over procedure or order is vested is not subject to the jurisdiction…

Q4009.Indian PolityHard

In which case did a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court hold in 2024 that a legislator who accepts a bribe for a vote is not protected by parliamentary privilege?

  1. A.P. V. Narasimha Rao v. State (CBI)
  2. B.Sita Soren v. Union of India
  3. C.Raja Ram Pal v. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha
  4. D.Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Sita Soren v. Union of India

In 2024 a seven-judge bench held that the immunity in Article 105(2) and Article 194(2) covers only what is essential to the functioning of the House, so a legislator who takes a bribe for a vote or a speech can be prosecuted; the offence is complete when the bribe is…

Q4010.Indian PolityHard

Which of the following is NOT a parliamentary privilege available to a member of Parliament in India?

  1. A.Freedom of speech in the House
  2. B.Immunity from court proceedings for a vote given in the House
  3. C.Immunity from arrest in a criminal case during a session
  4. D.The right of the House to be informed of a member’s arrest
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Immunity from arrest in a criminal case during a session

No such privilege exists. Freedom from arrest covers civil cases only, and a member may be arrested in a criminal matter or under a preventive detention law at any time, including on the floor of the House in exceptional circumstances with the permission of the presiding officer.

Q4012.Indian PolityMedium

Which Constitutional Amendment Act removed the reference to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from the privileges clause of Article 105(3)?

  1. A.42nd Amendment Act, 1976
  2. B.44th Amendment Act, 1978
  3. C.52nd Amendment Act, 1985
  4. D.61st Amendment Act, 1988
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 44th Amendment Act, 1978

As originally enacted, Article 105(3) said that until Parliament defined the privileges by law they would be those of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Q4013.Indian PolityMedium

Which Article protects a person from liability for publishing a substantially true report of the proceedings of a House of Parliament?

  1. A.Article 105
  2. B.Article 194
  3. C.Article 361A
  4. D.Article 123
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Article 361A

Article 361A protects a person from civil or criminal liability for publishing a substantially true report of the proceedings of either House of Parliament or of a State Legislature, unless the publication is proved to have been made with malice; the protection does not extend to reports of a secret…

Q4016.Indian HistoryAsked in: Uttar Pradesh · 5 Dec 2021Hard

In which of the following years was almost the entire area of present Uttar Pradesh separated from the Bengal Presidency and placed under the Agra Presidency?

  1. A.1832 A.D.
  2. B.1833 A.D.
  3. C.1834 A.D.
  4. D.1835 A.D.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 1834 A.D.

The Charter Act of 1833 authorised the creation of a fourth presidency with its seat at Agra, and the Presidency of Agra was actually carved out of the Bengal Presidency in 1834, taking in almost the whole of what is now Uttar Pradesh; in 1836 the territory was placed under…

Q4017.Indian HistoryMedium

After the revolt of 1857, which arm of the Indian army was kept entirely in European hands?

  1. A.The infantry
  2. B.The cavalry
  3. C.The artillery
  4. D.The engineers
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The artillery

After the revolt the Peel Commission of 1859 advised a larger European element, the ratio of Europeans to Indians was raised to about one to two in Bengal and two to five in Madras and Bombay, and the artillery, the arm that decides a siege, was reserved for European troops…

Q4018.Indian HistoryHard

The Federal Court of India, set up under the Government of India Act, 1935, began functioning in which year and under which first Chief Justice?

  1. A.1935, Sir Elijah Impey
  2. B.1937, Sir Maurice Gwyer
  3. C.1939, Sir Harilal Kania
  4. D.1947, Sir Patrick Spens
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1937, Sir Maurice Gwyer

The Government of India Act of 1935 provided for a Federal Court to settle disputes between the centre and the provinces and to hear appeals on constitutional questions, and the court began sitting at Delhi in 1937 with Sir Maurice Gwyer as its first Chief Justice.

Q4020.Indian HistoryMedium

The Supreme Court at Calcutta, which began work in 1774, was provided for by which Act?

  1. A.The Pitt’s India Act, 1784
  2. B.The Regulating Act, 1773
  3. C.The Charter Act, 1813
  4. D.The Indian High Courts Act, 1861
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Regulating Act, 1773

The Regulating Act made the Governor of Bengal the Governor General, gave him a council of four, and provided for a Supreme Court at Calcutta, which was established by a royal charter and began sitting in 1774 with Sir Elijah Impey as its first Chief Justice.

GK Questions for sub-exams