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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

Q4021.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IMedium

Bisphenol A (BPA), a cause of concern, is a structural/key component in the manufacture of which of the following kinds of plastics?

  1. A.Low-density polyethylene
  2. B.Polycarbonate
  3. C.Polyethylene terephthalate
  4. D.Polyvinyl chloride
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Polycarbonate

Bisphenol A is the main building block from which polycarbonate plastic is made. Polycarbonate is a hard, clear and shatter-resistant plastic once widely used for reusable water bottles, baby feeding bottles, food containers, CDs and spectacle lenses.

Q4022.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), consider the following statements : 1. They enable the digital representation of physical assets. 2. They are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain. 3. They can be traded or exchanged at equivalency and therefore can be used as a medium of commercial transactions. Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

NFTs are unique blockchain tokens that can represent an asset, but being non-fungible they cannot be swapped one-for-one like money.

Q4024.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IEasy

Ashok Mehta Committee was constituted to make recommendations on which one of the following issues?

  1. A.Division of tax revenues between Centre and States
  2. B.Panchayati Raj System
  3. C.Appointment of Governors
  4. D.Presidential and Vice Presidential elections
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Panchayati Raj System

The Janata government set up the Ashok Mehta Committee in December 1977 to suggest how to revive the weakening Panchayati Raj institutions.

Q4027.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IMedium

Which one among the following is not a greenhouse gas?

  1. A.Sulphur dioxide
  2. B.Methane
  3. C.Nitrous oxide
  4. D.Fluorinated gas
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Sulphur dioxide

Sulphur dioxide is an air pollutant, not one of the greenhouse gases; in fact the sulphate particles it forms reflect sunlight and have a slight cooling effect.

Q4028.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IEasy

The Buddhist text Majjhima Nikaya is in

  1. A.Sanskrit
  2. B.Pali
  3. C.Prakrit
  4. D.Telugu
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Pali

The Majjhima Nikaya is part of the Pali Canon, the Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. The Tipitaka has three baskets: the Vinaya Pitaka on rules for monks and nuns, the Sutta Pitaka on the Buddha's discourses, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka on philosophy.

Q4029.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IMedium

The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), which is developing Science Centres/Museums/Innovation Hubs in India, works under

  1. A.the Ministry of Science and Technology
  2. B.the Ministry of Culture
  3. C.the Ministry of Education
  4. D.the Ministry of Earth Sciences
Show answer
Correct answer: B. the Ministry of Culture

The NCSM is an autonomous society of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was formed in 1978 to take over the science museums then run by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and its headquarters is in Kolkata.

Q4030.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements regarding Carnot engine is/are correct?

1. It is an irreversible engine operating between two temperatures T1 (source) and T2 (sink).

2. Its efficiency is given by η = 1 − T2/T1, where T1 is the temperature of source and T2 is the temperature of sink.

Select the answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 2 only

A Carnot engine is an ideal reversible engine, not an irreversible one, and its efficiency is 1 − T2/T1 with temperatures in kelvin.

Q4031.Books & AuthorsAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IEasy

Who among the following was the author of Hind Swaraj?

  1. A.Aurobindo Ghose
  2. B.C. R. Das
  3. C.Mahatma Gandhi
  4. D.Rajendra Prasad
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj, or Indian Home Rule, in Gujarati in 1909. He wrote it in about ten days on board the ship Kildonan Castle while returning from London to South Africa.

Q4033.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IMedium

Which one of the following concerns has found a place in both Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles of State Policy?

  1. A.Safeguard of public property
  2. B.Protection and improvement of environment, forests and wildlife
  3. C.Respect for the rich heritage of our composite culture
  4. D.Promotion of cooperative societies
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Protection and improvement of environment, forests and wildlife

Article 48A directs the State to protect it, and Article 51A(g) makes it a duty of every citizen. Both provisions were added by the 42nd Amendment of 1976.

Q4034.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IEasy

The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation of

  1. A.fish
  2. B.wildlife
  3. C.wetland
  4. D.art and culture
Show answer
Correct answer: C. wetland

The Ramsar Convention is the treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It was signed on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the Caspian Sea and came into force in 1975, which makes it one of the oldest global environmental agreements.

Q4035.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

Which one among the following statements is correct?

  1. A.The total mechanical energy of a system is conserved if the forces, doing work on it, are conservative.
  2. B.The total mechanical energy of a system is conserved if the forces, doing work on it, are non-conservative.
  3. C.The total mechanical energy of a system remains constant.
  4. D.Every force encountered in mechanics does have an associated well-defined potential energy.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The total mechanical energy of a system is conserved if the forces, doing work on it, are conservative.

When only conservative forces do work on a system, the sum of its kinetic and potential energy stays the same; this is the principle of conservation of mechanical energy.

Q4036.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IMedium

Which one of the following statements with regard to Panchayats is not correct?

  1. A.Members of Panchayats are elected directly by the Gram Sabha.
  2. B.The elections to Panchayats are conducted by the State Election Commission.
  3. C.The Central Government may by law authorize a Panchayat to levy taxes.
  4. D.Every Panchayat continues for five years from the date of convening of its first meeting.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Central Government may by law authorize a Panchayat to levy taxes.

Under Article 243H it is the State Legislature, not the Centre, that may by law let a Panchayat levy, collect and keep taxes, duties, tolls and fees.

Q4038.Awards & HonoursAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2024, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements about the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 is/are correct?

1. The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi

2. Narges Mohammadi was awarded the prize for her struggle to bring peace in Afghanistan and Iran

Select the answer using the code given below:

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 1 only

Narges Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, but it was given for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for human rights and freedom for all, not for bringing peace to Afghanistan.

Q4039.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IEasy

The seasonal variations in the amount of solar energy that any place on the Earth receives are influenced by

  1. A.the speed of rotation of the Earth
  2. B.pollution
  3. C.cloudiness
  4. D.the inclination of the Earth about its axis
Show answer
Correct answer: D. the inclination of the Earth about its axis

Because the axis is tilted and keeps pointing the same way as the Earth goes round the Sun, each place gets more sunlight in one half of the year and less in the other.

Q4040.General ScienceAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2026, Paper IMedium

For a particle in uniform circular motion (radius R and angular velocity ω), the magnitude and direction of acceleration, respectively are

  1. A.ωR, along the radius outward
  2. B.ωR, towards the centre of the circle
  3. C.ω²R, towards the centre of the circle
  4. D.ω²R, along the linear velocity
Show answer
Correct answer: C. ω²R, towards the centre of the circle

In uniform circular motion the speed stays the same but the direction keeps turning, and that change needs an acceleration pointing to the centre.

GK Questions for sub-exams