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.
Kaushambi, near present day Prayagraj, was the capital of which mahajanapada?
The Vatsa mahajanapada lay in the Ganga and Yamuna doab with its capital at Kaushambi, and its best known ruler was Udayana, who appears in Sanskrit literature and in Buddhist texts alike.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following areas was known as Magadh in the ancient period?
Magadha lay on the southern bank of the Ganga, in the region of present day Patna, Gaya and Nalanda, with its early capital at Rajagriha among the hills and later at Pataliputra at the meeting of the Ganga and the Son.
Read the full explanation →At the 2011 census, which district of Rajasthan recorded the highest literacy rate?
Kota recorded the highest literacy of any district of Rajasthan in 2011, which fits its character as an industrial and coaching city with a largely urban population.
Read the full explanation →Which tribe of Rajasthan is traditionally associated with making katha, or catechu, from the khair tree?
The Kathodi are a small tribe who moved into Rajasthan from Maharashtra and live in the forest tracts of Udaipur, particularly Jhadol and Kotra.
Read the full explanation →The Garasia tribe of Rajasthan is concentrated in which part of the state?
The Garasia are the third largest tribe of Rajasthan and live on the southern slopes of the Aravalli, in the Abu Road and Pindwara tracts of Sirohi and in Kotra and Jhadol in Udaipur, with some in Pali.
Read the full explanation →Among the Bhils of Rajasthan, the headman of a settlement called a pal is known as
A Bhil settlement of scattered houses on a hill slope is a pal, and its headman is the gameti, who settles disputes and represents the group; a cluster of such settlements under a larger chief was led by a tadvi.
Read the full explanation →The Sahariya, the only Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group of Rajasthan, live mainly in which district?
The Sahariya live in the Shahabad and Kishanganj tehsils of Baran district in south eastern Rajasthan, a forested tract on the edge of the Hadoti plateau.
Read the full explanation →Which district of Rajasthan has the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes in its population?
Banswara, in the Wagad region of southern Rajasthan, has the largest share of Scheduled Tribes in its population, the great majority of them Bhil, and the whole district lies in the Scheduled Areas notified under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.
Read the full explanation →Which is the most numerous Scheduled Tribe of Rajasthan?
The Mina or Meena are the largest Scheduled Tribe of Rajasthan by population, spread across the eastern districts of Jaipur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli and Alwar, and they were traditionally grouped into the Zamindar Mina and the Chaukidar Mina.
Read the full explanation →At the 2011 census, which district of Rajasthan had the lowest population density?
Jaisalmer was both the largest district of Rajasthan by area and the smallest by population in 2011, so its density was the lowest in the state, a figure in the teens against the state average of 201.
Read the full explanation →What was the sex ratio of Rajasthan at the 2011 census?
The sex ratio is the number of females per thousand males, and Rajasthan recorded 928 in 2011, below the national figure of that census.
Read the full explanation →According to the 2011 census, what was the rank of Rajasthan among Indian states by population?
Rajasthan returned 6,85,48,437 people at the 2011 census, which placed it eighth among the states, behind Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh as it then was, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Read the full explanation →In which year was the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
The Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002, recognised as the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, with the Bodhi tree, the Vajrasana set by Ashoka and the brick temple of the Gupta centuries standing together at one site.
Read the full explanation →The Barabar caves near Gaya, the oldest rock cut caves in India, were made for which sect?
The Barabar group, which includes the Lomas Rishi and Sudama caves, was cut in granite in the Mauryan age for the monks of the Ajivika sect founded by Makkhali Gosala, and the inscriptions of Ashoka's grandson Dasharatha in the nearby Nagarjuni caves record further gifts to them.
Read the full explanation →Vikramashila university, in the Bhagalpur region of Bihar, was founded by which ruler?
Vikramashila was founded by Dharmapala, the second and most powerful king of the Pala dynasty, in the Bhagalpur region on the Ganga, and it became second only to Nalanda as a seat of Buddhist learning, with Atisha Dipankara among its heads.
Read the full explanation →Nalanda Mahavihara, the great Buddhist centre of learning, was founded by
Nalanda was founded by Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty in the fifth century and grew into the most famous monastic university in Asia, with students from China, Tibet, Korea and South East Asia.
Read the full explanation →At which place was the second Buddhist council held, a hundred years after the Buddha's death?
The second council met at Vaishali about a century after the Buddha's death, under king Kalashoka of the Shishunaga dynasty, with Sabakami presiding.
Read the full explanation →The third Buddhist council was held at Pataliputra under the patronage of
The third council met at Pataliputra in the reign of Ashoka, with Moggaliputta Tissa presiding.
Read the full explanation →Mahavira, the twenty fourth Jain tirthankara, attained nirvana at
Mahavira attained nirvana at Pavapuri in the present Nalanda district of Bihar at the age of seventy two, traditionally in 527 BCE, and the Jal Mandir, a marble temple standing in the middle of a tank, marks the place of his cremation.
Read the full explanation →The first Buddhist council was held at which place?
The first Buddhist council met at Rajgriha, the Rajgir of today, in the Saptaparni cave soon after the Buddha's death, under the patronage of king Ajatashatru and the presidency of Mahakassapa.
Read the full explanation →