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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

Q6041.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2023, GKHard

Which of the following action(s) by the Government would lead to contraction of money supply in the economy? 1. Purchase of Treasury Bills by the central bank from public 2. Sale of Treasury Bills by the central bank to public 3. Sale of foreign exchange by the central bank 4. Purchase of foreign exchange by the central bank Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

In both actions the central bank takes rupees from the public in exchange for an asset, so money in circulation falls.

Q6045.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2026, GKMedium

Consider the following statements : 1. The temporary hardness in water is due to the presence of bicarbonates of calcium. 2. The permanent hardness in water is due to the presence of soluble chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium. 3. The permanent hardness in water is removed by adding Na₂CO₃ to water. 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: D. 1, 2 and 3

All three statements describe hard water correctly. Statement 1 is correct: temporary hardness comes from dissolved bicarbonates, chiefly calcium bicarbonate (magnesium bicarbonate too).

Q6046.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2026, GKHard

Which of the following statements relating to given weather phenomena in India is/are correct? 1. When maximum temperature of a station reaches ≥40°C for plains and ≥30°C for hilly regions, it is considered heat wave 2. When minimum temperature of a station is ≤10°C for plains and ≤0°C for hilly regions, it is considered cold wave 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: C. Both 1 and 2

These are the threshold temperatures the India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses for declaring heat waves and cold waves.

Q6047.Environment & EcologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKMedium

Excessive use of which of the following fertilizers may be responsible for the presence of a toxic substance in groundwater?

  1. A.Nitrogen
  2. B.Phosphate only
  3. C.Potassium only
  4. D.Phosphate and potassium
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Nitrogen

Excess nitrogen fertilizer turns into nitrate, which dissolves easily, seeps down through the soil and contaminates groundwater. Urea and other nitrogen fertilizers are converted by soil bacteria into nitrate ions.

Q6048.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKEasy

Which one of the following is a physical change?

  1. A.Burning of coal
  2. B.Burning of wood
  3. C.Heating of a platinum crucible
  4. D.Heating of potassium chlorate
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Heating of a platinum crucible

Platinum only gets hot and may glow; it does not react, and on cooling the crucible is exactly as it was, so the change is physical.

Q6050.Static GKAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2019, GKEasy

Paul Allen, who died in October 2018, was the co-founder of

  1. A.Oracle
  2. B.IBM
  3. C.Microsoft
  4. D.SAP
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Microsoft

Paul Allen founded Microsoft with his school friend Bill Gates in 1975. Allen and Gates started the company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to write software for the early personal computer Altair 8800, and the name came from "microcomputer software".

Q6051.Static GKAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2019, GKMedium

What is SWAYAM?

  1. A.Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds
  2. B.Study Webs of Active-Learning for Youth Aspiring Minds
  3. C.Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiration Minds
  4. D.Study Webs of Active-Learning for Youth of Aspiration Minds
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds

This is the full form of SWAYAM, the Government of India's free online course platform. SWAYAM was launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Education (then the Ministry of Human Resource Development).

Q6053.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2020, GKEasy

Which one among the following statements pertaining to the President's term of office is not correct?

  1. A.The President holds office for a term of five years.
  2. B.The President may be removed from the office by way of impeachment.
  3. C.The President may resign before the expiration of his/her term by writing to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
  4. D.The President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his/her term, continue to hold office until his/her successor enters upon his/her office.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The President may resign before the expiration of his/her term by writing to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Under Article 56, the President resigns by writing to the Vice-President of India, not to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, so this statement is not correct.

Q6055.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2021, GKEasy

Rupa and Sachin observed an animal in their school garden. Rupa called it an insect while Sachin identified it as an earthworm. Which one of the following characteristics confirms that it is an insect ?

  1. A.The animal had jointed legs.
  2. B.Body of the animal had very little segmentation.
  3. C.Body of the animal was cylindrical.
  4. D.Body of the animal was bilaterally symmetrical.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The animal had jointed legs.

Jointed legs are the mark of the phylum Arthropoda, to which insects belong; an earthworm has no legs at all.

Q6056.Environment & EcologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2022, GKEasy

Which one of the following is the main reason of acid rains ?

  1. A.Dissolution of sulphur and nitrogen oxides in rain
  2. B.Dissolution of minerals in rain
  3. C.Dissolution of dust particles in rain
  4. D.Dissolution of soil solution in rain
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Dissolution of sulphur and nitrogen oxides in rain

These gases react with water in the air to form sulphuric and nitric acids, which fall as acid rain. Sulphur dioxide comes mainly from burning coal and oil in power plants and smelters, and nitrogen oxides from vehicle engines and high-temperature furnaces.

Q6057.General ScienceAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2022, GKMedium

A metal wire of length l and diameter d has a resistance R. What would be the resistance of another wire of the same metal and of same length but having double the diameter ?

  1. A.R
  2. B.R/4
  3. C.R/2
  4. D.2R
Show answer
Correct answer: B. R/4

Resistance varies inversely with the area of cross-section, and doubling the diameter makes the area four times larger. The resistance of a wire is R = ρl/A, where ρ is the resistivity of the metal, l the length and A the cross-sectional area.

Q6059.Environment & EcologyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2024, GKEasy

The use of plastics has led to a number of environment-related problems. For this, which one of the following statements is correct?

  1. A.They are non-biodegradable.
  2. B.They do not get released into water and food.
  3. C.They do not have any biochemical synthesis activity.
  4. D.They are harmless to humans.
Show answer
Correct answer: A. They are non-biodegradable.

Bacteria and fungi cannot break down most plastics, so plastic waste stays in soil and water for hundreds of years.

GK Questions for sub-exams