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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

Q6781.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to "Blockchain Technology", consider the following statements :

1. It is a public ledger that everyone can inspect, but which no single user controls.

2. The structure and design of blockchain is such that all the data in it are about cryptocurrency only.

3. Applications that depend on basic features of blockchain can be developed without anybody's permission.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

A blockchain is an open, shared ledger that no single party controls, and anyone can build on a public blockchain without asking permission.

Q6782.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IHard

The 'Common Carbon Metric', supported by UNEP, has been developed for

  1. A.assessing the carbon footprint of building operations around the world
  2. B.enabling commercial farming entities around the world to enter carbon emission trading
  3. C.enabling governments to assess the overall carbon footprint caused by their countries
  4. D.assessing the overall carbon footprint caused by the use of fossil fuels by the world in a unit time
Show answer
Correct answer: A. assessing the carbon footprint of building operations around the world

The Common Carbon Metric is a standard way to measure and report the energy use and emissions of buildings in use.

Q6783.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following pairs :

Peak — Mountains

1. Namcha Barwa — Garhwal Himalaya

2. Nanda Devi — Kumaon Himalaya

3. Nokrek — Sikkim Himalaya

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

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

Nanda Devi belongs to the Kumaon Himalaya, but Namcha Barwa and Nokrek are wrongly placed. Nanda Devi (7,816 m) is the highest peak lying wholly within India and the highest in Uttarakhand.

Q6784.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IHard

With reference to 'Direct Air Capture', an emerging technology, which of the following statements is/are correct?

I. It can be used as a way of carbon sequestration.

II. It can be a valuable approach for plastic production and in food processing.

III. In aviation, it can be a source of carbon for combining with hydrogen to create synthetic low-carbon fuel.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.I and II only
  2. B.III only
  3. C.I, II and III
  4. D.None of the above statements is correct
Show answer
Correct answer: C. I, II and III

Direct Air Capture pulls carbon dioxide straight out of the open air, and that CO2 can either be stored underground or used to make products.

Q6785.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IEasy

The term 'Core Banking Solutions' is sometimes seen in the news. Which of the following statements best describes/describe this term?

1. It is a networking of a bank's branches which enables customers to operate their accounts from any branch of the bank on its network regardless of where they open their accounts.

2. It is an effort to increase RBI's control over commercial banks through computerization.

3. It is a detailed procedure by which a bank with huge non-performing assets is taken over by another bank.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 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 only

Core Banking Solutions (CBS) links all branches of a bank to one central system, so a customer can bank at any branch, not just the home branch.

Q6786.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

In the context of mitigating the impending global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, which of the following can be the potential sites for carbon sequestration ?

1. Abandoned and uneconomic coal seams

2. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs

3. Subterranean deep saline formations

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.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 are geological traps where captured carbon dioxide can be pumped and stored deep underground. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) takes carbon dioxide from power plants or factories, compresses it and injects it into rock formations that can hold it for thousands of years.

Q6788.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following pairs :

Famous place — River

1. Pandharpur : Chandrabhaga

2. Tiruchirappalli : Cauvery

3. Hampi : Malaprabha

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  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

Pandharpur stands on the Chandrabhaga and Tiruchirappalli on the Cauvery, but Hampi lies on the Tungabhadra, not the Malaprabha. Pandharpur in Solapur district of Maharashtra is the seat of Lord Vitthal (Vithoba) and the goal of the Warkari pilgrimage.

Q6789.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IHard

With reference to Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology, which of the following statements are correct ?

1. VLC uses electromagnetic spectrum wavelengths 375 to 780 nm.

2. VLC is known as long-range optical wireless communication.

3. VLC can transmit large amounts of data faster than Bluetooth.

4. VLC has no electromagnetic interference.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

VLC sends data with visible light, which is fast and free of radio interference, but it works only over short distances.

Q6790.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IEasy

In case of which one of the following biogeochemical cycles, the weathering of rocks is the main source of release of nutrient to enter the cycle?

  1. A.Carbon cycle
  2. B.Nitrogen cycle
  3. C.Phosphorus cycle
  4. D.Sulphur cycle
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus has no gaseous form in the cycle, so it enters ecosystems mainly when phosphate rocks weather. The phosphorus cycle is a sedimentary cycle.

Q6794.EconomyHard

What is the enhanced guarantee coverage available to women-led micro and small enterprises under the Credit Guarantee Scheme?

  1. A.75 per cent
  2. B.80 per cent
  3. C.85 per cent
  4. D.90 per cent
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 90 per cent

The scheme was framed to strengthen credit delivery to micro and small enterprises and to reach entrepreneurs who are unserved or underserved, and within it women-led units receive guarantee cover at that higher level together with a concession of 10 per cent on the guarantee fee.

Q6797.NationalHard

The DigiPost initiative, under which traffic e-challans issued by the Gujarat Police are transmitted digitally and delivered physically, was launched by which department?

  1. A.Department of Defence
  2. B.Department of Posts
  3. C.Ministry of Railways
  4. D.Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Department of Posts

The Department of Defence is wrong: it set up the e-Chhawani Helpdesk for grievance redressal, which is a different initiative from the same campaign.

Q6799.NationalMedium

Which department is the nodal department for Special Campaign 6 on Swachhata and disposal of pending matters?

  1. A.Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
  2. B.Department of Personnel and Training
  3. C.Department of Posts
  4. D.Department of Expenditure
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

Its Secretary, Smt. Nivedita Shukla Verma, chaired the third review meeting with the campaign's nodal officers, and its Additional Secretary, Shri Puneet Yadav, presented the progress made.

Q6800.EnvironmentMedium

By which year does the policy framework discussed at the meeting seek to balance ecological security with sustainable socio-economic growth in the Indian Himalayan Region?

  1. A.2030
  2. B.2035
  3. C.2040
  4. D.2047
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 2047

The minister told the meeting that there has been a concerted focus on a policy framework which holds ecological security together with sustainable socio-economic growth in the Indian Himalayan Region by that year, which is the hundredth year of independence and the horizon the government uses for its long-term goals.

GK Questions for sub-exams