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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

Q8481.EconomyMedium

What was the average daily coal supply to the power sector in October 2026, and how did it compare with the supply plan?

  1. A.2.21 MT a day, below the plan
  2. B.2.37 MT a day, equal to the plan
  3. C.2.49 MT a day, above the plan
  4. D.2.65 MT a day, above the plan
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 2.49 MT a day, above the plan

Coal actually delivered to the power sector averaged 2.49 MT a day in October 2026 while the plan for the month provided for 2.37 MT a day, so supply ran ahead of the programme and bettered it on nine of the first ten days.

Q8484.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following information:

Region : Name of the mountain range : Type of mountain

1. Central Asia : Vosges : Fold mountain

2. Europe : Alps : Block mountain

3. North America : Appalachians : Fold mountain

4. South America : Andes : Fold mountain

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.Only three
  4. D.All four
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Only two

Rows 3 and 4 are correct; rows 1 and 2 have the wrong region or type. Fold mountains form when plates converge and layers of rock crumple.

Q8485.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following subjects with regard to Non-Cooperation Programme :

I. Boycott of law-courts and foreign cloth

II. Observance of strict non-violence

III. Retention of titles and honours without using them in public

IV. Establishment of Panchayats for settling disputes

How many of the above were parts of Non-Cooperation Programme?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.Only three
  4. D.All the four
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Only three

Items I, II and IV were part of the Non-Cooperation programme, but item III was not: Indians were asked to give up their titles, not keep them quietly.

Q8488.Static GKAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IMedium

What is/are the consequence/consequences of a country becoming the member of the 'Nuclear Suppliers Group' ?

1. It will have access to the latest and most efficient nuclear technologies.

2. It automatically becomes a member of "The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)".

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

  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

Membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) eases access to advanced nuclear technology and trade, but it does not make a country a party to the NPT.

Q8489.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Which one of the following is not a Harappan site?

  1. A.Chanhudaro
  2. B.Kot Diji
  3. C.Sohgaura
  4. D.Desalpur
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Sohgaura

Sohgaura, in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, is known for a Mauryan-period copper plate inscription, not for Harappan remains. The Sohgaura copper plate, written in Prakrit in the Brahmi script, is one of the earliest copper plate records of India and is usually dated to the Mauryan age.

Q8490.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2020, GS Paper IMedium

One common agreement between Gandhism and Marxism is

  1. A.the final goal of a stateless society
  2. B.class struggle
  3. C.abolition of private property
  4. D.economic determinism
Show answer
Correct answer: A. the final goal of a stateless society

Both Gandhi and Marx saw the State as an instrument of coercion and imagined an ideal society in which it would no longer be needed.

Q8491.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IEasy

Which one of the following effects of creation of black money in India has been the main cause of worry to the Government of India?

  1. A.Diversion of resources to the purchase of real estate and investment in luxury housing
  2. B.Investment in unproductive activities and purchase of precious stones, jewellery, gold, etc.
  3. C.Large donations to political parties and growth of regionalism
  4. D.Loss of revenue to the State Exchequer due to tax evasion
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Loss of revenue to the State Exchequer due to tax evasion

Black money is, by definition, income hidden from the tax authorities, so its most direct and serious effect is the tax the government never receives.

Q8492.Indian EconomyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

Which of the following activities constitute real sector in the economy ?

1. Farmers harvesting their crops

2. Textile mills converting raw cotton into fabrics

3. A commercial bank lending money to a trading company

4. A corporate body issuing Rupee Denominated Bonds overseas

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

The real sector produces actual goods and services, so harvesting crops and making cloth belong to it, while lending and issuing bonds belong to the financial sector.

Q8493.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2023, GS Paper IEasy

About three-fourths of world's cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by

  1. A.Argentina
  2. B.Botswana
  3. C.the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  4. D.Kazakhstan
Show answer
Correct answer: C. the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The DRC mines roughly three-quarters of the world's cobalt, far ahead of any other country. Cobalt is used in the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries because it keeps them stable and lets them store more energy, which is why demand has risen with electric vehicles and mobile phones.

Q8494.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2024, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following information :

Waterfall : Region : River

1. Dhuandhar : Malwa : Narmada

2. Hundru : Chota Nagpur : Subarnarekha

3. Gersoppa : Western Ghats : Netravati

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched ?

  1. A.Only one
  2. B.Only two
  3. C.All three
  4. D.None
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Only one

Only row 2 is fully correct; rows 1 and 3 each have a wrong entry. Hundru Falls, near Ranchi in Jharkhand, is formed where the Subarnarekha river drops off the edge of the Ranchi plateau, part of the Chota Nagpur region, so row 2 is right.

Q8495.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IEasy

Consider the following statements about Raja Ram Mohan Roy :

I. He possessed great love and respect for the traditional philosophical systems of the East.

II. He desired his countrymen to accept the rational and scientific approach and the principle of human dignity and social equality of all men and women.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Ram Mohan Roy respected the philosophical heritage of the East while urging Indians to adopt reason, science and social equality.

Q8496.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2026, GS Paper IHard

Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India :

1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595 - 596).

2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.

3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.

Which of the statements given above are correct ?

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

All three statements match what inscriptions tell us about how the decimal place-value system spread. In the place-value system, the value of a digit depends on its position, so nine digits and a zero can write any number.

Q8497.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IEasy

Which one of the following statements is correct ?

  1. A.Rights are claims of the State against the citizens.
  2. B.Rights are privileges which are incorporated in the Constitution of a State.
  3. C.Rights are claims of the citizens against the State.
  4. D.Rights are privileges of a few citizens against the many.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Rights are claims of the citizens against the State.

A right is a claim that the individual makes and that the State recognises and is bound to respect. In political theory, rights mark out an area of freedom that the State must not enter and conditions it must secure.

Q8498.Banking & Financial AwarenessAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IEasy

Which one of the following best describes the term "Merchant Discount Rate" sometimes seen in news ?

  1. A.The incentive given by a bank to a merchant for accepting payments through debit cards pertaining to that bank.
  2. B.The amount paid back by banks to their customers when they use debit cards for financial transactions for purchasing goods or services.
  3. C.The charge to a merchant by a bank for accepting payments from his customers through the bank's debit cards.
  4. D.The incentive given by the Government to merchants for promoting digital payments by their customers through Point of Sale (PoS) machines and debit cards.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The charge to a merchant by a bank for accepting payments from his customers through the bank's debit cards.

The Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is the fee a bank charges a merchant for processing payments the merchant receives from customers by card.

Q8499.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following pairs :

Movement/Organization : Leader

1. All India Anti-Untouchability League : Mahatma Gandhi

2. All India Kisan Sabha : Swami Sahajanand Saraswati

3. Self-Respect Movement : E. V. Ramaswami Naicker

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

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

All three organisations are correctly paired with the leaders who founded or led them. Mahatma Gandhi founded the All India Anti-Untouchability League in September 1932, soon after the Poona Pact; it was renamed the Harijan Sevak Sangh in 1933.

GK Questions for sub-exams