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.
Which of these is NOT a Kharif crop?
Wheat is the leading rabi crop of India. It is sown in October and November, needs a cool season of about fifty to sixty centimetres of rainfall for growth and bright sunshine at the time of ripening, and is harvested in March and April.
Read the full explanation →Kharif crops can be described as the crops which are sown with the beginning of the ________ season.
Kharif crops are sown in June and July with the onset of the south-west monsoon and harvested in September and October, because they need both high temperature and heavy rainfall while growing.
Read the full explanation →The LHB coaches used by Indian Railways are based on a design from which country?
LHB stands for Linke Hofmann Busch, the German firm whose design Indian Railways adopted at the end of the 1990s and now builds at Kapurthala and other coach factories.
Read the full explanation →The Chenab bridge, the highest railway arch bridge in the world, lies on which rail link?
The Chenab bridge on that link stands about 359 metres above the bed of the river, higher than the Eiffel Tower, and is built as a steel arch to span the deep gorge in an earthquake prone and wind swept setting.
Read the full explanation →Which was the first Indian train to run at a speed of 160 kilometres an hour, introduced in 2016?
The correct answer is A, Gatimaan Express, which began running in 2016 between Delhi and Agra and became India's first semi-high-speed train at 160 kilometres an hour, a speed the Agra route could take because of its straight alignment and fenced sections.
Read the full explanation →Which organisation is executing the Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project?
The correct answer is B, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, a company set up specifically to build and later operate high-speed rail in India, with the Union Government and the Governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra as shareholders.
Read the full explanation →The Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor is being built with technology from which country?
The corridor uses the Shinkansen system, the high-speed technology Japan has run since 1964, and the project is financed largely by a soft loan from Japan carrying a long repayment period and a low rate of interest.
Read the full explanation →What distinguishes a Vande Bharat train set from a conventional passenger train?
A Vande Bharat rake is a self-propelled electric multiple unit: the traction motors and control equipment are slung under the coaches themselves, so power is spread along the length of the train instead of being concentrated in one vehicle.
Read the full explanation →The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off in which year?
The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on 15 February 2019, after the train set had been built at the Integral Coach Factory under the name Train 18 and tested on Indian track.
Read the full explanation →Vande Bharat Express train sets are designed and manufactured at:
The correct answer is B, the Integral Coach Factory at Chennai, which designed the train set under the project name Train 18 and rolled out the first rake.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following accidents can Kavach NOT prevent?
Kavach works on the movement of trains: it reads the position and speed of a locomotive from trackside tags, compares that with the signal and the permitted speed, and brakes the train when the driver does not.
Read the full explanation →Kavach has been certified at which Safety Integrity Level?
Safety Integrity Level is a scale of four grades used for safety related electronic systems, and level four is the most demanding, meaning the probability of a dangerous undetected failure is designed to be the lowest of all.
Read the full explanation →Which organisation of Indian Railways developed the Kavach system?
It is the research, design and standards wing of Indian Railways, has its headquarters at Lucknow, and developed Kavach in partnership with Indian manufacturers, first under the name Train Collision Avoidance System.
Read the full explanation →Kavach, developed by Indian Railways, is:
Kavach is an electronic safety system that acts on a moving train when its driver does not: it applies the brakes if a signal at danger is being approached without braking, holds a train back from passing a red signal, and keeps two locomotives fitted with the system from closing…
Read the full explanation →A joint sitting of the two Houses to resolve a deadlock over an ordinary Bill is:
The Constitution provides for a joint sitting of the two Houses only at the Union level, under Article 108, where the President may summon the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to sit together and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides.
Read the full explanation →Under Article 192, who decides a question about the disqualification of a sitting member of a State Legislature?
Article 192 says that if a question arises whether a member of a House of the Legislature of a State has become subject to any of the disqualifications listed in Article 191, the question shall be referred for the decision of the Governor, and his decision shall be final.
Read the full explanation →The term of a member of a State Legislative Council is:
Article 172 says that the Legislative Council of a State shall not be subject to dissolution, but that as nearly as possible one-third of its members shall retire on the expiration of every second year.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is NOT an option available to the Governor under Article 200 when a Bill is presented to him?
Article 200 gives the Governor three choices on an ordinary Bill and adds a fourth course for special cases: he may declare that he assents, that he withholds assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the consideration of the President, and he may return the Bill to the House…
Read the full explanation →A Money Bill in a State Legislature can be introduced:
Article 198 lays down the special procedure for Money Bills in a State: such a Bill cannot be introduced in the Legislative Council, and it may be introduced in the Legislative Assembly only on the recommendation of the Governor.
Read the full explanation →For how long, in all, can a State Legislative Council delay an ordinary Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly?
When the Legislative Assembly passes an ordinary Bill and sends it to the Legislative Council, the Council may hold it up for a maximum of three months the first time.
Read the full explanation →