UPSC GK Questions 2026

Loktak, in Manipur, is the largest freshwater lake of north-east India, and its surface carries phumdis, thick floating mats of vegetation, soil and organic matter that rise and fall with the water level.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, spread across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka in the Western Ghats, was designated in 1986 as the first biosphere reserve of India, and in 2000 it also became the first Indian reserve to be included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

The Ramsar Convention was signed on 2 February 1971, and that anniversary is observed each year as World Wetlands Day to draw attention to the services wetlands provide, such as flood control, groundwater recharge, water purification and habitat for migratory birds.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the shore of the Caspian Sea, which gave the treaty its popular name.

The philosopher and teacher Dr S. Radhakrishnan was India's first Vice-President, from 1952 to 1962, serving two full terms. He then became the second President of India (1962–67).

Under Article 67(b), the Vice-President can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all its then members, an "effective majority", and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.

It provides that the Vice-President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament, elected and nominated alike, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote and by secret ballot.

Article 64 makes the Vice-President the ex officio Chairman of the Council of States, that is, the Rajya Sabha. "Ex officio" means by virtue of the office: nobody elects the Chairman separately.

Droupadi Murmu was elected President in July 2022, defeating Yashwant Sinha, and took the oath on 25 July 2022, succeeding Ram Nath Kovind, the 14th President.

The Constitution does not fix any time limit within which the President must give or withhold assent to an ordinary bill.

Article 143 gives the Supreme Court its advisory jurisdiction: when a question of law or fact of public importance has arisen or is likely to arise, the President may refer it to the Court for its opinion.

Article 123 lets the President promulgate an ordinance when either House of Parliament is not in session and the President is satisfied that circumstances make immediate action necessary.

Article 72 gives the President the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, and to suspend, remit or commute a sentence.

Article 61 sets out the only way a President can be removed before the end of the term: impeachment for "violation of the Constitution".

Article 56(1)(a) says the President may resign by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Vice-President. The Vice-President must then communicate the resignation to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha without delay.

Under Article 60, the President takes the oath or affirmation before the Chief Justice of India, or, in the Chief Justice's absence, before the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.

Article 58 lays down four qualifications for the President: the person must be a citizen of India, must have completed 35 years of age, must be qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha, and must not hold any office of profit under the Union, a State or…

Under Article 54, the President is elected by an electoral college made up only of elected members: the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States, and, since the 70th Amendment of 1992, of the Union Territories of Delhi and…

The correct answer is Article 52, which says simply: "There shall be a President of India." It opens Chapter I of Part V, the chapter on the Union executive, and every other rule about the office builds on it.

IBM and Coca-Cola wound up their Indian operations in 1977 rather than dilute their holdings to 40 per cent. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, passed in 1973, required foreign companies to cut their equity in Indian subsidiaries to that level and to obtain permission for most dealings in foreign exchange.