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.
Who among the following is known as "Payyoli Express"?
The sprinter from Payyoli in Kerala's Kozhikode district earned the nickname Payyoli Express for her speed on the track.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following educational institutions established under the Union Ministry of Culture is promoting to preserve, protect and promote Lord Buddha's teaching and value of love, compassion and non-violence for developing good moral values and practices ?
It is a deemed university under the Union Ministry of Culture devoted to Pali language and Buddhist studies.
Read the full explanation →The Sanikatta Salt Works, known for Salt Satyagraha, is located in :
Sanikatta lies near Gokarna in the Uttara Kannada district of coastal Karnataka. Sanikatta is one of the oldest traditional salt pans on the west coast, where sea water is let into the fields at the mouth of the Aghanashini river and dried by the sun.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is involved in light independent reactions of photosynthesis?
The Calvin cycle fixes carbon dioxide into sugar without needing light directly, so it forms the light-independent (dark) reactions. Photosynthesis happens in two stages inside the chloroplast.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements regarding the Constituent Assembly of India is/are correct? 1. The Assembly was elected indirectly by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies. 2. The elections were held on the basis of Universal Adult Franchise. 3. The scheme of election was laid down by the Cabinet Delegation. 4. The distribution of seats was done on the basis of the Mountbatten Plan. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The Constituent Assembly was chosen indirectly by the provincial assemblies under a scheme drawn up by the Cabinet Mission of 1946.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) are correct? 1. It began as the political wing of the Singh Sabhas in the late 19th century. 2. It was formed in 1920 as part of the upcoming Akali movement. 3. It was founded to reclaim control of the Sikh shrines from the government manipulated loyalist committees. 4. It formed the Akali Dal to coordinate groups (Jathas) to reclaim control of the shrines. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The SGPC was born in 1920 out of the Gurdwara reform (Akali) movement, not out of the Singh Sabhas of the nineteenth century.
Read the full explanation →Around twelfth century, Sufi Silsilas began to crystallize in different parts of the Islamic world to signify 1. continuous link between the master and disciple 2. unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad 3. the transmission of spiritual power and blessings to devotees Select the correct answer using the code given below.
A silsila stood for all three ideas: the master-disciple link, the chain back to the Prophet and the flow of blessings to followers.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following tissues is responsible for increase of girth in the stem of a plant?
Lateral meristems divide along the sides of the stem and root and add new cells that make them thicker. Meristems are groups of cells that keep dividing.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the correct sequence of formation of the Commissions starting from the earliest?
The four bodies were set up in 1950, 1950, 1951 and 2004 in that order. The Election Commission was established on 25 January 1950, a day before the Constitution came into force, under Article 324.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following correctly represents the theme on which the interiors of the new Parliament Building is based ?
The two chambers of the new Parliament House take their interior themes from India's national symbols. The Lok Sabha chamber is designed on the theme of the peacock, the national bird, and the Rajya Sabha chamber on the theme of the lotus, the national flower.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is an indigenous assault rifle developed by DRDO?
Ugram is a 7.62 mm assault rifle designed in India by DRDO for the armed forces and police. Ugram was developed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune, a DRDO laboratory, together with a private Hyderabad firm, Dvipa Armour India, and it was unveiled in January 2024.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements associated with Malaria : 1. Only the female Anopheles mosquitoes take human blood for reproduction 2. Plasmodium can pass across the placenta from mother to foetus Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Female Anopheles mosquitoes bite humans because they need blood to mature their eggs, and the malaria parasite can cross the placenta.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about Fatehpur Sikri is NOT correct ?
In 1585 Akbar moved his capital from Fatehpur Sikri to Lahore, not to Delhi, so this statement is not correct.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was the author of the Badshah Nama ?
He wrote the Badshah Nama, the official history of the reign of Shah Jahan. Abdul Hamid Lahori was a pupil of Abul Fazl and was chosen by Shah Jahan to write the history of his reign in the same style as the Akbarnama.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following pairs of Tribe and State is NOT correctly matched ?
The Tharu are a tribe of the Terai, the foothill belt along the Nepal border, and live mainly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, not in Madhya Pradesh.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following characteristics of a tropical cyclone : 1. A warm sea temperature of > 26°C 2. High relative humidity of atmosphere at a height of > 700 m 3. Atmospheric instability The above mentioned characteristics are associated with which one of the following cycles of its development ?
Warm sea water, moist air and an unstable atmosphere are the conditions a tropical cyclone needs in order to be born.
Read the full explanation →Name the calligrapher in Akbar's court who was honoured with the title "Zarrin Kalam" or Golden Pen
Muhammad Husayn Kashmiri, the finest calligrapher at Akbar's court, was given the title "Zarrin Kalam", meaning Golden Pen. Calligraphy was the most honoured art at the Mughal court, and Akbar ran a large imperial workshop where manuscripts were copied, painted and bound.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is a feature of thought and philosophy of the Kandukuri Viresalingam ?
Kandukuri Viresalingam saw education for all, including girls, as the base of social reform. Viresalingam (1848–1919) was the leading social reformer of Andhra in the nineteenth century and is often called the father of the Telugu renaissance.
Read the full explanation →Who launched the Bardoli Satyagraha on 4th February, 1928 ?
He led the no-tax campaign of the peasants of Bardoli taluka in Gujarat against an unjust rise in land revenue.
Read the full explanation →Sunrise in eastern Arunachal Pradesh would be about how many hours before the sunrise in western Gujarat?
India stretches across about 30 degrees of longitude, and every degree makes a difference of four minutes in local time.
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