13 previous year UPSC Prelims questions on General Awareness: India (General Knowledge). Choose an option to see the answer and explanation.
Explanations state facts as of the year each question was asked; words like “recently” refer to that year.
Showing 11–13 of 13 questions
The Cochin International Airport in Kerala is the first airport in India to be owned by a public limited company. Established in 1999, it became India’s first greenfield airport developed under a PPP model. In 2015, it became the world’s first fully solar-powered airport.
Pair (b) is incorrectly matched: Phalcon is not a cruise missile. It is an Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) developed by Israel in collaboration with India. Pair (a), (c) and (d) are correctly matched:
Arjun MBT is India’s indigenously developed main battle tank, designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Saras is a light civilian aircraft designed by the National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore. It is India’s first indigenously built civil aircraft. Operation Seabird refers to the construction of the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka, aimed at reducing dependence on Mumbai and Visakhapatnam ports. INS Kadamba naval base in Karnataka is currently the third-largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase II.
Raj Kapoor is widely regarded as one of the greatest icons of Indian cinema. He was honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987 for his outstanding contribution to Indian films. However, he did not receive the Bharat Ratna.
Ustad Bismillah Khan received Bharat Ratna in 2001, Satyajit ray in 1992 and Lata Mangeshkar in 2001. About Bharat Ratna:
Instituted in 1954, the Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award, conferred on the recommendation of the Prime Minister to the President without formal nominations. A maximum of three awards can be given annually, with exceptions in 1999 and 2024, when four and five were awarded respectively. The award consists of a peepal leaf-shaped medallion, inscribed with "Bharat Ratna" on the front and the State Emblem of India with "Satyameva Jayate" on the reverse, along with a certificate (sanad). It is minted at the Alipore Mint, Kolkata. The first recipients in 1954 were C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and C. V. Raman. Initially, posthumous awards were not allowed, but this changed in 1966, with Lal Bahadur Shastri becoming the first posthumous recipient. The award is generally reserved for Indian citizens, but exceptions have been made for Mother Teresa, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and Nelson Mandela in recognition of their contributions to humanity.
| Q | UPSC year | Correct answer |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 2005 | (b) Cochin airport |
| 12 | 2005 | (b) Phalcon: Cruise missile supplied by Russia to India. |
| 13 | 2005 | (d) Raj Kapoor |
This page covers 13 previous year UPSC Prelims GS Paper-I questions on General Awareness: India (General Knowledge), asked from 1996 to 2009. Each has the correct answer and an explanation.
Attempt each question first, then open the answer and read the explanation for every option. Repeat by chapter, and track which statements UPSC reuses across years. Previous year questions show the exam pattern and difficulty level.
Questions on General Awareness: India (General Knowledge) are available for 14 years, from 1996 to 2009. Use the Year filter to practise a single paper.
