Q121. Who among the following is Chile’s first woman President?
Explanation
Michelle Bachelet made history by becoming Chile’s first woman president. She served two terms, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018.
General Knowledge: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Prelims)
505 previous year UPSC Prelims General Knowledge questions are on this page, from 1996 to 2010, in 5 chapters. In those years UPSC tested general awareness directly: people, books, institutions, places and events of the time. General Awareness: India is the largest chapter, followed by Contemporary Events: India and General Awareness: World. Every explanation states facts as they stood in the year of the question.
Explanations state facts as of the year each question was asked; words like “recently” refer to that year.
Showing 121–130 of 505 questions
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Q122. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists:
| List-I (Company) | List-II (Major Area/Product) |
|---|---|
| A. Chevron | 1. Wind energy |
| B. AT & T | 2. Oil |
| C. AMD | 3. Telephone, internet |
| D. Enercon GmbH | 4. Microprocessor |
Explanation
List-I (Company) List-II (Major Area/Product) Chevron Oil company AT&T Telephone and an Internet service provider AMD Drivers and Support for Processors and Graphics (Microprocessor) Enercon GmbH Global Manufacturer of Wind Turbines
Q123. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
Explanation
Pair (a) is correctly matched: William Kennedy Dickson, a Scottish inventor working under the guidance of Thomas Edison, played a crucial role in the development of early motion picture technology. Pair (b) is correctly matched: Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, philosopher, and mechanical engineer, is widely regarded as the "father of the computer." He conceived the idea of a programmable mechanical computer, known as the Analytical Engine, in the 19th century. Babbage’s visionary work paved the way for the development of modern computing. Pair (c) is incorrectly matched: Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, is a British economist renowned for his work on the economics of climate change. His influential report, the Stern Review, published in 2006, highlighted the economic costs of inaction on climate change and emphasized the need for urgent global action. Stern’s work has been instrumental in raising awareness of the economic dimensions of climate change and has influenced policy decisions around the world. He is not associated with construction technology. Pair (d) is correctly matched: Brian Greene is a theoretical physicist and a prominent popularizer of string theory, a theoretical framework in physics that seeks to unify all the fundamental forces of nature. Greene is known for his ability to explain complex scientific concepts in an accessible way to a wider audience through his books, television appearances, and public lectures.
Q124. Which of the following countries signed the Tshwane Declaration in October 2006?
Explanation
The Tshwane Declaration was signed between India and South Africa in October 2006. The declaration marked a significant enhancement of the bilateral relations between the two countries and aimed to strengthen cooperation in various areas such as trade, investment, science and technology, and cultural exchange. The declaration was named after Tshwane, the metropolitan municipality in which Pretoria, one of South Africa’s capital cities, is located.
Q125. Recently, the European Union and six other countries including India signed the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Project. Which one of the following was not a signatory to it?
Explanation
Canada is not signatory to ITER projects.
ITER is a 35-nation fusion energy project launched in 1985, headquartered in France, aiming to prove fusion as a large-scale, carbon-free energy source through the world’s largest tokamak. Its members include China, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the US, with the EU covering 45.6% of costs and others, including India, sharing 9.1% each.
Q126. How is Steve Fossett known as
Explanation
Steve Fossett was an American adventurer known for setting numerous world records in aviation and sailing. In 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo nonstop around the world without refueling, which was one of his most notable achievements. He is not known for hunting crocodiles, swimming across the Atlantic, or climbing Mount Everest. Thus, the correct answer is for completing the longest nonstop flight around the globe.
Q127. Consider the following statements:
1. Republicans won the majority in the US House of Representatives Elections held in the year 2006.
2. Republican Bobby Jindal, won a seat in the US House of Representatives for the second time.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1. Republicans won the majority in the US House of Representatives Elections held in the year 2006.
2. Republican Bobby Jindal, won a seat in the US House of Representatives for the second time.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Republicans did not win the majority in the US House of Representatives in the 2006 elections. In fact, the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in the 2006 midterm elections, ending 12 years of Republican rule.
Statement 2 is correct: Bobby Jindal, a Republican, did win a seat in the US House of Representatives for the second time in 2006.
Q128. What is the broad area in which the Nobel Prize winners for the year 2006 in Physiology or Medicine, worked to get the Prize?
Explanation
Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering RNA interference (RNAi), a key gene regulation process. Their research showed how siRNAs silence specific genes by interfering with mRNA, revolutionizing molecular biology. RNAi plays a vital role in gene expression, disease suppression, and biotechnology, with potential treatments for genetic disorders, viral infections, and cancers.
Q129. Which one of the following countries is planning to construct a rival to the Panama Canal to link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans?
Explanation
Nicaragua has proposed constructing an alternative to the Panama Canal, known as the Nicaraguan Canal or Interoceanic Grand Canal, to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This ambitious project aims to enhance global maritime trade by offering a new route that could reduce shipping distances and costs.
Q130. Which one of the following pairs of countries joined the European Union in January 2007?
Explanation
Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on January 1, 2007, after implementing key judicial, anti-corruption, and economic reforms to meet accession criteria. Bulgaria negotiated since 2000, focusing on market regulations and governance reforms, while Romania, in talks since 1995, improved agriculture and judiciary standards. Their simultaneous accession followed sustained reforms and positive EU evaluations.
Answer key for these questions
| Q | UPSC year | Correct answer |
|---|---|---|
| 121 | 2007 | (b) M Bachelet |
| 122 | 2007 | (c) A-2; B-3; C-4; D-1 |
| 123 | 2007 | (c) Nicholas Stem: Construction technology |
| 124 | 2007 | (b) India and South Africa |
| 125 | 2007 | (a) Canada |
| 126 | 2007 | (b) for completing the longest nonstop flight around the globe |
| 127 | 2007 | (b) 2 only |
| 128 | 2007 | (b) Flow of genetic information |
| 129 | 2007 | (d) Nicaragua |
| 130 | 2007 | (a) Bulgaria and Romania |
What UPSC has tested in General Knowledge
- These are single-fact questions: who wrote a book, where an organisation is headquartered, which country hosted an event.
- Contemporary-events questions refer to the news of their year, so answers describe the position then, not today.
- The chapters split by world and India, and by general awareness and current events, plus sports and games.
- Later years’ questions sit under the other subjects on this site and lean toward analytical, statement-based formats.
Frequently asked questions
How many previous year UPSC questions are there on General Knowledge?
This page covers 505 previous year UPSC Prelims GS Paper-I questions on General Knowledge, asked from 1996 to 2010. Each has the correct answer and an explanation.
Which General Knowledge chapters have the most questions?
General Awareness: India has the most with 138 questions, followed by Contemporary Events: India with 118, General Awareness: World with 110, Contemporary Events: World with 99 and Sports and Games with 40.
Are General Knowledge facts still current?
Many remain true, such as authorship and headquarters, but contemporary-events answers describe the position in the year each question was asked. Always check a recent source for the present position before relying on an item.
Why practise these older questions?
They show the style of general-awareness questions UPSC used and the breadth of topics it covered, from literature and institutions to sports. The explanations also build a base of facts that still helps with current affairs.