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 221–230 of 505 questions
Browse General Knowledge chaptersBrowse by year
UPSC 2006General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q221. For which sport is the Val Barker Cup awarded in the Olympic Games?
Explanation
The Val Barker Cup is a prestigious award in Olympic boxing, first introduced in 1936. Named after Val Barker, a British boxer and former secretary of the International Boxing Association (IBA), it is awarded to the boxer who exhibits the best overall style, technical skill, and sportsmanship during the tournament. It is presented every four years
Additional insight:
Governing bodies:
Swimming - World Aquatics (formerly FINA - Federation Internationale de Natation) Long Jump - World Athletics (formerly IAAF - International Association of Athletics Federations) High Jump - World Athletics (same as Long Jump, as both are part of athletics)
UPSC 2006General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q222. Match List-I (Leading Woman Lawn Tennis Player) with List-II (Country) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists: List-I (Leading woman Tennis Player) List-II Lawn (Country)
List-I
List-II
A. Daniela Hantuchova
1. Russia
B. Patty Schnyder
2. Slovakia
C. Nadia Patrova
3. France
D. A’melie Mauresmo
4. Switzerland
Explanation
Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia): Slovak player who reached World No. 5 in 2003, known for her strong baseline game and Fed Cup victory in 2002. Patty Schnyder (Switzerland): Swiss player, ranked as high as World No. 7 in 2005, known for her tactical play and spin-heavy shots. Nadia Petrova (Russia): Russian player, peaked at World No. 3 in 2006, known for her powerful serve and aggressive style. Amélie Mauresmo (France): French player, World No. 1 in 2004, won Wimbledon and the Australian Open with her all-court game.
UPSC 2006General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q223. Who did Croatia defeat in the Davis Cup-2005 Finals to win the Davis Cup-2005?
Explanation
The 2005 Davis Cup final took place between 2 to 4 December at the Sibamac Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia, with Croatia defeating Slovakia for their first title.
Additional insight:
Davis Cup (Men’s) Billie Jean King Cup (Women’s) Year Winner Run ner-up Year Winner Run ner-up 2024 Italy Netherland 2024 Italy Slovakia 2023 Italy Australia 2023 Canada Italy 2022 Canada Australia 2022 Switzerland Australia
UPSC 2006General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q224. Which one of the following countries was not a participating team in the Football World Cup-2006?
Explanation
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, held in Germany with 32 teams, saw Togo (Group G), Ivory Coast (Group C), and Switzerland (Group G) qualify, while Russia failed to secure a spot in the tournament.
Additional insight:
Italy, a four-time FIFA World Cup champion, was the most prominent team that did not qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
UPSC 2005General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q225. Consider the following statements: 1. The Headquarters of the International Organisation for standardization are located in Rome. 2. ISO 9000 relates to the quality management system and standards. 3. ISO 14000 relates to environmental management system standards. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Headquarters of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is located in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a non governmental global body that develops standards to ensure quality, safety, and efficiency in products, services, and systems. Established in 1946, it facilitates international trade and cooperation by harmonizing practices worldwide, making lives easier, safer, and better.
Statement 2 is correct: ISO 9000 is a series of standards related to quality management systems, ensuring organizations meet customer and regulatory requirements.
Statement 3 is correct: ISO 14000 is a series of standards related to environmental management systems, helping organizations minimize environmental impact.
UPSC 2005General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q226. Consider the following statements: 1. The Constitution of the United States of America came into force in year 1810. 2. All revenue bills must originate in the House of Representative of the US Congress. 3. George W. Bush is the only President in the history of the United States of America. Whose father was also the President of the United States of America. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Constitution of the United States came into force on March 4, 1789.
Statement 2 is correct: All revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives of the US Congress. This is stated in Article I, Section 7, Clause 1 of the Constitution, also known as the Origination Clause or Revenue Clause.
Statement 3 is incorrect: George W. Bush is not the only President in the history of the United States whose father was also President. His father, George H. W. Bush was the 41st President. John Adams, the second President of the United States, and his son John Quincy Adams, the sixth President, both held the post of the president of the USA.
UPSC 2005General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q227. Consider the following statements: 1.‘The Parliament of Russia is called the Federal Assembly. 2. The Council of the Federation in the Russian Parliament is the lower house. 3. The name of the upper house in the Russian Parliament is state Duma. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: The Parliament of Russia is called the Federal Assembly.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Council of the Federation is the upper house of the Russian Parliament, not the lower house.
Statement 3 is incorrect: The State Duma is the lower house of the Russian Parliament. The upper house is the Council of the Federation.
UPSC 2005General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q228. Match items in the List-I (country) with those in the List-II (Name of Parliament) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Country)
List-II (Name of Parliament)
A. Netherlands
1. Diet
B. Ukraine
2. States General
C. Poland
3. Supreme Council
D. Japan
4. Sejm
Explanation
List-I (Country) List-II (Name of Parliament) Netherlands States General Ukraine Supreme Council Poland Sejm Japan Diet
UPSC 2005General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q229. Consider the following statements: 1. The Man Booker Prize is awarded to citizens of any of the countries of the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. 2. A leading London-based software company underwrites the Man Booker Prize presently. 3. The winner of the Man Booker Prize in the year 2004 is a South Asian. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: The Man Booker Prize (now called the Booker Prize) is awarded to authors who are citizens of the Commonwealth nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Man Booker Prize was originally sponsored by Booker McConnell Ltd, a food wholesaler, and later by the Man Group, an investment management firm. It is not sponsored by a software company.
Statement 3 is incorrect: The winner of the 2004 Man Booker Prize was Alan Hollinghurst, a British author, for his novel The Line of Beauty. However, in 2006, Kiran Desai, a South Asian author (Indian), won the prize for The Inheritance of Loss.
UPSC 2005General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q230. Consider the following statements: 1. The Charter of the United Nations Organization was adopted at Geneva, Switzerland in June, 1945. 2. India was admitted to the United Nations Organization in the year 1945. 3. The Trusteeship Council of the United Nations Organization was established to manage the affairs of territories detached from Japan Italy after the second World War or such territories not under the control of a country at that time. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?.
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect: Charter of the United Nations was adopted in San Francisco, California, USA, on June 26, 1945.
Statement 2 is correct: India was admitted to the United Nations Organization in 1945, becoming one of the original member states.
Statement 3 is correct: The Trusteeship Council was established to oversee the administration of trust territories, which were former colonies or territories detached from nations like Japan and Italy after World War II. The Trusteeship Council is made up of the five permanent members of the Security Council China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Answer key for these questions
Q
UPSC year
Correct answer
221
2006
(b) Boxing
222
2006
(c) A-2; B-4; C-1; D-3
223
2006
(b) Slovak Republic
224
2006
(a) Russia
225
2005
(c) 2 and 3
226
2005
(b) 2 only
227
2005
(d) 1 only
228
2005
(b) A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1
229
2005
(a) 1 only
230
2005
(c) 2 and 3
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.
