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 351–360 of 505 questions
Browse General Knowledge chaptersBrowse by year
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Contemporary Events: India
Q351. The Government holding in BPCL is:
Explanation
In 2003, the Government of India held around 66% stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). This was part of its broader disinvestment and privatization strategy.
Additional insight:
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is a public sector oil and gas company in India, engaged in refining, distribution, and marketing of petroleum products. It was nationalized in 1976 and has since been one of India’s leading energy companies. As of January 2025, the Government of India holds 52.98% of the equity share capital in BPCL.
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Contemporary Events: India
Q352. Which one of the following statements is correct with reference to FEMA in India?
Explanation
FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) was enacted in 1999 and came into force in 2000. It replaced FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act), which was more stringent and focused on criminalizing violations of foreign exchange laws. Under FEMA, violations are treated as civil offenses, meaning that penalties may be imposed but the violation itself is no longer a criminal offense, unlike FERA where violations could lead to imprisonment.
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Contemporary Events: India
Q353. Consider the following statements: 1. India’s Import of crude and petroleum products during the year 2001-02 accounted for about 27% of India’s total imports. 2. During the year 2001-02, India’s exports had increased by 10% as compared to the previous year Which of these statements is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: India’s import of crude and petroleum products during 2001-02 accounted for about 27% of total imports.
Statement 2 is incorrect: India’s exports did not increase by 10% in 2001-02; instead, they grew at a lower rate.
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q354. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer:
List-I (Cricketers)
List-II (Country)
A. Barry Richards
1. England
B. Tex Dexter
2. West Indies
C. Alan Davidson
3. South Africa
D. Charlie Griffith
4. New Zealand
5. Australia
Explanation
Barry Richards was a legendary South African batsman. Tex Dexter was a well-known cricketer from England. Alan Davidson was a famous Australian left-arm fast bowler and all-rounder. Charlie Griffith was a feared fast bowler from the West Indies.
Additional insight:
Famous Cricketer of New Zealand Richard Hadlee Martin Crowe Glenn Turner John R. Reid Stephen Fleming
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q355. The sportsperson Soma Biswas is associated with:
Explanation
Soma Biswas is associated with Athletics. She’s a renowned Indian athlete from West Bengal who specialized in the heptathlon, winning silver medals at the 2002 and 2006 Asian Games.
Additional insight:
Some notable Indian athletes:
Milkha Singh (Track and Field) P.T. Usha (Track and Field) Varsha Gautham (Sailing) Vishnu Saravanan (Sailing) P. R. Sreejesh (Hockey) Aditi Ashok (Golf) Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw) Hima Das (Sprint) Dutee Chand (Sprint) Seema Punia (Discus Throw)
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q356. Time Montgomery set a new world record at the IAAF Grand Prix final in the year 2002 in:
Explanation
In the 2002 IAAF Grand Prix Final, Tim Montgomery set a new world record in the 100 m Dash, with a time of 9.78 seconds. This performance broke the previous world record of 9.79 seconds, which was held by Maurice Greene (USA).
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q357. Whom did Mahesh Bhupati and Max Mirnyi beat in the US Open Men’s Doubles Tennis Championship in the year 2002 to win the title?
Explanation
In the 2002 US Open Men’s Doubles final, Mahesh Bhupathi (India) and Max Mirnyi (Belarus) won the title by defeating the pair of Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek.
Additional insight:
In the 2024 US Open Men’s Doubles Tennis Championship, the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson clinched the title by defeating Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (4).
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q358. Who won the title in the finals of French Open Men’s Singles Tennis Championship in the year 2002?
Explanation
In the 2002 French Open Men’s Singles final, Albert Costa of Spain won the title. He defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, also from Spain, in the final with a score of 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. This victory marked Costa’s first and only Grand Slam title in his career.
UPSC 2003General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q359. In the FIFA World Cup Football event in the year 2002, the number of goals scored by Ronaldo of Brazil was:
Explanation
In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo of Brazil was the top scorer of the tournament. He scored 8 goals in total and was awarded the Golden Boot for being the highest goal scorer of the tournament. His goals played a crucial role in helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title.
Additional insight:
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, France’s Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot award by scoring 8 goals, including a historic hat-trick in the final against Argentina. This achievement made him the tournament’s top scorer.
UPSC 2002General Knowledge · General Awareness: World
Q360. Match List-I (Ethnic Community) with List-II (Country) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Ethnic Community)
List-II (Country)
A. Apatani
1. China
B. Dyak
2. India
C. Dinka
3. Indonesia
D. Uighur
4. Sudan
Explanation
The Apatani are a tribal group of people who live in the Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The Dayak people are indigenous to the island of Borneo, which is divided among Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, and Malaysia. The Dinka people are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. Uyghur refers to a Turkic-speaking people of inner Asia living mostly in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in northwestern China.
Answer key for these questions
Q
UPSC year
Correct answer
351
2003
(b) between 60% and 70%
352
2003
(c) Under FEMA, violation of foreign exchange rules has ceased to be a criminal offence
353
2003
(a) Only 1
354
2003
(c) A-3; B-1; C-5; D-2
355
2003
(d) athletics
356
2003
(c) 100 m Dash
357
2003
(d) Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek
358
2003
(a) Albert Costa
359
2003
(c) 8
360
2002
(a) A-2; B-3; C-4; D-1
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.
