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 501–505 of 505 questions
Browse General Knowledge chaptersBrowse by year
UPSC 1996General Knowledge · Contemporary Events: India
Q501. Which one of the following satellites is to be launched from India in 1996?
Explanation
In 1996, India launched IRS-P3, an experimental earth observation mission undertaken by ISRO. The mission’s objectives were to process and interpret data generated by its two payloads, the Wide-Field sensor and Modular Optoelectric Sensor, developed by the German Aerospace Center. The mission was completed in January 2006 after serving for nine years and ten months.
Additional insight:
Between 2023 and December 2024, the ISRO conducted several notable satellite launches:
Launched the EOS-07 Earth observation satellite.
One Web India-2 Mission deployed OneWeb Gen-1 satellites, enhancing global broadband connectivity. NVS-01 Mission launched NVS-01, the first of the second-generation navigation satellites. Chandrayaan-3 Mission successfully sent the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to the Moon. Aditya-L1 Mission launched Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observatory. XPoSat Mission placed the XPoSat satellite into orbit to study cosmic X-ray sources. The INSAT-3DS Mission launched the INSAT-3DS satellite for meteorological purposes. SpaDeX Mission successfully conducted the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), demonstrating India’s first satellite docking in space.
UPSC 1996General Knowledge · Contemporary Events: India
Q502. Which one of the following is a modern tank?
Explanation
The Arjun is a modern Indian-made battle tank, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in India. It is a third-generation main battle tank and was designed to enhance the Indian Army’s armored warfare capabilities. The tank features advanced firepower, protection, and mobility systems, and has been inducted into the Indian Army.
UPSC 1996General Knowledge · Contemporary Events: India
Q503. Which one of the following works has recently been made into a full length feature film?
Explanation
Option (d) is correct: Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August: English, August: An Indian Story was adapted into a full-length feature film in 1994, directed by Dev Benegal. This was one of the earliest Indian English-language films to gain international recognition.
Option (a) is incorrect: R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days: Malgudi Days was not made into a full-length feature film, but it was adapted into a popular TV series in the 1980s, directed by Shankar Nag.
Option (b) is incorrect: Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children:
Midnight’s Children was adapted into a film much later, in 2012, directed by Deepa Mehta.
Option (c) is incorrect:Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy: A Suitable Boy was not made into a film in 1996, but in 2020, it was adapted into a BBC TV series directed by Mira Nair.
UPSC 1996General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q504. In which Olympic Games did India last win a Gold Medal?(2006)
Explanation
India last won a gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics in men’s field hockey. This was the country’s eighth Olympic gold in field hockey and the last gold medal India won in field hockey. India’s men’s hockey team has won 8 Olympic gold medals: 1928 Amsterdam: India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal was won at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics under the leadership of Dhyan Chand. 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1964 Tokyo 1980 Moscow
Additional insight:
India’s men’s hockey team has also won bronze medals in the 1968, 1972, 2020, and 2024 Olympics. India won six medals - a silver and five bronze - at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
UPSC 1996General Knowledge · Sports and Games
Q505. Consider the following statements: Towards the close of 1995, the fortunes of Indian Hockey believed to be on the upswing because: 1. India had won the Azlan Shah Cup 95. 2. India beat Pakistan in the South Asian Federation games final 3. India had by then qualified for the Atlanta Olympics
Explanation
In 1995, Indian hockey saw a resurgence due to the following key achievements:
India won the Azlan Shah Cup in 1995, which was a significant achievement in international hockey. India defeated Bangladesh in the final of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games (now called the South Asian Games), further boosting morale. By 1995, India had successfully qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, ensuring participation in the prestigious event.
Additional insight:
Over the past five years, the Indian men’s hockey team has achieved several notable victories. They won a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, their first in 41 years. In 2023, they claimed gold at both the Asian Champions Trophy and the Asian Games. They continued their success by winning another bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. v v v
Answer key for these questions
Q
UPSC year
Correct answer
501
1996
(b) IRS-P3
502
1996
(c) Arjun
503
1996
(d) Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English August
504
1996
(b) Moscow (1980)
505
1996
(c) 1 and 3 are correct
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.
