About this UPSC General Studies practice test

UPSC Prelims GS Paper 1 tests breadth of knowledge across Indian History (Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Post-Independence), Geography (Indian and World Physical/Political), Indian Polity & Governance, Economy (Budgets, Growth Indicators, Schemes), Environment & Ecology (Biodiversity, Climate, Conservation), and Science & Technology (Space, Defence, Health). With 100 MCQs, negative marking of −0.66 per wrong answer, and a qualifying cutoff, the paper rewards strategic preparation, since most questions are multi-statement and application-based rather than simple fact-recall. This practice test generates fresh questions in the UPSC Prelims style — useful for GS Paper 1 as well as State PSC Prelims that follow a similar pattern.

UPSC Prelims General Studies Practice Test sample questions

These starter questions help you launch a general studies mock test quickly. Swap them with your own worksheet, notebook, or textbook questions any time.

1. 1. Consider the following statements regarding Chola administration: 1. The Chola empire was divided into units called mandalams, valanadus, nadus and kurrams. 2. The Uttaramerur inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I describe the qualifications, disqualifications and the pot-ballot (kudavolai) method used to elect members of the village assembly. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

2. 2. With reference to the edicts of Ashoka, consider the following statements: 1. Most edicts within India were inscribed in the Brahmi script and Prakrit language. 2. James Prinsep was the first to decipher the Brahmi script, in 1837. 3. The Kandahar bilingual edict was inscribed in Greek and Aramaic. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

3. 3. Consider the following statements about Alauddin Khalji's economic reforms: 1. He fixed prices of horses, slaves, cattle and foodgrains through market regulations. 2. These reforms were aimed at maintaining a large standing army at low cost to the state treasury. 3. He abolished the iqta system throughout the Delhi Sultanate. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

4. 4. The Ilbert Bill controversy of 1883 was significant in Indian political history primarily because it?

5. 5. Consider the following statements about the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22): 1. It was launched by the Indian National Congress solely in response to the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 2. Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the movement following the Chauri Chaura incident in the United Provinces. 3. The movement combined the Khilafat issue with the nationalist demand for Swaraj. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

6. 6. The Poona Pact of 1932, signed between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar, resulted in which of the following outcomes?

7. 7. The Simon Commission, which arrived in India in 1928, was widely boycotted across the country primarily because?

8. 8. Consider the following statements on the integration of princely states after independence: 1. The Instrument of Accession was the legal document by which a princely state acceded to the Indian Union. 2. The Nawab of Junagadh initially acceded to Pakistan, but a plebiscite later confirmed the state's accession to India. 3. Hyderabad was integrated into the Indian Union through 'Operation Polo', a police action conducted in September 1948. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

9. 9. The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was enacted on the recommendations of which body, and on what principle were most state boundaries redrawn?

10. 10. Consider the following statements regarding the Green Revolution in India: 1. It was driven primarily by high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds of wheat and rice introduced from the mid-1960s. 2. M.S. Swaminathan is regarded as one of its key architects in India. 3. Its impact was roughly uniform across all regions of India, including eastern states such as Bihar and West Bengal, from the outset. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

11. 11. Which of the following rivers originates at the Amarkantak plateau in Madhya Pradesh and flows westward through a rift valley between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges before draining into the Arabian Sea?

12. 12. Consider the following statements about a major international waterway: 1. The Strait of Malacca connects the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) with the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean). 2. It lies between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. 3. It provides one of the shortest sea routes between the Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean and East Asian markets. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

13. 13. Which mountain range separates the Kashmir Valley from the Ladakh region?

14. 14. Consider the following statements about the Fundamental Duties in the Constitution of India: 1. They were added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. 2. They are directly enforceable by courts in the same manner as Fundamental Rights. 3. The duty to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, is listed under Article 51A. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

15. 15. Which schedule of the Constitution of India contains the anti-defection provisions, added by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985?

16. 16. Consider the following statements about the Finance Commission of India: 1. It is a constitutional body set up under Article 280 of the Constitution. 2. It is constituted by the President of India every five years or earlier, as necessary. 3. Its recommendations on the distribution of tax proceeds between the Union and the States are legally binding on the government. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

17. 17. The 'collegium system' used for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts in India originated primarily from?

18. 18. Consider the following statements about price indices used in India: 1. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) does not directly capture the services sector, unlike the Consumer Price Index (CPI). 2. The Reserve Bank of India's flexible inflation targeting framework uses CPI (Combined) as its headline target measure. 3. The current base year used for WPI is 2011-12. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

19. 19. Under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, which institution acts as the adjudicating authority for the corporate insolvency resolution process of companies?

20. 20. Consider the following statements on government finances: 1. Fiscal deficit is the difference between the government's total expenditure and its total receipts excluding borrowings. 2. Revenue deficit occurs when revenue expenditure exceeds revenue receipts. 3. The FRBM Act, 2003 originally mandated the elimination of the revenue deficit by a specified target date. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

21. 21. Consider the following statements about Biosphere Reserves in India: 1. A Biosphere Reserve is typically structured into a core zone, a buffer zone and a transition zone. 2. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first to be established in India, in 1986. 3. Every Biosphere Reserve notified by India is automatically included in UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

22. 22. The Ramsar Convention, to which India is a signatory, is primarily concerned with the conservation of?

23. 23. Consider the following statements: 1. An ecotone is a transition zone between two distinct ecosystems that generally shows greater species diversity than either adjoining community, a phenomenon known as the 'edge effect'. 2. As per Norman Myers' criteria, a biodiversity hotspot must contain at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species and must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. 3. India has four recognised biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, and Sundaland. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

24. 24. India's satellite GSAT-7, nicknamed 'Rukmini', was launched as a dedicated communication satellite primarily to serve which branch of the armed forces?

25. 25. Consider the following statements about India's missile systems: 1. Agni-V is a surface-to-surface missile with an intercontinental range of over 5,000 km. 2. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia. 3. Prithvi is exclusively an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon system. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

26. 26. 'Mission Indradhanush', launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2014, is aimed primarily at?

27. 27. Consider the following statements: 1. Aditya-L1 is India's first dedicated mission to study the Sun and orbits the Lagrange point L1 in a halo orbit. 2. Gaganyaan is envisaged as India's first human spaceflight programme, undertaken by ISRO. 3. The Lagrange point L1 lies between the Earth and the Moon. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

28. 28. Consider the following statements about the G20: 1. India held the G20 Presidency in 2023 and hosted the New Delhi Summit. 2. The African Union was admitted as a permanent member of the G20 during India's presidency. 3. The G20 was originally established in 1999 as a forum of finance ministers and central bank governors. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

29. 29. The 'PM Gati Shakti' National Master Plan, launched in 2021, is primarily aimed at?

30. 30. Consider the following statements: 1. India became a full member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in 2016. 2. India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016. 3. India is a member of both the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group, two multilateral export control regimes. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer key & quick explanations

Short answers for the sample questions above. Use this to self-check before generating a fresh AI-built mock test.

1. 1. Chola administrative units and Uttaramerur inscriptions

   Both 1 and 2 are correct

   The Cholas ran a layered administration of mandalams, valanadus, nadus and kurrams (village clusters). The Uttaramerur inscriptions, dated to Parantaka Chola I's reign (10th century), record detailed rules for electing sabha members by lot (kudavolai) and the age, property and conduct qualifications candidates had to meet, making them a landmark source on early local self-government.

2. 2. Ashokan edicts, Brahmi script and the Kandahar edict

   All three statements are correct

   Most Ashokan edicts within the subcontinent used Brahmi script and Prakrit, which James Prinsep decoded in 1837, unlocking Ashoka's identity and reign for modern historians. At the empire's northwest frontier, the bilingual Kandahar edict was inscribed in Greek and Aramaic to address the Hellenistic and Iranian-influenced population there, showing how Ashoka tailored edicts to his audience.

3. 3. Alauddin Khalji's market control reforms

   1 and 2 only

   Alauddin Khalji's market regulations fixed prices for horses, slaves, cattle and foodgrains so he could sustain a large standing army without straining the treasury, backed by strict supply and hoarding controls. He did bring many iqta lands, especially in the Doab, under direct crown (khalisa) control to raise revenue, but he did not abolish the iqta system across the entire Sultanate.

4. 4. Significance of the Ilbert Bill controversy, 1883

   It provoked fierce opposition from the European community in India to a bill allowing Indian judges to try European British subjects, which in turn helped unite educated Indians politically

   The bill, piloted by law member C.P. Ilbert, sought to remove the racial bar preventing Indian magistrates from trying European offenders in the mofussil. The backlash organised by British residents forced a diluted compromise, but the episode exposed racial double standards and is seen as a catalyst for greater Indian political organisation in the years just before the Indian National Congress was formed.

5. 5. Origins and end of the Non-Cooperation Movement

   2 and 3 only

   The movement was launched in 1920 by fusing three grievances — the Khilafat wrong, the Punjab wrong (Jallianwala Bagh and martial law), and the demand for Swaraj — so calling it a response to the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh 'alone' is inaccurate. Gandhi called it off in February 1922 after a mob violence incident at Chauri Chaura in the United Provinces, in which protestors killed policemen, because he insisted the struggle remain non-violent.

6. 6. Poona Pact, 1932

   It replaced separate electorates for the depressed classes (as granted under the Communal Award) with reserved seats for them within the general electorate, and increased the number of such reserved seats

   Gandhi began a fast unto death against Ramsay MacDonald's Communal Award, which had granted separate electorates to the depressed classes; Ambedkar, representing their interests, negotiated the compromise. The Poona Pact kept depressed-class voters within the joint electorate while guaranteeing them a higher number of reserved seats than the Award had offered.

7. 7. Reason for boycotting the Simon Commission

   It was an all-British commission with no Indian member, despite being tasked with reviewing constitutional reforms for India

   Set up in 1928 under Sir John Simon to review the working of the Government of India Act, 1919, the commission's composition excluding any Indian was seen as deeply insulting and triggered nationwide protests under the slogan 'Simon Go Back'. The controversy pushed Indian leaders, including those in the Congress, to draft their own constitutional blueprint, the Nehru Report, the following year.

8. 8. Integration of Junagadh and Hyderabad

   All three statements are correct

   The Instrument of Accession was the standard legal instrument by which princely rulers joined India or Pakistan. Junagadh's Nawab acceded to Pakistan despite a Hindu-majority population and lack of geographic contiguity, prompting Indian intervention and a February 1948 plebiscite that overwhelmingly favoured India; Hyderabad's Nizam was brought into the Union through the September 1948 police action code-named Operation Polo.

9. 9. Basis of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956

   The States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali Commission), on the principle of linguistic reorganisation of states

   The commission, headed by Justice Fazl Ali with K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru as members, was set up in 1953 after agitation for linguistic states, notably in Andhra. Its 1955 report led to the 1956 Act, which redrew most state boundaries along linguistic lines, fundamentally reshaping India's political map.

10. 10. Regional spread of the Green Revolution

    1 and 2 only

    The Green Revolution took off from the mid-1960s with HYV wheat and rice seeds, and M.S. Swaminathan's agronomic work with Norman Borlaug's wheat varieties is why he is called the father of India's Green Revolution. Its early gains were concentrated in irrigation-rich Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, while eastern states such as Bihar and West Bengal saw much slower and later adoption, so the impact was not uniform from the outset.

11. 11. River rising at Amarkantak through a rift valley

    The Narmada

    The Narmada originates near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh's Anuppur district and flows westward through a rift valley flanked by the Vindhya range to the north and the Satpura range to the south, unlike most peninsular rivers that flow east. It empties into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Khambhat, forming a wide estuary rather than a delta.

12. 12. Strait of Malacca

    All three statements are correct

    The Strait of Malacca links the Andaman Sea to the South China Sea, running between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. It is one of the world's busiest and most strategically important shipping lanes because it offers the shortest maritime route linking the Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean trade with East Asian ports.

13. 13. Range separating Kashmir Valley from Ladakh

    The Zanskar Range

    Within the Himalayan system of Jammu and Kashmir/Ladakh, the Pir Panjal range separates the Kashmir Valley from the Jammu region, while the Zanskar Range lies to the east and separates the Kashmir Valley from the higher, drier Ladakh plateau. This layered range structure explains the sharp climatic contrast between the valley and Ladakh.

14. 14. Fundamental Duties: origin and enforceability

    1 and 3 only

    The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 inserted Part IVA (Article 51A) on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation, and one of the listed duties is to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife. Unlike Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties are not directly justiciable — courts cannot compel citizens to perform them, though judgments have occasionally invoked them interpretively.

15. 15. Schedule dealing with anti-defection law

    The Tenth Schedule

    The Tenth Schedule was inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985 to disqualify legislators who defect from their party, whether by voluntarily giving up membership or voting against party directions (barring specified exceptions like a merger). The Speaker or Chairman of the House decides defection questions, subject to judicial review as later clarified by the Supreme Court.

16. 16. Finance Commission: constitution and binding nature

    1 and 2 only

    Article 280 mandates a Finance Commission every five years (or earlier if needed) to recommend how tax proceeds and grants-in-aid should be divided between the Centre and the States. Its recommendations, however, are advisory rather than legally binding on the government, unlike, say, Election Commission directions on elections — though in practice they are almost always accepted.

17. 17. Origin of the collegium system

    Judicial interpretation of Articles 124 and 217 by the Supreme Court, through the Second Judges Case (1993) and Third Judges Case (1998)

    The collegium system was not created by any constitutional provision or amendment; it emerged when the Supreme Court, reversing the executive-primacy view of the First Judges Case (1981), held that the Chief Justice's opinion (formed in consultation with senior judges) should prevail in judicial appointments. Parliament's attempt to replace it with the National Judicial Appointments Commission (99th Amendment, 2014) was struck down by the Court in 2015, reviving the collegium system.

18. 18. WPI, CPI base years and RBI's inflation target

    All three statements are correct

    WPI tracks only goods — primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products — with no services component, and its base year was shifted to 2011-12 from the earlier 2004-05 base. Since the 2016 amendment to the RBI Act, India's flexible inflation targeting framework fixes the CPI (Combined) as the operational target, with a 4% goal and a +/-2% tolerance band.

19. 19. Adjudicating authority under the IBC, 2016

    The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

    The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 designates the NCLT as the adjudicating authority for the corporate insolvency resolution process of companies and limited liability partnerships, while the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) performs this role for individuals and partnership firms. This single time-bound framework replaced a patchwork of earlier insolvency laws and significantly improved India's ease-of-doing-business rankings on resolving insolvency.

20. 20. Fiscal deficit, revenue deficit and the FRBM Act

    All three statements are correct

    Fiscal deficit measures total expenditure minus total receipts excluding borrowings, capturing the government's total borrowing requirement, while revenue deficit specifically flags when day-to-day (revenue) expenditure exceeds revenue receipts. The FRBM Act, 2003 originally set a target date for eliminating the revenue deficit entirely alongside capping the fiscal deficit, though subsequent amendments repeatedly revised these deadlines and targets.

21. 21. Biosphere Reserve zoning and UNESCO recognition

    1 and 2 only

    Biosphere Reserves follow UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme model of a strictly protected core zone, a buffer zone permitting limited human activity, and an outer transition zone. Nilgiri, spanning Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, was India's first Biosphere Reserve (1986), but not every Indian Biosphere Reserve is automatically part of UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves — inclusion requires a separate nomination, so several nationally notified reserves remain outside that network.

22. 22. Ramsar Convention's focus

    Wetlands of international importance, particularly as waterfowl habitat

    Adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971, the convention commits signatory countries to designate and conserve wetlands of ecological significance. India, a signatory since 1982, has progressively added sites across the country under this framework, reflecting wetlands' role in groundwater recharge, flood control and migratory bird habitat.

23. 23. Ecotone, edge effect and biodiversity hotspot criteria

    All three statements are correct

    An ecotone's greater species richness compared to the ecosystems it separates is the textbook 'edge effect', driven by overlapping habitat resources. Norman Myers' hotspot criteria — at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species and at least 70% habitat loss — identify globally critical conservation priorities, and India falls within four such hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, and Sundaland (via the Nicobar Islands).

24. 24. GSAT-7 'Rukmini' satellite

    The Indian Navy

    GSAT-7, launched in 2013 and nicknamed 'Rukmini', was India's first satellite built exclusively for military use, giving the Navy real-time networking of ships, submarines and aircraft across a vast maritime footprint. It marked a shift toward dedicated defence-grade space assets rather than relying solely on shared civilian/multi-user satellites.

25. 25. Agni-V, BrahMos and Prithvi missile systems

    1 and 2 only

    Agni-V is a DRDO-developed surface-to-surface missile with intercontinental range exceeding 5,000 km, while BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Prithvi, in contrast, is fundamentally a short-range battlefield ballistic missile; its interceptor variant (Prithvi Defence Vehicle) was used in the 2019 'Mission Shakti' ASAT test, but Prithvi itself is not exclusively an anti-satellite weapon.

26. 26. Objective of Mission Indradhanush

    Achieving full immunization coverage for children and pregnant women against vaccine-preventable diseases, especially in low-coverage and hard-to-reach areas

    Launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the mission targeted districts and pockets with historically low immunization rates, initially covering seven diseases and later expanded to twelve under Intensified Mission Indradhanush. It is credited with substantially raising India's full immunization coverage over subsequent years.

27. 27. Aditya-L1, Gaganyaan and the Lagrange point L1

    1 and 2 only

    Aditya-L1, launched by ISRO in September 2023, is India's first dedicated solar observation mission and was placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1 to allow continuous, uninterrupted observation of the Sun. Gaganyaan is ISRO's planned first human spaceflight mission, but L1 itself lies along the Sun-Earth line (not the Earth-Moon line), roughly 1.5 million km from Earth toward the Sun.

28. 28. G20 New Delhi Summit and African Union's admission

    All three statements are correct

    India's G20 presidency (December 2022-November 2023) culminated in the New Delhi Summit of September 2023, at which the African Union was admitted as a permanent G20 member, giving the 55-nation bloc a direct seat at the table. The G20 itself began in 1999 as a finance ministers' and central bank governors' forum in response to the late-1990s financial crises, only elevating to leader-level summits from 2008 onward.

29. 29. Objective of PM Gati Shakti

    Integrated, coordinated planning and implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects across ministries through a common digital/GIS platform, to cut logistics costs and project delays

    Launched in October 2021, PM Gati Shakti overlays the infrastructure plans of railways, roads, ports, and other ministries onto a single GIS-based digital platform so agencies can plan jointly instead of in silos, reducing costly duplication and delays. It is positioned as the backbone for India's multi-modal connectivity and logistics-cost-reduction goals.

30. 30. India's status in NSG, MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group

    2 and 3 only

    India applied for NSG membership in 2016 but has not been admitted as a full member, largely due to opposition from China over India not being a signatory to the NPT — a frequently tested distinction from India's actual export-control memberships. India did join the MTCR in June 2016, and subsequently the Wassenaar Arrangement (December 2017) and the Australia Group (January 2018), rounding out its membership in three of the four major multilateral export control regimes while NSG entry remains pending.

Curriculum Mapping & Learning Guide

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UPSC General Studies units covered

1. Chapter 1: Ancient and Medieval Indian History
2. Chapter 2: Modern Indian History and Freedom Struggle
3. Chapter 3: Post-Independence India (1947–present)
4. Chapter 4: Indian and World Geography (Physical and Political)
5. Chapter 5: Indian Polity, Constitution and Governance
6. Chapter 6: Indian Economy (Growth, Schemes, Budgets)
7. Chapter 7: Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity
8. Chapter 8: Science and Technology (Space, Defence, Health)
9. Chapter 9: Current Affairs (National and International)