UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NCERT issues apology for ‘unsuitable material’

Q1. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which issued the 2026 apology over its Class 8 Social Science textbook, functions as an autonomous body under which one of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Education
  • B. Ministry of Culture
  • C. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • D. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Q2. NCERT, the body that tendered an apology in 2026 for 'unsuitable material' in a Class 8 textbook, is registered as a society under which one of the following enactments?

  • A. Societies Registration Act, 1860
  • B. Companies Act, 2013
  • C. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
  • D. University Grants Commission Act, 1956

Q3. Consider the following subject strands: 1. History 2. Geography 3. Civics (Social and Political Life) 4. Environmental Studies (EVS) Which of the above are correctly identified as the constituent components integrated into the NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond', whose Part II became the subject of the 2026 Supreme Court intervention?

  1. History
  2. Geography
  3. Civics (Social and Political Life)
  4. Environmental Studies (EVS)
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q4. With reference to the 2025 NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond' and its predecessor textbooks, consider the following statements: 1. The 2025 textbook was developed under the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, which succeeds the NCF 2005. 2. Unlike the NCF 2005-era textbooks for Class 8, the new textbook integrates History, Geography and Civics into a single Social Science volume rather than publishing them as separate subject-wise textbooks. 3. NCF-SE 2023 was prepared after the adoption of the National Education Policy 2020, whereas NCF 2005 had preceded the National Policy on Education, 1986. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The 2025 textbook was developed under the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, which succeeds the NCF 2005.
  2. Unlike the NCF 2005-era textbooks for Class 8, the new textbook integrates History, Geography and Civics into a single Social Science volume rather than publishing them as separate subject-wise textbooks.
  3. NCF-SE 2023 was prepared after the adoption of the National Education Policy 2020, whereas NCF 2005 had preceded the National Policy on Education, 1986.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3