Twenty questions. Eighty marks. No formula to rescue you.
That is the General Awareness section of CMAT, and it hurts the student who plans to “read the news later.” If you search for CMAT General Awareness, you probably want three answers: what the section asks, how to score without losing marks to negative marking, and a reliable set of GK questions with answers. This guide gives you all three, plus a free PDF you can print.
Quick answer: CMAT General Awareness has 20 questions worth 80 marks. A correct answer earns 4 marks, a wrong answer costs 1 mark, and the questions come from static GK, current affairs and business awareness.
The pattern below comes from the official NTA CMAT website and its CMAT 2026 information bulletin, the latest one published. NTA’s examination calendar tentatively lists the next CMAT for 7 February 2027, so check the new bulletin when it arrives, because NTA can change the scheme.
CMAT General Awareness at a Glance
| Detail | CMAT General Awareness |
|---|---|
| Number of questions | 20 |
| Marks | 80 (4 per question) |
| Share of the paper | 20 percent of 400 marks |
| Marking scheme | +4 correct, -1 wrong, 0 unattempted |
| Time | 180 minutes for the full paper, no sectional limit |
| Language of the paper | English only |
The bulletin lists the section and its marks, but it gives no topic-by-topic list and no split between static and current questions. Treat any page that quotes a fixed ratio with caution. What you can trust is the pattern of recent papers: facts that a well-read graduate should know.
What Does CMAT General Awareness Cover?
Think of the section as three buckets.
Static GK
Static GK covers facts that rarely change: the Constitution and polity, Indian history and the freedom struggle, geography, science, books and authors, awards, culture, important dates, and the headquarters of organisations. You learn these once and revise them often.
Current Affairs
This bucket covers recent events: government policies and schemes, appointments, summits, awards, sports events and space missions. Focus on the last 6 to 12 months before your exam.
Business and Economy Awareness
Here you meet banking terms, the roles of the RBI and SEBI, Budget basics, GST, economic indicators, corporate news and startup schemes. MBA aspirants should treat this bucket as a priority, because it also helps in interviews. It also overlaps with the Innovation & Entrepreneurship section, so one hour spent here pays off twice.
Want the full section-wise study order? Read our guide to CMAT 2027 important topics.
40 Important CMAT GK Questions with Answers
These questions cover stable facts that exam-style GK keeps returning to. Try each one before you read the answer. The free PDF below holds the same 40 questions with four options each.
Polity and Constitution
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which Article abolishes untouchability? | Article 17 | It makes the practice an offence |
| 2 | Who is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha? | The Vice-President | Article 89 |
| 3 | Where can a Money Bill be introduced? | Lok Sabha only | Rajya Sabha can only recommend changes |
| 4 | Which part of the Constitution holds the Fundamental Duties? | Part IV-A | Article 51A, added in 1976 |
| 5 | When did the Constitution come into force? | 26 January 1950 | Adopted on 26 November 1949 |
| 6 | Who appoints the Governor of a State? | The President | Article 155 |
Economy, Banking and Business
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | When did the Reserve Bank of India begin operations? | 1 April 1935 | Nationalised in 1949 |
| 8 | Which body regulates the securities market? | SEBI | Covers exchanges, brokers and mutual funds |
| 9 | When did GST start? | 1 July 2017 | Replaced many indirect taxes |
| 10 | Which body replaced the Planning Commission? | NITI Aayog | From 1 January 2015 |
| 11 | Which organisation operates UPI? | NPCI | National Payments Corporation of India |
| 12 | Who issues one-rupee notes? | Ministry of Finance | RBI issues the other notes |
| 13 | Which Article requires the Annual Financial Statement (Budget)? | Article 112 | Laid before Parliament each year |
| 14 | When did Startup India launch? | 16 January 2016 | Links to the Entrepreneurship section |
| 15 | What does the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana mainly aim at? | Financial inclusion | Basic bank account for every household |
| 16 | Which sector has the largest share of India’s GDP? | Services | Ahead of industry and agriculture |
| 17 | Which body publishes the Consumer Price Index? | National Statistics Office (MoSPI) | The base for retail inflation |
History
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | In which year did the Battle of Plassey take place? | 1757 | Company defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah |
| 19 | Who was the first Governor-General of independent India? | Lord Mountbatten | C. Rajagopalachari was the first Indian |
| 20 | Who gave the slogan “Do or Die”? | Mahatma Gandhi | Quit India, 8 August 1942 |
| 21 | What did the Dandi March of 1930 protest? | The salt law | Gandhi led it |
| 22 | Who was the first President of India? | Dr Rajendra Prasad | In office from 1950 to 1962 |
Geography
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Which is the largest Indian state by area? | Rajasthan | Followed by Madhya Pradesh |
| 24 | Through how many states does the Tropic of Cancer pass? | Eight | Gujarat to Mizoram |
| 25 | In which state does Chilika Lake lie? | Odisha | A coastal lagoon |
| 26 | Which river is called Dakshin Ganga? | Godavari | Longest river of peninsular India |
| 27 | Which state has the longest mainland coastline? | Gujarat | Coastline of about 1,600 km |
Science and Technology
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Which gas is most abundant in the atmosphere? | Nitrogen | About 78 percent |
| 29 | Which vitamin does sunlight help the skin make? | Vitamin D | Linked to bone health |
| 30 | When did Chandrayaan-3 land on the Moon? | 23 August 2023 | Near the lunar south pole |
| 31 | What does the Aditya-L1 mission study? | The Sun | India’s first solar mission |
| 32 | What was India’s first satellite? | Aryabhata | Launched in 1975 |
Books, Awards, Culture and Sports
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Who wrote The Discovery of India? | Jawaharlal Nehru | Written in prison in 1944 |
| 34 | Who wrote the Arthashastra? | Kautilya | Also called Chanakya |
| 35 | What is India’s highest civilian honour? | Bharat Ratna | Padma Vibhushan ranks second |
| 36 | From which state does Kuchipudi come? | Andhra Pradesh | A classical dance form |
| 37 | Who won India’s first individual Olympic gold? | Abhinav Bindra | 10 m air rifle, Beijing 2008 |
| 38 | Which city hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics? | Los Angeles | Paris hosted in 2024 |
World Affairs and Organisations
| No. | Question | Answer | Quick note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Where is the WTO headquartered? | Geneva | Switzerland |
| 40 | Where is the IMF headquartered? | Washington, D.C. | The World Bank sits there too |
Download the Free CMAT General Awareness PDF
Print it, solve it in one sitting of 20 minutes, and check your score. The PDF includes:
- 40 multiple-choice questions with four options each
- An answer key with a one-line reason for every answer
- A score and revision tracker that follows the CMAT marking scheme
- A five-minute daily routine for steady revision
After you finish, practise under real conditions with our CMAT previous year papers and CMAT mock tests.
How to Attempt CMAT General Awareness Without Losing Marks
Each wrong answer costs 1 mark, so every attempt carries a small risk. The maths is simple. A guess pays off on average once your chance of being right crosses 20 percent.
| Your confidence in a question | Average marks per attempt | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Sure of the answer | +4 | Mark it and move on |
| Two options ruled out (50 percent chance) | +1.5 | Attempt |
| One option ruled out (about 33 percent chance) | +0.67 | Attempt if time allows |
| Pure guess in a typical four-option question (25 percent chance) | +0.25 | Leave it unless you have nothing else |
The next table shows why accuracy and attempts both matter.
| Correct answers | Wrong answers | Section marks |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 0 | 48 |
| 14 | 2 | 54 |
| 16 | 4 | 60 |
| 18 | 2 | 70 |
Four wrong answers cost only 4 marks, while two more correct answers add 8. Do not let fear of negative marking stop you from attempting questions where you hold a real lead.
Two habits help in the exam. First, if you cannot place a question within ten seconds, mark it and move on, because extra time rarely brings the fact back. Second, aim to finish this section in about 10 to 12 minutes, then use the saved time on Quant and Logical Reasoning. Test this pace in your mocks before you commit to it.
Also Read: CMAT Logical Reasoning questions with answers
Current Affairs Snapshot (as of 2 November 2026)
Use these items as a model for the notes you should keep. Each one pairs a fact with a date and a source.
| Topic | Key fact | Where to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Union Budget 2026-27 | Nirmala Sitharaman presented it on 1 February 2026, her ninth consecutive Budget, with a fiscal deficit estimate of 4.3 percent of GDP for 2026-27 | PIB Union Budget page |
| RBI repo rate | The Monetary Policy Committee raised it by 25 basis points, from 5.25 percent to 5.50 percent, on 7 October 2026 and changed its stance to calibrated tightening | RBI website |
| Next MPC meeting | Scheduled for 2 to 4 December 2026, so recheck the repo rate before you appear | RBI website |
| RBI Governor | Sanjay Malhotra | RBI website |
Do not memorise numbers alone. Note why the event matters. A repo rate rise, for example, makes loans costlier and slows borrowing, which explains why banks and borrowers watch every MPC meeting.
How to Prepare for CMAT General Awareness
- Learn the pattern first. Know the 20 questions, the 80 marks and the +4/-1 scheme before you open a book.
- Build a static base. Use NCERT textbooks for history, geography and civics basics, and add a short note for each fact you miss.
- Read business news daily. Spend 20 minutes on the economy and business pages, and write one line per item: who, what, when and why.
- Revise on a schedule. Revisit each note after 1, 3, 7 and 21 days. Spaced revision beats one long cram.
- Practise under a timer. Solve previous year questions and mocks, and review every wrong answer the same day.
Where to Read: A Source Map
| Area | Reliable source |
|---|---|
| Government policy and schemes | Press Information Bureau |
| Banking and monetary policy | Reserve Bank of India |
| Inflation and economic data | MoSPI |
| Space and science missions | ISRO |
| History, geography and civics basics | NCERT |
| Exam rules and updates | NTA CMAT |
A Simple Four-Week Routine
| Week | Focus | Daily habit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polity and history | 20 minutes of business news |
| 2 | Geography and science | 20 minutes of business news |
| 3 | Economy, banking and Budget | 20 minutes of business news |
| 4 | Current affairs revision and timed sets | Solve one 20-question set |
Have more time? Repeat the cycle and add one full mock each week.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Memorising long lists without context. Learn why a fact matters, and you will recall it faster.
- Reading only headlines. Headlines give you the what, but exam options test the when, the who and the why.
- Ignoring business awareness. It carries marks in this section and helps in the Entrepreneurship section and your interview.
- Revising once. A fact you meet only once fades within days.
- Skipping review. Mocks teach you nothing unless you study the wrong answers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How many General Awareness questions are there in CMAT?
CMAT has 20 General Awareness questions worth 80 marks in total. That is one of five equal sections in a paper of 100 questions and 400 marks.
2. Is there negative marking in CMAT General Awareness?
Yes. Each correct answer earns 4 marks, each wrong answer costs 1 mark, and an unattempted question scores zero. The same scheme applies to every section of the paper.
3. Is CMAT General Awareness difficult?
Most recent analyses describe the section as moderate, with static GK forming the larger share. Difficulty changes from paper to paper, and NTA does not publish its own ratings, so steady daily revision matters more than any single prediction.
4. How do I prepare for CMAT General Awareness?
Revise static GK a little every day, read business and economy news, cover current affairs of the last 6 to 12 months, and solve previous year questions. Note every wrong answer and revisit it after a week.
5. What is a good score in CMAT General Awareness?
A sensible target is 14 to 16 correct answers with very few wrong ones, which gives roughly 54 to 64 marks. Accuracy counts as much as attempts, because each wrong answer removes 1 mark.
6. How many months of current affairs should I read for CMAT?
Cover the last 6 to 12 months before the exam, and give extra attention to economy, banking, policy and business news. Older events matter only when they link to a static fact, such as a scheme’s launch year.
7. Which sources are best for CMAT GK?
Use official and primary sources: PIB releases, RBI press releases, Union Budget documents, NCERT textbooks for basics, and the business section of a good newspaper. Add a question bank for practice.
8. Can I skip the General Awareness section in CMAT?
No question is compulsory, but skipping the section gives up one fifth of the paper’s 400 marks. Even a modest, accurate attempt adds meaningful marks.
9. Where can I download CMAT General Awareness questions with answers in PDF?
You can download CatMock’s free practice PDF from this page. It has 40 questions with an answer key and short explanations, plus a score tracker for revision.
10. Where can I solve CMAT previous year questions?
CatMock has CMAT previous year papers and mock tests on its website. Solving full papers shows you how General Awareness questions sit alongside the other four sections under time pressure.
Conclusion
CMAT General Awareness rewards daily habits more than clever tricks. Twenty questions carry the same 80 marks as Quant, and you can build the section with no formulas at all.
Download the PDF, solve the 40 questions in 20 minutes, and score yourself with the +4/-1 rule. Then fix your weakest topic table first and keep a one-line note for every fact you miss. Read business news every day, check the official NTA CMAT website for the new bulletin, and test your pace in full papers.
You May Also Like : CATMOCK, CATMOCK PYQ
Follow Us On : Facebook, Instagram
