1. What is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) mainly designed to do?
Answer: B. IMEC is a joint effort of India, the Middle East and Europe to upgrade connectivity and trade infrastructure, and it came up during PM Modi's trip to France.
2. The Hyderabad Bird Atlas Project has which principal purpose?
Answer: D. By mapping where birds occur in Hyderabad, the project helps policymakers and conservationists plan land use and protect wildlife.
3. In what way is TRAI strengthening consumer protection in telecom?
Answer: A. TRAI brought in AI-based spam detection along with tougher penalties to check fraudulent calls and messages.
4. What was the reason for the RBI first restricting and later easing curbs on Kotak Mahindra Bank?
Answer: C. Curbs were applied because of weaknesses in IT management; once compliance was verified, they were lifted and the bank could again onboard digital customers and issue credit cards.
5. The RBI Consumer Confidence Survey points to which major worry?
Answer: E. Though inflation has eased, respondents still worry about job security and stable incomes, which weigh on consumer confidence.
6. Which feature is introduced by the Income Tax Bill, 2025?
Answer: B. The Bill modernises and simplifies tax law, and the new 'Tax Year' is meant to help with better financial planning.
7. What explains rural inflation staying above urban inflation in India?
Answer: A. Overall inflation has cooled, but rural prices are lifted by costlier food and essential goods, while urban inflation stays under the RBI's 4% target.
8. NCAER recommends independent fiscal councils in states, with what aim?
Answer: C. According to the NCAER report, such councils would build institutional capacity, assess government budgets and maintain state financial discipline.
9. Which shortcoming affects NITI Aayog's Fiscal Health Index (FHI)?
Answer: B. The FHI gauges state finances but does not show how well states deliver basics such as healthcare and education.
10. Which notable problem affects measuring state fiscal health in India?
Answer: E. States follow different methods to estimate GSDP, which creates inconsistent data and complicates fiscal comparisons.