1. Which Uttarakhand river basin was found to hold 219 hanging glaciers in a recent study?
Answer: D. Researchers counted 219 such glaciers in the Alaknanda basin and cautioned that rising temperatures and thawing permafrost make ice detachment more likely, with avalanches and floods as possible downstream results.
2. A hanging glacier is best defined as which one of the following?
Answer: E. Hanging glaciers start high on a slope and stop at a cliff edge, well above the valley bottom, shedding ice as icefalls and avalanches. They arise from snow piling up in high niches, from retreat that cuts tributaries off from shrinking main glaciers, and from thawing that destabilises the ice.
3. Which monsoon season does RAINCHNNAI, the second rainfall-linked weather derivative introduced by NCDEX in India, cover?
Answer: A. The contract spans the retreating North-East monsoon, September through December, and pays out depending on rainfall measured at Chennai's Meenambakkam and Nungambakkam IMD stations. Such instruments let farmers and insurers hedge rainfall risk directly, which suits Tamil Nadu, where that monsoon brings most of the rain.
4. Under which scheme will Puducherry see fisheries infrastructure works costing roughly Rs 36.49 crore?
Answer: D. The works worth Rs 36.49 crore fall under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, the main fisheries-sector scheme, which backs fisher livelihoods, modern infrastructure and efficient value chains. Landing and handling facilities are among the components that cut post-harvest losses.
5. What was India's real GDP growth rate for Q1 FY27, covering April to June 2026?
Answer: A. Real GDP expanded 7.8 per cent in the quarter, up from 6.9 per cent a year earlier but below the 8.6 per cent of January-March 2026. Nominal GDP rose 10.3 per cent and real GVA 8.2 per cent; the difference between nominal and real figures is explained by the deflator.
6. Real GVA growth of 8.2 per cent ran ahead of real GDP growth of 7.8 per cent in Q1 FY27. What does such a gap usually point to?
Answer: B. Since GDP is GVA plus product taxes less product subsidies, slower GDP growth than GVA means net product taxes pulled it down, usually because subsidies grew faster than taxes. That matched the overshoot in fertiliser subsidy during the quarter.
7. What share of the FY27 full-year Budget Estimate had the fiscal deficit reached by the end of July?
Answer: D. The deficit amounted to 26.8 per cent of the annual estimate, or Rs 4.55 lakh crore, with net tax revenue of Rs 8.45 lakh crore against total spending of Rs 17.62 lakh crore. Analysts follow this monthly ratio because heavy early spending or weak receipts can hint at slippage.
8. Cooperative-led cultivation of which crop, tied to the Blue Economy, was promoted at a Multi-Dimensional Capacity Building Conclave?
Answer: B. The conclave pushed cooperative-based seaweed farming, which needs little capital and no freshwater or fertiliser and gives coastal families, especially women's self-help groups, extra income. Cooperatives can pool output, strengthen bargaining power and connect growers with agar, carrageenan and biostimulant processors.
9. Which city, in which country, is the venue for the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit?
Answer: C. Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek hosts the summit as the bloc completes 25 years. The country is a landlocked, mountainous Central Asian state in the Tien Shan range, independent since 31 August 1991, and Bishkek sits in the Chu river valley.
10. The SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure has its headquarters in which city?
Answer: A. RATS is based in Tashkent, whereas the SCO Secretariat sits in Beijing. The grouping began in 2001 in Shanghai, growing out of the Shanghai Five; India and Pakistan joined in 2017, Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.
11. Which department notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026, which make IST the sole time reference for official use?
Answer: C. The Department of Consumer Affairs issued these rules to ensure accurate time-stamping and to protect networks, financial systems and critical infrastructure from clock mismatches. They take effect 180 days after Gazette publication.
12. OIL Green Energy signed MoUs with the municipalities of Gurugram, Faridabad, Hisar and Ambala on waste-to-clean-energy projects. What quantity of municipal solid waste will they handle?
Answer: C. The plants are to handle 5,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste a day and yield around 70 to 75 tonnes of compressed biogas daily plus about 50 MW of green power. This keeps waste out of landfills and supports domestic biofuels.
13. On what date is National Small Industry Day marked in India?
Answer: E. The day falls on 30 August and is tied to the policy package for Small Scale Industries announced in 2000, honouring the role of small units and MSMEs in jobs, exports and inclusive growth. Internationally, the same date marks the Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
14. From where will NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, newly lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, carry out its observations?
Answer: B. It will work near Lagrange Point 2, the region also used by the James Webb Space Telescope, which keeps the Sun, Earth and Moon behind it for steady infrared viewing. The roughly USD 4.3 billion mission will study dark energy and exoplanets and map the infrared sky widely.
15. Which pairing of C-DOT quantum product and its function is correct?
Answer: C. Q-DARSHAN is the quantum-safe video IP phone. C-SPD is the single-photon detector; Q-VAAYU secures wireless links.