1. Where did UNCCD COP17 take place, and what was its theme?
Answer: C. COP17 met in Mongolia and dealt with rangeland conservation, drought finance and restoration led by communities, but delegates could not agree on a binding global drought treaty. The venue was fitting since 77 per cent of Mongolian land is degraded, compared with 40 per cent worldwide.
2. Which statement about the UNCCD is accurate?
Answer: A. The Convention grew out of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and today has 197 Parties, with the Global Mechanism as its finance arm. Its main aim, Land Degradation Neutrality, matches SDG target 15.3.
3. Which of these statements about UNCCD COP17 outcomes is correct?
Answer: D. With no agreement on a binding drought protocol, making drought its own agenda item was the compromise. The Drought Resilience Index and the DRIF act as the working tools, and COP17 fell in the 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
4. The 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2026 began at Varanasi. For what dates does it run, and what is its main theme?
Answer: C. Annapurna Devi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, launched it at the Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre. The theme stresses community ownership of Anganwadi centres, with attention to diverse diets, protein, hot fresh meals and early childhood development.
5. The proposed Article 371(K) for Ladakh would be added under which Part of the Constitution, and what would it set up?
Answer: E. Since the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, Ladakh has been a UT with no legislative assembly, so the Lieutenant Governor and officials largely run it. The Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance sought statehood and Sixth Schedule status, and this proposal is a unique middle option.
6. NIT Rourkela, ISRO-NRSC and the Tea Board of India signed an MoU on Project CHAYANKAN. What is it about?
Answer: C. CHAYANKAN is short for Comprehensive AI-based Geospatial Data Analytics for Tea Plantation Monitoring and lasts from April 2026 to March 2029. It uses satellite pictures, UAV hyperspectral data, field observations and AI, with early pest warnings protecting tea quality and prices.
7. Bihar signed an MoU to set up a dedicated food processing park with which foreign body?
Answer: A. The tie-up aims to bring UAE and Gulf investment into Bihar's agro-food sector and boost processing, exports and jobs. Bihar grows a lot but has little processing capacity, so linking farmers to global food chains is a key benefit.
8. The CCEA cleared eight railway multitracking projects worth Rs 20,804 crore. Which detail is accurate?
Answer: D. Five southern projects worth Rs 10,021 crore cover Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, while three eastern and central ones cover West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Eastern lines move heavy mineral and coal freight, so extra capacity cuts logistics costs.
9. Which ministry launched the Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) Portal on Data Harmonisation, and what is its purpose?
Answer: C. Administrative data from routine governance can be richer and more frequent than surveys, but only if departments use consistent definitions and formats. The portal offers automated validation, dashboards and cross-checks with the National Metadata Structures portal.
10. The Ministry of Coal and Coal India Limited released the first sector-specific CSR Framework for coal firms. Who developed it?
Answer: E. The framework wants coal-sector CSR to be transparent, measurable and focused on outcomes instead of scattered one-off activities. Coal districts carry concentrated environmental and displacement costs, so spending is meant to reach those host communities.
11. SEBI's Demat 2.0, unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest, is a pilot for what?
Answer: C. Demat 1.0 of 1996 turned paper shares into electronic records, while Demat 2.0 turns digital bonds into tokens on a shared ledger kept by depositories and run by market infrastructure institutions. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey launched it jointly.
12. With which firm did NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) team up to allow UPI QR payments at merchants in Singapore?
Answer: A. Indian travellers pay in rupees through their UPI apps and Singapore merchants are settled in Singapore dollars, with conversion done behind the scenes. Resorts World Sentosa is an early merchant partner, showing how acceptance deals help UPI grow abroad.
13. For the ChipIN Centre initiative, which state is in the lead, and which body launched the centre?
Answer: D. Karnataka also logged about 88 lakh hours of EDA tool use, ahead of Tamil Nadu (79 organisations, 33 tape-outs) and Telangana (42 organisations, 28 tape-outs). Pooling costly EDA licences lowers the entry barrier for startups, and a tape-out is when a finished design is sent for fabrication.
14. ONGC announced an Alternative Investment Fund for deep-tech energy startups. What is the fund's size and the maximum per startup?
Answer: C. Funding in milestone-linked tranches helps a public-sector investor manage the risk of early deep tech, where failures are common. Priority areas include AI-driven subsurface intelligence, drilling, hydrogen, mobility, bioenergy and refinery technology, and SINE is IIT Bombay's incubator.
15. UNCCD COP17 was held in which city?
Answer: C. COP17 concluded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.