1. What approved outlay, running up to FY 2030-31, did the Union Cabinet sanction on 31 July 2026 for the National Offshore Exploration Scheme named "Samudra Manthan"?
Answer: A. The Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry's Central Sector Scheme gets ₹84,084 crore through FY 2030-31. It puts into action the Prime Minister's 2025 Independence Day idea of a modern Samudra Manthan, spanning seismic surveys, deepwater drilling and shared offshore infrastructure.
2. Government support for each well in the ₹43,200 crore deepwater drilling part of Samudra Manthan (covering 60 wells) is capped at what?
Answer: B. Deepwater exploratory drilling gets ₹43,200 crore for 60 wells, with aid equal to half the eligible cost or ₹675 crore per well, whichever is smaller. The rest of the outlay is seismic acquisition at ₹28,534 crore, offshore hubs at ₹10,000 crore and a manufacturing zone at ₹2,000 crore.
3. Which shipyard handed over "Nipun", the second home-built Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel, to the Indian Navy?
Answer: C. Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam delivered Nipun on 30 July 2026 under a two-vessel contract signed in September 2018 worth roughly ₹2,393 crore. Such vessels support saturation diving, submarine rescue and salvage, with about 75% indigenous content.
4. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 passed by Parliament brings which song under the Section 3 bar on stopping or disturbing its singing?
Answer: D. Section 3 of the 1971 Act, which already shields the National Anthem, now also protects the National Song, Vande Mataram. This echoes Dr Rajendra Prasad's statement of 24 January 1950 that the song deserves equal honour with Jana Gana Mana.
5. In which Bengali literary journal did Vande Mataram first appear in print on 7 November 1875?
Answer: E. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Sanskritised Bengali hymn debuted in Bangadarshan, and he later placed it in the novel Anandamath of 1882. The Congress Working Committee adopted its first two stanzas in 1937.
6. A Telecom Manufacturing Zone is coming up at Gwalior, the first of its kind in India. What is the ownership split of the SPV that will manage it?
Answer: A. The 350-acre plug-and-play zone will be run by a special purpose vehicle in which Madhya Pradesh holds 51% and the Department of Telecommunications 49%. Phase-I gets about ₹493 crore of full central assistance, and the state provides the Phase-I land free.
7. About how much land did the freshly re-issued draft Western Ghats notification from MoEF&CC propose to designate as Ecologically Sensitive Area?
Answer: B. Once the earlier draft lapsed in July 2026, the ministry issued a new one marking roughly 56,825.7 sq km as ESA and kept the expert committee going until July 2027. Mining, quarrying and polluting industries are barred or regulated there, while farming and eco-tourism carry on under conditions.
8. The Western Ghats stretch about 1,600 km from the Tapi valley down to Kanyakumari through six states. Pick the state that is not among them.
Answer: C. The range passes through Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, so Andhra Pradesh is left out. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012, and its highest summit is Anamudi at 2,695 m in Kerala.
9. Under the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which authority must order registration when a birth or death is reported over two years after it occurred?
Answer: D. The Bill revises Section 13 into two levels: delays of one to two years go to an executive magistrate, while longer delays need a First Class Judicial Magistrate under the new Section 13(3A). This judicial check is meant to stop fraudulent late entries.
10. Arrest and custody for how many consecutive days would lead to automatic removal of a Minister, Chief Minister or Prime Minister on serious charges under the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, now with a 31-member Joint Committee?
Answer: E. The Bill, which changes Articles 75, 164 and 239AA, applies when the offence carries a punishment of five years or more. After 30 days in custody the office-holder is removed from the 31st day, and re-appointment after release is still allowed.
11. The Cabinet cleared the Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY) at ₹5,070 crore. Which activity does the scheme encourage?
Answer: A. PM-SSY backs floating solar plants paired with energy storage on reservoirs, dams, lakes and ponds. The aim is 5,000 MW of floating capacity plus 10,000 MWh of storage, and water cools the panels while also avoiding land disputes.
12. PM-SSY offers Central Financial Assistance of ₹1 crore per MW after commissioning. This is meant to make up for floating solar costing roughly how much more than ground-mounted solar?
Answer: B. The grant offsets the extra capital cost of about 25% that floating plants face for floats, anchoring and marine-grade cables. Projects must also include at least two hours of storage, and feasibility studies can receive up to ₹50 lakh each.
13. According to the Competere Foundation report "India's Next Growth Frontier", what position did India hold in 2023 on the Market Distortions Performance Index (MDPI), having been 82nd in 2010?
Answer: C. India climbed 25 places, from 82nd to 57th, which makes it one of the strongest structural reformers in the study. The index looks at property rights, domestic competition and international competition, and GST, IBC and trade facilitation drove the progress.
14. The 137th Authority Meeting of IRDAI on 28 July 2026 brought in perpetual registration for intermediaries. What non-refundable yearly fee applies?
Answer: D. Registration now lasts until it is suspended, cancelled or surrendered, and the yearly fee is whichever is greater between ₹10,000 and 0.04% of the previous year's commission and other receipts from insurers. Principal officers and salespersons of IMFs need 25 hours of training every three years.
15. From what date must proposal forms and policy documents carry the salesperson's name and identity under IRDAI's tagging requirement?
Answer: E. The rule starts on 1 January 2027 and also needs branch contact details on proposals, policies and certificates. Where a digital sale has no salesperson, the principal officer's details are shown, giving a clear trail against mis-selling.
16. What ceiling did IRDAI's relaxed investment norms set for insurers' exposure to operational infrastructure SPVs rated AA or higher?
Answer: A. Insurers may now put up to 20% in highly rated infrastructure SPVs. Other changes cap promoter group exposure at 5% of investment assets and make a yearly Financial Condition Report compulsory.
17. The SBSR Act, 2025, which these IRDAI reforms put into effect, lifted the FDI ceiling in Indian insurance companies from 74% to what level?
Answer: B. The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act, cleared by Parliament in December 2025 and in force from 5 February 2026, permits 100% foreign investment in insurers. It also cut the net-owned fund needed by foreign reinsurers from ₹5,000 crore to ₹1,000 crore.
18. What total outlay did the Cabinet approve when it continued PM-KISAN from 2026-27 through 2030-31?
Answer: C. The five-year continuation covers FY27 to FY31 at about ₹3.15 lakh crore, as announced by Ashwini Vaishnaw. The fully centre-funded scheme pays landholding farmer families ₹6,000 a year in three ₹2,000 DBT instalments.
19. Under which law did Ladakh declare 23 heritage sites as Protected Monuments?
Answer: D. The union territory used the old J&K Act of 1920 to give legal protection to 23 sites of archaeological, historical and cultural value. They are spread over Leh, Nubra, Sham, Zanskar and Kargil.
20. IN-SPACe released fresh guidelines under the Indian Space Policy 2023 to govern which kind of private-sector activity?
Answer: E. The guidelines require private operators to get prior authorisation, carry out safety assessments, meet liability norms and hold insurance before bringing a spacecraft down on purpose. The idea is safe and accountable re-entry.
21. How many women did the second Candere Hurun India Women Leaders List 2026 honour, and across how many categories?
Answer: A. The ranking named 117 women from 12 categories, with Roshni Nadar, Priya Nair, Avani Lekhara and Sudha Murty among them. It recognises work in business, sport and social impact.
22. Saudi Arabia and 13 other nations set up a Multinational Maritime Defence Alliance. Which waters is it meant to keep safe for shipping?
Answer: B. The 14-country grouping aims to protect free navigation and global trade along the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb. In a separate item, Venezuela told the UN it is leaving the Rome Statute, with the exit taking effect after a year.
23. To what date did RBI push back the revised Basel Pillar III disclosure framework by six months?
Answer: C. After feedback from stakeholders, the central bank moved the framework's start to 1 April 2027, so banks can line up with the Expected Credit Loss approach. Separately, ADB sanctioned a USD 1 billion loan to India's Urban Challenge Fund.
24. What was the 2026 theme for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed on 30 July?
Answer: D. The 2026 theme, "Trapped Behind the Scam", draws attention to how online scams are increasingly used to traffic people. World Ranger Day on 31 July carried the theme "Rangers: Guardians of a Changing Planet".
25. Odisha entered a ₹3,384.82 crore three-party agreement with Digital Bharat Nidhi and BSNL under the revised BharatNet programme. Roughly how many villages will get optical fibre links?
Answer: E. The deal among Odisha, Digital Bharat Nidhi and BSNL aims to bring optical fibre to around 50,000 villages. In another development, Tamil Nadu signed four MoUs covering GCCs, R&D centres and a University of Western Australia campus in Chennai, expected to add about 2,920 jobs.
26. Ajinkya Rahane, who led India to the memorable 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory in Australia, has retired from international cricket. In how many international matches did he play for India?
Answer: A. His 12-year international career spanned 195 matches and included 12 Test hundreds, 8 of them abroad. He is remembered for stepping in as captain for the 2020-21 series win in Australia.