1. Which institution implements the 'Corporate Mitra Scheme', which builds a certified cadre of para-professionals offering affordable compliance and advisory help to MSMEs, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs?
Answer: E. It is a 12-month skills and employment programme that trains young graduates as accredited 'Corporate Mitras' for MSME work in GST, accounting, cost accounting, secretarial services and corporate governance. IICA Shillong lately held an awareness webinar for Arunachal Pradesh with Rajiv Gandhi University.
2. Who created BitChat, the offline Bluetooth mesh messaging app whose GitHub repositories I4C asked to be taken down?
Answer: C. I4C ordered GitHub to delete three BitChat repositories. It is an MHA body set up in 2018 that operates the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and helpline 1930. The open-source peer-to-peer app by Twitter/X co-founder Jack Dorsey, launched in July 2025, runs without internet, mobile networks or central servers.
3. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), which recently set up an Expert Committee on Invasive Alien Species after NGT directions, has its headquarters in which city?
Answer: D. An autonomous statutory body under MoEFCC, it was set up on 1 October 2003 to implement the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and sits at Chennai. The system has the NBA, 28 State Biodiversity Boards and about 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees keeping People's Biodiversity Registers. It guides states on Biodiversity Heritage Sites (Section 37) and clears foreign access to resources under Sections 3, 4 and 6, whereas Indians merely inform SBBs beforehand under Section 7.
4. After the NEET-UG paper leak row, PM Modi set up a high-powered six-member panel on examination reforms. Who heads it?
Answer: A. Announced on 26 July 2026, a day after Dharmendra Pradhan quit as Education Minister over the NEET-UG 2026 leak, it is headed by the Infosys co-founder and first UIDAI Chairman. Other members are S. Somanath, Tapan Deka, V. Kamakoti, Anita Karwal and Amrit Lal Meena.
5. The government cleared the RBI's proposal for polymer banknote field trials in which two denominations, 1 billion pieces each?
Answer: B. MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha on 27 July 2026 that regular issuance would follow the trials. Under Section 25 of the RBI Act, 1934 the Centre approves banknote design and material on the RBI Central Board's advice; polymer (BOPP) notes last 2.5-4 times longer than cotton-pulp notes, resist dirt and moisture and carry features such as transparent windows, and the low-value notes have the shortest circulation life, making them ideal for tests.
6. The USDA's 'Dairy: World Markets and Trade' report puts India's cow milk output at 105.4 million tonnes for 2026. Which producer is ahead of India in cow's milk?
Answer: C. That 105.4 mt is for cow's milk alone, up from 103.2 mt, while for total milk India is the world's largest at 247.87 million tonnes in 2024-25, up 3.58% and about 69% over 2014-15. Buffalo milk, richer in fat, sets India apart, and cows in milk are expected to reach 62.5 million, the most among countries tracked.
7. India's per capita milk availability has risen to what level, against a world average of about 322 g/day?
Answer: E. UP, Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra together produce 54.09% of India's milk, which is nearly a quarter of world output, and dairy is about 5% of the economy with over 8 crore farmers. USDA expects US butter exports up 40% in 2026, EU up 10% and New Zealand at a record 22.5 mt, but no big growth in Indian dairy exports, since India is consumption-driven.
8. Which theme guided the 2nd BRICS Science Academies Forum 2026 at IIT Hyderabad?
Answer: D. The forum on 22-23 July 2026 centred on AI and Global South cooperation. India additionally hosted the third BRICS Ministerial on Disaster Risk Reduction, a meeting of BRICS Interior Ministers, a BRICS Network University board meeting and a conference on traditional and indigenous knowledge, while BRICS CCI Women Empowerment issued the WISE Whitepaper.
9. During her 19-25 July 2026 three-nation tour, President Droupadi Murmu became the first Indian President to visit which country?
Answer: A. She visited Moldova, North Macedonia and Romania between 19 and 25 July 2026. In Skopje she unveiled a Gandhi bust, a first for an Indian President in North Macedonia; Moldova saw India launch the 3Ts Roadmap on Trade, Technology and Talent, and in Romania three MoUs were signed and 2028 named the India-Romania Year of Innovation.
10. VIYONA Fintech was approved as a Customer Operating Unit on which platform, formerly called BBPS?
Answer: B. The Hyderabad-based firm can handle interoperable payments of utility, broadband, insurance, EMI and education fee bills on the platform. NPCI has already certified it for services such as UPI Switch, IMPS, BOU and eKYC Setu.
11. NSE introduced India's first domestic benchmark-based Natural Gas Futures (symbol NATGASIND). Whose hub price is the cash-settled contract linked to?
Answer: B. The contract, trading from 27 July 2026 in 250 mmBtu lots, is cash-settled against the Dahej hub price of the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX). It offers participants a home-grown pricing reference to manage volatility in gas prices. In another item, EIL and CSIR-IMMT agreed to work on research for critical and strategic minerals, covering mineral processing, extractive metallurgy and scale-up.
12. Vizhinjam International Seaport, cleared by CBIC for direct EXIM cargo from 18 August 2026, is being built under PPP by the Kerala Government and which company?
Answer: C. It is designated a Customs Port under the Customs Act, 1962. The PPP project is expected to cut reliance on foreign transshipment hubs and make India's trade more efficient.
13. Who received additional charge of the Union Education Ministry after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak?
Answer: A. President Murmu accepted Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation under Article 75(2), after which Pralhad Joshi took the extra portfolio. The Higher Education Secretary's post went to Naresh Pal Gangwar and T.K. Anil Kumar took over School Education & Literacy.
14. On its 13th integrated test flight from Starbase, Texas, SpaceX's Starship deployed how many Starlink Version 3 satellites?
Answer: D. Starship released 20 Starlink V3 satellites, then re-entered and splashed down under control in the Indian Ocean, testing its systems, deployment and heat shield. NASA tracked it for Artemis preparation and future Mars missions.
15. India marked the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26 July 2026. By what code name was the IAF's air campaign in the 1999 Kargil War known?
Answer: E. Operation Vijay was the Army's effort, while the IAF's was Safed Sagar. The war followed Pakistani intrusions across the LoC in May 1999, after which Indian forces retook the occupied positions; the day honours the armed forces' courage and sacrifice.
16. Which organisation proclaimed the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem (26 July) in 2015?
Answer: E. UNESCO declared it in 2015 and it was first marked in 2016, to spread awareness of what mangroves mean ecologically, climatically and socially. The day also honours environmental activist Hayhow Daniel Nanoto, who died during a mangrove restoration protest in 1998.
17. Himachal Pradesh launched the 'Mukhyamantri Machhuara Samman Nidhi Yojana'. What lump sum does it give reservoir fishermen during the annual fishing ban?
Answer: B. About 3,700 fishing families around five major reservoirs benefit, with yearly spending estimated at ₹1.20 crore and monitoring by the Directorate of Fisheries.
18. Odisha signed MoUs to build its first AI Data Centre in the Odisha Sovereign AI Park. HCLTech is one partner; which Indian AI startup is the other?
Answer: D. The combined outlay is ₹14,257 crore, with HCLTech contributing roughly ₹730 crore, and the centre will pair high-performance computing with homegrown AI models. Another MoU creates a Global Development Centre in Bhubaneswar that should provide around 5,000 jobs by 2028.