1. Where does India rank worldwide for yearly forest area gain in the FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025?
Answer: D. India came third in annual forest gain and ninth in total forest area, which reflects restoration and conservation efforts such as the Green India Mission and CAMPA.
2. What is the main focus of the ₹1,500 crore Critical Mineral Recycling Scheme?
Answer: B. The Ministry of Mines created it to build a domestic recycling system for lithium, cobalt and nickel, using Extended Producer Responsibility and better collection of feedstock.
3. What is the PARAM JAL model under the Water ATM initiative chiefly designed to do?
Answer: D. Developed at ACIC IIT-ISM Dhanbad, it turns water discharged from mines into drinkable water via automated Water ATMs, giving clean water and creating local livelihoods.
4. Which goal is central to the draft labour policy named Shram Shakti Niti?
Answer: A. The policy wants to update the job ecosystem with AI-based matching, digital credentials and AI-linked education, covering formal, informal and gig workers alike.
5. In India's money market, what does the Weighted Average Call Rate stand for?
Answer: C. It is the average rate at which banks lend to one another overnight with no collateral, and it acts as the RBI's operating target for keeping short-term liquidity steady.
6. Under the RBI rule that took effect on 1 October 2025, when may banks lower the spread on floating-rate home loans?
Answer: E. Banks may cut the spread sooner when a borrower's creditworthiness gets better, giving existing customers fairer treatment and smaller EMIs with no three-year wait.
7. What does the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 let depositors do?
Answer: C. From 1 November, more than one nominee can be named for deposit accounts, safe custody items and lockers, which should make claim settlement smoother and cut legal disputes.
8. Why is the RBI introducing a Unique Transaction Identifier for every OTC derivative trade?
Answer: E. Giving each OTC derivative an identifier of up to 52 characters would standardise data reporting and strengthen the monitoring of risk across markets.
9. SEBI banned First Overseas Capital Ltd for two years. What was the basis of the action?
Answer: B. Besides the two-year bar, SEBI imposed a ₹20 lakh penalty for breaching disclosure, compliance and due diligence rules that govern issue management and investor protection.
10. Which remittance route into India is the cheapest according to the RBI Payments System Report 2025?
Answer: D. India received $137.7 billion in remittances in 2024, and the Kuwait corridor was the lowest-priced at 2.10%, which is under the 3% UN SDG target.
11. What type of approval did the DAC grant for the Army items such as NAMIS?
Answer: B. The DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity for the Army, Navy and Air Force items.
12. How much faster did Willow run Quantum Echoes than leading classical algorithms on supercomputers?
Answer: C. The reported speed-up was around 13,000 times.
13. Which agency published the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025?
Answer: C. The assessment is by the FAO.
14. What is the outlay of the Critical Mineral Recycling Incentive Scheme?
Answer: C. The notes state a ₹1,500 crore scheme.
15. Which innovation centre developed the Water ATM initiative using treated coal mine water?
Answer: A. It was developed under ACIC at IIT-ISM Dhanbad with Dhanbad Municipal Corporation.