1. After whom has the newly found palm Phoenix roxburghii been named?
Answer: D. The new palm honours William Roxburgh, who is remembered as the 'Father of Indian Botany'.
2. The newly identified palm Phoenix roxburghii falls in which plant family?
Answer: E. It is part of the Arecaceae family, also called Palmae, in the order Arecales, a group of monocot flowering plants.
3. Which agency runs the Sakura Science Programme 2025, which includes 34 Indian students?
Answer: B. JST implements the programme, which encourages youth exchange, scientific learning and cultural cooperation between India and Japan.
4. S&P Global raised India's sovereign rating from BBB- to BBB after a gap of how many years?
Answer: D. The upgrade to BBB came after 18 years at BBB-, pointing to the economy's resilience and fiscal consolidation.
5. A sovereign credit rating is a measure of what?
Answer: A. Such a rating judges how creditworthy a nation is and whether it can meet its debt obligations; better ratings signal safer investments.
6. Which of these banks did NOT sign an MoU with NSIC under the MSME Credit Facilitation Program in August 2025?
Answer: C. In this round NSIC signed agreements with Axis, IndusInd, Dhanlaxmi, Karnataka Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, while SBI was left out.
7. In which year did the RBI's Floating Rate Savings Bond (FRSB) come into being?
Answer: D. The FRSB scheme started on 1 July 2020 and took the place of the 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018.
8. What was the interest rate on the RBI's Floating Rate Savings Bond as of July 2025?
Answer: A. The bond rate is set at the National Savings Certificate rate plus 0.35%. With NSC at 7.70%, the FRSB works out to 8.05% in July 2025.
9. Through which route are B2B fintechs mostly moving into the retail market?
Answer: C. These firms are heading into consumer payments via TPAPs such as Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm, which lowers customer acquisition costs and lets them earn from users.
10. What is the smallest amount one can put into the RBI's Floating Rate Savings Bonds (FRSB)?
Answer: E. Investments start at Rs 1,000 and go up in multiples of Rs 1,000, with no upper limit.
11. Which policy framework does SLINEX-2025 reflect, according to the reports?
Answer: E. The exercise reflects India's MAHASAGAR policy for security and growth across regions.
12. The Bhashini language platform, integrated with SabhaSaar, was developed under which ministry?
Answer: B. Bhashini, launched in 2022 under the National Language Translation Mission, is led by MeitY.
13. Which statement about SAF in these notes is correct?
Answer: B. SAF reduces lifecycle emissions by up to 80%, though it costs about three times more.
14. What was the area of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park mentioned in the notes?
Answer: C. The Marine National Park covers 162.89 sq km; the larger Biosphere Reserve spans 10,500 sq km.
15. In the engineered mercury sensor, what happens when mercury concentration increases?
Answer: A. Higher mercury means stronger MerR activation and more phenazines, so the electrical current rises in proportion.