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.
27. After the Lok Sabha cleared the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 on 3 August, what is the new sanctioned strength of the Court, counting the CJI (earlier 34)?
Answer: B. The Bill lifts the number of judges other than the CJI from 33 to 37, so the total with the CJI goes from 34 to 38. Ordinary legislation suffices because Article 124(1) leaves the size of the Court to Parliament.
28. Pick the claim about ordinances that is NOT true.
Answer: D. Ordinances are issued by the President or a Governor on the advice of the Cabinet, and no court has to clear them beforehand. They expire six weeks after the legislature reassembles unless a law replaces them.
29. What does registration look like for businesses under the MSME Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026?
Answer: C. The Bill keeps registration voluntary and provides a free digital platform, giving the Udyam Registration Portal legal backing. Classification still rests on investment and turnover limits that can be changed by notification.
30. As part of decriminalisation in the MSME Amendment Bill, criminal fines give way to civil penalties that can be raised at what pace?
Answer: E. Civil penalties replace fines and may rise by 10% once every three years. The Development Commissioner acts as adjudicating officer, with appeals allowed within 30 days and decided within 60 days.
31. The PM-SSY floating solar scheme (outlay Rs 5,070 crore) is projected to draw about Rs 28,500 crore of investment. Roughly how much CO2 will it avoid each year?
Answer: A. Along with the investment of about Rs 28,500 crore, the scheme is expected to avoid around 10 million tonnes of CO2 every year. It should also generate roughly 16,000 to 17,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
32. Together, the restructured Khelo India Scheme for FY27-FY31 and the stronger support for National Sports Federations have what total outlay?
Answer: D. The Cabinet cleared Rs 36,441 crore for the programme, close to eight times the previous cycle. It is billed as the most ambitious sports effort since Independence.
33. Which pair of school-based programmes was newly launched in the revamped Khelo India Scheme?
Answer: E. KIFS and KIUV are the new school-level initiatives, meant to build physical education into the curriculum and spot talent early. The scheme also adds an Emerging Khelo India Athletes category.
34. The Indian Air Force's week-long counter-drone exercise ROTOR CLAP III ended on 2 August 2026. Where was it held?
Answer: C. The third edition of this helicopter-focused counter-UAS exercise took place at Pokhran in the desert sector. It was a purely Indian event testing tactics against low-flying drones.
35. Health Minister J.P. Nadda reviewed Project SARATHI for a country-wide rollout. What is the full form of SARATHI?
Answer: A. Project SARATHI places trained student volunteers in public hospitals to guide and assist patients with non-clinical needs. Its name stands for Students' Alliance for Responsible Action to Transform Healthcare Institutes.
36. India's UPI is connected through the Favara-UPI corridor, which went live on 30 July 2026, to the instant payment system of which nation?
Answer: B. Favara is the Maldives' instant payment system. Remittances sent in Maldivian Rufiyaa reach UPI-linked Indian accounts in rupees, with Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank as the first partners.
37. UPI is now usable in nine countries. Which one of these is not on that list?
Answer: B. The nine countries are Cambodia, Singapore, UAE, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka. Japan does not feature among them.
38. Besides FIIs, which international body does the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 exempt from tax on interest and capital gains from Government securities?
Answer: D. The Bill spares both FIIs and the BIS from tax on G-sec interest and capital gains arising on or after 1 April 2026. It replaces the ordinance of 5 June 2026.
39. The same Taxation Bill changes Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. Who gets the power to notify electronic payment modes that banks may not charge for?
Answer: E. After the amendment removes the Income-tax Act references, the Central Government can notify the electronic payment modes on which banks and providers may not levy charges. This underpins the zero-MDR approach.
40. ICAR-IARI developed the gene-edited rice Pusa DST Rice 1. Which editing technique was used and which gene was targeted?
Answer: A. Pusa DST Rice 1 is an SDN-1 mutant of the DST gene made with CRISPR-Cas9, bred from the parent MTU1010 for tolerance to drought and salinity. The other variety, DRR Dhan 100, used Cas12a on Gn1a.
41. India won four of the five gold medals at the 22nd Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in New Delhi. Who took the men's and women's singles titles?
Answer: C. Ankur Bhattacharjee won the men's singles and Yashaswini Ghorpade the women's singles. India's other golds came in women's doubles and mixed doubles.
42. Odisha wants the Puri Rath Yatra added to which UNESCO list?
Answer: E. The state has proposed the Shree Jagannath Temple Rath Yatra for UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, pointing to its religious and cultural importance.
43. Justice M.S. Liberhan died aged 87 in Chandigarh. Which inquiry did the commission under him examine?
Answer: B. Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan led the commission probing events around the Babri Masjid demolition of 6 December 1992. It became one of the longest-running inquiry commissions in India.
44. Sarnath's inscription at the 48th World Heritage Committee session in Busan came with 25 new additions. What is the resulting global count of World Heritage Sites?
Answer: D. The 48th session added 25 properties, among them the Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath, India's 45th. The world total now stands at 1,273 sites across 173 countries.
45. To encourage AI-led innovation in traditional medicine, the Ministry of AYUSH entered an MoU with whom?
Answer: C. Under the pact with IndiaAI, AYUSH gains access to health research datasets, AI infrastructure and computing capacity. This supports research, digital health and capacity building in traditional medicine.
46. Varsha Ashok Aglawe is the first woman to head which organisation, which has existed for 176 years?
Answer: A. She took charge as the 54th Director General of the GSI, the first woman in its 176-year history. Her stated priorities include critical minerals, mineral security and offshore exploration.
47. General Vishwa Nath Sharma, who died at 91, held office from May 1988 to June 1990 as which numbered Chief of Army Staff of India?
Answer: E. General V.N. Sharma was the 14th COAS, serving between May 1988 and June 1990. He died in New Delhi at the age of 91.
48. World Wide Web Day falls on 1 August. In which year did Sir Tim Berners-Lee put the world's first website online?
Answer: D. Berners-Lee built the first web server and browser in 1990, and the first website went live a year later, in 1991.
49. Among Tamil Nadu's four MoUs on Global Capability Centres and R&D is one for an India campus in Chennai of which overseas university?
Answer: B. The four agreements deal with GCCs, R&D centres and the University of Western Australia's Indian campus in Chennai. Together they are expected to bring investment and about 2,920 jobs.
50. India hosted the First Session of its Joint Trade Committee with Rwanda in New Delhi. Which city is Rwanda's capital?
Answer: B. Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, a landlocked, hilly country in east-central Africa bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the DRC. India supplies roughly 24.5% of Rwanda's pharmaceutical imports.
51. For how many weeks is the "Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan", launched by the Prime Minister, planned to run, with events held each Sunday?
Answer: C. This anti-drug drive lasts 100 weeks, with Sunday activities at over 28,000 locations backed by more than 125 organisations. Over a crore young people have taken the pledge, and the focus includes rehabilitation and a second chance for those recovering.
52. Glaw Lake (also written Glow Lake) became India's 101st Ramsar Site. For which state is it the first such site?
Answer: D. The high-altitude freshwater lake lies in Lohit district near Wakro, inside Kamlang Tiger Reserve, and is Arunachal Pradesh's first Ramsar listing. It formed through tectonic movement in the Eastern Himalayan fold belt.
53. Name the two Indian Ramsar sites that appear on the Montreux Record, the list of wetlands whose ecological character has changed or is under threat.
Answer: E. Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan and Loktak Lake in Manipur are India's two Montreux Record entries. The Ramsar Convention dates from 2 February 1971, and India, which joined in 1982, now has the most sites in Asia with 101.
54. The e-Pratyaropan platform was unveiled on the 16th Indian Organ Donation Day to digitise the organ donation system. Which body is responsible for implementing it?
Answer: A. The Health Ministry is the nodal department, and NOTTO runs the platform, which offers national registries, auto-built waitlists and live organ tracking over green corridors. Indian Organ Donation Day falls on 3 August.
55. What is the name of the chariot used for Lord Jagannath at the Puri Rath Yatra?
Answer: B. Jagannath rides Nandighosha, while Balabhadra's chariot is Taladhwaja and Subhadra's is Darpadalana. All three are made afresh each year by hereditary Maharana carpenters, and the deities are drawn to the Gundicha Temple.
56. The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 lengthened the tax holiday for foreign firms doing contract manufacturing of specified electronics such as mobiles, laptops, servers and wearables. It was previously 5 years; what is it now?
Answer: C. The holiday for contract electronics manufacturing now runs 15 years, up to 2040-41. The wide-ranging Bill also covers rough diamonds, cloud and data centres, and fund management, and raises the SPV surcharge for REITs and InvITs from 10% to 25%.
57. Regarding UPI and merchant discount rate (MDR), what does the Taxation Bill 2026 really do?
Answer: D. The Bill changes the PSS Act, 2007 to give the government an enabling power, but does not levy any charge itself. The present bar on charges works through Section 269SU of the Income-tax Act with the PSS Act, and a tiered MDR is floated as an alternative.
58. What did the RBI Monetary Policy Committee decide on 5 August 2026, by a 6-0 vote, about the policy repo rate?
Answer: E. The committee held the repo at 5.25% unanimously, with the SDF at 5.00% and the MSF and Bank Rate at 5.50%, and stayed neutral. FY27 inflation was trimmed to 5.0% and FY27 growth raised to 6.7%.
59. Within RBI's liquidity adjustment facility corridor, which window serves as the floor, letting banks park surplus funds with RBI without giving collateral?
Answer: A. The SDF at 5.00% is the lower bound; it needs no collateral and took over from the fixed reverse repo as the effective floor in April 2022. The repo at 5.25% is the policy rate, and the MSF at 5.50% forms the upper limit.
60. RBI said it would again grant Urban Cooperative Bank licences on an "on tap" basis. In which year had new UCB licensing been put on hold?
Answer: B. New UCB licences stopped in 2004 following governance lapses, and Governor Sanjay Malhotra's August 2026 policy announced the restart after a discussion paper in January 2026. "On tap" means applications are accepted at any time; there are 1,457 UCBs today.
61. Which indicative minimum deposit base and net worth appear in the draft licensing criteria for credit cooperative societies wishing to convert into UCBs?
Answer: C. The draft expects at least ₹10,000 crore of deposits and ₹300 crore of net worth, plus a decade of existence, CRAR of 12% or more and net NPA of at most 3%. Multi-state societies are first in line, and applications go through RBI's PRAVAAH portal.
62. Where is the pilot Framework for Fertilizer Sale (FFS), a QR-token based fertiliser distribution system for farmers, now in operation?
Answer: D. The pilot now spans 56 districts in 23 states, up from 40 districts in 20 states at the end of July. Farmers register, pre-book, receive a QR token, and are verified by Aadhaar biometrics at the retailer's PoS.
63. Along with Nuernberg Messe India, which organisation staged BIOFACH INDIA 2026, the organic trade fair held 6-8 August at Greater Noida?
Answer: E. APEDA, set up under a 1985 Act and part of the Commerce Ministry, organised the fair, with over 200 exhibitors and buyers from 13 countries. It is also the National Accreditation Body under NPOP, which handles organic export certification.
64. Which holding company did RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra say would stay classified as an Upper-Layer NBFC?
Answer: A. Governor Malhotra indicated that Tata Sons, the Tata Group's holding company, remains an NBFC-UL under RBI's scale-based regulatory framework.
65. "DSC A24", the fifth and last Diving Support Craft, a catamaran with around 70% indigenous content, was launched at Titagarh in Kolkata. Which firm built it?
Answer: B. Titagarh Rail Systems built this twin-hull craft of about 300-400 tonnes, which backs diving, salvage and coastal tasks. It is a different class from the bigger Nistar-class DSVs such as Nipun, which HSL built.
66. Giriraj Singh released the "Kapas Darshan" bulletin on the 56th Foundation Day of the Cotton Corporation of India. Which Cotton Productivity Mission was also spotlighted?
Answer: C. The occasion featured the ₹5,659-crore Kapas Kanti mission. Four MoUs were also signed on cotton quality, traceability and market access.
67. REC and PFC agreed a ₹26,850-crore joint loan with Meja Urja Nigam for enlarging the Meja Thermal Power Project in Uttar Pradesh. What capacity addition does this fund?
Answer: D. The loan pays for three ultra-supercritical units of 800 MW each, totalling 2,400 MW. In a separate event, PM Modi opened projects worth over ₹17,900 crore in Andhra Pradesh on 1 August.
68. SEBI moved the digital accessibility audit deadline for regulated entities to 31 October 2026. What framework did it also bring in for AIF placement memorandums?
Answer: E. GARUDA is meant to speed up the handling of Alternative Investment Fund placement memorandums. Separately, SBI Research expects about 7% GDP growth in Q1 FY27, higher than RBI's 6.6% projection.
69. Which communities are linked with Gujarat's GI-tagged tribal art form, Pithora Painting?
Answer: A. Pithora is a ritual art of the Rathwa, Bhil, Bhilala and Nayaka people of Gujarat. It typically uses natural colours and shows horses standing for gods, ancestors and nature.
70. Who received an extension as IFSCA Chairperson until 24 October 2028?
Answer: B. K. Rajaraman, a retired IAS officer of the 1989 batch who became IFSCA's first full-time head in 2023, has been given the extension. The same week, Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod became Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
71. A new freshwater catfish, Pseudolaguvia khairii, was found in Odisha's Budhabalanga River. Who or what is "Khairi", the name it honours?
Answer: C. The fish, discovered in Mayurbhanj district, carries the name of Khairi, the well-known Royal Bengal tigress of Similipal Tiger Reserve.
72. India placed fourth at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals. How were these divided into gold, silver and bronze?
Answer: D. India's 39 medals came as 13 golds, 17 silvers and 9 bronzes. Australia led with 171, and India, which receives the baton from Glasgow, will stage the 2030 Games in Ahmedabad.
73. Nirmal Purja, the mountaineer who died in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan, became famous under Project Possible 14/7 in 2019 for scaling all 14 eight-thousanders in what time?
Answer: E. The Nepali-British climber known as Nims finished all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks in 6 months and 6 days in 2019. He later lost his life in an avalanche on Broad Peak.
74. What outlay did the Union Cabinet clear for the GOBARdhan – National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, which should generate about 1.5 lakh jobs?
Answer: A. The scheme, at ₹23,731 crore, turns organic waste into bioenergy to support clean power and the rural economy, with around 1.5 lakh jobs expected.
75. Which medium-range ballistic missile did India successfully test-fire from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha?
Answer: B. The Defence Ministry said the Agni-4 launch from ITR Chandipur confirmed its operational and technical parameters. Elsewhere, General Dhiraj Seth launched indigenous Xtreme Weather Grade diesel for military vehicles.
76. The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 cleared by the Lok Sabha mainly deals with what?
Answer: C. The Bill updates the law on bankers' books as evidence so that electronic and digital banking records are accepted. Separately, India launched a Clouded Leopard Conservation Action Plan on International Clouded Leopard Day.
77. What was the theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2026, held 1-7 August?
Answer: D. The 2026 week carried the theme "Breastfeeding for a sustainable start in life: strengthen what works". Also, Andhra Pradesh and Australia signed four MoUs, including a Centre of Excellence for Solar Manufacturing at IIT Tirupati.
78. NITI Aayog's report 'Reimagining Care: Strategies for Empowering Caregivers in Viksit Bharat@2047' projects that India's 60-plus population, 149 million in 2022, will reach what level by 2050?
Answer: C. The report expects the older-age share to double from about 10.5% to 20.8%, or 347 million people, by 2050. India would thus face a heavy long-term care load before it becomes a rich country.
79. MoRTH has proposed changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 to bring in V2V technology. What main edge does V2V hold over cameras and radar?
Answer: A. Vehicles fitted with on-board units exchange speed, location and braking data directly with each other. Hazards outside the driver's visual range can therefore be flagged without any cellular network.
80. India has launched a Conservation Action Plan for the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). How long ago did this cat split from the Pantherinae lineage?
Answer: D. The Clouded Leopard diverged more than six million years ago, making it one of the oldest living cats and a link between big and small felines. The plan was announced on International Clouded Leopard Day, 4 August.
81. Which character served as the official mascot of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games?
Answer: E. Finnie was the mascot of the 23rd Commonwealth Games, held from 23 July to 2 August 2026. India finished fourth with 39 medals, and Ahmedabad will host in 2030.
82. India set a record at Glasgow 2026 in which sport, with 10 medals including seven golds, the most any nation has won in that sport at one CWG?
Answer: B. Indian boxers collected 10 medals, seven of them gold, with Lovlina Borgohain adding a silver in the 75kg class. Athletics also produced 10 medals but without such a gold haul.
83. GOBARdhan has been reshaped into the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme (Rs 23,731 crore, FY27-FY36). Which ministry now runs it?
Answer: A. Started in 2018 under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), the programme now sits with the Petroleum Ministry. It aims for roughly ten times more compressed biogas from dung, crop residue, press mud and municipal waste.
84. Under SEBI's directive of 16 January, the Closing Auction Session began on NSE and BSE on 3 August 2026. Its reference price is the VWAP of trades in which window, and what band applies?
Answer: C. The auction sets one closing price instead of an average of continuous trades. Its reference price comes from the volume-weighted average of trades between 3:00 and 3:15 PM and is held within a strict 3% band.
85. Urban cooperative bank licences are issued by the RBI under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 read with which section, the one that extends the Act to cooperative societies?
Answer: E. Section 22 deals with licensing, and Section 56 applies the Banking Regulation Act to cooperative societies with modifications. Together they form the legal basis for UCB licensing.
86. The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 is intended to replace the old Act from which year?
Answer: B. The Bill would supersede the 135-year-old Bankers' Books Evidence Act of 1891. It widens the meaning of bankers' books to include electronic, digital and cloud-based records.
87. RBI's draft framework on Credit Valuation Adjustment risk, which would replace the 2011 rules, is proposed to take effect from what date?
Answer: A. The draft, aligned with final Basel III, would apply from 1 April 2027 to commercial banks other than small finance banks, payments banks and local area banks. Comments were invited until 28 August.
88. How many NBFCs appear on RBI's Upper Layer list for 2026-27, Tata Sons among them?
Answer: C. The 2026-27 Upper Layer list names 17 NBFCs, and Tata Sons is among them while its de-registration request is being examined. Once in the layer, an NBFC faces enhanced norms for at least five years.
89. The AI farm advisory app FarmerChat 2.0 has passed 10 lakh users. Which organisation built it?
Answer: D. Digital Green India built FarmerChat, which gives local advice by voice, photo or text even where connectivity is poor. Version 2.0 adds saved farmer preferences.
90. ICAR-NIPB produced India's first fully annotated telomere-to-telomere genome of pigeonpea. Which variety was sequenced?
Answer: A. The T2T assembly of the tur variety Asha covers all 11 chromosomes, including centromeres and telomeres, closing the repeat-rich gaps that a draft genome leaves. NIPB also made the first pigeonpea draft genome in 2011.
91. A proposed central law on women farmers' rights would be modelled on the Women Farmers Empowerment Act, 2026 of which state?
Answer: C. EAC-PM Chairman S. Mahendra Dev said the Centre is looking at legislation along the lines of Maharashtra's law, the first state law of its kind. It lets women be recognised as farmers through a certificate even when land is registered to men.
92. Which Act, passed by the U.S. Senate, could place tariffs of up to 100% on countries that keep buying Russian oil, with possible consequences for India?
Answer: D. The Act permits tariffs as high as 100% on importers of Russian oil under set conditions. India, a large buyer of Russian crude, could therefore be exposed.
93. IRDAI has told insurers, other than reinsurers, to send monthly figures on premium income, investment income and claims paid. Which index is this data meant to help compile?
Answer: B. The monthly insurer data will feed into the Index of Service Production, improving how activity in the insurance sector is measured.
94. The Cabinet cleared the Rs 8,970 crore Guwahati-Tezpur corridor in Assam, a four-lane access-controlled stretch. Which national highway is it on, and under what model will it be built?
Answer: E. The Guwahati-Tezpur project is a four-lane section of NH-15 to be developed on a BOT (Toll) basis. It is meant to improve connectivity within Assam.
95. Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth is the first Indian woman Fighter Combat Leader. In which city is TACDE, where she did the course?
Answer: E. She finished the FCL course at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment in Gwalior. Her achievement marks a milestone for women in fighter combat roles.
96. Twelve rat-hole miners received the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak for their courage during which rescue?
Answer: B. These miners dug by hand through the last section to reach 41 trapped workers in Uttarakhand's Silkyara Tunnel. The Sarvottam award is the top tier of the Jeevan Raksha Padak series.
97. India hosted the BRICS heads of national statistical offices on 3-4 August 2026, themed 'Quality Statistics as a Driver of Change'. In which city?
Answer: C. The meeting in Lucknow concentrated on deepening statistical cooperation among BRICS members. In a separate item, C-DAC and GSI agreed to work on AI-based geological data processing.
98. IIT Hyderabad and Crimson Energy Experts launched ANUGYAN, an industry-academia nuclear orientation programme. It backs India's nuclear capacity goal of:
Answer: D. ANUGYAN is a three-month residential course that trains skilled nuclear professionals for the target of 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.
99. Niyo Forex and GlobalPay obtained which category of RBI authorisation under the updated FEMA framework?
Answer: A. Both firms secured AD-II licences, which let them offer a wider set of regulated forex, remittance and cross-border payment services.
100. A newly described seahorse, Hippocampus amandavincentae, settled a taxonomic muddle of 150 years. Which number among seahorse species recorded off Kerala is it?
Answer: E. Scientists at KUFOS identified it as the fifth seahorse species known from Kerala's coast, clearing up confusion that dated back 150 years.
101. Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, became the first Indian woman to receive which honour?
Answer: D. She was given the COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal 2026 in Italy, being the first Indian woman and the fourth Indian scientist to win it.
102. Whom did Air India name as its new CEO and Managing Director, replacing Campbell Wilson?
Answer: C. Tewolde Gebremariam, who earlier headed Ethiopian Airlines and has over ten years of global aviation experience, takes over from Campbell Wilson.
103. National Javelin Day on 7 August marks Neeraj Chopra's Tokyo Olympics gold. Which body declared the day, and in which year?
Answer: B. The AFI chose 7 August in 2021 to honour Neeraj Chopra's historic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
104. Tamil Nadu's TVK government presented its first budget for FY27. What size of state economy does it aim for by 2031?
Answer: A. Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson's budget sets a goal of a 1.5 trillion dollar state economy by 2031, stressing AI, industry, education, infrastructure and welfare.
105. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta opened a STEM Innovation Lab at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in which locality?
Answer: D. The lab at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Pitampura gives government-school pupils hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
106. Five captive-bred Slender-billed Vultures and five White-rumped Vultures were set free using the "Soft Release" method in a world first. In which protected area did this happen?
Answer: C. Kaziranga's Biswanath Wildlife Division saw the first-ever release of captive-bred Slender-billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris). This Critically Endangered species, now treated as distinct from the Indian Vulture, has a bare narrow black head and slender beak.
107. Which veterinary drug was chiefly responsible for the White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) losing over 99% of its numbers within about twenty years?
Answer: D. Vultures that fed on carcasses of cattle given diclofenac developed visceral gout and kidney failure. India outlawed the veterinary form in 2006, and meloxicam is the recommended vulture-safe replacement.
108. Which description best fits Agni-IV, which the Strategic Forces Command training-launched off Odisha?
Answer: E. Agni-IV is a DRDO-built, nuclear-capable missile reaching about 4,000 km with a payload up to 1,000 kg. It sits between mid-range missiles and ICBMs and backs India's Credible Minimum Deterrence and No First Use stance.
109. Which agency implements "E-Samudra", the single-window maritime portal that is Digital-First and Faceless?
Answer: A. The Ports, Shipping and Waterways Ministry is nodal, while DGMA carries out the portal. It brings services for seafarers, shipping firms and ports online, replacing paperwork with digital certificates and payments.
110. Which E-Samudra feature gives seafarers round-the-clock grievance redressal, linking them to emergency response and medical aid whether at sea or on shore?
Answer: B. e-NAVIK is the 24×7 grievance channel. The Digital Seafarers Employment Agreement (d-SEA) is a different feature: it provides verifiable digital contracts that protect pay and labour standards.
111. Where will the 8th Indian Navy-US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal exercise of 2026, a series that began in 2005 under the SALVEX name, take place?
Answer: C. The bilateral drill at Kochi brings together specialist diving and EOD teams from both navies. It concentrates on underwater salvage, bomb disposal and neutralising ordnance to improve interoperability.
112. Kenya Wildlife Service is investigating the deaths of 15-16 African elephants, suspected to be cyanide poisoning from agrochemicals, in Amboseli National Park. Amboseli, the "Land of Giants", sits in front of which mountain?
Answer: D. Amboseli lies in Kajiado County on the Tanzanian border and is known for roaming elephant herds photographed with Kilimanjaro behind them. It became a national park in 1974 and a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1991.
113. Lok Sabha data shows India has 46.02 lakh registered nursing personnel. How many of them are listed on the Nurses Registration and Tracking System (NRTS)?
Answer: E. Just 14.24 lakh are on NRTS, which leaves 31.78 lakh, over two-thirds, outside it more than seven years on. The slow uptake causes long waits for NOCs, delayed overseas verification and duplication with State Nursing Councils' own systems.
114. A Business Standard opinion article on Self Help Groups says the movement's founding insight was what?
Answer: A. SHGs worked because they turned the usual order around by starting with small regular savings instead of loans, and by making poor rural women the core of the model. The piece warns that heavy subsidised credit or grants can weaken this savings-led approach.
115. A Business Standard editorial on reorienting PM-KISAN, extended for FY27-FY31, proposes using its JAM-DBT architecture to reform which subsidy and extending cover to which excluded group?
Answer: B. Because PM-KISAN relies on land records, tenant and landless cultivators are left out, and the editorial suggests state-level checks to find genuine cultivators. It also wants fertiliser aid sent straight to farmers over the same DBT rails, reducing leakage and overuse of urea.
116. How long is the Fighter Combat Leader course at TACDE, the IAF's elite "Top Gun" school, that Bhawana Kanth completed?
Answer: C. Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth is the first woman to graduate from the 20-week FCL course at TACDE in Gwalior. The school trains chosen pilots to lead complex air combat and tactical missions.
117. In which city will Lohia Aerospace Systems (LASPL) and Israel's Massivit set up India's first commercial large-format additive manufacturing (3D-printing) facility, under their MoU?
Answer: D. The facility in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, backed by USD 8-10 million over one to two years, will serve aerospace and defence manufacturing through large-format 3D printing.
118. RBI's list of Upper-Layer NBFCs grew from 15 in January 2025 to 17 for FY27. Which four entities joined the list?
Answer: E. Four state-owned infrastructure lenders, REC, PFC, IRFC and HUDCO, were added, taking the FY27 NBFC-UL roster to 17 entities. Tata Sons also stays on it.
119. RBI pushed the start of its revised framework on loan recovery and recovery agents from 1 October 2026 to which new date?
Answer: A. The new recovery norms will apply from 1 January 2027. Recovery agents now covered get time to obtain IIBF certification, and some bank staff, regular instalment collectors and assisting law firms are exempt.
120. Which bank did SBI Life tie up with, as a corporate agent, to sell its protection, savings, retirement and child insurance plans?
Answer: B. SBI Life will offer insurance through J&K Bank's branches, supporting the aim of "Insurance for All by 2047". In other news, Standard Chartered got IFSCA approval for retail wealth management at its GIFT City branch.
121. Kroll's 11th Celebrity Brand Valuation 2025 report put which person at the top of India's celebrity brands, valued at USD 177.9 million?
Answer: C. Shah Rukh Khan led at $177.9M, with Ranveer Singh second at $162.9M and Virat Kohli third at $158.4M. The top 25 together were worth around $2 billion.
122. R Praggnanandhaa took his first Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz title with 23.5 points. Which leg of the 11th Grand Chess Tour was this?
Answer: D. He won the event in the USA, played 31 July-7 August 2026, by taking the rapid section and keeping his lead through blitz. It was the fourth stop of the 11th Grand Chess Tour.
123. In what year did the Government declare 7 August as National Handloom Day, recalling the 1905 Swadeshi Movement?
Answer: E. The day was announced in 2015 to mark the start of the 1905 Swadeshi Movement. The 12th observance, held in New Delhi in 2026, paid tribute to weavers' social and economic role.
124. Quit India Movement Day, or August Kranti Diwas, falls on 8 August. Who became famous for raising the national flag at Gowalia Tank Maidan during the 1942 movement?
Answer: A. The movement began on 8 August 1942 with Gandhi's "Do or Die" call. Aruna Asaf Ali is remembered for unfurling the tricolour at the Bombay maidan.
125. Nagasaki Day on 9 August 2026 was the 81st anniversary of the bombing. Which plutonium-based bomb did the B-29 "Bockscar" drop there?
Answer: B. Bockscar released the plutonium bomb "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. The earlier Hiroshima bomb, Little Boy, used uranium and was dropped on 6 August.
126. What was the theme for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on 9 August 2026?
Answer: C. The 2026 theme pays tribute to indigenous midwives and the knowledge they carry. The UN declared this day in 1994, with the first observance in 1995.
127. Which Union Minister presided over the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting, where the Bhubaneswar Declaration was adopted during India's 2026 BRICS Chairship?
Answer: E. Pralhad Joshi chaired the meeting in Bhubaneswar and urged a people-centric, humanity-first approach. The agenda drew on NEP 2020 themes such as foundational literacy and digital transformation.
128. On what dates will New Delhi host the 18th BRICS Summit?
Answer: C. As BRICS Chair for 2026, India will hold the 18th Summit in the capital on 12 and 13 September 2026.
129. The NCDC (Amendment) Bill, 2026 rewrites the corporation's mandate, which earlier spoke of planning programmes 'through co-operative societies'. What is the new wording?
Answer: A. The new mandate is phrased as being for co-operative development, which lets NCDC lend directly even to non-cooperative bodies that support the sector. NCDC now works under the Ministry of Cooperation.
130. NASA asked ISRO to take part in its Moon Base programme at the 9th India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting. Where was that meeting held?
Answer: B. The 9th CSJWG met in Bengaluru on 5-6 August 2026, and the Moon Base invitation followed India's membership of the Artemis Accords. The base is planned near the lunar south pole.
131. The Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel 'Shruti' (Yard 3037) for the Indian Navy was launched at which shipyard?
Answer: D. Shruti, an indigenously designed NGOPV of the Shachi class, came out of GRSE in Kolkata. It is meant for surveillance, anti-piracy, offshore asset protection and disaster relief.
132. Dr. Jitendra Singh dedicated 'Prakriti Gyan Dham', billed as India's first eco-educational walkable classroom, at Banthra in Lucknow. Which institution developed it?
Answer: E. CSIR-NBRI built it at its Maharishi Parashar Bioresource Centre. It includes the PAaVan Path trail, a heritage garden, a Bamboosteum with 43 bamboo species, and the Vibhav and Bhairav conservation enclaves.
133. Which section of the RBI Act, 1934 gives the Reserve Bank exclusive authority to issue banknotes, with Section 25 requiring Central Government approval of their design, form and material?
Answer: A. Section 22 grants the RBI sole note-issuing power, while Section 25 makes the look and material of notes subject to Central Government approval. The polymer-note trial of Rs 10 and Rs 20 notes goes through that route.
134. Fitch has affirmed India's sovereign rating at BBB- with a stable outlook. Which agency rates India one step higher, at BBB?
Answer: C. S&P rates India BBB with a stable outlook, one notch above Fitch's BBB-. Moody's has Baa3, which matches Fitch's lowest investment grade.
135. NABARD's National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge, run with the Gates Foundation and Dalberg Advisors, promotes which platform as digital public infrastructure for rural climate resilience?
Answer: B. The challenge builds on DiCRA to produce near-term climate hazard forecasts and decision-ready tools. The third-place VARSAPRADAYA entry runs its hazard scoring engine on DiCRA.
136. India gave five peacocks, one of them a rare white male, to the UN Office at Geneva, reviving a custom that began in which year?
Answer: A. Arindam Bagchi handed the birds to UNOG Director-General Tatiana Valovaya. The tradition goes back to 1981, when India first presented a breeding pair to Geneva.
137. Prof. Deepak Dhar is the first Indian physicist to win the 2026 Dirac Medal. Which institution awards it?
Answer: D. ICTP gave the 2026 Dirac Medal to Dhar for his work on statistical mechanics and complex systems. Bernard Derrida, Marc Mezard and Haim Sompolinsky shared the honour with him.
138. The Sangeet Natak Akademi's top honour, the Akademi Ratna Fellowship, can be held by at most how many living eminent persons at a time?
Answer: E. Fellowships are capped at 40 living persons. The President will present these along with the Akademi Puraskar awards for 2024 and 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan.
139. PM Modi opened the 'Param Pragya' AI-enabled supercomputing facility on the Sonipat campus of which institute, at its 57th convocation?
Answer: B. Param Pragya was inaugurated at IIT Delhi's Sonipat campus during the institute's 57th convocation to boost research in AI, data science and advanced computing.
140. NeGD and AAERI launched 'AAERI Verify', a DigiLocker-linked tool that speeds up document checks for Indian students applying to universities in which country?
Answer: C. AAERI is the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India. The tool brings verification for Australia-bound students down from days to a couple of minutes.
141. The CCRAS-BIS MoU on AYUSH quality standards was the BIS's how-manyth agreement of this kind, and its first with an AYUSH body?
Answer: B. It was the 100th MoU signed by BIS and the first with an AYUSH organisation, aimed at globally accepted standards and conformity assessment for traditional medicine.
142. In its 101st Survey of Professional Forecasters, the RBI projected India's real GDP growth for FY27 at:
Answer: A. Forecasters now see FY27 real growth at 6.6%, up from 6.5% in the previous round. They put FY28 at 7.0% and the first quarter of FY27 at 6.8%.
143. IndusInd Bank brought out a lifetime-free Platinum RuPay credit card, which can be linked to UPI, in partnership with which dining platform?
Answer: E. The EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Platinum RuPay Credit Card carries no joining or annual fee and offers rewards on dining and entertainment.
144. The ACC extended by a year, until 13 August 2027, the tenure of which Director of the Enforcement Directorate?
Answer: C. Rahul Navin, a 1993-batch IRS officer who has been in the ED since 2019, received a one-year extension as Director.
145. Astrobase Space Technologies revealed 'EVEREST', billed as India's first private 800 kN rocket engine. What propellants and cycle does it use?
Answer: D. EVEREST burns liquid oxygen and methane in a full-flow staged combustion cycle for reusable medium-lift rockets. Full-scale hot-fire tests are planned in 2026.
146. Manipur's Ariha Pangambam won India's first senior women's individual gold at the 2026 Asian Aerobic Gymnastics Championships with 19.100 points. Where were they held?
Answer: E. Her score of 19.100 secured a historic title for India, ahead of Thailand's Chanyapit Manee in silver and Japan's Mahiro Kishibe in bronze.
147. World Biofuel Day on 10 August recalls the 1893 demonstration of an engine fuelled by peanut oil, carried out by whom?
Answer: D. The day honours Rudolf Diesel's 1893 peanut-oil engine demonstration, and the Petroleum Ministry has marked it since 2015.
148. Under the revised PM E-DRIVE Scheme (outlay Rs 11,900 crore), e-two-wheeler subsidy is set at Rs 2,500 per kWh. What is the ceiling per vehicle?
Answer: C. The Ministry of Heavy Industries limited the e-2W incentive to Rs 2,500 per kWh and no more than Rs 5,000 per vehicle for April 2025 to March 2028.
149. To mark ten years of GeM, a nationwide five-digit helpdesk number was introduced. Which one?
Answer: B. Piyush Goyal launched the 14550 helpdesk at the Government e-Marketplace's tenth anniversary, along with a commemorative My Stamp.
150. According to the Quarterly PLFS Bulletin for April-June 2026, the unemployment rate among persons aged 15 and above climbed to:
Answer: A. The NSO bulletin shows joblessness among the 15-plus age group at 5.4%, with an overall labour force participation rate of 54.6%.
151. Under what name will the MSME Ministry-DPIIT MoU link Geographical Indication producers to ONDC and GeM?
Answer: E. The 'Bharat GI' initiative aims to speed up commercialisation and market access for GI goods through ONDC and GeM, helping artisans and weavers.
152. Which port became the first in India to receive ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management System certification, and is also a Scope-2 Emission-Free Port with 93.89% renewable electricity in FY26?
Answer: A. V.O.C. Port at Thoothukudi is the first Indian port with the ISO 50001:2018 certificate, and renewables met 93.89% of its power needs in FY26.
153. World Steelpan Day, observed on 11 August, celebrates the national instrument of which country?
Answer: D. The UN General Assembly adopted the day in 2023 through Resolution A/RES/77/316, recognising the steelpan of Trinidad and Tobago and its contribution to culture and sustainable development.
154. Which ministry organises "Srijan: Voices from the Loom", an event that celebrates women weavers, with over 100 participants from six handloom clusters?
Answer: D. The Textiles Ministry's event in New Delhi gathers over 100 women weavers to share first-person stories, with an anthology being released. Women make up about 70% of the roughly 35 lakh handloom workers, the highest female share in any Indian industry.
155. The babirusa, or "pig-deer", made news with the birth of a piglet named "Rana" at Chester Zoo. It is found only on four islands belonging to which country?
Answer: E. Babirusas live only on Sulawesi, Togian, Sula and Buru, all Indonesian islands, in rainforest, swamp and wetland. Their name joins the Malay words for pig and deer, and the IUCN lists them as Vulnerable.
156. Parliament passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to rename the state "Keralam". Under which Article is a law of this kind not treated as a constitutional amendment, so a simple majority is enough?
Answer: A. Article 3 lets Parliament change a state's name, and Article 4 states that such a law is not an amendment under Article 368. This is why simple majority passage works, as with the earlier change from Orissa to Odisha.
157. The renewed "One Herb, One Standard" (OHOS) initiative aligns herb monographs of PCIM&H under Ayush with which autonomous body of the Health Ministry?
Answer: B. PCIM&H and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission jointly prepare common monographs so that quality standards for herbs no longer conflict between pharmacopoeias. The first phase from 2022 produced 50 single-herb monographs across Ayurveda, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, Unani and Homoeopathy.
158. UPI marked ten years since its pilot in April 2016. Which existing payment system is it built upon?
Answer: C. UPI, developed by RBI and NPCI, sits on top of IMPS and uses VPAs and QR codes for instant transfers between banks. It was fully live by August 2016, and the pandemic boosted QR use further.
159. Under the proposed calibrated MDR approach following the Taxation Bill 2026, to which payments would a small MDR (about 0.05% up to 0.3-0.6%) apply?
Answer: D. Only large businesses would pay on person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000, while consumers, P2P transfers and small merchants such as kiranas pay nothing. The change to Section 10A of the PSS Act only removes the ban and does not itself impose fees.
160. Beforest, the regenerative land restoration effort founded in 2018 and led by CEO Sunith Reddy, runs six "collectives" across about 1,300 acres. About how much land must a collective have at minimum?
Answer: E. A collective is a group of people who co-own and co-manage one landscape of roughly 100 acres or more. Beforest's six sit in Kodagu, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bhopal and involve 196 members.
161. How many ICAR research institutes take part in the ICAR Network Programme on Precision Agriculture (ICAR-NePPA)?
Answer: A. ICAR-NePPA brings together 16 institutes that use sensors, remote sensing, AI and ICT in crop and soil work, post-harvest, vertical farming, aquaculture and livestock. Precision agriculture means supplying the right input amount, at the right place and time.
162. To what level did India's retail inflation (CPI) climb in July 2026, reaching a 19-month peak?
Answer: B. CPI inflation reached 4.45% in July 2026, its highest in 19 months, pushed up mainly by food and fuel prices.
163. President Murmu gave her assent to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026. What does it extend legal protection to?
Answer: C. With the assent, deliberately obstructing or stopping the singing of Vande Mataram becomes an offence, giving it protection like that of the national anthem under the 1971 Act.
164. SBI Research lifted its Q1 FY27 GDP growth estimate to roughly 8%. How many high-frequency indicators was this based on?
Answer: D. The estimate of about 8%, against RBI's 7% for the quarter, draws on 54 high-frequency indicators across agriculture, industry and services. Strong consumption, industrial output and government capex support it.
165. Which valuation did the 2026 Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses list assign to the Ambani family, which tops the ranking?
Answer: E. The Ambani family under Mukesh Ambani leads at ₹25.8 lakh crore, followed by the Birla family and then the Jindal family. The top 300 family businesses together are valued at about ₹138 lakh crore.
166. Which former chief of the Supreme Court did Hungary's Parliament elect President, by 140 votes to 6, to take office on 19 August 2026?
Answer: A. András Baka, formerly head of the Supreme Court, won the parliamentary vote 140 to 6. His term can last up to five years from 19 August 2026.
167. "Shruti" is the second of four NGOPVs that GRSE Kolkata is constructing. What is the value of the whole programme?
Answer: B. The ₹9,781-crore programme covers four Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels at GRSE, and Shruti is the second. It strengthens indigenous warship building and maritime security.
168. Skyroot Aerospace has a Multi-Launch Agreement with HEX20 for three dedicated missions, beginning Q4 2027. Which launch vehicle series will fly them?
Answer: C. The agreement covers three Vikram-series missions for Earth observation, payload demonstrations and rideshare, with the first launch from Q4 2027.
169. Don Nelson, the celebrated NBA coach, died at 86. With which team did he win five NBA championships as a player?
Answer: D. Nelson collected five titles as a Celtics player, then coached for 31 years with 1,335 regular-season wins, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2012. The obituaries also noted nuclear scientist M.P. Parameswaran, aged 91.
170. What is the title of former President Ram Nath Kovind's autobiography, published by Rupa Publications and released by PM Modi?
Answer: E. The book traces Kovind's childhood, legal career, public service and time as India's 14th President.
171. What theme was chosen for International Youth Day on 12 August 2026?
Answer: A. International Youth Day, first marked in 2000, had the 2026 theme "Different Contexts, Common Aspirations".
172. PM Modi said on World Elephant Day (12 August, observed since 2012) that India holds roughly what share of the world's wild Asian elephants?
Answer: B. India is home to more than 60% of wild Asian elephants, a point MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh also made. The day was conceived by Patricia Sims, Michael Clarke and Sivaporn Dardarananda.
173. Gujarat sanctioned ₹20 crore for 2026-27 to set up four Centres of Excellence in Natural Farming. Where will they be located?
Answer: C. The four centres will provide training, technology help, soil testing, value addition and post-harvest facilities for natural farming.
174. The National Biodiversity Authority released over ₹15 crore under the Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism. Which genetic resource generated these funds?
Answer: D. The ₹15+ crore from mustard genetic resources will be shared among 26 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 UT Biodiversity Councils, putting fair benefit-sharing into practice. Also, Amit Shah launched the Gramin Gyan Setu app for libraries in Gandhinagar.
175. Indian Railways cleared Kavach 4.0 on 660 route km of the Izzatnagar Division of North Eastern Railway. What is the estimated cost?
Answer: E. Version 4.0 of Kavach, India's home-grown Automatic Train Protection system, will cover 660 route km of the Izzatnagar Division at an estimated ₹295 crore.
176. India and Nepal signed MoUs for eight development projects funded by Indian grant assistance. Which sectors do they cover?
Answer: A. The eight grant-funded projects cover education, health and agriculture, strengthening people-focused development cooperation between the two countries.
177. For the first time, 18 metric tonnes of GI-tagged Mithila Makhana went from Bihar to which country, bought straight from Darbhanga farmers?
Answer: B. The maiden shipment of 18 MT, sourced directly from Darbhanga farmers, went to Australia and widens overseas markets for Bihar's GI-tagged farm products.
178. India signed Terms of Reference for a Preferential Trade Agreement with SACU, described as the world's oldest customs union. In what year was SACU set up and where is its secretariat?
Answer: C. SACU dates from 1910 and has its secretariat in Windhoek, with South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini as members. This is India's first such ToR with an African grouping and starts PTA talks.
179. Giriraj Singh opened IIHT SUTRA 2026, the first national conclave of the Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology. What was its theme?
Answer: C. The conclave concentrated on education, research, skills and innovation in handlooms. Agreements were signed with Grasim Industries, NITRA and IIM Sambalpur.
180. A team headed by Prof. S. D. Biju of the University of Delhi found three new species of which kind of amphibian in Northeast India?
Answer: B. The new cascade frogs are Ammachi's, Sendenyu and Beautiful Cascade Frogs, identified through field surveys, DNA sequencing and body-structure studies.
181. The Gaj Gaurav Awards, presented at World Elephant Day 2026 in Visakhapatnam, were created in which year to mark three decades of Project Elephant?
Answer: B. MoEF&CC instituted Gaj Gaurav in 2022, thirty years after Project Elephant began in 1992. It honours frontline workers in Asian elephant conservation and is given on 12 August.
182. Select the statement about the Asian elephant in India that is NOT correct.
Answer: C. India actually has 33 Elephant Reserves, not 45, and the other four statements hold true. Project Elephant has been a Centrally Sponsored Scheme since 1992.
183. Under the Nuclear Energy Mission, the Government intends to build and operate at least how many indigenous Small Modular Reactors by 2033?
Answer: D. At least five home-grown SMRs are targeted by 2033 as a step toward 100 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2047. The SHANTI Act, 2025 lets private firms join nuclear manufacturing and deployment.
184. NITI Aayog's report 'Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub' covers four sectors in this first edition, with eight more to come. Which four?
Answer: A. The report examines these four sectors against seven factors, including infrastructure, technology readiness and raw materials. The aim is to shift from mere assembly toward domestic value addition.
185. The NITI report says textiles account for about 2% of GDP, 11% of manufacturing GVA and 9% of merchandise exports. How many people does the sector employ?
Answer: E. Textiles employ over 45 million people, second only to agriculture, and bring in about 37.7 billion dollars of exports a year. India ranks sixth among textile exporters.
186. At the new NUCFDC premises in Mumbai, inaugurated by Amit Shah, which integrated technology platform for Urban Cooperative Banks was launched?
Answer: C. NUCFDC, the umbrella body for UCBs, introduced Bank in a Box at the Sahkar Nav-Kranti event. It also signed an MoU with NFSU on cybersecurity and digital forensics.
187. Which of these is among SEBI's proposed changes to the Accredited Investor Framework 2026?
Answer: B. The proposals make accreditation easier to obtain. Accredited investors enjoy lower investment thresholds and can access products with more regulatory flexibility.
188. Bank of America and Jio Financial Services agreed a joint venture in which BofA may hold up to 49.9% of Jio Credit for about Rs 18,268 crore. What stake will BofA take first through preferential allotment?
Answer: D. BofA starts with 26.5% of Jio Credit by preferential allotment and has room to go up to 49.9%, which would involve around Rs 18,268 crore.
189. Cochin Shipyard handed over 'MS Maria', the second of eight HS EcoFreighter 7,000 DWT multi-purpose ships, to a shipping firm from which country?
Answer: A. The ship went to HS Schiffahrts of Germany. It is a multi-purpose vessel able to carry containers, steel coils, timber, dry bulk and project cargo.
190. Zhu Rongji, former Chinese Premier who died at 97, helped bring China into which organisation in 2001?
Answer: E. As Premier from 1998 to 2003, Zhu pushed reform of state enterprises and the financial system and drove China's 2001 entry into the WTO.
191. Which Bill did the Lok Sabha send to a Joint Parliamentary Committee despite objections from the Opposition and civil society?
Answer: B. The FCRA Amendment Bill will be examined clause by clause by a JPC, which can call for records, officials and experts, hold public consultations and attach dissent notes.
192. Which statement about a Joint Parliamentary Committee is NOT correct?
Answer: E. A JPC is ad hoc and dissolves automatically once it presents its report. Standing committees, by contrast, are reconstituted every year.
193. 'Udara Shakti 2026' is the third edition of a bilateral air exercise in which India sent Rafales and C-17s. The IAF's partner is the air force of:
Answer: A. The exercise took place in Malaysia, where the IAF flew alongside the Royal Malaysian Air Force's Su-30MKM, F/A-18D and A400M aircraft to improve interoperability.
194. In which year did Dean Robert Campbell conceive International Left-Handers Day, observed on 13 August?
Answer: C. Campbell came up with the idea in 1976, and the Left-Handers Club formally launched the day in 1992 to celebrate left-handed people.
195. BNHS and the Indian Army have sterilised more than 2,950 free-ranging dogs in Ladakh since 2022 to safeguard the Black-necked Crane. What makes this bird unique among the world's 15 crane species?
Answer: E. It is the sole crane that lives only in alpine habitats, and it is Ladakh's State Bird and IUCN Near Threatened. Dogs preying on its chicks led to the BNHS-Army sterilisation campaign.
196. India's fertiliser subsidy continues to climb even though crops absorb only about what portion of the nutrients applied?
Answer: A. Only around 40% of applied nutrients are taken up, and the remainder pollutes groundwater and air, wastes nutrients and raises the subsidy bill. This shows why nutrient-use efficiency must improve.
197. PM Vishwakarma 2.0 is expected on 17 September, Vishwakarma Jayanti. How many traditional trades does the original 2023 Central Sector scheme from the MSME Ministry cover?
Answer: B. The original scheme supports artisans above 18 years in 18 traditional trades with collateral-free credit, skill training, modern tools and market linkage. The second phase aims to strengthen credit access and markets.
198. PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, begun in February 2024 under MNRE with a target of 1 crore households by March 2027, gives households up to how many free units of electricity each month?
Answer: C. Rooftop solar generation under the scheme can yield up to 300 free units a month. States such as UP, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are adding their own support for households unable to afford installation, to reduce power-subsidy losses.
199. In his 2026 Independence Day speech the PM described "Shakti Ki Saptadhara", seven streams of national strength. Which item listed below is NOT among them?
Answer: D. The seven streams are manufacturing, farming and food processing, technology and innovation, Gati Shakti and connectivity, Raksha Shakti, the green and blue economy, and soft power. Space militarisation does not appear among them.
200. PMJDY completed 12 years, with over 58 crore accounts and deposits near ₹3 lakh crore. On what date was it formally launched, after being announced from the Red Fort on 15 August 2014?
Answer: E. The scheme was announced on 15 August 2014 and began on 28 August 2014. It offers zero-balance accounts, a free RuPay card with accident cover and overdraft up to ₹10,000, forming the first layer of the JAM trinity.
201. Banks mobilised how much under RBI's FCNR(B) swap window, opened on 8 June 2026, before RBI shut it a month early?
Answer: A. Deposits of $52.3 billion by 13 August led to closure on 31 August. Under the swap, banks sell NRI dollars to RBI for rupees and reverse at the same rate, so RBI absorbs the hedging cost.
202. L&T won a ₹10,000-15,000 crore order to build a large AI computing facility at its Chennai data-centre campus for "Together AI". Which GPUs will be installed, 10,000 in number?
Answer: B. The Chennai facility will host 10,000 NVIDIA B300 GPUs for AI training, inference and fine-tuning of models.
203. The NCLT began e-Inspection and e-Certified Copy services as part of which programme?
Answer: C. Case records can now be inspected and certified copies obtained through the NCLT e-Filing portal under e-Courts 2.0, cutting physical visits. The tribunal was set up on 1 June 2016 under the Companies Act, 2013.
204. The White House report "The Great Transshipment Scam" put India in which tier of "China's Shadow Transshipment Network", and for what reason?
Answer: D. India falls in Tier 1 with Mexico, Canada and the EU because their trade with the US is so large that suspect shipments can hide within it, not because of lax enforcement. Tier 2 covers countries closely tied to China, and Tier 3 those with weak customs.
205. India stands fifth in the WIPO ranking for Generative AI patent filings. Which country leads, with more than 70% of GenAI patents in 2024-25?
Answer: E. China holds over 70% of global GenAI patents, ahead of the US at about 10%, Japan at 6.5% and South Korea at 3.7%. India's fifth place, with 2%, is not safe since Germany, the UK, Canada and Switzerland are catching up.
206. BHEL entered a strategic partnership on PEM electrolyser manufacturing in India with "Hystar AS". From which country is this company?
Answer: A. Hystar is Norwegian, and the tie-up on Proton Exchange Membrane electrolysers lets BHEL provide both PEM and alkaline options for the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
207. PM Modi gave his 13th straight Red Fort address on the 80th Independence Day (15 August 2026). Who was the only earlier PM to deliver 13 consecutive speeches?
Answer: B. Modi is the second prime minister after Nehru to make 13 consecutive Independence Day speeches. The celebrations marked 150 years of Vande Mataram, with the theme "Yuva Shakti – Leading the Journey to Viksit Bharat@2047".
208. Which company heads the consortium that IN-SPACe approved for India's first fully commercial Earth Observation satellite constellation under a PPP model?
Answer: C. A PixxelSpace-led group including Dhruva Space, PierSight Space and SatSure Analytics will build 12 satellites using panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral and SAR technology. Investment exceeds ₹1,200 crore, with operations targeted for 2029.
209. How many people were awarded the Shaurya Chakra in the 2026 Independence Day honours?
Answer: D. There were 19 recipients: 11 from the Army, 1 from the Navy, 1 from the Air Force and 6 from the Police or Central Armed Forces. Lance Naik Narender Sindhu of 9 Rashtriya Rifles was honoured posthumously.
210. The Union Government is planning 'Reform Utsav', a three-month citizen-led governance reform campaign. From which date is it likely to begin?
Answer: D. Reform Utsav is expected to start on 2 October 2026. It moves from citizen suggestions through discussion to implementation, with a coordination committee reviewing progress every two weeks.
211. Mahouts of Jaldapara National Park honoured with Gaj Gaurav 2026 rescued six stranded captive elephants. How many wild one-horned rhinos did they also help shift to safety in the floods?
Answer: C. The seven honoured handlers saved six captive elephants and also helped relocate 13 wild one-horned rhinos during severe flooding. They received the awards at World Elephant Day events in Visakhapatnam.
212. Karnataka's Sandhya Kiran Scheme, a contributory cashless health programme under Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka, gives state pensioners under 70 what yearly health cover per family?
Answer: D. The scheme, cleared by the state Cabinet, offers Rs 5 lakh a year per family for secondary, tertiary and emergency care at empanelled hospitals, benefiting about 4.93 lakh people.
213. The CAG pointed to serious shortcomings in the Green India Mission. Under which framework is it one of eight missions?
Answer: A. GIM is a component of the NAPCC, conceived in 2010 and launched in 2014. The audit cited weak funding, poor coordination and monitoring, and missed targets.
214. Under FAST-DS, what must a Category A declarant, holding a foreign asset or income up to Rs 1 crore never previously taxed, pay?
Answer: E. Category A covers foreign assets or income of up to Rs 1 crore that were never offered to tax, and costs an effective 60%. Category B, for already-taxed items up to Rs 5 crore, needs only a Rs 1 lakh fee.
215. SEBI has proposed a colour-coded 'Credit Risk-o-Meter' for debt securities. Into how many visual risk levels would it convert credit ratings such as AAA or BBB-?
Answer: B. The meter would sort ratings into six levels running from lowest credit risk up to high-to-very-high risk of default, helping investors compare easily.
216. The MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 is a response to which 2024 nine-judge Constitution Bench decision, which allowed states to tax mineral rights while saying royalty is not a tax?
Answer: A. After MADA v. SAIL, the Bill seeks a uniform framework led by the Centre. A new Section 9D bars state levies on mineral rights except on conditions the Centre sets, with no refunds of past collections.
217. India and Nepal signed MoUs for eight High Impact Community Development Projects worth NPR 803 million. How widely will they be carried out?
Answer: B. The eight Indian-funded projects, covering education, health, agriculture and digital transformation, will be spread over seven districts in four Nepali provinces.
218. JSW Neo Energy agreed with Bhutan's Druk Green Power Corporation on the 920 MW Punatsangchhu-III hydro project. How is the joint venture's shareholding divided?
Answer: E. The project on Bhutan's Punatsangchhu River will be built on a BOOT basis with DGPC holding 51% and JSW 49%. It is JSW Neo Energy's first power generation venture abroad.
219. Andhra Pradesh and CSIR-NGRI signed a Rs 140 crore pact, entirely funded by NMET, to explore which two critical minerals in the Vempalle area of the Kadapa Basin?
Answer: C. The exploration targets lithium and gallium; earlier studies found up to 1,000 ppm lithium and 250 ppm gallium. The National Mineral Exploration Trust pays the whole cost.
220. The Mahadayi, called the Mandovi in Goa, starts from a group of 30 springs inside which wildlife sanctuary in Belagavi district, Karnataka?
Answer: D. The west-flowing river rises from 30 springs in Bhimgad WLS near Khanapur and reaches the Arabian Sea at Panaji. It runs for about 117 km across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.
221. Which Chennai-based fabless startup designed VIHAAN, India's first indigenous broadband networking System-on-Chip, which worked on the first fabrication attempt?
Answer: A. VIHAAN uses the open RISC-V architecture with C-DAC's VEGA processor and targets FTTH, routers and CPE. It was backed by MeitY's Design Linked Incentive Scheme.
222. N. Chandrasekaran will leave his post as Executive Chairman of Tata Sons when his present term finishes on which date?
Answer: B. Chandrasekaran has led Tata Sons since February 2017 and was reappointed in 2022. Before that he was CEO and MD of TCS from 2009.
223. Major General Sunil Kumar Razdan (Retd.), who died at 70, was the Army's first wheelchair-borne General. Which gallantry award, India's second-highest in peacetime, did he hold?
Answer: C. He earned the Kirti Chakra for leading a hostage-rescue operation against terrorists in J&K in 1994 despite grave injuries. It ranks just below the Ashoka Chakra in peacetime.
224. Which find at Vaishya Tekri helped suggest a Mauryan-period date?
Answer: A. A cast Avanti coin and a punch-marked coin point to the 3rd century BCE.
225. India released its first Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs) at the UNCCD's COP17. In which city was COP17 held?
Answer: A. The UN desertification convention's 17th conference took place in Ulaanbaatar. India's own turn as host came with COP14 in New Delhi in 2019, which produced the Delhi Declaration.
226. On what date was the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) adopted in Paris?
Answer: B. Agenda 21 at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit recommended it, and it was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994, entering into force in December 1996. That date is now the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
227. Under its UNCCD commitments, how much degraded land has India pledged to restore by 2030?
Answer: C. India's pledge of 26 million hectares by 2030 matches the Land Degradation Neutrality goal under SDG 15.3. The SAC-ISRO atlas puts about 30 per cent of the country's land under some degradation.
228. A Centre of Excellence for Eri Silk Weaving, called Ryndia locally, opened in Ri-Bhoi district. Which state is it in?
Answer: D. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma inaugurated it in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya. Eri silk is also called Ahimsa Silk because the moth is not killed during production.
229. The Jal Jeevan Mission marked seven years on 15 August 2026. How much water per person per day is a Functional Household Tap Connection meant to deliver?
Answer: E. The mission works to a norm of 55 litres per person daily through household taps. Begun on 15 August 2019 under the Jal Shakti Ministry, it has reached over 15.91 crore rural households.
230. What Centre-State cost-sharing ratio does the Jal Jeevan Mission use for Himalayan and North-Eastern states?
Answer: A. The Centre pays 90% for Himalayan and North-Eastern states, 100% for Union Territories and half for all other states. Because JJM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, costs are shared with states.
231. The Union Cabinet pushed the Jal Jeevan Mission deadline out from 2024 to which date?
Answer: B. The Cabinet moved the target from 2024 to December 2028. A village earns Har Ghar Jal status only once its Gram Sabha resolves that each household has a working tap with enough water of the required quality.
232. NABARD introduced the RSVC-AMRIT platform for rural innovation. What does AMRIT stand for here?
Answer: C. Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood launched the platform on 15 August 2026. It serves as the digital backbone of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre ecosystem, tracking technologies from discovery to field validation and deployment.
233. In which year was NABARD, India's apex institution for agriculture and rural development finance, set up?
Answer: D. NABARD began in 1982 with its headquarters in Mumbai. SIDBI (1990) and NHB (1988) are younger and are easily mixed up with it.
234. West Bengal officially started Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY on 16 August 2026. How much annual health cover does it give each family?
Answer: E. The scheme covers up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year, with about 2,000 hospitals to be empanelled and all citizens above 70 included. The state also began the Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana for families outside AB-PMJAY.
235. NITI Aayog's 3rd Services Thematic report finds that professional services make up roughly what portion of India's total services exports?
Answer: A. The report, India's Services Sector: Insights on Regulatory Regime in Professional Services, says these services account for nearly a quarter of services exports. Barriers it notes include nationality and residency rules, licensing and recognition of foreign qualifications.
236. RBI's draft guidelines of 6 August 2026 propose limiting NBFCs to which kind of credit product?
Answer: B. The draft would in effect stop NBFCs from giving revolving credit such as overdrafts or credit cards, leaving fixed-amount loans repaid on a schedule. The Finance Industry Development Council warns this could favour banks through regulatory arbitrage.
237. Which bank did RBI fine Rs 59.20 lakh for not following directions on Interest Rate on Deposits and Securitisation of Standard Assets?
Answer: C. An inspection based on the bank's position at 31 March 2025 found it paid interest on some current account deposits against RBI rules and carried out synthetic securitisation of standard assets contrary to guidelines.
238. What total value of projects did MeitY clear for incentives under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS)?
Answer: D. ECMS encourages domestic production of electronic parts that India has mostly imported. Approved projects earn incentives linked to turnover or capex, and several items such as hermetic terminals and metalised capacitor films will be made here for the first time.
239. Where was the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD held, at which India launched its Guide to Grasslands?
Answer: C. COP17 of the UNCCD took place at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
240. The report "Her Harvest 2026: The Hidden Cost of Women's Invisible Work in Indian Agriculture" says women operate what share of India's farmed area?
Answer: B. Published by the grain commerce platform Arya.ag, the report shows women operating only 11.72 per cent of farmed area even though 64.4 per cent of working women are in agriculture. That mismatch between who works the land and who is recorded as operator is its main point.
241. According to Her Harvest 2026, women agricultural workers receive how many rupees for every Rs 100 men earn?
Answer: C. Women's wages for similar work run 20 to 30 per cent below men's, and 50.5 per cent of women farm workers are unpaid helpers compared with 21.7 per cent of men. The report estimates a yearly output loss of Rs 1.2 to 2 lakh crore.
242. Which of these has the United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of?
Answer: D. The UN designation adds weight to the Her Harvest findings. The report urges recognising women as farmers whatever their land ownership, publishing gender-wise credit data and widening collateral-light credit and women-held Kisan Credit Cards.
243. Digital Bharat Nidhi, which signed the Amended BharatNet agreement with Chhattisgarh, used to be known by what earlier name?
Answer: E. The USOF was created by the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 and renamed under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, from 31 August 2024. It is funded by a levy on telecom operators' adjusted gross revenue and pays for infrastructure in remote and tribal areas.
244. The 140-year-old Parichha Weir in Jhansi has been named a World Heritage Irrigation Structure. Which canal system does it feed as its headworks?
Answer: A. The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage gave the recognition to a 2,654-km network that waters 4,28,360 hectares in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Three more Indian structures were chosen too, with awards due in Marseille in October 2026.
245. A new Incentive Scheme for Domestic PNG Connections gives City Gas Distribution companies cheaper domestic APM gas for each extra billed connection above the threshold. How much gas per connection?
Answer: B. Each additional billed connection earns 200 SCM of lower-priced gas, with a separate threshold for each Geographical Area and payment in two tranches over six months. The scheme starts 1 September 2026, and India has about 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections.
246. To what annual amount did Tamil Nadu increase the cover under its Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme?
Answer: C. The cover rose five times, from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, to protect families from the huge costs of serious illness.
247. Public-sector banks have suggested what size of sub-target for climate and transition finance within Priority Sector Lending?
Answer: D. No separate climate or transition sub-target exists inside the 40 per cent of ANBC that banks must lend to priority sectors. The existing ones are 18 per cent for agriculture, 7.5 per cent for micro enterprises and 12 per cent for weaker sections.
248. Which statement best distinguishes transition finance from green finance?
Answer: E. Green finance supports activity that is already clean, whereas transition finance helps hard-to-abate sectors like steel, chemicals, fertilisers and construction cut emissions. India's climate finance taxonomy is still in draft, and the net-zero target is 2070.
249. What was the all-India unemployment rate (Current Weekly Status, age 15 and above) for July 2026, according to the 16th monthly PLFS bulletin?
Answer: A. The National Statistics Office bulletin showed the rate easing to 5.1 per cent from 5.5 per cent in June. The Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 55.4 per cent and the Worker Population Ratio to 52.5 per cent.
250. About what value did India's combined merchandise and services exports reach in July 2026?
Answer: B. Total exports rose 13.31 per cent from USD 70.72 billion a year earlier. Merchandise shipments hit a record USD 44.24 billion and services USD 35.89 billion, while imports of USD 95.16 billion widened the deficit to USD 15.03 billion.
251. Under which scheme did MeitY clear 31 more projects worth Rs 7,877 crore?
Answer: C. With this round, sanctioned projects under the scheme number 106, covering 30 products in 15 states. The new batch spans 20 target products across 10 states, and Ashwini Vaishnaw and Jitin Prasada handed over the approvals.
252. In which city is the headquarters of the BRICS New Development Bank, which Iran is moving to join?
Answer: D. The bank is based in Shanghai. India first proposed a South-South development bank in 2012, the agreement was signed at Fortaleza in 2014, and Dilma Rousseff leads it now, with Uzbekistan its tenth member from 5 June 2026.
253. SEBI barred two entities for placing huge orders and cancelling them within seconds in the Closing Auction Session, a practice called spoofing. Under which SEBI regulations is it prohibited?
Answer: E. The Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices rules ban it. Since the closing price settles derivatives, nudging it can make an option profitable, and SEBI acted against Copthall Mauritius Investment and Mansi Share and Stock Broking.
254. Which platform published the report 'Her Harvest 2026' on women in Indian agriculture?
Answer: B. The report is by grain commerce platform Arya.ag.
255. A National Board has recently been set up for makhana, an aquatic crop. What is its scientific name?
Answer: C. Makhana is a member of the water lily family, and its starchy seeds are dried, roasted and popped into fox nuts. It grows in shallow standing freshwater about 1 to 1.5 metres deep, which suits waterlogged land.
256. Nearly 90 per cent of India's makhana output comes from which state?
Answer: B. Production clusters in Bihar's Mithilanchal and Kosi-Seemanchal belts, including Darbhanga, Madhubani and Purnia. India supplies 85 to 90 per cent of the world's makhana.
257. Alongside the National Makhana Board, the Centre has cleared a scheme for the sector worth how much?
Answer: A. The scheme of Rs 476.03 crore accompanies the Board, which is meant to organise a historically informal chain of cultivation, processing and marketing. The market could reach Rs 11,000 to 12,000 crore by 2029-30.
258. In which year did Mithila Makhana obtain its Geographical Indication tag?
Answer: E. The GI registration went to the Mithilanchal Makhana Utpadak Sangh of Purnia in 2022. GI tags generally belong to a producer body and tie a product to a defined area.
259. The indigenous NIKA2 Kisan Medium Drone from Hyderabad-based AkinAnalytics can carry what spraying payload?
Answer: D. The drone's spraying capacity is 16 litres, while its spreading payload is 12 litres. It offers terrain following, fail-safe systems and night operation, in line with Make in India.
260. The National Commission for Women, which ran the Yashoda AI programme in Jalandhar, gets its statutory basis from which law?
Answer: E. The Act was passed in 1990 and the Commission itself began work in 1992. It is a statutory rather than constitutional body, headquartered in New Delhi.
261. The RBI has permitted LIC to raise its holding in HDFC Bank up to what percentage of paid-up capital or voting rights?
Answer: D. LIC holds about 4.11 per cent now, and the approval only permits it to go up to 9.99 per cent. Any purchase must still follow RBI norms, SEBI rules, FEMA and the Banking Regulation Act.
262. Paul Merchants Finance became India's first NBFC to open dedicated silver loan branches. Under which RBI framework?
Answer: C. The firm started in Chandigarh with loans of Rs 2,000 to Rs 15 lakh against silver jewellery, ornaments and approved coins. The 2025 Directions bring silver collateral into regulated lending.
263. The Competition Commission of India cleared Prudential Corporation Holdings' purchase of what stake in Bharti Life Insurance?
Answer: B. The deal for a 75 per cent stake is valued at about Rs 3,500 crore. Prudential's 22 per cent holding in its ICICI Bank life insurance venture will have to be reduced.
264. The Zonal Councils, whose 31st Southern Zonal Council session met at Mahabalipuram, were created by which law?
Answer: A. Part III of the 1956 Act set up five statutory Councils: Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern. The North-Eastern Council is separate, created in 1971.
265. Which body implements Ayushman Bharat - PM Jan Arogya Yojana, recently introduced in West Bengal?
Answer: E. The NHA, under the Health Ministry, runs the scheme, which started on 23 September 2018. It gives Rs 5 lakh a year per family for secondary and tertiary care.
266. India's core sector growth in July 2026 eased from 6 per cent in June to what rate?
Answer: C. Weaker fertilizer, iron ore and steel output pulled growth down to 5.4 per cent, while crude oil and natural gas kept shrinking. Coal rose 7.6 per cent, an eleven-month best.
267. India Ratings and Research upgraded its FY27 GDP growth forecast for India to:
Answer: B. Ind-Ra lifted its forecast from 6.7 to 6.8 per cent, mainly because it expects lower crude oil prices. It names geopolitical tensions, high inflation and rupee depreciation among the risks.
268. The DGFT amended the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 so exporters can receive rupee payments while keeping export benefits. For contracts with countries outside which grouping does this apply?
Answer: D. For non-ACU countries, contracts and invoices may be in rupees or foreign currency, and rupee receipts through approved banks now qualify for FTP benefits. Exports to Nepal and Bhutan are excluded.
269. What is the scientific name of makhana (fox nut)?
270. The new national deep-sea fishery report deals with the Exclusive Economic Zone. Up to what distance from a country's coast does an EEZ reach?
Answer: C. Within its EEZ a coastal state alone may explore and use marine resources such as fish, minerals and energy, while other countries keep freedom of navigation. The Ministry of Earth Sciences released the report for the Silver Jubilee of the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology.
271. Roughly how large is India's Exclusive Economic Zone?
Answer: D. India's EEZ spans about 2.37 million sq km, which exceeds two-thirds of the country's land area. Surveys covered the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Lakshadweep, the Andaman Sea and the Southern Ocean, and hotspots include Kollam Bank, Angria Bank and the Trivandrum Terrace.
272. At what depth does the oceanic Twilight Zone lie, which the report discusses for moving carbon into the deep ocean?
Answer: E. Creatures such as lanternfish and shrimps in this layer swim up at night to feed and sink by day, carrying carbon downward and helping regulate the climate. The study relied on underwater acoustics, environmental DNA, satellites and AI.
273. Under which ministry does the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), which marked its Silver Jubilee, operate?
Answer: A. Marine scientific research of this type belongs to Earth Sciences, whereas the Fisheries Ministry looks after production and livelihoods. The report maps habitats of tuna, billfish, sharks, squid and Antarctic krill so vulnerable areas can be protected.
274. Which provision gave the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) statutory status?
Answer: B. CARA began in 1990 as an autonomous body under the Women and Child Development Ministry, and the 2015 Act as amended in 2021 gave it legal footing. It is India's Central Authority under the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoption.
275. Where is the IFSC Banking Unit through which IDFC FIRST Bank completed its first USD 500 million bond issue?
Answer: C. The three-year bonds, due in 2029 with a 5.625 per cent fixed coupon and a BBB- Stable rating from S&P, were sold under Regulation S. This was the bank's debut in global debt markets via India's only functioning IFSC.
276. In what capacity were former ISRO Chairman S. Somanath and Anand Mahindra appointed to the RBI Central Board?
Answer: D. Both serve as part-time non-official directors for four years from 20 August 2026. Somanath headed ISRO from January 2022 to January 2025, during which Chandrayaan-3 landed softly near the lunar south pole.
277. In which month and year did SEBI bring in the framework for Online Bond Providers Platforms (OBPPs), for which an advertisement code is now proposed?
Answer: E. The framework asks such platforms to register as stock brokers in the debt segment of a recognised exchange. They split bonds into small units on an app, opening a market once dominated by large institutional lots to small investors.
278. What outlay does the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) notified by MeitY carry?
Answer: A. The Cabinet approved this five-year scheme on 15 July, and it lasts to 2030-31, replacing the 2020-FY26 PLI scheme for large-scale electronics. It aims at deeper domestic value addition and offers design and R&D support to Indian-owned handset brands.
279. What was the value of the loan India and the Asian Development Bank signed for the Chennai Climate-Resilient Water Security and Sewerage Project?
Answer: B. The loan will modernise and extend water supply and sanitation in Chennai while improving climate resilience and public health. It aims for a financially sustainable urban water system and ties in with AMRUT 2.0 and the Urban Challenge Fund.
280. Wizzmoni Financial Services launched a multi-currency travel card with Oman Air. Under which RBI-authorised dealer category does it operate?
Answer: C. The Wizz Voyager card is a prepaid Visa instrument that supports more than 35 currencies for students, professionals and tourists. FEMA's dealer categories set which foreign exchange transactions an entity may carry out.
281. At which location did the Union Cabinet approve a permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh?
Answer: D. Ladakh will be the common High Court's third location after Jammu and Srinagar. Residents of far-off Leh and Kargil, who now travel long distances for hearings, should gain easier access to justice.
282. Material for World Senior Citizen's Day 2026 projects India to have more than how many senior citizens by 2050?
Answer: E. The global 60-plus population is expected to touch 2.1 billion by 2050. World Senior Citizen's Day falls on 21 August after a 1988 proclamation by US President Ronald Reagan, whereas the UN marks 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons.
283. Which propellant combination powers the Zhuque-3 Y2 reusable launch vehicle, whose first stage soft-landed in Gansu Province?
Answer: A. The Beijing-based private company LandSpace built this methalox vehicle with a stainless-steel frame, and it recovers the booster through vertical landing. Reusing the costly first stage lowers launch prices and supports large low Earth orbit constellations.
284. An Exclusive Economic Zone extends up to how many nautical miles from the coast?
Answer: B. The notes state an EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles.
285. The Rural Development Ministry's National Campaign on Entrepreneurship-II is carried out under which programme?
Answer: C. The mission mobilises poor rural women in self-help groups, and the campaign taps that network. Its three-month window is 21 August to 21 November 2026.
286. How many SHG women is the National Campaign on Entrepreneurship-II meant to train?
Answer: E. The campaign plans to train 5 lakh SHG women and formalise 50,000 enterprises. It feeds the larger goal of creating 6 crore Lakhpati Didis.
287. A forest and pastoral economy worth roughly what amount is the target of ISB-BIPP's five-year agreement with Himachal Pradesh's forest authorities?
Answer: D. The partnership views forests as an economic asset, with resources such as amla, pine needles, wild mangoes, sal seeds and rhododendron flowers. Removing pine needles also lowers forest-fire risk.
288. Which reserve forest hosts Aaranyak's effort to recover elephant habitat by weeding out invasive exotic species?
Answer: D. Khalingduar is in the Dhansiri Forest Division of the Bodoland Territorial Region along the Assam-Bhutan border. The weeds targeted are Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha.
289. Through which process is biochar made from the cleared invasive biomass in the Assam project?
Answer: B. In pyrolysis, organic matter is heated with little or no oxygen, so its carbon stays in a stable solid instead of escaping as carbon dioxide. This is why biochar counts as carbon sequestration.
290. Women's labour force participation in rural India, 33 per cent earlier, reached what figure in PLFS 2025?
Answer: C. The rural recovery far outpaced the urban one, where the figure moved just from 23.3 to 27.7 per cent. Part of the rural gain is own-account and unpaid family work in farming.
291. Taking all women above 15 years, FLFPR stood at 30 per cent in 2019-20. What was the 2025 figure?
Answer: E. FLFPR is the share of working-age women who are employed or looking for work, so those doing only unpaid housework are outside it. The rate rose to 40 per cent in 2025.
292. Four insurers exceeded their Expense of Management limits for 2024-25. What was the length of IRDAI's ban on them opening new business locations?
Answer: A. The restriction lasted six months and covered Edelweiss Life, Pramerica Life, ACKO General and Niva Bupa Health. Expense of Management is capped as a share of premium.
293. SEBI's study found retail equity derivatives traders lost how much in total in FY26?
Answer: C. Retail derivatives traders lost Rs 91,685 crore in FY26, and options made up about 92 per cent of that. Unique investors dropped to 8.75 million, the first fall in ten years.
294. The pension scheme for construction workers proposed under EPFO 3.0 would use surplus money collected through which cess?
Answer: D. BoCW cess is levied on construction project costs and sits in state welfare boards, often unspent. Redirecting the surplus would fund a contributory pension for a largely informal workforce.
295. Which bank partnered Razorpay on its new multi-currency EEFC settlement offering for exporters?
Answer: E. An EEFC account lets exporters keep receipts in foreign currency rather than converting at once. The facility supports USD, EUR, GBP, AED and SGD.
296. A NielsenIQ and World Data Lab study defines affluent consumers as people whose daily spending exceeds what amount?
Answer: A. Core consumers spend 13 to 90 dollars daily, and affluence starts above that. India is projected to have 10.8 crore affluent consumers by 2036, slightly ahead of China.
297. The Chennai Climate-Resilient Water Security and Sewerage Project is backed by an ADB loan agreement with India. How large is the loan?
Answer: B. The 230 million dollar loan funds a ring-main water supply system for Chennai and wastewater upgrades. ADB, based in Manila, has Masato Kanda as President.
298. The DGFT's relaxation letting exporters invoice overseas deals in Indian rupees specifically leaves out which countries?
Answer: E. Trade with Nepal and Bhutan is already usually settled in rupees, so FTP incentives there would reward deals that bring no extra foreign exchange. Elsewhere, eligible rupee receipts can count toward FTP benefits.
299. Which grouping launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)?
300. Under which Seventh Schedule entry do cooperative societies working within a single State come?
Answer: D. Cooperation is a State subject, and the Union has authority only over multi-state societies via Entry 43 of the Union List. This split is why the Samyukt Kisan Morcha called the NCDC (Amendment) Act, 2026 an attack on States' federal rights.
301. The NCDC (Amendment) Act, 2026 changes the original National Co-operative Development Corporation Act of which year?
Answer: E. Parliament cleared the amendment on 12 August 2026 and the President assented on 14 August. NCDC may now lend to and hold shares in entities that help build the cooperative sector, and may share credit information with the Centre, RBI and banks.
302. What outlay has been sanctioned for the Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana?
Answer: A. The Cabinet cleared the MNRE scheme on 31 July 2026 for spending from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. It aims at 5,000 MW of floating solar paired with 10,000 MWh of batteries, because solar peaks at noon while demand peaks in the evening.
303. How much battery energy storage is to be combined with the floating solar capacity planned under PM-SSY?
Answer: B. Floating panels sit on platforms anchored in reservoirs, dams, lakes and ponds, and the plan pairs them with 10,000 MWh of storage. Being land-neutral, they avoid land acquisition disputes and can use existing hydropower transmission lines.
304. By roughly how much can water cooling raise the output of floating solar panels?
Answer: C. Solar cells lose efficiency when hot, so the cooler air above water lifts generation compared with a similar land array. The panels in turn shade the water, reducing evaporation and algae growth.
305. India's first Soil Texture Map was created by NBSS&LUP. In which city is this institute headquartered?
Answer: D. The ICAR institute, set up in 1976 and led by Dr N.G. Patil, announced the map at its 50th Foundation Day. The July 2026 map offers hectare-level data by combining surveys, remote sensing and satellite images with AI.
306. What does soil texture describe?
Answer: E. Texture is a physical trait set by particle sizes, and it controls water retention, drainage, aeration and crop suitability. It differs from fertility, and since a field's texture hardly changes, a map of it stays useful for planning.
307. In regenerative agriculture, which on-farm bio-input is a botanical extract made from ten leaves and used against pests?
Answer: A. Dashparni is the ten-leaf pest-control extract, while Beejamrut treats seeds, Jeevamrut is a liquid microbial culture with GhanJeevamrut its solid form, and Neemastra is neem-based. Regenerative farming aims to rebuild soil fertility and biodiversity rather than just sustain them.
308. What share of the FY27 fertiliser subsidy budget had been spent by 19 August 2026?
Answer: B. Rs 99,128.70 crore went out in under five months, pushed by higher global urea prices tied to the West Asia conflict. India imports much of its urea and potash, and farmers' urea price is fixed administratively, so price shocks hit the subsidy bill.
309. The tightened quality norms require E20 petrol to keep chloride contamination below what level?
Answer: C. E20 is petrol with 20 per cent ethanol, and oil marketing companies are being made responsible for fuel quality. Ethanol absorbs water and chloride speeds corrosion of fuel-system parts, so strict limits matter for acceptance of higher blends.
310. The ILO-NCAER policy brief says India's platform workers numbered 7.7 million in 2020. How many were there in 2024-25?
Answer: D. The count reached 12 million, and the brief projects 23.5 million by 2029-30. Women are scarce, at under 1 per cent of urban two-wheeler delivery drivers, and 52 per cent of women versus 40 per cent of men say they lack the capital to join.
311. According to the same brief, what portion of outstanding individual bank credit did women hold as of March 2023?
Answer: E. Women now match men in account ownership, 89 per cent against 88 per cent in 2024, but owning an account is not the same as using it. Only 25.2 per cent of women can bank online, versus 47.1 per cent of men.
312. On how many parameters will SEBI's new Information Technology Resilience Index assess market infrastructure institutions?
Answer: A. The index looks at availability, security, integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, business continuity, modularity and flexibility, scalability and other factors. Exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations must also set up an Early Warning System to spot deterioration early.
313. Under which provision of the RBI Act, 1934 were the three new part-time directors on the RBI Central Board appointed?
Answer: B. Annie George Mathew, Janmejaya Kumar Sinha and Syed Akbaruddin start four-year terms on 24 August 2026. Section 8 fixes the Board's makeup, and clause (c) covers directors the Central Government nominates from various fields.
314. An Se-young won the 2026 women's singles final against which opponent?
Answer: E. She beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 for her second world title.
315. India's first non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed was created in association with which ICAR institute?
Answer: A. Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan launched the hybrid at Musunuru in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh. Non-GMO here means conventional breeding, with no foreign genes inserted, and it reduces reliance on imported popcorn seed technology.
316. What measure is used to judge high expansion in popcorn maize?
Answer: B. Processors sell popcorn by volume, so a higher expansion ratio gives more product from the same grain. This sets popcorn maize apart from ordinary maize grown for feed or starch.
317. NBAGR has newly registered Periyar Kullan, which is Kerala's second indigenous cattle breed after which one?
Answer: C. ICAR-NBAGR at Karnal keeps the official record of animal genetic resources. Vechur is the smallest cattle breed in the world at about 130 kg, whereas Periyar Kullan weighs 150 to 200 kg.
318. Under which rearing system are Periyar Kullan cattle mostly kept?
Answer: E. These cattle graze mixed vegetation in rubber and spice plantations and forest edges with little human management, mainly in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. Locally they are also known as Kuttampuzha cattle and Andukanni.
319. A ban has been proposed on carbosulfan. To which insecticide class does it belong?
Answer: A. Carbosulfan is a carbamate that blocks acetylcholinesterase and disrupts nerve signals, and no antidote is known for accidental exposure. The ban would be made under the Insecticides Act, 1968.
320. The RBI's August Bulletin reports the southwest monsoon rainfall deficit easing from minus 35.4 per cent at the end of June to what level at the end of July?
Answer: D. The July-end shortfall was minus 13 per cent, and by 24 August it had narrowed to about minus 1 per cent. A weak monsoon matters to the RBI because of its effect on food inflation and rural demand.
321. The RBI August Bulletin shows the kharif sowing deficit improving from minus 22 per cent to what figure?
Answer: B. Sowing came to within about 3 per cent of normal, lowering the risk of a kharif output shortfall. Final yields still depend on how rain is spread through the grain-filling stage.
322. The Garbhini Mitra course started by the All India Institute of Ayurveda comes under which ministry?
Answer: C. AIIA, New Delhi, is an autonomous institution under Ayush and will begin the six-month offline course in 2026-27. It trains non-clinical support staff who guide pregnant women and refer them to doctors.
323. Odisha's Bidesh Sikhyabruti scheme can give selected SC/ST students support of up to how much each year?
Answer: E. Fifty students are chosen every year, and only universities in the QS top 200 qualify. The scheme falls under the Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chhatra Protsahan Yojana.
324. NITI Aayog's report 'Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047' found how many young people aged 15 to 29 to be outside education, employment and training?
Answer: A. The report counts 8.7 crore youth as NEET and notes that just 8.25 per cent of graduates work in jobs that match their qualifications. Few secondary schools offer vocational subjects.
325. PNGRB cleared about 1,800 km of new LPG pipelines. To what length will this lift the common-carrier network from roughly 7,700 km?
Answer: D. The additions across six states, costing around Rs 7,000 crore, include the Cherlapally-Nagpur, Jhansi-Sitarganj and Shikrapur-Goa-Hubli lines. Under common-carrier status, third-party marketers may book capacity.
326. UPI marked ten years on 25 August 2026. Roughly what portion of India's digital payments did it handle in FY26?
Answer: A. UPI carried about 84 per cent of digital payments in FY26. Its yearly volume grew from 1.78 crore transactions in FY17 to over 24,162 crore in FY26.
327. In the Citigroup and Axis Bank tie-up to attract NRI FCNR investments, which instrument will Axis Bank issue?
Answer: C. Citigroup supplies the funding through its offshore arms, and the SBLC from Axis Bank backs that lending. Higher FCNR inflows add directly to foreign exchange reserves.
328. IRCC data show how many Indians became Canadian permanent residents in the first half of 2026?
Answer: D. That is close to one in four of the 1.8 lakh permanent residents Canada admitted, well ahead of the Philippines (13,475) and China (9,630). India's share has still slipped from about 30 per cent in 2023.
329. Who launched India's first non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed?
Answer: A. Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan launched it.
330. In which blocks is Mission Samriddh Gaon, started by the Ministry of Rural Development, being piloted?
Answer: E. Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the mission at Krishi Bhawan as a framework for integrated rural change with livelihood saturation, covering every eligible household in an area. One aim is to stop distress migration from villages to cities.
331. Which one of these is among the five key features of Mission Samriddh Gaon?
Answer: A. The mission is multi-sector, bringing together agriculture, health, education, skilling and infrastructure, and farming systems spread income so a single crop failure does not ruin a household. Its other features include family-level saturation, convergence, the Lakhpati Didi model and rural warehouses and cold chains.
332. The e-Shram Portal completed five years on 26 August 2026. What identifier does it give each registered worker?
Answer: B. e-Shram, begun on 26 August 2021 under the Labour Ministry, is India's first Aadhaar-verified database of unorganised workers. The portable number lets migrants keep their entitlements across States, and fifteen schemes are now linked to it.
333. Who can register on the e-Shram Portal?
Answer: C. EPFO and ESIC members are left out because they already have formal social security. The portal aims at farm labourers, domestic helpers, construction workers, street vendors and gig and platform workers.
334. PM-SYM is one of the schemes converged on e-Shram. What assured monthly pension does it give after age 60?
Answer: D. PM-SYM guarantees Rs 3,000 a month after 60. The bundle also has PMJJBY with Rs 2 lakh life cover and PMSBY with up to Rs 2 lakh for accidental death or permanent disability.
335. Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary reported India's notable first sighting of the Smew. In which district does it lie?
Answer: E. The 70.13 sq km sanctuary lies on the Brahmaputra's southern bank in Nagaon and is a notified buffer of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve. The Smew is a migratory diving duck of northern Europe and Asia, so this record is unusual.
336. India's mushroom output rose from 51,000 tonnes in 2015 to nearly what amount in 2024?
Answer: A. This reflects a compound annual growth rate of 23.76 per cent and makes India the third-largest producer, although it holds only about 0.7 per cent of world output. Bihar is rising as a hub, but short shelf life and weak market links still hold the sector back.
337. The Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution against uranium mining. Uranium-bearing areas in which district are mainly concerned?
Answer: B. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma moved the resolution, which opposes both mining and ore-processing plants in the State after concerns from the Khasi Students' Union and communities. Much of Meghalaya's land is community-owned, so local consent matters greatly.
338. What were India's gross foreign direct investment inflows in April-June 2026, the highest in at least 15 years?
Answer: C. Gross inflows of 30.7 billion dollars less outflows of 22.8 billion dollars left net FDI of 7.8 billion dollars, the best since June 2022. The gap arises because repatriation and disinvestment offset new investment.
339. Which statement correctly sets FDI apart from FPI?
Answer: D. A Japanese carmaker setting up or buying into an Indian factory is making FDI, but buying listed Indian shares purely for returns is FPI. Portfolio money can leave within days, while direct investment is tied up in physical assets.
340. In what way does an incremental cash reserve ratio differ from the ordinary CRR?
Answer: E. If deposits grow from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,200 crore and iCRR is 10 per cent, the bank must keep Rs 20 crore more with RBI. It soaks up only recent surplus instead of hitting existing books, and may be tried before a repo hike.
341. Which two parameters in SEBI's IT Resilience Index for market infrastructure institutions get the top weight of 20 per cent each?
Answer: A. Business continuity and reliability get 10 per cent each and scalability 5 per cent, with the rest of the nine parameters sharing the balance. The index tests whether trading, clearing and depository systems can withstand cyberattacks, glitches and volume surges.
342. PPPAC gave in-principle approval to privatise 11 airports. What proportion of AAI employees must concessionaires keep for up to three years?
Answer: B. The airports will be bid out in five bundles on a 50-year concession, drawing around Rs 8,622 crore of private investment. Pairing strong airports with weak ones helps loss-making regional airports find bidders, and the retention clause eases staff transition.
343. On what date was the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which has completed 12 years, launched?
Answer: C. PMJDY was designed as a financial inclusion mission covering accounts, credit, insurance, pension and remittances. Its lasting effect was creating the bank accounts on which direct benefit transfers and digital payments later rested.
344. Which ministry is the nodal ministry for Mission Samriddh Gaon?
Answer: B. The mission falls under the Ministry of Rural Development.
345. Which Union Ministry is behind DAANVEER, a scheme through which citizens, CSR bodies and overseas Indians can gift desktop computers to verified Gram Panchayats?
Answer: A. DAANVEER is the Panchayati Raj Ministry's people-led computer crowdsourcing effort for Panchayats without IT hardware. It supplements funding under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
346. In DAANVEER, a donor picks a verified Panchayat on one app and then buys through an ONDC-linked marketplace. Which two?
Answer: C. The donor chooses a state-verified Panchayat on the Meri Panchayat App and is sent to DigiHaat with details filled in. After the Panchayat Secretary confirms delivery, the donor receives a Certificate of Appreciation.
347. NABARD signed an MoU with NaBFID on rural infrastructure and PPP financing. Which description of NaBFID is accurate?
Answer: D. NaBFID is India's development finance institution for infrastructure, established by its own 2021 Act and based in Mumbai. The pact aims to bring long-term finance to rural infrastructure such as irrigation, cold chains and rural roads.
348. Banas Dairy and Suzuki Motor Corporation teamed up with which third organisation for the Banas Bio-CNG Model Plant in Banaskantha, Gujarat?
Answer: B. NDDB is the third partner in the plant at Vinchhivadi, which turns 100 tonnes of cattle dung a day into clean fuel and organic fertiliser by anaerobic digestion.
349. Sugar allocation turns fortnightly from September. Of the allocation, what is the smallest share mills are obliged to sell during week one?
Answer: B. Week one must see no less than 40 per cent of a mill's quantity sold, the balance following in week two, with dispatch inside a week. The switch from monthly quotas is aimed at steadier prices.
350. The restructured PM SVANidhi turned a year old on 27 August 2026. Its extended validity runs till which date?
Answer: E. The scheme now runs until 31 March 2030. It keeps giving collateral-free working-capital loans with a 7 per cent interest subsidy for timely repayment, helping vendors build a credit history.
351. While cautioning about slippage in public finances, S&P left its India outlook stable. What fiscal deficit has the Centre targeted for FY27?
Answer: C. The FY27 target is 4.3 per cent of GDP. S&P sees the Centre's deficit at 3.9 per cent by FY30, while the combined Centre and states deficit is put at 7.3 per cent in FY27.
352. As PMJDY reaches its 12th year, identify the claim about it that is false.
Answer: D. Responsibility for PMJDY lies with the Finance Ministry's Department of Financial Services rather than Rural Development. Direct benefit transfers connect to it via the JAM trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile.
353. Banks may now tap the RBI's concessional dollar-rupee swap facility beyond their set weekly slot for FCNR(B) deals larger than what size?
Answer: A. Large FCNR(B) inflows above USD 100 million no longer have to wait for a bank's allotted day. Same-day use of the window shortens the delay before such deposits reach the RBI.
354. India's crude imports from Russia in August 2026 are put at about 2.1 million barrels a day. What share of total Indian crude imports does Russia still supply?
Answer: A. Russia remains India's biggest crude supplier with over 40 per cent of imports. August volumes were below the record 2.6 million bpd of June and July because of refinery maintenance, lower Russian availability and stronger Chinese buying.
355. In the debate on climate-proofing India's food system, what does the pillar of 'diversified procurement' mainly mean?
Answer: C. Diversified procurement is one of five pillars that aim to move away from monoculture towards food and nutrition security. The others cover a diversified PDS, climate-proof storage, weather-based planning and sustainable farming.
356. The world's first Drought Resilience Index and Drought Resilience Investment Facility were launched at which international forum?
Answer: D. The new architecture, unveiled at UNCCD COP17, is meant to shift countries from reacting to crises to preparing for them. The DRI measures a country's capacity to withstand drought, and the DRIF mobilises private and institutional finance.
357. To which plant family does Ammannia telanganensis, a freshwater flowering species newly reported from Telangana, belong?
Answer: B. This annual semi-aquatic herb belongs to the loosestrife family, Lythraceae, and was described in the journal Phytotaxa. It grows in wet sandy soils beside seasonal streams and was found in Rangareddy district and the Amrabad Tiger Reserve.
358. In 2026 R. Praggnanandhaa made history as India's first Grand Chess Tour Finals champion. Which player was his opponent in the title match?
Answer: E. He defeated Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the final at the Saint Louis Chess Club. As the first Indian Grand Chess Tour champion, he took home a prize of USD 200,000.
359. What does GLOF stand for in the context of Himalayan hazards?
Answer: A. GLOF means Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.
360. Which description fits the Integrated Fertilizer Management System (iFMS) that has been in the news?
Answer: A. iFMS is a government web portal that follows fertilizer from makers and importers through wholesalers and retailers to the farmer. Linking sales to farmer, land and crop records helps spot supply gaps and odd buying early, curbing diversion and black marketing.
361. Regarding the shift of MGNREGA workers to VB-G RAM G, which statement is accurate?
Answer: B. Every worker registered under MGNREGA has been moved over, even where e-KYC is still pending. The move shapes beneficiary identification, wage payment and digital records for the country's biggest rural wage programme.
362. India's forex reserves hit a record in the week ended 21 August 2026. What level was reported?
Answer: C. Reserves touched USD 729.3 billion, enough to cover roughly 11 months of imports. Such a cushion strengthens external resilience and lets the RBI smooth currency swings.
363. About how much was added to India's forex reserves after the RBI's swap scheme announced on 5 June?
Answer: D. Roughly USD 47 billion came in after the scheme, in which banks sell dollars to the central bank for rupees for a fixed period. This helped lift reserves to the record USD 729.3 billion.
364. Approximately what was India's current account deficit in 2025-26?
Answer: E. The deficit was about 0.6 per cent of GDP. The current account covers trade in goods and services, primary income and transfers like remittances, and a small gap means modest external financing needs and less pressure on the rupee.
365. Which ministry runs the PARIVARTAN Scheme and which agency funds it?
Answer: A. The Road Transport Ministry implements it with money from the NCR Planning Board, which sits under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. It is a scrappage and fleet renewal programme replacing pre-BS-IV and BS-IV trucks and buses with BS-VI or electric ones.
366. How many old, high-emission commercial trucks and buses does the PARIVARTAN Scheme intend to retire and replace across the NCR?
Answer: B. The target is more than 2 lakh older commercial vehicles in the National Capital Region, to reduce vehicular pollution. So far it has over 1,300 beneficiaries, 42 lending banks and NBFCs and 15 automobile OEMs on board.
367. India and Canada pledged to wrap up CEPA talks by the end of 2026. What bilateral trade goal did they set for 2030?
Answer: C. Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement they want trade to reach about CAD 70 billion by 2030. They also agreed to start Bilateral Investment Treaty talks and to cooperate on UPI payments, fintech and critical minerals.
368. NITI Aayog's report on Ease of Doing R&D in India says almost 80 per cent of ANRF funding goes to which group of institutions?
Answer: D. The report points out that nearly 80 per cent of Anusandhan National Research Foundation money is concentrated in the IITs, indicating a narrow research base. It also notes there is no standard system to track who gets R&D funds and proposes a Unified Project Management System.
369. A Neelakurinji-like bloom was seen in the Kudremukh hills. To which family does Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) belong, and under which Schedule of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 was it protected in 2024?
Answer: E. The plant is in the family Acanthaceae and joined Schedule III of the Act in 2024. It flowers once every 12 years in Western Ghats shola grasslands, and the Munnar region last saw a major bloom in 2018.
370. The rare bloom was reported from Kudremukh in Karnataka. Which set of rivers originates in this region?
Answer: A. Kudremukh, in Chikkamagaluru district, gives rise to the Tunga, Bhadra and Nethravathi. Its national park is the second largest protected area of tropical wet evergreen forest in the Western Ghats, and the name means horse face in Kannada.
371. For vulture conservation in India, which veterinary drug was banned in 2006 and which one is its recognised safe alternative?
Answer: B. The ban in 2006 covered veterinary diclofenac, with meloxicam as the safe replacement. A Journal of Threatened Taxa study also found that moving a carcass dump near Dehradun 2.4 km away from high-tension lines may have saved vultures from electrocution.
372. Gangaichthys indonepalicus was found in West Champaran district of Bihar near the Nepal border. Why is it notable?
Answer: C. It is a newly described groundwater-dwelling fish and the first of its kind recorded in the Indo-Gangetic Basin. Such fishes are rare and serve as indicators of aquifer health.
373. The International Day Against Nuclear Tests, held on 29 August, recalls the closure of which nuclear test site?
Answer: D. The UN General Assembly set the day through Resolution A/RES/64/35 in 2009, marking the 1991 shutdown of the Semipalatinsk test site. It is used to raise awareness of testing's human and environmental harm and press for a test ban treaty.
374. Which mineral resource was a key focus of the India-Uzbekistan talks on long-term supply?
Answer: D. The two sides are close to a long-term uranium supply contract for India's civil nuclear programme.