1. The pension scheme aimed specifically at below-poverty-line people aged 65 and above is:
Answer: D. Launched in 1995, IGNOAPS gives direct income support to BPL senior citizens of 65 and over and forms part of the country's social assistance network.
2. What key governance change is proposed in the draft Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill, 2025?
Answer: A. The draft would repeal the 1959 Act and turn ISI from a registered society into a statutory body corporate governed by a Board in which government nominees predominate.
3. What share of elderly Indians cannot use the internet, which hinders digital pension reforms?
Answer: B. Because 63% of older people cannot go online, schemes such as NPS, APY and e-SHRAM are hard for them to reach.
4. By roughly how much had the rupee depreciated since April 2025 when it crossed ₹90 per US dollar?
Answer: E. The currency closed at ₹90.19 after sliding 5.5% from April 2025, pressured by tariffs, capital outflows and commodity prices.
5. Which measure did the RBI announce in its December 2025 monetary policy?
Answer: C. The MPC lowered the repo rate by 25 bps, taking the cumulative easing to 125 bps, and also announced ₹1 trillion of OMOs and a $5B swap.
6. Raajmarg Infra InvIT (RIIT) exists mainly to do what?
Answer: E. It is meant to be a transparent investment vehicle, working within Sebi's InvIT framework, for monetising highway assets.
7. Which ecosystem is described as more climate-resilient because it stores carbon underground?
Answer: B. India's grasslands lock carbon steadily below ground in deep roots, and they withstand fire and drought better.
8. Grassland restoration under which initiative lifted soil organic carbon by as much as 50% within three years?
Answer: A. Research at Malshiras and Banni Grasslands found that restoration financed through CAMPA raised SOC by 21% after two years and 50% after three.
9. ICAR has asked universities to begin courses chiefly in which area?
Answer: C. It wants every agricultural university to offer UG and PG programmes and research in natural farming, for sustainability and soil health.
10. What chiefly caused the delay in rolling out e-NAM 2.0 in Rajasthan?
Answer: D. Rajasthan struggled to transfer records of 1.6M farmers and 150k traders, so trading temporarily reverted to manual methods.
11. The Candidates 2026 is scheduled to begin on which date?
Answer: B. It runs from 28 March to 16 April 2026 in Cyprus.
12. Maharashtra's state target for solar agricultural pumps is how many?
Answer: A. Over 7.47 lakh pumps have been installed so far against a target of 10.45 lakh.
13. A country's trade surplus arises when which condition holds?
Answer: B. A trade surplus means the value of exports is greater than imports, as in China's USD 1 trillion-plus surplus.
14. In Hachinohe, what was the maximum shindo intensity recorded in the 8 December 2025 earthquake?
Answer: D. The maximum shindo intensity was upper 6, recorded in Hachinohe.
15. The Army Service Corps is best described as which part of the Indian Army?
Answer: C. It is the oldest logistics branch of the Indian Army.