1. Union Budget 2026–27's manufacturing strategy moves the country away from which model and toward which one?
Answer: E. The Budget turns attention from simple assembly work toward deep manufacturing, stressing technological depth, resilient supply chains and global competitiveness.
2. Among the seven strategic manufacturing sectors named in Budget 2026–27, one of the following is missing. Which one?
Answer: A. The seven named sectors are Biopharma, Semiconductors, Electronics Components, Rare Earths, Chemicals, Capital Goods & Containers, and Textiles & Sports Goods; renewable energy equipment is not one of them.
3. What outlay has been set aside for the Biopharma SHAKTI initiative?
Answer: D. This flagship programme gets ₹10,000 crore across five years to build up biologics, biosimilars and regulatory capacity.
4. Which of these is a central focus of ISM 2.0?
Answer: B. The second phase of the mission aims at domestic strength in equipment, materials, intellectual property and supply-chain resilience, going beyond mere chip assembly.
5. Pick the coastal state matched correctly with its rare earth advantage.
Answer: C. Chavara in Kerala has long been mined for monazite-bearing beach sand minerals and serves as an anchor for the Rare Earth Corridors.
6. Which pair of approaches does the Budget's livestock strategy stress?
Answer: C. The plan aims to blanket the country with veterinary services and make livestock value chains more professional, lifting productivity and farm incomes.
7. Deep-sea fishing operations gain directly from which export reform?
Answer: D. Making fish from India's EEZ and the high seas duty-free encourages deep-sea fishing and improves export competitiveness.
8. With which national policy goal does the Northeast Buddhist Circuit initiative fit most closely?
Answer: B. The circuit promotes cultural diplomacy, regional development and links with Southeast Asia, which matches the thrust of the Act East Policy.
9. What is the new cut-off date for filing revised or belated returns under the New Income Tax Act, 2025?
Answer: E. The window has been stretched from 31 December to 31 March, which should prompt voluntary corrections and cut down on disputes.
10. For which downstream use is the Rare Earth Corridor initiative most vital?
Answer: A. Elements like Neodymium and Praseodymium are indispensable for permanent magnets found in EVs, wind turbines, missiles, radars and aerospace equipment.
11. Which artist won Best New Artist at the 68th Grammy Awards, held at Crypto.com Arena on 1 February 2026?
Answer: D. Olivia Dean won Best New Artist. Bad Bunny took Album of the Year, and Kendrick Lamar and SZA took Record of the Year.
12. India became a contracting party to the Ramsar Convention in which year?
Answer: C. India acceded on 1 February 1982; the convention itself was signed in 1971 at Ramsar, Iran.
13. The Union Budget 2026-27 pegs the FY27 budget-estimate fiscal deficit at what share of GDP?
Answer: E. The FY27 BE fiscal deficit is 4.3% of GDP, while the FY26 revised estimate is 4.4%.
14. By December 2025, ten semiconductor projects with total investment of what amount had been approved across six states?
Answer: B. Ten projects with ₹1.60 lakh crore of investment had been approved by December 2025.
15. By how many percentage points did the Budget raise STT on futures, moving it from 0.02% to 0.05%?
Answer: E. 0.05% minus 0.02% is 0.03 percentage points.