1. What does Operation Hawkeye, which has been in the news, involve?
Answer: E. US CENTCOM began it in December 2025, carrying out air and precision strikes against ISIS targets inside Syria.
2. A state that uses force with neither UN Security Council authorisation nor a self-defence claim mainly breaches which principle?
Answer: A. Article 2(4) bars threatening or using force against any state's sovereignty or territorial integrity, except with UNSC approval or under self-defence per Article 51.
3. How is Indusfood 2026, inaugurated in January 2026, best characterised?
Answer: D. It is a major international F&B sourcing exhibition in Asia, run by TPCI under the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
4. Where did the Indian Army hold 'Sanjha Shakti', the very first Military–Civil Fusion exercise?
Answer: B. The opening MCF exercise took place in January 2026 at Diggi Range in Pune and drew in 16 civilian agencies along with the Army.
5. Which regulators would the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 replace?
Answer: D. The Bill sets up one apex body, VBSA, to take the place of several regulators such as UGC, AICTE and NCTE and simplify higher education governance.
6. Which index is used to measure retail inflation in India?
Answer: A. MoSPI publishes the CPI each month, and RBI relies on it when taking monetary policy decisions.
7. Under RBI's Scale-Based Regulation framework, NBFCs that pose extreme systemic risk could be moved into which layer?
Answer: E. The Top Layer is normally kept empty and is meant only for NBFCs of extreme systemic risk, which would face very tight regulation.
8. What does PhonePe PG Bolt use to improve digital payments?
Answer: B. It tokenises Visa and Mastercard cards once on the device, so users can pay in one click in the app without typing the CVV repeatedly.
9. What does the SBI report give as the ideal Credit–Deposit ratio for public and private sector banks?
Answer: C. The report finds that CD ratios beyond 80% hurt profitability and squeeze liquidity, so 76–80% is the best range.
10. What makes Bamanwas Kankar panchayat noteworthy?
Answer: E. Located in Kotputli–Behror district, it won official certification as fully organic and prohibits chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
11. Operation Hawkeye is a US-led counter-terrorism operation against which group in Syria?
Answer: B. It targets the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
12. Which UN Charter article prohibits the threat or use of force against a state's sovereignty?
Answer: A. Article 2(4) bars the threat or use of force.
13. Which country leads the Pax Silica initiative that India is likely to be invited to?
Answer: D. Pax Silica is a US-led multilateral initiative.
14. Which organisation organised Indusfood 2026 in Greater Noida?
Answer: C. TPCI organised the show, under the Commerce Ministry.
15. Where was the 3rd Indian Lighthouse Festival (ILF 3.0) held?
Answer: B. It was held at MGM Park, Visakhapatnam.