1. In which state does the Kadbanwadi grassland, where Indian Grey Wolves are declining sharply, lie?
Answer: B. The grassland sits in Indapur tehsil of Pune district, where feral dogs and Canine Distemper Virus are driving an ecological crisis that is cutting grey wolf numbers.
2. Kerala's 'Vruthi' campaign is chiefly aimed at changing what?
Answer: E. Started on 2 October 2024, the campaign stresses a shift in how people handle waste, backed by grassroots participation, local ownership and decentralised solutions.
3. Which statement captures a key difference between the Swachh Bharat Mission and Kerala's Vruthi campaign?
Answer: C. Whereas the Swachh Bharat Mission is top-down and heavy on infrastructure, Vruthi grows out of behavioural change and community waste solutions led by households.
4. What change did SEBI make in May 2025 to the limits on index options trading?
Answer: D. The gross position limit for index options was set at ₹10,000 crore to improve liquidity and respond to market feedback, alongside a delta-based way of computing open interest.
5. Which of these is not part of IRDAI's 'Bima Trinity'?
Answer: A. The trinity comprises Bima Sugam, a digital marketplace, Bima Vistaar, affordable cover, and Bima Vahak, a rural outreach led by women; Bima Bandhan is not in it.
6. What was the RBI's reason for scrapping the short-term investment cap on FPIs in corporate debt?
Answer: B. Removing short-term limits and concentration norms was meant to draw more FPI money into corporate bonds and deepen market liquidity, supporting capital market reforms.
7. Which major genomic milestone concerning rice was reported in April-May 2025?
Answer: A. Indian researchers assembled the first Rice Pangenome from 144 varieties, uncovering more than 69,000 additional genes linked to climate resilience and disease resistance.
8. What share of the genes in the Rice Pangenome occur only in wild rice and matter for resilience traits?
Answer: B. About one-fifth of the pangenome's genes are exclusive to wild rice and carry traits such as tolerance to drought and heat plus defence against disease.
9. Which of these was NOT among the drought-tolerant rice varieties developed by ICAR?
Answer: D. Bima Shakti is not one of the drought-tolerant rice types developed by ICAR, whereas Samba Mahsuri and MTU 1010 are notable examples in the pipeline.
10. Despite a record 220 million tonne harvest in 2024-25, which pressing environmental concern endangers India's rice output?
Answer: E. Climate pressures, namely higher temperatures and arsenic absorbed from groundwater, threaten production even though overall output is strong.
11. The Tapti Basin recharge project will benefit which set of districts in Madhya Pradesh?
Answer: C. In Madhya Pradesh the project covers Burhanpur and Khandwa; the Maharashtra districts are Akola, Amravati and Buldhana.
12. Which person's birth anniversary is marked by International Nurses Day on 12 May?
Answer: C. 12 May is the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, regarded as the founder of modern nursing.
13. Kadbanwadi grassland, home to the endangered Indian grey wolf, is in which district of Maharashtra?
Answer: B. It lies in Indapur tehsil of Pune district.
14. Kerala's Vruthi campaign, a waste management movement, was launched on which date?
Answer: A. Vruthi was launched on October 2, 2024.
15. Under SEBI's revised framework, MWPL is set as the lower of 15% of free-float market cap or what?
Answer: A. The second measure is 65x the average daily delivery value.