1. Which set of slabs forms the new tax structure under the GST 2.0 reforms cleared by the GST Council in September 2025?
Answer: B. From 22 Sept 2025 the rates are 0% for exempt goods, 5% as the merit rate, 18% as the standard rate and 40% as the demerit rate.
2. Which item among the following gets a 0% GST rate after the GST 2.0 changes?
Answer: E. Nil GST now applies to UHT milk, paneer, Indian breads, erasers, health and life insurance and 33 life-saving medicines.
3. Under the GST 2.0 reforms, which product falls in the 40% demerit slab?
Answer: C. Tobacco, cigarettes, pan masala and large luxury cars are charged at the topmost 40% demerit slab.
4. What is the 2025 ARTHA framework from the government about?
Answer: A. ARTHA is a funding framework meant to help de-coaled mines get reused for sustainable land use and the energy transition.
5. Which kind of assets do long-duration debt mutual funds mainly put money into?
Answer: D. These funds hold government securities, corporate bonds and debentures that mature after more than 7 years.
6. Long-duration debt funds have lately given weak returns. What was the chief cause?
Answer: B. Inflation worries, the RBI's stance and heavier government borrowing pushed G-sec yields up, so bond prices dropped and the funds' NAV fell.
7. For what main purpose does the RBI use the Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR)?
Answer: E. Under VRRR banks deposit their surplus funds with RBI, which drains liquidity, helps restrain inflation and keeps short-term rates near the repo rate.
8. RBI planned an 8-day VRRR auction in September 2025 to absorb what amount of liquidity?
Answer: C. The central bank announced that the 8-day VRRR auction would suck out ₹1.5 trillion from banking system liquidity.
9. Which borrowers does Bank of Baroda's 'bob Digi Udyam' target with collateral-free digital loans?
Answer: A. The product gives MSEs fast working-capital loans of ₹10–50 lakh with no collateral, covered by a CGTMSE guarantee.
10. Which organisation built the Kapas Kisan App that was launched in September 2025?
Answer: D. CCI, which works under the Ministry of Textiles, created the app to take cotton procurement under the MSP scheme online.
11. How many Thai personnel from the 1st Infantry Battalion are taking part in MAITREE-XIV?
Answer: E. Thailand has sent 53 personnel; India's contingent has 120.
12. Among women under 24, the share reporting public harassment in 2024 was how much?
Answer: D. It doubled from 7% overall to 14% among women under 24.
13. Which conditions form over two-thirds of the mental disorders affecting more than one billion people worldwide?
Answer: E. Anxiety and depressive disorders make up more than two-thirds of mental health conditions worldwide.
14. Which Sankardeva play supplies text found on the Vrindavani Vastra?
Answer: E. The cloth includes text from Sankardeva's devotional play Kaliyadamana.
15. Roughly how many bursts of energetic electrons did Solar Orbiter detect between November 2020 and December 2022?
Answer: C. More than 300 bursts were detected, enabling scientists to match them with specific solar events.