Q1. The new taxation regime on tobacco products from 1 February 2026 is being implemented under which law?
Options:
(a) Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025
(b) Tobacco Control and Regulation Act, 2025
(c) GST Rationalisation Act, 2025
(d) Public Health Finance Act, 2025
Correct Answer: (a)
Explanation (In-depth):
- Under GST, excise duty largely ceased except on cigarettes at nominal rates.
- The Government has now revived and revised excise duty via the Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025.
- This allows the Union to levy a specific excise duty outside GST, consistent with global public-health taxation models.
- The Act also operationalises structural changes including revised cess alignment and enforcement provisions.
Q2. Which of the following ecological processes are central to the maintenance of savanna systems?
Options:
(a) Fire and grazing dynamics
(b) Glacier melt cycles
(c) Riverine flooding
(d) Strong monsoon winds
Correct Answer: (a)
Explanation (In-depth):
- Savannas are not degraded forests; they are fire–grazing maintained ecosystems.
- Periodic fires prevent canopy closure and promote grass–tree coexistence.
- Grazing maintains open landscapes and species turnover.
- Hence, fire + herbivory form the ecological feedback core of savanna structure and resilience.
Q3. Which of the following are key components of Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA)?
- Genome-edited and climate-tolerant crops
- Biofertilisers and biopesticides
- Precision irrigation and digital climate advisories
- Zero-tillage and residue management
Select the correct answer:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct Answer: (d)
Explanation (In-depth):
- CRA is adaptation-centred — stabilising productivity under heat, drought, rainfall shocks.
- It integrates:
- Biotechnology tools → tolerant / genome-edited crops
- Bio-inputs → reduce chemical dependence, improve soil microbiome
- Digital & precision tools → advisory + input efficiency
- Climate-smart agronomy → zero-till, residue management, diversified systems
- Therefore all four components form the CRA framework.
Q4. The Shakargarh Bulge, the site of the Battle of Basantar, lies between which rivers?
Options:
(a) Beas and Sutlej
(b) Jhelum and Chenab
(c) Ravi and Chenab
(d) Ravi and Beas
Correct Answer: (c)
Explanation (In-depth):
- Shakargarh Bulge is a strategic salient between the Ravi and Chenab rivers.
- It forms a wedge pointing into India near the Pathankot–Jammu axis.
- Control of this corridor was critical in 1971 to prevent armoured penetration and logistical disruption.
- Hence, Basantar operations focused on securing the bridgehead and repelling tank counter-attacks in this terrain.
Q5. The first insects in the world to be recognised as rights-bearing legal entities are:
Options:
(a) Amazonian stingless bees (Peru, Satipo ordinance)
(b) European honeybees (EU Pollinator Directive)
(c) Monarch butterflies (Mexico)
(d) Alpine bumblebees (Switzerland)
Correct Answer: (a)
Explanation (In-depth):
- The Satipo municipal ordinance (Peru) grants legal rights to native Amazonian stingless bees.
- Rights include existence, habitat protection, ecological restoration, and legal representation.
- This marks the first case globally where an insect group is treated as a rights-bearing entity, not merely a protected species.
- The move draws from Rights-of-Nature jurisprudence and Indigenous ecological traditions.
