Daily Current Affairs Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- India has 40 Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), which allow domestic networks to exchange traffic without routing it through foreign networks.
- The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) operates under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- Among the top-10 most internet-resilient countries in the TRG Datacenters study, India has the lowest number of submarine cables.
- In the TRG Datacenters vulnerability ranking, a lower vulnerability score indicates weaker internet resilience.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. India has 40 IXPs allowing domestic networks to exchange traffic without routing via foreign nodes, reducing latency and external-disruption exposure. India also has 22 submarine cables, the lowest among the top-10 ranked countries (versus the US's 115), identified as its single most critical structural vulnerability. Statement 2 is incorrect — NCIIPC operates under the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), not MeitY, which instead oversees CERT-In. Statement 4 is incorrect — in the TRG study, a lower score actually indicates stronger resilience (the US scored 0, the best possible, while India scored 23.4), the opposite of what's stated.
Option (C) is correct — Section 356 BNSS requires two consecutive arrest warrants at least 30 days apart, published newspaper notice giving 30 days to appear, notice at the accused's last known residence, and a 90-day wait from the date charges are framed before trial can commence. Option (A) is wrong — trial cannot commence immediately after warrant issuance; the waiting period and two-warrant requirement exist precisely to prevent that. Option (B) is wrong — the threshold is 10 years' imprisonment, life imprisonment, or death, not 7 years. Option (D) is wrong — even where the accused has voluntarily absconded, the court must appoint defence counsel at State expense if the accused has none, a fair-trial safeguard that cannot be waived.
- A. Indian Penal Code, 1860 1. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023
- B. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 2. Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023
- C. Indian Evidence Act, 1872 3. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
The Indian Penal Code, 1860, the foundational substantive criminal law, was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the procedural law governing investigation, trial and sentencing, was replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, effective 1 July 2024 (Section 356 on trial in absentia is a key new provision here). The Indian Evidence Act, 1872, governing admissibility and relevance of evidence, was replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 — giving A–3, B–1, C–2.
- Under the Double Contribution Convention (DCC) that accompanies the CETA, Indian workers employed in the UK are exempt from paying UK National Insurance contributions for up to five years, provided they are contributing to social security in India.
- The CETA commits the UK to immediately eliminating tariffs on approximately 96.8% of its tariff lines, covering 97.7% of bilateral trade value.
- Dairy, cereals, gold and jewellery, and smartphones are among the sectors India has shielded from full tariff liberalisation under the CETA.
- The India–UK CETA includes an explicit gender chapter, making it one of India's first Free Trade Agreements to incorporate dedicated provisions on gender.
All four statements are correct. The Double Contribution Convention exempts Indian workers in the UK who contribute to Indian social security from UK National Insurance for up to five years, benefiting over 75,000 workers and 900+ employers. The UK commits to immediate elimination of tariffs on 96.8% of tariff lines, covering 97.7% of bilateral trade value. India has shielded sectors including dairy, cereals, pulses, vegetables, gold and jewellery, smartphones and critical polymers. And the CETA's 30 chapters include an explicit gender chapter, among India's first FTAs to do so, alongside digital trade, environment, labour and SME chapters.
- Development of aptamers — synthetic single-stranded DNA/RNA molecules — as a cheaper, more stable alternative recognition element to antibodies for biosensor surfaces
- First description of a biosensor concept: an enzyme-coated electrode reacting with glucose to produce a measurable electrical current, by Leland C. Clark Jr. and Champ Lyons
- Coupling of CRISPR enzymes with aptamers on sensor surfaces to amplify protein-detection signals, demonstrated for malaria, SARS-CoV-2 and cancer biomarkers
- Reporting of an aptamer-coated microneedle array capable of sampling proteins through the skin for continuous wearable monitoring
The correct sequence is the foundational glucose biosensor concept by Leland C. Clark Jr. and Champ Lyons (1962) → the emergence of aptamers as a cheaper, more stable alternative to antibodies (1990s–2000s) → CRISPR-coupled biosensors as the current frontier of signal amplification, demonstrated for malaria, SARS-CoV-2 and cancer biomarkers (recent years) → the aptamer-coated microneedle array for wearable protein sampling through the skin (December 2025).
