Daily Current Affairs Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- India's trade deficit with ASEAN increased from approximately $10.4 billion in 2012 to over $51 billion in 2025.
- India's share of ASEAN's import basket declined from 3.42% in 2012 to 1.71% in 2025, indicating weakening export competitiveness.
- India's GVC trade as a percentage of gross trade improved between 2012 and 2025, reflecting stronger supply-chain integration.
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. India's ASEAN trade deficit widened from $10.44 billion (2012) to over $51.23 billion (2025), while India's share of ASEAN's import basket fell from 3.42% to 1.71%, both signalling weakening competitiveness. Statement 3 is incorrect — India's GVC trade as a percentage of gross trade actually declined from 37.13% to 34.38%, indicating weaker, not stronger, global value chain integration post-FTAs.
- The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has the authority to impose anti-dumping duties directly, without reference to the Ministry of Finance.
- Between 1991 and 2020, the Ministry of Finance rejected only five of the 1,052 anti-dumping duty recommendations made by the DGTR.
Statement 2 is correct — between 1991 and 2020, the Ministry of Finance rejected only 5 of 1,052 DGTR recommendations, a near-100% acceptance rate that fell to 50–62% rejection in some years after 2020. Statement 1 is incorrect — DGTR investigates and recommends duties, but only the Ministry of Finance has authority to impose or reject them; DGTR's role is purely recommendatory.
Reason (R): Foreign institutional investors who borrow in yen to invest in Indian equities must repay yen-denominated loans when the yen appreciates, leading them to sell Indian assets.
Both A and R are correct, and R explains A. This is the yen carry trade mechanism: investors borrow cheap yen, invest in higher-yielding Indian equities, and when the yen strengthens, the rupee cost of repaying yen loans rises, prompting them to sell Indian assets and unwind. India's yen carry trade exposure was estimated at about $21 billion as of August 2024, and the July 2026 US-Japan joint intervention that strengthened the yen over 3% raised concerns about this exact unwinding channel.
- West Bengal shares approximately 54% of India's total border with Bangladesh, making it the state with the longest such frontier.
- The Land Boundary Agreement of 2015 was implemented through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act.
- The Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) of 2011 is a bilateral framework governing cooperation between the BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. West Bengal's 2,216.7 km accounts for about 54% of the 4,096.70 km India-Bangladesh border, and the CBMP 2011 is the bilateral BSF-BGB coordination framework. Statement 2 is incorrect — the Land Boundary Agreement was implemented through the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015, not the 99th, which instead established the National Judicial Appointments Commission (later struck down).
Option (B) correctly describes CVD — hydrocarbon gas in a low-pressure chamber, with microwave or hot-filament energy breaking molecules to deposit carbon layer by layer onto a diamond substrate. Option (A) describes HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature), the other major technique, first demonstrated by GE in 1954. Options (C) and (D) describe processes not used in commercial diamond synthesis.
- PyroCb clouds can generate lightning that ignites new fires kilometres away from the original fire front.
- PyroCb clouds form when the intense heat of a wildfire forces moist air, smoke and ash rapidly upward, where moisture condenses around smoke particles.
- PyroCb clouds are confined to the troposphere and cannot reach the stratosphere under any conditions.
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. PyroCb clouds form when wildfire heat drives rapid convective uplift, condensing moisture around smoke particles into towering storm clouds; static electricity generated inside can produce lightning that ignites new fires far from the original blaze. Statement 3 is incorrect — extreme PyroCb events can reach altitudes of 10–15 km, penetrating the stratosphere, an absolute "cannot under any conditions" claim that is false.
- The draft amendment proposes mandatory fitment of V2V communication systems in vehicles of categories L, M and N manufactured on or after 1 October 2027.
- The standard AIS-230 mandates the use of Cellular V2X (C-V2X) technology in the 5.875–5.925 GHz frequency band for On-Board Units installed in Indian vehicles.
Statement 2 is correct — AIS-230 mandates C-V2X in the 5.875–5.925 GHz band, exempted from licensing by DoT via G.S.R. 466(E) dated 10 June 2026. Statement 1 is incorrect — vehicles from 1 October 2027 must comply with AIS-230 only if already fitted with V2V systems; mandatory fitment for all new L/M/N category vehicles is proposed only from 1 October 2028 (Phase 2), a date-condition confusion in the statement.
Reason (R): Unusually wet periods promote explosive growth of grasses and shrubs, which subsequently dry out under heatwaves to become abundant fuel — a sequence known as climate whiplash.
Both A and R are correct, and R directly explains A. Climate whiplash — rapid swings between wet and dry extremes — explains why above-average earlier rainfall doesn't prevent summer wildfires; instead it produces abundant vegetation that dries into fuel under subsequent heatwaves, a sequence scientists note is becoming more common as climate change intensifies both ends of the precipitation spectrum, also seen in the 2025 California wildfires.
The Karivalamvanthanallur excavation (at Malayadipatti) lies on the banks of the Vaippar river in Tenkasi district. The Vaigai (option A) is instead associated with the Keeladi excavation in Sivaganga district — a related but distinct TNSDA site — while Tamiraparani flows through Tirunelveli/Thoothukudi and Palar is in northern Tamil Nadu, both unrelated to this excavation.
- The scheme provides financial support of up to 50% of eligible deepwater drilling cost, subject to a ceiling of ₹675 crore per well.
- The scheme is open only to public sector Exploration and Production operators such as ONGC and OIL India.
- The seismic data acquisition component of the scheme carries the largest allocation, at ₹43,200 crore.
Only Statement 1 is correct — support is capped at 50% of eligible drilling cost or ₹675 crore per well, whichever is lower. Statement 2 is incorrect — the scheme is open to both public sector (ONGC, OIL) and private E&P operators, a deliberate design to attract private capital. Statement 3 is incorrect — the largest allocation (₹43,200 crore, ~51.4% of total) is for accelerated deepwater drilling, not seismic data acquisition, which carries ₹28,534 crore instead.
- The Khelo India Scheme was formed by merging the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan, Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme, and National Sports Talent Search Scheme.
- The Khelo India Para Games (KIPG) was introduced in 2020, the same year as the Khelo India University Games.
- The expanded Khelo India Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet has a combined outlay of ₹36,441 crore for the period 2026–27 to 2030–31.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Khelo India (launched 2017) merged the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan, Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme, and National Sports Talent Search Scheme, and the Cabinet approved a ₹36,441 crore expanded outlay for 2026–31. Statement 2 is incorrect — the Khelo India Para Games launched in 2023, not 2020; the Khelo India University Games and Winter Games both launched in 2020.
The Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, implementing the 1974 agreement and its 2011 Protocol, was given effect through the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015, enabling exchange of 162 enclaves (111 Indian in Bangladesh, 51 Bangladeshi in India). The 99th Amendment (2014) established the NJAC (struck down 2015); the 101st (2016) introduced GST; the 102nd (2018) gave constitutional status to the NCBC.
Reason (R): China is the leading refiner in 19 out of 20 strategic minerals, with an average processing market share of approximately 70%, making mineral supply chains geopolitical instruments rather than purely commercial ones.
Both A and R are correct, and R explains A. China's position as the leading refiner in 19 of 20 strategic minerals (about 70% average market share) means disruptions, whether from export controls or geopolitical tensions, directly affect downstream clean energy and defence industries globally, including India, as validated by China's 2025 rare earth export controls affecting EV, aerospace, AI, and semiconductor sectors.
Microliths — small, geometric stone implements like blades, backed bladelets, lunates, and triangles — are the defining tool type of the Mesolithic period (roughly 10,000–2,500 BCE in India), associated with hunter-gatherer communities occupying river valleys, caves, and rock shelters. The Lower Palaeolithic is associated with large hand-axes (Acheulian tradition); the Neolithic with polished stone tools and farming; the Chalcolithic with copper use.
- Lab-grown diamonds produced using the HPHT process consume significantly less energy per carat than natural diamond mining, according to the Natural Diamond Council's 2025 report.
- Lab-grown diamonds always have a lower carbon footprint than naturally mined diamonds, regardless of the energy source used in production.
- India Centre for Lab-Grown Diamond (InCent-LGD) was established at IIT Madras with a grant of approximately ₹243 crore from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. HPHT produces diamonds at about 36 kWh/carat versus roughly 150 kWh/carat for natural mining, and InCent-LGD was established at IIT Madras in 2023 with a five-year ₹243 crore grant from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Statement 2 is incorrect — lab-grown diamonds do not always have a lower footprint; their CO₂ footprint ranges from 17 kg/ct (renewable energy) to 260 kg/ct (coal-heavy grid), versus 160 kg/ct for natural mining, meaning coal-powered lab-grown diamonds can actually emit more.
