Daily Current Affairs Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- Phase I of the e-Courts Mission (2011–2015) computerised over 14,000 district courts across India.
- The National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) was introduced under Phase III of the e-Courts Mission.
- The total outlay for Phase III (2023–2027) of the e-Courts Mission is ₹7,210 crore.
- Virtual courts for online adjudication of traffic challans have been established in 31 locations across India.
Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. Phase I (2011–2015) computerised over 14,000 courts. Phase III has an outlay of ₹7,210 crore, with ₹53.57 crore for AI/ML tools. 31 Virtual Courts handle online traffic challan adjudication, processing 11.33 crore challans worth ₹1,135.79 crore. Statement 2 is incorrect — NJDG was introduced under Phase II (2015–2023), not Phase III, which instead focuses on AI/ML and interoperability.
Reason (R): Under the zero-MDR regime introduced in January 2020, UPI and RuPay debit card transactions were expressly exempt from any Merchant Discount Rate.
Both statements are correct, and R explains A. The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amended the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 to allow notification of chargeable transaction categories, precisely because the zero-MDR regime since January 2020 had expressly exempted UPI and RuPay debit transactions from charges — the amendment was necessary to override that exemption.
- Belur and Halebid, the Hoysala capitals, are both located in Hassan district of Karnataka.
- The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.
- Vishnuvardhana converted from Shaivism to Vaishnavism under the influence of the philosopher Ramanujacharya.
- Veeragallu are memorial stones erected in honour of warriors who died heroically in battle.
Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct. Belur and Halebid are both in Hassan district, Karnataka. The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023, covering Belur, Halebid, and Somanathapura. Veeragallu are memorial hero-stones honouring warriors who died heroically. Statement 3 is incorrect — Vishnuvardhana converted from Jainism, not Shaivism, to Vaishnavism under Ramanujacharya's influence, having earlier been a Jain patron.
- Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amended Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, broadening the privacy-based exemption from disclosure.
- The right to information is derived from Article 21 of the Constitution, while the right to privacy is derived from Article 19(1)(a).
Statement 1 is correct — Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, 2023 amended Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, widening the personal-information exemption. Statement 2 is incorrect and reversed — the right to information/transparency flows from Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression, held to include the right to know), while the right to privacy was recognised under Article 21 in the Puttaswamy judgment (2017).
- The Amendment mandates all Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to route invoice settlements with MSMEs through the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform.
- Under the amended provisions, mediation under the MSME Facilitation Council must be completed within 180 days from the date fixed for first appearance.
- The Amendment decriminalises non-filing of registration and non-supply of information by replacing conviction and fines with graded civil penalties.
- Mediated settlement agreements under Section 18 can now be recovered as arrears of land revenue through the District Collector.
Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. CPSEs must route MSME invoice settlements through TReDS to address delayed payments. Decriminalisation is a core feature, replacing conviction/fines with graded civil penalties for non-filing/non-supply of information. Mediated settlements and arbitral awards under Section 18 are recoverable as arrears of land revenue through the District Collector. Statement 2 is incorrect — the mediation timeline is actually 90 days, not 180, from the first-appearance date, part of a 90-30-90 day triplet (mediation-referral-award).
Reason (R): China claims Arunachal Pradesh as 'South Tibet' and does not recognise the McMahon Line as a valid international boundary.
Both statements are correct, but R is not the precise explanation. India did formally name 27 Arunachal Pradesh locations on 8 August 2026, and China does claim the region as "South Tibet," rejecting the McMahon Line. However, the direct trigger for India's action was China's repeated renaming campaigns (2017, 2023, 2024, 2025), not China's decades-old general territorial claim, which is the deeper strategic background rather than the proximate cause.
- The agreement was signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca.
- The agreement stipulates that an armed attack on any one signatory shall be treated as an attack on all three signatories.
- Turkiye, as a NATO member, had to formally withdraw from the NATO Charter's Article 5 before signing the Mecca agreement.
- Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state and the agreement thus involves a collective defence commitment with nuclear deterrence implications.
Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct. The agreement was signed at Al-Safa Palace during the Karramah Summit, with a collective defence clause mirroring NATO's Article 5, and Pakistan's nuclear status gives the pact implicit nuclear deterrence implications. Statement 3 is incorrect — there is no requirement to withdraw from NATO before joining another defence arrangement; Turkiye remains a NATO member, as NATO membership does not preclude bilateral or multilateral defence pacts with non-NATO states.
Option (C) is correct — in FFSC, both propellants are fully gasified through separate preburners before entering the main combustion chamber, maximising pressure and efficiency, as in SpaceX's Raptor engine and India's first private FFSC engine, Astrobase's EVEREST. Option (A) describes a simpler oxidiser-rich staged combustion cycle. Option (B) confuses propellant types across stages. Option (D) describes exhaust heat recovery, an unrelated concept.
- The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is the primary legislation governing food safety in India, replacing the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
- Analogue paneer is a dairy product made from buffalo milk with a higher protein content than conventional paneer made from cow milk.
- Gujarat's ban on analogue dairy products specifically exempts standardised products such as Frozen Dessert, Processed Cheese and Mixed Fat Spread.
- FSSAI is established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. The FSS Act, 2006 subsumed and replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Gujarat's ban carves out standardised products like Frozen Dessert, Processed Cheese, and Mixed Fat Spread. FSSAI functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Statement 2 is incorrect — analogue paneer is not a dairy product at all; it's a vegetable oil-based (palm/soybean) substitute with lower, not higher, protein content, imitating paneer's appearance while cheaper to produce.
- As per the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India (2021) published by ISRO's Space Applications Centre, an area of 6.38 lakh hectares represents manmade desertification and land degradation as of 2018–19.
- India has committed to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.
- The National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project is implemented by ICAR across 310 identified climate-vulnerable districts.
- The Watershed Development Component of the PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) is implemented by the Watershed Management Division of the Department of Land Resources.
Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct. ISRO-SAC's 2021 Atlas puts manmade desertification/degradation at 6.38 lakh hectares as of 2018–19. India's NDC commits to restoring 26 million hectares by 2030, aligned with its Land Degradation Neutrality target. WDC-PMKSY is implemented by the Watershed Management Division of the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development. Statement 3 is incorrect — NICRA actually covers 651 districts in total; 310 refers only to the climate-vulnerable subset (201 High, 109 Very High vulnerability), not NICRA's full coverage.
