Daily Current Affairs Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- The scheme provides a one-time incentive to first-time employees, capped at ₹15,000, paid in two instalments linked to six and twelve months of continuous service.
- Employer incentives under the scheme are extended to the third and fourth years for the manufacturing sector.
- Incentives are disbursed only after Universal Account Number (UAN) authentication through Face Authentication Technology on the UMANG App.
All three statements are correct. First-time employees receive a one-time incentive of one month's EPF wage capped at ₹15,000, in two instalments after 6 and 12 months. Employer incentives (up to ₹3,000/month per additional employee for 2 years) are specifically extended to Years 3 and 4 for the manufacturing sector. Incentives are released only after UAN authentication via Face Authentication Technology on the UMANG App.
Reason (R): The scheme is implemented through EPFO's existing Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) filing infrastructure to verify continued employment and payroll compliance.
Both statements are correct, but R does not explain A. PM-VBRY does deliver via Aadhaar-linked accounts with Aadhaar-based face authentication, and ECR filings do verify continued employment. However, ECR is an eligibility-verification tool for employment continuity, not the mechanism causing benefits to flow to Aadhaar-linked accounts — that's a separate DBT delivery infrastructure choice.
- The National Policy and Action Plan to address Left-Wing Extremism was approved in 2015, replacing fragmented state-level approaches with a whole-of-government framework.
- Operation Black Forest, launched in September 2022, was the single most impactful operation of the final phase, resulting in the elimination of over 30 Maoists.
- The Special Central Assistance (SCA) Scheme, launched in 2017, has released approximately ₹4,289 crore for infrastructure development in LWE-affected districts.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The National Policy and Action Plan was approved in 2015 with a Dialogue-Security-Coordination framework, and the SCA Scheme (2017) has released about ₹4,289.20 crore for infrastructure. Statement 2 is incorrect — Operation Black Forest was launched in April 2025, not September 2022; September 2022 instead saw Operations Octopus, Double Bull, and Chakrabandha.
- A surrendering Naxal cadre at the rank of Regional Commander receives an immediate grant of ₹5 lakh, while lower-ranked cadres receive ₹2.5 lakh.
- Between 2024 and March 2026, over 5,000 cadres surrendered under the rehabilitation framework.
Statement 1 is correct — Regional Commanders and higher-ranked cadres receive ₹5 lakh, others ₹2.5 lakh immediate grant. Statement 2 is incorrect — between 2024 and March 2026, 3,927 cadres surrendered, not over 5,000, with 2,337 surrendering in 2025 alone.
GSI (established 1851) functions under the Ministry of Mines, covering geological mapping, mineral resource assessment (including critical minerals), natural hazard studies, seismotectonic mapping, and geotechnical investigations. Option (A) describes ZSI/FSI/WII functions. Option (B) describes IMD functions. Option (D) describes ONGC/DGH functions under Petroleum. Varsha Ashok Aglawe became GSI's first woman Director General in its 176-year history in 2026.
- India is home to 13,703 species of lepidoptera, constituting approximately 8.25% of the world's total lepidopteran species.
- Of the total lepidopteran species documented in India, butterflies outnumber moths in species count.
- The 2,205 species of Geometroidea catalogued from India represent 8.8% of the world's known species in that superfamily.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. India has 13,703 lepidopteran species, about 8.25% of the global total, with 2,205 Geometroidea species representing 8.8% of the world's known species in that superfamily. Statement 2 is incorrect — moths (12,286 species) vastly outnumber butterflies (1,417 species) in India, nearly 90% of total lepidopteran diversity, the reverse of what's claimed.
- The RTE Act guarantees free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years.
- The Act mandates that a government school be available within 1 km for Classes I–V and within 3 km for Classes VI–VIII.
- School Management Committees (SMCs) constituted under the RTE Act must have at least 75% representation from parents and guardians of enrolled children.
All three statements are correct. Article 21A (86th Amendment, 2002) and the RTE Act, 2009, guarantee education for ages 6–14. Neighbourhood school norms require access within 1 km for Classes I–V and 3 km for Classes VI–VIII. Section 21 mandates SMCs with at least 75% representation from parents/guardians, with adequate SC, ST, OBC, and differently-abled representation.
Section 64A provides immunity from prosecution to a person who voluntarily seeks treatment for drug dependence at a recognised centre, incentivising addicts to seek help without fear of criminal liability. Section 27A deals with financing illicit traffic. Section 71 empowers the government to establish treatment centres. Section 36A relates to offences triable by Special Courts.
Reason (R): The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol are legally binding only on states that are formal parties, and the obligation of non-refoulement does not extend to persons who have not yet submitted a formal asylum claim.
The Assertion is correct — non-refoulement under Article 33 applies extraterritorially, including at sea and before formal entry, as addressed in international jurisprudence. The Reason is incorrect — while the Convention binds only States Parties, non-refoulement does not require a formal asylum claim; it is a substantive protection attaching to anyone meeting the refugee definition, regardless of procedural status.
- The UN Human Rights Office's 2020 guidance on less-lethal weapons recommends that metal shotgun pellets should never be used for crowd control due to their inherently indiscriminate nature.
- Pellet-firing shotguns used by Indian paramilitary forces are manufactured at the Rifle Factory Ishapore in West Bengal.
- The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms (BPUFF), adopted in 1990, requires that any use of force by law enforcement be lawful, necessary and proportionate.
All three statements are correct. The 2020 UN guidance recommends metal shotgun pellets never be used for crowd control given their indiscriminate scatter. Pellet-firing shotguns used by CRPF and other paramilitary forces are manufactured at Rifle Factory Ishapore, Ichhapur, West Bengal. BPUFF (1990) establishes lawfulness, necessity, and proportionality as the standard for law enforcement use of force.
- Smallpox was declared eradicated by the WHO in 1980, making it the only human infectious disease to have been officially eradicated.
- The ancient Variola genomes recovered from South America belonged to strains that diverged from European strains around 1492 CE, coinciding with Columbus's first voyage.
Statement 1 is correct — WHO declared smallpox eradicated on 8 May 1980 (WHA Resolution 33.3), the only human disease officially eradicated. Statement 2 is incorrect — the recovered strains actually diverged from European lineages around 1296 CE, nearly two centuries before Columbus, not 1492.
- ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre released a Landslide Atlas in 2023, based on over 80,000 landslide events recorded from 1998 to 2022.
- The Western Ghats records a higher frequency of landslide events than the Himalayan region, but lower per-event fatalities.
- In landslide terminology, slope angle, soil composition, geology and geomorphology are classified as 'conditioning factors', while intense rainfall and quarrying are classified as 'triggering factors'.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. ISRO-NRSC's 2023 Landslide Atlas is based on over 80,000 events from 1998–2022, and conditioning factors (slope, soil, geology, geomorphology) determine susceptibility while triggering factors (rainfall, quarrying, earthquakes) activate actual slides. Statement 2 is incorrect and reversed — the Himalayan region actually records higher frequency than the Western Ghats, while Kerala/Western Ghats show disproportionately higher fatalities per event due to dense hill settlement, not higher frequency.
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain on Morocco's Mediterranean coast near the Strait of Gibraltar, constitutionally part of Spain and within the EU's single market, though outside the EU customs union with a special free-port status. Option (A) wrongly places it on the Atlantic coast. Option (C) is wrong — there is no UN administration; Spain's sovereignty is legally established (Spanish since 1668) though Morocco claims it. Option (D) is wrong on the coast (Mediterranean, not Atlantic).
- A total of 15,189 km of roads have been constructed in LWE-affected areas under the Road Requirement Plan (RRP) and Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas (RCPLWEA).
- In the most LWE-affected areas, 96% of villages now have mobile connectivity, with 9,497 towers commissioned.
- Between April 2015 and March 2026, over 2,500 bank branches and 2,000 ATMs were installed in LWE-affected districts to expand financial inclusion.
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. 15,189 km of roads have been built under RRP and RCPLWEA, and 9,497 mobile towers have brought connectivity to 96% (44,728 of 46,592) of villages in the most-affected areas. Statement 3 is incorrect — the actual figures are 1,804 bank branches and 1,321 ATMs (not 2,500+ and 2,000+) installed between April 2015 and March 2026, alongside 74,720 banking correspondents and 6,025 post offices.
FSSAI, the autonomous statutory body established under the FSSA, 2006, functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, setting food product standards including HFSS thresholds and the FSS (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2018. BIS sets industrial standards, not food safety specifically; FCI handles procurement and storage; there is no "National Food Authority" under the Agriculture Ministry.
