Current Affairs Quiz 03 October 2026

Statement 1 is correct — the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and alongside the BNSS, 2023 (which replaced the CrPC), both came into force on 1 July 2024. Statement 2 is incorrect — Section 4 of the 1891 Act actually made a certified copy only prima facie evidence, accepted unless rebutted, not conclusive proof; the new Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026 retains this certified-copy framework while extending it to electronic and digital records. Statement 3 is correct, since Section 63 of the BSA governs admissibility of electronic records with a prescribed certificate, succeeding Section 65B of the IEA as interpreted in Anvar P.V. (2014) and Arjun Panditrao Khotkar (2020).

Statement 1 is correct — the ASI covers factories under Section 2m(i) (10 or more workers, with power) and 2m(ii) (20 or more workers, without power), plus bidi & cigar units and certain electricity undertakings. Statement 2 is incorrect — the IIP is actually a monthly index of the volume of industrial production compiled by the NSO, not an annual value-based measure; annual output, value added, capital and employment figures instead come from the ASI. Statement 3 is correct too, since ASI data are collected under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 (amended 2017) and its 2011 Rules, now entirely through a web portal.

Statement-I is correct — unlike a conventional activated sludge plant, which uses a separate aeration tank and secondary clarifier, an SBR performs fill, react (aerate), settle, decant and idle all in one tank, as used in Jaipur's 215 MLD Dehlawas STP. Statement-II is correct too, since SBR is a fill-and-draw variant of the activated sludge process operated in timed cycles, and this directly explains Statement-I — because the steps are separated in time rather than in space, a single tank suffices for all of them.

Statement 1 is incorrect — the CCTS (June 2023) was actually notified under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 (as amended in 2022), with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency as administrator, not the Environment Protection Act. Statement 2 is incorrect too — the Verified Carbon Standard is run by Verra, a non-profit operating in the voluntary carbon market, not a UNFCCC-administered compliance mechanism; Article 6 crediting under the Paris Agreement instead runs through a separate UN-supervised mechanism — Ghaziabad has registered a VCS project expecting about 2.7 lakh credits.

Pair 1 is correct — Varuna is the India–France naval exercise, held since 1993 and named Varuna in 2001, with its 24th edition held off Toulon with INS Trishul. Pair 2 is correct, since Garuda is the India–France air force exercise (Shakti being the army exercise). Pair 3 is incorrect — Konkan is actually the India–United Kingdom naval exercise; the India–Japan maritime exercise is instead JIMEX. Pair 4 is correct too, as Nomadic Elephant is the India–Mongolia joint military exercise.

Statement 1 is correct — Article 145(3) sets a minimum of five judges for such cases and for Article 143 references, and on 23 September 2026 a two-judge Bench split on whether this applied to the challenge to the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023. Statement 2 is correct too, since Article 141 makes the law declared by the Supreme Court binding on all courts in India, the basis of stare decisis in the Indian system. Statement 3 is incorrect — Article 130 actually lets the Court sit in Delhi or elsewhere as the Chief Justice decides, with the President's approval; no constitutional amendment is needed, which is why a permanent Constitution Bench or regional Benches have been proposed administratively.

Option (b) is correct — under the FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, an investment of 10% or more of the post-issue paid-up equity capital (fully diluted) of a listed company is classified as FDI, below which it is FPI; India adopted this line following the Mayaram Committee (2014), in line with the OECD Benchmark Definition. Options (a), (c), and (d) are NOT the basis for classification — there is no holding-period test, a Bilateral Investment Treaty protects an investment but does not define it as FDI, and the automatic versus Government route concerns approval, not classification; option (a) in particular echoes a reported proposal, not the current rule.

Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are the only current members of EFTA, set up in 1960 by the Stockholm Convention, all outside the European Union. Denmark is NOT a member now — it was a founding member but left in 1973 on joining the European Economic Community, as did the UK, making it a tempting but incorrect inclusion given its Nordic profile. This links to the India–EFTA TEPA, in force since 1 October 2025, India's first trade pact with an investment and jobs chapter.

Statement 1 is correct — Satyameva Jayate ("Truth alone triumphs") is from the Mundaka Upanishad and appears in Devanagari below the emblem. Statement 2 is correct too, since Yato Dharmastato Jayah ("Where there is dharma, there is victory") is drawn from the Mahabharata, while the colonial-era "Heaven's Light, Our Guide" was instead the motto of the Order of the Star of India. Statement 3 is incorrect — the State Emblem, adopted on 26 January 1950, is actually adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, not Sanchi — a plausible Ashokan-era site swap, since the Lion Capital stands at the site of the first sermon.

Statement 1 is correct — IMD categories run deficient (<90%), below normal (90–95%), normal (96–104%), above normal (105–110%) and excess (>110%); the 2026 monsoon ended at 87% of the LPA, which is deficient. Statement 2 is incorrect — El Niño is actually anomalous warming, not cooling, of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific; cooling is instead the La Niña phase, and El Niño usually weakens the Indian monsoon. Statement 3 is correct, since a positive IOD — a warmer western Indian Ocean than the eastern — tends to support Indian monsoon rain and can offset El Niño.

Pair 1 is correct — the Gandak is the Narayani (Sapta Gandaki) in Nepal, entering India at Valmikinagar and joining the Ganga near Hajipur; a record release in September 2026 breached embankments in West Champaran. Pair 2 is correct, since the Ghaghara is the Karnali in Nepal. Pair 3 is correct too — the Sharda is the Kali/Mahakali, part of the India–Nepal boundary under the 1996 Mahakali Treaty. Pair 4 is incorrect — the Bagmati actually keeps its own name in Nepal, flowing through the Kathmandu valley; the Trishuli is instead a tributary of the Narayani (Gandak) system, a genuine Nepalese river wrongly offered as another river's alias.

Statement 1 is correct — Ardeotis nigriceps is Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, with about 140 remaining in the wild. Statement 2 is correct too, since it is Rajasthan's State bird, with around 130 (±20) birds living mainly in the Desert National Park (Jaisalmer–Barmer), where the first captive-bred chicks are being released in October 2026. Statement 3 is correct as well — it was listed in CMS Appendix I at COP13, Gandhinagar (2020). All three statements hold, so there is no need to assume one must be false.

Statement 1 is incorrect — under TBCB, the tariff is actually discovered through competitive bidding and adopted by the regulator under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003; cost-plus determination instead falls under the separate Section 62, used for brownfield works, so the two methods are alternatives, not combined. Statement 2 is correct, since under BOOM the Transmission Service Provider builds, owns, operates and maintains the asset and recovers the bid tariff, as used in GEC-III (outlay ₹1,86,405 crore) for greenfield lines.

Statement-I is correct — price and yield move inversely, as recently seen when the 30-year US Treasury yield reached about 5.56%, its highest in roughly 25 years, as prices fell on inflation and borrowing concerns. Statement-II is correct too, since the coupon is a fixed payment on face value, set at issue, and this directly explains Statement-I — with a fixed coupon, a lower purchase price means a higher return (a $10 coupon on a bond bought at $100 yields 10%, but bought at $95 yields about 10.5%), so a falling price mechanically produces a rising yield.

Option (d) is correct — Article 322 charges the Commission's expenses on the Consolidated Fund of India, a non-votable safeguard of its independence; the UPSC traces its origin to 1 October 1926 and completed 100 years this week. Option (a) is incorrect — under Article 319(a), the UPSC Chairman is actually ineligible for any further employment under the Union or a State, though other members may become Chairman of the UPSC or a State PSC. Option (b) is incorrect, since the term is six years or until age 65 (Article 316(2)), not 62. Option (c) is incorrect too — removal for misbehaviour is by the President after an inquiry by the Supreme Court on a presidential reference (Article 317(1)), with no parliamentary vote involved.