Daily Current Affairs Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- The GST Council is a constitutional body established under Article 279A, inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
- A decision of the GST Council requires a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting.
- In the Mohit Minerals case (2022), the Supreme Court held that GST Council recommendations are binding on Parliament and the State legislatures.
Statement 1 is correct — Article 279A was inserted by the 101st Amendment (2016), along with Article 246A (power to levy GST) and Article 269A (IGST), and the Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister. Statement 2 is correct — the Centre's vote carries one-third weight and all States together two-thirds, and a decision needs three-fourths of weighted votes, so neither side can carry a proposal alone. Statement 3 is incorrect — in Union of India v. Mohit Minerals (2022), the Court held that the recommendations have only persuasive value, and Parliament and State legislatures can legislate on GST independently. The Council's near-universal acceptance in practice tempts aspirants to call it "binding", but its recommendations are a product of cooperative federalism, not a command. The 57th Council meeting (8 October 2026) recommended process reforms that need law amendments to take effect.
- Inverted duty structure — Rate of tax on inputs is higher than the rate on the output supply
- Reverse charge mechanism — The recipient, instead of the supplier, is liable to pay the tax
- Zero-rated supply — Supply exempt from tax, with no refund of input tax credit
- Integrated GST (IGST) — Levied and collected by the Centre on inter-State supplies
Pair 1 is correct — in an inverted duty structure, unused credit accumulates, and the 57th Council recommended allowing refund of ITC on input services and capital goods in such cases. Pair 2 is correct — under RCM the recipient pays the tax, now proposed for plastic waste, e-waste, waste tyres and used cooking oil bought from unregistered suppliers. Pair 3 is incorrect — a zero-rated supply (exports, supplies to SEZs — Section 16, IGST Act) bears no tax but allows refund of input tax credit; the description given fits an exempt supply, where ITC is not available. Pair 4 is correct, as IGST (Article 269A) is levied by the Centre on inter-State supplies and imports, and apportioned between the Centre and the destination State. Both zero-rated and exempt mean "no tax on the sale", but only zero-rating refunds the tax on inputs, which is why exports are zero-rated — India exports goods, not taxes.
- The National SC-ST Hub is implemented through the National Small Industries Corporation, a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- Under the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises, 4% of annual procurement by Central Ministries and CPSEs is earmarked for SC/ST-owned enterprises.
Statement 1 is incorrect — the NSSH (launched 18 October 2016) is a scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, implemented through NSIC, a CPSE under the same Ministry, set up in 1955. Statement 2 is correct — the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012 (under the MSMED Act, 2006) mandates 25% procurement from MSEs, with 4% from SC/ST-owned and 3% from women-owned MSEs; procurement from SC/ST MSEs reached ₹4,013.42 crore in 2025-26. A scheme for SC/ST beneficiaries "feels" like a Social Justice Ministry programme, but since it does enterprise and procurement support it sits with the MSME Ministry.
- Statement-I: A rise in the policy repo rate is generally more effective in curbing demand-pull inflation than inflation caused by a supply shock such as a crop failure.
- Statement-II: Monetary tightening works mainly by restraining aggregate demand and cannot directly raise the supply of goods in the economy.
Statement-I is correct — when excess demand drives prices, costlier credit cools spending and inflation, whereas against cost-push shocks such as high crude prices or a deficient monsoon a hike has only second-order effects. Statement-II is correct — interest rates act through borrowing, spending and expectations, and they cannot produce more oil, pulses or vegetables. Statement-II explains Statement-I, because the tool works on demand, making it strong against demand-led inflation and weak against supply-led inflation. Test with "because": I is true because monetary policy works on demand (II). This is why the editorial argued that, after the RBI's 25-bps hike, the Government's supply-side tools must do the heavy lifting.
- The inflation target is set by the Central Government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India.
- The inflation target is defined in terms of the Wholesale Price Index.
- The RBI is deemed to have failed if average inflation stays outside the tolerance band for three consecutive quarters.
- On such a failure, the RBI must report to the Central Government the reasons for failure and the remedial actions proposed.
Statement 1 is correct — Section 45ZA of the RBI Act empowers the Centre, in consultation with the RBI, to set the target once every five years, and it has been 4% ± 2%. Statement 2 is incorrect — the target is in terms of the Consumer Price Index (Combined), which reflects household cost of living; WPI was the RBI's main gauge before 2014, and the Urjit Patel Committee (2014) recommended CPI as the nominal anchor. Statement 3 is correct — failure means average CPI inflation above 6% or below 2% for three consecutive quarters. Statement 4 is correct too, since under Section 45ZN the RBI must send a report on the reasons, remedial actions and the expected time to return to target. WPI is still India's headline wholesale gauge, which makes it an easy decoy.
- Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) — Sale of central-pool foodgrains by the Food Corporation of India in the open market
- Price Stabilisation Fund — Administered by the Reserve Bank of India to stabilise prices of pulses and onions
- Stock limits on traders — Imposed under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955
- Open Market Operations — Purchase and sale of foodgrain stocks by the Food Corporation of India
Pair 1 is correct — under OMSS, the FCI sells surplus wheat and rice to bulk buyers and processors to cool market prices. Pair 2 is incorrect — the Price Stabilisation Fund (2014-15) is a Government fund, now managed by the Department of Consumer Affairs, used to build buffer stocks of pulses and onions; the RBI has no role. Pair 3 is correct, as the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 lets the Centre impose stock limits on traders, wholesalers and retailers to curb hoarding during price spikes. Pair 4 is incorrect — Open Market Operations are the RBI's purchase and sale of government securities to manage liquidity. OMSS (FCI, foodgrains) and OMO (RBI, bonds) differ by one letter, so anchor each instrument to its agency and object.
- Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils through transesterification with methanol, yielding glycerol as a by-product.
- A fuel labelled 'B20' is diesel containing 20% biodiesel blended with conventional petroleum diesel.
- India's National Policy on Biofuels sets an indicative target of 20% biodiesel blending in diesel by 2030.
Statement 1 is correct — triglycerides in the oil react with methanol in the presence of a catalyst to form Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), which is biodiesel, and glycerol. Statement 2 is correct — the "B" number is the biodiesel share, and Indonesia moved to B50 in July 2026, the first country to do so, absorbing more palm oil at home and cutting exports. Statement 3 is incorrect — the National Policy on Biofuels (2018, amended 2022) sets 5% biodiesel blending by 2030; the 20% figure is India's ethanol blending target for petrol (E20). Keep the two numbers apart: E20 in petrol (achieved 2025) and B5 in diesel (target 2030).
- Cereals
- Vegetable oils
- Dairy
- Fruits and vegetables
- Sugar
The FAO Food Price Index (base 2014–16 = 100) is a weighted average of five commodity-group indices: cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar. Fruits and vegetables are not part of the index basket. They drive India's CPI food inflation, so aspirants assume they feature globally, but the FAO index tracks internationally traded staples; recall the five as C-V-D-M-S. The overall index averaged 136 points in September 2026, its highest since November 2022, with the vegetable oil sub-index reaching 198.6. The FAO, founded in 1945, is headquartered in Rome.
- Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger together formed the Alliance of Sahel States.
- Mali shares a land border with Algeria along its northern and north-eastern frontier.
- Mali is a landlocked country with no direct access to the sea.
- The Niger River, which rises in the Guinea Highlands, flows through Mali before entering Niger.
Statement 1 is correct — the three military-ruled States formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in 2023 and left ECOWAS in January 2025. Statement 2 is correct — Mali's north-east, including Kidal and the Adrar des Ifoghas, borders Algeria, and Kidal was recently retaken by the Malian army from Tuareg separatists. Statement 3 is correct — Mali is landlocked, bordered by Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Mauritania. Statement 4 is correct too, since the Niger rises in the Guinea Highlands, flows north-east through Mali (past Bamako, Timbuktu and Gao) and then south-east through Niger and Nigeria. When each statement checks out against a mental map, trust it rather than fearing "All four".
A blazar is an active galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole, with a jet of plasma moving at nearly the speed of light aimed at us, so it shows strong, rapidly varying emission from radio to gamma rays. OJ 287, about 4 billion light years away, hosts two supermassive black holes in a 12-year orbit, and an ARIES, Nainital-coordinated study of 106 scientists from 18 countries tracked it over a decade. Option (a) describes a pulsar, (c) a supernova remnant, and (d) a cataclysmic variable or nova system, all stellar-scale objects rather than galactic nuclei. OJ 287's 12-year flares make "regular intervals" and "flares periodically" sound right, but the defining feature of a blazar is jet orientation, not periodicity.
- The Outer Space Treaty, 1967 prohibits States from placing nuclear weapons on celestial bodies such as the Moon.
- The Outer Space Treaty, 1967 prohibits the use of nuclear power sources for missions on the Moon.
- India has signed but not ratified the Moon Agreement, 1979.
- India is a signatory to the Artemis Accords, a set of US-led principles for civil exploration of the Moon and beyond.
Statement 1 is correct — Article IV bans nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, on celestial bodies or in outer space. Statement 2 is incorrect — the treaty does not ban nuclear power, and non-binding UN Principles (1992) guide its safe use; NASA plans a fission reactor near the lunar south pole by 2030, and Russia one for the China-led ILRS. Statement 3 is correct — India signed the Moon Agreement, which declares the Moon the "common heritage of mankind", but has not ratified it. Statement 4 is correct too, since India signed the Artemis Accords in June 2023. Setters stretch the treaty's weapons ban into a ban on all nuclear technology, but RTGs and fission reactors are power sources, outside Article IV.
- The Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act, 2009 prohibits paddy nursery sowing and transplanting before specified dates in order to save groundwater.
- The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas was created by a law of 2021 and replaced the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.
- Under the Commission's law, farmers are kept out of its penal provisions but may be charged environmental compensation for stubble burning.
Statement 1 is correct — the 2009 Act barred nursery sowing before 10 May and transplanting before 10 June, pushing the paddy harvest late and leaving only a 10–15 day window before wheat sowing, a key reason farmers burn stubble. Statement 2 is correct — the CAQM Act, 2021 set up the Commission, replacing the Supreme Court-mandated EPCA (1998). Statement 3 is correct — after farmer protests, the Act kept farmers out of its penal (imprisonment and fine) clause, and instead environmental compensation is levied, graded by landholding size. A groundwater-saving law worsening air pollution seems paradoxical, so aspirants reject statement 1, but the paradox is the point: delayed transplanting compressed the harvest-to-sowing gap.
- The Living Planet Index measures the average change in the relative abundance of monitored vertebrate populations, not the number of individual animals lost.
- The Living Planet Report is published annually by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in partnership with UNEP.
Statement 1 is correct — the 73% decline (1970–2022) in the 2026 report is an average decline in population size across 35,803 populations of 5,790 species, not a count of animals or populations lost, and freshwater populations fell most (−85%). Statement 2 is incorrect — the report is biennial and published by the WWF (founded 1961, HQ Gland), and the index is maintained with the Zoological Society of London since 2006. IUCN (Red List) and WWF (Living Planet Report) are both headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, which makes them easy to confuse; pair them as IUCN for species risk and WWF + ZSL for population trends.
- The Indian Coast Guard functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- The Indian Coast Guard was given statutory status by the Coast Guard Act enacted in 1978.
- Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres of the Coast Guard are located at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair.
Statement 1 is incorrect — the ICG is an armed force of the Union under the Ministry of Defence, while the MHA controls the Central Armed Police Forces such as the BSF. Statement 2 is correct — set up on an interim basis in February 1977, the ICG was constituted by the Coast Guard Act, 1978. Statement 3 is correct — the ICG coordinates maritime SAR in India's search and rescue region (about 4.6 million sq km) through MRCCs at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair. Coastal policing and border guarding involve the MHA and State marine police, so the ICG is wrongly placed there; remember the MoD link through its Director General and naval-style ranks. The 12th national SAR exercise, SAREX-2026, was held off Paradip.
- Statement-I: Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- Statement-II: The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Statement-I is correct — Tagore won in 1913, largely for the English Gitanjali, and was the first non-European Literature laureate. Statement-II is incorrect — the Literature prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy (Stockholm, founded 1786), while the Norwegian Nobel Committee (Oslo) awards only the Peace Prize. Map the prizes: Physics and Chemistry — Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Medicine — Karolinska; Literature — Swedish Academy; Peace — Norway. The 2026 prize went to Canadian poet-classicist Anne Carson, the first Canadian since Alice Munro (2013).
