Daily Current Affairs Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- The tunnel connects Baltal (Sonmarg) in Kashmir with Minimarg in Ladakh, following the Srinagar-Leh National Highway.
- The New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) used in its construction relies on the surrounding rock as part of the load-bearing structure.
- Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) is the overseeing authority, while NHIDCL is the executing agency.
- The Z-Morh Tunnel at Sonmarg — inaugurated in January 2026 — precedes Zojila on the same connectivity corridor.
Statements 1, 2, and 4 are correct — the tunnel runs beneath Zojila Pass with its west portal at Baltal (Sonmarg) and east portal at Minimarg; NATM harnesses the inherent strength of surrounding rock as a structural component using flexible supports and systematic monitoring, suited to fragile Himalayan geology; and the Z-Morh Tunnel inaugurated by PM Modi in January 2026 provides all-weather connectivity to Sonmarg, with Zojila extending this corridor further east. Statement 3 is the deliberate trap — the roles are precisely reversed; NHIDCL is the overseeing authority and MEIL is the executing/construction agency.
India's TFR crossed below the replacement level of 2.1 around 2020 — ahead of UN projections that had anticipated this only around 2030–35 — driven by urbanisation, rising female education, and expanded family planning. The transition is uneven, however; Bihar (2.7), UP (2.2), Meghalaya (2.2), and Jharkhand (2.2) remain at or above replacement level as per NFHS-5, fuelling the delimitation controversy. Option (a) is wrong — 2.4 is outdated (NFHS-4, 2015–16); India's current TFR is ~2.0. Option (c) is wrong — the decline was led by southern and western states, not northern ones. Option (d) is wrong — Bihar's NFHS-5 TFR is 2.7, not 1.9.
- Article 324 — Registration of political parties by ECI
- Section 29A, RPA 1951 — Registration of political parties with ECI
- Election Symbols Order, 1968 — Reservation and allotment of election symbols
- Free Symbols List — Symbols available only to recognised national parties
Pairs 2 and 3 are correctly matched — Section 29A of the RPA, 1951 governs the registration of political parties with the ECI, and the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 governs reservation and allotment of symbols. Pair 1 is wrong — Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction, and control of elections in the ECI; party registration flows from Section 29A, not Article 324. Pair 4 is wrong — the Free Symbols List is available to unrecognised parties and independent candidates, not to recognised national parties, which hold exclusively reserved symbols such as the Lotus, Hand, and Elephant.
- Sgr A* was the first supermassive black hole to be directly imaged, with its photograph released by the Event Horizon Telescope in May 2022.
- The ALMA telescope operates at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths and is located at high altitude in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
- The recent confirmation of a wind from Sgr A* is significant because it helps explain how the black hole regulates star formation at the galactic centre.
Statements 2 and 3 are correct — ALMA sits at ~5,000m in Chile's Atacama Desert, operates at millimetre/submillimetre wavelengths, and comprises 66 antennas operated jointly by ESO, NRAO, and NAOJ; Sgr A*'s wind regulates star formation by blowing away cold molecular gas, acting as a long-term thermostat for the Milky Way. Statement 1 is the principal trap — Sgr A* was the second supermassive black hole imaged (May 2022); the first was M87* (April 2019), which is also far more massive (~6.5 billion solar masses vs Sgr A*'s ~4 million).
- First-ever COP decision to explicitly call for "transitioning away from fossil fuels"
- Adoption of the Paris Agreement
- Establishment of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) framework
- COP30 held in Belém, Brazil
The correct sequence is: Paris Agreement (COP21, Paris, December 2015) → Global Goal on Adaptation framework (COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh, November 2022) → first-ever COP decision on "transitioning away from fossil fuels" (COP28, Dubai, December 2023, which also concluded the first Global Stocktake) → COP30 in Belém, Brazil (November 2025), where Brazil launched the Global Climate Action Agenda with six thematic pillars.
