Kaziranga National Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in which year?
Kaziranga was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. It was also designated a Tiger Reserve in 2006.
💡 Concept Note
Kaziranga National Park (Assam) holds about 70% of the world population of the one-horned rhinoceros (~2,613 as per 2022 census). Its Big Five wildlife: rhino, elephant, tiger, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer (barasingha).
The 4.2 Kiloyear Event (~2,200 BCE) is associated with which of the following?
The 4.2 ka Event was a prolonged global mega-drought (~2,200-1,900 BCE) linked to the decline of the Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilisation, the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia, and the Egyptian Old Kingdom.
💡 Concept Note
Palaeoclimatology uses proxy records like sediment cores, pollen, tree rings, and ice cores to reconstruct past climates. The recent Kondagai Lake (Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu) study by BSIP Lucknow provided 4,500-year evidence of this event from peninsular India.
The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow functions under which ministry or department?
BSIP Lucknow is an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. It specialises in palaeobotany, palynology, Quaternary palaeoclimate, and geochronology.
💡 Concept Note
Birbal Sahni (1891-1949) was a pioneering Indian palaeobotanist who contributed to understanding Gondwana flora and the geological history of India. BSIP is named after him.
Under the ESIC (Employees State Insurance) scheme, which of the following correctly states the contribution rates?
ESIC contribution rates are Employer 3.25% and Employee 0.75% of wages. The 12%+12% rates apply to EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation), not ESIC.
💡 Concept Note
ESIC is governed by the ESI Act, 1948 and covers establishments with 10 or more workers. EPFO is governed by the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and covers establishments with 20 or more workers. Both are under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The SPREE campaign jointly run by ESIC and EPFO offered which specific incentive to employers?
SPREE offered waiver of damages (penalty interest) under Section 14B of the EPF Act and Section 85 of the ESI Act for employers who voluntarily registered workers. The principal dues still had to be paid.
💡 Concept Note
SPREE stands for Social Security Registration and Enrolment of Employees. The campaign enrolled 1.03 crore workers as of January 2026. India has ~90% informal workforce, making such campaigns essential for expanding formal social security coverage.
The Supreme Court judgment in Common Cause v. Union of India (2018) on passive euthanasia was delivered by how many judges?
The Common Cause v. UoI (2018) judgment on passive euthanasia and advance directives was delivered by a 5-judge constitutional bench presided over by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
💡 Concept Note
The judgment held that Article 21 (Right to Life) includes the right to die with dignity, making passive euthanasia legal with conditions. An advance directive (living will) was recognized as valid. Active euthanasia - administering a lethal substance - remains illegal in India.
Which of the following correctly distinguishes passive euthanasia from active euthanasia?
Passive euthanasia means withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment (disconnecting a ventilator, stopping artificial nutrition) allowing natural death. Active euthanasia means administering a lethal substance to cause death. Passive euthanasia is legal in India; active euthanasia is not.
💡 Concept Note
The Aruna Shanbaug case (2011) first judicially recognised passive euthanasia in India. In that case nurse Aruna Shanbaug had been in a persistent vegetative state since 1973 after an assault. The court acknowledged passive euthanasia but denied the petition in her specific case.
China recorded a population decline of approximately 3.39 million in 2025. When did China first record a population decline after decades of growth?
China first recorded a population decline in 2022 (by approximately 850,000 people) - the first decline since 1961. Subsequent declines were 2.08 million in 2023, 1.39 million in 2024, and 3.39 million in 2025.
💡 Concept Note
India surpassed China to become the world most populous country in April 2023. China replaced the one-child policy with two-child (2016) and three-child (2021) policies but these have not reversed the fertility decline. China total fertility rate is approximately 1.0 against the replacement level of 2.1.
What does AT&C loss refer to in the context of India's power distribution companies (DISCOMs)?
AT&C stands for Aggregate Technical and Commercial loss - the combined effect of electricity losses during transmission and distribution (technical) plus billing and collection inefficiency (commercial). India’s AT&C losses fell to 15.4% in FY25 from over 22% a decade ago.
💡 Concept Note
UDAY (Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana, 2015) and RDSS (Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, 2021 - Rs 3.04 lakh crore) have been the main schemes driving DISCOM reforms. DISCOMs recorded a collective net profit of Rs 2,701 crore in FY25 - the first-ever collective profit.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was established under which legislation?
The Central Vigilance Commission was initially established by executive order in 1964 based on the K. Santhanam Committee recommendations, but it received statutory status through the CVC Act, 2003.
💡 Concept Note
CVC exercises superintendence over vigilance administration in central government ministries, departments, and public sector undertakings. It is a multi-member body headed by the Chief Vigilance Commissioner. It is distinct from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) though CVC has supervisory jurisdiction over CBI in corruption cases.
