Daily Current Affairs Quiz
Daily Quiz — March 1, 2026
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10 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
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Question 1 of 10
The Brahmaputra River is designated as which National Waterway number under India’s inland waterways system?
The Brahmaputra River (Sadiya to Dhubri stretch, 891 km) is designated National Waterway-2 (NW-2), declared on 1 September 1988. NW-1 is the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch (1,620 km from Allahabad to Haldia).
NW-3 is the West Coast Canal in Kerala and NW-4 covers the Godavari-Krishna rivers in Andhra Pradesh. Key assets inaugurated on NW-2 include Customs and Immigration complexes at Bogibeel and Dhubri and the IWAI heritage building at Dibrugarh.
NW-3 is the West Coast Canal in Kerala and NW-4 covers the Godavari-Krishna rivers in Andhra Pradesh. Key assets inaugurated on NW-2 include Customs and Immigration complexes at Bogibeel and Dhubri and the IWAI heritage building at Dibrugarh.
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The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), established under the IWAI Act 1985, develops and maintains national waterways. India has 111 designated national waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016, spanning 20,275 km across 24 states. NW-2 is strategic for Northeast connectivity, reducing freight cost for bulk cargo (30-50% cheaper than road transport) and supporting India’s Act East Policy and trade with Bangladesh through the Bangladesh-India Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT).
Question 2 of 10
The e-RCT initiative digitises the Railway Claims Tribunal. How many benches does the Railway Claims Tribunal have, and across how many cities are they spread?
The Railway Claims Tribunal has 23 benches spread across 21 cities, with the Principal Bench at Delhi. The e-RCT platform digitally connects all 23 benches on a single system, enabling 24x7 online filing of claims from any location, paperless case processing, digital order and judgment pronouncement, and online exchange of pleadings and notices.
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The Railway Claims Tribunal was established under the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987, to adjudicate compensation claims for untoward incidents, goods loss or damage, and fare refunds. Before e-RCT, all filings were physical and claimants had to appear at the nearest bench. This digitisation is part of Indian Railways’ RailTech reform agenda and aligns with the government’s push for paperless, tech-led justice delivery across quasi-judicial bodies.
Question 3 of 10
Mission Basundhara 3.0, a digital land-services reform programme that saw renewed attention in March 2026, belongs to which state?
Mission Basundhara 3.0 is Assam’s flagship digital land-governance programme. It uses online processing for land settlement, mutation-linked approvals, record corrections, and title deed issuance.
Land records in Assam are particularly complex due to riverine erosion changing boundaries, forest-adjacent claims, and agricultural dependency — making digital governance especially important for reducing litigation and enabling credit access for rural households.
Land records in Assam are particularly complex due to riverine erosion changing boundaries, forest-adjacent claims, and agricultural dependency — making digital governance especially important for reducing litigation and enabling credit access for rural households.
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Mission Basundhara complements national schemes like SVAMITVA and the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), administered by the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development. Clean cadastral governance reduces disputes, enables collateral-backed credit, and is a prerequisite for effective welfare delivery. Land governance reform is a recurring UPSC GS-2 and GS-3 theme.
Question 4 of 10
The SVAMITVA scheme, which maps rural property, uses which technology for its surveys?
SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) uses drone-based aerial surveys to map inhabited (Abadi) land in rural areas, capturing centimetre-level accuracy of residential plot boundaries. The output is a Property Card (Swamitva Card) enabling villagers to use their homes as financial collateral for bank loans.
Survey of India is the technology partner for implementation.
Survey of India is the technology partner for implementation.
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SVAMITVA was launched by PM Modi on National Panchayat Day, 24 April 2020. It is implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with Survey of India and state Revenue Departments. The scheme targets inhabited residential land within villages — not agricultural land (which falls under separate revenue records) and not forest land (which falls under the Forest Rights Act, 2006). Over 3.17 lakh villages have been covered and 2.19 crore property cards distributed as of 2025.
Question 5 of 10
Zero Discrimination Day is observed internationally on which date?
Zero Discrimination Day is observed every year on March 1. It was first celebrated in 2014 and is led by UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS).
It promotes equal rights and access to healthcare, education, and public services without discrimination based on sex, age, health status, ethnicity, occupation, or disability. The butterfly is the symbol of the day, representing transformation and the drive for equality.
It promotes equal rights and access to healthcare, education, and public services without discrimination based on sex, age, health status, ethnicity, occupation, or disability. The butterfly is the symbol of the day, representing transformation and the drive for equality.
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World Civil Defence Day is also observed on March 1, established by the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) to raise awareness about civil protection and emergency preparedness. These two observances on the same date connect rights-based governance with disaster management capacity — both being state capacity questions for UPSC. UNAIDS was established in 1996, co-sponsored by 11 UN agencies, and is headquartered in Geneva.
Question 6 of 10
The NITI Aayog State Support Mission focuses primarily on which aspect of governance?
The NITI Aayog State Support Mission aims to improve state-level administrative capacity — focusing on data use, departmental coordination, project preparation, and implementation quality. It is an example of cooperative federalism addressing backend governance architecture.
A regional dialogue under this mission was held in Agartala, Tripura, in early 2026, covering Northeast states.
A regional dialogue under this mission was held in Agartala, Tripura, in early 2026, covering Northeast states.
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India’s national schemes often succeed or fail not because of design alone but because state institutions vary sharply in administrative depth and execution ability. The State Support Mission tries to address this gap. It reflects a shift in governance reform — from flagship announcements to building the institutional infrastructure required for consistent service delivery. This connects with UPSC Mains themes on cooperative federalism and the Centre-State implementation divide.
Question 7 of 10
What was the primary focus of the RailTech Policy introduced by Indian Railways?
The RailTech Policy creates a structured pathway for startups, industry, and academic institutions to test and scale solutions for operational problems within Indian Railways. Priority areas include AI-based elephant intrusion detection, fire-detection systems, drone-based track inspection, and predictive maintenance tools.
The policy was launched alongside the e-RCT initiative in early 2026.
The policy was launched alongside the e-RCT initiative in early 2026.
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Other major railway technology initiatives include KAVACH (Automatic Train Protection system for collision avoidance, indigenously developed) and hydrogen fuel-cell train pilots. Indian Railways is the world’s 4th-largest rail network by route length (68,000+ km), carrying approximately 24 million passengers daily. Technology-led safety improvements are therefore a high-stakes national policy priority with direct GS-3 (infrastructure) and GS-2 (governance) relevance.
Question 8 of 10
Which annual observance on March 1 focuses on emergency preparedness and protection of civilians during disasters and crises?
World Civil Defence Day is observed every year on March 1 by the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO), founded in 1931 and headquartered in Geneva. It focuses on emergency preparedness, community resilience, and protecting civilians during disasters and armed conflicts.
Unlike the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (October 13, established by UNGA), World Civil Defence Day specifically emphasises operational civil protection and response capacity.
Unlike the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (October 13, established by UNGA), World Civil Defence Day specifically emphasises operational civil protection and response capacity.
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Civil defence covers emergency planning, evacuation, first aid, search and rescue, and critical infrastructure protection. India’s civil defence architecture is governed by the Civil Defence Act, 1968, supplemented by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA, established under the Disaster Management Act, 2005) and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs). The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is the main global non-binding policy framework on disaster resilience.
Question 9 of 10
The IWAI heritage building inaugurated in connection with National Waterway-2 projects is located at which city?
The IWAI (Inland Waterways Authority of India) heritage building inaugurated in the March 2026 cycle is located at Dibrugarh in Assam. Customs and Immigration complexes were separately inaugurated at Bogibeel and Dhubri — both key freight and passenger transit points on NW-2.
Dibrugarh is one of the primary IWAI operational centres on the upper Brahmaputra, close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border region.
Dibrugarh is one of the primary IWAI operational centres on the upper Brahmaputra, close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border region.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
IWAI was established in 1986 under the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985, with headquarters in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. India has approximately 14,500 km of navigable waterways but only about 2% of freight currently moves by inland water transport — compared to 14% in the USA and 45% in China. India’s Sagarmala Programme includes inland waterway development as a key pillar for reducing overall logistics costs, which at 8-9% of GDP are higher than most developed economies.
Question 10 of 10
Which of the following correctly describes the SVAMITVA scheme’s primary beneficiary and output?
SVAMITVA specifically targets inhabitants of Abadi (inhabited or residential) areas within villages — not agricultural land, not urban areas, and not forest-dwelling areas (which fall under the Forest Rights Act, 2006). The output is a Property Card (Swamitva Card) that can be used as collateral for bank loans and for accessing government schemes.
This distinction — residential versus agricultural land — is a common exam trap.
This distinction — residential versus agricultural land — is a common exam trap.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
SVAMITVA fills a longstanding gap: while agricultural land records were relatively well-maintained (as they determine land revenue), residential plots within villages often had no formal documentation, causing legal disputes and preventing access to credit. The scheme connects with the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) for housing linkage and with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s broader push for evidence-based local planning through the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) process.
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