Daily Current Affairs Quiz
Daily Quiz — March 7, 2026
Daily Practice
Test Your Knowledge
10 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
10 MCQs
Explanations
Statistics
Timed
Choose number of questions
Question 1 of 10
India hosts the most Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in the world. According to NASSCOM assessments, India hosts more than how many GCCs and employs approximately how many professionals in them?
According to the NASSCOM-Zinnov India GCC Landscape Report (FY2024), India hosts over 1,700 GCCs employing approximately 1.9 million professionals — nearly 45% of the global GCC talent base. GCC revenue from India reached approximately USD 64.6 billion in FY2024.
The sector grew by over 32% from FY2019 (1,285 centres) to FY2024, reflecting India’s shift from cost arbitrage to capability arbitrage in global services.
The sector grew by over 32% from FY2019 (1,285 centres) to FY2024, reflecting India’s shift from cost arbitrage to capability arbitrage in global services.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
GCCs (Global Capability Centres) are offshore units of multinational companies handling high-value functions including engineering design, R&D, AI and analytics, cybersecurity, and global product management — far beyond the back-office functions they began with. India’s GCC sector is projected to reach USD 125 billion in revenue and employ 4.5 million professionals by 2032. The BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance) sector hosts the largest share of GCC entities (185-190 centres). GCCs connect to topics of services exports, digital infrastructure, and India’s position in global supply chains — relevant to UPSC GS-3 (Economy).
Question 2 of 10
The GenomeIndia Project created a national genomic dataset linked to which data repository?
The GenomeIndia Project dataset is archived at the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) — India’s first national repository for life science data, established at the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad. The project, funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), collected whole-genome sequences from 10,000 individuals across 83 diverse Indian populations.
PM Modi dedicated the GenomeIndia data to researchers at the Genomics Data Conclave on January 9, 2025.
PM Modi dedicated the GenomeIndia data to researchers at the Genomics Data Conclave on January 9, 2025.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
GenomeIndia is implemented by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) through a collaboration of 20 academic and research institutions. IBDC is India’s equivalent of international repositories like NCBI GenBank (USA) and the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA). India has enormous genetic diversity with hundreds of ethnic groups showing distinct genetic signatures — Western genomic databases may not accurately predict drug responses or disease risk variants for Indians. An Indian genomic reference database is therefore critical for health equity in precision medicine. Access to GenomeIndia data is governed through the BIOTECH-PRIDE guidelines to balance open research with data sovereignty.
Question 3 of 10
Mission Amrit Sarovar aims to create or rejuvenate how many water bodies across India, and was launched in which year?
Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched on April 24, 2022 — National Panchayati Raj Day — with the target of creating or rejuvenating 75 Amrit Sarovars in each district of India, totalling approximately 50,000 ponds nationally. The number 75 was chosen as a tribute to Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75 years of Indian independence).
By January 2025, over 68,000 Sarovars had been completed, exceeding the original 50,000 target. Each Amrit Sarovar must have a minimum pond area of 1 acre with a water holding capacity of 10,000 cubic metres.
By January 2025, over 68,000 Sarovars had been completed, exceeding the original 50,000 target. Each Amrit Sarovar must have a minimum pond area of 1 acre with a water holding capacity of 10,000 cubic metres.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Local water bodies (ponds, tanks, check dams) provide groundwater recharge, minor irrigation support, livestock water, fisheries, fire-fighting reserves, and microclimate regulation. Their restoration is faster and cheaper than building large dams. Under MGNREGA, water conservation works — including pond desilting and bunding — are among the most common permitted activities. Mission Amrit Sarovar connects rural employment, water security, and climate adaptation in a single programme. The long-term challenge is institutional: ensuring community ownership, annual maintenance responsibilities, and regulated water use so ponds do not silt up within a few monsoon cycles.
Question 4 of 10
Exercise Varuna is a bilateral naval exercise between India and which country, reflecting strategic maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean?
Exercise Varuna is the bilateral naval exercise between India and France, reflecting the depth of the India-France strategic partnership in the Indian Ocean. First held in 1993 and christened Varuna in 2001, it has been held annually since.
The 23rd edition (Varuna 2025) took place in March 2025 and featured aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and French carrier Charles de Gaulle alongside frigates, destroyers, and a Scorpene-class submarine. France has its own Indian Ocean territories (Reunion, Mayotte, French Southern and Antarctic Lands) giving it a permanent stake in regional security.
The 23rd edition (Varuna 2025) took place in March 2025 and featured aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and French carrier Charles de Gaulle alongside frigates, destroyers, and a Scorpene-class submarine. France has its own Indian Ocean territories (Reunion, Mayotte, French Southern and Antarctic Lands) giving it a permanent stake in regional security.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India’s key bilateral naval exercises: Malabar (India-USA-Japan- Australia QUAD exercise), Tasman Saber (Australia), Konkan (UK), Varuna (France), SIMBEX (Singapore), PASSEX (various). India and France have been Strategic Partners since 1998. France supplied India with 36 Rafale multirole jets for the IAF (delivered 2020-2022) and 26 Rafale Marine jets for the Indian Navy are on order. Six Scorpene-class submarines (Kalvari class) were built at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai under Project 75 with technology transfer from Naval Group (France) — all six have been commissioned into the Indian Navy.
Question 5 of 10
The Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC), which hosts the GenomeIndia dataset, is analogous to which international genomic data repository?
IBDC is India’s equivalent of NCBI GenBank (USA) and the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) — publicly accessible databases for nucleotide sequences and biological data. Established at the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, IBDC is supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
It stores and provides access to Indian biological research data, making India’s genomic and biological research sovereign and reducing dependence on foreign repositories.
It stores and provides access to Indian biological research data, making India’s genomic and biological research sovereign and reducing dependence on foreign repositories.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Data sovereignty in genomics is increasingly important — control over biological data has significant implications for pharmaceutical R&D, national security, and privacy. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) and the BIOTECH-PRIDE guidelines together govern access to genomic data — balancing open scientific access with consent and sovereignty requirements. The Department of Biotechnology manages both GenomeIndia and IBDC, and is also responsible for the National Biopharma Mission and India’s biotechnology industrial clusters.
Question 6 of 10
GCCs in India handle functions that go far beyond back-office work. Which of the following is an example of the high-value work now performed at Indian GCCs?
Indian GCCs now handle engineering design, R&D, AI and analytics, cybersecurity, financial operations, and global product management — not just back-office and BPO functions. This represents India’s shift from cost arbitrage (cheap labour for routine tasks) to capability arbitrage (specialised talent for complex, high-value functions).
NASSCOM data shows GCC revenue from India at approximately USD 64.6 billion in FY2024, with most growth coming from high-complexity functions.
NASSCOM data shows GCC revenue from India at approximately USD 64.6 billion in FY2024, with most growth coming from high-complexity functions.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
The evolution of Indian GCCs tracks the IT industry’s maturation: Phase 1 (1990s) — basic IT services outsourcing; Phase 2 (2000s) — BPO and back office; Phase 3 (2010s) — knowledge process outsourcing (KPO); Phase 4 (current) — centres of excellence with deep R&D, product ownership, and global innovation mandates. India produces approximately 1.5 million engineering graduates annually, and its English proficiency and 24-hour time-zone coverage (complementing US day shift) are structural advantages. GCCs now compete with domestic IT services firms for the same talent pool, driving up wages in the formal tech sector.
Question 7 of 10
Which aspect of Mission Amrit Sarovar is critical to ensure that restored water bodies remain functional long after initial construction?
The most critical aspect for long-term functionality of restored water bodies is community ownership and institutional governance — clear answers to who owns the land, who is responsible for annual desilting and bund maintenance, and how water use is regulated. Without these arrangements, restored ponds silt up again within 2-3 monsoon cycles, or are encroached upon.
Mission Amrit Sarovar specifies that Gram Sabhas and local self-government bodies should be involved in site selection, construction, and post-completion maintenance.
Mission Amrit Sarovar specifies that Gram Sabhas and local self-government bodies should be involved in site selection, construction, and post-completion maintenance.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
This illustrates the broader governance principle: asset creation is easier to measure and fund than service delivery and maintenance. The same challenge applies to toilets under Swachh Bharat (built but sometimes unused), roads (built but poorly maintained), and taps under Jal Jeevan Mission (installed but not always functional). The international best-practice model for water bodies is community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) — where local institutions have both use rights and maintenance responsibilities. Elinor Ostrom’s work on governing the commons, which won the 2009 Nobel in Economics, is directly relevant here.
Question 8 of 10
France is significant to India’s defence capabilities through which major acquisitions?
France has supplied India with 36 Rafale multirole aircraft for the IAF (all delivered by 2022) and 26 Rafale Marine jets are on order for the Indian Navy. France’s Naval Group built six Scorpene-class submarines (Kalvari class) at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai under Project 75 — all six have been commissioned.
These are two of India’s most significant recent defence acquisitions, underpinning the India-France Strategic Partnership since 1998.
These are two of India’s most significant recent defence acquisitions, underpinning the India-France Strategic Partnership since 1998.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India’s defence import diversification reduces dependence on any single supplier. Russia remains India’s largest historical supplier by volume (T-90 tanks, Su-30 MKI, INS Vikramaditya carrier). The USA has been the largest supplier by contract value in recent years (C-17, P-8I Poseidon, Apache, Chinook). France (Rafale, Scorpene), Israel (missiles, radars, UAVs), and increasingly domestic production (Tejas, Arjun, INS Vikrant) complete India’s defence sourcing profile. The indigenisation target under the Defence Acquisition Procedure is 68% domestic procurement by value by 2027.
Question 9 of 10
The concept of precision medicine that GenomeIndia supports refers to which medical approach?
Precision medicine (also called personalised medicine) tailors medical treatment to an individual’s characteristics — including genetic makeup, biomarkers, lifestyle, and environment — rather than applying one-size-fits-all protocols. Genomic data is fundamental because genetic variants determine how patients respond to drugs (pharmacogenomics), their disease risk, and optimal treatment strategies.
GenomeIndia’s 10,000-sample dataset enables development of Indian-specific diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
GenomeIndia’s 10,000-sample dataset enables development of Indian-specific diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Pharmacogenomics studies how genes affect drug response — for example, patients with certain CYP2C19 variants metabolise drugs differently, affecting antiplatelet therapy after cardiac events. India’s diverse population (83 distinct genetic clusters identified in GenomeIndia) means Western genomic databases may systematically mispredict drug responses or disease risks for Indian patients. This creates health inequity. GenomeIndia addresses this gap and is expected to accelerate India’s position in the global genomics-based healthcare market, which is projected to exceed USD 94 billion globally by 2026.
Question 10 of 10
In the context of India’s naval strategy, what does interoperability achieved through bilateral exercises like Varuna mean in practice?
Naval interoperability means that different national forces can operate together effectively through compatible communication systems, shared tactical procedures, compatible data links, and practised coordination — without necessarily using the same equipment. Exercises like Varuna build this so that in a real maritime contingency, Indian and French forces can coordinate seamlessly.
Varuna 2025 featured combined anti-submarine warfare, cross-deck aircraft operations, and replenishment-at-sea drills.
Varuna 2025 featured combined anti-submarine warfare, cross-deck aircraft operations, and replenishment-at-sea drills.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Interoperability is central to India’s Integrated Theatre Commands initiative (still being operationalised) and to its participation in QUAD exercises. The BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) and COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) with the USA are foundational interoperability agreements that enable sharing of geospatial intelligence and secure communications. The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA, 2016) allows Indian ships to refuel and re-arm at US bases globally and vice versa, enabling sustained long-range operations beyond India’s immediate neighbourhood.
–
/ 10
Performance
✓
Correct
0
✗
Incorrect
0
%
Accuracy
0%
⏱
Time Taken
–
Question-wise Result