Daily Current Affairs Quiz
Daily Quiz — March 9, 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
The Raisina Dialogue is jointly organised by which two bodies?
The Raisina Dialogue is jointly organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) — India’s leading foreign policy think tank — and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). First held in January 2016, it is India’s premier multilateral conference on geopolitics, geoeconomics, technology governance, maritime security, and strategic affairs.
Named after Raisina Hill — where Rashtrapati Bhavan and South Block (PMO and MEA) are located — it signals India’s aspiration to shape global debates rather than merely respond to them.
Named after Raisina Hill — where Rashtrapati Bhavan and South Block (PMO and MEA) are located — it signals India’s aspiration to shape global debates rather than merely respond to them.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India’s foreign policy logic at Raisina typically emphasises strategic autonomy, multi-alignment (engaging USA, Russia, China, and EU simultaneously on issue-specific terms), and India’s role as a Vishwamitra (friend of the world) rather than a member of any formal military bloc. Multi-alignment is distinct from Cold War non-alignment: India actively engages all major powers but preserves the right to take independent positions. The Raisina Dialogue is comparable in stature to the Munich Security Conference (Germany) and Shangri-La Dialogue (Singapore) for its convening power in global policy circles.
Question 2 of 10
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was amended in 2020 to limit routine government controls. Under what circumstances does the 2020 amendment allow the government to re-invoke stock limits and price controls?
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 removed cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onions, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities under normal circumstances. The government can re-impose stock limits and price controls only under extraordinary circumstances: war, famine, extraordinary price rise (defined as a 100% retail price increase for horticultural/perishable produce or 50% for non-perishable agricultural food items, calculated against the lower of the preceding 12 months price or the 5-year average), or natural calamity of grave nature.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
The 2020 amendment was part of three controversial farm reform bills that were repealed in November 2021 following sustained farmer protests. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 itself remains in force. It is relevant for Prelims as it governs hoarding and black-marketing regulation, and connects to the broader food security architecture of FCI (Food Corporation of India), buffer stocks, and the Public Distribution System (PDS) under the National Food Security Act, 2013. The ECA operates on a concurrent list subject (Entry 33 of List III of the 7th Schedule) — both Centre and states can legislate.
Question 3 of 10
The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, was signed in which year and protects which types of species?
The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), also called the Bonn Convention, was signed in Bonn, West Germany in 1979 and entered into force on November 1, 1983. It specifically protects wild animals that migrate across national boundaries — covering birds, mammals, sea turtles, fish, and insects.
Species are listed on CMS Appendix I (endangered, strictly protected — no deliberate taking permitted) or Appendix II (unfavourable conservation status — international cooperation needed).
Species are listed on CMS Appendix I (endangered, strictly protected — no deliberate taking permitted) or Appendix II (unfavourable conservation status — international cooperation needed).
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India is a signatory to CMS and hosts key migratory routes: the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) for birds, sea turtle nesting beaches on both coasts, and marine mammal corridors. The State of the World’s Migratory Species report (published by CMS/UNEP) tracks population trends. Key Indian migratory birds: Amur Falcon (world’s longest migration, through Nagaland), Bar-headed Goose (crosses Himalayas), Siberian Crane (Critically Endangered, once wintered at Keoladeo Ghana NP, Bharatpur). CMS is administered under UNEP and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. India has also signed Range State Agreements under CMS for sea turtles and marine mammals.
Question 4 of 10
India lies on which major migratory bird flyway that connects Siberia and Central Asia to South and Southeast Asia?
India lies on the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) — one of the world’s most important bird migration routes, connecting breeding grounds in Siberia, Central Asia, and the Russian Far East with wintering grounds in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia. Millions of migratory birds use India’s wetlands, coastline, and grasslands every winter.
The CAF covers 30 countries and is home to 279 migratory bird species.
The CAF covers 30 countries and is home to 279 migratory bird species.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India’s key migratory bird sites under the Central Asian Flyway: Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur, Rajasthan) — UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985; Chilika Lake (Odisha) — Asia’s largest coastal lagoon and a Ramsar site; Pulicat Lake (Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh); Rann of Kutch (Gujarat) — world’s largest flamingo breeding ground. The Amur Falcon migration through Nagaland is globally significant — these raptors travel from Siberia to Africa and back covering over 20,000 km annually. Community conservation at Pangti village, Nagaland transformed mass hunting of Amur Falcons into ecotourism-based protection — a celebrated model of community wildlife conservation.
Question 5 of 10
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 was co-hosted by which country or countries?
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 was co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, with the tournament running from February 7 to March 8, 2026. This brought the tournament back to the Indian subcontinent after the 2024 edition in the West Indies and USA. Matches were held across multiple venues including iconic grounds in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Colombo.
South Africa and Zimbabwe are the scheduled hosts for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028.
South Africa and Zimbabwe are the scheduled hosts for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Cricket and the ICC (International Cricket Council, headquartered in Dubai) are significant for UPSC in terms of soft power, sports diplomacy, and India’s central role through BCCI’s dominance in ICC governance and funding. Hosting major sporting events projects a nation’s organisational capability and cultural hospitality to a global audience. India hosted the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2026 T20 World Cup, cementing its position as cricket’s premier host nation. The IPL, with a brand value exceeding USD 15 billion, is the world’s most-watched cricket league, broadcast across 100+ countries and a significant soft power and commercial asset.
Question 6 of 10
Migratory bird conservation is described as a diplomatic as well as ecological challenge. Why?
Migratory birds depend on a chain of habitats across multiple countries — breeding grounds, stopover sites, and wintering areas — meaning that conservation in one country is negated if another country destroys critical habitat along the flyway. This requires diplomatic cooperation on land use planning, wetland protection, hunting regulations, and scientific data sharing across entire migration routes.
The weakest link in the flyway chain determines conservation outcomes for the entire species.
The weakest link in the flyway chain determines conservation outcomes for the entire species.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India participates in the CMS, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), and bilateral bird conservation agreements. The flyway conservation model recognises that national conservation alone is insufficient for migratory species. A concrete illustration: Siberian Crane declines in India are attributed largely to hunting in Afghanistan and Iran and wetland destruction in Central Asia — not to habitat conditions in India itself. For UPSC, this illustrates how biodiversity governance requires international environmental law, multilateral treaties, and diplomatic tools alongside domestic policy.
Question 7 of 10
The Raisina Dialogue covers which of the following policy domains, making it relevant to multiple UPSC General Studies papers?
The Raisina Dialogue covers geopolitics, geoeconomics, technology governance (AI, cyber, semiconductors), climate diplomacy, maritime security, connectivity infrastructure, and middle-power coordination. This multi-domain scope makes it relevant to GS-2 (International Relations, Governance), GS-3 (Economy, Science and Technology, Security), and even GS-4 (Ethics in governance), depending on specific discussion themes in a given year.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India’s current foreign policy framework is characterised by: strategic autonomy (not joining any military alliance), multi-alignment (engaging USA, Russia, China, EU simultaneously on issue-specific terms), connectivity leadership (IMEC, Chabahar, Act East Policy), climate leadership (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure — CDRI, International Solar Alliance — ISA), and technology diplomacy (Quad Tech Track, digital public infrastructure export). The Raisina Dialogue provides the multilateral platform where all these themes are publicly articulated and debated annually.
Question 8 of 10
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the Central and State governments to control which aspects of a commodity’s lifecycle?
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers both the Central and State governments to regulate the production, supply, storage, distribution, and trade of specified essential commodities. Powers include: fixing stock limits to prevent hoarding, ordering compulsory sale, seizing excess stocks, controlling prices, and licensing dealers.
Both central and state governments can add commodities to their respective lists, with state lists able to reflect local supply conditions.
Both central and state governments can add commodities to their respective lists, with state lists able to reflect local supply conditions.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Essential commodities are items whose uninterrupted supply is necessary for social and economic welfare. Food grains, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, sugar, kerosene, fertilisers, and medicines have historically been included. The ECA interacts with the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) framework, which regulates wholesale agricultural markets at state level. The 2020 farm bills tried to deregulate both ECA and APMC frameworks simultaneously to attract private investment in agri-marketing and cold chain infrastructure — the bills were repealed in November 2021 following large-scale farmer protests centred in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.
Question 9 of 10
Sports events like the ICC T20 World Cup are described as having soft power implications for host nations. What does this term mean?
Soft power (a concept developed by political scientist Joseph Nye) is the ability to influence other states and peoples through cultural appeal, values, and voluntary attraction rather than coercion (hard power) or economic inducements. Hosting major sporting events projects a nation’s organisational capability, hospitality, and cultural vitality to a global audience — as India demonstrated by co-hosting the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
India’s soft power sources include: Bollywood cinema (reaching over 90 countries), yoga (International Yoga Day, June 21), cuisine, its large diaspora (over 32 million people), democratic credentials, and cricket. Cricket is particularly a soft power instrument in South Asia — India’s bilateral cricket relations (or the absence thereof, as with Pakistan) carry direct diplomatic significance. The IPL has become a global soft power vehicle attracting international players and broadcasting across 100+ countries, with a tournament brand value exceeding USD 15 billion.
Question 10 of 10
Which of the following wildlife species makes India part of the Central Asian Flyway’s conservation significance as a critical wintering ground?
The Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) is a Critically Endangered migratory bird that historically wintered in India — particularly at Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur, Rajasthan), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. In recent decades, Siberian Cranes have almost entirely disappeared from their Indian wintering ground due to habitat degradation and hunting along the flyway in Afghanistan and Iran — demonstrating the interconnected nature of migratory species conservation across international boundaries.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
Keoladeo Ghana National Park was a hunting reserve of the Bharatpur Maharajas, converted to a bird sanctuary in 1956, a national park in 1982, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. It is also a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The near-disappearance of the Siberian Crane from Keoladeo — despite excellent habitat conditions in India — illustrates that flyway-wide threats determine migratory species survival, not just conditions at a single site. India’s Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) are key domestic policy instruments supporting flyway and wetland conservation.
–
/ 10
Performance
✓
Correct
0
✗
Incorrect
0
%
Accuracy
0%
⏱
Time Taken
–
Question-wise Result