UPSC Prelims Practice
Current Affairs Quiz 25 April 2026
Test Your Knowledge
15 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
Choose number of questions
Question 1 of 15
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 amends 79 Central Acts across 23 Ministries, covering 784 provisions, 717 proposed for decriminalisation and 67 for improving ease of living. It was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 27, 2026 by MoS Commerce Jitin Prasada.
Concept note
Phase 1 (2023) covered 42 Acts, 183 provisions. Phase 2 (2026) is roughly 4x larger.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 2 of 15
The graded enforcement mechanism under Jan Vishwas Act 2026 provides for an Advisory for the first contravention, a Warning for the second, and a civil monetary penalty for subsequent violations. Criminal prosecution is retained only for serious, intentional offences.
Concept note
This proportionate enforcement model is designed to distinguish between minor technical defaults and genuine criminal conduct.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 3 of 15
The World Bank’s South Asia Economic Update (April 2026), themed ‘Working with Industrial Policy’, projects India’s GDP growth at 7.6% for FY2025-26 — the fastest among major economies. Growth is expected to moderate to 6.6% in FY2026-27 due to Middle East conflict-driven energy price pressures.
Concept note
The 6.6% figure is the FY27 projection, not FY26. Don’t confuse the two in exam questions.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 4 of 15
Japan’s April 21, 2026 amendment to the Three Principles moved from a whitelist model (only named categories/partners) to a default-permissive model, transfers of all defence equipment are now permissible in principle, with end-use monitoring retained. India welcomed this as a boost to the Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
Concept note
Japan also proposed co-production of Mogami-class stealth frigates (30FFM) in Indian shipyards, the first such foreign co-production offer.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 5 of 15
The UCLA study on the world’s top 25 landfill methane plumes (2025) used data from Tanager-1 (a commercial satellite by Planet Labs equipped with a methane spectrometer) and NASA’s EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) instrument aboard the International Space Station.
Concept note
Hyderabad’s Jawaharnagar site emits 5.9 tonnes/hour of methane (4th globally); Mumbai emits 4.9 t/hr (12th globally).
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 6 of 15
The UCLA study identified Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd as the operator of the Jawaharnagar landfill in Secunderabad (Hyderabad), which emits 5.9 tonnes/hour of methane, ranking 4th globally. Antony Waste Handling Cell Ltd operates the Mumbai landfill site (12th globally, 4.9 t/hr).
Concept note
Methane has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 28x CO₂ over 100 years and 80x over 20 years.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 7 of 15
SHANTI stands for Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India. It was passed by Parliament in late 2025 and replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010, enabling private Indian companies to enter the nuclear power sector for the first time.
Concept note
FDI into nuclear power remains prohibited under SHANTI. Only Indian private companies can participate.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 8 of 15
CEA (Central Electricity Authority) Chairperson Ghanshyam Prasad announced India’s target to expand nuclear capacity from 8.8 GW to 100 GW by 2047, an over 11-fold increase. The legal foundation is the SHANTI Act, which now enables private sector participation.
Concept note
India’s nuclear power currently accounts for ~3% of total electricity generation. Achieving 100 GW would require massive scale-up including private players and SMRs.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 9 of 15
India’s three-stage nuclear programme (designed by Homi J. Bhabha) consists of Stage 1 (PHWR + natural uranium, operational), Stage 2 (FBR + plutonium, prototype at Kalpakkam), and Stage 3 (AHWR + thorium/U-233, R&D). Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) are not a designated stage in India’s programme, though two BWRs operate at Tarapur (supplied by the US in 1969).
Concept note
India has the world’s second-largest thorium reserves (~25% of global reserves), the main rationale for the three-stage programme.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 10 of 15
The explosion occurred at Mundathikode, on the outskirts of Thrissur city, where a fireworks assembly unit was preparing crackers for Thiruvambady Devaswom’s participation in Thrissur Pooram. Thekkinkadu Maidan is the main festival ground, not the site of the explosion.
Concept note
The death toll rose to 15 after the licensee, Mundathikode Satheesh, succumbed to over 80% burns. Thrissur Pooram 2026 was subsequently conducted without fireworks.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 11 of 15
The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It administers the Explosives Act, 1884 and the Petroleum Act, 1934, and issues licenses for manufacture, storage, transport, and use of explosives and petroleum products.
Concept note
The Explosives Act, 1884, over 140 years old, carries a maximum fine of ₹5,000, widely criticised as having no deterrent value in the context of industrial safety.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 12 of 15
OGAI is constituted under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROGA) Act, 2025. MeitY notified the PROGA Rules 2026 on April 22, 2026, with OGAI becoming operational from May 1, 2026. It is chaired by the Additional Secretary, MeitY.
Concept note
The IT Act 2000’s 2023 amendments had created an interim SRO-based framework for online gaming, which PROGA Act now replaces with a statutory authority.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 13 of 15
Skill-based games (where outcomes depend substantially on the player’s skill) are constitutionally protected under Article 19(1)(g), the right to practise any profession or carry on any business. Courts have upheld fantasy sports, rummy, and poker as skill-based. Chance-based gambling is not protected and can be regulated or banned by states under Entry 34 of the State List.
Concept note
Public gambling is a State List subject (Entry 34). The Union can regulate online gaming through the IT Act or specific legislation like PROGA.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 14 of 15
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on April 28, 2026. Kyrgyzstan holds the SCO Presidency in 2026 and will also host the SCO Summit later in the year.
Concept note
The SCO has 10 full members (China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus).
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Question 15 of 15
Methane (CH₄) has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of approximately 28 times that of CO₂ over a 100-year horizon (IPCC AR6). Over a 20-year horizon, the GWP is approximately 80x, because methane is more potent but shorter-lived (~12 years in atmosphere vs centuries for CO₂).
Concept note
Despite its shorter atmospheric lifetime, methane is responsible for approximately 0.5°C of observed global warming, making landfill methane reduction a high-leverage climate intervention.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
Performance
Question-wise Result
