Daily Quiz — May 22, 2026

Cyprus became independent in 1960 from British rule under the London-Zurich Agreements. The 1974 Turkish military intervention partitioned the island, and the self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC) is recognised ONLY by Turkey — no other UN member, and not by India.
The capital Nicosia (Lefkosia) remains the world’s only divided capital, bisected by a UN Buffer Zone (Green Line). Cyprus has consistently supported India’s permanent seat on a reformed UN Security Council and India’s positions in the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth.
The 2026 New Delhi bilateral elevated relations to a Strategic Partnership and announced the “Friends of IMEC” plurilateral grouping.

The CBD has three pillars: (i) conservation of biodiversity; (ii) sustainable use; (iii) fair and equitable Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). Its two protocols are the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000; in force 2003) governing transboundary movement of living modified organisms, and the Nagoya Protocol on ABS (2010; in force October 12, 2014) — India ratified Nagoya on October 9, 2012 (the 5th country to ratify).
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted at CBD COP-15 in Montreal in December 2022 under China’s presidency; it has 4 long-term goals and 23 action targets, including the headline 30x30 target (protect 30% of land and sea by 2030). The CBD Secretariat is at Montreal.
The CBD has 196 Parties; only four UN member states are non-Parties — the United States (signed but never ratified), Andorra, South Sudan, and the Holy See — making the US the most significant non-Party.

The Himalaya hotspot covers the Himalayan range across India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Pakistan, Myanmar. The Indo-Burma hotspot extends across Northeast India (excluding Assam, which is part of the Eastern Himalaya region) into Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, southern China and Bangladesh.
The Western Ghats-Sri Lanka hotspot is split between Peninsular India’s western escarpment and Sri Lanka. Sundaland — primarily Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines — extends into India only through the Nicobar Islands (NOT the Andamans, which are part of the Indo-Burma hotspot).
The Eastern Ghats, Vindhyas, and Indo-Gangetic Plain are NOT classified as hotspots. India also hosts UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (12 in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves) and Ramsar wetlands (~89).
India ratified the CBD on February 18, 1994 and the Nagoya Protocol in October 2014.

IPOI is complementary to ASEAN’s “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific” (AOIP), endorsed at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in June 2019. The IPOI underscores India’s “Indo-Pacific” formulation — which the US adopted formally in the 2017 National Security Strategy.
The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) is a distinct Quad initiative, launched at the Tokyo Quad Leaders’ Summit on May 24, 2022 — IPMDA provides near-real-time maritime tracking of dark vessels via commercial satellite radar imagery. The Quad’s evolution: 2004 Tsunami Core Group (humanitarian relief after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami); Quad 1.0 was initiated in Manila in 2007 by Japanese PM Shinzo Abe but lapsed in 2008; Quad 2.0 revived in 2017 on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit.
First virtual Quad Leaders’ Summit on March 12, 2021; first in-person summit at the White House on September 24, 2021.

The Indian Space Policy was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on April 6, 2023 — it formally separated the roles of ISRO (research/development), NSIL (commercial operations), and IN-SPACe (regulator-promoter). NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) was incorporated on March 6, 2019 with headquarters in Bengaluru — it serves as the commercial arm of ISRO. FDI rules in the space sector were liberalised in February 2024 — up to 74% automatic in satellite manufacturing and operation, up to 49% automatic in launch vehicles and ground systems, and 100% automatic in satellite components and ground equipment.
India’s PSLV achieved its first successful flight on October 15, 1994 with PSLV-D2; the workhorse vehicle has delivered Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Mars Orbiter Mission (2013), and several record multi-satellite missions. India’s space economy target is USD 44 billion by 2033 (from ~USD 8 billion currently).

PM Surya Ghar replaces and consolidates earlier rooftop solar programmes (Phase II of the Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar Programme of MNRE). Implementing agency: REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation) and IREDA — coordinated by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The subsidy structure is: ₹30,000 for 1 kW; ₹60,000 for 2 kW; ₹78,000 for 3 kW and above (capped). India’s total renewable energy capacity stood at approximately 274.68 GW by end-March 2026, with solar at ~150.26 GW. India ranks 3rd globally in installed renewable capacity (after China and the US) per the IRENA 2026 Renewable Capacity Statistics.
India’s Panchamrit commitments at COP-26 Glasgow (November 2021) included 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030, 50% RE in the energy mix by 2030, a 45% reduction in carbon intensity (against 2005 base) by 2030, and net-zero by 2070.

FAME-I was launched on April 1, 2015 with an outlay of ₹895 crore and ran until March 31, 2019. FAME-II is the most relevant scheme historically because it directly subsidised consumer purchases — particularly of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, and electric buses — and is widely credited with kick-starting India’s electric two-wheeler market.
India’s EV30@30 target was announced at the Clean Energy Ministerial 2017 in Beijing — 30% EV sales by 2030. Karnataka was the FIRST Indian state to issue an EV Policy (2017).
The Battery Waste Management Rules were notified in August 2022 — establishing an Extended Producer Responsibility regime. Odisha’s May 21, 2026 directive making 100% EV procurement mandatory for new government vehicles (effective June 1, 2026) makes it the first Indian state to impose such a mandate.
India’s crude oil import dependence stands at approximately 87% (PPAC FY25 data), providing a strategic rationale for the EV transition.

FSSAI operates digital platforms including FoSCoS (Food Safety Compliance System) — launched in 2020 to replace the older FLRS (Food Licensing and Registration System) — and FoSCoRIS (FSS Compliance through Regular Inspections and Sampling). Public-facing programmes include the Eat Right India movement (launched 2018), Project BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God, for places of worship), and RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil).
FSSAI publishes the State Food Safety Index (SFSI) annually since 2019, ranking States and Union Territories on food safety performance. World Food Safety Day is observed on June 7 every year since 2019 — designated by UNGA Resolution 73/250 (adopted December 20, 2018) and led jointly by WHO and FAO. The EU equivalent is the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), operational since 1979.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission — a joint FAO/WHO body — sets international food standards; India is a Codex member.

CPEC was inaugurated during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Islamabad on April 20-21, 2015 — originally announced at USD 46 billion and subsequently expanded to a reported USD 62 billion in total investment. Major components include the Karakoram Highway upgrade (the highest paved international road in the world, traversing the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m), Gwadar Deep Water Port and Free Zone, multiple energy projects (coal-fired, hydropower, solar), and Special Economic Zones.
CPEC is the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), announced by Xi in 2013. The State Bank of Pakistan’s May 20, 2026 announcement of a commemorative Rs 75 coin marks 75 years of Pak-China diplomatic ties — established on May 21, 1951 (Pakistan was one of the first non-communist countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China).
According to SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database, China accounts for approximately 70% of Pakistan’s major arms imports between 2019-2023, making China by far Pakistan’s largest defence supplier — a structural dependence that complicates India’s western and northern security calculus simultaneously.

The RBI repo rate stood at 5.25% as of May 2026 — reflecting accommodative monetary stance amid moderating CPI inflation. The current RBI Governor is Sanjay Malhotra (since December 11, 2024), who succeeded Shaktikanta Das.
The Monetary Policy Framework Agreement was originally signed on February 20, 2015 between the Government of India (Ministry of Finance) and the RBI; statutory backing came via the Finance Act 2016, which amended the RBI Act 1934 to add a new Chapter III-F on the MPC. External members serve for a four-year term, non-renewable. India’s Manufacturing PMI has stayed above 50 for approximately 50 consecutive months, reflecting sustained expansion.
The PMI is a survey-based diffusion index compiled globally by S&P Global (formerly IHS Markit) since 2005 for India; HSBC has been the sponsor since 2023 (earlier sponsored by Nikkei). A reading above 50 indicates expansion; 50 = no change; below 50 = contraction.

The Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and Germany was signed in December 2022 during the 6th IGC in Berlin — it facilitates legal pathways for skilled Indian workers and students. Germany’s Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) — a points-based, employer-independent long-stay visa for skilled workers — was launched on June 1, 2024.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD — Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) is headquartered in Bonn and is the world’s largest funder of international academic exchange. Indian students in Germany number approximately 50,000+ — making them the largest non-EU student community in Germany; Germany overtook the US in some categories of Indian student inflows during 2023-24.
India-Germany bilateral trade was approximately €30 billion in 2024 — Germany is India’s largest trading partner within the EU. Germany hosts approximately 250,000+ persons of Indian origin.

The legal basis for India’s trade remedies framework is the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 — Sections 9 (countervailing duty), 9A (anti-dumping duty), and 9B (no levy under both); read with the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995. The multilateral basis is the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994, commonly known as the Anti-Dumping Agreement.
The recent DGTR recommendation is for definitive anti-dumping duties of USD 42.95-128.8/tonne on low-ash metallurgical coke imported from China, Indonesia, Colombia, Japan, and Russia — down from the provisional duties of USD 60.87-130.66/tonne. The investigation period was April 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024; the injury period was from April 2020.
India is the 2nd largest crude steel producer globally (after China), with current production around 180 mtpa; the National Steel Policy, 2017 targets 300 mtpa by 2030-31. India imports approximately 2.7-3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of metallurgical coke and approximately 85% of its coking coal requirements.

India implements the Nagoya Protocol primarily through the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (as amended in 2023) and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2004 (revised periodically). The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) — headquartered in Chennai — administers ABS at the central level; State Biodiversity Boards operate at the state level; and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) function at the panchayat/municipal level.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety — the OTHER protocol under the CBD — was adopted in 2000 and entered into force on September 11, 2003; India ratified it on January 23, 2003. The Cartagena Protocol governs the transboundary movement, transit, handling, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs).
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted at CBD COP-15 in Montreal in December 2022, under the presidency of China. The KMGBF has 4 long-term goals (Goals A-D) and 23 action targets (Targets 1-23), with the headline being Target 3 — the 30x30 commitment to protect 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030.