Daily Quiz — May 23, 2026

The Revised ECF maintains a Contingency Risk Buffer (CRB) — a part of realised equity that absorbs monetary, financial and credit risks. The CRB band was revised in May 2025 from the earlier 5.5%-6.5% to a new 4.5%-7.5% range, giving the Board more discretion.
The FY26 CRB has been kept at 6.5% (vs 7.5% in FY25) — releasing more surplus to the Centre. The RBI accounting year was aligned to the fiscal year (April-March) from FY21 onwards (earlier July-June).
Section 7 governs Centre-RBI directions; Section 17 lists permitted business; Section 45 deals with bank inspections. Urjit Patel Committee (2014) gave the inflation-targeting framework; Y.V. Reddy Committee (2007) reviewed FRBM; Tarapore Committees (1997 & 2006) examined capital account convertibility.

Agni-1 is a single-stage, solid-propellant SRBM with a range of 700-1,200 km, bridging the gap between Prithvi-II (350 km) and Agni-II (2,000+ km). The May 22, 2026 test from ITR Chandipur was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which was established on January 4, 2003 under the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).
The NCA is chaired by the Prime Minister and comprises a Political Council (final authority on nuclear use) and an Executive Council. India’s nuclear doctrine was officially adopted on January 4, 2003 by the CCS — its three pillars are: (i) No First Use (NFU), (ii) Credible Minimum Deterrent, and (iii) Massive Retaliation in response to a nuclear first strike.
India’s most recent milestone was Mission Divyastra on March 11, 2024 — the first flight test of Agni-5 with MIRV (Multiple Independently-targetable Re-entry Vehicle) payload. India is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR, since 2016) but NOT of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) due to China’s block.

The constitutional anchors invoked by the SC are Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty — read with right to dignity), Article 39(e) (protection of childhood against exploitation), Article 39(f) (children given opportunities to develop in a healthy manner) and Article 45 (early childhood care). The statutory framework is the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 — Sections 137-144 cover kidnapping, abduction, and trafficking of minors — together with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the POCSO Act, 2012.
The 2026 order also requires inter-operability of MHA databases TrackChild, Khoya-Paya, ZIPNET, CCTNS and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) records, and full functionalisation of approximately 788 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) within four weeks. NCRB 2022 recorded ~83,350 missing children.
Olga Tellis (1985) is the right-to-livelihood/Article 21 case; Vishaka (1997) gave workplace sexual-harassment guidelines; Sakshi (2004) clarified rape law interpretation.

The five founding ratifiers of IBCA are India, Nicaragua, Eswatini, Somalia, and Liberia. India committed ₹150 crore as seed funding for the period 2023-28.
Saudi Arabia’s May 22, 2026 accession is significant because Saudi Arabia hosts the Arabian Leopard (Panthera pardus nimr), listed Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List — the AlUla Royal Commission runs a flagship Arabian Leopard breeding programme. India’s tiger population stood at 3,682 per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) “Status of Tigers” Report (2022 cycle, released April 9, 2023) — India hosts ~70% of the global wild tiger population.
The NTCA itself is a statutory body under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended 2006). The 2022 amendment to WLPA streamlined schedules — Schedule I now lists most “Specially Protected” species.
Mysuru hosted the launch event but is NOT the headquarters; the HQ is New Delhi.

The dispute concerns India’s renewable-energy and IT-related trade measures — specifically the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) of 40% on solar modules and 25% on solar cells (effective April 1, 2022), the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), and the ~₹24,000 crore PLI Scheme (Tranche I + Tranche II) for high-efficiency solar PV modules. China controls over 80% of the global solar PV value chain (polysilicon, wafers, cells, modules).
The WTO was established on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement (signed April 15, 1994); India is a founding member. The current Director-General is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria, since March 2021 — first woman, first African DG).
The WTO Appellate Body has been dysfunctional since December 11, 2019, when its membership fell below the quorum of three because the United States has been blocking new appointments since 2017. India’s renewable target is 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 — part of the Panchamrit pledges made at COP-26 Glasgow (November 2021).

Major Abhilasha Barak is India’s first woman combat aviator (qualified in the Army Aviation Corps in 2022) and currently serves as Female Engagement Team (FET) Commander with the Indian Battalion (INDBATT) of UNIFIL in Lebanon. Two earlier Indian women have won this award — Major Suman Gawani (2019, UNMISS South Sudan) and Major Radhika Sen (2023, MONUSCO Democratic Republic of Congo) — making India one of the most-decorated troop contributors on this metric.
UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) was established by UNSC Resolutions 425 and 426 of March 19, 1978; its headquarters is at Naqoura, Lebanon. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers has been observed on May 29 since 2002, per UNGA Resolution 57/129 of December 11, 2002 — the date chosen to mark the establishment of the first UN peacekeeping mission, UNTSO, on May 29, 1948.
India is the 5th largest UN troop contributor today (>6,000 personnel deployed) and has contributed approximately 2,90,000 personnel to over 50 UN peacekeeping missions since 1948.

The 2026 theme is “Her Health is a Right; Invest in Ending Fistula and Childbirth Injuries.” Obstetric fistula is preventable through timely access to emergency obstetric care, and treatable through reconstructive surgery. India’s maternal indicators have improved sharply — the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has fallen to 97 per 1,00,000 live births per the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2018-20 bulletin, from 130 in SRS 2014-16.
The SDG 3.1 target is to reduce MMR to less than 70 by 2030. NFHS-5 (2019-21) reported institutional delivery at 88.6% (up from 78.9% in NFHS-4).
India’s key maternal-health schemes — Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY, 2005), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK, 2011), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA, 2016), LaQshya (2017), and Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN, 2019) — collectively drive the institutional-delivery push. UNGA Res 55/2 (2000) is the Millennium Declaration; Res 70/1 (2015) is the 2030 Agenda for SDGs; Res 60/265 (2006) is about MDG follow-up.

India hosts 5 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species — Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea). After the 2022 amendment to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, all five species are listed under Schedule I (highest protection).
Three Olive Ridley arribada (mass-nesting) sites in Odisha are globally significant — Gahirmatha (located within Bhitarkanika National Park — the world’s largest known Olive Ridley nesting beach), Rushikulya in Ganjam district, and Devi river mouth. The Indian Coast Guard has run Operation Olivia since the early 1980s — patrolling the Odisha coast during nesting season (November-May) against trawler bycatch and illegal fishing.
Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in trawl nets are mandatory. The Olive Ridley is listed Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and Appendix I of CITES. The Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) was moved from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I at CoP18 (Geneva, 2019).
WWF was founded in 1961; IUCN in 1948; CITES entered into force in 1975.

The Indian Space Policy, 2023 was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on April 6, 2023 — it formally separated the roles of ISRO (research/development), NSIL (commercial operations, incorporated March 6, 2019, HQ Bengaluru), and IN-SPACe (regulator-promoter, Bopal Ahmedabad). FDI rules in the space sector were liberalised in February 2024 — up to 100% automatic in satellite components and ground equipment, up to 74% automatic in satellite manufacturing and operation, and up to 49% automatic in launch vehicles and associated systems.
India’s space economy target is approximately USD 40 billion by 2030 (from ~USD 8.4 billion currently). ISRO itself was established on August 15, 1969 at Bengaluru (succeeding INCOSPAR, 1962).
Sriharikota hosts SDSC (Satish Dhawan Space Centre) — India’s primary launch site. The new CTFs are co-located near these clusters to reduce logistics cost for startups.

The PLFS is conducted by NSO (National Statistical Office) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). It uses two reference periods — Usual Status (US, 365 days) and Current Weekly Status (CWS, 7 days) — and reports for both rural and urban India.
The CWS unemployment rate is generally higher than the US rate because it captures more transient unemployment. Mission Karmayogi was approved by the Union Cabinet on September 2, 2020, and is implemented through Capacity Building Commission (CBC, est 2021) and the iGOT (integrated Government Online Training) Karmayogi platform built on the Aroha learning architecture.
Major Central recruitment bodies are UPSC (Art 315 of the Constitution), Staff Selection Commission (SSC, 1975), Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS, 1975).

Today India has 58 designated tiger reserves (as of 2025) covering ~78,000 sq km, and a wild tiger population of 3,682 per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) “Status of Tigers” Report (2022 cycle, released April 9, 2023) — India hosts approximately 70% of the global wild tiger population. The NTCA is a STATUTORY body under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, established by the WLPA (Amendment) Act, 2006 following recommendations of the Tiger Task Force chaired by Sunita Narain (2005).
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) is the corresponding enforcement agency. Project Elephant was launched in 1992; Project Lion was announced for Gir/Barda; Project Cheetah began in September 2022 at Kuno NP (Madhya Pradesh) with cheetahs translocated from Namibia and South Africa.
Jim Corbett was India’s first national park (established 1936 as Hailey National Park, renamed Corbett in 1957). Kanha (1955), Bandipur (1974, but originally Venugopala WLS 1931) and Ranthambore (1980, originally Sawai Madhopur WLS 1955) were not Project Tiger’s launch venue.

The NCA has two councils — a Political Council (final authority on nuclear release, chaired by the PM) and an Executive Council (chaired by the National Security Adviser). The operational arm is the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), established on January 4, 2003 — the same day the doctrine was officially declared.
India’s nuclear weapons programme traces to Operation Smiling Buddha (May 18, 1974, Pokhran-I) and Operation Shakti (May 11-13, 1998, Pokhran-II), after which PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a nuclear weapon state. India is NOT a signatory to the NPT (1968/1970) or CTBT, but maintains a unilateral moratorium on testing.
India is a member of the MTCR (2016), Wassenaar Arrangement (2017) and Australia Group (2018) but NOT the NSG due to China’s opposition. Mission Divyastra (March 11, 2024) was the first flight test of Agni-5 with MIRV technology.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was originally enacted on September 9, 1972 under Article 252 of the Constitution at the request of 11 State legislatures (subject “wildlife” was then in the State List; later moved to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment, 1976). The Act has been amended multiple times — major amendments in 1986, 1991, 1993, 2002 and 2022.
Pre-2022, there were six schedules; post-2022, the structure was simplified. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under WLPA (inserted by the 2006 amendment following Sunita Narain’s Tiger Task Force, 2005).
Olive Ridley sea turtles are also listed on CITES Appendix I (highest protection — no commercial trade allowed) and IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable. The Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) was moved from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I at CoP18 in Geneva (2019).