Current Affairs Quiz 28 May 2026

Q: The 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), held on May 27, 2026, took place in:

Correct answer: Beijing. FACT: The 35th WMCC was held in Beijing on May 27, 2026. ANALYSIS: WMCC alternates between Indian and Chinese venues; this round saw the Indian delegation led by Sujit Ghosh, JS (East Asia), MEA, and the Chinese side led by Hou Yanqi, DG, Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department, MoFA.

Q: Sikkim, declared a Fully Literate State on May 28, 2026, achieved a literacy rate of approximately:

Correct answer: 99.82%. FACT: Sikkim recorded a 99.82% literacy rate, well above the 95% benchmark for the 15+ age group required for "Fully Literate" status under ULLAS. ANALYSIS: 14,447 of 15,361 identified non-literate adults were certified via FLNAT, with the declaration made at the 7th Convocation of Sikkim University in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu.

Q: Sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India is 34 judges (1 CJI + 33 judges) under which statute?

Correct answer: Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. FACT: Article 124(1) originally set the strength at 7 (excluding the CJI) but empowered Parliament to increase the number by law. Parliament has done so through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, amended in 2008 (to 31) and 2019 (to 34). ANALYSIS: This statutory architecture allows incremental capacity expansion as pendency rises.

Q: In Savelife Foundation v. Union of India (May 27, 2026), the Supreme Court directed states to integrate all emergency/ambulance helplines into a unified number within:

Correct answer: 3 months. FACT: The bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar directed all States/UTs to integrate every emergency/ambulance helpline into Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) Helpline 112 within three months. ANALYSIS: The Court declared the right to road-accident trauma care to be integral to Article 21, extending the positive-obligation jurisprudence of Parmanand Katara (1989) and Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (1996).

Q: The WHO declared the May 2026 Ebola outbreak in DR Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on which date?

Correct answer: May 17, 2026. FACT: The WHO Director-General declared the DRC Ebola outbreak a PHEIC on May 17, 2026, on the recommendation of the IHR Emergency Committee. ANALYSIS: The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain (one of six known Ebola species), first identified in Uganda in 2007, with historic case-fatality of ~25-50% (Uganda 2007 ~25%; DRC 2012 ~50%).

Q: The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) notified by the MHA on May 26, 2026 is chaired by:

Correct answer: Justice (Retd.) Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar. FACT: The HLCDC is chaired by Justice (Retd.) Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, former Supreme Court judge and former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. ANALYSIS: The committee operationalises PM Modi's Independence Day 2025 (August 15) announcement of a "High-Powered Demography Mission" and will assess demographic shifts in border areas, urban centres, industrial corridors and tribal belts.

Q: Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed globally on May 28 since 2014, was initiated by which organisation?

Correct answer: WASH United (Germany). FACT: Menstrual Hygiene Day was initiated by the German NGO WASH United, Berlin, in 2014. ANALYSIS: May 28 was chosen because the average menstrual cycle is 28 days and menstruation lasts ~5 days, hence the 5th month, day 28. The same date also marks the International Day of Action for Women's Health (since 1987, by WGNRR).

Q: The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in:

Correct answer: 2012. FACT: WMCC was established on January 17, 2012 between MEA (India) and the Chinese Foreign Ministry. ANALYSIS: It is the operational/technical layer in India-China border diplomacy, below the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism (established 2003) and above the Corps Commander / Border Personnel Meeting tactical layer.

Q: Which of the following is NOT among the five states declared "Fully Literate" under ULLAS as of May 2026?

Correct answer: Manipur. FACT: The five fully literate states (in order of declaration) are Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim. Ladakh is the lone fully literate UT. Manipur is NOT in this list. ANALYSIS: All five share two features, relatively small population base + strong administrative penetration.

Q: The Collegium system for appointment of Supreme Court judges was firmly established by which judgment?

Correct answer: Second Judges Case (Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Assn., 1993). FACT: The Second Judges Case (1993) held that "consultation" with the CJI under Article 124(2) actually means "concurrence", establishing judicial primacy and the Collegium system. ANALYSIS: The Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Collegium to CJI + 4 senior-most SC judges for SC appointments. The Fourth Judges Case (2015) struck down the NJAC (99th Constitutional Amendment, 2014).

Question 1 of 14

The 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), held on May 27, 2026, took place in:

Question 2 of 14

Sikkim, declared a Fully Literate State on May 28, 2026, achieved a literacy rate of approximately:

Question 3 of 14

Sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India is 34 judges (1 CJI + 33 judges) under which statute?

Question 4 of 14

In Savelife Foundation v. Union of India (May 27, 2026), the Supreme Court directed states to integrate all emergency/ambulance helplines into a unified number within:

Question 5 of 14

The WHO declared the May 2026 Ebola outbreak in DR Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on which date?

Question 6 of 14

The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) notified by the MHA on May 26, 2026 is chaired by:

Question 7 of 14

Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed globally on May 28 since 2014, was initiated by which organisation?

Question 8 of 14

The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in:

Question 9 of 14

Which of the following is NOT among the five states declared "Fully Literate" under ULLAS as of May 2026?

Question 10 of 14

The Collegium system for appointment of Supreme Court judges was firmly established by which judgment?

Question 11 of 14

India’s ERSS Helpline 112, the unified emergency number that the SC has now ordered all states to integrate ambulance helplines into, was launched in:

Question 12 of 14

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, behind the May 2026 DRC outbreak, was first identified in:

Question 13 of 14

The relevant law that gives the Central Government authority to regulate the entry, stay and departure of non-Indian nationals, and which forms one of the statutory anchors for the HLCDC’s work, is:

Question 14 of 14

India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin (2018-20), stands at approximately:

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (IR, neighbourhood).
✍️ Mains Keywords	multi-alignment, post-Galwan normalisation, LAC management.
⚠️ Common Mistake	confusing WMCC with the SR mechanism, WMCC is operational, SR is strategic.
📌 Exam Tip	** GoI’s consistent stand: Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh are integral parts of India.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (welfare schemes, NEP 2020), GS1 (society).
✍️ Mains Keywords	functional literacy, FLN, demographic dividend.
⚠️ Common Mistake	treating "fully literate" as 100%, the benchmark is 95% for the 15+ age group.
📌 Exam Tip	** Five fully literate states so far: Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, HP, Sikkim; Ladakh is a fully literate UT.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (judiciary, constitutional bodies).
✍️ Mains Keywords	Collegium, NJAC, MoP, judicial diversity.
⚠️ Common Mistake	assuming Article 124 fixes the strength, it sets only the original 7+CJI; Parliament expands by statute.
📌 Exam Tip	** NJAC (99th Amendment, 2014) was struck down in the Fourth Judges Case, 2015.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (Art 21, governance), GS4 (Good Samaritan ethics).
✍️ Mains Keywords	golden hour, positive obligation, federalism in emergency response.
⚠️ Common Mistake	confusing 102 (maternal health) with 108 (general ambulance).
📌 Exam Tip	** India loses ~1.7 lakh lives/year in road accidents (~3% of GDP per MoRTH).

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (IR, health diplomacy), GS3 (biosecurity).
✍️ Mains Keywords	Vaccine Maitri, soft power, IHR 2005, PHEIC.
⚠️ Common Mistake	thinking Bundibugyo is the deadliest strain, Zaire ebolavirus (50-90% CFR) is.
📌 Exam Tip	** Past PHEICs include H1N1 (2009), Polio (2014), Ebola West Africa (2014), Zika (2016), COVID-19 (2020-23), Mpox (2022, 2024).

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS1 (population), GS2 (citizenship, federalism).
✍️ Mains Keywords	demographic dividend, NRC, CAA, Schedule VI.
⚠️ Common Mistake	conflating HLCDC with the NRC, the HLCDC is a fact-finding committee, not a citizenship-determining process.
📌 Exam Tip	** Article 11 empowers Parliament to legislate on citizenship; CAA Rules notified March 11, 2024.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS1 (society, women), GS2 (welfare schemes).
✍️ Mains Keywords	SRHRJ, period poverty, bodily autonomy.
⚠️ Common Mistake	confusing the two May 28 observances, Women’s Health Day (1987, WGNRR) and Menstrual Hygiene Day (2014, WASH United).
📌 Exam Tip	** GST exemption on sanitary pads came in July 2018; Suvidha pads (₹1/pad) under PMBJP since 2018.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (IR).
✍️ Mains Keywords	post-Galwan normalisation, multi-alignment, strategic autonomy.
⚠️ Common Mistake	confusing the SR Talks (2003, political/strategic) with WMCC (2012, operational).
📌 Exam Tip	** Special Representatives today are NSA Ajit Doval (India) and FM Wang Yi (China).

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (NEP 2020, welfare schemes).
✍️ Mains Keywords	functional literacy, NIPUN Bharat, demographic dividend.
⚠️ Common Mistake	treating Ladakh as a state, it’s a Union Territory.
📌 Exam Tip	** NEP 2020 targets 100% literacy by 2030 and higher-education GER 50% by 2035.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (judiciary, basic structure).
✍️ Mains Keywords	judicial primacy, Collegium vs NJAC, judicial independence.
⚠️ Common Mistake	thinking the First Judges Case (1981) established the Collegium, it established executive primacy; Collegium came in Second Judges Case (1993).
📌 Exam Tip	** NJAC composition was CJI + 2 senior-most SC judges + Law Minister + 2 eminent persons.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS2 (governance), GS3 (disaster management).
✍️ Mains Keywords	golden hour, helpline integration, federal cooperation.
⚠️ Common Mistake	thinking 100 (police) is the unified emergency number, it’s now 112.
📌 Exam Tip	** SDG 3 Target 3.6 aims to halve road traffic deaths globally by 2030.

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS3 (biosecurity, S&T).
✍️ Mains Keywords	PHEIC, IHR 2005, Vaccine Maitri, health diplomacy.
⚠️ Common Mistake	confusing Bundibugyo (Uganda 2007) with Zaire ebolavirus (DRC 1976), both involve DRC but are distinct species.
📌 Exam Tip	** WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is at Jamnagar, Gujarat (inaugurated April 2022).

🔗 Cross-Paper Links	GS1 (women), GS2 (health).
✍️ Mains Keywords	SDG 3.1, EAG states, SRHRJ.
⚠️ Common Mistake	confusing MMR (per 100,000 live births) with IMR (per 1,000 live births).
📌 Exam Tip	** PCPNDT Act 1994 prohibits pre-natal sex determination; MTP Act 1971 (amended 2021) allows abortion up to 24 weeks for special categories.

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