Current Affairs Quiz 6 June 2026

Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) was adopted in 2016 through an amendment to the RBI Act, 1934. It created the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of six members: three from the RBI (including the Governor) and three external members appointed by the central government.
The Governor holds a casting vote in a tie. The target of 4% (+/- 2%) is set by the government in consultation with the RBI for a five-year period.
The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks against government securities; a neutral stance keeps the door open to either tighten or ease. Governor: Sanjay Malhotra.

India imports roughly 85% of its crude oil, so a West Asia crisis that lifts global crude feeds directly into domestic fuel, transport and manufacturing costs, and a weaker rupee amplifies it. Monetary policy works mainly through the demand channel: higher rates make borrowing costlier, cooling demand and, eventually, prices.
Against a cost-push (supply) shock, tightening can reduce growth without addressing the root cause. The RBI cut its FY27 growth forecast to 6.6% even as it flagged inflation risks, capturing the bind.
Way forward: targeted fiscal measures (duty cuts, buffer management), supply-side action, and clear communication to anchor inflation expectations.

GDP is the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a period, measured at constant prices for real growth. India’s estimates are produced by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), and revised in stages from Advance to Provisional to Revised Estimates.
FY26 (2025-26) real growth came in at 7.7% (up from 7.1%), with Q4 at 7.8% and nominal GDP at Rs 346.36 lakh crore. Services grew 9.3% and industry 8.8% at constant prices.
A base-year change also affects the denominator for ratios like fiscal deficit and debt to GDP.

A Ramsar site is a wetland designated as internationally important under the 1971 convention, whose core principle is the “wise use” of wetlands (sustainable use maintaining their ecological character). The Montreux Record lists Ramsar sites where ecological character has changed or is threatened.
India protects wetlands domestically through the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, under the MoEFCC. Surha Tal is a 34.32 sq km freshwater oxbow lake formed from a meander of the Ganga and is Uttar Pradesh’s 13th Ramsar site. Do not confuse Ramsar (wetlands) with CITES (trade in endangered species), CMS (migratory species), or the CBD (biological diversity).

Gilgit-Baltistan is part of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). India rejects any Pakistani attempt to make material changes there, including holding elections, as they do not alter the legal status or India’s sovereignty.
The region is strategically significant because the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, passes through it; India objects to CPEC precisely because it runs through territory under illegal occupation. This is the consistent Government of India position that a UPSC answer must reflect on questions of territorial sovereignty and India-Pakistan relations.

India is among the world’s largest seafood exporters, with shrimp the dominant product and the United States a major market. The strategy to reach $30 billion centres on value addition (processed, branded, ready-to-cook products) and leveraging recently finalised free trade agreements.
The flagship fisheries scheme is the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), under the broader Blue Revolution and blue-economy push. The key risks are over-dependence on shrimp and on the US market, which exposes exporters to tariff and anti-dumping measures, and the need to meet strict quality and traceability standards for premium markets.
Distinguish MPEDA (marine) from APEDA (agricultural and processed foods) and FSSAI (food safety standards).

India’s higher-defence reforms accelerated in 2019 with the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the single-point military adviser to the government, who also heads the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence. The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) promotes jointness and is headed by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC).
The Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), comprising the three service chiefs, is chaired by the CDS. Theatre commands aim to place all assets in a geography under one operational commander, reducing duplication and improving multi-domain coordination across land, sea, air, cyber and space. Implementation faces inter-service coordination and resource-allocation challenges.

The MPC structure is a monetary-governance reform: it institutionalises interest-rate decisions, brings external expertise, and improves transparency and accountability. Members vote and the decision plus minutes are published, anchoring market expectations.
The committee meets at least four times a year. The 2016 amendment to the RBI Act, 1934 also formalised the 4% (+/- 2%) inflation target.
In the June 5, 2026 policy, the MPC held the repo rate at 5.25% with a neutral stance, raised the FY27 inflation forecast to 5.1%, and cut FY27 growth to 6.6%, flagging the West Asia oil shock and a likely below-normal monsoon as key risks. Distinguish the repo rate (RBI lends to banks) from the reverse repo and the standing deposit facility (banks park funds with the RBI).

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They sequester carbon (especially peatlands and mangroves), buffer floods by storing excess water, recharge aquifers, filter pollutants, and support migratory birds along flyways such as the Central Asian Flyway.
India’s domestic framework is the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The Ramsar Convention’s “wise use” principle stresses sustainable use that maintains ecological character.
Threats include encroachment, pollution, and conversion for agriculture or construction; the Montreux Record flags Ramsar sites whose character is threatened. Surha Tal is an oxbow lake formed from a Ganga meander, a freshwater wetland important for migratory birds.

The Belt and Road Initiative, launched by China in 2013, is a vast connectivity and infrastructure programme spanning Asia, Africa and Europe. CPEC links China’s Xinjiang to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, passing through Gilgit-Baltistan.
India is the most prominent country to stay out of the BRI, on the grounds that CPEC violates its sovereignty and that BRI projects raise debt-sustainability and transparency concerns. India instead promotes connectivity through forums and projects such as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.
The MEA reaffirmed in June 2026 that Gilgit-Baltistan is an integral part of India and that Pakistan must vacate occupied territory.

MoSPI compiles national accounts through the NSO, releasing estimates in a sequence: Advance Estimates (before year-end, for budgeting), Provisional Estimates (soon after year-end), and successive Revised Estimates as more data arrives. Real GDP is at constant prices; nominal GDP is at current prices (Rs 346.36 lakh crore for FY26, 8.9% nominal growth).
The base year (moving to 2022-23) sets the reference for constant prices. The RBI’s growth and inflation projections, by contrast, are policy inputs for the MPC. Knowing which institution does what is a common Prelims discriminator: data (NSO/MoSPI), monetary policy (RBI/MPC), policy advice (NITI Aayog), fiscal policy (Ministry of Finance).

PMMSY seeks to boost fish production and productivity, modernise the value chain (from harvest to export), improve infrastructure (harbours, cold chains), and raise fishers’ incomes while ensuring sustainability. It complements the work of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), which promotes and regulates seafood exports, and the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).
India is among the largest seafood exporters globally; shrimp dominates and the United States is a major market, which is why value addition and market diversification (via new FTAs) are central to reducing tariff and anti-dumping risk. The “blue economy” refers to the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, livelihoods and food security.

The CDS post and the DMA were both created in 2019 as the centrepiece of higher-defence reform. The CDS is a four-star officer who advises the government on military matters, promotes jointness, and is tasked with facilitating theaterisation.
The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), headed by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), supports jointness at the staff level. The Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) comprises the three service chiefs and is chaired by the CDS. Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, named Vice Chief of the Air Staff in June 2026, moves from the CISC role, bringing integrated-staff experience to IAF leadership.
Theatre commands aim to unify land, sea and air assets in a geography under one commander.

The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 replaced the 2010 Rules and prohibit activities like conversion, encroachment and waste dumping in notified wetlands, while empowering State Wetland Authorities to regulate “wise use.” They draw their authority from the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the umbrella environmental law. Internationally, the Ramsar Convention (1971, India joined 1982) designates wetlands of international importance and promotes “wise use,” with the Montreux Record flagging threatened sites.
India crossing 100 Ramsar sites in June 2026 (Surha Tal, Ballia) makes it first in Asia and third globally, but conservationists note that designation must be matched by enforcement, restoration and protection from encroachment to deliver real ecological benefits.