Current Affairs Quiz 2 July 2026

The summit was held in New Delhi during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first visit to India. India and Japan share a Special Strategic and Global Partnership (elevated in 2014) and a 2+2 dialogue of foreign and defence ministers, and are Quad partners.
The Economic Security Declaration covers semiconductors, critical minerals, IT, clean energy and pharmaceuticals; the AI cooperation spans manufacturing, healthcare and mobility applications, AI governance and safety. A Japan-India Economic Forum saw around 120 agreements with projected Japanese investment of about USD 12.5 billion.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail uses Japanese Shinkansen technology.

MGNREGA (2005) was a demand-driven, rights-based wage-employment programme guaranteeing 100 days of unskilled manual work. Under VB-G-RAM-G, wages are indexed annually (revised each April 1) to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL).
Permissible works fall under four heads: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood infrastructure, and extreme-weather mitigation. Employment must be provided within 15 days of demand, failing which an unemployment allowance is payable.
Special provisions cover single women, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, PVTGs, released bonded labourers and transgender persons.

Net GST revenue for June 2026 was about Rs 1.62 lakh crore (up 11.2 per cent), and cumulative first-quarter FY27 gross collection was about Rs 6.32 lakh crore. April 2026 had set the all-time monthly record of about Rs 2.43 lakh crore.
GST is a destination-based, dual tax (Central GST, State GST and Integrated GST) introduced by the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016; the GST Council operates under Article 279A. The GST 2.0 reform of 2025 rationalised the earlier four slabs into two primary rates of 5 and 18 per cent plus a 40 per cent demerit rate.

The scheme, “Gyanodaya, Shiksharu Samruddhi”, covers Classes 9 to 12 in government and aided schools and undergraduate and postgraduate (regular mode) courses in state public universities and government and aided colleges, from the 2026-27 session. About 32 lakh students a year are expected to benefit, with a first-year outlay of about Rs 895.57 crore.
It excludes self-financing, private-unaided, PPP-mode and professional or technical courses. The scheme connects to Article 21A (Right to Education) and Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is an eastward-moving pulse of tropical cloud and rainfall with a roughly 30 to 60 day cycle; its phase can enhance or suppress monsoon rainfall. Monsoon low-pressure systems and depressions, often forming over the Bay of Bengal, drive much of the seasonal rainfall.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the nodal forecasting agency, with normal monsoon onset over Kerala around June 1. The southwest monsoon delivers roughly 70 per cent of India’s annual rainfall and is critical for kharif sowing and reservoir and hydropower storage.

The Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs is the issuing authority, and the Passport Seva Programme is the digital delivery backbone. The revised Tatkal fee for a 36-page passport rose to Rs 5,000, and a 60-page booklet now costs Rs 3,500 normal and Rs 6,000 under Tatkal.
The new rates apply to applications submitted on or after July 1, 2026. Fee revisions raise questions of balancing cost recovery of citizen services against accessibility, a governance theme.

The Quad was revived in 2017 and elevated to leaders’ summits from 2021. It is not a formal military alliance but a coalition of like-minded democracies.
India also engages Japan through the Special Strategic and Global Partnership and the 2+2 dialogue, and both are members of forums such as the G20. India’s Indo-Pacific approach is expressed through SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and its successor vision, MAHASAGAR, emphasising a rules-based maritime order and strategic autonomy.

Under MGNREGA, if work was not provided within 15 days of demand, an unemployment allowance was payable, and at least one-third of beneficiaries were to be women. It focused on creating durable rural assets and providing a livelihood safety net.
VB-G-RAM-G retains the 15-day rule and adds special provisions for vulnerable groups, but restricts permissible works to four thematic heads and raises the guarantee to 125 days. Understanding the shift from an open works menu to a themed, climate-resilient asset focus is central to evaluating the reform.

IndiaSkills, run by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, features around 63 industry-relevant skill categories, from advanced manufacturing and construction to digital technology, hospitality and emerging technologies. Registrations are through the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH), a unified digital platform for skilling, credentials and opportunities.
WorldSkills is often called the “Olympics of skills”. Strengthening vocational skilling is central to improving employability and supporting the demographic dividend.

The NIIF operates through multiple funds, including a Master Fund (which invests in operating assets), a Fund of Funds, and a Strategic Opportunities Fund, and it has attracted sovereign wealth funds and pension funds as partners. Infrastructure financing is a persistent challenge given the long gestation and high capital needs of projects.
The additional commitment complements mechanisms such as the National Monetisation Pipeline and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) in mobilising patient capital for infrastructure.

The PMI is compiled by S&P Global from surveys of purchasing managers on output, new orders, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories. A reading above 50 signals expansion, below 50 contraction, and exactly 50 no change.
The June moderation reflected softer demand and cost pressures, with export-order growth easing. As a high-frequency indicator, the PMI is watched alongside the Index of Industrial Production and core-sector data to gauge economic momentum.

The Act targets organised cheating, leaks of question papers and impersonation, providing for imprisonment and heavy fines, and covers examinations by bodies such as the UPSC, SSC, Railways, banking recruitment and the NTA. Repeated leaks in state and central recruitment tests have eroded aspirants’ trust and delayed appointments. Beyond the law, reforms in examination security, question-bank management, and the autonomy and accountability of recruitment agencies are seen as necessary.
The issue connects to governance, transparency and the right to equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16.

India’s official position holds that Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh are integral parts of India, and its neighbourhood-first policy seeks stability in South Asia amid US-China competition. Strategic autonomy allows India to partner the US on technology and the Indo-Pacific while managing trade and border issues with China, and to engage Russia and others as interests dictate.
The transactional framing argues that in a multipolar, contested world, India gains most by keeping its options open and negotiating hard with all major powers rather than locking into rigid blocs.

The 73rd Amendment added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects); the 74th Amendment added Part IX-A and the Twelfth Schedule (18 subjects). They provide for regular elections, reservation for women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, State Election Commissions and State Finance Commissions.
However, the actual transfer of the “3 Fs”, funds, functions and functionaries, has been uneven across states, leaving local bodies dependent and weak. Strengthening fiscal devolution and administrative capacity is central to deepening grassroots democracy.

The declaration covers resilient supply chains in semiconductors, critical minerals, IT, clean energy and pharmaceuticals. Concentration of critical-mineral processing and manufacturing in a few countries has raised concerns about weaponised interdependence.
India’s responses include the Critical Minerals Mission, the Semiconductor Mission and production-linked incentive schemes, alongside partnerships such as this one and the Quad’s supply-chain initiatives. The concept links economic policy to national security, an increasingly central theme in international relations.