UPSC Prelims Practice
Current Affairs Quiz 8 July 2026
Test Your Knowledge
11 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
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Question 1 of 11
Facts
The UDISE+ 2025-26 data showed India’s school-teacher count at about 1.02 crore; the one-crore mark was first crossed in 2024-25. (Corrected September 23, 2026: an earlier version said 2025-26 was the first year above one crore.)
Analysis
Dropout rates fell, with secondary-level dropout down from 8.2 per cent to 7 per cent, and the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 grades states on a 10-tier framework.
Concept note
UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) is maintained by the Ministry of Education and replaced the earlier DISE system.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 education governance. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | NEP 2020, dropout, retention, SDG 4. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | confusing UDISE+ with the ASER survey. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | teacher count first crossed 1 crore in 2024-25 and was about 1.02 crore in 2025-26; PGI 2.0 is 10-tier. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Access versus quality in schooling. |
Question 2 of 11
Facts
SpudCell, assembled by University of Minnesota researchers, is the first cell built bottom-up from individually purified, non-living chemical components that can run a complete cell cycle: grow, replicate its DNA and divide.
Analysis
It is a liposome containing purified enzymes, ribosomes and a genome of about 90,000 base pairs.
Concept note
Crucially, SpudCell is NOT considered alive: it cannot feed itself, survive without external inputs, or evolve. It is a milestone in bottom-up synthetic biology.
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| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 science and technology and biotech. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | synthetic biology, bottom-up cell construction, bioethics. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | calling SpudCell a living organism. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | SpudCell = synthetic, not alive; ~90,000 base pairs. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** The dual-use risks of synthetic biology. |
Question 3 of 11
Facts
A Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) analysis warned that a developing El Nino could open a power-generation gap of nearly 18 TWh in India in 2026-27, most likely filled by coal, adding roughly 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Analysis
Higher temperatures could raise demand by about 10 TWh, while a weaker monsoon could cut hydropower by about 2.9 TWh and wind by about 4.9 TWh.
Concept note
El Nino is the abnormal warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean and is the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO); India peak demand touched about 270 GW.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 environment, energy and disaster management. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | climate variability, cooling demand, coal lock-in, grid resilience. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | confusing 18 TWh (energy) with 270 GW (peak capacity). |
| 📌 Exam Tip | El Nino = warm ENSO phase; CREA projects ~18 TWh gap. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Climate risk to energy security. |
Question 4 of 11
Facts
Cooperative societies are a State subject, under Entry 32 of the State List.
Analysis
The Ministry of Cooperation, created on July 6, 2021, marked its fifth Foundation Day in July 2026 with a “Cooperation 2.0” roadmap, working within this federal framework under the model of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi”.
Concept note
The 97th Constitutional Amendment (2011) inserted Part IX-B and Article 43-B (a Directive Principle) on the promotion of cooperative societies.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 polity and federalism, GS3 rural economy. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | cooperatives, PACS, Sahkar Se Samriddhi, federalism. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | placing cooperatives in the Concurrent List. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | cooperatives = State List (Entry 32); 97th Amendment added Part IX-B. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Reviving the cooperative movement. |
Question 5 of 11
Facts
INS Mahendragiri is the sixth and final Project 17A stealth frigate, built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and named after a peak in the Eastern Ghats in Odisha.
Analysis
It has over 75 per cent indigenous content and carries the BrahMos anti-ship missile and the Barak-8 surface-to-air missile.
Concept note
Project 17A is the follow-on to Project 17 (the Shivalik class), comprising seven ships designed by the Navy Warship Design Bureau.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 security and defence indigenisation. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | Atmanirbhar Bharat, warship building, Project 17A. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | classing it as a destroyer. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | Project 17A = stealth frigates; INS Mahendragiri is the sixth. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Indigenous warship design. |
Question 6 of 11
Facts
The NIIF was set up in 2015 and is India sovereign-anchored (quasi-sovereign wealth) fund, in which the Government of India holds a 49 per cent stake.
Analysis
The Union Cabinet in mid-2026 approved an additional Rs 30,000 crore, taking the government total commitment to about Rs 60,000 crore.
Concept note
NIIF is managed by NIIF Limited and runs the Master Fund, the Fund of Funds and the Strategic Opportunities Fund.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 economy and infrastructure financing. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | sovereign wealth fund, infrastructure, public investment. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | thinking the government holds a majority stake (it is 49 per cent). |
| 📌 Exam Tip | NIIF set up 2015; government stake 49 per cent. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Funding India infrastructure gap. |
Question 7 of 11
Facts
The Char Kaman (four arches) near the Charminar in Hyderabad were built in the late 16th century under the Qutb Shahi dynasty, which ruled Golconda.
Analysis
Telangana sanctioned their restoration as part of preserving the Qutb Shahi heritage of the Old City.
Concept note
The Charminar was built in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah; the Qutb Shahi monuments are on UNESCO Tentative List.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS1 history, art and culture. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | Qutb Shahi, Indo-Islamic architecture, heritage conservation. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | attributing the Charminar to the Nizams. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | Char Kaman and Charminar = Qutb Shahi dynasty. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Conserving urban heritage. |
Question 8 of 11
Facts
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas removed the emergency provisions of the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026 (imposed on March 9, 2026 under the Essential Commodities Act) as liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments through the Strait of Hormuz resumed after the West Asia ceasefire.
Analysis
India imports about half of its natural gas as LNG, and about a third of global LNG transits the Strait of Hormuz.
Concept note
The Essential Commodities Act allows the government to regulate the supply of essential goods during emergencies.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 economy and energy security. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | LNG, chokepoints, Essential Commodities Act, energy imports. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | confusing the lifting with the earlier March disruption. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | emergency gas order lifted as Hormuz LNG resumed. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Managing energy-supply shocks. |
Question 9 of 11
Facts
The phrase “beyond cricket, curry and Commonwealth” describes the maturing of India-Australia ties, around a July 2026 visit, into cooperation on defence, critical minerals, energy, trade, education and Indo-Pacific multilateralism.
Analysis
The two countries have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and an economic cooperation agreement, and both are members of the Quad.
Concept note
Australia is a key partner for India in critical-minerals supply chains such as lithium and cobalt.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 international relations. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Quad, critical minerals, Indo-Pacific. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | attributing the "three Cs" to India-UK ties. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | three Cs (cricket, curry, Commonwealth) = India-Australia. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Diversifying India strategic partnerships. |
Question 10 of 11
Facts
The editorial argued that expanding state cash-transfer schemes act as a vital safety net and cushion consumption in the short term, but cannot substitute for stronger, sustained income growth, and raise fiscal-sustainability concerns amid rising state borrowing.
Analysis
States market borrowing rose about 15 per cent in FY26 as such schemes expanded.
Concept note
The debate ties into direct benefit transfers, the “freebies versus welfare” question, and state fiscal health.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 economy and fiscal policy, GS2 governance. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | cash transfers, fiscal sustainability, DBT, welfare. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | treating cash transfers as costless. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | cash transfers cushion demand but strain state finances. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Welfare versus fiscal prudence. |
Question 11 of 11
Facts
A new catalogue ranked all 239 recognised human-infective RNA virus species by their pandemic risk, explaining why some, such as coronaviruses, spread widely while others, such as rabies, rarely transmit human-to-human.
Analysis
Such prioritisation could help spot the next pandemic pathogen before it takes hold.
Concept note
This links to the One Health approach and virome surveillance for pandemic preparedness.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 science and technology and health, GS2 health governance. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | pandemic preparedness, One Health, virome, spillover. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | thinking all viruses carry equal pandemic risk. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | 239 human-infective RNA virus species ranked by pandemic risk. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** Predicting the next pandemic. |
Performance
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