UPSC Prelims Practice
Current Affairs Quiz 5 August 2026
Daily Practice
Test Your Knowledge
15 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
15 MCQs
Explanations
Statistics
Timed
Choose number of questions
Question 1 of 15
The Monetary Policy Committee held the repo rate at 5.25 per cent on 5 August 2026. Who notifies India’s inflation target, and under which provision?
FACT: The inflation target of 4 per cent CPI with a tolerance band of plus or minus 2 per cent is notified by the Central Government, in consultation with the RBI, under Section 45ZA of the RBI Act, 1934, once every five years. Section 45ZB is the provision constituting the Monetary Policy Committee itself.
ANALYSIS: The division matters constitutionally. The elected government sets the objective and the central bank is operationally independent in pursuing it, which is the standard design of an inflation-targeting framework and the reason the RBI cannot be said to have chosen its own mandate.
ANALYSIS: The division matters constitutionally. The elected government sets the objective and the central bank is operationally independent in pursuing it, which is the standard design of an inflation-targeting framework and the reason the RBI cannot be said to have chosen its own mandate.
📝 Concept Note
The MPC met from 3 to 5 August 2026 and voted unanimously to hold the repo rate at 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance, a fourth consecutive hold. The Standing Deposit Facility stands at 5.00 per cent and the Marginal Standing Facility and Bank Rate at 5.50 per cent.
The FY27 CPI projection was cut to 5.0 per cent from 5.1, and FY27 real GDP raised to 6.7 per cent from 6.6. Core inflation is projected at 4.3 per cent for FY27, and stood at 2.3 to 2.5 per cent excluding precious metals in May and June 2026.
Governor Sanjay Malhotra described the Committee as neither dovish nor hawkish. The next meeting is 5 to 7 October 2026.
The FY27 CPI projection was cut to 5.0 per cent from 5.1, and FY27 real GDP raised to 6.7 per cent from 6.6. Core inflation is projected at 4.3 per cent for FY27, and stood at 2.3 to 2.5 per cent excluding precious metals in May and June 2026.
Governor Sanjay Malhotra described the Committee as neither dovish nor hawkish. The next meeting is 5 to 7 October 2026.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 monetary policy, inflation, banking regulation. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | flexible inflation targeting, headline versus core, supply-side shock, operational independence. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | attributing the inflation target to the RBI; the Central Government notifies it. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | learn Sections 45ZA (target) and 45ZB (MPC constitution) as a pair, and remember the Governor holds a casting vote in a six-member committee. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** if a central bank looks through food and fuel repeatedly while its statutory target is headline CPI, has it changed its mandate by practice? |
Question 2 of 15
Which of the following correctly describes the Standing Deposit Facility?
FACT: The Standing Deposit Facility, introduced in April 2022, is the floor of the Liquidity Adjustment Facility corridor and absorbs surplus liquidity from banks without requiring the RBI to provide collateral. It replaced the fixed-rate reverse repo as the operational floor.
ANALYSIS: The uncollateralised feature is the point of the reform. Under the reverse repo the RBI had to hand over securities to absorb liquidity, so its absorption capacity was limited by its own holdings; the SDF removed that constraint entirely.
ANALYSIS: The uncollateralised feature is the point of the reform. Under the reverse repo the RBI had to hand over securities to absorb liquidity, so its absorption capacity was limited by its own holdings; the SDF removed that constraint entirely.
📝 Concept Note
In the August 2026 corridor the SDF stands at 5.00 per cent, the repo at 5.25 per cent and the Marginal Standing Facility and Bank Rate at 5.50 per cent, a symmetric corridor of 25 basis points on either side of the repo. The MSF is the ceiling, at which banks borrow overnight against SLR securities, dipping into the statutory requirement.
With projected inflation at 5.0 per cent and the repo at 5.25 per cent, the real repo rate is roughly 0.25 percentage points, which leaves little conventional room to ease if growth disappoints.
With projected inflation at 5.0 per cent and the repo at 5.25 per cent, the real repo rate is roughly 0.25 percentage points, which leaves little conventional room to ease if growth disappoints.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 monetary policy operations and liquidity management. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | LAF corridor, real policy rate, liquidity absorption, transmission. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | treating the SDF and reverse repo as the same instrument; the SDF is uncollateralised and replaced the reverse repo as the floor in April 2022. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | SDF floor, repo middle, MSF ceiling, and the corridor is currently symmetric at 25 basis points. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** what does a real policy rate near zero imply about the room a central bank actually has? |
Question 3 of 15
The Composite PMI Output Index fell to 54.3 in July 2026 while the Services PMI fell to 53.3 and Manufacturing stood at 53.5. How is the Composite constructed?
FACT: The Composite PMI Output Index is a weighted average of the manufacturing output index and the services business activity index, weighted by each sector’s contribution to gross value added. It is not the mean of the two headline PMIs.
ANALYSIS: Because services dominate the GVA weighting, the Composite tracks services closely, which is why it fell 2.8 points in July when services fell 4.1 and manufacturing barely moved. A candidate who averages the two headline numbers will get an answer close enough to seem right and wrong in method.
ANALYSIS: Because services dominate the GVA weighting, the Composite tracks services closely, which is why it fell 2.8 points in July when services fell 4.1 and manufacturing barely moved. A candidate who averages the two headline numbers will get an answer close enough to seem right and wrong in method.
📝 Concept Note
The HSBC India Services PMI fell to 53.3 in July 2026 from 57.4 in June, the weakest in 53 months, that is since February 2022, while the Composite fell to 54.3 from 57.1, an over four-year low. New business grew at its slowest since February 2022, with firms citing competition, fading demand and postponed orders, though new export orders remained positive with demand credited to the UAE, the UK and the US. Only about 6 per cent of firms reported higher payrolls while 92 per cent reported no change.
The reading is notable because the MPC raised its FY27 growth forecast the same morning.
The reading is notable because the MPC raised its FY27 growth forecast the same morning.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 growth indicators, services sector, employment. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | diffusion index, leading indicator, gross value added weighting, external dependence. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | reading a falling PMI above 50 as contraction; it indicates slower expansion. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | the PMI measures breadth of change, not magnitude, so it cannot be converted into a growth rate. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** a 53-month low in services and an upgraded growth forecast published the same morning: which would you trust and why? |
Question 4 of 15
The Vikram Sarabhai Medal, awarded in 2026 to Prof. Annapurni Subramaniam, is conferred by which body or bodies?
FACT: The Vikram Sarabhai Medal is conferred jointly by COSPAR, the Committee on Space Research, and ISRO, biennially, for outstanding contributions to space research in developing countries. It was instituted in 1990.
ANALYSIS: COSPAR is a body of the International Science Council, established in 1958, and is not a United Nations organisation, which is the trap in option (a). The joint conferment with ISRO is unusual and makes this one of very few international honours co-awarded by an Indian agency.
ANALYSIS: COSPAR is a body of the International Science Council, established in 1958, and is not a United Nations organisation, which is the trap in option (a). The joint conferment with ISRO is unusual and makes this one of very few international honours co-awarded by an Indian agency.
📝 Concept Note
Prof. Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, received the medal at the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly at Florence, Italy, held from 1 to 9 August 2026, with the award ceremony on 3 August.
She is the first Indian woman and the fourth Indian recipient, after U.R. Rao in 1996, Gurbax Singh Lakhina in 2014 and Anil Bhardwaj in 2024. Her recognised work includes AstroSat, India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, launched 28 September 2015 on PSLV-C30, and ultraviolet astronomy.
Since 2018, COSPAR award recipients also have a minor planet named after them.
She is the first Indian woman and the fourth Indian recipient, after U.R. Rao in 1996, Gurbax Singh Lakhina in 2014 and Anil Bhardwaj in 2024. Her recognised work includes AstroSat, India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, launched 28 September 2015 on PSLV-C30, and ultraviolet astronomy.
Since 2018, COSPAR award recipients also have a minor planet named after them.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 space technology and achievements of Indians in science. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | space science versus space engineering, instrumentation capability, research retention. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | describing COSPAR as a UN body; it belongs to the International Science Council. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | AstroSat carries five payloads including the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, and UV astronomy requires a space platform because the atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet almost entirely. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** India launches well and publishes less; what would change that? |
Question 5 of 15
Which Union Territories of India have legislatures?
FACT: Three Union Territories have legislatures: Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh, created by the same reorganisation as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, has no legislature.
ANALYSIS: The distinction is the basis of the statehood argument. In a Union Territory with a legislature, public order and police ordinarily remain outside the legislature’s competence and rest with the Union through the Lieutenant Governor, which produces an elected government accountable for outcomes it does not fully control.
ANALYSIS: The distinction is the basis of the statehood argument. In a Union Territory with a legislature, public order and police ordinarily remain outside the legislature’s competence and rest with the Union through the Lieutenant Governor, which produces an elected government accountable for outcomes it does not fully control.
📝 Concept Note
Article 370 was rendered inoperative and Article 35A ceased to operate through C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 of 2019, read with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, with 31 October 2019 as the appointed day. The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India, and the changes are entirely an internal matter of India.
The Supreme Court upheld them in In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution in December 2023 and directed restoration of statehood at the earliest; Assembly elections followed in 2024. Article 35A had been inserted by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 1954.
The Supreme Court upheld them in In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution in December 2023 and directed restoration of statehood at the earliest; Assembly elections followed in 2024. Article 35A had been inserted by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 1954.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 federalism, Union Territories, Fundamental Rights, India and its neighbourhood. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | asymmetric federalism, Lieutenant Governor, public order, restoration of statehood. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | believing Ladakh has a legislature; it does not. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | fix the two Orders, C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 of 2019, and the appointed day of 31 October 2019, since these are the precise instruments. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** what conditions should determine when a Union Territory is restored to statehood, and who should judge that they are met? |
Question 6 of 15
The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 replaces an Act of 1891. What problem did the original statute solve?
FACT: Ordinary rules of evidence require production of the original document. For a bank that would have meant surrendering its bound ledgers to a court for the duration of a trial, during which it could not conduct business.
The 1891 Act made a certified copy of an entry admissible as prima facie evidence of that entry without production of the original. ANALYSIS: The certification requirement was therefore not merely a formality; it was the safeguard protecting an account holder against a fabricated statement being tendered, which is why any relaxation of the conditions shifts protective weight from the individual toward the institution producing the record.
The 1891 Act made a certified copy of an entry admissible as prima facie evidence of that entry without production of the original. ANALYSIS: The certification requirement was therefore not merely a formality; it was the safeguard protecting an account holder against a fabricated statement being tendered, which is why any relaxation of the conditions shifts protective weight from the individual toward the institution producing the record.
📝 Concept Note
The 2026 Bill expands the definition of bankers’ books to cover physical, electronic, digital, virtual and cloud-based records, and makes electronic and digital records admissible and legally enforceable as evidence subject to prescribed conditions. It was moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, introduced in the Lok Sabha on 4 August 2026 and passed on 5 August 2026 without substantive discussion.
The general law on electronic records is the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, Sections 61 to 63, with Section 63 carrying the certificate requirement; the Bill is the special law for bank records. A companion measure, the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, replaces the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.
The general law on electronic records is the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, Sections 61 to 63, with Section 63 carrying the certificate requirement; the Bill is the special law for bank records. A companion measure, the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, replaces the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 statutes and colonial-law repeal, parliamentary functioning; GS3 banking and economic offences. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | chain of custody, prima facie evidence, data localisation, delegated legislation. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | assuming the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam displaced the bankers' books regime; it is the general law, and the 2026 Bill is the special law. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | learn the 2023 trio, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, against the three statutes they replaced. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** what conditions would make a cloud-hosted bank record as trustworthy in court as a bound ledger once was? |
Question 7 of 15
What is a 5G network slice, the subject of TRAI’s consultation paper of 5 August 2026?
FACT: A network slice is a logically independent, end-to-end virtual network created over shared physical 5G infrastructure, enabled by network function virtualisation and software-defined networking, and configured with its own bandwidth, latency, reliability and security characteristics. ANALYSIS: Slicing requires a 5G standalone core and is what makes enterprise 5G commercially distinct from consumer 5G, because an enterprise buys a guaranteed performance envelope rather than best-effort capacity.
The standard slice categories are eMBB for throughput, URLLC for ultra-low latency and reliability, and mMTC for high device density.
The standard slice categories are eMBB for throughput, URLLC for ultra-low latency and reliability, and mMTC for high device density.
📝 Concept Note
TRAI proposed that an operator creating a new 5G slice file details at least 21 days in advance, with each slice treated as a separate tariff offering carrying its own quality-of-service parameters, and financial disincentives of Rs 2 lakh per benchmark for false reporting and Rs 5 lakh for non-compliance. Comments are due by 26 August 2026 and counter-comments by 7 September 2026.
The draft amends the consolidated QoS framework notified on 2 August 2024 and in force from 1 October 2024. The deeper issue is that slicing is by design differential treatment of traffic, which sits in tension with India’s net neutrality framework, reconciled through the specialised-services carve-out.
The draft amends the consolidated QoS framework notified on 2 August 2024 and in force from 1 October 2024. The deeper issue is that slicing is by design differential treatment of traffic, which sits in tension with India’s net neutrality framework, reconciled through the specialised-services carve-out.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 telecommunications, IT and infrastructure regulation. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | network slicing, net neutrality, specialised services, ease of doing business. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | confusing a slice with a spectrum block; a slice is logical and software-defined, not a separate frequency allocation. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | TRAI recommendations on licensing and spectrum are advisory, while its regulations on QoS, tariffs and interconnection are binding, and appeals lie to TDSAT. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** if guaranteed-latency slices are permitted for hospitals and factories, what stops the same mechanism becoming a fast lane for general internet? |
Question 8 of 15
Chandipura virus, the subject of an outbreak response deployed on 5 August 2026, is transmitted by which vector?
FACT: Chandipura virus is transmitted chiefly by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus, not by mosquitoes. It belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Vesiculovirus, and was first identified in 1965 at Chandipura village in Maharashtra.
ANALYSIS: The vector distinction determines the control strategy. Sandflies breed in cracks and crevices in walls, in organic debris and around animal shelters rather than in standing water, so the anti-larval and source-reduction measures built for mosquito control do not transfer.
Indoor residual spraying and sealing of wall crevices are the relevant interventions.
ANALYSIS: The vector distinction determines the control strategy. Sandflies breed in cracks and crevices in walls, in organic debris and around animal shelters rather than in standing water, so the anti-larval and source-reduction measures built for mosquito control do not transfer.
Indoor residual spraying and sealing of wall crevices are the relevant interventions.
📝 Concept Note
The Union Health Ministry deployed a National Joint Outbreak Response Team to Gujarat and Rajasthan on 5 August 2026. Gujarat recorded 184 suspected infections, 35 laboratory-confirmed cases and 22 child deaths this monsoon, with seven children under treatment.
The virus causes Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, overwhelmingly in children under 15, and there is no licensed vaccine and no specific antiviral, so management is supportive and outcomes depend on rapid referral. Surveillance runs under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme coordinated by the NCDC, with laboratory and research support from four ICMR institutes and, notably, ICAR-NIVEDI Bengaluru, which supplies the One Health element.
The virus causes Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, overwhelmingly in children under 15, and there is no licensed vaccine and no specific antiviral, so management is supportive and outcomes depend on rapid referral. Surveillance runs under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme coordinated by the NCDC, with laboratory and research support from four ICMR institutes and, notably, ICAR-NIVEDI Bengaluru, which supplies the One Health element.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 health governance and centre-state coordination; GS3 disease and disaster management. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | One Health, vector control, syndromic surveillance, referral pathway. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | treating a suspected-case count as inflated; Acute Encephalitis Syndrome is a syndromic definition and will always exceed the pathogen-confirmed count. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | rabies virus belongs to the same family, Rhabdoviridae, in the genus Lyssavirus. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** an outbreak that recurs in a known season, geography and age group: is that a detection failure or a prevention failure? |
Question 9 of 15
The World Development Report 2026 found that only 4.5 per cent of jobs in low- and middle-income countries face generative-AI automation risk, against 14.2 per cent in high-income countries. What explains the difference?
FACT: Generative AI automates cognitive, routine and digitally-mediated tasks such as drafting, coding and processing structured information, and those tasks are concentrated in formal, computer-based, white-collar employment, which is the dominant form in rich economies and a minority form in poor ones. ANALYSIS: The uncomfortable corollary is that low exposure is a function of low formalisation and low digital task-intensity, which makes it arguable whether this is a strategic advantage or a statistical artefact of underdevelopment.
The report’s own answer is that it buys time and optionality, since a country not facing displacement can adopt AI as an augmenting technology.
The report’s own answer is that it buys time and optionality, since a country not facing displacement can adopt AI as an augmenting technology.
📝 Concept Note
The World Development Report is the World Bank’s annual flagship publication, and the 2026 edition released on 4 August 2026 is the first comprehensive assessment of AI’s implications for developing countries. It found that 16.2 per cent of jobs in developing economies could see meaningful productivity gains, and that the binding constraint is complementary infrastructure rather than AI capability: nearly one-third of rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa lack reliable electricity and over two-thirds lack dependable internet.
Indermit Gill is the Bank Group’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist; Gaurav Nayyar directed the report.
Indermit Gill is the Bank Group’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist; Gaurav Nayyar directed the report.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 technology, employment and inclusive growth; GS2 international institutions. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | task exposure, complementary infrastructure, absorptive capacity, leapfrogging. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | attributing the World Development Report to the IMF; it is the World Bank’s flagship. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | the World Bank Group comprises IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID, and "World Bank" strictly means IBRD and IDA together. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** if AI gains accrue only where electricity and connectivity already exist, is AI policy actually infrastructure policy? |
Question 10 of 15
Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves, central to the Supreme Court’s 4 August 2026 mining-buffer order, were introduced by which amendment?
FACT: The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 inserted Chapter IV-A, Sections 36A to 36D, creating Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves. A Conservation Reserve is declared by a State Government over government-owned land, typically adjacent to or linking protected areas; a Community Reserve is declared over private or community land volunteered for conservation.
ANALYSIS: Both categories exist because National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries were too restrictive for landscapes where people live and work, and both are administered with community participation through management committees, which makes them the closest Indian statutory analogue to Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures.
ANALYSIS: Both categories exist because National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries were too restrictive for landscapes where people live and work, and both are administered with community participation through management committees, which makes them the closest Indian statutory analogue to Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures.
📝 Concept Note
A Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, hearing an application in T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India, W.P. (C) No. 202 of 1995, clarified on 4 August 2026 that the 10-km mining restriction around the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve applies to wetland conservation reserves and community reserves across the country. The SC-NBWL and MoEFCC were directed to determine within one month whether any exist in Himachal Pradesh.
Asan Conservation Reserve, at the Asan-Yamuna confluence, became a Ramsar site in 2020 and is Uttarakhand’s first. Mining within the buffer requires prior permission of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life.
Asan Conservation Reserve, at the Asan-Yamuna confluence, became a Ramsar site in 2020 and is Uttarakhand’s first. Mining within the buffer requires prior permission of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 conservation and protected areas; GS2 judicial activism and continuing mandamus. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | eco-sensitive zone, continuing mandamus, uniform buffer, site specificity. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | assuming a judicially imposed buffer replaces the statutory instrument; the proper mechanism is an Eco-Sensitive Zone notified under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Court steps in because notification is delayed. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | the NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister while its Standing Committee is chaired by the Union Environment Minister. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** is a blunt uniform buffer a defect of judicial reasoning or a cost of executive delay? |
Question 11 of 15
The Rajya Sabha completed Parliament’s approval of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill on 5 August 2026. How had the increase already taken effect in May?
FACT: The Bill replaces the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated on 16 May 2026 under Article 123, which is why the Act operates retrospectively from that date. ANALYSIS: The sequence is the examinable feature.
The composition of the highest constitutional court was altered first by an executive instrument, with legislative ratification following nearly three months later, and the Lok Sabha stage passing without discussion. An ordinance has the force of an Act but must be laid before Parliament and ceases to operate six weeks from reassembly unless replaced.
The composition of the highest constitutional court was altered first by an executive instrument, with legislative ratification following nearly three months later, and the Lok Sabha stage passing without discussion. An ordinance has the force of an Act but must be laid before Parliament and ceases to operate six weeks from reassembly unless replaced.
📝 Concept Note
The Bill amends Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, raising judges other than the CJI from 33 to 37 and the total including the CJI from 34 to 38. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 20 July 2026, passed by the Lok Sabha on 3 August and by the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2026.
CJI Surya Kant had written to the Prime Minister on 11 May 2026 seeking the increase, citing an annual gap of roughly 10,000 cases between institution and disposal. Article 124(1) fixes the original strength at the CJI plus seven judges until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number.
Previous revisions came in 1956, 1960, 1977, 1986, 2009 and 2019.
CJI Surya Kant had written to the Prime Minister on 11 May 2026 seeking the increase, citing an annual gap of roughly 10,000 cases between institution and disposal. Article 124(1) fixes the original strength at the CJI plus seven judges until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number.
Previous revisions came in 1956, 1960, 1977, 1986, 2009 and 2019.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 judiciary, ordinance power, parliamentary scrutiny. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | sanctioned strength, ordinance route, appointment throughput, National Court of Appeal. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | believing judge strength requires a constitutional amendment; it requires ordinary legislation, and here it was first effected by ordinance. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | pair Article 124(1) with Article 216, under which High Court strength is determined by the President rather than by statute. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** was an ordinance an appropriate instrument for altering the composition of the Supreme Court? |
Question 12 of 15
A Parliamentary Consultative Committee, such as the MoEFCC one that met on human-wildlife conflict on 5 August 2026, differs from a Departmentally Related Standing Committee in that it:
FACT: A Consultative Committee is attached to a ministry, chaired by the Union Minister concerned, and constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. It is a forum for informal discussion between members and the minister, and it does not take formal evidence or produce reports laid before the House.
ANALYSIS: A Departmentally Related Standing Committee, by contrast, is chaired by a member of Parliament, examines Bills and Demands for Grants, takes evidence and reports to the House, though its recommendations are advisory. Conflating the two is a common and costly error.
ANALYSIS: A Departmentally Related Standing Committee, by contrast, is chaired by a member of Parliament, examines Bills and Demands for Grants, takes evidence and reports to the House, though its recommendations are advisory. Conflating the two is a common and costly error.
📝 Concept Note
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav chaired the Consultative Committee meeting, which endorsed Geographic Information Systems, artificial intelligence, drones, radio telemetry and predictive analytics for human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Kerala has notified human-wildlife conflict as a state-specific disaster, which permits use of the State Disaster Response Fund, and Madhya Pradesh presented a Prevention First model.
The meeting followed the Centre of Excellence on Human-Wildlife Conflict inaugurated at Coimbatore in July 2026. Chief Wildlife Warden is a statutory post under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
The meeting followed the Centre of Excellence on Human-Wildlife Conflict inaugurated at Coimbatore in July 2026. Chief Wildlife Warden is a statutory post under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 parliamentary committees and executive accountability; GS3 conservation and disaster management. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | state-specific disaster, SDRF, corridor restoration, carrying capacity. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | treating a Consultative Committee as a parliamentary panel with reporting powers; it is a ministerial consultation forum. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | notifying a hazard as a state-specific disaster unlocks SDRF funds, which is why states use the device. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** does classifying human-wildlife conflict as a disaster help, or does it convert an ecological problem into a relief problem? |
Question 13 of 15
Which statement about Geographical Indications in India is correct?
FACT: Under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, a GI is registered in the name of a registered proprietor, typically an association of producers or a state body, while individual producers within the region are entered as authorised users. ANALYSIS: This ownership structure is the source of the value-capture problem.
Legal recognition attaches to the collective mark, while the artisan holds only a derivative right and little bargaining power, which is why GI registration alone has rarely improved producer incomes.
Legal recognition attaches to the collective mark, while the artisan holds only a derivative right and little bargaining power, which is why GI registration alone has rarely improved producer incomes.
📝 Concept Note
The Ministry of Textiles held the GI and Beyond 2.0 Summit in New Delhi on 5 August 2026, inaugurated by Pabitra Margherita, launching the Digital Handloom Atlas and displaying over 100 GI-registered handloom and handicraft products. Authorised GI users have risen from 365 in 2015 to over 29,000 as of January 2025.
The GI Act came into force on 15 September 2003; the GI Registry sits at Chennai with all-India jurisdiction and is administered by DPIIT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Registration is valid for 10 years and is renewable.
Darjeeling Tea was India’s first GI. The international basis lies in the Paris Convention and Articles 22 to 24 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. National Handloom Day is 7 August.
The GI Act came into force on 15 September 2003; the GI Registry sits at Chennai with all-India jurisdiction and is administered by DPIIT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Registration is valid for 10 years and is renewable.
Darjeeling Tea was India’s first GI. The international basis lies in the Paris Convention and Articles 22 to 24 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. National Handloom Day is 7 August.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 intellectual property and rural economy; GS1 art, culture and craft traditions. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | registered proprietor, authorised user, value capture, overseas enforcement. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | placing the GI Registry in Delhi or under the Ministry of Culture; it is at Chennai under DPIIT. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | National Handloom Day, 7 August, marks the launch of the Swadeshi Movement on 7 August 1905. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** a GI tag confers protection but not price; what would actually raise an artisan’s earnings? |
Question 14 of 15
A spent Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon on 5 August 2026. Which statement about the governing international law is correct?
FACT: Article II of the Outer Space Treaty, 1967 bars national appropriation of celestial bodies, and the Liability Convention, 1972 governs damage caused by space objects, but neither creates any obligation to dispose of spent upper stages responsibly beyond Earth orbit, and there is no binding regime for cislunar traffic management. ANALYSIS: This matters now rather than in the abstract, because lunar missions from several countries and commercial operators are converging on the same small region of the lunar south pole.
The Moon Agreement of 1979 exists but has not been ratified by any major spacefaring state, which is why option (c) is wrong.
The Moon Agreement of 1979 exists but has not been ratified by any major spacefaring state, which is why option (c) is wrong.
📝 Concept Note
The object, catalogued as 2025-010D and massing roughly 4 tonnes, had launched Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 and ispace’s Hakuto-R Resilience landers in January 2025 before being abandoned in a Moon-crossing high-Earth orbit. It struck near Einstein Crater at about 88 degrees West and 15 degrees North at roughly 2.43 km per second, and the resulting crater is expected to be 20 to 30 metres across.
The trajectory was computed and tracked by an independent orbital analyst rather than by any space agency, which is itself an argument for institutional capacity. This is the second known uncontrolled rocket-body lunar impact, after one on the far side in March 2022.
NASA’s LCROSS in 2009 was, by contrast, a deliberate impact that confirmed water ice near the south pole.
The trajectory was computed and tracked by an independent orbital analyst rather than by any space agency, which is itself an argument for institutional capacity. This is the second known uncontrolled rocket-body lunar impact, after one on the far side in March 2022.
NASA’s LCROSS in 2009 was, by contrast, a deliberate impact that confirmed water ice near the south pole.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS3 space technology and debris management; GS2 international law and institutions. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | cislunar traffic management, space debris, end-of-life disposal, liability. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | citing the Moon Agreement as operative law; no major spacefaring state has ratified it. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | 5 August is also Neil Armstrong’s birth anniversary, born 5 August 1930. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** who should maintain a cislunar object catalogue, and what would make states willing to contribute to it? |
Question 15 of 15
A Parliamentary Standing Committee report tabled on 4 August 2026 found that of 1,044 urban sewage treatment plants, what proportion meets the stricter 2019 discharge standards?
FACT: Of 1,044 sewage treatment plants in urban India, about 50 per cent meet the 2015 CPCB standards and just 15 per cent meet the stricter 2019 NGT standards. ANALYSIS: The gap between the two figures is the more revealing number, because it shows that the constraint is not construction but operation.
A plant that is built and commissioned but under-operated, for want of technical staff, power or operating budget at the urban local body, produces compliance failure without any construction shortfall appearing in the data.
A plant that is built and commissioned but under-operated, for want of technical staff, power or operating budget at the urban local body, produces compliance failure without any construction shortfall appearing in the data.
📝 Concept Note
The Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs found that of 594 approved AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 sewerage projects worth Rs 68,309 crore, only 104, or 17.51 per cent, are complete, with 398 still under implementation. Against Central Assistance commitments of Rs 66,059.53 crore, only Rs 22,762.99 crore, or 34.46 per cent, has been released.
About 3.44 crore of 11.32 crore urban households have a sewerage connection, roughly 30 per cent. Urban India generates about 52,644 MLD of sewage against installed treatment capacity of about 31,885 MLD. The Committee recommended a National Urban Wastewater Reuse Policy.
AMRUT launched in June 2015 and AMRUT 2.0 on 1 October 2021, extended to 31 March 2027.
About 3.44 crore of 11.32 crore urban households have a sewerage connection, roughly 30 per cent. Urban India generates about 52,644 MLD of sewage against installed treatment capacity of about 31,885 MLD. The Committee recommended a National Urban Wastewater Reuse Policy.
AMRUT launched in June 2015 and AMRUT 2.0 on 1 October 2021, extended to 31 March 2027.
🎯 Concept Kit — tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | GS2 urban local governance, devolution and parliamentary committees; GS3 pollution and infrastructure. |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | operation and maintenance, own-source revenue, volumetric tariff, wastewater reuse. |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | reading low completion rates as a funding problem; barely a third of committed assistance has been released against a slow pipeline, so the constraint is ULB capacity. |
| 📌 Exam Tip | connect to the Twelfth Schedule and the Fifteenth Finance Commission’s recommendation of devolution with matching finances, and to SDG 6 and SDG 11. |
| 🎤 Interview | ** if a treatment plant is built but not run, which reform would you pursue first? |
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