UPSC Prelims Practice
Current Affairs Quiz 30 October 2026
Test Your Knowledge
10 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
Choose number of questions
Question 1 of 10
1 Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, cheating by personation is an offence under section 319.
2 Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000 punishes cheating by personation by means of a communication device or computer resource.
3 The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) is an attached office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
4 Indian law provides for a 'digital arrest', under which a person may be held in custody through a video call.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
Section 319 of the BNS covers cheating by pretending to be some other person, real or imaginary, with up to five years, or fine, or both; ordinary cheating is section 318.
Statement 2Correct
Section 66D covers cheating by personation through a communication device or computer resource, and section 66C covers identity theft; each carries up to three years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees.
Statement 3Incorrect
I4C is an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, not of MeitY.
Statement 4Incorrect
‘digital arrest’ names a scam, not a power; there is no legal provision for a digital arrest in India.
Analysis
In its suo motu case on digital arrest scams, the Supreme Court called upon the RBI to make financial institutions indemnify victims where the fraud results from a bank’s failure of due diligence. That is the Court’s ask of the regulator, not yet a binding rule on any bank.
Concept note
Digital arrest scams work by impersonation: callers pose as police, investigators or other officials and frighten victims into transferring money. Two sets of laws meet them.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023) defines cheating as deceiving a person and fraudulently or dishonestly inducing them to deliver property; cheating that induces delivery of property carries up to seven years and a fine (section 318(4)), and cheating by personation up to five years (section 319). The Information Technology Act, 2000 adds section 66C on identity theft (misuse of an electronic signature, password or other unique identification feature) and section 66D on cheating by personation using a computer resource.
On the response side, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinates action against all types of cyber crime; complaints go to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the toll-free helpline 1930. The Supreme Court’s suo motu case now asks a further question: when should the bank, and not the victim, bear the loss?
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS3 challenges to internal security through communication networks and basics of cyber security; GS2 functioning of the judiciary and regulatory bodies (the RBI). ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** due diligence, indemnity, shared liability, money mule accounts. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** placing I4C under MeitY; it is an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** pair the sections: BNS 318 (cheating), BNS 319 (personation), IT Act 66C (identity theft), IT Act 66D (personation through a computer resource). ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should a bank pay a victim who was tricked into authorising the transfer, if the bank’s own systems failed to flag it? |
Question 2 of 10
Statement-I: A legislature cannot nullify a court’s decision cancelling a recruitment merely by enacting a law that declares the selection valid 'notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment', without removing the defect the court found.
Statement-II: While validating a law retrospectively, a legislature may alter the very basis of an earlier decision, but it cannot directly annul a final judgment by subsequent legislation.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Facts
Statement ICorrect
Where a cancellation has been upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court, ‘the power does not lie with the legislature to annul the cancellation, even by a legislation and thus nullify the judgments of the Constitutional Courts’, as the Supreme Court held while striking down Karnataka’s 2022 Validation Act.
Statement IICorrectExplains Statement I
Relying on S.T. Sadiq v. State of Kerala (2015), the Court restated that it is ‘permissible to alter the very basis of an earlier decision but cannot directly annul the final judgment by a subsequent legislation’. A law that leaves the basis untouched and only overrides the result is therefore an annulment, which is why it fails.
Analysis
Karnataka’s Act validated a 2011 Public Service Commission selection that the courts had found tainted; a two-judge Bench held it unconstitutional, and Karnataka itself told the Court the law could not be supported.
Concept note
A validating Act amends a law retrospectively and validates past action, notwithstanding a court decision, by removing the defect the court found. The Supreme Court’s settled line is that a legislature may ‘alter the very basis of an earlier decision’ but ‘cannot directly annul the final judgment’.
The reason is the separation of powers: ‘the legislative function consists of making law and not declaring what the law shall be’, while deciding a dispute between parties is the courts’ work. Under Article 141, the law declared by the Supreme Court binds all courts in India.
The Karnataka case also touches the constitutional frame of recruitment: Article 309 lets the appropriate legislature regulate the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to posts under the Union or a State; Article 315 provides a Public Service Commission for the Union and one for each State; and Article 320 makes it their duty to conduct examinations for appointments. The judgment called a Public Service Commission a Constitutional Body meant to recruit ‘without any taint thereat’.
Cases relied on include Janapada Sabha, Chhindwara (1970) and the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal reference (1993).
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 separation of powers between organs, functioning of the judiciary and legislature, and constitutional bodies (State Public Service Commissions). ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** validating Act, legislative overruling, rule of law, PSC integrity. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** thinking any 'notwithstanding any judgment' clause is invalid; a legislature may validate retrospectively if it cures the defect that the court found. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** remember the formula: remove the basis, yes; annul the judgment, no (S.T. Sadiq, 2015; Cauvery reference, 1993). ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** is it fair that officers who were not themselves found tainted lose their posts because the selection as a whole was void? |
Question 3 of 10
1 A gig worker is defined as a person who earns from work outside the traditional employer-employee relationship.
2 The contribution of an aggregator is to be a rate between one and two per cent of its annual turnover, but it cannot exceed five per cent of the amount paid or payable by the aggregator to gig and platform workers.
3 The National Social Security Board is chaired by the Union Minister for Labour and Employment.
4 The National Social Security Board frames and administers welfare schemes for gig and platform workers.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
Section 2(35) defines a gig worker as a person who works, or takes part in a work arrangement, and earns from it outside the traditional employer-employee relationship.
Statement 2Correct
Section 114(4) sets a rate ‘not exceeding two per cent., but not less than one per cent.’ of annual turnover, to be notified by the Centre, with a proviso capping it at five per cent of the amount paid or payable to gig and platform workers.
Statement 3Correct
Under section 6(2) the Union Minister for Labour and Employment is the Chairperson, and the Secretary of the Ministry the Vice-Chairperson.
Statement 4Incorrect
The Board’s functions under section 6(7) are to recommend, advise, monitor and review; it recommends to the Central Government ‘for framing suitable schemes’, and the framing is the Centre’s.
Analysis
According to PIB, the Labour Ministry has notified the constitution of the Board for unorganised, gig and platform workers; the aggregators’ contribution rate is to be notified by the Centre under section 114(4).
Concept note
The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020) is one of the four Labour Codes, made effective from 21 November 2025, which rationalised 29 existing labour laws; the government said ‘gig work’, ‘platform work’ and ‘aggregators’ were defined for the first time. Section 6(1) requires the Centre to constitute, by notification, a National Social Security Board for unorganised workers, with a term of three years and at least three meetings a year.
Section 114(6) makes the same Board the Board for gig and platform workers, with a different set of members for those matters: five representatives of aggregators, five of gig and platform workers and five of State Governments by rotation, among others. Funding rests on the Social Security Fund under section 141 and the aggregator contribution under section 114(4); the Seventh Schedule lists nine categories of aggregators, from ride sharing to food delivery.
Benefits reach registered workers only; under section 113, registration needs an age of 16 (or as prescribed) and a self-declaration. The e-Shram portal, launched on 26 August 2021, is the national database of unorganised workers.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 welfare of vulnerable sections and statutory bodies; GS3 employment, the gig economy and the informal sector. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** social security gap, aggregator contribution, Social Security Fund, e-Shram. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** reading the 5% figure as a share of turnover; the 1 to 2% band is on turnover, and the 5% cap is on payments to gig and platform workers. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** an advisory Board recommends; the Central Government frames the schemes. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should platforms fund social security for workers they do not treat as employees? |
Question 4 of 10
1 Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the electoral roll for a constituency is prepared and revised by an Electoral Registration Officer.
2 The power of the Election Commission to direct a special revision of the electoral roll is contained in section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
3 Under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, Form 8 is the application for inclusion of a name by a new voter.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
Section 13B of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides that the roll is prepared and revised by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
Statement 2Incorrect
The power to direct a special revision ‘in such manner as it may think fit’ is in section 21(3) of the 1950 Act, the Act on electoral rolls; the 1951 Act deals with the conduct of elections.
Statement 3Incorrect
Form 6 is the application for new voters; Form 8 is for shifting of residence, correction of entries, replacement of EPIC and marking of persons with disabilities, and Form 7 is for objecting to an inclusion or seeking deletion of a name.
Analysis
In the Delhi Special Intensive Revision case, the Supreme Court questioned the ECI over asking persons deleted from the draft roll to apply on Form 6, the form for new voters; no order was passed. The Hindu’s editorial ‘Deemed ineligible’ argues that the SIR’s design, not just its execution, is at fault.
Concept note
Electoral rolls rest on three layers. The Constitution: Article 324(1) vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls in the Election Commission, and Article 326 entitles every citizen aged not less than 18 on the qualifying date, and not otherwise disqualified, to be registered as a voter.
The Representation of the People Act, 1950: the roll is prepared ‘by reference to the qualifying date’ (section 21(1)), the Commission may direct a special revision ‘in such manner as it may think fit’ (section 21(3)), the ERO prepares and revises the roll (section 13B), and a false declaration is punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or fine, or both (section 31). The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960: Form 6 for new voters, Form 7 for objections and deletions, Form 8 for shifts and corrections.
Since 1 August 2022 there are four qualifying dates a year: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. The Delhi case asks how a person who was on the 2026 roll can be treated as a first-time applicant.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 Representation of the People Acts, electoral rolls and the Election Commission; Essay on inclusion and the right to vote. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** special intensive revision, qualifying date, burden of proof, exclusion error. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** attributing electoral-roll provisions to the RP Act, 1951; rolls are under the 1950 Act, the conduct of elections under the 1951 Act. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** Form 6 new voter, Form 7 objection or deletion, Form 8 shift or correction. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** in a roll revision, should the burden of proving eligibility lie on the voter or on the State? |
Question 5 of 10
1 A Data Fiduciary under the Act is the individual to whom the personal data relates.
2 The highest penalty ceiling in the Schedule to the Act is for failure to take security safeguards to protect personal data.
3 The Act exempts processing of personal data for research, archiving or statistical purposes, subject to conditions.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Incorrect
The individual to whom the personal data relates is the Data Principal; a Data Fiduciary is anyone who determines the purpose and means of processing it.
Statement 2Correct
The Schedule sets the highest ceiling, up to ₹250 crore, for failure to take security safeguards (section 8(5)), against up to ₹200 crore for failure to give notice of a breach (section 8(6)).
Statement 3Correct
Section 17(2)(b) exempts processing for research, archiving or statistical purposes, with conditions.
Analysis
The Supreme Court has issued notice on a petition by the Digital News Publishers Association and journalist Yukta Mudgal challenging provisions of the Act and its Rules, including section 44(3), the RTI amendment; nothing has been stayed. The Hindu’s editorial ‘Open to investigation’ argues that the law risks a chilling effect on the press. Note that the DNPA’s members include The Hindu and The Indian Express.
Concept note
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (Act No. 22 of 2023, dated 11 August 2023) is India’s law on digital personal data. Its two core roles are the Data Principal, the individual to whom the data relates, and the Data Fiduciary, which determines the purpose and means of processing.
Section 18 establishes the Data Protection Board of India, and the Schedule fixes penalty ceilings: up to ₹250 crore for failing to keep personal data secure (section 8(5)) and up to ₹200 crore for failing to notify a breach (section 8(6)). Section 17(2)(b) exempts research, archiving and statistical processing, subject to conditions.
Section 44(3) substitutes clause (j) of section 8(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 with ‘information which relates to personal information’, dropping the earlier larger-public-interest test. The DPDP Rules, 2025 were notified in November 2025 with an 18-month phased compliance timeline.
The constitutional frame is two rights in tension: privacy, protected as part of Article 21 (K.S. Puttaswamy, 2017, nine judges), and the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 fundamental rights (Articles 19 and 21), transparency and the Right to Information, the role of the media; GS4 probity in governance. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** chilling effect, public interest test, proportionality, data protection. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** swapping Data Principal (the person) and Data Fiduciary (the entity that decides purpose and means). ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** the top penalty (₹250 crore) is for weak security safeguards, not for any act of publication. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should a data protection law carry a specific exemption for journalism, and who should decide what counts as journalism? |
Question 6 of 10
1 The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 is issued under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
2 The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) was established under an Act of Parliament.
3 Paragraph 20 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 permits intervention in extraordinary circumstances in the public interest.
4 Medicines on the National List of Essential Medicines are 'scheduled formulations' under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, and carry a ceiling price.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
The DPCO, 2013 is issued under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
Statement 2Incorrect
NPPA was set up by a Government of India Resolution of 29 August 1997 as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers; it is not a statutory body created by an Act.
Statement 3Incorrect
The extraordinary-circumstances, public-interest power is Paragraph 19; Paragraph 20 limits the annual rise in the MRP of non-scheduled drugs.
Statement 4Correct
The First Schedule of the DPCO, 2013 is drawn from the NLEM, so medicines on it are ‘scheduled formulations’ and NPPA fixes a ceiling price for them.
Analysis
NPPA’s first list of revised MRPs, of 28 October, covers 543 anti-cancer brands under the cap of 30% of the MRP excluding GST, and is to be updated as manufacturers submit prices. Writing in The Indian Express, Y K Gupta asks whether patients’ bills will actually fall, a question the price list alone cannot answer.
Concept note
India controls drug prices through an order made under a commodity law. The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 is issued under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and NPPA’s powers were delegated by S.O. 1349(E) of 30 May 2013 under sections 3 and 5 of that Act.
NPPA itself was created by executive resolution (29 August 1997) as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals; it fixes and revises prices, monitors compliance and availability, and advises on policy. Drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines are ‘scheduled’ and carry ceiling prices; all others are ‘non-scheduled’, and only the annual rise in their MRP is limited (Paragraph 20).
Paragraph 19 is the exception for extraordinary circumstances: NPPA has used it for 106 anti-diabetic and cardiovascular drugs, coronary stents and knee implants. In February 2019 it capped trade margins on 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, cutting the MRPs of 526 brands by up to 90%.
The October 2026 order (S.O. 5690(E)) caps the trade margin, the gap between the price to stockist and the MRP excluding GST, at 30% for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. Consumers can check revised prices on the Pharma Sahi Daam app.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 health and access to affordable medicines; GS3 the pharmaceutical industry and price regulation. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** trade margin rationalisation, out-of-pocket expenditure, ceiling price, enforcement. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** calling NPPA a statutory body; it was set up by a Government Resolution, while the DPCO draws on the Essential Commodities Act. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** Paragraph 19 is the emergency power; Paragraph 20 caps annual MRP increases of non-scheduled drugs. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** does capping trade margins risk shortages or discontinued brands, and how should the regulator watch for it? |
Question 7 of 10
1 The National Congress of the Party is held once every five years.
2 The Political Bureau, its Standing Committee and the General Secretary are elected at a plenary session of the Central Committee.
3 When the Central Committee is not in plenary session, the Political Bureau may first take a decision to expel a Central Committee member, subject to confirmation at the next plenary session.
4 The members of the Central Military Commission are decided by the Central Committee.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
The National Congress is held once every five years and is convened by the Central Committee (Article 19 of the Party Constitution as revised in 2022).
Statement 2Correct
The Politburo, its Standing Committee and the General Secretary are elected at a plenary session of the Central Committee (Article 23), not directly by the Congress.
Statement 3Correct
Under Article 42, removing, placing on probation or expelling a Central Committee member needs a two-thirds vote at a plenum, but when the plenum is not in session the Politburo may decide first, awaiting the plenum’s confirmation; expulsion for a serious criminal violation is decided by the Politburo itself.
Statement 4Correct
The members of the Central Military Commission are decided by the Central Committee, and the CMC is responsible for Party and political work in the armed forces.
Analysis
The fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee confirmed the expulsion of 33 people already decided by the Politburo; an Indian Express editorial argued that the plenum shifts the spotlight inward, to purges and discipline.
Concept note
The Communist Party of China works through a hierarchy of organs. The National Congress meets once every five years; the Central Committee it elects serves five years and holds plenary sessions, or plenums, convened by the Political Bureau at least once a year.
Between plenums, the Politburo and its Standing Committee exercise the Central Committee’s powers. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the Party’s discipline body, while the Central Military Commission (CMC) is its military commission; the two are often confused.
The fifth plenum of the 20th Central Committee met in Beijing from 26 to 29 October 2026, with 162 members and 117 alternate members attending. It adopted a Resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance, elected Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo, filled Central Committee seats with ten alternate members, adopted CCDI reports on 18 people and CMC reports on 16, and confirmed 33 expulsions (the fourth plenum in October 2025 confirmed 14).
The 21st National Congress is due in Beijing in the second half of 2027.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 India and its neighbourhood, China’s political system and its bearing on the India-China border. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** party-state, discipline inspection, civil-military relations, centralisation of power. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** confusing the CCDI (discipline) with the CMC (military), or the 20th Central Committee’s fifth plenum with the 21st Party Congress. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** a plenum confirms expulsions the Politburo has already decided; it does not begin them. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** do purges in the People’s Liberation Army make China more or less predictable on the Line of Actual Control? |
Question 8 of 10
Statement-I: India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission aims at the production of at least 5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of green hydrogen by 2030.
Statement-II: The green hydrogen offtake agreements signed by Indian companies measure the quantity of green hydrogen already produced in India.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Facts
Statement ICorrect
The National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved with an initial outlay of ₹19,744 crore up to 2029-30, aims to produce at least 5 MMTPA of green hydrogen by 2030, MNRE says.
Statement IIIncorrect
An offtake agreement is a signed commitment to buy future supply, not hydrogen produced; MNRE itself says fulfilling the agreements would require aggregate capital investment of over ₹90,000 crore.
Analysis
MNRE says firm and signed offtake commitments total 5,55,610 MTPA, about 11% of the Mission’s target, and calls them the world’s largest; over 70% of the 23 contracts signed since 2023 are earmarked for exports. The gap between commitment and output is the exam trap.
Concept note
Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable energy, and India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched in 2023, sets a target of at least 5 MMTPA of production by 2030 with an initial outlay of ₹19,744 crore up to 2029-30. Demand is the hard part of any new fuel: producers need assured buyers before they invest.
That is what offtake agreements provide. According to MNRE, Indian companies had signed offtake commitments totalling 5,55,610 MTPA by October 2026, about 11% of the Mission’s target, with 18 new agreements for over 4 lakh MTPA in 2026 alone.
Since 2023, 23 offtake contracts have been signed, over 70% of them for exports, and the projects are expected to attract around ₹90,000 crore (about USD 9.5 billion). These figures are the Ministry’s, and they describe purchase commitments, not plants running or hydrogen made.
For an answer on energy transition, the useful distinction is between three stages: a target (the Mission), a commitment (offtake) and actual production, which still depends on investment being made.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS3 energy, infrastructure and environment (decarbonisation); GS2 government policies and interventions. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** offtake agreement, energy transition, export orientation, hard-to-abate sectors. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** reading offtake commitments as installed or produced capacity. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** NGHM: at least 5 MMTPA by 2030; initial outlay ₹19,744 crore up to 2029-30; launched 2023. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should India’s early green hydrogen output go to exports or to decarbonising domestic industry first? |
Question 9 of 10
1 It gives each eligible landholding farmer family ₹6,000 a year in three equal instalments of ₹2,000.
2 The money is transferred through the Direct Benefit Transfer system into Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts.
3 The scheme was launched in 2019.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
PM-KISAN gives each eligible landholding farmer family ₹6,000 a year, ‘disbursed in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 into their Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts’, PIB says.
Statement 2Correct
The transfer runs through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, and benefits flow after the farmer’s land records are seeded on the PM-KISAN portal, the bank account is linked to Aadhaar and e-KYC is complete.
Statement 3Correct
The scheme was launched on 24 February 2019.
Analysis
The 24th instalment, around ₹18,690 crore to more than 9.34 crore farmers, was released at Banaskantha, Gujarat, PIB said. The tempting distractor is to assume the scheme covers all rural households; it is for landholding farmer families, which is why land-record seeding decides who is covered.
Concept note
PM-KISAN is income support paid directly to farmers rather than a price or input subsidy. Launched on 24 February 2019, it pays each eligible landholding farmer family ₹6,000 a year in three equal instalments of ₹2,000, credited to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts through DBT.
Eligibility runs through records: a farmer’s land records must be seeded on the PM-KISAN portal, the bank account linked to Aadhaar, and e-KYC completed. PIB says more than ₹4.64 lakh crore has been disbursed through 24 instalments; the Union Budget 2026-27 allocated ₹60,000 crore to the scheme, and in July 2026 the Union Cabinet approved its continuation from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with a total outlay of ₹3.15 lakh crore.
The upgraded Agri Welfare Portal brings PM-KISAN, AgriStack and PMFBY into a single window. For Mains, the scheme is a standard example of DBT cutting out intermediaries, and of the limits of land-based targeting, since cover depends on who holds recorded land.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS3 direct and indirect farm subsidies and agricultural income; GS2 welfare schemes and e-governance (DBT). ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** direct benefit transfer, income support, land records, targeting. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** treating PM-KISAN as a scheme for all rural households; it covers eligible landholding farmer families. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** ₹6,000 a year, three instalments of ₹2,000, launched 24 February 2019, paid by DBT. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should income support reach tenant farmers who do not hold recorded land, and how could that be done? |
Question 10 of 10
Place in the news : Located in
1. Banaskantha : Gujarat
2. Gajapati : Andhra Pradesh
3. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema : Odisha
4. Cebu : Indonesia
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Facts
Pair 1Correct
Banaskantha is in Gujarat, where the 24th PM-KISAN instalment was released.
Pair 2Incorrect
Gajapati is a district of Odisha, where rain triggered by Cyclone Arnab hit Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts.
Pair 3Incorrect
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema is a district of Andhra Pradesh, where a Central team was to assess cyclone damage along with West Godavari.
Pair 4Incorrect
Cebu is in the Philippines, where Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh addressed the 13th ADMM-Plus.
Analysis
Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts, and its rain hit Odisha’s Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts, so its damage spread across two States on the east coast; placing districts on either side of the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border is a classic map trap.
Concept note
Map questions in Prelims often take places from the news and test whether a candidate can place them correctly. Banaskantha is a district of Gujarat.
On India’s east coast, Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts and then weakened into a severe cyclonic storm. In Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister said a Central team would visit the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema and West Godavari districts, and put the State’s loss at ₹4,600 crore as a preliminary estimate.
In Odisha, heavy rain hit Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts; IMD recorded 546 mm at Patrapur in Ganjam in the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on 29 October, and more than 200 villages in 22 blocks across Ganjam and Gajapati were severely affected. Yanam, where the cyclone also crossed, is part of the Union Territory of Puducherry though it lies on the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Cebu, the venue of the 13th ADMM-Plus, is in the Philippines, an ASEAN member and a South China Sea littoral.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS1 physical and political geography of India, cyclones on the east coast; GS3 disaster management; GS2 ASEAN-India relations. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** east coast cyclones, district-level damage assessment, inter-State impact. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** placing Gajapati in Andhra Pradesh because it borders it; Gajapati and Ganjam are Odisha districts. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** mark the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coastal districts on a blank map, along with Yanam (Puducherry). ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should cyclone relief be planned on river basins and coastlines rather than on State boundaries? |
Performance
Question-wise Result
