UPSC Prelims Practice
Current Affairs Quiz 3 November 2026
Test Your Knowledge
5 questions based on today’s current affairs & editorials
Choose number of questions
Question 1 of 5
1 A DR is a foreign currency denominated instrument issued by a foreign depository on the back of REIT units deposited with a domestic custodian.
2 The exchanges permitted for listing such DRs are India International Exchange and NSE International Exchange in the International Financial Services Centre in India.
3 A person resident in India may hold such a DR as long as the underlying units stay with a domestic custodian.
4 Where unit holder approval is required for a fresh issue of DRs, votes in favour must be at least 75% of all units outstanding.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
The framework defines a DR as a foreign currency denominated instrument, listed on an international exchange and issued by a foreign depository on the back of REIT units deposited with a domestic custodian registered with SEBI.
Statement 2Correct
The circular limits permissible jurisdictions and international exchanges to the IFSC in India, naming these two exchanges.
Statement 3Incorrect
A DR holder, including its beneficial owner, shall not be a person resident in India.
Statement 4Incorrect
The test is at least 75% of the total votes cast for the resolution, not of units outstanding.
Analysis
SEBI’s REIT circular of 2 November 2026 took effect immediately. A parallel circular of the same date covers InvIT units.
Concept note
A depository receipt rests on a chain: units are deposited with a domestic custodian registered with SEBI, a foreign depository issues the receipt, and the receipt lists on an international exchange. The parent rules are the Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014, notified by the Central Government on 21 October 2014, and the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, which permit investment by persons resident outside India in DRs on REIT units.
Regulation 14(12A) of the SEBI (REIT) Regulations, 2014, allows DRs on REIT units in the manner SEBI specifies. The issue price cannot be below the price for a corresponding mode of issue to domestic investors.
For minimum public unitholding, units held at the depository for DRs count as non-public. Voting rights on the underlying units, if any, are exercised by the DR holder through the foreign depository, on that holder’s instruction alone.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS3 capital markets and investment; foreign exchange management. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** depository receipt, foreign depository, domestic custodian, minimum public unitholding. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** reading the route as open to any foreign exchange; the circular names two exchanges in the IFSC in India. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** the 75% is of votes cast, and DRs issued with an initial offer of units need no such approval. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** what does routing such an instrument through India’s own IFSC achieve for a REIT raising foreign currency? |
Question 2 of 5
Statement-II: The Fourth Amendment requires human assistance at Complaint Centres for all twenty-four hours of the day.
Facts
Statement ICorrect
PIB says support through Complaint Centres will be available round the clock on all days of the week, instead of the existing 16-hour arrangement.
Statement IIIncorrect
Human assistance need be available for at least sixteen hours daily; the support may otherwise come through automated systems, AI agents or other technological solutions, with appropriate human oversight.
Analysis
TRAI issued the amendment on 2 November 2026. It separates availability of support from availability of staff, which is the distinction to carry into an answer.
Concept note
TRAI’s Fourth Amendment followed a consultation paper of 7 May 2026, 32 comments and 24 counter-comments, and an online Open House Discussion on 17 July 2026. For Internet Service Providers, the test is now more than ten thousand subscribers, and the alternative turnover test of above Rs 5 crore is gone.
Complaints and appeals can also be filed through the provider’s mobile application. The time to file an appeal falls from 30 days to 15 days.
The Appellate Authority, one or more regular employees in the provider’s management with at least five years’ experience, decides within 15 days of receipt, and the Advisory Committee route is dropped. New features include a five-point Feedback Survey, a quarterly report to the CEO or Board, a Consumer Grievance Redressal Oversight Committee, a Regulatory Review by TRAI and financial disincentives for specified non-compliance.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS2 regulatory bodies and consumer protection; GS3 telecom. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** grievance redressal, human oversight, feedback survey, financial disincentive. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** reading round-the-clock support as round-the-clock human staff. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** 15 days to file an appeal and 15 days to decide it; both are in the amendment. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** should a consumer facing a telecom complaint have a right to reach a human at any hour? |
Question 3 of 5
1 It administers post-arrival registration for eligible categories of foreigners and issues a Registration Certificate/Residential Permit.
2 It grants foreigners permission to visit protected and restricted areas.
3 It issues exit permits to foreigners who have overstayed.
4 Under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, the Bureau of Immigration may be assisted in its duties by an FRRO authorised by the Central Government.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Correct
PIB lists post-arrival registration and the Registration Certificate/Residential Permit among the FRRO’s functions.
Statement 2Correct
The FRRO grants permission to visit protected and restricted areas.
Statement 3Correct
Exit permits go to foreigners whose visas have expired, who have overstayed or who need formal clearance before leaving India.
Statement 4Correct
Under the Act, the Bureau of Immigration is to be assisted, among others, by the FRRO as authorised by the Central Government.
Analysis
PIB said on 2 November 2026 that FRRO offices now number 20, including three described as notified, with a direction from the Union Home Minister for FRROs in all State capitals by 2027.
Concept note
The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 consolidated four earlier laws relating to immigration and foreigners, and PIB describes it as a unified statutory framework for the entry, stay, movement and exit of foreign nationals. The Bureau of Immigration mainly performs the immigration function.
The FRRO regulates, tracks and facilitates the lawful stay of foreign nationals, records changes in particulars such as address and passport details, and handles cases of overstay and visa violations, coordinating legal action or penalties where necessary. Offices were set up at Jaipur, Chandigarh and Guwahati in 2025 and at Aizawl and Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) in 2026; Kohima, Agartala and Bhubaneswar are notified.
FRROs are still being pursued for Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya. Through e-FRRO, 35 services are online.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS3 internal security; GS2 government policies and administration. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** post-arrival registration, overstay, immigration compliance, facilitation and security. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** counting Kohima, Agartala and Bhubaneswar as set up; PIB describes them as notified. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** the Bureau of Immigration mainly performs the immigration function; the FRRO assists it and handles stay. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** how should an FRRO balance facilitating medical and student visitors with enforcing immigration law? |
Question 4 of 5
Item : As described in the PIB release on the Nadi Sanjivani MoU between MoRTH and Bihar
1. Road Construction Department, Government of Bihar : Nodal department
2. Indian Roads Congress codes : Testing the suitability of excavated silt for National Highway construction
3. 243 lakh cubic metres of silt : Proposed for future National Highway projects
4. Bihar Water Sources Restoration and Silt Management Policy, 2026 : Issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Facts
Pair 1Correct
Bihar’s Road Construction Department will act as the nodal department, supported by a State-level Coordination Committee.
Pair 2Correct
Suitability is to be established in accordance with MoRTH specifications and relevant Indian Roads Congress codes.
Pair 3Incorrect
243 lakh cubic metres is for 16 ongoing projects; it is an estimated 835 lakh cubic metres that is proposed for 27 future projects.
Pair 4Incorrect
This is Bihar’s policy, cited by the Chief Minister of Bihar, and the MoU is to be implemented in accordance with it.
Analysis
The MoU was signed on 3 November 2026. Ongoing and proposed figures should not be mixed in an answer.
Concept note
Nadi Sanjivani seeks to restore the water-carrying capacity of rivers and water bodies, strengthen flood management, conserve agricultural land and provide a source of construction material for National Highway projects. PIB quotes Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on accumulated silt reducing the carrying capacity of rivers, and on rivers originating in Nepal that carry water and sediment into Bihar.
The MoU sets a framework for implementation between NHAI and the Government of Bihar. Extraction is permitted only at approved locations and within prescribed technical limits, so that river ecosystems, riverbanks, embankments, bridges and other structures are not adversely affected.
Joint measurement, digital record-keeping and periodic reconciliation are meant to ensure accountability. NHAI has 39 projects under construction in Bihar, about 1,561 km at an estimated Rs 58,340 crore, with 11 more proposed, about 1,982 km at an estimated Rs 1,85,200 crore.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS1 rivers and floods; GS3 infrastructure and disaster management. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** scientific desilting, carrying capacity, flood management, resource use in construction. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** treating all the silt figures as settled; the 835 lakh cubic metres is proposed, subject to technical suitability and approvals. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** Bihar’s Road Construction Department is the nodal department, and the policy named is the State’s own. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** does removing silt solve Bihar’s floods, given rivers originating in Nepal keep bringing sediment? |
Question 5 of 5
1 It was developed as an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology.
2 It presents indicators of research quality, impact, collaboration and open access across the sectors of Academia, Government R&D Labs and Industry.
3 It draws only on publication and patent data, and leaves out startups and incubators.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Facts
Statement 1Incorrect
PIB describes the Scoreboard as a key NITI Aayog initiative; the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology spoke at the launch.
Statement 2Correct
The Scoreboard goes beyond the volume of output and presents these indicators across priority research areas and three sectors.
Statement 3Incorrect
Its data also cover higher education institutions, R&D institutions, deep tech startups and incubators.
Analysis
NITI Aayog launched it on 3 November 2026 in New Delhi. Member (S&T) Abhay Karandikar said such data had been fragmented across multiple sources.
Concept note
The India S&T Scoreboard, at www.sts.niti.gov.in, is an interactive platform on the science and technology landscape of Indian States and UTs, designed to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and benchmarking. It allows side by side comparison of States and UTs and carries detailed State profiles, including State policies and best practices, with trends over years.
It was unveiled by Ashok Kumar Lahiri, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, who said India’s further progress in science and technology requires a more active role by the States and placed the Scoreboard under the principle of cooperative and competitive federalism. The Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology noted that it adds a State-level picture to the national evidence base, and stressed the role of State S&T Councils and State universities in widening India’s research base.
🎯 Concept Kit tap to expand
| 🔗 Cross-Paper Links | ** GS3 science and technology; GS2 NITI Aayog and cooperative federalism. ** |
| ✍️ Mains Keywords | ** evidence-based policymaking, benchmarking, State S&T Councils, research quality. ** |
| ⚠️ Common Mistake | ** assuming a DST product because the subject is science; this one is NITI Aayog’s. ** |
| 📌 Exam Tip | ** three sectors: Academia, Government R&D Labs and Industry. ** |
| 🎤 Interview | ** can a comparison of States improve research, or will it only reward those already ahead? |
Performance
Question-wise Result
