Under Article 124(1), the Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, not more than seven other judges. The number is therefore fixed by Parliament through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. After the May 2026 Cabinet approval to raise the sanctioned strength to CJI + 37 (38 total), an Ordinance operationalised the increase, and five new judges were sworn in during June 2026, taking the working strength to 37.

📌 Trajectory of SC strength: 1950 (8), 1956 (11), 1960 (14), 1978 (18), 1986 (26), 2008 (31), 2019 (34), 2026 (38 sanctioned). Judges are appointed by the President under Article 124(2) through the collegium system. An Ordinance under Article 123 has the same force as an Act but must be laid before Parliament and ceases to operate six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament unless approved.

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Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The right to travel abroad is a facet of personal liberty under Article 21, and after Maneka Gandhi (1978) any restriction on Article 21 rights must satisfy a procedure that is fair, just and reasonable. Statement 2 is incorrect: the right to travel abroad was first recognised as part of Article 21 in Satwant Singh Sawhney v. D. Ramarathnam (1967), which preceded Maneka Gandhi. In June 2026 the Supreme Court reiterated that this right is not absolute and can be curtailed by a fair legal procedure, for example passport impounding under the Passports Act, 1967.

📌 Satwant Singh Sawhney (1967) held that the right to travel abroad falls within personal liberty under Article 21. Maneka Gandhi (1978) expanded Article 21 by reading in the requirement of a fair, just and reasonable procedure and linking Articles 14, 19 and 21 (the golden triangle). The Passports Act, 1967 governs the issue and impounding of passports.

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The National Emergency of June 25, 1975 was proclaimed under Article 352 on the ground of internal disturbance. It was proclaimed by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on the advice of the Union Cabinet led by PM Indira Gandhi. Samvidhan Hatya Diwas (Constitution Murder Day) is observed on June 25 to remember the excesses of the Emergency; 2026 marked its 51st anniversary.

📌 The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 replaced the ground of internal disturbance in Article 352 with armed rebellion and added safeguards: the Cabinet must recommend a proclamation in writing, and parliamentary approval is required within one month. The 42nd Amendment (1976), enacted during the Emergency, is called a mini-constitution. The Emergency was formally revoked in March 1977.

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India's real GDP grew 7.7 per cent in FY26 as per the provisional estimates, retaining India's position as the fastest-growing major economy. The figure is measured on the new base year of 2022-23, part of the wider overhaul of India's macroeconomic statistics announced in 2026. Fitch separately cut its FY27 forecast to 6.4 per cent citing the West Asia energy shock, while the World Bank upgraded India even as it trimmed its global outlook.

📌 GDP is compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). India shifted the base year of its national accounts, IIP and WPI/PPI series to 2022-23 (from 2011-12). Real GDP is measured at constant prices; nominal GDP at current prices. Provisional Estimates follow the First and Second Advance Estimates in the release calendar.

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All three statements are correct. India adopted a Producer Price Index (PPI) in 2026 to progressively phase out the WPI. A key advantage of a PPI is that it can be extended to services, which the goods-only WPI cannot capture. The revamped price and industrial-output series adopted 2022-23 as the base year (replacing 2011-12), aligning the WPI/PPI transition with the wider base-year reset of India's economic indicators.

📌 The WPI is released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The CPI, released by NSO, remains the RBI's inflation-targeting anchor (4 per cent, plus or minus 2 per cent, under the flexible inflation targeting framework). A PPI measures the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers, avoiding the multiple-counting bias of the WPI.

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Statements 1 and 3 are correct. To be eligible for Navratna status, a CPSE must hold Miniratna Category-I and Schedule 'A' status, have at least three Excellent or Very Good MoU ratings in the last five years, and score 60 or more on six specified financial parameters. A Maharatna CPSE must first be a Navratna. Statement 2 is incorrect: Navratna status is conferred by the Government (Department of Public Enterprises), not the RBI. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) became India's 28th Navratna in June 2026.

📌 Navratna CPSEs enjoy enhanced financial and operational autonomy, including investment powers up to a ceiling without prior government approval. Maharatna eligibility additionally requires average annual turnover above Rs 25,000 crore, net worth above Rs 15,000 crore and net profit above Rs 5,000 crore over three years, plus a listed status. CPCL is a refining subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), based at Manali, Tamil Nadu.

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The India-Oman CEPA entered into force in June 2026, giving Indian exports duty-free access on about 98 per cent of Oman's tariff lines. Oman is a key West Asian partner astride the Strait of Hormuz. A CEPA is a comprehensive agreement covering goods, services and investment, going beyond a simple Free Trade Agreement in scope.

📌 India's trade-pact vocabulary: PTA (limited tariff concessions on select goods), FTA (elimination of tariffs on most goods), CECA/CEPA (goods plus services plus investment plus economic cooperation). Recent examples: India-UAE CEPA (2022), India-Australia ECTA (2022), India-EFTA TEPA (2024), India-UK CETA (in force July 15, 2026). Oman is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

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Surha Tal, in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, was designated a Ramsar site in June 2026, taking India past the 100-site mark. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971; India ratified it in 1982 and has the largest network of Ramsar sites in Asia.

📌 The Ramsar Convention identifies wetlands under nine criteria (species, ecological communities, waterbird numbers). The Montreux Record lists Ramsar sites where ecological character has changed or is threatened; India's Keoladeo (Rajasthan) and Loktak (Manipur) have featured on it. Wetlands are protected domestically under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.

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All three statements are correct. The planetary boundaries framework was developed by Johan Rockstrom and colleagues at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in 2009 and updated in 2023, when it found that 7 of the 9 boundaries had been crossed. The novel entities boundary, added in the 2023 update, covers chemical pollution, plastics and other synthetic substances. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) State of India's Environment 2026 drew on this assessment while flagging tiger-habitat pressure, Lantana invasion and wildlife conflict.

📌 The nine planetary boundaries are: climate change, biosphere integrity, land-system change, freshwater change, biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus), ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol loading, stratospheric ozone depletion and novel entities. CSE, now led by Sunita Narain, publishes the annual State of India's Environment report and Down To Earth magazine.

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The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is the state bird of Rajasthan and is Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Its captive-breeding count reached 94 in June 2026 under conservation-breeding centres at Sam and Sudasari in Jaisalmer. Its primary threat is collision with power transmission lines across its arid grassland habitat, which led to Supreme Court directions on undergrounding power lines.

📌 The Great Indian Bustard is found mainly in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with small populations elsewhere. It is protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and is the flagship of Project Great Indian Bustard. In M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2021, revisited 2024), the Supreme Court balanced bird conservation against the right to a clean environment and solar-power commitments.

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All three statements are correct. The SCE-200 is India's semi-cryogenic engine, which burns liquid oxygen (LOX) with refined kerosene (RP-1) on an oxidiser-rich staged-combustion cycle. It is designed to replace the L110 core liquid stage of the LVM3 and to power the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV). ISRO conducted a high-thrust (175-tonne-level) hot test of the engine in June 2026 at its Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, as a step toward its full 200-tonne rating.

📌 Semi-cryogenic engines pair a room-temperature fuel (kerosene) with a cryogenic oxidiser (LOX), giving higher thrust while being cheaper and more storable than fully cryogenic LOX-LH2 engines like the CE-20 on the LVM3 upper stage. Kerosene-LOX also avoids the toxic UDMH used in older Vikas engines. The engine is developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).

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Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu, uses Russian VVER-1000 Pressurised Water Reactors built with the cooperation of Rosatom. The installation of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (which houses the reactor core) at Unit-5 in June 2026 marked a major construction milestone. Kudankulam is India's largest nuclear power station by capacity, with six 1,000 MW units planned.

📌 India's three-stage nuclear programme (Homi Bhabha): Stage 1 uses Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) with natural uranium; Stage 2 uses Fast Breeder Reactors with plutonium (PFBR at Kalpakkam); Stage 3 targets thorium-U233 breeders, given India's large thorium reserves in Kerala and Odisha monazite sands. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is the safety regulator.

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GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) developed jointly by ISRO and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It improves the accuracy and reliability of satellite positioning for civil aviation. The first jet landing using GAGAN, achieved in June 2026, validated its use for precision approaches. GAGAN is one of only a handful of certified SBAS systems worldwide, alongside the US WAAS, Europe's EGNOS and Japan's MSAS.

📌 GAGAN is distinct from NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), India's independent regional navigation satellite system (IRNSS) of satellites providing positioning over India and up to 1,500 km around it. SBAS augments existing GNSS (like GPS); NavIC is a standalone constellation. Both are strategic assets reducing dependence on foreign navigation systems.

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Statements 1 and 3 are correct. India assumed the rotating BRICS Chairship from Brazil on January 1, 2026, and will host the 18th BRICS Summit in 2026. Statement 2 is incorrect: this is the fourth time India is chairing BRICS, after 2012, 2016 and 2021. India hosted the BRICS NSA meeting in New Delhi and the BRICS Energy Ministers meeting at Gurugram in June 2026 under its Chairship.

📌 BRICS began as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in 2009, adding South Africa in 2010. It expanded from 2024 to include new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and others), taking the grouping to ten. Key BRICS institutions are the New Development Bank (NDB, Shanghai, first President K.V. Kamath) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).

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All three statements are correct. The Ganga Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 by PM H.D. Deve Gowda and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina to share the Ganga waters at the Farakka Barrage. It governs sharing during the lean (dry) season (January 1 to May 31), based on ten-day period flows. The 30-year treaty expires in December 2026, and renewal talks were under way in 2026.

📌 The Farakka Barrage in West Bengal diverts Ganga water into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly to flush silt from Kolkata port. India's position reflects the Government of India's stand on equitable, cooperative sharing. Trans-boundary river cooperation with Bangladesh also covers the Teesta (long pending) and the Kushiyara (2022 MoU).

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The Government of India's consistent and official position is that the entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of the Instrument of Accession of 1947, and are under illegal and forcible occupation by Pakistan. India therefore rejects any attempt by Pakistan to hold elections or alter the status of these territories. India reaffirmed this stand when it protested the June 2026 Gilgit-Baltistan polls.

📌 Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution on February 22, 1994 declaring that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and demanding that Pakistan vacate the areas under its illegal occupation. After the reorganisation of August 2019, Ladakh (which borders Gilgit-Baltistan) became a separate union territory. Aksai Chin, under Chinese occupation, is likewise Indian territory per the Government of India.

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Hul Diwas marks the Santhal rebellion (Santhal Hul) of June 30, 1855, led by brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu (with brothers Chand and Bhairav and sisters Phulo and Jhano) against the British East India Company, zamindars and moneylenders in the Rajmahal Hills region. It was one of the earliest and most significant tribal revolts, preceding the 1857 revolt.

📌 The Santhal Hul led the British to create the Santhal Parganas as a separate administrative unit in 1855. Other major tribal revolts: the Kol uprising (1831-32), the Munda Ulgulan led by Birsa Munda (1899-1900, culminating in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908), and the Bhil and Khond revolts. Tribal areas are protected under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution.

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All three statements are correct. Damodar Hari Chapekar and his brothers assassinated W.C. Rand, the plague commissioner of Pune, and Lieutenant Ayerst on June 22, 1897. The act was a response to the coercive anti-plague measures during the bubonic plague epidemic in Pune. The Chapekars were influenced by the nationalist mobilisation fostered through Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Ganapati and Shivaji festivals and his newspapers Kesari and Mahratta.

📌 The Chapekar assassination is regarded as one of the first acts of revolutionary nationalism in the Deccan. Tilak was tried for sedition around this period. This strand of revolutionary activity later flowed into organisations such as Abhinav Bharat (V.D. Savarkar) and the Anushilan Samiti in Bengal.

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All three statements are correct. The MJO is an eastward-moving band of cloud and rainfall that modulates the active and break spells of the monsoon on a sub-seasonal scale. The Somali Jet (Findlater Jet) is a low-level cross-equatorial jet that carries moisture from the Indian Ocean into the subcontinent. Unfavourable phases of these drivers, together with a stalling of the monsoon's northward progression, contributed to the sharp 38 per cent June rainfall deficit in 2026 after an early onset over Kerala.

📌 Other monsoon modulators include ENSO (El Nino suppresses, La Nina enhances) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (a positive IOD enhances). The Long Period Average (LPA) benchmark is about 87 cm for the season (1971-2020 series). A break monsoon occurs when the monsoon trough shifts to the Himalayan foothills, bringing dry conditions to the plains.

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The Aravalli range is among the oldest fold mountains in the world, formed over a billion years ago. Running roughly 692 km from Delhi through Rajasthan into Gujarat, it acts as a natural barrier that checks the eastward spread of the Thar Desert and blocks dust-laden winds. Its degradation, flagged in June 2026, weakens this ecological shield and worsens dust storms and desertification in the Indo-Gangetic plains.

📌 Guru Shikhar on Mount Abu is the highest peak of the Aravallis. In contrast, the Himalayas are young fold mountains (Cenozoic). The Aravallis are rich in minerals such as marble, copper and zinc. The Supreme Court and the NGT have repeatedly restricted mining in the Aravallis to arrest their degradation.

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The Supreme Court held that the services of a homemaker have real economic value and that the loss of domestic care is compensable, assessed through the concept of notional income. A monetary value is thereby attributed to unpaid household work even though no salary is drawn. The ruling reinforces earlier decisions (Kirti v. Oriental Insurance, 2021) recognising homemakers as nation builders and rejecting the view that their work has no economic worth.

📌 Compensation in motor-accident cases is governed by the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (amended 2019) and the multiplier method laid down in National Insurance Co. v. Pranay Sethi (2017). Recognising unpaid care work links to the debate on counting such work in GDP and to Time Use Surveys conducted by NSO, which show women perform the bulk of unpaid domestic and caregiving work.

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All three statements are correct. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is conducted under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency. Stunting is low height-for-age, an indicator of chronic undernutrition in children under five. NFHS-6 revealed a nutrition paradox: while stunting fell, infant and young-child feeding practices (such as timely and adequate complementary feeding) lagged behind.

📌 Key child-nutrition indicators: stunting (low height-for-age, chronic), wasting (low weight-for-height, acute) and underweight (low weight-for-age). Anaemia remains widespread among women and children. Government responses include Poshan Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission), the Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy and the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 scheme.

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The Rafale is a twin-engine multirole fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France. India issued a Letter of Request in June 2026 for 114 Rafale jets under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft requirement of the Indian Air Force, described as its largest defence deal. India had earlier inducted 36 Rafales (2020-2022) and separately contracted 26 Rafale-Marine jets for the Navy.

📌 A Letter of Request (LoR) is an early step in a government-to-government or foreign military procurement, followed by a Letter of Acceptance. India's defence acquisition follows the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, with categories prioritising Buy (Indian-IDDM). The IAF's sanctioned squadron strength is 42; actual strength has been below this, driving urgency in fighter acquisition.

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Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth took over as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff in June 2026, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi, who had served as the 30th COAS from June 30, 2024. The COAS is the professional head of the Indian Army and a four-star general, with a tenure of three years or until the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

📌 The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a post created in 2019 (first held by General Bipin Rawat), heads the Department of Military Affairs and is the principal military adviser to the Defence Minister, driving jointness and the creation of theatre commands. The three service chiefs (Army, Navy, Air Force) remain the operational heads of their services.

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All three statements are correct. India is the world's second-largest aquaculture producer after China, is among the top three in total fish production, and contributes roughly 8 per cent of global output. Globally, aquaculture (farmed) production has for the first time surpassed wild-capture fisheries. SOFIA is the flagship biennial report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

📌 The FAO, headquartered in Rome, publishes SOFIA (fisheries) and SOFI (food security and nutrition, jointly with WFP, IFAD, WHO and UNICEF). India's fisheries are driven by the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Blue Revolution; inland aquaculture, especially in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, dominates output. India targets 30 billion dollars in seafood exports by 2031.

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National Statistics Day is observed on June 29, the birth anniversary of Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (born June 29, 1893), the father of modern statistics in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata in 1931 and, as Statistical Adviser to the Cabinet, was instrumental in launching the National Sample Survey (NSS) in 1950, which 2026 celebrated in its platinum-jubilee era.

📌 Mahalanobis is known for the Mahalanobis distance and the Mahalanobis (two-sector) model that underpinned the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) with its emphasis on heavy industry. The NSS became the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), now merged into the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI. The ISI was declared an Institute of National Importance in 1959.

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Praggnanandhaa R became the first Indian to win Norway Chess, one of the strongest elite invitational tournaments, in June 2026. Norway Chess is traditionally associated with former world champion Magnus Carlsen's home event. The win marked another milestone for the golden generation of Indian chess that includes D. Gukesh (World Champion) and Arjun Erigaisi.

📌 India is now a chess superpower, having won the 2024 Chess Olympiad (both open and women's sections) at Budapest. Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, is the pioneer who inspired this generation. FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) is the world chess governing body. D. Gukesh became the youngest undisputed world champion in December 2024.

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Subhash C. Kashyap was an eminent constitutional scholar and authority on parliamentary affairs. He served as Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and authored influential works on the Constitution and the functioning of Parliament. He was a member of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan.

📌 The Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha is the administrative head of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, appointed by the Speaker, and advises the Speaker on parliamentary procedure. The NCRWC (2000-2002), chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, reviewed the Constitution's working without altering its basic structure.

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