Current Affairs

Correct answer: (A) 1 and 2 only

Only Donyi Polo Airport (Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh) and Kushinagar International Airport (Uttar Pradesh) were built as greenfield projects (entirely new airports on fresh sites). Vijayawada airport at Gannavaram is a brownfield/upgraded existing airport, not a greenfield project. Hence only 1 and 2, giving option A.

Correct answer: (A) It is a platform for accelerating the transition towards food and water systems that are net-zero (carbon), nature-positive and that aims to increase farmer resilience.

"100 Million Farmers" is a World Economic Forum (WEF) initiative/platform launched to accelerate the transition of food and water systems towards being net-zero on carbon and nature-positive, while building the resilience of smallholder farmers. Option (a) captures this mission precisely. The other options describe unrelated concepts such as organic animal husbandry networks, blockchain fertilizer trading platforms, or Farmer Producer Organisation aggregators, none of which is what this platform is.

Correct answer: (A) 1, 2 and 4

Italy, Japan and South Korea are frequently discussed in the media for very low fertility rates, rapidly ageing societies and declining populations. Nigeria and South Africa, by contrast, have young and growing populations with high birth rates, so they do not fit the description. Hence the correct set is 1, 2 and 4.

Correct answer: (D) 2, 3 and 4

Exercise Mitra Shakti is the joint military exercise between India and Sri Lanka (not Bangladesh), so statement 1 is false. The 2023 edition commenced at Aundh, Pune (statement 2 true), had joint response in counter-terrorism operations as a key objective (statement 3 true), and included the Indian Air Force participating alongside the Army (statement 4 true). Hence 2, 3 and 4 are correct, giving option D.

Correct answer: (D) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

Both 'The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World' and 'Why Bharat Matters' were authored by Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister and a former Foreign Secretary. The books lay out his views on India's foreign policy and its rise on the global stage. Hence option D is correct.

Correct answer: (B) Only two pairs

Argentina was in the news for its severe economic crisis marked by very high inflation (pair 1 correct), and Sudan for the armed conflict between its regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (pair 2 correct). Turkey did NOT rescind its NATO membership; it remains a NATO member (in fact it ratified Sweden's accession), so pair 3 is wrong. Hence only two pairs are correctly matched, giving option B.

Correct answer: (A) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I

The Sahel region (belt south of the Sahara including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Guinea) has indeed seen instability and a worsening security situation (statement 1 correct), driven partly by a wave of recent military takeovers and coups d'état in several of these countries (statement 2 correct). The spate of coups has weakened governance and fuelled jihadist insurgencies, so statement 2 correctly explains statement 1. Hence option A is correct.

Correct answer: (D) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Statement 1 is incorrect because India does import apples from the USA; in 2023 India removed the retaliatory tariffs it had imposed on US apples, and American (Washington) apples are available in Indian markets. Statement 2 is correct: Indian law requires prior approval of the competent authority (GEAC) before any genetically modified food can be imported. Hence statement I is incorrect but II is correct, giving option D.

Correct answer: (C) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect

Statement I is correct: the European Parliament approved the Net-Zero Industry Act, which aims to scale up manufacturing of clean/net-zero technologies within the EU. Statement II is incorrect: the EU's legally binding target for climate/carbon neutrality is 2050 (not 2040), and the Act sets a benchmark of producing about 40% of its clean-tech deployment needs domestically by 2030, not developing all of its own clean technology. Hence statement I is correct but II is incorrect, giving option C.

Correct answer: (D) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Statement I is incorrect: Venezuela has not achieved a rapid recovery from its prolonged economic crisis, and large numbers of Venezuelans have continued to emigrate, making it one of the world's largest displacement situations. Statement II is correct: Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude oil reserves. Hence statement I is incorrect but II is correct, giving option D.

Correct answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3

The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from the Central Government (statement 1 correct), under which cadastral (spatial) maps are digitised (statement 2 correct), and an initiative has been taken to transliterate the Records of Rights from local languages into the languages recognised in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution (statement 3 correct). Hence all three statements are correct, giving option D.

Correct answer: (B) 2 only

Under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, private-sector specialists (such as gynaecologists and radiologists) can volunteer to provide free antenatal services at nearby government health facilities (statement 2 correct). Statement 1 is incorrect: PMSMA assures a fixed-day (9th of every month) free antenatal check-up to pregnant women in their second and third trimesters, but it does not guarantee six months of post-delivery health care as described. Hence only statement 2 is correct, giving option B.

Correct answer: (B) 2 and 3 only

Under the PM Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) pension scheme for unorganised workers, contributions are age-specific/graded (statement 2 correct) and each subscriber is assured a minimum pension of Rs 3,000 per month after attaining 60 years of age (statement 3 correct). Statement 1 is false because the entry age is 18 to 40 years (not 21 to 40), and statement 4 is false because on the subscriber's death the spouse gets a 50% family pension, but it does not extend to unmarried daughters. Hence only 2 and 3 are correct, giving option B.

Correct answer: (B) Only two

The answer is 'Only two'. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), launched under the National Health Mission, is a safe-motherhood intervention aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality by promoting institutional delivery through conditional cash assistance to poor pregnant women, so statements 2 and 3 are correct. Statement 1 is incorrect because JSY is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Union Ministry of Health, not of State Health Departments. Statement 4 (care for sick infants up to one year) belongs to schemes like JSSK, not JSY's stated objectives. Hence two are correct.

Correct answer: (C) Only three

The answer is 'Only three'. The Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy's six interventions include delayed cord clamping at birth, periodic deworming, and addressing non-nutritional causes of anaemia (malaria, haemoglobinopathies, fluorosis) in endemic pockets, so statements 2, 3 and 4 are correct. Statement 1 is wrong because the programme provides prophylactic iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation, not calcium supplementation. Hence three statements are correct.

Correct answer: (D) Somalia

The answer is Somalia. Somalia in the Horn of Africa has endured decades of civil war since the collapse of the central government in 1991, and the prolonged drought of 2021-2022 pushed it into a severe famine that was widely reported. Angola, Costa Rica and Ecuador were not facing famine of that scale, so Somalia is the correct choice.

Correct answer: (C) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect. The US and the EU did launch the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in 2021 to coordinate trade and technology policy, so Statement-I is true. Statement-II is a mischaracterisation: the stated aim of the TTC is cooperation on trade, technology standards and supply-chain resilience among democracies, not to bring technological progress and physical productivity 'under their control', so it is false.

Correct answer: (D) None

None of the statements is correct. Statement 1 is false because the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), adopted at Marrakesh in 2018, was not adopted by all UN countries; several including the USA opted out. Statement 2 is false because the GCM is explicitly non-binding and respects national sovereignty. Statement 3 is false because the GCM deals with international migration (across borders), not internal migration or internally displaced persons.

Correct answer: (D) None

None of the pairs is correctly matched, because the reasons are all swapped. North Kivu and Ituri are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (conflict with M23/armed groups), not the Armenia-Azerbaijan war. Nagorno-Karabakh is the region of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, not the Mozambique insurgency. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are Ukrainian regions in the Russia-Ukraine war, not an Israel-Lebanon dispute. All three are mismatched.

Correct answer: (C) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect. Israel has established diplomatic relations with several Arab states, notably the UAE and Bahrain under the Abraham Accords (2020), plus earlier peace with Egypt and Jordan, so Statement-I is true. Statement-II is false because the Arab Peace Initiative (2002) was proposed by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by the Arab League, but it was NOT signed by Israel; Israel never accepted it.

Correct answer: (B) Only two

Only two pairs are correctly matched. The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is correctly described as being for the most spectacular and outstanding performance over the last four years, and the Dronacharya Award is correctly for honouring eminent coaches who train sportspersons or teams, so these two pairs match. The Arjuna Award is for consistently outstanding performance over four years, NOT lifetime achievement (lifetime achievement is recognised by the Dhyan Chand Award), so that pair is wrong. The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to corporate entities and institutions for promoting and developing sports, not for recognising sportspersons after their retirement, so that pair is also wrong. Hence exactly two pairs are correct.

Correct answer: (B) Only two

Only two statements are correct. Statement 1 is correct: the 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 in Chennai was the first time India hosted it. Statement 2 is correct: the official mascot was 'Thambi'. Statements 3 and 4 are swapped: the Hamilton-Russell Cup is the trophy for the winning team in the open section, and the Vera Menchik Cup is for the women's section, so both those pairings are stated incorrectly. Hence only two are correct.

Correct answer: (D) None

None of the pairs is correctly matched. Donbas is a region of Ukraine (Russia-Ukraine war), not Syria. Kachin is a state in Myanmar (ethnic insurgency), not Ethiopia. Tigray is a region of Ethiopia (the Tigray war), not North Yemen. Every country is wrongly assigned, so the answer is none.

Correct answer: (D) Successful coups

The answer is successful coups. Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan all experienced military coups in 2021-2022, part of a wave of coups across the African Sahel and adjoining region that drew international attention. The other options (rare earth deposits, Chinese military bases, Sahara's southward spread) were not the common reason these four were in the news together.

Correct answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Both statements are correct. The G-20 was originally established in 1999 as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial stability (it was elevated to a leaders' summit only after the 2008 crisis), so statement 1 is true. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), showcased through platforms like India Stack and UPI, was indeed a key priority of India's 2023 G-20 presidency, so statement 2 is true.