1. According to the report “Her Harvest 2026: The Hidden Cost of Women’s Invisible Work in Indian Agriculture”, what share of India’s farmed area is operated by women?
A. 8.45 per cent
B. 11.72 per cent
C. 15.30 per cent
D. 21.60 per cent
E. 24.00 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: The report was published by the grain commerce platform Arya.ag and argues that unequal access to land, finance and technology leaves a large part of India’s farm potential untapped. The low operated-area share sits against the fact that 64.4 per cent of working women are in agriculture, rising to 76.9 per cent among rural working women. The gap between who works the land and who is on record as operating it is the report’s central theme.
2. As per the Her Harvest 2026 report, how much do women agricultural workers earn for every Rs 100 earned by men?
A. Rs 68
B. Rs 74
C. Rs 82
D. Rs 88
E. Rs 91
View Answer
Explanation: The report records wages 20 to 30 per cent lower for comparable work, and notes that 50.5 per cent of women agricultural workers are unpaid helpers against 21.7 per cent of men. It estimates an annual output loss of Rs 1.2 to 2 lakh crore, equal to 2.5 to 4 per cent of a farm economy worth Rs 48.7 lakh crore. Its framework of resources, recognition and returns is the part most likely to be tested.
3. The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of which of the following?
A. The Woman Farmer
B. Millets
C. Rangelands and Pastoralists
D. Cooperatives
E. Sustainable Irrigation
View Answer
Explanation: The designation gives added weight to the Her Harvest findings. Among the report’s four recommendations are recognising women as farmers irrespective of land ownership, publishing gender-disaggregated data on credit, procurement and FPO membership, and expanding collateral-light credit and women-held Kisan Credit Cards. It also asks that drones, advisory services and market technology be routed through women-run institutions.
4. Digital Bharat Nidhi, which signed the Amended BharatNet agreement with Chhattisgarh, was earlier known by which name?
A. National Broadband Fund
B. Telecom Development Corpus
C. Universal Service Obligation Fund
D. Rural Connectivity Fund
E. Digital India Infrastructure Fund
View Answer
Explanation: The USOF was established under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 and was renamed Digital Bharat Nidhi under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, taking effect on 31 August 2024. It is financed by a Universal Service Levy charged as a share of telecom operators’ adjusted gross revenue, and funds infrastructure in remote, hilly, tribal and low-revenue areas. The Amended BharatNet Programme now connects villages on a demand basis rather than laying fibre regardless of usage.
5. The 140-year-old Parichha Weir in Jhansi, recognised as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure, serves as the headworks of which canal system?
A. Ken Canal System
B. Betwa Canal System
C. Sharda Canal System
D. Upper Ganga Canal System
E. Chambal Canal System
View Answer
Explanation: The designation was made by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage. The 2,654-km system irrigates 4,28,360 hectares across five districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Three other Indian structures were selected in the same round: the Ashti Medium Project in Maharashtra, Chhapawara Dam in Rajasthan and Pechiparai Dam in Tamil Nadu, with awards to be presented in October 2026 at Marseille, France.
6. Under the newly approved Incentive Scheme for Domestic PNG Connections, City Gas Distribution companies will receive how much lower-priced domestic APM gas for every incremental billed connection above the threshold?
A. 100 SCM
B. 150 SCM
C. 200 SCM
D. 250 SCM
E. 400 SCM
View Answer
Explanation: The threshold is set separately for each Geographical Area, and the incentive is disbursed in two tranches over six months. Its design is meant to push CGD firms to convert unbilled connections into active billed ones and to extend networks into new areas. India currently has about 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections, and the scheme takes effect from 1 September 2026.
7. Tamil Nadu raised the annual cover under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme to what amount?
A. Rs 10 lakh
B. Rs 15 lakh
C. Rs 20 lakh
D. Rs 25 lakh
E. Rs 30 lakh
View Answer
Explanation: The increase is five-fold, from the earlier cover of Rs 5 lakh. The stated purpose is to shield families from catastrophic treatment costs in cases of serious illness. State health insurance schemes of this kind typically run alongside the Centre’s assurance cover, and questions usually test the before-and-after figures together.
8. Public-sector banks have proposed a sub-target for climate and transition finance within Priority Sector Lending of what size?
A. 1 per cent
B. 2 per cent
C. 4 per cent
D. 5 per cent
E. 7.5 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: At present there is no separate climate or transition sub-target within the 40 per cent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit that scheduled commercial banks must lend to priority sectors. Existing sub-targets are agriculture at 18 per cent, micro enterprises at 7.5 per cent and weaker sections at 12 per cent. The banks also sought a higher limit of Rs 75 crore for wind and small hydropower projects while retaining Rs 35 crore for solar photovoltaic.
9. Which of the following best describes transition finance as distinguished from green finance?
A. Lending only to activities that are already low-carbon
B. Lending to high-carbon-emitting industries to help them reduce emissions
C. Concessional lending to households for rooftop solar installations
D. Sovereign borrowing earmarked for climate adaptation abroad
E. Insurance cover against extreme weather losses
View Answer
Explanation: Green finance funds activity that is already clean, while transition finance funds emission reduction in hard-to-abate sectors such as iron and steel, chemicals and fertilisers, and construction. India’s climate finance taxonomy was announced in Budget 2024-25 and released in draft by the Department of Economic Affairs but has not yet been finalised. The country’s stated target is net zero by 2070.
10. As per the 16th monthly PLFS bulletin, the all-India unemployment rate (Current Weekly Status, age 15 and above) in July 2026 stood at:
A. 4.5 per cent
B. 5.1 per cent
C. 5.5 per cent
D. 6.7 per cent
E. 7.2 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: The Periodic Labour Force Survey bulletin is released by the National Statistics Office, and the rate fell from 5.5 per cent in June. Rural unemployment was 4.5 per cent against urban 6.7 per cent, both of which appear here as distractors. The Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 55.4 per cent from 54.4 per cent and the Worker Population Ratio to 52.5 per cent from 51.4 per cent.
11. India’s total exports of merchandise and services in July 2026 stood at approximately what value?
A. USD 70.72 billion
B. USD 80.14 billion
C. USD 44.24 billion
D. USD 95.16 billion
E. USD 35.89 billion
View Answer
Explanation: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry data showed growth of 13.31 per cent over USD 70.72 billion in July 2025. Merchandise exports alone grew 19.63 per cent to USD 44.24 billion, surpassing the earlier record of USD 38.34 billion from July 2022, while services exports were estimated at USD 35.89 billion. Imports rose 15.83 per cent to USD 95.16 billion, widening the trade deficit to USD 15.03 billion.
12. MeitY approved 31 additional projects worth Rs 7,877 crore under which scheme?
A. Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics
B. Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme
C. Semiconductor Mission Design Linked Incentive
D. Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters Scheme
E. SPECS – Scheme for Promotion of Electronics Components and Semiconductors
View Answer
Explanation: The approvals take the total sanctioned projects under the scheme to 106, covering 30 products across 15 states. The new tranche covers 20 target segment products, made up of 3 sub-assemblies, 10 bare components, 6 supply chain products and 1 capital goods item, spread across 10 states. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada handed over the approvals in New Delhi.
13. The BRICS New Development Bank, which Iran is moving towards joining, is headquartered in which city?
A. Shanghai
B. Moscow
C. Johannesburg
D. New Delhi
E. Fortaleza
View Answer
Explanation: The idea of a South-South development bank was first mooted by India at the 4th BRICS Summit in New Delhi in 2012, and the founding Agreement was signed at the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014 alongside a USD 100 billion Contingent Reserve Arrangement. The bank came into force in July 2015 with India’s K.V. Kamath as first elected President, and is currently headed by Dilma Rousseff. Uzbekistan became its tenth member on 5 June 2026.
14. SEBI barred two entities for placing very large orders and cancelling them within seconds during the Closing Auction Session. This tactic, known as spoofing, is prohibited under which SEBI regulations?
A. LODR Regulations
B. SAST Regulations
C. PFUTP Regulations
D. ICDR Regulations
E. PIT Regulations
View Answer
Explanation: PFUTP stands for Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices. The Closing Auction Session is a short window at the end of the trading day that discovers a single equilibrium closing price for stocks with derivative contracts, which makes it a cheap place for a large order to move the price. Because the close settles derivatives contracts, nudging it can turn an option that would expire worthless into a profitable one, which is why SEBI acted against Copthall Mauritius Investment and Mansi Share and Stock Broking.
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