1. Mission Samriddh Gaon, launched by the Ministry of Rural Development, is being piloted in which blocks?
A. Budni in Sehore and Khategaon in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
B. Sonipat and Panipat blocks, Haryana
C. Barmer and Jalore blocks, Rajasthan
D. Koraput and Rayagada blocks, Odisha
E. Chandauli and Sonbhadra blocks, Uttar Pradesh
View Answer
Explanation: Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the mission at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, as an integrated rural transformation and livelihood-saturation framework. Saturation means every eligible household in a chosen area is covered rather than a sample being selected, which is why planning happens at family, Gram Panchayat and block levels. A stated aim is eliminating distress rural-to-urban migration by making villages economically viable in themselves.
2. Which of the following is one of the five key features of Mission Samriddh Gaon?
A. Exclusive focus on crop productivity enhancement
B. Integrated Farming Systems combining horticulture, livestock, fisheries, poultry and beekeeping
C. Direct cash transfers replacing all in-kind welfare
D. Land consolidation of fragmented holdings
E. Contract farming with private agri-businesses
View Answer
Explanation: The mission is deliberately multi-sectoral rather than agriculture-only, converging agriculture, health, education, skilling, rural development and infrastructure. Integrated Farming Systems diversify farm income so that a single crop failure does not wipe out a household’s earnings for the year. The other features are family-level saturation, inter-departmental convergence, promotion of the Lakhpati Didi model, and rural infrastructure such as warehouses and cold chains.
3. The e-Shram Portal, which completed five years on 26 August 2026, assigns each registered worker what identifier?
A. An 8-digit Shram Suvidha number
B. A 10-digit Labour Identification Number
C. A portable 12-digit Universal Account Number
D. A 14-digit Social Security Code
E. A 16-digit Worker Registration Number
View Answer
Explanation: Launched on 26 August 2021 under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, e-Shram is India’s first Aadhaar-authenticated National Database of Unorganised Workers. Portability is the design goal, since an informal worker who migrates between States would otherwise lose accumulated entitlements at the border. The platform now converges fifteen schemes, including Bhashini-powered language access in 22 scheduled Indian languages.
4. Who is eligible to register on the e-Shram Portal?
A. Any worker aged 18 and above, including EPFO members
B. Workers aged 16 and above who are not income-tax payers and not enrolled in EPFO or ESIC
C. Only workers below the poverty line holding a ration card
D. Only construction workers registered with State BOCW Boards
E. Any Indian citizen aged 21 and above with an Aadhaar number
View Answer
Explanation: The exclusions are deliberate: EPFO and ESIC members already have formal social security, so e-Shram targets the workforce outside that net. Covered categories include agricultural labourers, domestic help, construction workers, street vendors, and gig and platform workers. The database also captures family migration information so benefits follow the worker across States.
5. Among the schemes converged on e-Shram, PM-SYM provides an assured monthly pension of how much after the age of 60?
A. Rs 1,000
B. Rs 2,000
C. Rs 3,000
D. Rs 5,000
E. Rs 7,500
View Answer
Explanation: The convergence bundle also carries PMJJBY with Rs 2 lakh life cover and PMSBY offering up to Rs 2 lakh for accidental death or permanent disability. One Nation One Ration Card lets migrant workers draw their foodgrain entitlement in any State, which is the single most practically useful portability feature for a migrant household. Employment and skilling links come through the National Career Service and the SIDH apprenticeship platform.
6. Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, which recorded India’s notable first sighting of the Smew, is located in which district?
A. Golaghat
B. Nagaon
C. Sonitpur
D. Morigaon
E. Darrang
View Answer
Explanation: The 70.13 sq km sanctuary sits on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra and is a notified buffer zone of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, forming part of the contiguous Laokhowa-Burhachapori ecosystem. The Smew is a small migratory diving duck that breeds in northern Europe and Asia, so a record this far south and east is genuinely unusual. The same 7th Kaziranga Waterbird Count also logged the Bengal Florican, a Critically Endangered grassland bird whose presence signals intact tall grassland.
7. India’s mushroom production grew from 51,000 tonnes in 2015 to nearly what level in 2024?
A. 1.24 lakh tonnes
B. 2.06 lakh tonnes
C. 3.48 lakh tonnes
D. 4.90 lakh tonnes
E. 6.15 lakh tonnes
View Answer
Explanation: That works out to a compound annual growth rate of 23.76 per cent, making India the world’s third-largest producer, yet its global share remains only about 0.7 per cent. The gap between rank and share shows how concentrated world production is in a handful of very large producers. Bihar is emerging as a hub, though short shelf life, weak market linkages and production instability still cap the sector’s potential.
8. The Meghalaya Assembly resolution opposing uranium mining relates chiefly to uranium-bearing areas in which district?
A. East Khasi Hills
B. West Khasi Hills
C. Ri Bhoi
D. West Garo Hills
E. East Jaintia Hills
View Answer
Explanation: The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, opposes both mining and uranium ore-processing facilities in the State, following concerns from the Khasi Students’ Union and local communities. Meghalaya’s tribal land tenure, where much land is community-owned rather than State-owned, makes local consent decisive in a way it is not elsewhere. Atomic minerals fall under the Union’s jurisdiction, which is what makes such State-level opposition politically significant.
9. India’s gross foreign direct investment inflows during April-June 2026, the highest in at least 15 years, stood at what level?
A. 18.4 billion dollars
B. 22.8 billion dollars
C. 26.1 billion dollars
D. 30.7 billion dollars
E. 34.9 billion dollars
View Answer
Explanation: Gross outflows of 22.8 billion dollars left net FDI at 7.8 billion dollars, the highest since June 2022. The gap between gross and net is the reason headline FDI numbers can mislead, since repatriation and disinvestment by existing investors offset fresh inflows. FDI is distinguished from portfolio investment by lasting interest and significant influence over management, which makes it far stickier during market stress.
10. Which statement correctly distinguishes FDI from FPI?
A. FDI involves buying listed shares without management control, FPI involves acquiring stakes
B. FDI is long-term investment usually involving significant influence or control, while FPI is mainly purchase of financial assets without management control
C. FDI is routed only through the automatic route, FPI only through the approval route
D. FDI is recorded in the capital account, FPI in the current account
E. FDI can only be made by governments, FPI only by private investors
View Answer
Explanation: A Japanese firm setting up or acquiring a stake in an Indian automobile factory is FDI; the same firm buying Indian listed shares for returns alone is FPI. The distinction matters for macroeconomic stability because portfolio flows can reverse within days while direct investment is embedded in physical assets. FDI also carries technology, management practice and export linkages that pure financial flows do not.
11. How does an incremental cash reserve ratio differ from the normal CRR?
A. It applies only to the increase in deposits over a specified period, not to the entire NDTL
B. It is maintained in government securities rather than cash
C. It earns banks a higher rate of interest than normal CRR
D. It applies only to scheduled cooperative banks
E. It replaces the statutory liquidity ratio for that period
View Answer
Explanation: If a bank’s deposits rise from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,200 crore and a 10 per cent iCRR is imposed, it must park Rs 20 crore extra with the RBI. A full CRR hike is blunt because it penalises every bank’s existing book, whereas an iCRR drains only the recent surplus. The RBI may prefer this temporary liquidity tool before a repo rate hike, since absorbing excess liquidity improves monetary transmission.
12. In SEBI’s IT Resilience Index for market infrastructure institutions, which two parameters carry the highest weight of 20 per cent each?
A. Scalability and governance
B. Availability and cybersecurity
C. Business continuity and reliability
D. Integrity and monitoring
E. Modularity and flexibility
View Answer
Explanation: Business continuity and reliability carry 10 per cent each and scalability 5 per cent, with integrity, governance, monitoring, modularity and flexibility making up the rest of the nine parameters. The useful analogy is that ITRI does for digital resilience in capital markets what capital adequacy ratios do for financial health in banking. It tests whether the trading, clearing, settlement and depository backbones can absorb cyberattacks, software glitches and extreme volume surges without destabilising the system.
13. PPPAC granted in-principle approval for privatising 11 airports, with concessionaires required to retain what proportion of AAI employees for up to three years?
A. 40 per cent
B. 50 per cent
C. 60 per cent
D. 75 per cent
E. 100 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: The airports will be offered in five bundles under the PPP model, with estimated private investment of around Rs 8,622 crore and a concession period of 50 years. Bundling pairs commercially attractive airports with weaker ones so that loss-making regional airports still find bidders. The employee-retention clause is the standard device for managing labour transition when a public asset moves to private operation.
14. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which completed 12 years, was launched on which date?
A. 15 August 2014
B. 28 August 2014
C. 2 October 2014
D. 9 May 2015
E. 1 January 2015
View Answer
Explanation: PMJDY was conceived as a financial inclusion mission covering access to bank accounts, credit, insurance, pension and remittance facilities in a single framework. Its lasting contribution was creating the account layer on which direct benefit transfer and later digital payments could be built, since a subsidy cannot be transferred to a household without a bank account. Twelve years on, the milestone is read alongside UPI’s growth as the two halves of India’s financial inclusion story.
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