1. According to the 7th Status of Coral Reefs of the World report, global hard coral cover has declined by roughly what percentage compared with the 1980-2009 reference period?
A. 4.2 per cent
B. 6.7 per cent
C. 9.5 per cent
D. 14.3 per cent
E. 21.0 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network report records an approximately 9.5 per cent fall in global hard coral cover against the 1980-2009 baseline, with a pronounced decline since 2010. Cover fell 8.9 per cent between 2023 and 2024 alone, the largest single-year relative decline recorded. The report also finds bleaching stress is now near-annual and recovery windows between events have shrunk to just four to six years.
2. During the 2023-24 global mass bleaching event, what share of the world’s coral reefs experienced unprecedented heat stress in 2024?
A. About 42 per cent
B. About 55 per cent
C. About 68 per cent
D. About 87 per cent
E. About 95 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: Around 87 per cent of coral reefs faced unprecedented heat stress in 2024 during the fourth Global Mass Coral Bleaching Event of 2023-24. Of these, 42.6 per cent experienced heat stress of 8 degree-Celsius-weeks or more, the threshold associated with widespread bleaching and mortality; the comparable figure in 2025 was 27.4 per cent. Degree heating weeks measure accumulated thermal stress rather than a single peak temperature.
3. Coral bleaching occurs primarily because stressed corals expel which organism?
A. Zooxanthellae, symbiotic algae living in coral tissue
B. Coral polyps from the calcium carbonate skeleton
C. Crown-of-thorns starfish larvae
D. Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria from the reef surface
E. Planktonic copepods trapped in the mucus layer
View Answer
Explanation: When water becomes unusually warm, corals expel their zooxanthellae, losing both their pigment and their main nutrient supply, and turn bone-white, leaving the calcified skeleton exposed to disease and starvation. Prolonged stress kills the coral. Reefs are built by polyps secreting calcium carbonate in warm, shallow, clear, nutrient-poor tropical seas, and are also threatened by ocean acidification, pollution, overfishing, sedimentation and coastal development.
4. A study valued the Pichavaram mangroves at about Rs 2,485.38 crore. What share of this Total Economic Value is accounted for by the blue carbon asset value?
A. About 25 per cent
B. About 40 per cent
C. About 50 per cent
D. About 65 per cent
E. About 85 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: The blue carbon asset value of the Pichavaram mangroves was estimated at Rs 1,612.40 crore, roughly 65 per cent of the Total Economic Value of Rs 2,485.38 crore. Per-hectare value works out to about Rs 1.83 crore and soil organic carbon stock to 251.14 tonnes per hectare. Such valuations strengthen the economic case for mangrove conservation by pricing carbon storage alongside fisheries, coastal protection and tourism benefits.
5. Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031, whose Strategic Action Plan was released at Agatti in Lakshadweep, relates to the development of which sector?
A. Deep-sea tuna longlining
B. Ornamental fisheries
C. Seaweed and algal biofuels
D. Inland brackish-water shrimp farming
E. Marine cage culture of pompano
View Answer
Explanation: Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031 is a Strategic Action Plan for Ornamental Fisheries Development, covering breeding, rearing and trading of decorative fish for aquariums and commercial displays. It is implemented by the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Key features include standardised value-chain SOPs, biosecurity and quarantine, traceability and certification to prevent illegal wild capture, cluster-based value chains under PMMSY, and training for women’s self-help groups in backyard rearing.
6. UPI processed how many transactions in July 2026, worth nearly Rs 30 lakh crore?
A. 1,148 crore
B. 1,702 crore
C. 2,366 crore
D. 3,015 crore
E. 4,220 crore
View Answer
Explanation: The Unified Payments Interface processed 2,366 crore transactions worth nearly Rs 30 lakh crore in July 2026, confirming its role as the backbone of India’s digital economy. UPI is a real-time, interoperable payment system built as open-architecture digital public infrastructure, which converts a user’s bank account details into a simple Virtual Payment Address or UPI ID and settles both person-to-person and person-to-merchant payments instantly.
7. In the three-layer structure of UPI, what is the role of the PSP Bank?
A. It operates the central switch that routes instructions between banks
B. It sponsors the third-party application and connects it to UPI
C. It issues the Virtual Payment Address directly to the merchant
D. It regulates the interchange fee charged on merchant transactions
E. It provides the mobile application interface seen by the user
View Answer
Explanation: UPI has three layers. The TPAP or Third-Party Application Provider is the app the user sees, such as Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm. The PSP Bank sponsors that TPAP and connects it to the UPI network. NPCI operates the central switch that routes payment instructions between banks. Understanding this separation explains why regulatory obligations fall differently on apps, sponsor banks and the network operator.
8. UPI was developed by NPCI and piloted in April 2016 with how many banks?
A. 11 banks
B. 21 banks
C. 35 banks
D. 57 banks
E. 73 banks
View Answer
Explanation: UPI was piloted in April 2016 with 21 banks under the then RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, and has since expanded to over 730 participating banks. It was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India. Its stated aims are a seamless interoperable cashless ecosystem, bringing unbanked and underbanked populations into formal digital finance, and friction-free settlement for both P2P and P2M payments.
9. SBI Research revised India’s FY27 GDP growth forecast to which level?
A. From 6.6 per cent to 7.3 per cent
B. From 6.6 per cent to 6.9 per cent
C. From 7.3 per cent to 7.8 per cent
D. From 7.0 per cent to 7.2 per cent
E. From 6.2 per cent to 6.8 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: SBI Research raised its FY27 GDP growth forecast from 6.6 per cent to 7.3 per cent after India recorded 7.8 per cent real GDP growth in Q1 FY27, with real GVA growth of 8.2 per cent, manufacturing at 9.2 per cent and services at around 10 per cent. Quarterly estimates for the rest of the year are 7.3 per cent, 7.2 per cent and 6.9 per cent, with growth driven by domestic demand and government capital expenditure.
10. PhonePe launched UPI 123Pay for feature phones. Which architecture does the service use to work without internet access?
A. Bluetooth mesh relay
B. SMS-based architecture
C. NFC tap-and-pay
D. Satellite narrowband link
E. QR-only offline vouchers
View Answer
Explanation: The service uses an SMS-based architecture suited to low or 2G connectivity, letting feature-phone users make UPI payments without internet access. It supports P2P and P2M payments, balance checks and transaction history, and includes an AI-powered voice helpline in English and 12 Indian languages. Such offerings matter for financial inclusion because a large share of rural users still rely on feature phones and patchy data coverage.
11. The V-Dem Democracy Report, which placed India’s Electoral Democracy Index at its lowest level since 1975, is published by an institute based at which university?
A. University of Gothenburg, Sweden
B. University of Oslo, Norway
C. London School of Economics, United Kingdom
D. Harvard University, United States
E. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
View Answer
Explanation: The Varieties of Democracy Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, publishes the annual Democracy Report. It measures electoral integrity, civil liberties, institutional autonomy, judicial accountability, freedom of expression and public administration, and produces five indices: Electoral, Liberal, Participatory, Deliberative and Egalitarian. The Electoral Democracy Index rests on Robert Dahl’s polyarchy concept. The report describes India as undergoing slow autocratisation, the gradual erosion of democratic institutions rather than a sudden breakdown.
12. Depalpur in Madhya Pradesh became the first city under the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative to achieve Zero Legacy Waste. Which city acted as its mentor?
A. Bhopal
B. Indore
C. Ujjain
D. Surat
E. Navi Mumbai
View Answer
Explanation: Depalpur Nagar Parishad worked with Indore Municipal Corporation, which has repeatedly ranked as India’s cleanest city in Swachh Survekshan. Swachh Shehar Jodi, under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 launched in 2021, follows an Each One Teach One model in which mentor cities transfer practices to mentee cities. Depalpur remediated 1,250 metric tonnes of legacy waste through bio-mining, recovering 4.5 tonnes of recyclables and 50 to 60 tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel.
13. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which set of rivers was allocated to India as the Eastern Rivers?
A. Indus, Jhelum and Chenab
B. Ravi, Beas and Sutlej
C. Chenab, Ravi and Beas
D. Jhelum, Sutlej and Beas
E. Indus, Ravi and Sutlej
View Answer
Explanation: The 1960 treaty, brokered by the World Bank, allots the Eastern Rivers of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej to India and the Western Rivers of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab primarily to Pakistan, with India permitted limited non-consumptive hydropower use on the latter. The Permanent Court of Arbitration, founded in 1899 and seated at the Peace Palace in The Hague, ruled the treaty remains in force and restricted works on the 850 MW Ratle project on the Chenab; India rejected the ruling as null and void.
14. MoSPI signed an MoU with the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology to build an AI-driven framework using HCES data. What will this framework estimate?
A. Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure at national and State levels
B. Wholesale Price Index sub-group weights
C. Quarterly Gross Fixed Capital Formation
D. District-level unemployment rates
E. Sectoral credit deployment by scheduled commercial banks
View Answer
Explanation: The framework will use Household Consumption Expenditure Survey data to estimate Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure at national and State levels. MPCE is the central input for poverty estimation, for updating consumer price index weights and for economic planning, and more frequent estimates would reduce reliance on infrequent survey rounds. The collaboration also signals growing use of artificial intelligence within India’s official statistical system.
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