1. According to the Asia Research and Engagement (ARE) report prepared with FICCI, India’s per capita annual protein consumption is projected to move from what level in 2025 to what level in 2070?
A. 5 kg to 18 kg
B. 9.5 kg to 30 kg
C. 12 kg to 25 kg
D. 9.5 kg to 45 kg
E. 15 kg to 60 kg
View Answer
Explanation: The drivers are population growth, rising incomes, urbanisation, public nutrition programmes and changing dietary preferences. The report’s uncomfortable finding is that even after tripling, India stays protein insecure with sharp dietary inequality — so the challenge is distribution and source-mix, not merely volume.
2. The same report notes that protein-related emissions under business-as-usual would reach 1.92 Gt CO2e against a climate-safe threshold of:
A. 0.10 Gt CO2e
B. 0.25 Gt CO2e
C. 0.50 Gt CO2e
D. 0.95 Gt CO2e
E. 1.20 Gt CO2e
View Answer
Explanation: That is a gap of more than seven times. A combined mitigation approach still lands at 0.30 Gt CO2e, so the report argues that dietary source-mix and livestock productivity gains must both be pursued. Enteric fermentation in ruminants is the single largest agricultural methane source in India.
3. Which of the following statements from the ARE-FICCI protein report is correct?
A. India imports about 90 per cent of processed plant-protein isolates and is the world’s largest milk producer with about 24 per cent of global output
B. India exports about 90 per cent of its plant-protein isolates and is the second-largest milk producer
C. India is self-sufficient in protein isolates and accounts for about 10 per cent of global milk output
D. Red meat is projected to become India’s largest protein source by 2070
E. Pulses require more fertiliser than animal protein systems because of their nitrogen demand
View Answer
Explanation: A protein isolate is protein extracted and concentrated from a plant source such as soy or pea, and the near-total import dependence is a clear gap for domestic food processing. Pulses actually fix atmospheric nitrogen and need far less fertiliser, while dairy and pulses are expected to remain India’s main protein sources with red meat staying small.
4. Five juvenile orangutans were rescued in Odisha’s Balasore district. Which body was handed the smuggling investigation, and under which law was it established?
A. CBI; Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
B. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau; Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
C. National Tiger Conservation Authority; Biological Diversity Act, 2002
D. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence; Customs Act, 1962
E. Central Zoo Authority; Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
View Answer
Explanation: The WCCB is a statutory body under MoEFCC established in 2007. Since the 2022 amendment giving effect to CITES, exotic species fall under Schedule IV of the Act. Orangutans are in CITES Appendix I, barring commercial international trade, and the rescued juveniles are being quarantined at Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar.
5. Which of the following about apes is correct?
A. Orangutans are native to India’s Northeast and are classified as lesser apes
B. Orangutans are Asia’s only great apes, native only to Borneo and Sumatra, while India’s only ape is the Hoolock gibbon, a lesser ape
C. The Hoolock gibbon is a great ape found in the Western Ghats
D. All three orangutan species are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN
E. The Tapanuli orangutan, described in 2017, is the world’s most abundant great ape
View Answer
Explanation: The three orangutan species — Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli — are all Critically Endangered, with the Tapanuli described only in 2017 and now the world’s rarest great ape. The great apes are orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo and human. Because orangutans are not native to India, their presence in an Odisha forest points to international trafficking.
6. Four new Indian cultural sites were added to the UNESCO Tentative List. What is India’s revised Tentative List total, and how many sites does India have inscribed on the World Heritage List?
A. 62 on the Tentative List; 42 inscribed
B. 73 on the Tentative List; 44 inscribed
C. 73 on the Tentative List; 40 inscribed
D. 69 on the Tentative List; 44 inscribed
E. 80 on the Tentative List; 46 inscribed
View Answer
Explanation: Of the 44 inscribed sites, 36 are cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed — Khangchendzonga. A site must remain on the Tentative List for at least one year before it can be nominated for inscription. India’s most recent inscriptions are the Moidams of the Ahom Dynasty in 2024 and the Maratha Military Landscapes in 2025.
7. The Painted Haveli Towns added to the UNESCO Tentative List lie in the semi-arid Shekhawati region, spanning which districts?
A. Bikaner, Nagaur and Barmer
B. Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu
C. Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur
D. Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Pali
E. Kota, Bundi and Baran
View Answer
Explanation: Shekhawati havelis are famed for painted frescoes commissioned by Marwari merchant families. The other three additions are the Rangpur-Sivasagar Historic Ensemble in Assam, the Colonial Penal Settlement in the Andamans and Nicobarese Cultural Continuity in the Nancowry group. All four are cultural properties, nominated through the Archaeological Survey of India.
8. The RBI included Coastal Local Area Bank Limited in the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934. Which statement is correct?
A. The bank must now convert into a small finance bank within one year
B. It becomes a Scheduled Bank with access to RBI liquidity facilities and money-market operations, while continuing to operate as a Local Area Bank
C. It loses its Local Area Bank licence on attaining scheduled status
D. Scheduled status is conferred under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
E. It becomes India’s first Payments Bank to attain scheduled status
View Answer
Explanation: Vijayawada-based Coastal Local Area Bank was India’s first Local Area Bank. LABs were conceived as small, private, locally focused banks serving a few contiguous districts. Scheduled status is a listing in the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934, and it improves the bank’s funding options without changing its licensing category.
9. The Asian Development Bank signed its first Transaction Advisory Services mandate in India. With which state government, and for what purpose?
A. Maharashtra; urban metro rail financing
B. Madhya Pradesh; developing renewable-energy projects through Public-Private Partnerships
C. Gujarat; port modernisation under PPP
D. Rajasthan; irrigation canal rehabilitation
E. Odisha; industrial corridor development
View Answer
Explanation: Signed on 7 September 2026, the mandate could attract up to US$1 billion in private investment. ADB will assist with project preparation, financial structuring, procurement and tender development. A solar facility with a Battery Energy Storage System at Shajapur is among the projects, addressing the intermittency problem that limits solar’s grid value.
10. The Ministry of Finance secured US$1 billion from the International Finance Corporation for MSME credit. Which statement about the arrangement is correct?
A. The entire amount went to NABARD for rural MSME lending
B. US$500 million went to SIDBI and another US$500 million will come through a lender syndicate, with funds converted into rupees via the RBI’s special swap window
C. The funds were routed through the World Bank’s IBRD window in dollars only
D. SIDBI can on-lend only for up to three years under the facility
E. The facility is restricted to the handicrafts and handloom sectors
View Answer
Explanation: The rupee conversion through the swap window removes exchange-rate risk for the borrower, which is what makes long-tenure lending workable. SIDBI can on-lend for up to seven years, and the key beneficiary sectors are automobiles, engineering, electronics, textiles and food processing. The IFC is the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group.
11. Bandhan Bank launched a four-tier credit card portfolio in partnership with Mastercard. The four variants are:
A. Sparks, Ignite, Flare and Lumina
B. Select, Prime, Elite and Infinite
C. Ignite, Blaze, Aura and Zenith
D. Sparks, Surge, Flare and Crest
E. Classic, Gold, Platinum and Signature
View Answer
Explanation: The cards offer benefits across grocery, apparel, travel, dining, entertainment and international spending, and can be applied for digitally or at branches. For a bank with microfinance roots, a tiered credit-card ladder is a way of moving existing customers up the retail-credit curve as their incomes grow.
12. The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), which received a new Chairperson in Bhagwat Prasad Makwana, is:
A. A constitutional body under Article 338B
B. A non-statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
C. A statutory body under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
D. A statutory tribunal under the Ministry of Labour and Employment
E. An autonomous body under NITI Aayog
View Answer
Explanation: The NCSK’s mandate covers welfare, dignity, socioeconomic rehabilitation and rights of Safai Karamcharis and manual scavengers, including abolition of hazardous manual scavenging, statutory compensation and safety gear. The new appointments, including Kaishab Bihari as Vice-Chairperson, run until 31 March 2028, completing the tenure of the 10th Commission.
13. Seven core OPEC+ nations kept October crude output targets unchanged. Which pair of facts about OPEC and OPEC+ is correct?
A. OPEC was founded in 1960 at the Baghdad Conference; OPEC+ was formed in late 2016 through the Declaration of Cooperation signed at Vienna
B. OPEC was founded in 1973 at Vienna; OPEC+ was formed in 2008 at Riyadh
C. OPEC was founded in 1960 at Vienna; OPEC+ was formed in 2020 through the Abu Dhabi Accord
D. OPEC was founded in 1949 at Tehran; OPEC+ was formed in 2016 at Doha
E. OPEC was founded in 1960 at Caracas; OPEC+ was formed in 2014 at Moscow
View Answer
Explanation: OPEC’s founding five were Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, and it is headquartered at Vienna. OPEC+ emerged after the 2014-16 US shale surge crashed prices, bringing in Russia and others; compliance is reviewed by the JMMC. The decision came amid disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil moves — directly relevant to India, which imports over 85 per cent of its crude.
14. Under India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency, which event was hosted at which venue?
A. BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum — Chennai; Academic Forum — Goa
B. BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum — New Delhi; 14th Science Ministerial — Chennai; 18th Academic Forum — Lucknow
C. Science Ministerial — Visakhapatnam; Sports Ministers’ Meeting — Chennai
D. Ocean and Polar Science Working Group — Lucknow; Academic Forum — Goa
E. Chief Justices’ Forum — Mumbai; Science Ministerial — New Delhi
View Answer
Explanation: The Supreme Court of India hosted the Chief Justices’ Forum from 4 to 6 September 2026. Other venues were Visakhapatnam for the Sports Ministers’ Meeting and Friendship Cycling event, and Goa for the Ocean and Polar Science Working Group. The Academic Forum’s theme was “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, and the 18th BRICS Summit is to be held in New Delhi.
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