1. The four-year status review of Project Cheetah released by Kuno National Park puts India’s cheetah population at:
A. 39
B. 44
C. 52
D. 58
E. 64
View Answer
Explanation: Of the 52, 49 are at Kuno and 3 at Gandhi Sagar, and 32 cubs have been born on Indian soil. Seventeen are free-ranging at Kuno. The programme has moved into its consolidation phase, four years after being launched on 17 September 2022.
2. The cheetah was declared extinct in India in which year?
A. 1947
B. 1952
C. 1962
D. 1972
E. 1980
View Answer
Explanation: The last cheetahs were reportedly shot in Koriya, in present-day Chhattisgarh. The cheetah is the only large carnivore to have gone extinct in independent India, which is why Project Cheetah — the world’s first intercontinental large carnivore translocation — carries the weight it does. IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable, with the Asiatic subspecies Critically Endangered, and CITES places it in Appendix I.
3. Gegeneophis chandgadi, newly described from the Western Ghats, belongs to which order of amphibians?
A. Anura
B. Caudata
C. Gymnophiona
D. Urodela
E. Squamata
View Answer
Explanation: Caecilians form Gymnophiona, the third order of amphibians alongside Anura (frogs and toads) and Caudata/Urodela (salamanders and newts). They are limbless, fossorial animals with vestigial eyes and chemosensory tentacles. Squamata is an order of reptiles, not amphibians.
4. Gegeneophis chandgadi was discovered in backyard leaf litter in which district?
A. Satara, Maharashtra
B. Kolhapur, Maharashtra
C. Uttara Kannada, Karnataka
D. Idukki, Kerala
E. Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu
View Answer
Explanation: The species was described by the Zoological Survey of India and Savitribai Phule Pune University from Buzawade village, Chandgad taluka, in the northern Western Ghats. The exam point is where it was found — a human-modified rural backyard free of synthetic pesticides, not pristine forest, showing that agroecosystems can still hold undescribed biodiversity. ZSI was established in 1916, is headquartered at Kolkata and works under the MoEFCC.
5. What is the total outlay of the PM Vishwakarma Scheme for FY2023-24 to FY2027-28?
A. ₹8,000 crore
B. ₹10,000 crore
C. ₹13,000 crore
D. ₹15,000 crore
E. ₹20,000 crore
View Answer
Explanation: PM Vishwakarma is a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Centre and jointly implemented by MoMSME, MSDE and DFS. Launched on 17 September 2023 on Vishwakarma Jayanti, it completed three years with 30 lakh registrations, and covers 18 traditional trades.
6. Under PM Vishwakarma, collateral-free credit of ₹1 lakh followed by ₹2 lakh is offered to the artisan at what rate of interest?
A. 4 per cent
B. 5 per cent
C. 6 per cent
D. 7 per cent
E. 8 per cent
View Answer
Explanation: The artisan pays 5 per cent, with an 8 per cent interest subvention borne by the government — the two numbers are easy to swap in an exam. The first tranche of ₹1 lakh runs 18 months and the second of ₹2 lakh runs 30 months. The scheme also gives a training stipend of ₹500 a day, a ₹15,000 toolkit e-voucher and ₹1 per digital transaction up to 100 a month.
7. The Kishau Multipurpose Project, agreed to by six states, involves a 232.6-metre concrete gravity dam on which river?
A. Yamuna
B. Tons
C. Giri
D. Sutlej
E. Ramganga
View Answer
Explanation: The Tons is the largest tributary of the Yamuna, which is why the 422 MW project is tied to Yamuna rejuvenation along with storage and irrigation. Storage capacity is 1,562 MCM. The six signatories are Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan. As a National Project it carries 90 per cent central funding and 10 per cent from the participating state.
8. NIELIT and Infineon Technologies inaugurated a Centre of Excellence for semiconductor manufacturing in which city?
A. Bhubaneswar
B. Ahmedabad
C. Hyderabad
D. Pune
E. Mohali
View Answer
Explanation: The centre trains in ATMP, OSAT and semiconductor backend manufacturing, with 8 equipment units supplied by Infineon. Bhubaneswar is the distractor for a reason — on the same day MeitY gave in-principle approval for an AI Centre of Excellence there under the IndiaAI Mission.
9. The RBI’s ₹50,000 crore Open Market Operation in mid-September 2026 was conducted to:
A. Inject durable liquidity into the banking system
B. Absorb durable liquidity from the banking system
C. Defend the rupee in the forward market
D. Sterilise foreign exchange inflows under the MSS
E. Roll over maturing state development loans
View Answer
Explanation: An OMO sale takes securities out of the RBI’s book and rupees out of the system. This was the first tranche of a ₹1 trillion programme, with ₹25,000 crore each scheduled for 21 and 28 September 2026. Net liquidity surplus was ₹7.37 trillion and durable liquidity around ₹14 trillion, and the WACR had slipped to 5.05 per cent against a 5.25 per cent repo rate — a call rate below the repo is the classic signal of surplus liquidity.
10. Under which two articles must central laws on land and customary practice receive the concurrence of the State Legislative Assembly?
A. 371A and 371G
B. 371D and 371E
C. 371F and 371H
D. 371B and 371C
E. 371I and 371J
View Answer
Explanation: 371A covers Nagaland and came from the 16-Point Agreement of 1960; 371G covers Mizoram and came from the Mizo Peace Accord of 1986. These are the strongest asymmetric provisions in Part XXI (Articles 369 to 392). The news peg is a proposed Article 371K, agreed in principle with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, which would give Ladakh a directly elected UT-level legislative body without statehood or Sixth Schedule status.
11. Which State will become the first in India to make a computer-based Hazard Perception Test mandatory for driving licence applicants?
A. Tamil Nadu
B. Karnataka
C. Kerala
D. Maharashtra
E. Gujarat
View Answer
Explanation: The test begins in December 2026. It measures anticipation rather than rule knowledge — the gap between knowing a rule and reacting in time. The provision already exists under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989; the UK pioneered the format in 2002. Motor vehicles is a Concurrent List subject and licences are issued by State Transport Authorities under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. India recorded 4,87,707 accidents and 1,77,175 deaths in 2024, about 485 a day.
12. India’s combined merchandise and services exports during April–August 2026 stood at:
A. USD 215.91 billion
B. USD 351.40 billion
C. USD 399.27 billion
D. USD 459.65 billion
E. USD 482.10 billion
View Answer
Explanation: That is 15.5 per cent growth, of which merchandise exports were USD 215.91 billion. Imports over the same period were USD 459.65 billion, up 18.01 per cent — imports growing faster than exports is the part an examiner tests. In August 2026 alone, exports were USD 82.68 billion against imports of USD 92.09 billion.
13. Who has been named for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2024?
A. Mohanlal
B. Anant Nag
C. Waheeda Rehman
D. Mithun Chakraborty
E. Rajinikanth
View Answer
Explanation: He is the 56th recipient and the second Kannada cinema artist to receive the award, after Rajkumar. The honour will be conferred at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony on 22 September 2026. Separately, the CBFC was reconstituted with 18 members for a three-year term under chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
14. Sanjukta Parashar became the first woman officer to lead which force?
A. NSG
B. CRPF CoBRA
C. BSF Creek Crocodile Commandos
D. ITBP Snow Warriors
E. SSB Vajra
View Answer
Explanation: The IPS officer took charge as Inspector General of CoBRA — Commando Battalion for Resolute Action — a specialised 10-battalion CRPF unit trained for guerrilla warfare, long-range operations and counter-insurgency.
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