UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 2 December 2025

Solution: B

Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the “protection of life and personal liberty,” is the most directly and comprehensively violated provision by the practice of bonded labour.

The Supreme Court of India has interpreted Article 21 expansively to include the right to live with human dignity. Bonded labour, characterized by forced work under coercion due to debt or other obligations, often without clear time limits and for nominal or no wages, fundamentally strips individuals of their dignity, autonomy, and personal liberty. It subjects them to exploitative conditions, restricts their freedom of movement, and denies them the ability to make choices about their own lives and labour.

Solution: A

Statement 1 is incorrect. The date for the election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, not the President of India. This is a procedural aspect managed within the House itself.

Statement 2 is correct. There is indeed a long-standing parliamentary convention in India that the position of the Deputy Speaker is offered to a member from an opposition party. This convention is aimed at fostering bipartisan cooperation, ensuring institutional balance, and building trust within the legislature. However, it is crucial to note that this is a convention and not a requirement stipulated by the Constitution or any statute.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is not subordinate to the Speaker. While the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker in their absence and presides over the House, they are directly responsible to the Lok Sabha itself, not to the Speaker. This independence is a key feature of the office, ensuring that the Deputy Speaker can discharge their duties impartially.

Solution: B

Statement 1 is correct. Natural hydrogen (also known as “white” or “gold” hydrogen) is free molecular hydrogen (H2​) found naturally in underground deposits. It is extracted directly, much like natural gas, making it a primary energy source, unlike green or blue hydrogen which are energy carriers manufactured from other sources (water or fossil fuels, respectively).

Statement 2 is correct. Current estimates suggest that natural hydrogen could potentially be produced at a cost as low as $1/kg or even less. This is substantially cheaper than green hydrogen, which typically costs around $3-7/kg depending on renewable electricity prices and electrolyzer costs, and also cheaper than grey/blue hydrogen derived from fossil fuels.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Serpentinisation, a major process for natural hydrogen generation, involves the reaction of water with ultramafic rocks (like peridotites and dunites) which are rich in minerals such as olivine and pyroxene. These rocks are typically found in ophiolite belts, continental rifts, and mid-ocean ridges, not primarily in sedimentary basins rich in hydrocarbons. While hydrogen can be found in various geological settings, serpentinisation is specifically linked to these iron and magnesium-rich igneous rocks.

Statement 4 is incorrect. The extraction of natural hydrogen involves drilling boreholes into identified underground hydrogen pockets, similar to conventional gas drilling. However, it does not necessarily or always involve fracking (hydraulic fracturing). Fracking is a specific well stimulation technique used to extract resources from low-permeability formations like shale. The need for such techniques would depend on the specific geology of the natural hydrogen reservoir. Current known accumulations, like the one in Mali, are tapped using conventional drilling.

Solution: C

• The most significant potential advantage of natural hydrogen, should large and economically viable reserves be confirmed, lies in its significantly lower production cost and its nature as a primary energy source.
• Natural hydrogen is estimated to be producible at around $1/kg, which is considerably cheaper than green hydrogen (produced by electrolysis using renewable energy, costing $3-7/kg) or even grey/blue hydrogen (from fossil fuels).

Being a primary energy source means it is extracted directly, avoiding the energy-intensive and costly manufacturing processes required for green or blue hydrogen.

Solution: B

Statement 1 is incorrect. A Private Member’s Bill (PMB) can be introduced by any Member of Parliament (MP) who is not a Minister. This includes MPs from the ruling party/coalition as well as from opposition parties. The defining characteristic is not party affiliation but whether the MP holds a ministerial position.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The admissibility of a PMB is decided by the Presiding Officer of the concerned House (Speaker in Lok Sabha, Chairman in Rajya Sabha) based on constitutional provisions and the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in that House. There is no procedural requirement for consultation with the Prime Minister for determining the admissibility of a PMB.

Statement 3 is correct. The legislative procedure for a PMB is largely similar to that of a government bill. It must pass through the same stages: first reading, second reading (including general discussion, committee stage, and consideration stage), and third reading in both Houses of Parliament. If a PMB is successfully passed by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and subsequently receives the President’s assent, it becomes an Act of Parliament.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect. Western Disturbances are extra-tropical cyclones, not tropical cyclones. They primarily bring precipitation to northern India during the winter season, not the monsoon season. Their impact is most pronounced from December to February.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. While WDs do originate over the Mediterranean Sea, they also form over the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. They pick up moisture from these water bodies before moving towards the Indian subcontinent. The term “exclusively” makes this statement inaccurate.
• Statement 3 is correct. Western Disturbances travel along the subtropical westerly jet stream, which exists at high altitudes. This jet stream acts as a steering mechanism, guiding these weather systems from the west towards northern India, especially over the Himalayas. The interaction with the Himalayas often intensifies their impact.

Solution: B

The core constitutional basis for Parliamentary Oversight in India is Article 75(3) of the Constitution. This article explicitly states that “The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).” This principle of collective responsibility is the bedrock of India’s parliamentary democracy, ensuring that the executive (government) is answerable to the legislature (Parliament).

Option (d) is incorrect because while the Preamble outlines the nature of the Indian state, it does not directly provide the mechanism for parliamentary oversight.

Option (c) is incorrect as the President’s powers to summon, prorogue, or dissolve are procedural aspects of Parliament’s functioning, not the direct basis for oversight of the executive by the legislature.

Option (a) is incorrect because Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines for governance and are non-justiciable; they do not establish the direct accountability mechanism of the executive to the legislature that parliamentary oversight entails.

Solution: D

1. Question Hour (matches 2): This is typically the first hour of a parliamentary sitting. It is a crucial device for members to ask questions to Ministers regarding various aspects of administration and government policy, thereby ensuring daily accountability.
2. Zero Hour (matches 3): This is an Indian parliamentary innovation. It starts immediately after the Question Hour and allows members to raise matters of urgent public importance without any prior notice to the Speaker/Chairman. It is not formally recognized in parliamentary rule books but has become a convention.
3. Adjournment Motion (matches 4): This motion is used to draw the attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance. Its adoption implies a censure of the government, even if not as severe as a no-confidence motion. It requires interrupting the normal business of the House.
4. No-Confidence Motion (matches 1): This motion is a cornerstone of parliamentary democracy, specifically provided for in the rules of the Lok Sabha. If passed, it demonstrates that the Council of Ministers no longer enjoys the confidence of the majority in the Lok Sabha, leading to the government’s resignation. Article 75 mandates collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha.

Solution: B

• Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective method of protecting individuals against harmful diseases before they encounter them.
• The core principle involves introducing a modified version of the pathogen (killed or weakened viruses or bacteria) or specific components of it (like proteins or sugars) into the body.
• This exposure does not cause the disease or put the individual at risk of its complications.
• Instead, it triggers the body’s natural defenses, specifically the immune system, to recognize the agent as foreign, mount a response, and produce antibodies and memory cells specific to that pathogen.
• This process “trains” the immune system, so if the body encounters the actual pathogen later, it can quickly and effectively neutralize it, preventing illness or reducing its severity.
• This creates a specific, often long-lasting, immunity, making the immune system stronger against that particular infection.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, represents a paradigm shift away from the exclusionary “fortress conservation” model. Instead, it is a rights-based conservation model that legally recognizes various forest rights of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers. It aims to redress historical injustice and empowers Gram Sabhas for community-led biodiversity conservation, integrating tenure security with ecosystem protection.
• Statement 2 is correct. The “fortress conservation” model, prevalent in many global conservation laws such as some Wildlife Acts in Africa and Latin America, adopts an exclusionary “protected area” approach. This model has often led to the displacement of millions of IPLCs worldwide, criminalizing traditional users and centralizing forest control under state or private actors. Examples include the Batwa in Uganda and Masai in Kenya.
• Statement 3 is correct. The FRA, 2006, explicitly empowers Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) as the competent authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both that may be given to forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.