UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 26 December 2025

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct. One of the primary objectives of ECOSOC, as laid out in the UN Charter is to raise living standards and promote full employment, which falls under the broader goal of promoting economic and social progress.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. The membership of ECOSOC is not permanent. It consists of 54 members elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. This rotational membership is designed to ensure equitable geographical representation over time, unlike the permanent, veto-wielding membership of the P5 in the Security Council.
• Statement 3 is correct. A key function of ECOSOC is to foster policy coherence in the global development landscape. To this end, it holds an annual high-level special meeting, often referred to as joint sessions, with the Bretton Woods institutions—the IMF and the World Bank—to discuss global economic issues and align development strategies.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The rules explicitly bar foreign lawyers and law firms from any form of litigation in India. They cannot appear before any Indian courts, tribunals, statutory, or regulatory authorities. Their role is confined to non-litigious matters.
• Statement 2 is correct. The primary scope of practice for foreign lawyers is advisory. They can advise their clients in India on foreign law, international law, and international arbitration matters. They are expressly prohibited from practicing Indian law.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The rules are designed to allow foreign lawyers to practice foreign law in India, not to practice Indian law. The objective is to facilitate international legal services and arbitration within a limited, non-litigious framework, not to have foreign professionals practicing the domestic law of India.

Solution: C

• PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) provided free foodgrains to beneficiaries. This is a form of Indirect Food Subsidy (3) because the benefit is delivered through a commodity (foodgrains) at a price of zero, rather than through a cash payment. The government bears the cost.
• Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy provides a subsidy on fertilisers (a key agricultural input) based on their nutrient content. This is a classic example of an Input Subsidy (1), as it reduces the cost of a critical input required for production.
• PM-KISAN Scheme provides a direct income support of ₹6,000 per year to eligible farmers’ bank accounts. This is a clear case of a Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy (2), where the financial support is given directly to the beneficiary without being tied to the purchase of a specific good or service.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Ecomark scheme is generally a voluntary labelling scheme that identifies products as environmentally preferable within a specific product category. It is not stated as a mandatory certification for all consumer products.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. The primary objective of Ecomark is to encourage consumers to choose, and manufacturers to produce, products that are less harmful to the environment by providing a recognizable label for such products within the domestic market.
• Statement 3 is correct. The Ecomark Rules, 2024 prescribe the procedure for granting the “Ecomark” label to products that meet specified environmental criteria. This helps consumers identify environmentally friendly products.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Sustainable Development Report (SDR) is released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), an independent body, not directly by the UN General Assembly.
• Statement 2 is correct. The focus of the 2025 edition of the SDR is on financing the SDGs by 2030 and reforming the Global Financial Architecture (GFA). This reflects a growing global consensus that existing financial systems are inadequate for meeting the ambitious 2030 Agenda.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. While India did enter the top 100 with a rank of 99, the report highlights that its progress was notable in areas like digital infrastructure (SDG 9), healthcare (SDG 3), and electricity access (SDG 7). India faces significant challenges in climate action (SDG 13) and press freedom (SDG 16), which are areas of concern, not progress.

Solution: C

• The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978, was enacted to reverse many of the distortions introduced by the 42nd Amendment during the Emergency and to introduce safeguards against the future misuse of Emergency powers.
• Option (a) is incorrect. The 44th Amendment explicitly provided for judicial review of a proclamation of Emergency, overturning the provision of the 42nd Amendment which had sought to make the President’s satisfaction in proclaiming an Emergency final and conclusive.
• Option (b) is incorrect. A landmark provision of the 44th Amendment was to ensure that the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Articles 20 and 21 (Right to life and personal liberty) cannot be suspended even during a National Emergency. This reversed the position taken during the 1975 Emergency.
• Option (c) is correct. To prevent the misuse of vague terms to impose an Emergency, the 44th Amendment substituted the words “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” in Article 352. This made the conditions for declaring an internal emergency much more stringent and objective.
• Option (d) is incorrect. The 42nd Amendment had extended the Lok Sabha term to six years. The 44th Amendment restored the original term of five years.

Solution: D

• Among the options given, only Astrosat, Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission), and Chandrayaan-3 qualify as Indian-launched deep space missions.
• Astrosat (launched in 2015) is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, primarily for astronomical studies beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
• Mangalyaan, launched in 2013, was India’s first interplanetary mission, placing a spacecraft into Mars orbit — a significant feat in deep space exploration.
• Chandrayaan-3, launched in 2023, marked India’s successful soft landing near the Moon’s south pole, establishing the country’s capability in lunar exploration.
• NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is not yet launched and is a joint mission between NASA and ISRO. While it is a major Earth-observation satellite designed to study ecosystems, ice masses, and natural hazards, it does not qualify as a deep space mission because it will operate in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct. RUPPs are political entities that are duly registered with the Election Commission of India under the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. This registration is the first step for any political association to be recognized as a political party.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. One of the defining features of RUPPs is that they can exist without electoral participation. They can receive donations even without electoral participation. While they are supposed to file mandatory financial disclosures, most do not, which is a compliance issue rather than a condition for their existence as an RUPP.
• Statement 3 is correct. RUPPs enjoy certain privileges, one of the most significant being exemption from income tax on their income. They are also permitted to receive political donations from individuals, companies, or other entities, which contributes to their financial operations. The combination of tax exemption and the ability to accept donations without the obligation to contest elections makes this a unique category of political entities.

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is correct. The cloudbursts often trigger other disasters. Examples given include flash floods (Manikaran 2025) and landslides caused by rain-saturated slopes (Chokhang–Nainghar road, Lahaul 2025).
• Statement 2 is correct. The environmental consequences include soil erosion and riverbank destabilization. This naturally leads to an increased sediment load in rivers, which can affect aquatic habitats and the functioning of downstream dams.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The consequences on people and infrastructure are severe and direct, not minimal. The significant impacts include loss of life, displacement, damage to infrastructure like bridges and roads, and long-term setbacks to livelihoods in sectors like tourism and agriculture. Entire villages can be cut off.

Solution: D

• Securing 2% of total Lok Sabha seats (i.e., 11 seats) from at least 3 different states is a condition for being recognised as a National Party (2).
• Winning 1 Lok Sabha seat for every 25 seats (or any fraction thereof) allocated to a particular state is a condition for being recognised as a State Party (1) in that state.
• Securing 6% of valid votes in Lok Sabha or Assembly elections in four or more states, plus winning at least 4 Lok Sabha seats from any state(s) is a condition for being recognised as a National Party (2).
• Winning at least 3% of the total seats in a Legislative Assembly, or at least 3 seats, whichever is higher, is a condition for being recognised as a State Party (1).