UPSC Editorials Quiz : 7 May 2026

Solution: C

The Baltic Sea is bordered by nine countries. These are:

1. Denmark
2. Estonia
3. Finland
4. Germany
5. Latvia
6. Lithuania
7. Poland
8. Russia
9. Sweden

Norway does not border the Baltic Sea; it borders the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea. Belarus is a landlocked country and does not have a coastline on any sea. While Lithuania and Poland are major littoral states of the Baltic, Norway and Belarus are not.

Solution: B

• The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was derisively called the “Black Act” by Indian nationalists. Its primary objective was to curtail the upsurge of nationalist activities after World War I. The Act was particularly notorious because it allowed the British government to imprison any person suspected of sedition without a trial for up to two years. This “No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal” policy directly violated basic civil liberties.

In response, Mahatma Gandhi organized the Rowlatt Satyagraha, marking his first major pan-India protest. It was during the protests against this Act—and specifically the arrest of local leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal—that a peaceful crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919. The massacre that followed became a turning point, shifting Indian sentiment from a hope for colonial reform to a demand for Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence). The event’s brutality was so profound that it led Rabindranath Tagore to renounce his Knighthood.

Solution: A

• Arunachal Pradesh has a distinct administrative history. Until 1972, the region was known as the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA). It was a strategically sensitive area administered by the Union government through the Governor of Assam. On January 20, 1972, it was renamed Arunachal Pradesh and converted into a Union Territory. It finally attained full statehood on February 20, 1987, becoming the 24th state of the Indian Union.

The state is often called the “Land of the Rising Sun” and shares international borders with Bhutan, Myanmar, and China. The region is currently a focal point of territorial disputes, as China claims the area as “Zangnan” (South Tibet) and rejects the McMahon Line, which was the boundary defined in 1914. India maintains that Arunachal is an integral part of the country, citing historical roots in ancient texts like the Mahabharata (referring to the Prabhu Mountains) and archaeological evidence at sites like Ita Fort. Geographically, it is dominated by the Eastern Himalayas and is home to the Namdapha National Park, making it a critical zone for both national security and biodiversity conservation.

Solution: C

• Statement I is correct. The BCG vaccine is administered intradermally, usually on the upper arm, and commonly leaves a characteristic permanent scar due to the localized immune response and healing process at the injection site.
• Statement II is correct. The vaccine contains a live attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, which stimulates cell-mediated immunity, especially T-cell responses, along with some antibody production. This immune reaction at the site of injection explains the development of the scar mentioned in Statement I.
• Statement III is incorrect. Although BCG is the only widely licensed vaccine against tuberculosis, it does not provide reliable protection against all forms of TB, especially pulmonary TB in adults. Its effectiveness is highest against severe childhood forms such as TB meningitis and miliary tuberculosis.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The organization was established in 1947 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to promote economic cooperation and post-war reconstruction in Asia and the Far East. Although it later played a role in regional economic integration and cooperation that contributed indirectly to institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, it was not originally created specifically to facilitate the formation of the ADB.
• Statement 2 is correct. From 1947 until 1974, the body was known as the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). It functioned as a regional platform for economic coordination, development planning, and technical cooperation among Asian countries emerging from colonial rule and wartime disruption.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. In 1974, ECAFE was renamed ESCAP — Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific — to reflect the growing importance and participation of Pacific nations and to broaden the organization’s geographical and developmental scope. However, Pacific island nations were already associated with the commission earlier; the renaming was not done to include them “for the first time.”