UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 15 May 2026

Solution: D

• Traditionally, rural initiatives targeted subsistence support and elementary poverty reduction through short-term interventions. However, the eight-year COSOP roadmap introduces a structural pivot. Its main objective is market-oriented and climate-resilient transformation.
• Instead of focusing solely on baseline survival metrics, it seeks to integrate rural micro-enterprises directly into global and domestic value chains using advanced infrastructure, value-added processing, and e-commerce platforms. This ensures long-term economic viability that can withstand the accelerating frequency of weather extremes.

Solution: A

• Diplomatic channels are stratified into distinct tracks based on participation. Track 1 represents official, formal government-to-government diplomacy. Track 2 represents informal, non-governmental interactions between academics, analysts, and think tanks.

A Track 1.5 forum combines elements of both, intentionally creating a space where official policymakers (Track 1) and non-governmental experts/scholars (Track 2) interact directly. The Indian Ocean Dialogue leverages this structure via the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) to foster open, free-flowing strategic brainstorming that might be constrained within rigid, formal Track 1 ministerial pathways.

Solution: A

• The RBI’s regulatory teeth come from several sections of the 1949 Act.
• Statement 1 is correct; the RBI has the statutory right to audit and inspect banks to ensure they follow sound financial principles.
• Statement 2 is correct; if the RBI finds that a bank’s management is acting in a manner detrimental to depositors, it can intervene in the management structure.
• Statement 3 is correct; the Act provides legal procedures for the amalgamation or winding up (liquidation) of a bank, which may involve judicial oversight.
• Statement 4 is incorrect; as per Section 8, banking companies are generally prohibited from trading in goods to minimize risk exposure.
• The rationale behind these extensive powers is the protection of depositors. Since banks operate on public trust, the RBI must have the authority to intervene before a crisis becomes systemic. The prohibition on trading is particularly important to prevent banks from using depositors’ money for speculative commodity trading. The Act ensures that only credible and stable entities operate in the Indian market, and the power to cancel licenses serves as the ultimate deterrent against persistent non-compliance, as demonstrated in recent regulatory actions against major fintech-linked banking entities.

Solution: D

• The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report is a major annual diagnostic tool used to assess and benchmark the efficiency of the logistics ecosystem across all States and Union Territories in India.
• The report is compiled and published by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which operates under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The primary objective of the LEADS index is to provide an empirical, evidence-based framework that allows states to identify local logistics bottlenecks, implement targeted regulatory reforms, and enhance global competitiveness by lowering overall supply chain costs.
• It plays an essential role in fostering competitive and cooperative federalism. While entities like NITI Aayog publish other indices, the specific mandate for managing, upgrading, and releasing the LEADS report rests with the DPIIT.

Solution: C

• The Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects is a major central incentive program backed by a financial outlay of ₹37,500 crore.
• Statement 1 is correct because the scheme is designed, funded, and monitored directly by the Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
• Statement 2 is correct because the promotional framework is tied to a specific national milestone, aiming to achieve 100 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal gasification by 2030.
• The strategic intent behind this target is to diversify the utilization of India’s abundant domestic coal reserves, converting solid coal into high-value chemical feedstocks and synthesis gas. This transformation helps substitute expensive foreign imports of urea, methanol, and natural gas, strengthening India’s energy self-reliance. Both statements represent the foundational facts of the scheme.

Solution: B

• A country is classified as doubly landlocked when it is entirely surrounded by nations that are themselves landlocked, meaning an inhabitant must cross at least two international borders to reach a coastline connected to an open ocean.
• Uzbekistan holds this unique geographical status in Central Asia, sharing its borders with five landlocked nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Capitalized at Tashkent, Uzbekistan features a highly arid terrain dominated by the Kyzylkum Desert and the Turan Plain, with nearly 80% of its land consisting of sun-dried wasteland.
• Its primary hydrological networks are the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which historically fed the Aral Sea basin. While the other listed Central Asian nations are landlocked, they are not doubly landlocked, making Uzbekistan the correct geographical choice.

Solution: D

• The Union government notified three distinct wildlife sanctuaries in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago as a compensatory environmental measure to offset the ecological footprint of the multi-crore Great Nicobar Island development project.
• Pair 1 is correctly matched as the Leatherback Turtle Sanctuary is located on Little Nicobar Island to safeguard critical sandy nesting beaches of the giant leatherback turtle.
• Pair 2 is correctly matched because the Megapode Sanctuary is situated on Menchal Island, focusing on the protection of the rare, mound-building Nicobar Megapode bird.
• Pair 3 is correctly matched because the Coral Sanctuary is established on Meroe Island to conserve sensitive marine biodiversity and local reef ecosystems. While these choices are ecologically sound, they are contested by the local Tribal Council due to concerns over traditional hunting grounds, plantations, and ancestral spiritual spaces.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct; the 73rd Amendment added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O) to the Constitution.
• Statement 2 is incorrect because while it mandated a three-tier system (Village, Intermediate/Block, and District), it provided an exemption: states with a population below 20 lakhs are not required to constitute the intermediate (block) level.
• Statement 3 is correct; the constitutional mandate was designed to provide these institutions with the legal standing to enjoy functional and financial autonomy, transforming them from mere agents of the state government into self-governing units.
• The 73rd Amendment was intended to move from “top-down” planning to “bottom-up” governance. By providing a fixed five-year term and a Finance Commission to recommend the devolution of funds, the Act aimed to solve the historical problem of PRIs being “starved of funds” and “stifled by politics.” However, the realization of true autonomy varies across states, which is why tools like the PAI are now used to track progress. The Amendment remains the most significant legal step toward making India a participatory democracy by empowering local representatives.

Solution: C

• The formation of a heatwave requires conditions that trap heat and prevent cooling.
• (a) Anticyclonic circulation causes air to sink and compress, which heats the atmosphere and clears the sky.
• (b) The Urban Heat Island effect traps heat in concrete structures, increasing localized temperatures.
• (d) El Niño Modoki alters global wind patterns, often bringing dry, hot air to the Indian region.
• (c) is the correct choice because rapid cloud formation and convective rainfall actually act as cooling mechanisms. Clouds block incoming solar radiation (albedo effect), and rainfall causes evaporative cooling and brings down the ambient temperature. Therefore, these factors would terminate or prevent a heatwave rather than cause one.
• Heatwaves are often associated with “atmospheric blocking,” where high-pressure systems stay stationary over an area for days. This “stagnant air” prevents the ingress of moisture-laden winds that would normally form clouds.
• In urban areas, the replacement of “blue-green” spaces (water and plants) with “grey” infrastructure (roads and buildings) creates a permanent thermal disadvantage. Thus, while the macro-climate sets the stage, the presence or absence of cloud cover is the immediate determinant of surface temperature intensity.

Solution: B

• The implementation blueprint of the Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) emphasizes building robust institutional linkages to scale sustainable rural livelihoods. To foster technology and modernization within the primary sector, the program forms a key strategic partnership with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• Working alongside IFAD, NABARD is responsible for identifying, funding, and scaling new-age innovations across agri-allied sectors, including modern fisheries, precision farming, and animal husbandry. This institutional integration ensures that grassroots organizations, like Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), receive adequate credit linkages and technical guidance to build climate-resilient value chains. This makes NABARD the correct financial institution for this initiative.